# The Biden Administration - the first 1,500 days \[NOT an Afghanistan discussion\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 8, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057 "2020-11-08T15:09:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 31
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/602 "2021-04-06T19:27:51Z")
> **[Unlike the Guy Before, Biden is taking far-right terrorism seriously, and...](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024565)** > > Quietly and with little fanfare, the Biden administration has been taking all the right steps early in its tenure in confronting the threat of right-wing extremist violence and its spread—a mandate handed to Biden by the insurrectionists who... > Quietly and with little fanfare, the Biden administration has been taking all the right steps early in its tenure in confronting the threat of right-wing extremist violence and its spread—a mandate handed to Biden by the insurrectionists who [attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/1/7/2006842/-Siege-of-the-Capitol-the-culmination-of-the-GOP-s-long-embrace-of-anti-democratic-authoritarianism). Rather than take a high-profile approach that might backfire, Biden’s Justice Department and FBI, and to a lesser extent its Department of Homeland Security, has wisely taken a low-key route that emphasizes competence and effectiveness, as [a _New York Times_ piece](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/04/us/politics/domestic-terrorism-biden.html) explored this weekend. > > But make no mistake, it is taking the problem seriously. Indictments from the insurrection now number more than 300, prosecutors [are establishing evidence](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/4/2/2024203/-New-indictment-reveals-Oath-Keepers-chaotic-drive-to-Capitol-flood-of-communications-on-Jan-6) of a clear chain of conspiracy leading to the attack focusing on Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, and arrests for criminal behavior by far-right extremists [unrelated to the attack](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/3/5/2019588/-Post-insurrection-crackdown-on-far-right-extremists-leads-to-arrests-charges-around-the-country) are occurring as well. It’s a welcome change from the [malign neglect of the matter](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/9/12/1976976/-Whistleblower-reveals-how-Trump-has-unleashed-another-plague-white-supremacist-terrorism) paid by Donald Trump and his administration. > … I like it when things are done “quietly and with little fanfare.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/603 "2021-04-06T20:45:19Z")
Trump doesn’t even know the meaning of that phrase. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/604 "2021-04-06T21:21:39Z")
Yeah… so true, considering he was in the habit of tweeting from the Executive Toidy. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/605 "2021-04-07T16:39:39Z")
Have to dig up the article being referred to, but apparently, according to some of the more hardcore leftists on a social media I frequent, Biden hasn’t yet done something that sounds simple to stop construction of the border wall, therefore he doesn’t care or wants the wall, therefore there was no harm reduction in voting for him…? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/606 "2021-04-07T16:51:10Z")
Yeah, some people are really pissed that he hasn’t already fixed everything at once. Slacker! Old fart! Dementia! Sigh. That’s the price of being President. I’ve often thought that even _wanting_ to be President calls one’s mental health into question. But I’m glad good people still aspire to that impossible task. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/607 "2021-04-07T17:08:00Z")
I remember an episode of Doctor Who where one of the extras said, “Obama’s got a plan that will fix the economy!”, and I somehow found that less believable than an immortal being traveling through time and space in a phone booth. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/608 "2021-04-09T17:50:40Z")
[https://www.axios.com/american-realignment-doug-sosnik-a582f4c6-4bf8-4b6b-9a08-ce4b626f60ce.html](https://www.axios.com/american-realignment-doug-sosnik-a582f4c6-4bf8-4b6b-9a08-ce4b626f60ce.html) > … > **What’s next:** One arc of American history was the Big Government era that stretched from FDR in the 1930s to the end of the 1970s, when it petered out and Ronald Reagan roared in with a reset that included tax cuts and deregulation, Axios managing editor Scott Rosenberg points out. > > - **Economics blogger** Noah Smith [calls](https://noahpinion.substack.com/p/bidenomics-explained) President Biden “the end of the Age of Reagan.” > > **As we [scooped](https://www.axios.com/biden-historians-meeting-filibuster-0a7d726c-4041-405f-a3ac-c31550c590bc.html)** last month, Biden met secretly with a group of historians who bolstered his own idea that he could be the next FDR or LBJ — a reset president who leaves behind a transformed America. > > **Measured by expansion** of government reach and spending, he is well on his way. He has surprised the holy crap out of a lot of folks, including ones who voted for him. But a big part of being an agent of major change is The Moment where you find yourself. Biden is making the most of that. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/609 "2021-04-10T05:15:36Z")
Have we discussed this yet anywhere? It’s a couple days old by now: Joe Manchin says he will not vote to eliminate or even weaken the filibuster, and he also isn’t on board with using reconciliation again to get Biden’s agenda passed. Is Biden’s program now torpedoed? > **[Manchin says there is ‘no circumstance’ where he would vote to get rid of or...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/manchin-filibuster-biden/2021/04/07/03635ab2-97fd-11eb-b28d-bfa7bb5cb2a5_story.html)** > > The West Virginia senator also suggested, in an op-ed published in The Washington Post, that he would be opposed to using the budgetary reconcilaton process again to circumvent the filibuster, an avenue Senate Democrats have considered for passing... > [@](#): > > Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III said Wednesday that under no circumstances would he vote to eliminate or weaken the legislative filibuster in his most definitive statement yet on the topic, dealing a blow to Democrats’ hopes of pushing major aspects of President Biden’s agenda through Congress. > > The West Virginia senator also suggested in an op-ed published in The Washington Post that he would be opposed to using the budget reconciliation process, under which certain legislation requires only a majority vote, again to circumvent the filibuster, an avenue Senate Democrats have considered for passing Biden’s ambitious infrastructure package. In Manchin’s own words: > **[Opinion | Joe Manchin: I will not vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/joe-manchin-filibuster-vote/2021/04/07/cdbd53c6-97da-11eb-a6d0-13d207aadb78_story.html)** > > We will not solve our nation’s problems in one Congress if we seek only partisan solutions. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/610 "2021-04-10T08:14:48Z")
