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      in US Politics

      Joe Biden pitches ambitious plan to reshape America in first major address to Congress – as it happened

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      Key events

      Show

      12.30am EDT
      00:30

      Key takeaways from tonight

      12.10am EDT
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      Progressive Democrats praise Biden on Covid but call for bolder action

      9.59pm EDT
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      Biden addresses a divided – and distanced – joint session

      9.39pm EDT
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      Biden introduces his families plan

      9.17pm EDT
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      Biden: ‘Go and get vaccinated’

      9.07pm EDT
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      Joe Biden has arrived

      8.52pm EDT
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      Why this address is not a “state of the union”

      Live feed

      Show

      12.30am EDT
      00:30

      Key takeaways from tonight

      1) The coronavirus pandemic cast a strange pall on the yearly political tradition.
      As Biden took the podium, he brushed past a sparse, masked crowd. He fist-bumped and elbow-tapped lawmakers and members of his cabinet – greeting a crowd that was physically distanced, and ideologically divided.
      Because fewer people were in attendance, due to coronavirus safety protocols, applause and cheers were muted – as seemed appropriate for a somber moment in history. Although Biden’s speech signaled hope – there was no denying that the country was still grappling with enormous loss and grief.
      After a long dark year, the vaccine offered a light, Biden said. “Grandparents hugging their children and grandchildren instead of pressing their hands against a window to say goodbye,” he said.
      But, he added: “There’s still more work to do to beat this virus. We can’t let our guard down now.”
      2) It was a historic evening for women in government.
      As soon as he took to the podium, Biden acknowledged Kamala Harris, stood behind him, as “Madam vice president,” and then reflected: “No president has ever said these words from behind this podium. And it’s about time.”
      For the first time in US history, two women were seated behind the president addressing a joint session of congress. Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker and the third person in the chain of command, after Biden and Harris, also flanked Biden.
      In 2007, Pelosi was the first woman to sit behind a president during a joint address to congress – after she became the first woman to hold the position of House Speaker. Harris is the first woman, and Black and South Asian American person to be elected vice president. Asked about the significance of the occasion, Harris told reporters it was just “normal”.
      3) “Jobs, jobs, jobs”
      Biden’s populist, direct appeal to working-class Americans could be summed up by one four-letter word: jobs. At each step, Biden is explaining that his proposals – to improve water infrastructure, to increase internet access, to build highways, to increase childcare options for working families – will boost jobs.
      He used the word 43 times throughout his speech.
      “When I think about climate change, I think jobs,” he said. “There’s no reason the blades for wind turbines can’t be built in Pittsburgh instead of Beijing.”
      4) Biden ushered in a new era of big government, and big government spending
      “Our government still works – and can deliver for the people,” Biden said.
      The president introduced his sweeping $1.8tn plan, which would invest billions in a national childcare program, universal preschool, tuition-free community college, health insurance subsidies and tax cuts for low- and middle-income workers.
      The vision would be funded by rolling back Trump-era tax cuts, raising the capital gains rate for millionaires and billionaires, and closing tax loopholes for the wealthy.
      “Trickle-down economics has never worked. It’s time to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out,” Biden said. “We’re going reform corporate taxes so they pay their fair share – and help pay for the public investments their businesses will benefit from.”
      The messaging was a clear example of how much Biden has embraced and adopted progressive ideas and policies – even if many of the administration’s proposals are more modest, or watered-down versions of what leading progressive lawmakers have championed.
      5) The president pitched reforms that have bipartisan support – among voters, if not lawmakers
      Biden proposed major reforms to gun control and policing, and made a major pitch to protect voting rights. Republican lawmakers have fought the administration and their Democratic colleagues on all three issues. But polls indicate that though the country remains deeply divided on many issues, there’s actually broad, bipartisan support among voters for the president’s proposals.
      About two-thirds of Americans support tougher gun laws, a USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll found after the mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder this year. “The country supports reform, and the Congress should act,” Biden said.
      A March Morning Consult poll found that about 7 out of 10 voters, including majorities of Republicans, support the House’s sweeping elections reform measure. And while Republicans have big reservations about the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the reform bill introduced by Democrats in Congress, polls indicate they largely support many provisions.
      Republicans, who have routinely denigrated and voted against Biden’s proposals, including his widely popular coronavirus relief plan and proposed infrastructure plan, have found themselves in an odd position of having to convince voters that they don’t actually want what they want.

