I found President Joe Biden’s not-quite-State-of the-Union address to a joint session of Congress smart, likable and not terribly newsworthy. I mean that last bit mostly as a compliment.
We know by now what Biden stands for. Tax the rich and borrow huge amounts to enact and increase programs that help poor and working-class Americans, finish off the pandemic, rejoin the multilateral agreements that his predecessor pulled out of, restore American leadership in global affairs from the shambles said predecessor left behind, and declare his view that “white supremacy is terrorism.”
Congressional Republicans, who control neither the House nor Senate, can try to block it all. Biden said fairly clearly that if Republicans can get over the block-it-all goal, he’s willing to compromise on how big, how fast, how high and how far.
Not a lot of poetry (see Obama for that stuff), but a lot of clear prose.
We know what Biden ran on and what he has said since he won. He is prepared (in ways that did seem surprising over the last few weeks but not last night) to do a lot and spend a lot to help those with problems, to tax corporations and the rich to pay for some of it, and borrow the rest.
The ideas are almost all good. The pay-for part remains to be seen.
Biden doesn’t make me weak in the knees when he talks (the way Barack Obama often did). But, perhaps luckily for Biden, the immediate comparison is to Donald Trump — who, even if he wanted to, could never be that clear, coherent, compassionate, or reasonable.
The president didn’t say much last night that was new. He really seems to want to tee up one problem after another and do what government can do to solve them, or at least make progress in that direction. He seemed to understand that Republicans aren’t prepared to raise taxes on the rich to solve problems for the poor but Biden at least implied that he’s ready, as long as Republicans agree with the goals, to take Republican input seriously into account about the ways and means of making progress toward those goals.
Maybe that’s baloney, although as the reasonable tone of the speech proceeded it seemed sincere enough. The cynical half of my brain (and maybe it’s more than half) assumes that this will not work because Republicans do not agree with the goals.
He ended with a plea for unity across divisions over race, class and party.
The Republican rebuttal, assigned to Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only black Senate Republican, was awkward and seemed to smack of something between Republican desperation and tokenism as the former Party of Lincoln deals with the fact that African Americans are a large and growing element of the electorate and a group that preferred Biden over Trump in November by about 87-13 percent.
When a Black leader declares “Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country,” it’s instructive that it falls to white liberals to mock and disagree with him.
Have all African Americans lined up behind him on this? Because that’s not what I’m reading.
Tim Scott once said that he was pulled over by police seven times in one year. He was also asked by Capitol Police to provide ID despite the fact that he was clearly wearing his US Senate pin. For him to assert that the country is not racist is not helpful to finding a solution to systemic racism and is contrary to his lived experience.
When you get a whole bunch more Black leaders saying, “Yes, America is not a racist country,” then get back to me. The Republicans fell right in behind the most openly racist President this country has had for a long time so now we’re supposed to take their spokesman seriously? Next thing you know some Republican is going to accuse Biden of being divisive. Oh, wait. At least it wasn’t Hawley or Johnson that they trotted out.
The fact that he is the sole Black, and was instructed to reply therefore–while sticking strictly to the REP lie script–is what is most telling.
Like Clarence Thomas, Scott is a rare Black conservative, and thus worth his weight in gold to the Repub party. The “conservative” movement was very wise to place him into the senate, where he can tell white conservatives what they want to hear, especially on race.
“Black leader”, however, seems a bit of a stretch, unless all senators are considered “leaders”. Scott’s rightwing extremist views do not seem to be acquiring much of a following for him among Black Americans, so it’s hard to describe him as a political leader of Black people. I have little doubt he will at some point be encouraged (by “conservatives”) to run for president, at a bare minimum for its propaganda value. And he seems happy to comply with the ideas and arguments of white “conservatives”, such as being the point man for their bad faith police “reform” bill of last summer.
As for Scott’s statement on American racism that Mr Tester apparently endorses, I suppose it falls into the half-truth category, at least in the sense that America is (no longer) “officially” a racist nation or country. It surely was officially racist up until the Civil War. And for a few years after Reconstruction, during which the Reconstruction Amendments were passed, it may not have been officially racist. But certainly with the erection of Jim Crow and the constitutional doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson, we were back to being an “official” racist nation, at least across broad swaths of the country.
