Being a political liberal, a Georgian, and a life-long Democrat, I am on quite a high these days.
Biden won Georgia and the presidency; both Ossoff and Warnoch won in Georgia, giving control of the Senate to the Democrats; and the unprincipled, lying, cheating, treasonous, twice-impeached orange gasbag is out of office.
It’s true that the country still has an ugly infestation of toxic conservatism, from the elected GOP weasels to the scared/gullible/addled MAGA voters to Fox “News” and the rest of the right-wing disinformation machine, which makes money by telling lies and fleecing the yokels.
But, with the Democrats in charge, we’re seeing an immediate resurgence of competence, compassion, and common decency. By God, it’s like morning in America.
President Biden — President Biden! — had an especially busy first day in office. He signed a flurry of executive orders aimed at, well, making America great again.
The highlights of Biden’s Day One executive orders:
———
— We rejoined the World Health Organization.
— We rejoined the Paris climate accords.
— We now have a functioning national COVID-19 response team.
— Face masks must be worn on federal property.
— Construction was halted on Trump’s stupid wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
— Trump’s ban on Muslims entering the United States was reversed.
— Discrimination against LGBT employees in the workplace is now banned.
— A Trump order that expanded the categories of who should be detained and deported was abolished.
— The moratorium on evictions and foreclosures was extended.
— Payments and interest on federal student loans were frozen.
— The Keystone Pipeline project was stopped.
— Trump’s 1776 Commission, which promoted a right-wing history curriculum in schools, was killed.
— Trump’s order to exclude undocumented immigrants from the U.S. census was reversed.
— Legal protections for the DACA program to shield young immigrants from deportation were strengthened.
— An ethics pledge for Executive Branch appointees was established.
— All other Trump regulations were frozen until the Biden Administration can assess them.
———
In all, Biden’s first day was a fine example of how liberals and progressives have a heart and a brain, and the conservative mindset leans more toward the mean and the selfish.
When Republicans control government — whenever and wherever Republicans control government — ordinary people suffer, and the rich get richer. Federal, state, and local, that’s been our story for decades.
Each time a swing of the pendulum gives the Democrats the majority again, they dutifully step in and make an effort to use the resources of government for the common good. At which point the right-wingers begin the hand-wringing about excessive spending and the lurking menace of socialism.
The conservatives will never change, so screw ‘em and show some spine. Namely:
● Change the Senate rules to kill the filibuster so bills can be passed with 51 votes instead of 60.
● Institute an immediate wealth tax that will fund Medicare for All and assist the millions who desperately need financial help because of COVID-19. Taxing the rich will not harm a single rich person in any way whatsoever.
● Censure, fine, and end the committee assignments of the six GOP senators and 121 House Republicans who voted not to certify the presidential election results.
● Prosecute with gusto as many of the Capitol rioters as we can find.
Compassion, spine, accountability.
Leave a Reply