Invisible Bi-Partisanship

 

 

In 1993 the Senate passed the assault weapons ban by a vote of 56 for 43 against.  Nine Republicans joined with Democrats in voting yes.  These Republicans were the moderates such as Hatfield from Oregon, Danforth from Missouri, Pell from Rhode Island, and Lugar from Indiana. Nine Democrats, all from southern and western states, voted Nay. Those once moderate Republicans have become rare in the latest Republican caucuses. One of those Democratic Nay votes was from Senator Shelby of Alabama who is still in the Senate but is now retiring. He has changed parties in the intervening years and is now a Republican. One of the problems with this bill was that it included a ten-year renewal or sunset clause; it would cease to be law if it was not renewed every ten years.  President Bush declined to ask Congress to renew it, so it was no longer in effect after the ten-year period ended. It has never been renewed and there is a call for this to happen now, but it will need bipartisan support.

Most recently the House voted in February to renew the Violence Against Women Act – which had been allowed to lapse during the previous administration. The vote this year in the Democratic-controlled House included 244 votes in favor and 172 Republican votes against it. Only 29 Republican votes were in the majority; all Democrats voted in favor of this bill. In 2013 the Senate voted in favor of renewal with a vote of 78 Yeas and 22 Nays. The House then supported it with a vote of 286 for and 138 against after attempts to weaken it failed. This should not be a partisan issue as it provides legal protections for women against domestic violence and stalking and gives them other legal protections for issues such as sexual assault and child custody.

This is an example of why partisanship is harming Americans.  I admit that I am a partisan person.  However, there are sometimes issues that should be above party labels. I posit that the Assault rifle ban, background checks, and the Violence against Women Act should be nonpartisan issues because each of them protects society. Regardless of whatever gun owners might claim, nobody needs an assault rifle or semi-automatic pistol to protect their home or to hunt for food. Aside from what some might think, it is good to have a society that believes in protecting women and children from violence.

The Senate, under tenuous Democratic control, should find ways for both sides to work together.  The Infrastructure Bill prosed by President Biden needs to pass in some form even as Minority leader McConnell has said it will get no Republican support. The President has indicated that he is open to compromise, but there can be no compromise without conversations. There is the possibility that it could pass by reconciliation after a ruling that it seemed to qualify by the Senate Parliamentarian. This is not a plan which only benefits Democrats in Democratic states.  Roads, railways, and bridges cross state lines; broadband needs in rural states and center cities benefit children and adults of both parties. The addition of more solar, wind, and power charging stations will help the climate and our long-term use of energy. Expanded care for the elderly and improved health care benefit society at large.  The creation of all of these measures will add jobs to our economy. These are plans for our future. 

During the Depression, President Roosevelt knew that the jobs he created in the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) were not only jobs for that time but were investments in the future; many roads were built and artists were saved by their paintings for government buildings, and post offices, and written works created during this period. The Biden infrastructure plan is set for the long term in much the same way as roads are not constructed overnight and hundreds of bridges cannot be repaired at once.

There has been much discussion recently from President Biden about bipartisanship in Congress. He did not gather any votes for his COVID relief/stimulus Bill from the Republicans, so that had to be passed under the reconciliation process. A meeting early in his term with several Republicans and the President failed to find any consensus after their proposal was for an amount so far below his proposal, that it was almost laughable. (Their proposal was for $650 billion vs. Biden’s request of $1.9 Trillion.) It should be applauded that he did give them a meeting and discussion, which was more than Democrats had received in the last few years from the former president. It seems, however, that only Biden and Senator Manchin continue to push for this type of unity.  Are there ten Republicans who will oppose leadership?  Republicans under the directions of House Minority leader McCarthy and Senate Minority leader McConnell continue to adhere to the demands of the former president and stonewall all attempts at compromise and consensus.  I wonder just how long the American voters are going to tolerate this dysfunction. Will continued lack of support for a popular President harm Democrats or Republicans?  It may well be that the mid-term elections will go against tradition and support the party in power.

