Thank you for this account of Biden’s accomplishments. They are many, starting with the simple fact that he had the resume for the job of US President, unlike his predecessor who purposely left our country in disaray in part to cover his incompetence. Second, Biden truly believes in this country, it’s founding ideals, and democracy. By b…
Thank you for this account of Biden’s accomplishments. They are many, starting with the simple fact that he had the resume for the job of US President, unlike his predecessor who purposely left our country in disaray in part to cover his incompetence. Second, Biden truly believes in this country, it’s founding ideals, and democracy. By both action & inaction, the Republicans of today are proving they do not.
Finally, Biden knows how our political system works and understands the rule of law. His fierce commitment to negotiation & compromise is evidence that he walks the talk of a true American President, one who sees his leadership as a service to the country, not a personal power grab.
We must all do a better job supporting this man. Our goal must be to talk about his accomplishments until his strengths & positive impact for regular Americans reach critical mass and are undeniable in the minds of America and inescapable for the media.
Take a look a this by Oliver Willis. I am frustrated the link won't work. Anyway. Type in Oliver Willis Tracking what Joe Biden has accomplished since becoming the 46th president of the United States on January 20, 2021.
As of November 2021 there are 110 verified accomplishments for Biden on the comprehensive list.
These accomplishments will not light a fire under Democratic voters in 2022 and 2024. They will, however, open the door to Republican lies, casting doubt about them. The only path to Democratic victories in 2022 and 2024 is to lock in the votes of persons of color and women by repeatedly pointing out that Republicans, at all levels, vote against what benefits them, and that any person of color or woman who votes Republican is out of their mind.
"The only path to Democratic victories in 2022 and 2024 is to lock in the votes of persons of color and women."
I am sorry, but to me that borders on sexist, racist - and defeatist.
For the past 15 years, I've volunteered for local Democratic committees and on various campaigns getting out the vote - sometimes almost full time in weeks leading up to elections. In some cycles, I've made tens of thousands of phone calls and knocked on thousands of doors. Every person whose told me their opinions is an education. Every potential voter is a potential ally.
The only path to Democratic victories is for each of us to do as much GOTV outreach during the months leading up to an election as we can. It's not about the money donations, it's about our volunteer labor.
I agree. And it would really help if Democrats gave messages that were easier to understand for less informed and engaged voters, and if they were better at painting the villains on the other side as the villains they are.
I so agree about the messaging!!! I've been sending suggestions to DNC, Lincoln Project, etc. but I don't know what else to do. I want to scream, "It's the MESSAGING, stupid!!!!
This is problem. . . they never respond. It is so frustrating. The same applies to groups like Indivisible and Move-On (groups that I financially support and am an active member). I'm a fan of Robert Hubble's - Today's Edition. I often think he should run the Democratic Party! (https://substack.com/profile/3956425-robert-b-hubbell)
Maybe it's a fine line, or maybe not. Sure, it's technically racist or sexist to target a specific group of voters, but it's also demographics and messaging mechanics, which is what modern politics (and advertising) is built on.
I agree with you, Lin. I will add that we need to convince non-party affiliated independent voters that it is in their personal best interest and the interest of our Democratic system of government to vote for Democrats both in Congress and in State Houses.
How??? I think one of the answers is better story telling ... "How (a particular accomplishment) changed my life" from ordinary people in lots of media. But I don't know whom to tell that to!!!
I call it as I see it. GOTV efforts have to be more specifically targeted. I've worked on GOTV efforts targeting Democratic-leaning precincts, as I am sure you have, and gotten DeSantis, Rubio and Scott as a result. That's just not enough. There's another side of the coin to racism and sexism, a positive one, and it should be targetted.
I now live in a predominantly White state. Many voters identify as Independent. My call/turf lists reach out to a wide range of voters.
We have 2 congressional districts. I am in the more red rural district and yet we have been able to elect a moderate Democratic representative to Congress - who helps give us the majority.
By listening and speaking politely with anyone willing, we gain interest and even support for Democratic goals and candidates. Even from Republicans intrigued by our goodwill and commitment. We have Ranked Choice Voting - so even getting someone interested in ranking our candidates second can contribute to a win.