I think stuff like this is all posturing and theater (same as Manchin saying recently that he’s willing to consider the talking filibuster). We won’t know his real position until all the cards are down. Manchin pisses me off quite frequently, but I think he’s a very shrewd politician. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/611 "2021-04-10T14:45:58Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Manchin pisses me off quite frequently, but I think he’s a very shrewd politician. Meh, I get the impression that he just desperately wants to hold onto his seat, even if that means going against his party and the obvious good of the nation. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/612 "2021-04-10T14:49:25Z")
And losing his seat benefits his party how? ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/613 "2021-04-10T15:14:27Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Meh, I get the impression that he just desperately wants to hold onto his seat, even if that means going against his party and the obvious good of the nation. If this were true, he would just switch parties – Republicans would welcome him with open arms and he would have a much easier path to reelection in West Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/614 "2021-04-10T15:51:19Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > And losing his seat benefits his party how? He doesn’t appear to be benefitting his party right now. No amount of pressure / sweet-talking from Biden will ever get him to budge. > [@flurb](#): > > …he would just switch parties… Should’ve been R. to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/615 "2021-04-10T17:33:47Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > He doesn’t appear to be benefitting his party right now. I don’t agree with this at all. He’s voted for every Biden nominee. He voted for Biden’s stimulus package, which would not have passed without his vote. It’s pretty short sighted to say he’s “not benefitting his party.” ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/616 "2021-04-10T17:35:17Z")
He has it at least until 2024. He could benefit the party quite a bit in that time. I’m not sure how he holds his seat if he refuses to work with the Democrats anyway. He will never be accepted by Republican voters, and would be primaried if he tried to switch sides. And if he is the reason that Democrats cannot pass much needed legislation, both benefiting the country and the party, then Democrats aren’t going to be too excited about coming out to vote for him. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/617 "2021-04-10T17:40:44Z")
Not _every_ nominee > **[Manchin says he'll vote against Biden OMB nominee Neera Tanden | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/19/politics/joe-manchin-neera-tanden-confirmation-biden/index.html)** > > Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin announced Friday he will vote against Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden's nominee for the director of the Office of Management and Budget, making her confirmation unlikely given Republican resistance to her nomination. Many of Biden’s nominees had a fair amount of bipartisan support. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/618 "2021-04-10T17:51:30Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Meh, I get the impression that he just desperately wants to hold onto his seat, even if that means going against his party and the obvious good of the nation. [538 discussed this](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-joe-manchin-is-so-willing-and-able-to-block-his-partys-goals/) and their analyst was inclined to disagree. He is not up anytime soon and due to age and the changing political climate he isn’t a lock to even attempt to run again. They think it is most likely just his own principles and ideology which are to some extent from another political era, like his stubborn support of bipartisanship. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/619 "2021-04-10T17:51:40Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > I don’t agree with this at all. He’s voted for every Biden nominee. He voted for Biden’s stimulus package, which would not have passed without his vote. It’s pretty short sighted to say he’s “not benefitting his party.” True. I should have put that in the future, not present tense, thus, I doubt strongly he’ll budge from his position on reconciliation and the filibuster - a position that will adversely affect democrats down the road if they want Biden’s two multi-trillion dollar infrastructure proposals and a bill that would implement major voting reforms enacted. ETA: Also true - that Manchin might not be the only dem wrench in the gears. (see Emphatic Thumb Down Lady) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/620 "2021-04-10T18:19:48Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > They think it is most likely just his own principles and ideology which are to some extent from another political era, like his stubborn support of bipartisanship. “Principles”? I’m more inclined to think he just loves being the center of attention and having everyone dance around him. It’s pretty intoxicating being the guy with his finger on the button. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/621 "2021-04-10T19:00:12Z")
I’ll let myself off the hook on Tanden on the technicality that she never came to a vote (she withdrew after it was clear she did not have enough votes to be confirmed). But the Tanden nomination is instructive on your second point. It’s easy for some Republicans to vote for a Biden nominee when they know that he or she will be confirmed regardless (and some have had genuine Republican support). But if his or her vote makes the difference between a nominee being approved or going down, they would come under tremendous pressure to stick with the Republican caucus. With Tanden, once Manchin announced his opposition no Republican was willing to be known as the one who “saved” her nomination. And the most important part about Manchin still having a “D” by his name is that it makes Chuck Schumer Majority Leader. Without that, some Biden’s nominees likely never would have come to a vote and those that did would have to endure a much more harrowing process. The stimulus bill would never have come to a vote. Schumer may not be able to overcome a filibuster on an infrastructure plan, but he can force Republicans on record as voting against it. Likewise he can force them to take other tough-to-defend votes that McConnel would have shielded them from as Majority Leader. I’m no Manchin fan, but even an obstinate Democrat in that seat is much preferable and better for the Democratic agenda than a Republican. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057.md?page=32)