Today's program focused on president-elect Joe Biden's career up to his latest interviews and statements as to give some perspective as to how Mr. Biden will lead and what we can expect in 2021.
As is the case with the president-elect, you can go way back in television history for clips of Mr. Biden explaining his views, which we won't go into in depth except to say that what these old clips showed was a politician that indeed has the perspective of history, which this column would argue is essential to be successful in the presidency. That's not to say that Mr. Biden as a U.S. Senator didn't cast votes for bad legislation or that he didn't have his share of political scrapes. The point is that there is that perspective of the good and the bad since 1972 that's put him in the position he is now.
Former Senator John Sununu (R-NH) said that one politician's flip flop is another evolution, which is a fairly dismissive view of things and he seemed to exclude himself from the false equivalency. Dismissing vulgar social media statements for four years and then saying someone isn't qualified because you don't like what they said on social media is a flip-flop, not to mention hypocritical. "Being for it before I was against," as John Kerry argued about the Iraq War in 2004 didn't make the grade either. But you can not compare it to Mr. Biden's evolution and reconciliation with his faith on Roe vs. Wade or his sense of marriage equality.
The fact that we're discussing issues and political philosophies will be the biggest expectation for this column in 2021, which brings us to expectations in the new year.
As fmr. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said, the biggest challenge will be unifying people, but again, if there is anyone suited to do it, it would be Joe Biden. The majority of Americans assessed this to be the case and that's why he's president-elect.
Beyond that in terms of domestic policy, NBC's Kristen Welker reported that the Biden Administration's first priorities will be healthcare and climate change, to which Sen. Sununu said that would be a waste of time because Republicans would block those priorities and that the party isn't obligated to cooperate with Democrats but he sees opportunity on infrastructure and taxes. He's half right. The tax breaks that are expiring are for the top one percent mostly so for the most part, they should be left to expire. However, infrastructure, which those expiring tax breaks could help with is the way forward, outside of ridding ourselves of the pandemic, of course. Infrastructure would accomplish multiple goals in building more energy efficient building and bridges, renovations, and broadband access. Additionally, it means jobs.
Healthcare reform, building on the Affordable Care Act, to include a public option, will be a difficult lift, especially if Republicans maintain control of the Senate, which the incoming Biden Administration is planning for.
But it's really all secondary as long as the pandemic is raging out of control.
In terms of foreign policy the three areas that the panel focused on were the Paris Climate Accords, Iran and Russia with extenuating circumstances surrounding each. Of the three, the United States should reenter the Paris Climate Agreement immediately. Even if you think that climate change is a hoax, the rest of the world is playing on this field of business and the United States has to enter back into the game. When you think of it in business terms, it's the way forward.
In terms of Russia, if you read our column last week, you know our stand, but it's worth mentioning that Ms. Welker reported that there will be an immediate change in tone from the top when it comes to U.S. relations with Russia and where the Biden Administration stands.
Fmr. Senator Sununu gave the current administration way too much credit and too big of a pass when it came to discussing foreign policy writ large saying that the Trump Administration set a solid framework with Russia, Iran and most notably China. Mess, mess and more mess. The Administration decimated the United States farmers' soy business which thoughtless tariffs on China, Mr. Trump let pass Russia bounties on U.S. soldiers and has given a pass to Russia for the biggest cyber attack in U.S. history, and with Iran he has just made things worth without the U.S. having an real leverage.
On the last point, rejoining and restarting the Iran nuclear deal may be a fruitless task. Congressional Republicans didn't want the deal in the first place and the president's aggressive moves toward Iran's regime have given Iran little reason to go back. This may really be starting again from scratch.
So there's the policy and it's a pleasure to write about it, but as we write, there is a tragic reminder of why it's understanding is needed so badly in this moment. The House and Senate passed a bi-partisan Covid relief bill, which the president is refusing to sign because he said that direct payments of $600 are too low and they should be $2,000. For once, the problem isn't that the president is wrong, Americans should get $2,000, but where was he all this time? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) brought the measure to the House floor and Republicans voted against the increase.
As it stands, the American people aren't getting any relief and if the president doesn't sign that bill and the other spending bills on his desk by Tuesday, there's no direct payments, no military funding and no government funding so there will be a shutdown on Wednesday.
As for the motivations behind all these non-action, duty derelictions by the burn-it-all-down president, trying to decipher them is so 2020, and we're trying to look forward to 2021.
If you read this column, and we are humbly grateful and thankful for your support, you know we're fairly pragmatic in our political thinking. With that, save your political resolutions for January 20 because 2020 isn't over until then.
This is probably our last column for the year so THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!
Have a safe and healthy rest of the year.
Panel: Kristen Welker, NBC News; Claire McCaskill, fmr. Senator (D-MO); John Sununu, fmr. Senator (R-NH)
Meet The Press's In Memoriam 2020:
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Civil Rights Leader C.T. Vivian, Senator Slade Gorton (WA), Senator Tom Coburn (OK), Paul Sarbanes (MD), Senator Roger Jepsen (IA), General Electric CEO Jack Welch, Talk Show Host Regis Philbin, NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson, Civil Rights Leader Joseph Lowery, National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, PBS News Hour Anchor Jim Lehrer, NYC Mayor David Dinkins, Linda Tripp, Actor Chadwick Boseman, AAPI Activist Irene Inouye, Georgetown Basketball Coach John Thompson, Businessman Herman Cain, Test Pilot Pioneer, Chuck Yeager, Sportscaster Phillis George, Jeopardy's Alex Trebek, Basketball Icon Kobe Bryant, Writer and Gay Right Activist Larry Kramer, Diplomat and Humanitarian Jean Kennedy Smith,
Our American Soul Congressman John Lewis
and
over 300,000 Americans dead from Covid-19
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