Restoring Democracy in his First 100 Days

A 21^st Century supercut of calamity presents itself to us as the catalyst of Joe Biden’s work as president of the United States: the worst pandemic, economic crisis, and attack on our American democracy in decades. However tenebrous our conditions may be, the image of an excitingly beaming Biden ready to inform the nation of his first 100 days foreshadow brighter days ahead. As Amanda Gorman told the country at the 46^th president’s inauguration, “the dawn is ours before we knew it.”

Among the most salient accomplishments President Biden mentioned in his speech is the distribution and allocation of COVID-19 vaccines. The victory seemed like a long shot when Biden first made this announcement (100 million vaccines in the first 100 days) – I expected to be disappointed by this lofty goal. The United States now has secured 200 million vaccines for use; the magnificent surplus of 100% will come in helpful for foreign nations so desperately in need of the vaccine. 

The righteous accomplishments don't stop with the COVID-19 vaccines. There are others that spread to many aspects of American life. One such example is cutting child poverty in half through the American Rescue Plan. Another is replacing 100% of the nation’s lead pipes and service lines through the American Jobs Plan. 

The President also described a two-hour phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Biden describes his counterpart as "earnest" about establishing China as the most influential country in the world. President Xi’s conviction is that autocracy will out-perform democracy as “waiting for consensus waits too long.” Next year, with the congressional midterm elections, it is hard to tell whether President Biden's powerful yet charming speech will affect a polarizing epoch of legislative history. President Biden's hope and ambition that the American people will ensure a just democracy never leaves its home with us. 

--David Amaya

Public Popularity Overcomes Republican Resistance

President Biden”s address in advance of his 100th day in office wasn't to the meager assembly who gathered in the near-empty cavernous hall. 

Tonight was an inclusive and direct message to everyone. His list of ideas, bills, and dreams is a big one. 

Early polls are showing that his message resonated with a majority of Americans at home watching, although they lean a little over half towards Biden supporters. Overcoming the right side of the aisle that panders to a part of the public that demeans “Sleepy Joe’s” party of “demwits” remains to be the cancer Uncle Joe wants to cure. 

--Michelle Naranjo

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Please email comments on the Biden address to editors@thehustings.news and we’ll post them in these columns.

By Todd Lassa

Certainly, the social distancing in deference to the coronavirus pandemic, which cut the usual audience of lawmakers, justices, pols and pundits to about 200 from 1,600 had something to do with the reasonably warm reception President Biden received at his first joint session of Congress. There were plenty of cheers, from the point at the beginning of the address when Biden called out the historic moment in which the President of the United States was accompanied by two women; Vice President Harris and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

“Madame Speaker. Madame Vice President. No president has ever said those words,” Joseph R. Biden said at the outset, “and it’s about time.”

President Biden’s address was his chance to lobby Republicans, as one should expect from a leader from the other party, in the House and – especially – the Senate to push an agenda that ranges from an FDR-style set of spending programs to a federal voter rights bill named for the late civil rights activist and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-GA. Senate Republicans remain locked in place of course, with moderate Mitt Romney of Utah appearing stoic as Biden laid out his American Jobs Act and American Families Act, two proposed bills that would cost $3.3 trillion, plus another $800 billion in extended tax credits. 

Romney’s reaction – or lack thereof, difficult to read under his face mask – doesn’t matter for now, because if Republican senators won’t budge, public support for Biden’s agenda is much more enthusiastic from both Republican and Democratic voters, according to the latest polls.

Biden drew upon his naturally empathetic nature, tempering his voice and extending credit for the nation’s rights and responsibilities to “we,” the people who make up the citizenship, in stark contrast to the previous president’s obsession with “I.”

The Biden agenda’s goal to reverse the effects of Republican philosophy goes back well beyond the past four years of President Trump to Ronald Reagan. As we’ve noted here in the past, Biden’s embrace of Keynesian/big government/FDR-style economic dogma targets the core of every Republican, from moderates to MAGA-hatters, to predict the steepness of the uphill battle he faces in returning “unity” to Washington.

His salient statement on the subject was: “Trickle-down economics has never worked. It’s time to grow the economy from the middle-out.”

The two key safety-net items in the American Families Act:

•Free, “high-quality” pre-school for 3- and 4-year-olds, plus two years of free tuition at community colleges, because “12 years” of free public education “no longer is enough today to compete. … Any country that out-educates us, out-competes us.”