My call or postcard lists (I'm too old to canvass any longer) consist of registered Democrats first, who, when we get them to vote, we know what we are getting. But that's not enough. When we get an "NPA" to vote, we don't know what we are getting. Usually, my CD votes Democratic by about 70 -30, but in 2020, with a Trump-loving Republican running, the margin dropped to 60-40. GOTV activities must be targeted toward those groups which are specifically hurt by Republican "no" votes .
My hope is that when the direct benefits of both the hard and soft infrastructure bills are seen in a voter’s pocketbook they will recognize the source of the benefits and support more Democrats.
Part #2 infrastructure must be put in place soon. Very soon.
Hope is a slender read to lean on when democracy is in peril. We can not and should not rely on people making any connections that we fail to make it for them in easy, relatable terms. Rest assured, the Republicans are busy cooking up a fresh batch of lies and distractions to keep us on the defensive.
click the little box with three lines in it that is in the URL box. That will eliminate all the junk and leave the content. Wishing I could post a photo...
Yes. I think packing articles with ads, particularly the same political ad repetitively, interrupts the reader and, for me is irritating. Not unique to this article or site by any means.
Biden has done a superlative job in my opinion, and I've been singing his praises for months. I suspect he's going to go down as the best president since Roosevelt. I voted enthusiastically, and I will do so again.
That said, he's making a huge mistake on one particular policy. I hasten to say that despite that mistake I think he's doing a terrific job, and that as I've gotten older, I've ceased hoping that any politician would do everything I want. But the approval rating on this policy—immigration--is the lowest Biden gets on any policy, at 35 percent.
The border is a mess, and the GOP has been making a big deal of that.
There is a new book out--which anyone who wants to understand what mass immigration has been about for the last 200 years should buy: Back of the Hiring Line: A 200 Year History of Immigration surges, Employer Bias, and Depression of Black Wealth, by Roy Beck.
It's a brilliant, easily digestible presentation that gives a succinct overview within the intro and first chapter of how from the early 1800s to the present, time after time, mass immigration has resulted in African Americans seeing their wages reduced, and losing jobs to immigrants.
When immigration has been low, Black fortunes have risen. But surges, the latest of which has been going on for 50 years, and getting worse as the years have gone by, always push their fortunes back down. And as the author makes clear, in this latest surge, each wave of immigrants also suffers along with Blacks as a new wave breaks, and poor whites suffer as well.
Think of that, and remember how 45 gained a greater share of Hispanic voters in '20 than he had had in '16. And when you think of all those whites listening to the nonsense of Fox News, and believing it, realize that the surges of immigrants--a million annually for the most part since the mid-90s--has been taking their jobs, and giving us a country where nearly half the population can't afford to deal with a $400 dollar emergency, whether a car repair or a medical emergency.
Remember also, in the ’16 election, the popularity of the populist policies of Bernie Sanders and 45 (who of course was not the populist president he’d promised to be).
The book is a slam dunk, backing the thesis with a thorough survey of the relevant academic economic history, along with statements from Black leaders beginning with Frederick Douglass, articles from the Black press going way way back, and the results of government commissions on immigration reform, including the Rockefeller Commission in '72, the Hesburgh Commission (1979), and the Barbara Jordan commission, mid-90s, and others, all of which recommended reducing immigration. (Jordan was a very impressive character worth googling.)
The author, who now runs NumbersUSA, but was a journalist until the late '90s, also draws on his own reporting, to great effect.
A major source of lobbying for more immigration was the companies that used low-skilled labor. They wanted an oversupply, so that they could reduce wages, and speed up the lines (resulting in loads of repetitive injuries among workers). Absent the oversupply, the Black workers had some bargaining power, and could take a recuperation break if they were injured, knowing they'd be hired anew when they were healed.
But in the "poultry crescent", "a half-continent arc of processing plants that extends from Maryland, down through Georgia, over to Mississippi, and back up to northern Arkansas," with the threat of "the corporation bringing buses of foreign workers to fill their jobs if they kept complaining, it was getting more difficult [for Blacks] to stand up for themselves."
