And from historian Heather Cox Richardson, after noting that the Trump administration’s signature piece of legislation was the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, which cut corporate taxes, adding an expected $2 trillion to the national debt over ten years, and was followed by an actual drop in employment and wages–not what the Republicans promised.
“In contrast, in the past 18 months, Democrats have rebuilt the economy after the pandemic shattered it, invested in technology and science, expanded the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to stand against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, eliminated al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, pulled troops out of Afghanistan, passed the first gun safety law in almost 30 years, put a Black woman on the Supreme Court, reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, addressed the needs of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, and invested in our roads, bridges, and manufacturing. And for much of this program, they have managed to attract Republican votes.
“Now they are turning to lowering the cost of prescription drugs—long a priority—and tackling climate change, all while lowering the deficit.
“Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne noted accurately today that what these measures do is far more than the sum of their parts. They show Americans that democracy is messy and slow but that it works, and it works for them. Since he took office, this has been President Joe Biden’s argument: he would head off the global drive toward authoritarianism by showing that democracy is still the best system of government out there.
“At a time when authoritarians are trying to demonstrate that democracies cannot function nearly as effectively as the rule of an elite few, he is proving them wrong.
“This is a very big deal indeed.“
In response to all the negative press, collectively referred to as “Dems in Disarray,” the new slogan is:
“Dems in Array.”
What do you think?
Annie
PS: I just watched President Biden (via Twitter) speak before he signed the Chips and Science Act, a strong bipartisan effort to ensure that the US becomes competitive in manufacturing computer chips and semiconductors–all made in America by “our diverse and talented work force: urban, rural, suburban, and tribal.” There’s much more to the legislation, which supports scientific developments to benefit us all.
You’ll probably hear and see a lot about the President’s considerable coughing (he is, after all, post-Covid). But there he was, standing on the White House lawn in 95 degree heat, ticking off the benefits of this legislation and those succeeding it–the passed PACT Act to help veterans, and the soon-to-become-law, far-reaching, Inflation Reduction Act, which will finally address climate change, as well as lower health care costs and make inroads in tax equity.
It was an inspiring speech–generous to all who helped bring this legislation to fruition, and brimming with optimism about America’s possibilities. Below is a screen shot; I didn’t edit because I liked the comment a viewer sent.
annieasksyou... 
Well, there’s this headline.
It’s an impressive list of accomplishments (though I’d note that expanding NATO was actually at the initiative of Sweden and Finland, not the US). Biden and the Senate leadership deserve a lot of credit for getting all that done with a razor-thin majority. As to the age issue, the fact that Biden has been through two bouts of covid and apparently remains vigorous suggests that his general health, at least, isn’t a problem.
I’ll look forward to seeing what they can get done if they get a big enough majority in November to neutralize Manchin and Sinema.
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There are actually quite a few “Dems in array” headlines out there. Here’s another.
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Good article, though still with a question mark. I have seen tweets ending in exclamation points, however.
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Infidel: Still a question mark on that headline.
True, Sweden and Finland seized the initiative, but I think it’s reasonable to give the Biden administration credit for revitalizing NATO so that its unity led these two countries to think its protection was more meaningful.
Here’s hoping we get a chance to see what bigger majorities can accomplish. The Democrats must be out there selling these accomplishments. They’ve already been overshadowed in some media by the FBI’s visit to Mar-a-Lago.
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NATO membership requires a consensus (unanimous) approval by the current members. Since NATO is a treaty the US approval requires the advice and consent of the US Senate. Biden and 95 senators supported the inclusion…. ….It will be a minor miracle if the Dems are able to increase their numbers in the Senate and hold the House. I would not count on it. UNLESS they can effectively make the fall election about abortion rights and can do a good job of advertising the successes of the lst 2 years. We shall see…
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The fact remains that Sweden and Finland were the ones that took the initiative and asked to join. If they hadn’t chosen to do so, there would have been nothing for the other countries to approve. If anyone can claim to have “enlarged NATO”, it’s they.
If you look at the Senate on a state-by-state basis, enlarging the majority looks surprisingly doable, because in several critical races the Republicans are stuck with dud candidates due to Trump’s endorsements and/or extremist primary voters. Mehmet Oz is a con man and is trailing Fetterman badly in the polls. Herschel Walker is an ignoramus and a hypocrite. There are other such cases. Holding the House is more unlikely, but the latest generic Congressional ballot poll I’ve seen has the Democrats ahead by seven points, whereas a few months ago they were seven points behind. Still not a sure thing, but it’s starting to look like the Supreme Court and the crazy red-state forced-birth laws have, ironically, “aborted” the red wave. The recent legislative accomplishments will help motivate the base and have highlighted how much more could have been done if Manchin and Sinema were not in a position to water things down.
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I agree, Infidel! I’ll add that Herschel Walker is clearly head-injured and makes no sense. The Republicans pushing him demonstrate just another example of their cruelty and shamelessness and antipathy toward finding worthy candidates. The contrast between him and Senator Warnock could not be greater.
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I don’t think it will be a minor miracle for the Dems to increase the Senate majority. The House is more problematic, but my philosophy is that negativism and cynicism are roadmaps to defeat: they discourage voting and become self-fulfilling prophecies. This is an unusual year with many variables. If the size of the Kansas victory told us anything, it’s that polls and pundits can be flat out wrong.
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Re: Biden ~ With age comes wisdom.
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Thumbs up on that one, Jo! I heard commentators discussing the self-control it took for him to step away from the negotiations, realizing that acting as if he were back in the Senate wasn’t constructive. That says a lot to me.
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Sometimes it does… sometimes it doesn’t.
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That’s true…
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Annie, it’s a pretty impressive record, considering the mediocre/bad media. Every week it seems there is another interesting development, so who knows what will happen with the elections.
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Thank you, Joni. I think it’s an extremely impressive record. In the meantime, the opposing party has gone completely bonkers to the dark side. I remain hopeful—perhaps even more so!
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Impressive record, indeed. And still standing to push on for more, which is remarkable at any age given the demands of that job!
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Finally getting some snippets of positive coverage among the Mar-a-Lago fascination.
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