•Extension of the Child Tax Credit from Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act, to $3,000 for children over age 6, and $3,600 for those younger than 6, which the president says will cut child poverty in half.

Biden reiterated his promise not to raise taxes for people making less than $400,000, and called for closing corporate tax loopholes, including the use of tax havens. The Families Plan would kick up the top tax bracket for the wealthiest 1% – those making $400,000 or more a year – back up to 39.6%, “where it was when George W. Bush became president,” and would kill capital gains tax loopholes.

Biden called for immigration reform he says Republicans and Democrats alike favor and, in a MAGA-esque moment, suggested that tough negotiations with the Chinese government over trade policies continue, and “there’s no reason that blades for a wind turbine can’t be made in Pittsburgh instead of Beijing.”

As the rest of Americans get their COVID-19 vaccines, the U.S. will “become the arsenal for other countries,” Biden said. He called for bipartisan consensus on police reform bills, called on Congress to pass the Equality Act to project LGBTQ Americans, reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, reinstate universal background checks and the assault rifle ban (“What do you think deer are wearing … Kevlar vests?” he ad-libbed) and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

[Scroll through The Hustings’ home page to read debates on voting rights and suppression, and the Second Amendment.]

The Republican response, by Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, painted Biden’s agenda as a quixotic list of heady goals that a dysfunctional Senate simply will not touch between now and the mid-term elections.

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Please email your comments on Biden’s joint-session address to editors@thehustings.news and we will post them in these columns.

Rehash of CNN Reporting on Biden’s Agenda

President Biden could have spared us his speech last night and told everyone in America to pick up the newspaper or tune in to CNN for the past 100 days. The media have been saying everything he said last night for about that long. 

In terms of speeches it was so-so. There was no high idyllic language, no original zingers (the “Axis of Evil” from President Bush 43’s State of the Union speech nearly 20 years ago still resonates). The speech deserves a B-. 

The one takeaway from Biden’s hour-long talk is what we’ve all known about Democrats for eons: “Let’s spend money!”  Things like infrastructure do require money of course. However, since the start of the new millennium, our country has been through quite a bit. The events of 9/11, two wars, The Great Recession, and a global epidemic that has had chilling effects on every generation in America. It has changed our lives. And the answer coming from the President and his party is to spend lots of money to make it all better. 

Again, all of this has been laid out in the media narrative since Biden’s inauguration. At least the media have done a better job talking about the immigration crisis at our Southern border than Biden did last night. There was no mention of it at all from our president’s lips. There was no concrete plan or idea to grab on to. Nothing to dream for. Nothing to pull out of the speech to feel like America is ready for the world and will lead it as she always has. Will the real leaders please stand up?

--Bryan Williams

Small Annoyances & Flag Waving

It’s a little like picking nits. A grand, sweeping vision picked at.

But let’s face it: the term “nitpicking” goes back to the process of removing lice eggs from one’s scalp, and although lice are tiny little buggers compared to the person they’re living on, the consequences can be highly annoying.

Or it is like coming out against “baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.”

But according to Stanford Children’s Health, “Baseball. . .has the highest fatality rate among sports for children 5 to 14.” Hot dogs typically contain nitrates that aren’t exactly good for you. The sugar and fat in a slice of pie contribute to obesity (according to the CDC, 42.8% of U.S. adults are overweight). And while Chevy makes some good vehicles, according to Consumer Reports, “In terms of reliability, Chevrolet remains in the bottom half of our rankings.”

Some things are nits: small but problematic. Some things sound good: but the lingering echo can have negative reverberations.

Here’s an issue:

“Nearly 90% of the infrastructure jobs created in the American Jobs Plan do not require a college degree. Seventy-five percent do not require an associate’s degree. The American Jobs Plan is a blue-collar blueprint to build America.”

So why the huge investment in community college? Why not a focus on trade schools and apprenticeship programs?

Another:

“And all the investments in the American Jobs Plan will be guided by one principle: ‘Buy American.’”

Superficially, good. But didn’t we discover from the last administration that this is a global economy and while we might not like to discover that PPE and microprocessors aren’t readily available, what about things like, oh, Canadian lumber or aluminum, which can be used to “Build Back Better”?

Even small things need to be thought through.

--Stephen Macaulay

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Please address your comments on Biden’s address to editors@thehustings.news and we will post them in these columns.