Plant managers claimed the immigrant workers had a superior work ethic to American workers of either color, but Beck reported that "the foreign workers often didn't last a year on the job. Many employers didn't seem to hold that against them because there always was a fresh supply of new foreign workers to take their place at the same wages and working conditions, or lower."
in 2019 , the employment rate for Black men and women starting out, at ages 18-29, without a high school degree, was 32%. For similarly situated Whites, it was 39%. At 56%, the rate for immigrants was nearly twice that of African Americans.
Beck emphasizes over and over that Congress, not immigrants, is to blame for these conditions, and that it has always been thus.
Beck’s book is available through Amazon for $9 in hard copy, and less for kindle and audio. To my knowledge, it is unfortunately not available at local bookstores, but may come to them eventually.
Excellent point, which speaks directly toward the crying need to understand and respond to the problems of the vast middle of our population. The book by Roy Beck you cite sounds very worthwhile. I will at least add it to my reading list (which, sadly, is already insurmountably long).
Thanks Syd. It is an incredibly worthwhile book, one that I think will change a lot of minds. He makes an ironclad case, and it's well written. I view it as the most important book I've read probably since the turn of the millennium. Despite the fact that Matthew Walker's Why We Sleep will probably result in my prolonging my life some by getting better sleep.
" ... there always was a fresh supply of new foreign workers to take their place at the same wages and working conditions, or lower."
I witnessed some of this. As an adolescent in central Florida in 1962, a buddy and I decided to go down to Miami that summer and work for six weeks before we had to be back at school. At that time, the Cuban refugees were flowing into Miami to escape the Castro revolution. Minimum wage at the time was $1.25/hour. The refugees got jobs paying 1/2 the minimum wage and thus took jobs away from the local Black population who mostly held those jobs. (Also, the refugees might have been receiving supplemental income from the U.S. government at the time due to their being "political refugees.") This caused a lot of resentment in the Black community and understandably so. (My friend and I got jobs selling magazine subscriptions door to door as no one else wanted those jobs.)
Carole: You use the word "until" in your third paragraph. Will "until" come in time for 2022 and 2024? Democrats cannot play softball while Republicans play hardball.
You are so right. “Until” must come in time for 2022. Democrats cannot play softball, or simply “hope” that Biden’s obvious successes are indeed obvious to others in spite of constant media takedown.
Carole—Notwithstanding HCR’s flawless account of Biden’s mighty impressive accomplishments, I prevail upon all of us also to remain steadfastly focused on the faltering ratings both for the Biden Administration and for Democrats overall, despite policies shown repeatedly to have broad appeal. Though I imagine some Democrats are growing increasingly discouraged by the polarization and disfunction that daily infects our politics, I believe more of us are rightfully concerned that neither Biden nor Democratic lawmakers overall are doing nearly enough to shape their party’s story. I am eager to receive more guidance from this community regarding how best to direct my activism.
Looking for guidance? Join groups actively working to get out the vote of women and persons of color, groups which continue to be hurt by Republican obstructionism. Put the policies and issues aside and concentrate on getting out that vote. That's the way to win elections. Don't waste time defending against Republican lies.
Have you ever tried to have an exchange of ideas with a Republican lately? Or someone carrying an AR-15? Time and energy thusly spent would be better directed toward registering voters, mailing postcards, making phone calls and getting out the vote.
To clarify, by “activism” I meant a refusal on my part merely to watch and wait to see what the politicians and experts will do. Instead, I train myself, I acquire the knowledge I need to at least have a shot at not merely having to look through the window but, rather, to come through the door. HCR’s LFAA followed by this group’s discussions have been enormously valuable. As for the actions listed in your missive, I do that too.
Thank you for this account of Biden’s accomplishments. They are many, starting with the simple fact that he had the resume for the job of US President, unlike his predecessor who purposely left our country in disaray in part to cover his incompetence. Second, Biden truly believes in this country, it’s founding ideals, and democracy. By both action & inaction, the Republicans of today are proving they do not.
Finally, Biden knows how our political system works and understands the rule of law. His fierce commitment to negotiation & compromise is evidence that he walks the talk of a true American President, one who sees his leadership as a service to the country, not a personal power grab.
