RECONSTRUCTION
by Jordan Rock
So, Biden’s in. We can recount all day and all night, but America has spoken. Trump’s so called “silent majority” was, in fact, neither silent nor the majority. Both Georgia and Pennsylvania have recounted, and they still spell victory for Biden. Mainstream outlets like CBS now refer to Biden as the President elect. So, even though it won’t be made official until the Electoral College votes on 14th of December. Joe Biden is the next President of the United States. What do we want from Joe Biden?
Senate Republicans are agreeing to make room for Biden’s cabinet, even though we know the GOP is going to do the same obstructionist song and dance we saw in the Obama administration as soon as Biden sits in the oval office.
According to Senator Lisa Murkowski (R – Alaska), “He’s our president-elect. All presidents have a right to their Cabinet. Our job, our role is to make sure that he selects folks that are … within the mainstream. And are good, qualified credible candidates. And if he does that, sure, I am going to work with him.”
Within the mainstream, she says. What that means is some Republicans in the Senate are going to get onboard with what seems like Biden’s general theme. That theme being a return to normalcy after the screaming insanity that was the Trump administration.
What do We Want From Joe Biden?
Here’s the problem; there is no “normal” anymore.
“Normal” is what led us to Trump, and you can be sure that the discourse from the left is going to reflect that sentiment.
I agree with much of Biden’s politics in regards to undoing the damage that Trump has inflicted on America. But damage control is not the only concern on our minds. And I can assure you that the discourse from “The Left” is going to reflect that.
Progressive Views
According to Ben Burgis of Jacobin magazine, “If there were ever a case where the victory of the lesser evil over the greater evil merited busting out a bottle or two of champagne, this was it. But once you’ve sobered up, remember that being less evil than Trump is fully compatible with being an implacable enemy of the working class.”
He goes on to posit that Joe Biden’s claims that he’ll get America back on track may actually mean that he’s going to lean into the old guard democrats in Congress instead of fulfilling the progressive promises of his campaign.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) shares this caution. In an interview with the New York Times, AOC had this to say about Biden’s upcoming administration: “I don’t know how open they’ll be. And it’s not a personal thing. It’s just, the history of the party tends to be that we get really excited about the grass roots to get elected. And then those communities are promptly abandoned right after an election.”
Let me get down to brass tacks. It’s not just the House Democrats that got Biden into office. Black community organizers tripled the turnout in Georgia. Organizers in Pennsylvania urged voters to mail in their ballots while the president was screeching about nonsense voter-fraud. It’s you and me.
So here’s what I think We want from Joe Biden:
- A basic approach to Medicare for All in a functioning form that doesn’t break the bank when you break a leg.
- An ACTUAL response to the virus that has been tearing our country apart. Free access to vaccination when the vaccine is ready. And stay at home orders with pay in the case of another surge of infections.
- Free college tuition across the board for low-income families, not just to community colleges like Biden has promised.
- The dismantling of ICE and full transparency of their activities during the last four years.
If Biden can make those things happen, we’ll be on our way to a new normal better than the dregs we started with when Trump was elected. Biden talks a big game. But we can’t take any of his claims seriously until he starts showing some actual progressive initiative.
Bonus if he withdraws the violent feds that have been illegally detaining and beating the crap out of protesters.
In other words, this is no time for Biden to be resting on his laurels. We’ve seen what kind of damage Republicans can do when they run amok. It’s time for the Democratic party to show it can do more than just cry in the corner while the common man gets his rights taken away.
Biden has his work cut out for him, and the left is going to be watching the whole time.
This writer seems really young? Is he or she a Gen Xer? Some of his points are idealistic and not practical. Medicare for all is a non starter. Improve Obamacare
What I want first and foremost is police misconduct and prosecution of unjustified police shootings to be taken over by the U.S. Justice Department. The States have completely failed in a fair and balanced process when it comes to this matter. Then add these fake militia and unsanctioned militia groups to the FBI terrorist watch list.. Since they are do anti government.