The Hustings will cover tonight’s presidential address to the joint session of Congress, which begins at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Our contributing pundits from the right and left will comment on President Biden’s comments and proposals here Thursday, April 29. 

We would like your comments on Biden’s address as well. Please email your opinion of his address and we will post it along with our contributors’ commentaries on this home page. Please include your city and state, or state’s region with your name.

The objective of The Hustings is to have political discourse — not those Molotov cocktails thrown back and forth on Facebook and Twitter, “arguments” that are simply tantrums — between thoughtful people. What we would like to have is a sufficient number of comments—from both sides—such that we can post them on a weekly basis. Whether you want to provide a sentence or a paragraph, all that we ask is that you be reasoned and respectful. 

Also in this column: “Public Health and Safety Should be the Goal,” Michelle Naranjo’s commentary on the center-column report, ‘Biden Vows George Floyd Justice in Policing will become Law.’

Scroll down on the track bar in the right corner to read earlier posts.

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THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021

Today's News & Notes returns to the News & Notes page. Please click on the tab above. Return to the home page later today for a debate on President Biden's address to the joint session of Congress.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021

With security on Capitol Hill expected to be at its highest levels, President Biden will present his address to a joint session of Congress tonight at 9 p.m. The audience will be limited due to coronavirus distancing protocols.

It’s Official: Biden Offers a New New Deal – President Biden tonight will introduce his American Families Plan (AFP), a $1.8-trillion “once in a lifetime investment in our nation’s future” according to a White House briefing. The plan entails $1 trillion in spending and $800 billion in new tax credits. This is a companion package to the proposed $2.3-trillion infrastructure plan. All of this comes on top of his $1.9-trillion COVID-19 relief plan passed via reconciliation in March.

 The AFP proposes $1 trillion in new spending and $800 billion in new low-income tax credits that serves as a kind of counter to President Trump’s $1.5-trillion in tax cuts of 2017. 

 New spending proposals include:

 •At least four years of free education for every student, consisting of a.) universal high-quality pre-school for 3- and 4-year-olds, and b.) two years of free community college for all Americans.

•Up to $1,400 in additional assistance to low-income students by expanding the Pell Grant maximum by 20%.

•Would make college more affordable for low-income students at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), tribal colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions and create or expand educational programs in high-demand fields.

•Improve teacher training, especially for special education, bi-lingual education and certifications that improve teacher performance.

•Direct support to children and families by investing in affordable child care and by providing direct support to children and families to ensure low- and middle-income families pay no more than 7% of their income toward high-quality child care.

•Minimum $15 per hour wage for early childhood staff and improved training. 

•Expand nutritional benefits to about 9.3 million children of low-income families.

 New tax credits proposed include:

 •Extension of child tax credits in the American Recovery Plan through 2025.

•Make the child tax credit permanent and fully refundable.

•Make the earned income tax credit permanent for childless workers. 

Every dollar invested in early childhood programs results in more than $7 in economic benefits, the White House estimates.

 Note: While Republicans most certainly will attack the American Families Program as yet another high-cost expense the U.S. economy cannot afford, it also falls short of progressive Democrats’ wish list which included free college at state universities and school loan relief.

•••

 This May Not Be True — Laura Italiano, the reporter who wrote an untrue story in the New York Post about undocumented minors getting a swag bag including Kamala Harris’ children’s book, has resigned, The Washington Post reports. Italiano tweeted that she’d been “ordered” to write the piece despite knowing that it was, as the Former Guy might put it, fake news. 

 Note: This is just par for the proverbial course (of course, par for the Former Guy, it has been widely reported, is a variable thing) for outlets like the New York Post and “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” although it should be acknowledged that the first-named is ostensibly a “news” outlet, not one where making things up, like the Biden Administration’s climate planning calling for the outlawing of things like Whoppers (the burgers, not the lies that fall from the lips of the likes of Carlson), is not considered to be in good form.

•••

Building Back Together to Push Against Voter Suppression – Democrats have formed a new initiative aligned with President Biden to push back against voter suppression drives, including new laws making their way through many states’ legislatures, named “Building Back Together” (BBT), Politico reports. It will also support the Democrat’s For the People Act, the sweeping voter rights bill passed by the House earlier this year, and currently languishing in the Senate. Chief of BBT is Bob Bauer, who advised Biden’s presidential campaign and had served as White House counsel in the Obama administration.