      Updated
      at 12.41am EDT

      12.10am EDT
      00:10

      Progressive Democrats praise Biden on Covid but call for bolder action

      Adam Gabbatt

      The progressive wing of the Democratic party praised Joe Biden for his handling of the Covid-19 crisis in a response to the president’s first address to Congress, but urged the president to be bolder in tackling the climate crisis and economic inequality, and to do more to address “the burning crisis of structural racism in our country”.
      Jamaal Bowman, a Democratic congressman from New York, gave a speech responding to Biden’s address shortly after the president finished his address, as progressives seek to convince Biden to pursue more ambitious policies.
      Bowman hailed Biden’s handling of the Covid pandemic – in particular the aid given to schools in low income areas – but said the Democratic party, which controls the presidency, the House of Representatives and – narrowly – the Senate, could do more.
      “The proposals that President Biden has put forward over the last few weeks would represent important steps – but don’t go as big as we’d truly need in order to solve the crises of jobs, climate and care,” Bowman said.
      “We need to think bigger.”
      Read more:

      Updated
      at 12.21am EDT

      11.56pm EDT
      23:56

      Biden’s speech has earned praise from the former president Bill Clinton.

      Bill Clinton
      (@BillClinton)
      Great speech from @POTUS, great proposals, great call to action. Let’s do it!

      April 29, 2021

      11.44pm EDT
      23:44

      Some images from the evening … More

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      in US Politics

      Biden will be flanked by two women as he addresses Congress in historic first

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      When Joe Biden gives his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, viewers will be treated to a historic first – the sight of two women, Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi, seated behind the president.Harris, the first female, Black and south Asian vice-president, and Pelosi, the first female House speaker, will take up their positions as Biden reflects on the first 99 days of his presidency and lays out his vision for the 1362 days to come.Their presence demonstrates a measure of progress in the quest for gender equality in the US – even if Harris and Pelosi will be flanking an aging white, male president – and Harris, in particular, proves a contrast to the past four years, which saw Donald Trump willed on by a bewitched Mike Pence.Biden is expected to use the speech, which comes before his 100th day in office on Thursday, to address the state of the Covid pandemic, and push the $2tn infrastructure plan he unveiled at the end of March. The president will also discuss the need for better healthcare, according to the Washington Post, and will renew his call for police reform.Viewers are likely to see Harris and Pelosi rise to their feet repeatedly during Biden’s address to applaud – something Pelosi largely avoided during Trump’s speeches to Congress.Biden, as vice-president, spent eight years seated behind Barack Obama as the latter addressed joint sessions of Congress, with Harris assuming Biden’s former seat for the first time on Wednesday.Pelosi has plenty of experience in these settings, having served as speaker of the House since 2019, and previously from 2007 to 2011.In 2019 her parental-style clapping of Donald Trump during his State of the Union address became a viral moment, while a year later she was lauded by the left after she tore up a copy of Trump’s speech.A president’s first address to Congress is usually an extravagant affair, witnessed by hundreds of guests, but the Covid pandemic means the audience was scaled back for Biden’s speech. Only one member of the supreme court – Chief Justice John Roberts – was invited, and members of Congress were told not to bring guests. More

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      in World Politics

      Will Big Pharma Continue to Own the World’s Health?

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      The news from India concerning the ravages of COVID-19 is now beyond alarming. New York Times correspondent Jeffrey Gettleman describes a nation stricken by “the fear of living amid a disease spreading at such scale and speed.” In what sounds like the screenplay of a sci-fi catastrophe film, scientists are talking about an invasion by a “double mutant.” Doctors say the peak is still weeks away as hospitals, filled to capacity, lack the means to keep patients alive.

      The Biden administration has exceptionally called into question the US policy of hoarding vaccines for domestic use. It has agreed to share with India millions of doses of AstraZeneca vaccine that was stockpiled while awaiting authorization for use on the US market. This became possible because it turns out the stock of authorized vaccines will be sufficient for domestic needs.

      Following a telephone conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Biden explained, somewhat cryptically, that the US would be sending “the actual mechanical parts that are needed for the machinery they have to build a vaccine.” Does this mean India will be able to manufacture vaccines whose patents are held by Western pharmaceutical companies? The Indian Express notes that Biden’s initiative “comes after criticism of Washington over its delay in responding and its earlier cold shoulder to a request for lifting the freeze on export of raw materials linked to vaccine manufacturing.”

      Bill Gates and the Zero-Sum Vaccination Game

      READ MORE

      Everyone should know by now that the ice pack for America’s cold shoulder was provided a year ago by philanthropist Bill Gates, who continues to oppose the sharing of know-how and industrial secrets with those who need it most on the grounds that it undermines his logic of industrial production. Even when the taxpayer foots the bill, Gates believes private companies should retain the right not only to skim off all future profits but to manage the scarcity that ensures the vaccine’s long-term profitability.

