Friday Talking Points -- Biden Speaks, The World Listens
This week, President Joe Biden gave his first State Of The Union speech to the United States Congress, to the American people, and to the rest of world. This speech had to be hastily rewritten at the last minute, obviously, due to intervening events. Russia's Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine at the end of last week, which was obviously a lot more important than any political points or laundry lists of proposed legislation. So the speech got a quick makeover.
What emerged from this process was almost certainly a lot better than the speech Biden had initially planned on giving. The first 15 minutes or so (of a speech that lasted a wee bit longer than one hour) were entirely devoted to addressing the invasion, the geopolitical situation, and what America was doing and where we stood. Now, Biden doesn't technically count as a "wartime president" during the crisis (since the U.S. is not actually at war with Russia), but it is still having a major effect on how the public sees both him and our country. Biden calling for everyone to stand united with Ukraine is an effective political stance, it cannot be denied. Even the extremists on right-wing cable channels have had to very abruptly cease their admiration for Putin and their denigration of the seriousness of what's happening in Ukraine. America is unified once again against Russian tyranny.
Which, you've got to admit, is a good way to start the biggest political speech of the year. For those old enough to remember the Cold War, it is merely a return to what you grew up with. For those young enough not to remember this, it must seem like something out of a history book has come horrifyingly alive. For all those (of any age) who may have believed major land wars were just never going to happen again, it was a jarring wakeup call.
So far, the war has been a lot less one-sided than predicted. The might of Mother Russia doesn't seem all that impressive, after the first week of open warfare against a smaller and worse-equipped military. The advance of the Russian army has been slowed, and in some instances halted. But they do continue to advance, and they continue to besiege cities. Russia has already achieved one major objective, in that they now control a land corridor on the Black Sea coast which reaches from Russia itself all the way to the Crimean peninsula. Russia hastily built a massive bridge to connect Crimea after it had ruthlessly stolen it from Ukraine years ago, but what they really wanted was a solid land route -- which they now control, with the exception of the besieged city of Mariupol. But other than taking over a few smaller cities, Russia has still not achieved any of its main objectives, much less the occupation and pacification of the entire country of Ukraine. The two biggest cities have not fallen, and the advance on Kyiv in particular seems to have gotten completely bogged down.
Ukrainian forces are achieving more success than predicted. They have not retaken any territory from the Russian forces, but they have halted it in many areas. This is no longer a blitzkrieg war. The anti-tank and surface-to-air weapons we provided the Ukrainians with are taking a serious toll, destroying tanks and armored personnel carries and downing Russian aircraft. That is an unexpected and heartening story of success. But it is limited, so far. The Russian advance may have slowed, but so far it cannot be said to have been halted. Given time, they may chalk up more successes. And they could win a long war of attrition.
However, the Ukrainians (as with any defender against invasion) have a much higher "will to fight" than the Russian forces. Ukrainians are defending their homeland -- and there's no bigger motivation than that. Civilians are signing up to join in the fight, and Ukrainians abroad are returning home to help as well. The Russians, meanwhile, don't really have any reason to fight other than the deluded propaganda issuing forth from Putin. They are engaging in mass slaughter of civilians, which is becoming more and more obvious each day. Whether this saps the Russian forces' will to fight, and to what degree, is still an open question.
In any case, here at home it is crystal-clear who the good guys are in this fight and who are the bad guys. There's not a lot of disagreement about that. America, as Biden stated, is going to stand with the Ukrainians and freedom against Vladimir Putin's tyranny. Biden's tactic of releasing an astonishing amount of intelligence about what was planned before it happened has robbed Putin of the ability to manufacture any "false flag" reason for waging this war in the first place. Nobody believes him -- and that was precisely what releasing this intelligence was designed to achieve.
