Baffled Colbert Wonders Why ‘Old Fashioned’ Republicans Don’t Go for Biden’s ‘Progressive’ Vision

August 19th, 2020 8:35 AM

A confused Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night celebrated the Democratic National Convention by wondering why “old fashioned” Republicans don’t just embrace the far-left agenda of Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden. Talking to Warren, the Late Show host listened to the Senator list agenda items like cancelling all student loan debt. 

A baffled Colbert wondered, “The thing that's interesting to me in the idea of a progressive versus a sort of establishment Democratic fight is that I don't understand why sort of the old-fashioned Republicans don't want to go for this, too. Because the thing that you're describing, well, that was center that was middle-of-the-road Republican politics in the 1970s.” 

 

 

Later, Colbert fawned: 

Senator, before we go on to the Senate and Mitch McConnell and the post office, I want to ask you about Joe Biden and big business. Because big business is afraid of you. My friends who are bankers are afraid of you, but Wall Street is fine with Joe Biden. Are you fine with Wall Street being fine with Joe Biden?  

Last Week, Colbert laughably suggested, “When I was a kid, we would have called Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Rockefeller Republicans.” 

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A partial transcript is below: 

Late Show With Stephen Colbert 
8/19/2020
12:20 AM ET

STEPHEN COLBERT: Is that some people out there, certainly Republicans, are trying to paint this picture that Joe Biden is just a Trojan horse, or he's going to be the most liberal president of all time. In fact, Bernie Sanders said that he will have the most Progressive programs of any president since FDR. Meanwhile, John Kasich is saying, no, he's not going to go too far left. Which is true? 

ELIZABETH WARREN: So, look, let's just look at the facts. Joe Biden has committed to build back better. And let me tell you what that means through Joe Biden's own plans. It means investing in working families. So he said he's going to invest in child care, in cancelling student loan debt, that he's going to expand Social Security and better care for seniors, including seniors that are cared for at home. He says he's going to make the rich pay their fair share, going to be painful for you, Stephen, but that's what's going to happen. 

That he's going to insist on corporations having some accountability. These are the kinds of plans  that I don't think are just about Democrats. I think these are the plans that you will of America wants. These are the plans that will make our country work, not just for a hand full of folks at the top, but make our country work for everyone. I'm looking forward to this. 

COLBERT: Well, I would, too. The thing that's interesting to me in the idea of a progressive versus a sort of establishment Democratic fight is that I don't understand why sort of the old-fashioned Republicans don't want to go for this, too. Because the thing that you're describing, well, that was center that was middle-of-the-road Republican politics in the 1970s.

...

COLBERT: Senator, before we go on to the Senate and Mitch McConnell and the post office, I want to ask you about Joe Biden and big business. Because big business is afraid of you. My friends who are bankers are afraid of you, but Wall Street is fine with Joe Biden. Are you fine with Wall Street being fine with Joe Biden?