Relief Bill Ends 30 Years of Democratic Policy
The COVID Relief Bill Signals the End of 30 Years of Democratic Policy
This bill turns the party away from privatization, and Clintonian welfare "reform," and obsessions with the deficit. The era of Big Government is back.
By Charles P. Pierce Published: Mar 10, 2021
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On Friday, the president will sign the largest single social welfare measure since the demise of the Great Society. Final passage of the American Rescue Act occurred at 2:11 on Wednesday afternoon, following several hours of less-than-edifying debate that produced only a single minor surprise: a Democratic member of Congress named Jared Golden from Maine voted against the bill, as he has several times before. Every single Republican (again) voted against sending aid to a country battered by a pandemic and the economic damage that came along with it, even though they had voted for similar relief under the previous president*, who didn't know what he was doing about anything.
As I said, the hours of debate will not make anyone forget Caesar and Cicero. The Republicans dug in on two fantastical lines of defense—that the bill opened the floodgates to American "socialism," and how everything would have been better if the bill had been produced in a "bipartisan" manner. That none of their tongues turned to fire while they were making these pitches is proof enough that God hates to watch C-SPAN. A particularly bleak exchange came when Wisconsin Republican Glenn Grothman decided to unburden himself on the subject of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Geez. First, one of the things that hasn't been mentioned, the increased in the Earned Income Tax Credit for single people has a marriage penalty in it. I bring it up because I know the strength that Black Lives Matter had in this last election. I know it's a group that it doesn't like the old-fashioned family.
My Enigma machine is in the shop, so I had to wing it as I battled through the subtle coding of Rep. Grothman's insights. Luckily, the formidable Rep. Stacey Plaskett is quicker on the draw than I am.
I hope my colleague from Wisconsin will not leave at this time. As he talked about Black Lives Matter. How dare you, how dare you say that Black Lives Matter, Black people do not understand old-fashioned families. Despite some of the issues, some of the things you have put forward that I heard out of your mouth in the Oversight Committee, in your own district, we have been able to keep our families alive for over 400 years. And the assault on our families to not have Black lives or not even have Black families. How dare you say that we are not interested in families in the black community. That is outrageous. That should be stricken down.
It was Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy who carried the banner against "socialism," fairly defined in this debate as money that does not go necessarily to his donors. Also, too, Venezuela.
Mr. Speaker, socialism has destroyed many countries. I just watched Venezuela offer new currency. What was it, a million, a billion dollars? It's worth 50 cents today. How did it all start? I watched socialism grow in this country. I watched it grow in this body. I see within your own party you are no longer feared to say you're Democrats anymore, Mr. Speaker. It's Socialist Democrats. Mr. Speaker, the head of—the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee isn't even registered as a Democrat.
To which Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth of Kentucky replied:
We've just listened to a repetitive recitation of all the arguments we heard against the American Rescue Plan for the last six weeks or so, and they consist essentially of scare tactics, misinformation, and calling everyone socialism. If Democrats had a pot luck picnic, Republicans would call it socialism.
He's right. Volunteer Fire Departments: Threat or Menace?
Kevin McCarthy carried the banner against socialism.
Drew Angerer//Getty Images
But the bill passed, the way everyone knew it would, and it stands for not only the help it will deliver in the short term, but also an abandonment of nearly 30 years of Democratic domestic policies that were tailored toward finding daylight in Republican ideas that were considered to be dominant among traditional Democratic voters. This bill turns the party away from privatization, and Clintonian welfare "reform," and obsessions with the deficit and the phantom threat of "inflation." A Democratic president has looked at the current crises and decided not to be afraid of the ghosts of Jesse Jackson, Jimmy Carter, and George McGovern, to say nothing of his own ideological shadow. There's no jumping for every bustle in the hedgerows of the elite political media. There's simply work to be done. The new parameters were delineated best by Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina.
The American Rescue Plan enjoys overwhelming public support because it addresses critical needs exacerbated by Covid-19. It is supported by a 75% of the American people. 71% of independents. And 60% of Republicans. This legislation is transformative. It specifically provides $1.6 billion for HBCUs and additional funds for the Department of Agriculture, which is now authorized to increase its support for 1890 land grant institutions.
The Washington Post reports a little known element of this package would pay billions of dollars to disadvantaged farmers, benefiting Black farmers in a way that some experts say no legislation has done since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The New York Times says researchers predict it could become one of the most effective laws to fight poverty in a generation. And would cut the child poverty rate in half. The Associated Press declares several million people stand to save hundreds of dollars in health insurance costs, and the biggest expansion of federal health insurance since the Affordable Care Act. I call upon my Republican colleagues to stop their March madness and show some compassion for their constituents who are less than wealthy.
That used to be the way Democratic politicians used to talk. Their hand may have been forced by the pandemic and the overwhelming necessity of a huge relief plan, but it brought back reflexes thought long gone to atrophy. The Era of Big Government is back, for the moment, anyway.
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