      Criticism of Gates has been rife in recent weeks, but nothing has been done to rectify an increasingly dangerous situation. The progressive populist website Public Citizen gives the details of a news conference in Washington, DC, led by Senator Bernie Sanders and several other lawmakers, accompanied by “leaders of labor, public health, faith and other civil society groups.” They urged the Biden administration to “join 100 other nations in supporting a temporary waiver of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules that now give a few corporations monopoly control over where and how much COVID-19 vaccines and treatments are made.”

      Bernie Sanders stated the basic case: “Poor people in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and throughout the world have as much a right to be protected from the virus, to live, as people in wealthier nations. To me, this is not a huge debate, this is common human morality.”

      Today’s Daily Devil’s Dictionary definition:

      Common human morality:

      An idea inherited from the past but clearly superseded in the present by the laws of free market capitalism that place economic interest above human need as the principal criterion governing public morality.  

      Contextual Note

      The above quote by Bernie Sanders also featured in an article on another popular progressive website, Common Dreams. Jake Johnson covered it for Salon. Though it was a DC news conference headed by a prominent political figure, none of the major corporate outlets apparently considered it worthy of attaining The New York Times’ vaunted standard of “all the news that’s fit to print.” No one would deny Sanders’s exceptional weight of moral authority, acknowledged even by those who don’t share his “democratic socialist” agenda. So why wasn’t this news?

      Embed from Getty Images

      The simple answer to that question is that in today’s hypercompetitive world, where everything is about power and profit, the corporate media apparently have no idea what to do with the idea of morality. The institutions known as the liberal corporate media – The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC and even much of broadcast news — stopped showing an interest in common morality the moment they began placing their trust in the likes of the CIA, the NSA and the countless lobbies as their most reliable source of political truth and practical wisdom. To the degree that the various conservative media have always believed in the merits of a dog-eat-dog world where all must fend for themselves in a struggle for personal advantage, they tend to treat the very idea of common human morality as an unfortunate attribute of “snowflakes,” the sign of a weak character.

      Bernie Sanders grew up in a moment of history when the notion of a common human morality still had some impact on human behavior. Over the past half-century, it has been replaced by the kind of realism that focuses on personal ambition, private profit and the acquisition of power. Today’s media can only see Sanders’ invocation of common morality as a quaint vestige of former times.

      Historical Note

      In October 2020, the World Trade Organization published an optimistic take on how the current intellectual property rules could effectively meet the needs of a human race confronted with a global health problem. Subsequent events have revealed how disingenuous their claims were. “Collaboration and cooperation among health technology developers, governments and other stakeholders,” it suggested, “can be positively supported by the IP system as well as by guidance on lawful cooperation among competitors under a country’s domestic competition policy regime.”

      In a Politico article with the title “Why waiving patents might not boost global access to coronavirus vaccines,” the authors, Ashleigh Furlong and Sarah Anne Aarup, sum up the current state of the debate concerning the campaign to institute a temporary waiver of the reigning intellectual property rules to permit the production of vaccines in the countries where they are most needed: “By some accounts, the IP waiver is the answer to producing more desperately needed jabs, but it’s being blocked by Big Pharma and wealthy nations guarding their bottom line. Others attest that the waiver makes no sense for vaccines and is being backed by people who are seizing the issue as their chance to make more sweeping changes to the current IP system.”

      The “others” in the last sentence would undoubtedly include Bill Gates. This confrontation could potentially become a significant moment in history. Sadly, it will have required the death of millions of people to provoke the “sweeping changes” that are clearly needed to reform a deeply perverse system.

      The first indications of a historical shift may appear as soon as next week. On May 5, in response to an initiative of India and South Africa, the WTO’s General Council will meet to consider a patent waiver permitting nations in need to manufacture the vaccines whose IP is now jealously guarded by for-profit pharmaceuticals. According to the National Herald, the “United States so far has remained non-committal on the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) move of India and South Africa over this.” On Monday, the White House informed reporters “that no decision has been made yet” in response to the legislators’ demand for the US to back the proposal.

      The suspense will grow in the coming days. Will Biden dare to defy Bill Gates? Does the president of the United States hold more power than the pharmaceutical industry? Before proving himself to be the new Franklin Delano Roosevelt — a claim his supporters have made — can Biden show even a slight aptitude to emulate the other, earlier Roosevelt, the trust-busting Teddy?

      Theodore Roosevelt was not just a “rough rider” but also a rough and tough opinionated character. Yet he reflected something that still existed in his day, the idea of a common human morality. He expressed it through his trust-busting but also in various pronouncements. “This country,” he intoned, “will not permanently be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in.” He could even demonstrate political analysis: “This crooked control of both the old parties by the beneficiaries of political and business privilege renders it hopeless to expect any far-reaching and fundamental service from either.”