•••

Promising Recovery, No Hike in Interest Rates – The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to maintain near-zero percent interest rates because the economy is improving, The Wall Street Journal reports. Fed members in recent comments have noted “recent pickups” in hiring, spending and inflation. –Edited by Todd Lassa and Gary S. Vasilash

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Please email your comments to editors@thehustings.news

The Hustings will cover tonight’s presidential address to the joint session of Congress, which begins at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Our contributing pundits from the right and left will comment on President Biden’s comments and proposals here Thursday, April 29. 

We would like your comments on Biden’s address as well. Please email your opinion of his address and we will post it along with our contributors’ commentaries on this home page. Please include your city and state, or state’s region with your name.

The objective of The Hustings is to have political discourse — not those Molotov cocktails thrown back and forth on Facebook and Twitter, “arguments” that are simply tantrums — between thoughtful people. What we would like to have is a sufficient number of comments—from both sides—such that we can post them on a weekly basis. Whether you want to provide a sentence or a paragraph, all that we ask is that you be reasoned and respectful. 

Also in this column:

“New Federal Laws won’t change our Hearts,” Bryan Williams’ commentary on the center-column report, ‘Biden Vows George Floyd Justice in Policing will become Law.’

Scroll down on the right-corner track bar to read earlier posts.

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By Michelle Naranjo

At times, the pace of deaths of Black people at the hands of law enforcement officers is relentless, and the rate just seems to escalate. 

Within the hour of the guilty verdict of Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, a 16-year old girl was shot and killed in Columbus, Ohio, by a police officer. 

President Biden’s commitment to the family of the bill’s namesake that he will push the Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 (HR 1280) is a tall order. There are about 18,000 individual law enforcement organizations in the United States. Using federal funding as incentive to curb the rash of unnecessary violence and death against individuals, especially those of color disproportionately affected, is the goal. 

 Still, its practicality leaves many of the GOP senate cold because they insist that the police would not be supportive.

As Phillip Atiba Goff, co-founder of the Center for Policing Equity, noted to NPR’s Dave Davies of Fresh Air this week, several police forces and communities are seeking help from his organization to dismantle the white supremacy inherent in law enforcement agencies. One such community trying to change is Ithaca, New York, which has organized its Department of Community Solutions and Public Safety, unarmed officials that will assist armed officers in non-violent situations. Armed police officers would not make routine traffic stops, which can escalate quickly when a badge and a gun are involved. Ithaca’s local police union is in favor of the new department. 

Goff believes such programs address policing policies developed during a time when the foundations of law enforcement were built on controlling the movement of Black people. While opponents decry this as “defunding” the police, Goff equates it to a quiet, longstanding movement to defund schools and health insttutions in Black and brown communities. 

As the Senate begins to hash out which details of HR 1280 will be kept and which will get tossed, or compromised, Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina has offered a compromise he thinks will convert many of his Republican colleagues. His compromise would lose the provision to eliminate qualified immunity, which essentially protects individual police officers from criminal prosecution for any misconduct, thus leaving the responsibility with the law enforcement agencies themselves. Scott’s hope is this would give law enforcement agencies the obligation of stepping up to make sure bad police officers are not kept on the force.

This compromise is a horrible idea, and it has now been revealed that the Department of Justice is considering additional prosecution of Derek Chauvin, who has been accused of beating a Black teenager to unconsciousness and kneeling on his neck for 17 minutes, in 2017. And the Minneapolis Police Department are said to have known about this, yet Chauvin never was investigated. Law enforcement needs to be re-oriented toward focusing on public health and safety. HR 1280 would ensure that focus changes.

By Michelle Naranjo At times, the pace of deaths of Black people at the hands of law enforcement […]

By Todd Lassa

Last year’s HR 7120 was named the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act” and passed in the House of Representatives;  it stalled in the U.S. Senate. This year, Rep. Karen Bass, D-CA, reintroduced the bill as HR 1280, the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.” President Biden plans to “use his bully pulpit” to get it passed, press secretary Jen Psaki said in comments following the conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin on two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes, 29 seconds.

Psaki said Biden has promised George Floyd’s family that HR 1280 will become law, which means he must convince at least 10 Republican senators to support it.

Tall order, as many Republicans consider the matter a states’ rights issue, that the Constitution does not give the federal government the authority to tell local and state police departments and county sheriffs’ departments how they can and cannot police. 

Democrats and other supporters of the Justice in Policing Act say that many law enforcement officials and their departments would like to be relieved of having to respond to, for example, child protection problems and domestic disputes.

