Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
One of President-elect Joe Biden’s top priorities should be determining what ignited the mania for President Donald Trump and keeps it aflame, then finding ways to address the unmet needs of the74 million people who voted in favor of a second Trump term.
Biden should immediately begin to address their needs rather than merely stoke their suspicions as Trump has done for the past four years.
It won’t be easy, and it will probably require years of replacing the mistrust that elected Trump in 2016 — and that Trump reignited at every opportunity — with renewed confidence that government, large or small, can help them seek their goals, or at least not stand in their way.
To even start to accomplish this goal, however, some real, constructive action must emerge from the executive branch or Congress, but preferably from both.
Even with Trump out of the White House, his near-absolute influence over his base, which has left Republican elected officials quivering in fear of Trump’s vindictiveness, is likely to remain as a ruling force in the GOP for years to come.
Defiance of Trump’s self-seeking rule has begun, however, as an increasing number of Republican officials contradict Trump’s childish bellowing about “voter fraud” in the elections he lost that were systematically and thoroughly monitored at every step by both Republicans and Democrats.
Biden may have to work behind the scenes with Republicans newly disillusioned with Trump, but the results could benefit both Democrats and Republicans.
If he keeps a middle path, Biden could help Democrats overcome their own automatic defiance of anything Republican. The Democrats have to temper their natural reaction to the expressed Republican belief that anyone who opposes Trump must be treated as a tool of Satan.
If compromise and accomplishment can result from a President Biden working both sides of the aisle, increasing numbers of Trump supporters might see some benefits from cooperation.
Biden may not have accomplished much on his own in 47 years of federal service, but he was quietly instrumental in many Congressional achievements, and, as President Harry Truman observed, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
These accomplishments could include increasing the number of well-paid jobs filled by Americans equipped with training and education in areas that address employers’ needs.
They could also include more favorable terms for American workers in foreign trade deals that do not involve mutually destructive tariffs.
More taxation of the very rich could help finance education and other programs to help more people land and keep good jobs. Taxation by itself will not adequately close income gaps.
Infrastructure programs, perhaps even public-private partnerships, could advance valuable workplace skills while improving schools, hospitals, roads and systems that move and energize the economy.
Even with a steady stream of such accomplishments, reversing Trump’s influence will take years, but Republican leaders could gain, too, if they start standing their own ground to reclaim their party from Trump’s autocratic rule.
Steve Hansen writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at: