Will America Bounce Back?
Can the Biden Administration meet the respond-repair-reform challenge?
The Inauguration on Wednesday of Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice-President was a day of a welcome, albeit low-key, celebration. Two weeks earlier a mob stormed the very building at which the swearing-in was taking place, and the presence of thousands of National Guard troops reminded us of January 6’s shocking violence and chaos. That image was contrasted by the small crowd, a concession to the ravages of the pandemic which has taken 400,000 American lives. Still, for one day, many people experienced muted feelings of joy and hope as the President in plain talk and Amanda Gorman in singing poetry reminded us that, while democracy had survived a close call, the effort to preserve and improve upon it was ongoing and required the commitment of a unified nation.
It may be that a majority of us now feel cautiously optimistic about the future. After all, hadn’t the nation survived other crises - the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War II, the collapse of the economy in 2008? As journalist David Rothkopf posted on Twitter:
Prediction: The speed with which America rebounds will surprise the world. Leadership will take new, less invasive, less exceptionalist forms, but no other country is as well-positioned to lead "the free world." Lots of challenges at home. But we're up to handling both.
It may also be realistic to not be so sanguine about the near future. The pandemic is exacting a greater toll now than when it first began spreading a year ago. Expectations are that 100,000 more people will die by the end of February. The consequential damage to the economy is reflected in the increase in unemployment. Controlling the virus and stimulating the economy will both depend on the deployment of vaccines, the rollout of which has been slow and uneven in the last days of the Trump Administration. Getting a relief/stimulus package passed by Congress is an immediate priority.
Factoring in the immediate need to get cabinet nominees confirmed by the Senate, executive agencies staffed, and to pursue an agenda of repair and reform, it is obvious Biden’s dance card is full. And, regardless of his calls for unity and bipartisanship, the familiar sounds of obstruction are already coming from Congressional Republicans. In the special type of irony that American politics excels at, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threatened to filibuster the Senate’s Organizing Resolution (by which, for example, committee leaders and members are chosen) if Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not include a pledge to eliminate the filibuster. As anticipated, the GOP rediscovered its aversion to deficit spending, with Republican Senators announcing their opposition to Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion relief package. All of this is occurring as the Senate prepares for the impeachment trial of Donald Trump scheduled for February 9, an event that threatens to drive a wedge into the Republican caucus that is already divided over whether or not to remain in the Trump camp.
Signaling his intention to take quick action, “in his first 48 hours in office, Mr. Biden cranked out about 30 executive orders, of which 14 target a broad range of Trump executive mandates, with the remainder aimed at implementing emergency measures intended to deal with the pandemic and the economic crisis”, the New York Times reported. Taking more substantive actions to deal with the pandemic and to implement reforms will need to be accomplished through legislation and that requires buy-in from Senate Republicans. For the President who campaigned on a theme of unity, this is the immediate divide he must bridge.
In an Op-Ed on Thursday, the Times’ Ezra Klein stressed the tenuous position the Democrats are in. “The Democrats’ margin in the House and Senate couldn’t be thinner,” he wrote, “and midterms typically raze the governing party. That gives Democrats two years to govern. Two years to prove that the American political system can work.“ His conclusion: eliminate the filibuster or Biden’s agenda will likely fail.
As we were reminded on January 6, the fragility of our democracy is palpable and immediate. Regaining the public’s trust in government and its institutions, and eradicating the authoritarian elements that emerged from the shadows the last four years calls for bold leadership. In the great crises of our history, good fortune or destiny allowed a great leader to emerge. Will it happen again?
Will America meet this challenge?
Note: Please leave your comments in the Comment section by clicking on the button. Replying to the email of this newsletter means your comments can not be seen and responded to by other readers.
Note to readers: The 168 newsletter is emailed weekly on Saturdays and posted to www.1hundredsixty8.substack.com. Visit the site to view archived newsletters.
Additional content is restricted to paying subscribers only.
Aside from your comments- which are encouraged- if you would like to submit a piece of your own for the 168 newsletter, please email me at nicrosato2@gmail.com.
My past blog posts are viewable at 1hundredsixty8.com.
If the new administration truly wants unity it must come with compromise, from both sides. This is what makes it difficult when the policies are so distinctly opposed to one another and the opposing sides want to demonize each other. I am not encouraged that either the Democrats or the Republicans are willing to engage in true compromise to achieve unity. Sad....
Thank you for this artical , there is alot of damage to be cleaned up. As well the Dems and Reps need to come together to help with the disfunction.... We all don't have to agree, but we all do need to live together.