Biden Coins A Defining Political Phrase
President Joe Biden has kicked off his "Help Is Here" tour, and he and various administration surrogates will fan out across the country for the next few weeks to educate the public on what is contained in the American Rescue Plan Act that Biden signed last week. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to struggle to come up with a reason why voters should be against it. Obviously, Biden and the Democrats have the easier sales job here.
Republicans are caught in a real quandary, since the plan is already so popular, even among GOP voters. And so far, the Democratic measure (which passed without a single Republican in either House or Senate voting for it) has been completely immune from any attempts by Republicans to demonize it. This alone is astonishing, because the GOP truly has raised lying about Democratic legislation to an virtual art form (see: "death panels") -- and they're usually much better at it than this.
They've tried various lines of attack, without much notable success: It costs too much. It isn't necessary since there's plenty of money still left over from the other pandemic relief bills. The money won't be spent fast enough -- by the time it is spent the problem will already have ceased to exist. Illegal immigrants will get $1,400 checks. Prisoners will get $1,400 checks. It will cause rampant inflation. It is socialism. It is a bail-out of blue states.
There may be more, but these are the ones I've personally heard so far. Some of them are outright lies (undocumented workers have no Social Security number, which is the only way the checks will be issued), while others are misleading without being dishonest (prisoners will indeed get money -- just like they did with the other pandemic relief bills that Republicans voted for). Macroeconomic arguments are never a good bet when $1,400 checks are a whole lot more tangible to average people. And Democrats rightly point out that the GOP passed exactly the same amount of money a few years back, in order to give it to corporate America and the ultra-wealthy, which puts "we can't afford it" in the proper perspective.
For once, Democrats did things right. They got money directly to the people instead of some tax break that people won't even recognize when they do their taxes next April. The money is going out immediately, with no delays. There was no Wall Street bailout in the plan at all. Vaccines are becoming more and more available, and the number of Americans who have gotten at least their first shot has climbed past 70 million. More than 1-in-5 Americans have been vaccinated, to put it slightly differently, and that number will continue to grow as we race towards the deadline marker Biden laid down (every adult who wants to get vaccinated gets it by the end of May). Schools will be reopening, if they haven't already. As more and more of us get fully vaccinated, lives will improve. People will be able to visit with friends and family they haven't seen for a year, they'll be able to confidently and safely travel again, and they'll have some extra money to spend.
There are a lot more intangible benefits to the American Rescue Plan, but they won't always be as obvious as a check in the mailbox. State and local governments won't have to institute widespread layoffs, or they may hire back people who were let go when the budget problems were the worst. Schools will get money to update their facilities, which parents everywhere should soon begin to see happen.
You can see the problem, for the Republicans. All of those things in the previous two paragraphs are unquestionably good things for the government to do. Since Republicans have used the "government is always bad" mantra for so long, for once they will be contradicted in a tangible and concrete way, because almost everyone will see benefits in multiple areas of their lives. How can that possibly be a bad thing?
Biden touring the countryside to tout the plan's achievements shows he learned a few tough lessons from the Obama era. President Barack Obama generally shied away from such boosterism and cheerleading, and as a result his programs suffered needless shifts in public opinion. Back then, it was the Republicans blanketing the airwaves with (for example) why Obamacare was the devil's plaything, while Democrats silently watched support for the program steadily drop. It wasn't until Obamacare was fully implemented -- years later -- that this began to turn around.
Biden seems determined not to let that happen, at least with his first major legislative achievement. He's going to be much more proactive about informing people of all the good things in the plan, and that Democrats made them all happen. By refusing any bipartisan support, Republicans have handed the Democrats a political gift, because now nobody can ever claim Republicans had anything to do with this plan. And Democrats are already taking this message to the voters. This pressure will ramp up the closer we get to the 2022 midterms.
Republicans seem oddly confident that the whole thing is going to somehow fail. Look for them to latch onto any minor difficulties and attempt to blow them completely out of proportion (Solyndra, anyone?). But that's going to be a pretty heavy lift, when stacked up against all the tangible benefits most people will be seeing in their own lives. If, for instance, Joe Biden misses his end-of-May deadline by a few weeks, who is really going to care a year and half later when they vote? What they'll remember is the overall success of getting everyone vaccinated in record time. What they'll remember is the overpowering sense of relief they got when they themselves got that shot in the arm.