So Biden's speech began with a soaring call to stand with Ukraine and against Russia, and that's exactly what the American public wanted to hear. Joe Biden may not be perfect, but he is a lot of things that the previous occupant of the Oval Office was not: Biden is sane and rational. He is smart and willing to learn from others. Biden cares about our country a lot more than he cares about the size of his own ego. Biden believes facts when they are brought to him, even if they disagree with something he has previously said. Biden does not throw temper tantrums. Biden believes in diplomacy, he believes in projecting American strength abroad, and he believes in NATO and other international organizations of democracies. Donald Trump believed none of that -- he was only concerned with how he looked on television and his own petulant demands that reality be somehow changed to conform with his biases and delusions. In short, with Putin we've already got one narcissistic whackadoodle on the world stage, so it is a genuine relief to know how much worse the situation would be if there were two such superpower leaders right now.
Hopefully, the American public will be reminded of all this, both by Biden's speech (which was incredibly well-received) and by America's actions in the weeks to come. As we said, this is truly a time for national unity. It will be interesting to see Biden's polling numbers over the next two weeks.
While Biden was at his best -- not just animated but genuinely emotional -- during his speech's opening segment, the rest of the speech was mostly an admission that his own agenda has suffered some damage over the past year. Biden did rightfully tout the two major things he has achieved -- the American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure plan -- but his calls for moving forward over the next year were muted by the reality of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema in the U.S. Senate. The two have anointed themselves gatekeepers for what can pass a Democratic Congress, and they are not going to budge an inch on that stance no matter how much damage it does to the Democratic Party or Joe Biden. So Biden attempted to focus instead on what they might accept. This is a big step down from the speech he gave to Congress last year when he began his presidency, obviously. But at the same time, it is realistic. Biden didn't waste a lot of time making an emotional and righteous case for legislation that has zero chance of passing, to put this another way. If he had done so, he would have doubtlessly been accused of overpromising.
Meanwhile, Republicans are experiencing some serious disarray. This is for the usual reason, of course: Donald Trump. Trump can faithfully be counted on to do the worst thing possible, a talent he exhibited once again in both the run-up to the war and since it began. Trump has tried to rewrite history to say that he was super-tough on Putin (which is just laughable) and that he was the great defender of Ukraine (which is absolutely deluded -- remember when he threatened to withhold military aid if the Ukrainians wouldn't dig up political dirt for him?). This hasty rewrite became necessary after Trump heaped praise on Putin while the tanks were rolling across the border. Trump called Putin a "genius" and "very savvy," and as we all know, once the Republican "Dear Leader" speaks it becomes impossible for all the other Republicans to contradict him.
You know, just like in Putin's Russia.
Many other Republicans and conservative media commentators had been parroting Trump's pro-Putin propaganda, but have suddenly had to reverse course. It's almost funny the "reasoning" they come up with for spouting their previous idiocy, in fact. Tucker Carlson is blaming Kamala Harris, apparently for being a woman (or something, it's hard to tell with him). Senator Ron Johnson tried to blame the whole war (somehow) on Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff, which is just bizarre. But the prize for "most idiotic Republican idiocy of the week" has to go to Representative Clay Higgins, who tweeted out the following word salad:
Dictionary.com hilariously responded:
At the other end of the crazy train was Lindsey Graham, who reacted (as is his wont) in the most belligerent way possible. In a tweet, he laid out what he wanted to happen:
Brutus, of course, killed Julius Caesar, while Stauffenberg tried but failed to assassinate Adolf Hitler. This brought the most extraordinary rebuke from one of the chief conductors of the GOP crazy train, Marjorie "Three-Names" Taylor Greene herself:
As the Politico headline put it: "When MTG Tells You To Dial It Down...."
Of course, the Republicans (and Trump) have a long history of using Ukraine as a pawn in their own political machinations, which more than a few are now pointing out in no uncertain terms.
One Republican did manage to stand up to Trump with admirable fortitude (but then it's all really part of his plan to run against Trump in 2024). No matter what his motivation, though, Chris Christie said exactly what every other Republican should have said when they learned of Trump's fawning Putin-praise:
"Yeah, that's 'genius' and 'very savvy' alright," Christie wrote.