Key provisions of the bill …

•Eliminates qualified immunity so that individuals can recover damages in civil court when law enforcement violates constitutional rights.

•Bans chokeholds and carotid holds at the federal level and gives state and local governments the incentive to follow suit through conditions on federal law enforcement funding.

•Requires that deadly force be used only as a last resort and requires officers to employ de-escalation techniques first.

•Changes the standard to evaluate if law enforcement”s use of force was justified from whether the force was “reasonable” to whether it was “necessary.”

•Bans no-knock warrants in drug cases at the federal level and conditions law enforcement funding for state and local governments to ban no-knock warrants. 

•Limits local police departments’ access to military grade equipment.

•Requires federal uniformed police to wear body cameras and requires state and local enforcement to tap existing funds to ensure use of the cameras.

•Creates a nationwide police misconduct registry to prevent officers fired for misconduct to join law enforcement agency in another jurisdiction without accountability.

--HR 1280 at house.gov via The Poynter Institute

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Please email your comments to editors@thehustings.news

By Bryan Williams

What’s there for a conservative not to like or disagree with in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act? Not much from my point. I have less of an issue with the substance of the bill than the hyper-activity of our politicians, who will do anything he or she can to be seen as doing something about a chronic problem. 

Does the federal government need to do anything in this case? Many places already have laws in place with the same provisions of HR 1280. Why duplicate efforts?

Joe Biden has fashioned himself as a president who wants to try to solve all our problems. Climate change, the border crisis, health care, taxes, infrastructure, foreign relations with China and Russia and the Middle East, the pandemic, LGBTQ rights, #StopAsianHate...you get the idea. But are they delivering? Beside the third COVID stimulus relief, this self-proclaimed champion of bi-partisan unity has relied on an endless number of executive orders. 

I believe most thinking Americans will agree that what’s going on is too many police officers reacting too quickly when a routine call or traffic stop involving a Black citizen escalates. (The police stop of U.S. Army Lt. Caron Nazario in Windsor, Virginia, comes most immediately to my mind.) 

How do you address such problems with a law? I’m willing to bet that the actions of the two police officers in the December 5 stop potentially violated rules or laws in any jurisdiction across the nation. One of the officers in Nazario’s stop was promptly fired after the video came to light. Soulds to me like the system is working.

So will the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act really make thoe affected by police brutality feel as if they’ve gained something? Will a federal bill change the tragic news we see on our television screens far too often? What needs to change, I believe, are the hearts and minds of everyone in the U.S. Yes, police officers need to be vigilant and protect us from those who wish us harm. Yes, people need to police themselves and act carefully in any situation regarding police, but especially late at night. Our hearts need to be changed toward each other in a way no law can enforce. Just don’t tell that to Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats.

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Please email your comments to editors@thehustings.news

The objective of The Hustings is to have political discourse — not those Molotov cocktails thrown back and forth on Facebook and Twitter, “arguments” that are simply tantrums — between thoughtful people. So we would like you to comment on the topics being examined here on the site. What we would like to have is a sufficient number of comments—from both sides—such that we can post them on a weekly basis. Whether you want to provide a sentence or a paragraph, all that we ask is that you be reasoned and respectful. Add your comment to the bottom of this page, or email editors@thehustings.news.

Liberal opinion on the center column news appears here. Scroll down with the trackbar in the right corner of this page to read:

•David Amaya comments on President Biden's plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11.

•Comments by "negative" debaters on the resolution: Deficit spending is a major risk to the U.S. economy. Special coverage of a Braver Angels national debate (braverangels.org).

•Chase Wheaton discusses President Biden's commission to study whether the U.S. Supreme Court should be expanded by up to 13 justices.

•Does President Biden's infrastructure plan have a chance of Senate passage? Stephen Macaulay, The Hustings' centrist pundit-at-large, comments from the left column.

•Alleghany County Day of Civility debate, Resolved: Should government provide health care coverage for all citizens? Affirmative debaters' comments are on the left.

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Please email your comments to editors@thehustings.news

MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2021

The U.S. Census Bureau releases state population numbers in a preliminary report today. The population count will determine how many representatives each state will have in the House of Representatives, and the number of Electoral College votes. 