Joe Biden and his messaging team have so far exceeded expectations. Calling the package the "American Rescue Plan" was an excellent bit of sloganeering. Biden completely redefining the term "bipartisan" (from: "getting politicians from both parties to support something," to: "getting wide buy-in from a majority of voters from both parties") was a stroke of political genius -- one that might far outlast Biden's time in office, hopefully. Biden refusing to follow the egotistical example of his predecessor (who insisted on his name being displayed prominently on the checks) shows he has his priorities straight. Calling his tour of the country "Help Is Here" is even more promising than the usual phrasing ("help is on the way"). And the slogan Biden rolled out when the tour began is going to be what most people remember, years later: "shots in arms and money in pockets."
Democrats, led by Biden, didn't just pass a landmark bill they can be proud of. If they follow Biden's lead and talk up the plan every chance they get, they will help shift the public's perception of the value of government to be closer to what Democrats believe. Ever since Ronald Reagan made "the era of big government is over" his catchphrase, Republicans have been on a mission to shrink the size and scope of what is even possible for the federal government to do. With the American Rescue Plan, Biden and the Democrats are going to shift this back to reminding people there are some things that government does best. Like shots in arms and money in pockets.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
They need to do similar messaging on Biden's upcoming tax hike. Something like re-balancing. Republicans went too far with tax cuts and now we need to bring it back a bit to reality so we can spend within our means and avoid any more excessive debt. Hit them hard on debt and take some control of that term. Spin it positive, and stay positive.
Republicans seem oddly confident that the whole thing is going to somehow fail.
Well, that's because they're still working off the playbook of the Republican cult of economic failure, of course. Heh.
Biden completely redefining the term "bipartisan" (from: "getting politicians from both parties to support something," to: "getting wide buy-in from a majority of voters from both parties") was a stroke of political genius -- one that might far outlast Biden's time in office, hopefully.
Precisely. This is what makes watching the Biden administration so much fun.
And, Republicans don't know how to deal with something that makes so much sense, politically and otherwise.
Democrats, led by Biden, didn't just pass a landmark bill they can be proud of. If they follow Biden's lead and talk up the plan every chance they get, they will help shift the public's perception of the value of government to be closer to what Democrats believe.
Hopefully, this will translate into big wins in 2022 and beyond because, the Republicans are in disarray for some time to come, seemingly.
Re The "big lie" of 'Death Panels'
Dems considered that phrase as a totally bogus attempt to scare people away from 'Single Payer', (or Medicare for All) medical plan options.
As a supporter of nationalized health care, I would point out that there is more than a grain of truth in that scary title.
The truth of the nature of nationalized health care is that regardless of how reluctant Dems are to say so, "free" (meaning taxpayer financed) medical care will absolutely NOT get your 87 year-old granny that $375k heart transplant necessary to give her another 3 months of life. Skeptics should investigate places that have nationalized health care to check it out.
This alone is astonishing, because the GOP truly has raised lying about Democratic legislation to an virtual art form (see: "death panels") -- and they're usually much better at it than this.
Yeah, but these fucking Repugs don't have an even remote leg to stand on, um, in reality.
I cannot overemphasize that Repugs are speaking ONLY to the Fox Cinematic Universe. A separate and parallel universe in which Trump's LANDSLIDE VICTORY happened. I think too many non-Trumpanzie mediafolk get their panties all twisted up over the "outrageousness" of Trump's lies because they choose to not recognize that the Repugs MUST LIE ABOUT REALITY to their audiences.
I read that some Republican attorneys general are mounting a suit to invalidate the stimulus bill because it does not allow states to accept the federal money and then cut their own state taxes. They say that's an unprecedented interference with state sovereignty. I can't imagine they'll prevail with that argument. There's already too good a precedent: a bill some decades ago specified that states could not receive a certain package of federal aid unless their drinking age was raised to 21. And I think another bill specified that states could not receive a certain package of federal aid unless they had revised their traffic regulations to permit right turns on a red light. In short, the stimulus bill doesn't say states can't cut taxes, but it stipulates, as other bills have done, that those states must then forgo aid they would otherwise have received. I welcome amplifications and corrections from anybody who either remembers all this more accurately or understands it better than I do.