In other "Republicans In Disarray" news, the fight between Senators Mitch McConnell and Rick Scott heated up once again. Scott had the temerity to actually admit what the Republican Party's agenda truly was (which includes raising income taxes for over half of Americans), while McConnell simply doesn't want Republicans to admit what their agenda is to the voters before the midterms. This could be a major schism developing within the party, but so far Scott is out on a limb on his own, so we'll see how much impact it truly has.
Other things are happening in politics, but that seems enough of a wrap-up for this week -- a week overshadowed by a land war in Europe and President Biden's reassuring words to the whole world.
We have a few Honorable Mention awards to hand out before the big one, today.
The first goes to Beto O'Rourke, who romped his way to victory in the Texas Democratic gubernatorial primary this Tuesday. O'Rourke is now a known quantity in Texas, which obviates the need for him to 'introduce' himself to the voters, and this paid off handsomely for him. In a field of four opponents, O'Rourke won more than 90 percent of the vote and carried 'nearly all of the 254 counties in Texas after losing 76 of them four years ago.' That's impressive, although his chances in November of beating the sitting Republican governor are anyone's guess right now.
Also in Texas, Jessica Cisneros forced her fellow Democrat Henry Cuellar into a runoff race. Cuellar is one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, while Cisneros is a solid progressive. Cuellar only managed 48.4 percent of the vote, while Cisneros chalked up 46.9 percent and one other candidate got 4.7 percent. Since over 50 percent of the primary electorate voted against Cuellar, it is entirely possible for Cisneros to beat him in the runoff. Which is also pretty impressive.
On the medical front, Senator Ben Ray Luján triumphantly returned to the Senate floor this week, barely one month after he suffered a stroke. He was warmly welcomed back by all, and this means Democrats aren't one senator down anymore (in a 50-50 Senate) so it is welcome news indeed.
But the obvious winner of the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week this week is none other than President Joe Biden. Both for his well-received State Of The Union address strongly denouncing Vladimir Putin while standing up for Ukraine, as well as for his leadership throughout the crisis the war has caused. Biden critics are left mumbling how he should have moved faster or done things ever-so-slightly differently, but it's hard for them to gain any traction with such weak tea.
Biden knows full well that he cannot send American troops into battle -- which includes resisting the growing calls for America to announce and enforce some sort of no-fly zone over the country. This would put American pilots into direct warfare with Russian pilots, and could very easily (considering Putin's unhinged willingness to pay any price) lead to World War III. Biden is smart enough to know this. Within that constraint, however, Biden has done everything he can to aid the Ukrainians in their existential fight and to shore up the defenses of NATO countries that are terrified of what Putin might try next.
It has not really been long enough for public reaction to both the war and to Biden's speech to gel. We should start to see indicators of how much the public approves of his leadership over the course of the next week, though, so it'll be interesting to see if he regains some of his standings in the job approval polls.
For now, however, the whole world is more than just a little relieved that someone like Joe Biden is in charge of America's response. Especially when you consider the lunatic and unhinged alternative.
For being sane, intelligent, and measured in a crisis, President Joe Biden is easily our Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week this week.
[Congratulate President Joe Biden on his White House contact page, to let him know you appreciate his efforts.]
We have to say we're not happy with the news that the Biden administration has released new guidelines stating that getting a security clearance may be impossible for anyone who invests in marijuana businesses, but we can't accurately pin that on any one person at the time, so we'll hold off handing out an award for it. Still, it does reflect on Biden's "drug warrior" past thinking, so we have our suspicions.
Instead, we're going to give the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award to Michael J. Madigan, the former speaker of the Illinois statehouse. From the Department of Justice's own webpage come the shocking details:
The 22-count indictment accuses Madigan of leading for nearly a decade a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance Madigan's political power and financial well-being while also generating income for his political allies and associates. The charges allege that Madigan, who served as Speaker and occupied a number of other roles, including Representative of Illinois's 22nd District, Committeeman for Chicago's 13th Ward, Chairman of both the Illinois Democratic Party and the 13th Ward Democratic Organization, and partner at the Chicago law firm of Madigan & Getzendanner, used these positions to further the goals of the criminal enterprise. The indictment alleges that Madigan directed the activities of his close friend -- co-defendant MICHAEL F. MCCLAIN -- and that McClain carried out illegal activities at Madigan's behest. Madigan and McClain allegedly caused various businesses, including the utility company Commonwealth Edison, to make monetary payments to Madigan's associates as a reward for their loyalty to Madigan, at times in return for performing little or no legitimate work for the businesses.