We must all do a better job supporting this man. Our goal must be to talk about his accomplishments until his strengths & positive impact for regular Americans reach critical mass and are undeniable in the minds of America and inescapable for the media.
Take a look a this by Oliver Willis. I am frustrated the link won't work. Anyway. Type in Oliver Willis Tracking what Joe Biden has accomplished since becoming the 46th president of the United States on January 20, 2021.
As of November 2021 there are 110 verified accomplishments for Biden on the comprehensive list.
Table of Contents
Domestic Policy
Immigration/Border
Climate Change
Human Rights
COVID-19
National Security
Judiciary
Environment
Foreign Policy
These accomplishments will not light a fire under Democratic voters in 2022 and 2024. They will, however, open the door to Republican lies, casting doubt about them. The only path to Democratic victories in 2022 and 2024 is to lock in the votes of persons of color and women by repeatedly pointing out that Republicans, at all levels, vote against what benefits them, and that any person of color or woman who votes Republican is out of their mind.
"The only path to Democratic victories in 2022 and 2024 is to lock in the votes of persons of color and women."
I am sorry, but to me that borders on sexist, racist - and defeatist.
For the past 15 years, I've volunteered for local Democratic committees and on various campaigns getting out the vote - sometimes almost full time in weeks leading up to elections. In some cycles, I've made tens of thousands of phone calls and knocked on thousands of doors. Every person whose told me their opinions is an education. Every potential voter is a potential ally.
The only path to Democratic victories is for each of us to do as much GOTV outreach during the months leading up to an election as we can. It's not about the money donations, it's about our volunteer labor.
I agree. And it would really help if Democrats gave messages that were easier to understand for less informed and engaged voters, and if they were better at painting the villains on the other side as the villains they are.
I so agree about the messaging!!! I've been sending suggestions to DNC, Lincoln Project, etc. but I don't know what else to do. I want to scream, "It's the MESSAGING, stupid!!!!
This is problem. . . they never respond. It is so frustrating. The same applies to groups like Indivisible and Move-On (groups that I financially support and am an active member). I'm a fan of Robert Hubble's - Today's Edition. I often think he should run the Democratic Party! (https://substack.com/profile/3956425-robert-b-hubbell)
Lincoln Project held a member survey last month on what they should focus on. If you are a member you should have gotten the survey and the results.
Maybe it's a fine line, or maybe not. Sure, it's technically racist or sexist to target a specific group of voters, but it's also demographics and messaging mechanics, which is what modern politics (and advertising) is built on.
…and the electoral college.
You got it!
I agree with you, Lin. I will add that we need to convince non-party affiliated independent voters that it is in their personal best interest and the interest of our Democratic system of government to vote for Democrats both in Congress and in State Houses.
How??? I think one of the answers is better story telling ... "How (a particular accomplishment) changed my life" from ordinary people in lots of media. But I don't know whom to tell that to!!!
I call it as I see it. GOTV efforts have to be more specifically targeted. I've worked on GOTV efforts targeting Democratic-leaning precincts, as I am sure you have, and gotten DeSantis, Rubio and Scott as a result. That's just not enough. There's another side of the coin to racism and sexism, a positive one, and it should be targetted.
No, I don't think so. Not in those terms.
I now live in a predominantly White state. Many voters identify as Independent. My call/turf lists reach out to a wide range of voters.
We have 2 congressional districts. I am in the more red rural district and yet we have been able to elect a moderate Democratic representative to Congress - who helps give us the majority.
By listening and speaking politely with anyone willing, we gain interest and even support for Democratic goals and candidates. Even from Republicans intrigued by our goodwill and commitment. We have Ranked Choice Voting - so even getting someone interested in ranking our candidates second can contribute to a win.
My call or postcard lists (I'm too old to canvass any longer) consist of registered Democrats first, who, when we get them to vote, we know what we are getting. But that's not enough. When we get an "NPA" to vote, we don't know what we are getting. Usually, my CD votes Democratic by about 70 -30, but in 2020, with a Trump-loving Republican running, the margin dropped to 60-40. GOTV activities must be targeted toward those groups which are specifically hurt by Republican "no" votes .