Presumably Scott would point to Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and the Civil Rights Acts of 1964-65 as the end of “official” racism in America. And I suppose he is correct. But this begs the question of whether racism has substantially ceased to (widely) exist in American society, circa 2021. And if Scott actually believes this, then he is a fool. And if he doesn’t believe it, but is willing to hide behind conservative-friendly half-truths for reasons of political opportunism, then he is worse than a fool….
Perhaps, Dennis, because it is absurd to say, as it is utterly wrong and disgustingly so.
Senator Scott has previously said he has been pulled over by law enforcement 7 times just since he became an elected official. Is he truly a terrible driver? I harbor doubt
What ever your color or tint, if you go around saying America is not a racist nation, you’ll look the fool because reality shouts the truth daily in our police blotters and our socio-economic status reports
It actually wasn’t 7 times since he became an elected official. It was 7 times in ONE YEAR as an elected official. He had also been stopped by capitol police, despite having the pin identifying himself as a Senator.
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/tim-scott-capitol-racism-senate-225507
What is instructive is that Scott has previously talked about the racist encounters he had had with police. Even a wealthy, conservative black man frequently gets pulled over and harassed by police.
What is really instructive is that Scott is willing to tell bald-faced lies and to ignore his own experiences in order to give comfort to racists. Scott is a man with zero integrity who deserves every bit of mockery he gets.
He literally said the following in the same speech in which he said this isn’t a racist country:
“I’ve also experienced a different kind of intolerance. I get called “Uncle Tom” and the N-word — by ‘progressives’! By liberals!”
Its nice to have a competent president, especially after listening to that incoherent failure Trump and watching him weaken our country the last four years.
One of the most boring, and soon to be forgotten, speeches of all time. Surpassed only by the ramblings of LBJ.
“And by boring, I mean he didn’t insult the people I hate.”
I felt calm throughout. Pleased. It was refreshing after 4 years of Trump chaos, lies, diviseness, cruelty and destruction to listen to a calm, informed, capable and competent president. Too many folks want 24/7 drama and the fake ‘excitement’ found in movies and video games, but they are not REAL LIFE.
After 4+ years of the wonderful oratory of one Donald Trump, I’m not sure that “conservative” complaints about the speeches of Dem presidents being too “rambling” carries much weight!
But I guess I would have to grant that watching the speeches of an obviously mentally-unbalanced narcissist egomaniac “president” engaged in willful and reckless bomb-throwing isn’t “boring”….
I’m all here for a boring president. Especially after the miserable failure of Donald’s Trump’s presidency.
I left the USA nearly 5 decades ago, as I no longer believed the myths Americans told themselves (and the world) about American exceptionality. With President Obama (and V-P Biden), I had renewed hope that maybe things might change there. Then the great Orange One was elected, and all hope was dashed.
I now hope that the Biden-Harris administration will prove me wrong…I really do, as nearly all my family still resides there.
It continues to be reassuring that Biden is open to bipartisanship, but doesn’t fetishize it.
Apparently many people watching Biden’s speech came away with a renewed sense of optimism. I’m glad for their mental health, but how one was able to engage in the necessary suspension of disbelief is beyond me. As Biden ran through the laundry list of (just some of!) the massive problems confronting the nation, I kept thinking about how ruinous the last four decades of the Conservative Era (1980-202?) have been for the nation, and how deeply this thoroughly misguided “conservatism” has damaged and lamed the country, finally taking us to the point where white fascism is now emergent on the political horizon.
And one can only reflect that one of the reasons for this collapse is that the party of effective government had actual control of the federal government for precisely 4 years out of the past 40 (1992-94; 2008-10). Contrast this with the era of American success, from WWII-1968. One can quibble with Biden’s particulars, but at least he has reason(s) why he wanted to attain the office, unlike the spectacular human failure and colossal ignoramus Trumpolini, who entered politics (at the very top, of course) largely to satisfy his demented ego.
As Biden ticked off the failures and decades of Repub Do-Nothingism in area after area, it bears reflection that the final culmination of “conservatism” appears to be a desperate effort toward cementing anti-democratic rural minority rule, to ensure that none of these enormous problems EVER get addressed. And all to maintain political control by white males for the financial benefit of existing plutocrats, and the imagined scriptural satisfaction of an “end-times”-obsessed religion. Sad, but it will make for some interesting works of history!