Son of Citizens United? — The U.S. Supreme Court today will hear a case challenging California’s requirement that charitable and non-profit organizations operating in the state provide its attorney general’s office with names and addresses of its largest donors, according to SCOTUSblog. The case, Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Rodriguez (consolidated with the Thomas More Law Center v. Rodriguez) could challenge the last check remaining that puts a spotlight on rich donors contributing to political clauses. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, and Rep. Hank Johnson, D-GA, have sent a letter to Justice Amy Coney Barrett asking she recuse herself from the case, because the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Koch Brothers’ political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, announced last September that it would spend “in the seven figures” on a campaign to assure Barrett’s confirmation, SCOTUSblog says. The Supreme Court’s April argument session ends next week. 

Note: Barrett recusal or no, considering the current court’s makeup, including two other Trump administration justices, it would appear Americans for Prosperity have the upper hand in the case.

•••

Who Wants a Jab? -- Twenty percent of U.S. Americans say they do not plan to get a COVID-19 vaccination, according to polling done by Morning Consult. Fourteen percent are unsure and 66% have gotten a jab or plan to. Looked at in terms of party affiliation, 27% of Republicans don’t plan to get vaccinated, the same percentage of Blacks who are not interested in the vaccine. In terms of income, 24% with no college degree are not planning to get vaccinated. Twenty-four percent of these who are earning less than $50,000 per year are also not planning for a visit to a clinic. As for those who are expressing uncertainly, 36% are concerned with side effects and 29% say they think the vaccines ran through clinical trials too quickly.

In terms of who have already been vaccinated or plan to, 85% are over 65 years old; 80% are Democrats; 84% have a post-graduate degree; 69% are men; 80% earn $100,000 or more.

Note: While the results show that 27% of Republicans don’t plan to get a vaccine and only 10% of Democrats think the same way, it should be noted that 59% of Republicans have been vaccinated or plan to. (No surprise: 80% of Democrats.) Notably, 21% of Independents don’t plan to, although 63% of them have been vaccinated or plan to. When considered from the points of view of age, income, and education, older, wealthier and more-well educated Republicans are less opposed to the vaccinations: Only 9% of Republicans over 65 are not planning to be vaccinated; only 9% of Republicans with a post-grad degree are opposed; and 11% of those who earn $100K or more per year are not interested. Which seems to indicate that older, wiser and wealthier Republicans realize the value of a vaccine. 

•••

EU Opens to U.S. Travelers – Fully vaccinated travelers from the U.S. “should” be able to visit the European Union for non-essential travel over the summer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. The EU also has approved all three COVID-19 vaccines used in the U.S.--Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson--which opens the door for tourism from the U.S., Politico reports. Meanwhile, the EU also has triggered an emergency assistance response to India’s spike in the coronavirus. “The EU is pooling resources to India’s request for assistance via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism,” von der Leyen tweeted over the weekend.

•••

Biden’s Approval Ratings at 52% -- President Biden’s approval rating is “above water,” The Washington Post reports, but while it’s 10 points above Donald J. Trump’s rating four year ago (42%) and higher than Trump ever reached (Gallup found Trump to have an approval rating of 49% five times during his four years in office), it is not as strong as previous presidents, including Barack Obama (69%), George W. Bush (63%) and going back to Eisenhower at this point, just short of their first 100 days in office. The Washington Post-ABC News poll published Sunday says that broken down by party, 90% of Democrats approve of Biden’s job as president, compared with just 13% of Republicans and 47% of independents, indicating an ever-growing rift between parties and political philosophies. Also, 60% of those polled believe Biden should try to win support from Republicans by “making major changes” to his policies, while 30% believe he should try to get his policies passed with no major concessions.  

Note: Making major changes to his policies will certainly not move the pro-Trump congress members who still appear to control the GOP, though it seems Biden could help strengthen the struggling moderate wing of the Republican party against the pro-Trump wing by reaching a satisfactory deal over his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan. The moderate Republicans’ counter-bid of $568 billion doesn’t seem very serious, however, as it’s lower than the 2009 Obama stimulus package now criticized for being too modest. Can the two sides eventually get to a number somewhere around the $1.0 to 1.5-trillion level?

•••

Biden Acknowledges Armenian Genocide – On its 106^th anniversary, President Biden acknowledged the start of the Armenian genocide by Ottomans in Turkey, Saturday. On April 24, 1915, “with the arrest of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople by Ottoman authorities, one and a half million Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in a campaign of extermination,” Biden said in a statement released Saturday. Even acknowledging the genocide has been a sensitive subject for modern Turkey for much of the last century, as previous American presidents have refrained from criticizing the United States’ closest ally in the region. 

