Here’s my response to the writer who repeats that he wants to hear from people who voted for Biden (What good has Joe Biden done? letter to the editor in the July 13 edition of the Tri-City Times).
I did not sign up to join a Biden cult. I voted for someone who would avoid, rather than cultivate, scandal and drama. The writer insists anyone answering their challenge may not mention, Putin, COVID, or Trump. I do not accept those conditions. I am relieved that Biden is not groveling to Mr. Putin as Mr. Trump shamefully did. Did you never wonder what was really going on there? It could be that Mr. Trump emboldened Putin with his weak support of NATO and world alliances. I am supportive of the aid to Ukraine although wars go places you would never expect once they are started with unexpected consequences that no one can predict.
I am disappointed that President Biden has been unable to convince the Democrats to stick together to pass legislation on climate change or to invest in American infrastructure. It seems that corporate interests are the ones that get served whoever is in office. I am pleased with his Supreme Court pick and very disturbed by the extreme decisions by the justices that Trump chose.
I don’t find Biden to be an inspiring individual or great speaker and I hope to see a younger, more progressive person run in 2024 on the Democratic ticket. That said, I am so relieved to not have the circus that was the 45th president’s term. Have you watched any of the Jan. 6 hearings or are you boycotting looking at how the last president attempted to stay in power in spite of losing the last election? It’s pretty much all Republicans who are testifying and laying out the scenario of a near coup.
I understand that the main conversation right now is the price of gas and inflation. The working people are hurt most by the high gas prices while the oil companies are making tremendous profits. The gap between the rich and the formerly middle class and poor has widened in the U.S since the embrace of slashing taxes on the highest income earners to supposedly stimulate economic growth. It hasn’t really worked out like that, but is now a foundational tenet of Republican mythology. This economic pressure also seems to me to fuel the fire of uncertainty, insecurity and fear of the future and one another we are experiencing and that the former president stoked and used to energize a following. What Biden did to deal with the COVID crisis in real time had an economic effect not what one would wish for with high inflation. This inflation is happening not just in the U.S, but world wide.
It was a mistake (greed) on the part of the American car companies to stop making energy efficient cars and throw their weight into big gas guzzling trucks and SUVs that are more profitable for them than cars. My 2008 Saturn with 260,000 miles just died and I’ve run out of Saturns so I’m on to a hybrid. Maybe high gas prices will accelerate a needed transition to push the car market into greater energy efficiency since setting standards and regulations is being taken off the table by court decisions. Again, corporations calling the shots for their benefit without regard for the need to make a large shift in energy efficiency.
Don’t you think a more productive approach would be to ask how to create a more hospitable domestic environment rather than continue on this tired exercise of my guy versus your guy? We don’t need another hero, but thoughtful people who can admit when they make mistakes and then make adjustments. Wouldn’t that be a novel idea for a leader?
By the way, there is a Story Corp project in Detroit seeking people of various political persuasions to participate in community conversations in order to find ways to talk and listen to one another. It’s called “One Small Step” and if you are actually interested in conversation you might check it out through Detroit’s public radio station, WDET.org.
Sincerely,
—Miriam Marcus,
Lum
