Jonathan Bernstein makes a general point about bipartisan in the context of the COVID-19 relief package.

Assuming that (barely) all of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s ducks are in a row, all 50 Democratic senators are ready to vote for the bill, and Vice President Kamala Harris has the tie-breaker to get the job done. Parties that have the votes rarely make concessions to get additional, unnecessary votes! Bipartisan compromise happens when it’s needed, not for its own sake.

In contrast to this, there is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s theory that even popular legislation will lose public support if it is seen as strictly partisan. This is why he urged his colleagues not to support Obamacare, and it’s why none of them are really fighting for concessions in the COVID-19 bill. Yet, if you think about it, it’s also why Bernstein overstates the case.

It actually is worth something to get votes from across the aisle on major legislation, and that’s why the Democrats should be willing to at least consider making some concessions on this $1.9 trillion bill. Yes, they can pass it on their own, but then they have to defend it. That’s easier to do if it isn’t perceived as wholly unacceptable to every elected Republican in Congress.

The problem is that it only makes sense to make a concession to a Republican senator if that senator will agree to provide their vote in return. Without their vote, you’re giving away something for nothing.

A true legislator operating in the minority who is looking to do the best job for their constituents will occasionally buck their party and support the opposition’s legislation if they can win something of value in the exchange. They’ll take heat for this from partisans, but they’ll also get some credit from folks who can see a direct benefit. McConnell’s style of leadership heavily discourages this kind of behavior.

This is a major reason why Congress can barely function, and also why there is so much pressure to eliminate the legislative filibuster. The truth is, the Democrats can’t realistically hope to win 60 votes to overcome a filibuster because that would require 10 GOP senators to cross the aisle. It’s easy to make the kind of concessions that should make that possible, but McConnell’s strategy precludes it from happening regardless of what the Democrats offer.

At this point, 12 years after President Obama was sworn in and McConnell first adopted his policy of total obstruction, the Republican media and voters expect implacable opposition. At this point, McConnell and his lieutenants don’t even need to pressure their caucus to block Biden’s agenda on every front because they get that pressure from their constituents.

A strange result of this is that it makes winning over Republican votes much more valuable than it was in the past. A crossover vote now counts for more than some marginal advantage in debates over legislation. It helps break the Republicans of a bad habit that is crippling the proper function of government. If one Republican crosses the aisle and gets away with it, more may follow. If McConnell loses his iron grip on his caucus on one issue, his grip may loosen on the next.

But one thing remains true. All meaningful concessions have to bring votes. This means that the Democrats should ask for what they want and pass what they want unless a Republican senator makes an ironclad promise to support the bill. Making preemptive concessions is a bad strategy that reward bad behavior, and it’s one mistake that the Obama administration made that should not be repeated.