From Karl Rove to Sen. Mark Warner to Sen. Rob Portman to Rep. Lee (see video compilation) the Washington conventional wisdom has finally caught up with the reality: patriots on Capitol Hill are ready to stand up to the extremes of both the left and right, work through the details, and make this a reality.

The G-21 Senate group and the House Problem Solvers continue to flesh out the details of a $1.2 trillion package, propelled by extraordinary bicameral negotiations and the clear backing of a broad majority of the country that wants this effort to succeed.

Tuesday, close Biden ally, Senator Chris Coons, one of the Senate Gang of 21, wrote in The Washington Post:

“Enacting a bipartisan infrastructure proposal is the best way to strengthen our recovery…nothing will showcase that the United States is back like seeing Republicans and Democrats coming together around a bold infrastructure package that will make us more competitive around the world.”

In a just released national Harvard/CAPS Harris poll, 78% say they want President Biden to accept a $1.2 trillion infrastructure proposal negotiated by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, while only 22 percent believe that the president should hold out for a larger package.

This feeling extends to President Biden’s home state of Delaware. Delawareans are rarely polled but No Labels just did a survey of the president’s home state to get a better sense of what those voters want him to do on these negotiations. We found:

• 73% of Delaware voters—including 67% of Democrats—want the President to take the $1.2 trillion bipartisan deal that’s on the table as opposed to holding out for a bigger deal. 
• 66% of Delaware voters want President Biden to “compromise with Republicans, spend less and hold the line on taxes” as opposed to just 34% who advocate him going along with “The progressive wing of the Democratic Party represented by Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others who want to spend $4 trillion dollars and raise taxes."

With talk of even more Senators of both parties getting ready to join their 21 colleagues who are already united behind a bipartisan agreement and reporting that makes it clear that the White House wants a deal, now is the opportunity to get this done. 

To help get this package over the finish line, No Labels has launched a partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable—which was announced on CNBC by No Labels co-chair and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan—to join almost 150 business, military, and civic organizations to sign a statement pushing for a two-party solution.  

Several notable Delaware civic leaders including Ben duPont, a Republican business innovator, and the state’s former U.S. Attorney and Attorney General Charles Oberly, are part of the effort, which also includes a No Labels TV ad campaign in Delaware and DC that draws on footage of President Biden from six consecutive decades talking about the importance of bipartisanship. 

Delawareans, like all Americans, are ready to support Joe Biden’s fulfilment of a lifetime of promises to bring both parties together to meet the needs of the nation.

As DuPont and Oberly wrote in an op-ed piece in the Wilmington News Journal on Tuesday:

"Now, as president, Delaware’s favorite son faces a critical decision. At a rare moment when Washington is on the cusp of solving a huge problem — namely the sorry state of our nation’s infrastructure.”

Get this deal done and agreements on policing reform, immigration, minimum wage, competitiveness, and more are all there for the taking.

Go to a Democratic-only process via reconciliation and the tens of millions of Americans who support bipartisanship will be equal parts angry and incredulous.

Let’s do this thing.

Talk Soon,
Margaret White, Co-executive Director