Okay, I’m gonna do it. The clusterfuck is over and will be dismantled. What will take its place?
What will Biden do? What should he do? What do you want him to do?
President-elect Joe Biden is planning to quickly sign a series of executive orders after being sworn into office on Jan. 20, immediately forecasting that the country’s politics have shifted and that his presidency will be guided by radically different priorities.
He will rejoin the Paris climate accords, according to those close to his campaign and commitments he has made in recent months, and he will reverse President Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization. He will repeal the ban on almost all travel from some Muslim-majority countries, and he will reinstate the program allowing “dreamers,” who were brought to the United States illegally as children, to remain in the country, according to people familiar with his plans.
Although transitions of power can always include abrupt changes, the shift from Trump to Biden — from one president who sought to undermine established norms and institutions to another who has vowed to restore the established order — will be among the most startling in American history.
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Number one thing that I would love to see Biden propose in the first 100 days: a comprehensive Infrastructure bill. Trump talked about this incessantly throughout the 2016 campaign, and then didn’t propose bupkus. He just held Infrastructure Week seemingly every month for the first year.
I don’t know what chances that it would have of getting passed if the Republicans do hold the Senate, but if they don’t want to pass it, it gives the Dems something to hammer them on in the 2022 midterms (when the Republicans will have numerous incumbents up for re-election).
This is actually the template I’d like to see Biden’s team employ for just about everything that needs doing:
Propose a solid plan, including both the costs of the plan and the costs of doing nothing.
Ask for bipartisan input.
When Senate Republicans say “It’s socialism!” or whatever and reject it out of hand, ask, “OK, what’s your alternative plan?”
Endure a week or two of the GOP failing to propose anything.
Say, “Hey America, Senate Republicans don’t think (this issue) matters to you. They have no plan at all. So when you complain about (this issue), remember who proposed a solution and who brought nothing.”
I’m under no illusion that this will change many minds, but when the midterms roll around and nothing has been done, at least there will be a public record of who’s to blame.
I think one of the first things he needs to do is hang Obama’s portrait AND Trump’s. That will be a step to reset what is supposed to happen when a new president moves in and might also be a bit healing to a divided country.
This looks promising. (I didn’t listen, but the subhead got my attention.)
If anyone can get Unca Mitch to play (not saying play nice, but just to show up at the game), I’ll bet Joe can do it. Joe is an Old White Guy-- they can exchange the Old White Guy’s secret handshake. Joe doesn’t hit the Uppity Negro Muslim hot button or the Uppity Ballsy Female hot button. It’s not going to help the Republicans to keep obstructing! Surely Mitch can see this! (IS he dead? He’s been so absent.)
Reinstate CDC powers and access. Consult with scientists and leaders from countries that have kept the COVID curve flatter or better. Rejoin WHO and Paris Agreement, the latter in conjunction with auto manufacturers and a mainstream farming consortium.
Covid is going to totally dominate what the Biden administration does for at least the first two years of his administration.
Other than that government will basically go back to what it was in the last two years of the Obama administration (that is policies which Trump dumped will be restored, but there will be zero progress beyond that–because of Senate Republican and Supreme Court opposition).
It all depends on the outcome of the Georgia senate races. If Democrats win both than things might turn out good. If Republicans win those races, we’ll be stuck with a rerun of 2013 - 2014, and the hope that the 2022 midterms go well enough that Democrats net at least two senate seats.
Joe Biden plans Monday to name a 12-member task force to combat and contain the spread of the coronavirus, sources tell Axios.
Why it matters : By announcing a COVID task force even before unveiling his senior White House staff or a single cabinet appointment, Biden is signaling that addressing the coronavirus will be the immediate priority for his transition, and then his potential administration.
While Biden still hasn’t declared victory in Tuesday’s election, his team is already planning to govern, and he and his advisers want to reassure the country they can address a health crisis that’s getting worse, not better.
The picture : The task force will be led by three co-chairs: former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith from Yale University.
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I am very much afraid that not much will happen because of obstruction from McConnell. A relief bill is desperately needed but McConnell wouldn’t even do it to help Trump. An infrastructure bill is needed bad both the put America back to work and to create badly needed infrastructure including internet everywhere.
I can just see that two years from now the Rs will campaign by crowing that “See, Biden can’t get anything done.” Will McC block a big spending bill to provide vaccine for all? Maybe that is too much even for him, but we will have to wait to see.
The Trump Administration is already sabotaging the transition process. The GSA administrator is balking at signing a letter authorizing all kinds of funding, resources, and access for the incoming transition team. This is described as being a much bigger deal that us teeming millions would have ever imagined.