Note: Raising the longstanding controversy clearly is easier now, with long-time Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan running what most consider an authoritarian regime. Nevertheless, Erdogan quickly responded to Biden’s statement, calling for opening Turkey’s national archives and for a “joint historical committee” to investigate the validity of the U.S. president’s remarks, Newsweek reports. –Edited by Todd Lassa and Gary S. Vasilash

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The objective of The Hustings is to have political discourse — not those Molotov cocktails thrown back and forth on Facebook and Twitter, “arguments” that are simply tantrums — between thoughtful people. So we would like you to comment on the topics being examined here on the site. What we would like to have is a sufficient number of comments—from both sides—such that we can post them on a weekly basis. Whether you want to provide a sentence or a paragraph, all that we ask is that you be reasoned and respectful. To comment, scroll to the bottom of this page, or email editors@thehustings.news.

Conservative opinion on the center column news appears here. Scroll down with the trackbar on the right corner of this page to read:

•Stephen Macaulay, The Hustings' centrist pundit-at-large, comments on President Biden's plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11, from the right column.

•Comments by "affirmative" debaters on the resolution: Deficit spending is a major risk to the U.S. economy. Special coverage of a Braver Angels national debate (braverangels.org).

•Stephen Macaulay discusses President Biden's commission to study whether the U.S. Supreme Court should be expanded by up to 13 justices.

•Does President Biden's infrastructure plan have a chance of Senate passage? Bryan Williams comments from the right column.

•Alleghany County Day of Civility debate, Resolved: Should government provide health care coverage for all citizens? Negative debaters' comments are on the right.

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By David Amaya

Walk the streets of Manhattan, and you will see the bustling of determined faces getting from one skyscraper to another. The only conspicuous worrisome sign is the face masks they wear for the health of ourselves and others. The most solemn period of mourning a change in New York City's population and the skyline is behind us. The Nation has grieved past the need for anger and vengeance from the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center by al-Qaida. President Biden is justified in bringing back home our military men from Afghanistan because as commander-in-chief, he acknowledges that the reason America went into the country 20 years ago is not the same as the reason we are in Afghanistan 20 years later. 

Former President Donald Trump agreed with the Taliban to pull U.S. forces out of Afghanistan beginning May 1, 2021. If we are to show deference to American governance, we as Americans must accept the diplomatic decisions made by our head of state with others of the same status. Americans should not change diplomatic agreements retroactively, nor should they be thought to be null with foresight. 

As the president of one of the most salient times in American history, Biden's decision to pull out of Afghanistan shows a seminal shift of our nation's priorities regarding international relations (IR). Biden IR respects the outcomes of the previous Presidential term. Still, he also is not committed to an "America First" ideology that neglects the obligation to our allies and neighbors who seek U.S. assistance. Diplomatic and humanitarian aid will remain in Afghanistan, but they will be there without the "boots and straps" of armed U.S. forces.

Although the past 20 years of U.S. presence in Afghanistan has come to shape our foreign policy attitudes, no desired outcome is manifest other than the termination of Osama Bin Laden a decade ago. Hundreds of thousands of Afghan troops have been trained by the United States since then – more than enough to combat Afghanistan's domestic terrorism. As President Biden addressed the nation regarding his decision to remove our troops, Afghanistan has the right and responsibility to lead its own country. U.S. military presence will not create a durable and sustaining Afghan government. President Biden's decision is a welcomed return to Wilsonian foreign policy after four years of reckless "America First" policy. 

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By Todd Lassa

Declare victory and withdraw. It worked for President Richard M. Nixon in January 1973 when he announced U.S. troops would leave Vietnam. Two years later, with Nixon having resigned over Watergate, the South Vietnam we fought for fell to the communist Viet Cong and it was left to Gerald Ford to order remaining personnel and diplomatic corps out of Hanoi.

The U.S. involvement in Vietnam began with “advisors” circa 1955, so there was American presence for 20 years. Our tenure in Afghanistan began under President George W. Bush, who sent troops to Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Even then, there were fair warnings about staying too long. Take care of the Taliban as quickly as possible and get out of the physically rough, mountainous Central Asian nation that had held against the Soviet invasion a decade earlier. (Some analysts credit the Soviet Union’s decade in Afghanistan for depleting its military sufficiently for it to have to concede the Cold War. It must also be said that the U.S. had had troops, currently about 23,500, in South Korea since 1957, four years after the armistice with North Korea; and has had major military presences in Japan and Germany since after World War II.)