Well, well now, as a fiscal conservative, social liberal I liked what he had to say, there are some harsh truths that we as a country need to choke down. He proposed paying for policies, not putting them on the credit card, well that is 1 hell of a novel idea from a lefty don’t you think? I strongly agree with him, that there is more than enough dough in the hands of the wealthy and super wealthy to help pay for infrastructure. I’d really like a republican to say, yeah my A#1 education and my A#1 up bringing and my A#! healthcare is not part of who/why I am a senator or a congressperson today! Its all because, I am ignorant, immoral, and not healthy! i.e. Infrastructure has a far bigger platform than roads and bridges, and if they had the fortitude to do whats right for America, instead of putting self and party and check book before country, yes we can do whats right for America.
The “conservative” religious tenet that “I did it all myself via personal responsibility!” is one of their most fallacious (and nauseating) intellectual constructs…
Scott kicked off his speech with a diatribe on how Biden pledged unity and has only created division.
It seems that the recovery act, then infrastructure, now the family act all have 60% plus support by the people. Even majorities within Republican voters. But that is not unity. Unity is only accomplished by the approval of Mitch McConnell. Who sat with a dour look on his face throughout the speech and would not even applaud for curing cancer.
The Trumpian trait of saying crazy, indefensible stuff and then running away and hiding so as to not have to defend it is alive and well within the GOP.
The economy was recovering quite nicely from the virus induced recession thanks to the vaccines. No need for anymore “rescue” and I think most people will recognize the overreach of Dems. Can’t blame them for trying.
How is it, then, that most Americans support the rescue plan? And don’t seem to give a tinker’s damn about “overreach?”
The fact that we no longer have an incompetent failure like Donald Trump helped a lot, but Republicans seem to be determined to kill jobs and close businesses, so Democrats needed to act.
The R’s would much rather see economic doom than jobs and prosperity if a D gets the credit.
One more common interest between Putin and the GOP
“The R’s would much rather see economic doom than jobs and prosperity if a D gets the credit.”
Seems like Speaker Pelosi was exposed as not moving on the COVID bills until after Trump was defeated. Smart move as Trump couldn’t get credit for sending cash to Americans. It is now OK to send tons of cash to Americans since it is coming from Democrats (and printing machines).
Exposed? Hardly. Pelosi just wanted the money to actually go to people who needed it. And that’s what happened when Trump was replaced by someone who wasn’t totally incompetent.
Trump has failed at everything he has done his entire life. Except hosting a game show.
One thing America learned for sure was liberal white people really, really can’t wait to make racist remarks about a black conservative.
I think most or the criticism was that Scott was simply lying. He contradicted himself with his own prior statements. There is nothing racist about pointing out that he a man completely devoid of any integrity.
Example please?
Disagreement is not racism
Targeting voting rights based on race is.
“to tax corporations and the rich to pay for some of it, and borrow the rest.”
As I understand it we’ll raise the taxes on the rich and corporations (just like President Obama and Governor Dayton) and that will pay for the bulk of the massive spending increases. Since the government used even higher tax rates prior to President Trump and the 2017 tax cuts, shouldn’t the Federal government have been rolling in the cash? Instead the Federal debt grew by trillions. Where did all that money go and how will this time be different?
Well the $ were spent on all kinds of things pretty easy to find out.
https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-federal-budget-breakdown-3305789
Well talk about rolling in the cash, the last President to have a balanced budget was Clinton, seems Bush II pretty much blew that apart. And T**** the great businessman, further blew the budget up during the best of the best of the best of times. Seems his trickle down BS was the same as the last trickle down BS, didn’t work!
Well, it is nice to know that there was no extra cash despite the higher taxes, which kinds of repeats my question, if taxes are raised to levels less than 2017, how will the government afford more than three times the spending? The Federal government was forecast to spend about 4 trillion plus in 2021 and that was without the recent $1.9 trillion COVID package or the upcoming $2 trillion infrastructure plan or the however many trillion Family plan. I did notice that the “balance” report did show the massive amount spent just to service the national debt. Every tiny rise in interest rates would add to this figure almost exponentially.