@stucki,
like most successful big lies, the "death panels" comment contained a kernel of truth. for that matter, so did the big lie espoused by the former president.
yes, inexpensive medical coverage tends to fail the highest cost patients. just as the day after someone invented voting, someone else invented vote tampering, and i'm sure it still happens on a small scale pretty much everywhere. the difference between the truth and the lie can be difficult to measure when they're so closely related.
JL
[6]
Deathocrats and Republikillers...
Hey IDIOT! Why the derogatory references to our two Parties? Do you think that pissing us off via that "Troll Michale" approach is helping your One Demand fantasy?
Why are you so retarded? Your approach sucks donkey dong but you don't fucking have a clue, Jee-zus!
Lemme use little words:
Even if OD had merit your shitty sales job is needlessly driving sane readers from even giving OD the time of day.
What the fuck do you not get, spammer?
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Caddy[12],
You're not gonna believe what I've done!
Heh.
They have seen over 500,000 Americans die, many due directly to both parties playing politics with the pandemic.
Can you back this up? None of that youtube progressive conspiracy nonsense. Actual opportunities for the democrats to change Trumpian policy with regards to COVID-19 on the legislative level that had a real chance to work but the democrats did not act.
With links.
CRS-5
Granny has been on nationalized health care for 22 years...and is probably pretty happy with it.
[5] C. R. Stucki wrote:
"The truth of the nature of nationalized health care is that regardless of how reluctant Dems are to say so, "free" (meaning taxpayer financed) medical care will absolutely NOT get your 87 year-old granny that $375k heart transplant necessary to give her another 3 months of life. Skeptics should investigate places that have nationalized health care to check it out."
The truth of the current system is that exactly the sane decision about granny is now made at the sole discretion of the private insurance company that now insures her and pays for her medical care.
The crucial difference is that private insurance makes its medical decision based on a profit motive basis, what is in the best interests of the company, sometimes without almost no regard for the actual medical prognosis or what is in the best needs of the patient, while a nationalized government run program usually makes its decision based entirely on what is in the best medical interests of the patient, including their quality of life needs, and not putting the government interests first above the needs of the patient, otherwise they have to answer to regulators and voters.
CW-
In support of Mountain Caddy's comment 12 regarding "Don Harris" .
Characteristics of the Crank
Cranks overestimate their own knowledge and ability, and underestimate that of acknowledged experts.
Cranks insist that their alleged discoveries are urgently important.
Cranks rarely, if ever, acknowledge any error, no matter how trivial.
Cranks love to talk about their own beliefs, often in inappropriate social situations, but they tend to be bad listeners, being uninterested in anyone else's experience or opinions.
Cranks seriously misunderstand the mainstream opinion to which they believe that they are objecting.
Cranks stress that they have been working out their ideas for many decades, and claim that this fact alone shows that their belief cannot be dismissed as resting upon some simple error.
Cranks exhibit a marked lack of technical ability.
Cranks misunderstand or not use standard notation and terminology.
Cranks ignore fine distinctions which are essential to correctly understand mainstream belief.
Enough is Enough! A Red Card is warranted.
Don,
I can back it up better than those here that have been blaming Trump and the Republikillers for the covid deaths. But no one ever asked them to.
The rest of the commenters don't go around blaming both sides and using stupid derogatory names. Well, except Michale and I sparred with him often.
Biden saying the Wisconsin primary should not be delayed because a delay could have strengthened support for Bernie. Funny how those that later blamed Trump for not taking action weeks before the Wisconsin primary seemed to think that Biden did nothing wrong.
Biden, the private citizen, in a primary political battle of the other party somehow prevented the sitting president from taking action? Really?
Or is this a "if only Bernie had won all would be better" moment? Personally I think Bernie might have lost to Trump or the election would have been much much closer. What socialist fearmongering the republicans used worked quite well against a centrist democrat. How would it have worked against a candidate that actually had socialist in the title of their political ideology?
Pelosi with the first pandemic relief bill saying we gave up stuff to get this passed and the rest will be in the legislation that was supposed to come last summer, not in March of 2021.
