Seizing the Low Ground
Dear Editor,
For four years, we heard how President Trump was poisoning America via a large catalog of lies and the politics of division. Joe Biden promised to bring back honesty and cooperation in DC. He lied.
President Biden has seized the low ground. He may not have Trump’s bombast but is very much his predecessor’s equal when it comes to mendacity. Indeed, every one of President Biden’s major actions to date has been founded in untruth. He promised a return to bipartisanship, but one of Biden’s first actions was to flat-out reject an across-the-aisle outreach by 10 US Senators. Less than half his so-called “emergency pandemic” bill will be spent either on an emergency basis or on items related to the pandemic. Likewise, most of his so-called “infrastructure” bill will be spent on things that have little to do with infrastructure. The administration’s claim that this bill will create 19 million jobs overstates its impact by a factor of 6. The president’s assertion that the mounting refugee crisis he created at our southern border is “just seasonal” is laughably untrue. Last month had the most migrant crossings in almost 20 years with a record number of unaccompanied children. Most dishonest is his attack on the recent changes to voting laws in Georgia. The President’s bizarre assertion is that the new regs make “Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle.”
First of all, let’s never forget how horrific the Jim Crow era was in this country. In some ways, the stain is worse than slavery. Trivializing it with catchy phrases is disrespectful to everyone who suffered. Certainly, a law that stops electioneers from distributing goodies within 150 feet of the polls does not equate to the poll taxes, forced segregation, violence and intimidation of that dark era. Despite the inflammatory rhetoric of the President and his party, they haven’t been able to make a coherent case as to why the new law –which expands voter access– will stop anyone from voting. Indeed, even the Washington Post gave the President four Pinocchios for his lies regarding Georgia.
President Biden won the election fair and square and has every right to pursue his agenda. Unfortunately, we shouldn’t be shocked that a politician, once elected, does something different than he promised during the campaign. However, if your causes are just, why do you need to lie? If your plans are sensible, why do you need to buy today’s votes by borrowing money from our grandchildren? If you want “one America,” why abuse the narrowest governing margin in history by changing the rules to pass partisan laws.
Biden’s style is certainly different than his predecessor’s but his methods –lies, wild exaggerations, corruption, cheating– seem to be everything he claimed about Donald Trump.
Paul King