My hope is that when the direct benefits of both the hard and soft infrastructure bills are seen in a voter’s pocketbook they will recognize the source of the benefits and support more Democrats.
Part #2 infrastructure must be put in place soon. Very soon.
Hope is a slender read to lean on when democracy is in peril. We can not and should not rely on people making any connections that we fail to make it for them in easy, relatable terms. Rest assured, the Republicans are busy cooking up a fresh batch of lies and distractions to keep us on the defensive.
Benefits won't be seen in time for the 2022 campaign which is NOW! "Hope springs eternal in the human breast, Man never IS but always TO BE blessed."
I think they will need real stories in a lot of media for folks to "recognize the source of the benefits."
Being aware of what this Administration is doing helps us as politically active people speak intelligently to voters.
Here's the link, thanks for suggesting
https://oliverwillis.com/joe-biden-accomplishments-the-full-list/
Thank you
Thx
Did you have as many ads interrupting the accomplishments as I did?
click the little box with three lines in it that is in the URL box. That will eliminate all the junk and leave the content. Wishing I could post a photo...
Yes. I think packing articles with ads, particularly the same political ad repetitively, interrupts the reader and, for me is irritating. Not unique to this article or site by any means.
Try this link:
https://oliverwillis.com/joe-biden-accomplishments-the-full-list/
Amazing. Thank you, Karen.
Biden has done a superlative job in my opinion, and I've been singing his praises for months. I suspect he's going to go down as the best president since Roosevelt. I voted enthusiastically, and I will do so again.
That said, he's making a huge mistake on one particular policy. I hasten to say that despite that mistake I think he's doing a terrific job, and that as I've gotten older, I've ceased hoping that any politician would do everything I want. But the approval rating on this policy—immigration--is the lowest Biden gets on any policy, at 35 percent.
The border is a mess, and the GOP has been making a big deal of that.
There is a new book out--which anyone who wants to understand what mass immigration has been about for the last 200 years should buy: Back of the Hiring Line: A 200 Year History of Immigration surges, Employer Bias, and Depression of Black Wealth, by Roy Beck.
It's a brilliant, easily digestible presentation that gives a succinct overview within the intro and first chapter of how from the early 1800s to the present, time after time, mass immigration has resulted in African Americans seeing their wages reduced, and losing jobs to immigrants.
When immigration has been low, Black fortunes have risen. But surges, the latest of which has been going on for 50 years, and getting worse as the years have gone by, always push their fortunes back down. And as the author makes clear, in this latest surge, each wave of immigrants also suffers along with Blacks as a new wave breaks, and poor whites suffer as well.
Think of that, and remember how 45 gained a greater share of Hispanic voters in '20 than he had had in '16. And when you think of all those whites listening to the nonsense of Fox News, and believing it, realize that the surges of immigrants--a million annually for the most part since the mid-90s--has been taking their jobs, and giving us a country where nearly half the population can't afford to deal with a $400 dollar emergency, whether a car repair or a medical emergency.
Remember also, in the ’16 election, the popularity of the populist policies of Bernie Sanders and 45 (who of course was not the populist president he’d promised to be).
The book is a slam dunk, backing the thesis with a thorough survey of the relevant academic economic history, along with statements from Black leaders beginning with Frederick Douglass, articles from the Black press going way way back, and the results of government commissions on immigration reform, including the Rockefeller Commission in '72, the Hesburgh Commission (1979), and the Barbara Jordan commission, mid-90s, and others, all of which recommended reducing immigration. (Jordan was a very impressive character worth googling.)
The author, who now runs NumbersUSA, but was a journalist until the late '90s, also draws on his own reporting, to great effect.
A major source of lobbying for more immigration was the companies that used low-skilled labor. They wanted an oversupply, so that they could reduce wages, and speed up the lines (resulting in loads of repetitive injuries among workers). Absent the oversupply, the Black workers had some bargaining power, and could take a recuperation break if they were injured, knowing they'd be hired anew when they were healed.
But in the "poultry crescent", "a half-continent arc of processing plants that extends from Maryland, down through Georgia, over to Mississippi, and back up to northern Arkansas," with the threat of "the corporation bringing buses of foreign workers to fill their jobs if they kept complaining, it was getting more difficult [for Blacks] to stand up for themselves."