Madigan, McClain, and other members of the enterprise allegedly unlawfully solicited benefits from businesses and other private parties. The indictment accuses Madigan of engaging in multiple schemes to reap the benefits of private legal work unlawfully steered to his law firm, including legal work from those with business before the State of Illinois and City of Chicago.
Madigan, 79, of Chicago, is charged with racketeering conspiracy and individual counts of using interstate facilities in aid of bribery, wire fraud, and attempted extortion. McClain, 74, of Quincy, Ill., is charged with racketeering conspiracy and individual counts of using interstate facilities in aid of bribery and wire fraud.
While he still deserves his day in court, obviously, things don't look especially good for Madigan. That seems like a pretty damning indictment, and one that will be tough to walk away from. Illinois and Chicago have a long history of political corruption, of course (see: Rod Blagojevich, to cite just one example), and it certainly looks like they still have a ways to go in cleaning it all out. For now, Michael Madigan certainly deserves our Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award.
[Michael Madigan is no longer a public servant, and it is our policy not to provide contact information for private individuals, so you'll have to search it out yourself if you'd like to let him know what you think of his actions.]
Volume 653 (3/4/22)
We've got a mixed bag of talking points this week, with some positive cheerleading and some abject shaming of the other side of the aisle. Enjoy responsibly, as always!
Jobs, jobs, jobs
This is a growing problem that Democrats need to address.
"Once again, the American economy under President Joe Biden chalked up stellar jobs numbers last month, with 678,000 new jobs and unemployment at the historic low of 3.8 percent. But somehow the public isn't getting this message -- polls show most Americans don't believe more jobs are being created. The truth is we are approaching the end of a job recovery never before seen in America. More jobs have been created since Biden took office than at any other such time in American history. When the pandemic hit, the economy lost a staggering 22 million jobs. When Joe Biden took office, we were still down 10 million jobs. Now a total of 20 million have returned to work. At the rate we are going, we should hit full recovery in the job market in about three months -- much faster than anyone thought possible. That is a stunning record of success, and I wish the news media would occasionally point it out instead of always highlighting bad news. More jobs were created during Biden's presidency than ever. That's a pretty easy story to tell, you would think."
Zelenskyy Democrats
An absolutely brilliant slogan, to give credit where it is due.
"Right before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Donald Trump offered nothing but praise for Vladimir Putin. He called him 'savvy' and 'genius.' Republicans were too scared to denounce him. Think about that -- Republicans are more scared of Trump getting angry with them then they are about refusing to side against a tyrant. Or 'a different tyrant,' maybe I should say. Some Republicans have been using Russian propaganda talking points for a while now, rather than condemning Putin and standing with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This is disgusting and shameful, and I want everyone to know I echo the words of Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney -- 'We're Zelenskyy Democrats. And they're Putin Republicans.' It's that simple, folks."
A very stable genius
Hammer Trump and all those who refuse to denounce his words.
"When Trump first called Putin 'genius' and 'savvy,' all too many Republicans cowered in fear rather than denouncing this praise for an American adversary. At first they were even too scared to denounce Putin, but now they're just too scared to denounce Trump. The number of Republicans willing to stand up for what is right is pathetically small, although some of them in the Republican Accountability Project are about to call their fellow Republicans out with a scathing new ad. But the only one I've seen who gets it is Chris Christie, who tweeted out: 'How can anyone with any understanding of the world call Putin's decision to invade Ukraine "genius" and "very savvy" as we watch him unite the rest of the world against Russia in nearly an instant?' He should have said almost the rest of the world, because far too many Republicans have remained silent about their party leader's reckless praise for a tyrant."