Some think that the frenzied push by many state Republican parties to dimmish voter access and decrease absentee and early balloting reflect their worries about losing big in the mid-terms. They have no real issues to run on and gather support. Of course, many party faithful continue to repeat the refrains of the “Big Lie” and the mantra of “Stop the Steal” to churn their electorate.  I do hope that these words soon lose their power to propel voters. Some states have resorted to another battle in the “culture wars” of previous years.  Remember the push against same-sex marriage in previous mid-terms, well this year the push is against rights for Transgender adults and teens.  At the state level, scary testimony is being heard which claims that girls will be attacked in school bathrooms and defeated on sports fields by boys “presenting” as girls. That is so not what transgender issues should be about. All of this is to create a hook that will get their conservative voters to the polls in 2022.

The trial of police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis continues with dramatic and painful testimony about the death of George Floyd.  Many police officials testified that the restraint action by officer Chauvin was not among permitted holds. This is a major departure from the typical police trial. Somehow, the Conservative media is calling this the Floyd trial.  No matter how they frame it, trying the victim is not the true story.

In another major story this week, the contested union election at an Amazon fulfillment site in Alabama ended in a defeat for the union efforts.  For many years unions have attempted to gain a foothold in Amazon facilities and have met strong management opposition. Since Amazon is the second-largest employer in the country, unionization there would have been a major win for the unions. This loss does not mean that the union advocates will stop their efforts, however as there have long been complaints about work processes at Amazon. (Amazon has 1.2 million employees, Walmart is the largest US employer with over 1.3 million US employees.) Government, including local, federal, state, and the military account for 24 million employees.

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The latest news about the coronavirus continues to be dismal, despite the numbers of vaccinated Americas. The UK variant is still spreading throughout the United States, despite earlier efforts to stop it.  Michigan is now experiencing a widespread outbreak, much of it among younger victims and sports teams. Florida is also experiencing another spike as might have been expected after widespread spring-break maskless events. Maryland virus case numbers have also increased significantly in the last two weeks, the most in several months.  Over 1800 new cases were reported in Maryland just yesterday, compared to around 1200 a week ago. Daily case rates across the country are still too high according to experts.

So far 119 million people in the US have received at least one vaccination; 72.6 million people have been fully vaccinated to date. More than 4 million vaccines were given yesterday alone. We still have a ways to go, despite the Texas governor’s claim that Texas is close to herd immunity!

COVID stats (NY Times)

Total US cases: 31,214,600.  Total new Cases: 64,338.

Total deaths: 561,513.            Total new deaths: 700.

Maryand totals: Total cases: 425, 247. Total new cases: 1,584.

                          Total deaths: 8,444.  Total new deaths: 20.

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Finally, a few words about the judges that President Biden is proposing for the federal courts. After McConnell spent several years slow-walking Obama appointments and denying others, including Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland and filling vacancies over the last four years with unqualified judges in many cases, the right is now attacking Biden’s recent nominations, decrying dark money. Ruth Marcus discusses this in a column in the Washington Post today and notes the pressure from the Federalist Society, the Judicial Crisis Network, and others. The Network itself is the Fort Knox of dark money, in my opinion. Current DC area TV stations (and those in AZ, WV, and GA) are seeing Ads against President Biden’s nominees with ominous music and concerning deep-voiced words about the money buying these judges. The nominees from the President are the most diverse group ever proposed and include Black women, a Muslim man, and others of varied backgrounds.  They do not all come from Harvard and Yale, which is a departure from the usual process. Some have been prosecutors and others public defenders. According to Marcus 9 of the 11 are women and 9 are people of color. It appears that the conservative groups are afraid that the voices of the people might be heard in the Federal Courts.  What a challenge that must be!

That is quite enough for this week!

“Til next week – peace!