Plant managers claimed the immigrant workers had a superior work ethic to American workers of either color, but Beck reported that "the foreign workers often didn't last a year on the job. Many employers didn't seem to hold that against them because there always was a fresh supply of new foreign workers to take their place at the same wages and working conditions, or lower."
in 2019 , the employment rate for Black men and women starting out, at ages 18-29, without a high school degree, was 32%. For similarly situated Whites, it was 39%. At 56%, the rate for immigrants was nearly twice that of African Americans.
Beck emphasizes over and over that Congress, not immigrants, is to blame for these conditions, and that it has always been thus.
Beck’s book is available through Amazon for $9 in hard copy, and less for kindle and audio. To my knowledge, it is unfortunately not available at local bookstores, but may come to them eventually.
Excellent point, which speaks directly toward the crying need to understand and respond to the problems of the vast middle of our population. The book by Roy Beck you cite sounds very worthwhile. I will at least add it to my reading list (which, sadly, is already insurmountably long).
Thanks Syd. It is an incredibly worthwhile book, one that I think will change a lot of minds. He makes an ironclad case, and it's well written. I view it as the most important book I've read probably since the turn of the millennium. Despite the fact that Matthew Walker's Why We Sleep will probably result in my prolonging my life some by getting better sleep.
" ... there always was a fresh supply of new foreign workers to take their place at the same wages and working conditions, or lower."
I witnessed some of this. As an adolescent in central Florida in 1962, a buddy and I decided to go down to Miami that summer and work for six weeks before we had to be back at school. At that time, the Cuban refugees were flowing into Miami to escape the Castro revolution. Minimum wage at the time was $1.25/hour. The refugees got jobs paying 1/2 the minimum wage and thus took jobs away from the local Black population who mostly held those jobs. (Also, the refugees might have been receiving supplemental income from the U.S. government at the time due to their being "political refugees.") This caused a lot of resentment in the Black community and understandably so. (My friend and I got jobs selling magazine subscriptions door to door as no one else wanted those jobs.)
And on and on. Quite fabulous. Thank you, Barbara.
Carole: You use the word "until" in your third paragraph. Will "until" come in time for 2022 and 2024? Democrats cannot play softball while Republicans play hardball.
You are so right. “Until” must come in time for 2022. Democrats cannot play softball, or simply “hope” that Biden’s obvious successes are indeed obvious to others in spite of constant media takedown.
Carole—Notwithstanding HCR’s flawless account of Biden’s mighty impressive accomplishments, I prevail upon all of us also to remain steadfastly focused on the faltering ratings both for the Biden Administration and for Democrats overall, despite policies shown repeatedly to have broad appeal. Though I imagine some Democrats are growing increasingly discouraged by the polarization and disfunction that daily infects our politics, I believe more of us are rightfully concerned that neither Biden nor Democratic lawmakers overall are doing nearly enough to shape their party’s story. I am eager to receive more guidance from this community regarding how best to direct my activism.
Looking for guidance? Join groups actively working to get out the vote of women and persons of color, groups which continue to be hurt by Republican obstructionism. Put the policies and issues aside and concentrate on getting out that vote. That's the way to win elections. Don't waste time defending against Republican lies.
Jack: How shortsighted to presume that activism can’t be guided by a provocative exchange of ideas.
Have you ever tried to have an exchange of ideas with a Republican lately? Or someone carrying an AR-15? Time and energy thusly spent would be better directed toward registering voters, mailing postcards, making phone calls and getting out the vote.
To clarify, by “activism” I meant a refusal on my part merely to watch and wait to see what the politicians and experts will do. Instead, I train myself, I acquire the knowledge I need to at least have a shot at not merely having to look through the window but, rather, to come through the door. HCR’s LFAA followed by this group’s discussions have been enormously valuable. As for the actions listed in your missive, I do that too.
Teach literacy.
In time for the 2022 elections?
Susan: As I said to Jack, I find it quite shortsighted to presume that activism can’t be guided by a provocative exchange of ideas.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