Those words have actual meaning
Separate the serious from the hyperbole, and draw the contrast.
"You know what? A few weeks ago, Canadian truckers were in the news protesting what they called 'tyranny' while supposedly standing up for 'freedom.' There's even a convoy of trucks here, heading for Washington D.C., using the same slogans -- even though they are not subject to mask or vaccine mandates at all. But those words actually have meaning, as the whole world is now seeing. For two years now we've had to listen to a whole bunch of petulant whining about how health measures designed to make Americans more safe and avoid a horrible death are somehow worse than any tyranny ever seen on Earth. This was always nonsense, but this idiocy still continues. Representative Lauren Boebert, who has such a tenuous grasp on basic human decency that she heckled the president when he was talking about his own dead son, this week actually stated: 'But we also have neighbors to the north who need freedom and need to be liberated and we need that right here at home as well.' She was commenting on the situation in Ukraine when she said that. But you know what? Most people are intelligent enough to realize that truckers having a hissy fit over wearing a mask or having to get vaccinated is just not the same thing as tanks shelling apartment buildings full of civilians to crush a democracy. It's just not. The words 'freedom' and 'tyranny' have actual meaning, and it's about time all the lunatics in the Republican Party realized that cold hard fact once again."
GOP does not support the troops
This one needs highlighting in each and every one of these House districts, from now until November.
"The House of Representatives heeded President Biden's call to provide Veterans Administration health benefits to our brave men and women suffering all kinds of horrible aftereffects from the 'burn pits' in Afghanistan and especially Iraq. Biden believes his own son Beau was killed by this exposure, so it is a very personal issue for him. While 34 Republicans supported these troops, sadly the vote was only 256 to 174. Yes, you heard that right -- 174 Republicans just voted against health benefits for veterans for injuries sustained in a war theater. That is beyond disgraceful, it is downright shameful and disgusting. I hope the voters in each and every one of those 174 House districts holds these Republicans responsible for their indefensible vote, come November."
You say there's no room, but there they are
Speaking of disgusting and indefensible Republican behavior....
"Two members of the United States House of Representatives spoke at a gathering of white supremacists last weekend. The crowd they spoke to had been chanting "Putin! Putin!" earlier, cheering on the invasion of Ukraine and literally giving 'a round of applause for Russia.' Since then, Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene have gone unpunished by Republican leaders or the Republican Party. Oh, they can manage to say the right words -- days after the fact, and begrudgingly. They say this is somehow 'unacceptable' and that there 'is no room in the Republican Party' for such views, but in reality these leaders are doing absolutely nothing about it. Kevin McCarthy says he'll have a quiet word in private with the two. Mitt Romney was at least brave enough to call the two 'morons' who are 'missing a few I.Q. points.' But Adam Kinzinger (who is walking away from his career in Republican politics out of disgust for his own party) put it best: 'What I think we should do is kick them out of the party. What do I think we're going to do? Nothing. Liz [Cheney] and I can get censured; they're going to get help up as the future leaders of the party.' Cornered Republicans sanctimoniously state there's no room in the party for white supremacists, but there they are -- and they do nothing about it."
3,272 times!
And to end on a lighter note, this was a little-noticed investigative story this week that struck us as rather funny.
"Remember all those new segments of border wall Donald Trump liked to brag about? Remember him calling them 'impenetrable' and predicting they would solve the problem forever? Well, it turns out that Mexican smugglers of both people and drugs have cut through Trump's walls an astounding 3,272 times over the past three years. It has cost the government millions to repair these breaches, which are pathetically easy to create. All it takes is a power tool available at any hardware store, in fact. So much for Trump's so-called impenetrable wall. Guess he lied about that one, too."
Chris Weigant blogs at: ChrisWeigant.com
Follow Chris on Twitter: ChrisWeigant
Full archives of FTP columns: FridayTalkingPoints.com
= new reply since forum marked as read
the length of posts. 
So important, and interesting…….but yikes…..WAY TO LONG. JMHO.