President Biden  announced plans to withdraw the remaining 2,500 American troops from Afghanistan by September 11, the 20^th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. 

The two schools of thought on this are a.) it’s way past time, as Biden’s old boss, President Barack Obama wanted the U.S. to leave and then President Trump promised withdrawal; and b.) it will leave Afghanistan’s local government exposed once again to the Taliban, waiting in the wings. Let’s try to negotiate a full peace, first.

So we have the unusual situation of Biden’s predecessor offering damning praise for the September 11 plan, while the current president’s military advisors appear to be opposed.

“Getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do,” former President Trump said in a prepared statement. “I planned to withdraw on May 1^st, and we should keep as close to that schedule as possible.”

Biden’s own military commanders disagree, according to The Wall Street Journal. The president’s top generals, consisting of Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller, leader of NATO forces in Afghanistan and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, urged him to consider holding all 2,500 troops in-country while the State department tried to negotiate a peace deal, the Journal reports, quoting unnamed officials. 

Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin, a retired military commander who served in the region “shared the concerns of senior officers, cautioning that withdrawing all U.S. troops” would “suspend … an insurance policy for maintaining a modicum of stability” in Afghanistan, the newspaper reported. Biden is said to have weighed the generals’ and his defense secretary’s opinions, but concluded it was time to end America’s longest war engagement. 

After nearly 20 years in Afghanistan, there is no way for President Biden to satisfy both side of the argument, no way to stay long enough to cure the country’s ills and yet find a way out, and there is no way to declare victory before leaving.

UPDATE: The Taliban has withdrawn from peace talks with the Afghanistan government that were scheduled to occur in Istanbul, Turkey, NPR reports. They were said to be unhappy with President Biden's delay of a U.S. withdrawal to September 11, from former President Trump's original date of May 1.

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By Stephen Macaulay

In one regard, it is about symbolism.

Joe Biden will have the U.S. troops—about 3,000 of them—leave Afghanistan on September 11, 2021, the twentieth anniversary of the attack on the U.S. homeland by terrorists.

A primary reason why U.S. troops had been sent to Afghanistan (and Iraq, from which the U.S. troop withdrawal occurred in 2011) was because of the threat of terrorists to the U.S. homeland.

Have the terrorists been defeated? No.

Can the terrorists ever be defeated? Probably not.

So what’s the solution? Leave and cross your fingers?

There is a position that is being taken in support of Biden’s move that says that U.S. involvement has been going on far too long and so we’ve got to put a period at the end of that sentence.

One of the few cases where Lindsay Graham stopped being a lickspittle to the Former Guy was when said Former Guy decided that he’d pull the troops out in May. Graham knew then, as he knows now, that this is a short-sighted move. 

War in the 21^st century is a different thing. There aren’t clear lines. There aren’t people on both sides wearing uniforms with insignias.

It is hit and run. The other guys don’t play by the rules. They are terrorists, not “enemy combatants” in the traditional sense.

Biden had said as part of his justification for the forthcoming departure, “our reasons for remaining in Afghanistan are becoming increasingly unclear.”

There are still terrorists there. Terrorists who don’t like the West in general, and probably the U.S., in particular. Fairly clear, isn’t it?

Biden said that the U.S. went into Afghanistan in 2001 “to ensure Afghanistan would not be used as a base from which to attack our homeland again.”

He added, “We did that. We accomplished that objective.”

Huh?

Biden went on to say, “With the terror threat now in many places, keeping thousands of troops grounded and concentrated in just one country at a cost of billions each year makes little sense to me and to our leaders.  We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan, hoping to create ideal conditions for the withdrawal, and expecting a different result.”

Let’s see. There are other threats, too. So let’s pull out the troops from one place where the threat is theoretically no longer that scary and, what, put them somewhere else?

Or is this simply an economic move (“a cost of billions each year”), the Former Guy’s rationale for all things military?

What if something goes south in Afghanistan in, say, January 2022? What then? Put troops back in? How much will that cost, after the currently existing military infrastructure is dismantled?

Twenty years seems to be a long time to Americans. But “endless”?

There is probably not a good solution to the situation in Afghanistan. But leaving doesn’t seem like a solution. It seems like the lack of one.

It is also symbolic of the U.S.’s impatience.

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