President Biden's record
21 May 2024
“Half of Americans at least sometimes get news from social media, and three-in-ten say the same of podcasts” (Pew Research Center). However, an educated public needs to think and analyze and not just respond emotionally to a 30 second video. This may explain why many Americans are misinformed about President Biden’s record.
Guest, Washington Post chat by Jennnifer Rubin:
Inflation has been cut in half since 2022. The unemployment rate has been below 4 percent for more than two years. The U.S. economy is the fastest-growing economy in the G-7. President Biden has signed a bipartisan bill to rebuild American infrastructure, the first gun control law in 25 years and the most far-reaching legislation to combat climate change. He put the first African American woman on the Supreme Court and diversified the federal bench more than any president in history. He reinvigorated and expanded NATO, united the free world to stand up against Russian aggression in Ukraine and ended America's longest war in Afghanistan (and evacuated more than 100,000 Afghans). He's stood by Israel, while making clear to the Netanyahu government they had not done enough to minimize civilian casualties. What more does the man have to do?
Response by Jennifer Rubin:
You've got me. Biden has had one of the most impressive presidential terms in my lifetime. We, however, live in an era in which a large chunk of the voters are encased in a right-wing news bubble, another chunk is utterly uninformed and another doesn't want to seem naive by acknowledging things are going well. It makes for a perpetually negative political climate, reinforced by the negative news bias. ("Everything is pretty good!" does not sell newspapers or draw eyeballs and clicks.)
Perhaps the American public is not ready to pay attention yet to the election. Even with early voting beginning in September, that is still over 3 months away.
There are major differences between Biden and Trump and between the Democratic and Republican Parties. Those who can’t see it are either not paying attention or are so obsessed with other issues that they cannot think clearly.
Biden / Democrats:
Pro-abortion rights, contraception availability, sex education and the rights of women and girls to manage their own lives
Government should invest from the middle out and the bottom up, focusing on the middle class and not the wealthy (for example, the Infrastructure investments)
Climate change must be addressed
Supporting decisions based on science
Trump / Republicans:
Pro-authoritarian rule - disregarding election results if they lose
Banning abortion, many types of contraception and sex education; instead, forcing their “traditional” view of women and girls on everyone
Using the government to support the wealthy, particularly the superwealthy
Punishing political opponents
Deporting and threatening immigrants and others who are non-white
Reversing climate change related policies
Opposing science if “the boss” Trump wants to
It’s time to start paying attention, to become more politically active and to vote for a better world. We make progress in society when enough of us get involved enough.
Support a candidate or issue, join an organization, review possible events. There is a lot of work to do.
Related essays:
What you can do to save democracy, according to Jocelyn Benson, Michigan's Secretary of State, 27 February 2024
2024 resolution: Save democracy, 31 December 2023
Effective government requires our participation, 12 October 2023
Thoughts from Jennifer Rubin about what you should be doing, 22 September 2023
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