CONSERVATIVES LOVE FOR JOE
Anticipating which of President Joe Biden’s campaign promises are not going to rot into lies – that is, the pledges that he will actually implement – is the big challenge. To people who don’t lie for a living – that is, nonpoliticians – a broken promise is a lie. Anticipating which of President Joe Biden’s campaign promises are not going to rot into lies – that is, the pledges that he will actually implement – is the big challenge. ProblemNo. 2: The new captain can’t do much to change the course of the supertanker of state. The American government’s 11 million employees will mostly carry on as usual, regardless of who’s in the White House. The president – whoever he is – has limited ability to influence spending, since around two-thirds of all federal government budget outlays are already set (for Social Security, interest payments, and other mandatory spending). But before we talk about how President Biden won’t be all bad news – at all – for conservatives, two caveats about predicting what presidents will do... Problem No. 1: Politicians, like governments, lie. Like clogged toilets for a plumber, lying is an occupational hazard for politicians. It’s something that happens all the time. Politicians make too many pledges to too many people, and a million genies working overtime couldn’t wish-grant them out of their hole.
Despite being the most powerful man in the world, the American president has very little control over his own government. This means the new captain might be able to change the color of the paint in the mess hall and nudge the course of the ship of state a few degrees one way or the other... but that’s about it. (The good thing about this setup is that even a skipper hellbent on steering us into an iceberg can’t really do it.) Biden will have only a bit more policy and spending wiggle room than Harry Houdini had in his Chinese water-torture cell. It’s a big if... but if President Biden lives up to a few key promises and nudges the supertanker of America a few degrees one way or the other... he just might be able to do a few things that conservatives – and maybe everyone else, too – will like. If you’ve been a big fan of the outgoing president... you can expect to see President Biden pick up the baton on a couple of President Trump’s efforts. For example, it was Trump who called for $2,000 stimulus checks in December, rather than the $600 that Congress had agreed upon. Watch for a renewed effort there... Similarly, Operation Warp Speed and the role it played in helping develop a COVID-19 vaccine in record time should always be remembered as a key achievement of the Trump administration... And Biden’s pledge to inoculate 100 million Americans in his first 100 days in office is the logical outgrowth of that effort.
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January 2021
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