The classic embodiment of chutzpah known by every lawyer on the planet is the teenager who murders his parents and then asks for leniency on the ground he's an orphan. GOP critics of President Joe Biden are starting to sound an awful lot like that teenager, leveling criticisms that are starting to sound every bit as laughable.
The characters who have denied COVID-19's existence, encouraged behavior that spread it, dissed public health advice, derided vaccinations and attempted to block vaccination programs have contributed to the virus' devastating impacts, making it more difficult to mitigate them. Asked in late Jan. 2020 whether there was reason to worry about COVID-19, Mar-a-Lago's answer to Einstein replied, "No. Not at all. We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China and we have it under control. It's going to be just fine."
Battling the Right's guerilla warfare against public health efforts, Biden's administration has succeeded in getting 210 million Americans fully vaccinated, and about 83 million of those boosted. Biden's critics, many of whom have done their best to impede this progress, gloat that Biden has not "managed" to prevent a virus from mutating, as though he were in a position to do so or they were in a position to speak.
For four years, then-President Donald Trump kissed parts of Russian President Vladimir Putin's anatomy that really should be off limits, actively encouraging the former KGB agent to conclude that he could have his way with the U.S., doing his best to weaken NATO. Trump humiliated Ukraine and withheld military aid that it desperately needed to defend itself against Russian aggression, all so that he could extort a phony announcement of a phony "investigation" into Biden and use it to win an election he knew he would otherwise lose.
Now, Trump stalwarts accuse Biden of being soft on Russia and weak on Ukraine.
When Biden took office, Trump's "there's no-virus-here" genius had tanked the American economy, leaving us in DEFCON 1. In Biden's first year 6.4 million jobs were added, more than in any president's first year. Unemployment that was at 6.3% when Trump slinked off to Florida was at 3.9% a year later. Average hourly pay was 4.7% higher at the end of 2021 than it had been when Trump left office. And even adjusted for inflation, Americans' disposable incomes were higher than they were in 2019 and 2020.
But Biden's critics claim that his economic policies have "failed."
The narrative peddled by some and swallowed whole by others that Biden's first year has been a failure defies the facts — but then, fact-defiance has become a thing.
Perhaps most amusing is the Republicans' line that Biden has "failed to unify" America. This is nothing if not rich coming from those who, all in lockstep, some in goosestep, have refused to join Biden's effort to make legislation aimed at healing an ailing country bipartisan. Having resolved to block the Biden administration at every turn, they charge him with failing to bring the nation together. Only the truly gullible would buy that flimflam, but we have a lot of those.
Despite it all, Biden managed within 60 days of becoming president to enact the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion relief package that helped keep state and local governments functioning, paid for a massive vaccination program that has saved uncountable American lives, kept millions of renters living under a roof and put food on the table for millions whose household earners were out of work and either on the ropes or not far from it.
He navigated into law a $1.2 trillion infrastructure and jobs package which, as the Brookings Institute put it, "touches every sector of infrastructure, from transportation and water to energy, broadband and the resilience and rehabilitation of our nation's natural resources." It is, says Brookings, "a longer-term patient approach to rebuilding American competitiveness."
Not bad for 12 months on the job. It ought to make Americans pause, think, reject the chutzpah and give credit where credit is due.
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Jeff Robbins, an attorney specializing in the First Amendment, is a longtime columnist for the Boston Herald, writing on politics, national security, human rights and the Mideast.
(3) comments
Probably the dumbest thing I've ever read. Pure TDS.
LOL, where to begin..... a "Lawyer" who writes political opinion for the Boston Globe here in the Laconia Daily Sun. All I can say is I love propaganda.....
First, we hear from time to time the tongue wagging about then President Trump saying that the virus wasn't something to get hysterical about in the early days of its discovery. Yes, he came out ad tried to calm the nation and down-played it. What would you have had him do, stop incoming flights from China? LOL, yeah, "racist".
Second, people aren't "denying" the existence of the virus and nobody was encouraging behavior to spread it, this is just flat out rhetoric... if you can't even have an honest discussion about this, why are you bothering? Again, agenda driven.
You say that "Biden's critics" have impeded his efforts to manage the virus and have blamed him for mutations.... again, what are you even talking about? This simply isn't true. The only thing people are "impeding" is his desire to mandate an Emergency Authorized "vaccine". Why is it under and emergency authorization? Answer this and I think you begin to see why there is hesitancy and this isn't a left/right thing... oh, and I really like the "or they were in a position to speak" quip considering you are a supposed 1st amendment lawyer.
You so eloquently spew your garbage about the former President kissing Putin's appendages and continue to project the ridiculous notion that Trump was somehow beholden to the Russian President while he he was the one who made us energy independent and stop the Nord Stream Pipeline.... well now, Putin has his pipeline and the U.S. is now importing Oil... Russia being 3rd highest on the list of importers. Yeah, its Trump who is kissing Putin, huh? You cry about giving aid to the Ukraine.. how much in tax payer dollars are Americans supposed to send out to the world? We send aid to over 150 countries annually while we have Americans suffering... but anything to try and prop up old Joe, eh Lawyer guy? I suppose you fully support the close to 1 BILLION in aid we have sent to Afghanistan in the last 8 months since the Taliban took over too? Joes doing great, huh?
As far as jobs.... this is just insulting to the working class. Either you are willfully disingenuous or you are just that ignorant. The "6.3 million added jobs" and "lowest emplyoment rate" is a pathetic lie. You didn't "add" jobs that were destroyed due to the pandemic, they were lost and are being replaced again... and we all know it. If the "historic" unemployment rate is real, why are so many businesses struggling to get help? You really are a shill on this topic and shows you for the partisan meatstick you are. It truly is nauseating and insulting.
...and lastly, as far as "unifying the country"... yeah, blame the GOP again for this one... it's their fault, huh? Those stupid SOBs just don't get it... and apparently neither does about 60% of the country according to polls.
You can spout on about the Trillions in infrastructure and quote some institute as proof of it being good for tax payers but we know that about 9% is going to actual infrastructure. This is just another way to funnel tax dollars into donor pockets. The jig is up... the people know too much to be conned by you clowns any longer.
If the Globe had a shred of integrity they wouldn't be running your garbage opinion pieces as they are the true sources of "misinformation" we all keep hearing about.
Your McJab isn't a vaccine... it is an experimental therapy that is proving to be ineffective. Your beloved administration is flying in illegals in the dead of night (some climate change is better than others?) all over the country. Crime is rampant in cites. Inflation isn't "migratory". We still have people in Afghanistan. .....and on and on and on.... but you continue to prop up this cardboard cut-out and disparage the former President. I am sure your handlers appreciate your efforts to keep them and their people in power.
This administration is a failure of epic proportions and it is only getting worse no matter how much rhetoric and gaslighting you do.
Maybe you will buy this trash if you have been living under a rock for the last year. The rest of us will give the credit where the credit is due all right.
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