Because of host Chuck Todd's rather personal take on the three big news topics (Politics, Climate Change, and Covid-19), my direct knowledge of Meet the Press has dropped off dramatically during the pandemic. It seems I should have been watching on Sunday Morning (1/15/2022) as Senator Mitt Romney offered his insight into President Joe Biden's "bad year".
Presumably feeling he could speak for the entire population, Romney commented to the show's viewers that Biden was not elected to "transform America". With all due respect Senator, that is exactly what so many of us did expect and if the two political parties stopped thinking that elections were all about them, they would have realized that "transformation" is exactly what voters have wanted for three decades. Normal is a dysfunctional group of 535 individuals that simply go from one election campaign to another. Each time, the hope of America is that we have elected someone with the creativity and skill to ditch the jobs mindset from FDR's passe New Deal era. Biden understands that he needs to go big or go home. It is our two party system that keep refuses to be creative enough to make that happen.
The "Crazies" Are Loose in Congress
From the perspective of a Washington outsider, each party has its share of "crazies" as you have tagged those who fail to adhere to the status quo. Have you not realized that Nancy Pelosi has been like a woman possessed in her mission to do anything that would go against a Republican agenda. There is no civility, cooperation or even thought about anything but how to get back at the other side. That's not normal. That's pathetic.
Americans Deserve More than "Normal"
This country achieved zero unemployment in the mid-1960s. Instead of shifting to higher wages, less production and fewer work hours to keep the numbers up, the country did what it had always done--opened the borders to immigrants willing to work for less. The result was the same as it had been the 1800s. Racial unrest, political division and a working class that was hard pressed to develop wealth. Biden repeated that pattern because his party insisted on it. It is not anymore popular with the public now than it was in the 1960s.
This oppressive jobs mindset is not new. Congress applauds companies who are innovative in their business models but refuses to make it part of the overall fabric of working America. Unable to recognize that voters say they want jobs because that's all they know, elected officials prefer to secure their political positions and focus on wealth creation even though it only exacerbates the problem.
It is time for both parties to focus on their country instead of elections. Is winning or losing an election really all that important? Consider being a responsible leader and work on the following.
- Praise the States (Yes, all of them) - The Federal government has pushed their responsibilities onto the state and local government for years. It then criticized them for dealing with the challenge in their own way. The states got us through COVID, not the federal government. Change Congresses attitude and you might get more cooperation.
- Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment - The Federal government's focus on protecting tiny sectors of the population increases division. Both parties do it. Republicans protect religions, big business and gun rights. Democrats protect ethnic groups, poverty (yes poverty not those who are impoverished) and cities. No one protects the average citizen who does the work and keeps this country going. Congress created this divided public, they need to come together and signal that they will protect us all.
- Fix the Immigration problem - Bringing in immigrants as a labor source to undermine the rest of the population was heinous a century and a half ago. It still is. Abusing them to keep profits high and labor costs low is not admirable. As for DACA, that is an easy fix if you would just do it (See DACA Citizenship: It Could Have Been So Easy )
- Regulate, Don't Legislate - While Congress is spending time debating laws we don't need, the federal government fails to do what it was suppose to do--keep us honest. Renaming mountains does not improve the environment. Recalling thousands of pounds of foods and drugs for a misprinted label does not make us safer. It makes us poorer--both in spirit and financially. Regulatory agencies long ago became instruments of economy growth. It now falls to citizens to stand up for themselves against businesses Congress promoted. Protect consumers instead of turning safety into an economic policy.
- Stand Up to the Climate Change Lobby- Climate change is a direct result of the World using the environment as a revenue stream. The EPA has been more responsible for changes in the atmosphere than any carbon-based molecule (See Air Pollution's the Answer: How Clean Air Policy Compromised the Planet and Public Health )
- Stop Worrying about the Stock Market- The Stock Market does not put food on the table or educate children to with real information. Before the Stock Market became the ruler by which economic growth was measured, banking favored local depositors. Now they are almost an inconvenience. Switch focuses and inflation will drop.
If Republicans and Democrats were to come together and change their focus to lifestyle rather than wealth, America would be transformed. Biden has the negotiation skills. Are you and your fellow Republicans willing to be part of the process?