People did not die of poverty, they died from a disease. Pelosi did pass a covid relief bill in the summer. The senate did not take it up.
Pelosi saying when Trump wanted another 1200 dollars in the summer saying no because we don't want to let Trump put his name on check. Pelosi did not want to give Trump the ability to say to people you got a check the way CW says Biden will in 2022.
Can you link to this? I don't remember it being in the summer but October. I remember Pelosi criticizing the signature but not delaying the bill. Pelosi got two different relief bills passed in the summer and all delays were in the Senate.
No BMI. NO medicare for all. Not even a public option.
Republican controlled Senate. None of those would have passed. Even in this session, with 50 +1 they are extremely unlikely.
Just the tip of the iceberg, but more than enough to do the job.
No, not really. As stated I was hoping for something beyond your Jimmy Dore youtube addiction...
Here's your link- Google search.
Ending with a total half ass. Hoping for more but it met expectations...
TheStig-
Not only Cranks but it perfectly describes Trump and Trumpateers. Do you think Don is an outlier or the far progressive left is starting to mimic Trump's followers in behavior?
Don,
Despite all the valid points you made about Mtn Caddy I do not support a red or yellow card for him.
No you are, what am I? Really? I get you don't have a college education but could you bring your rhetoric up to beyond third grade playground?
So, this has become the DH comments section ... not so much because of Don's posts but most certainly because of all of the endless responses to Don's posts.
Well done, everyone. ;)
[12]
[23]
[24]
To paraphrase Sir Winston Churchill,
Last night I was drunk,
And Don Harris was a blight on this Comments section.
This morning I am sober,
And he still is a blight on this Comments section.
Red card him, already!
'Lizbeth, what have you done?
Hast Thou learned to post music links right properly, for example, Automatic Man?
Liz,
Well we knew you missed Michale and are just trying bring back some of the old days. Admittedly our focus is sub par in comparison but we work with what we have...
Bashi,
They need to do similar messaging on Biden's upcoming tax hike. Something like re-balancing. Republicans went too far with tax cuts and now we need to bring it back a bit to reality so we can spend within our means and avoid any more excessive debt. Hit them hard on debt and take some control of that term. Spin it positive, and stay positive.
Republicans didn't so much go too far with tax cuts, they just went the wrong way. So, they ended up in a Republican cult of economic failure. Good thing for them that they know how to spin a positive message.
And spin a positive message they certainly do - to the point where an old guy in Canada believes that Republicans are great for the economy and Democrats will run it into the ground when the opposite is the truth of the matter as the Republican administrations consistently leave economic messes on the order of magnitude of the Augean Stables that Democratic administrations clean up.
It shouldn't be a problem for Democrats to talk about a pro-growth tax and fiscal policy but, alas, it is. Why? I'll never understand. This is why I miss Tim Geithner, the guy who knew precisely how to expose the Republican cult of economic failure and tout the Democratic way to a growing and resilient economy.
Don,
That's why I have to do it because it is more accurate than just blaming one side.
No it's not. Blanket blaming both sides is intellectually weak. What did each side do specifically?
People don't die from poverty? You've got to be kidding!
No I'm not. People die from the effects of poverty but not from poverty directly. But we are talking about COVID-19 not poverty. If you can link to a scientific study proving lack of funds led directly to covid deaths I'm willing to read it but unless you can back your point up I will have to take your deflection as concession.
It is not an if Bernie won it would be better moment. It was an example of Biden not speaking out against it as a CANDIDATE NOT A MERE PRIVATE CITIZEN should do for personal political gain.
Even if true, it does not change the fact it had nothing to do with Trump's action on COVID-19.
So it is okay to do it in October?
Do what in October? Pelosi passed the bill. Link to prove your accusations.
Nope. CW has said that all the demands for proof/links for things that are common knowledge are not appropriate here.
Doubling down on half ass? Bold move. None of your Jimmy Dore youtube crap is "common knowledge". Put up or shut up!
What does the far left mimicking Trump behavior have to do with me?
Lies. Deflection. Making stuff up. Deflection. A complete inability to back your points up. Deflection. Stupid derogatory names with another heaping tablespoon of deflection.
Did your college let you graduate getting simple things wrong like "no you are, what am I?"
instead of getting it right with "I know you are, but what am I?" Not mention how it is incorrectly applied.
What can I say, I'm a bit removed from the third grade. I'll defer to the one currently steeped in it for the exact terminology...
Doesn't change the basic point.
You only seem to be able to dodge, deflect and make stuff up.
Then get off your lazy ass and prove it! What did I dodge? What did I deflect? What was made up?
My ending the responses to your nonsensical trolling is not a concession to anything other than it is a waste of time to continue as you refuse to act like an adult.
Aww what's wrong? If you can't handle heat maybe you should stay out of the fire. Or at least, instead of accusing one of refusing to act like an adult try acting like one yourself.
Don (39)-
See 38.
Don,
Blanket dismissals prove nothing. You made accusations. Back them up!
Unless of course it is beyond your ability...
... it seems like it's beyond the ability of y'all - and y'all know who I'm referring to, ahem - to discuss anything responsibly.
Which makes the comments sections very not fun. :(
Elizabeth wrote (once again,)
It shouldn't be a problem for Democrats to talk about a pro-growth tax and fiscal policy but, alas, it is. Why? I'll never understand. This is why I miss Tim Geithner, the guy who knew precisely how to expose the Republican cult of economic failure and tout the Democratic way to a growing and resilient economy.
Why are you seemingly mystified by the Dem's failure to point out the Repug's Cult of Economic Failure?
I keep offering my opinion that it's because the Dems ultimately work for the top 10%/1% and let us DISTRACTED plebes fight over economically inconsequential "social issues."
Unlike Crank/Spammer/idiot Don, I expect you to engage with this notion. Do you have a better explanation for the Dem's reticence to play this obviously winning hand?
Perhaps the use of hallucinogens (or just weed) might aid you in shooting down my theory. Phone consultations will be gladly provided before/during/and after your chemically induced exploration of the "Dark side of The Force."
Have your people call my people... and we'll do Lunch!
To once again paraphrase Sir Winston Churchill,
Well, I'm back to being drunk again.
And Don Harris is STILL a blight on this Comments section.
What, CW, didn't you notice how this Comments section's quality and tenor improved once the toxic Former Troll Known as Michale slithered back beneath whatever fever-swamp rock from whence he came?
RED CARD the MOTHERFUCKER, already!
@caddy,
time to switch to decaf?
CW will red-card don when he's good and ready. or maybe don will quit OD-ing and have some pie. heaven knows, on those occasions when not obsessing over the movement he will never start, don has shown a decent sense of humor.
as for michale, you didn't know him back in the day. if this country can come back from trump derangement, so can he.
JL
I think both MtnCaddy and Don grossly over estimate how often CW actually reads his comment sections. I certainly could be wrong, but from CW's replies, I feel it's somewhere between a blue moon and a double blue moon...
OMG I find myself agreeing with Elizabeth, I honestly do not understand why you choose to tease the poor rattlesnake. If you simply ignored him he might just crawl back into his cave and chant One Demand to himself until he passes out from exhaustion. Poor Don is being all he can be and your exhortations to change are like asking the poor snake to grow fur. I do not understand why CW does not 86 him but I guess he has his reasons. But regardless we can simply let him slither back into his hole.
The horror, the horror ... :)
Bashi-26
I view Trump as a huckster who shifts his patter to suit the marks he is fleecing. Cranks are
Bashi-26
52 was cat paw post. Cranks are obsessed with a narrow topic they simply can’t quit.
trump is a huckster by trade, but not by personality. under the hood he's a narcissist.
https://www.uu.nl/en/node/541/donald-trump-textbook-narcissist
the interesting thing about that article is that it came out before trump defeated hillary in 2016. the author posited the two questions:
1. what will happen if he wins
2. what will happen if he loses
turns out that both scenarios happened, and both scenarios played out pretty similarly to the way the author predicted.
JL
@ts,
2 questions:
1. why do you let your cat near the computer?
2. why does your cat let you near the computer?
;)
JL
nypoet22
I’m guessing you aren’t a cat person.
1) The cat owns the couch but lets me use it.
2). You would have to ask the cat.
@ts,
you guess correctly. allergies aside, cats and i have an understanding.