      No establishment Democrat or Republican, not even Bernie Sanders, would dare to pronounce such an obvious truth today, when the corruption that fuels the political system has been sealed into the economic ideology that governs it.

      *[In the age of Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain, another American wit, the journalist Ambrose Bierce, produced a series of satirical definitions of commonly used terms, throwing light on their hidden meanings in real discourse. Bierce eventually collected and published them as a book, The Devil’s Dictionary, in 1911. We have shamelessly appropriated his title in the interest of continuing his wholesome pedagogical effort to enlighten generations of readers of the news. Read more of The Daily Devil’s Dictionary on Fair Observer.]

      The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy. More

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      in US Politics

      ‘Far better than I expected’: Guardian readers on Joe Biden’s first 100 days

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      ‘It’s a blessing not to cringe every morning when I look at the news’He’s far better than I expected on his domestic policies. If he can get the Senate to get rid of the filibuster, he’ll probably do a lot more. His foreign policy team is hawkish, dragging their feet in regards to Iran and truly reactionary regarding Latin America. But compared to Trump even that looks good. It is truly a blessing not to cringe every morning when I look at the news and don’t see 45 [Trump, the 45th president] still in charge of the US. Chip Hollister, 73, retired psychologist, Pennsylvania, Green party‘I’m dumbfounded (in a good way) by how much this president has taken on in such a short time’I’m dumbfounded, in a good way, by how much this president has taken on in such a short time. Managing the pandemic and vaccine rollout, historic fiscal stimulus intended to lift people out of poverty, urgent initiatives to address climate change, sweeping infrastructure investment, dismantling systemic racism … Any one of these might absorb the attention and energy of an entire four-year term.That this president is tackling and prioritizing all of these issues at once, and within mere months of taking office, is astounding. I’m exhausted for President Biden and his team. And worried. But also hopeful. His unflagging optimism, perseverance and spirit, even after decades in politics and enduring partisan divisions, render him the rarest sort of civil servant: an inspiring one. Tara Chhabra, 47, HR manager, New York, Democrat‘The major flaws thus far have been refusing to cut our “defense” establishment and failure to mitigate inhumane treatment of refugees’He’s doing so much better than I expected on domestic matters. I’m impressed by the Covid, infrastructure and poverty relief initiatives. He’s even dared to mention the unmentionable – we need to reform our tax structure above all else. Biden speaks firmly, though with a moderate tone and presence. On the national front, this is the best news our country has had for 40+ years. I think whatever happened between him and Bernie Sanders has had some effect on current policies.Leaving Afghanistan (or mostly leaving it) is great. However, the major flaws thus far have been in refusing to cut our bloated and far too powerful ‘defense’ (aggressive) establishment, and the failure to mitigate the inhumane treatment of refugees. My own view is that the US can work toward helping social democratic/populist governments to survive in Central America, so that those seeking refuge will be able to remain at home. Florence S Boos, 77, university professor, Iowa, Green/Democrat/Bernie wing‘Biden has done nothing to support Americans who have lost their jobs, homes and cars’He’s just a puppet. He’s not running the country; he’s just being told what to do and what to say. I’m a third-generation immigrant from Italy, and right now the borders are ridiculous – putting immigrants in hotels while we have so many Americans living on the street. I’m sorry their countries are so unlivable, but their governments allowed it to happen. The teachers’ union is preventing our children from returning to the classroom, when unions are an item of the past. Then there’s electric cars, which the average person cannot afford because of their price. Gas prices are out of line too because he has canceled new production of fuel. So many Americans are without great-paying jobs now, losing their homes, and cars and Biden has done nothing to support them. Anonymous, 68, retired, Indiana, Republican‘As a reluctant voter I have been pleasantly surprised’As a reluctant voter for Biden as president, I have wondered why, yet again, I can only vote against the worst of two bad choices, rather than for a candidate that represents my values. Viewing Biden as a dinosaur who was overdue for retirement, I have been pleasantly surprised on a daily basis by his hard work, his evident commitment to listen to others and to act on what he hears from them, and by his willingness to challenge some of the many US shibboleths that have remained untouchable for far too long.My main concern is whether he may take Obama’s path of seeking bipartisan support when there is none to be had, and my main hope is that he will pursue his publicly stated agenda and eliminate the Senate filibuster in order to succeed. Dr Philip V Hull, 58, psychologist, California‘He is often stuck on needless compromise’Biden has led as well as a president can during this crisis, and his administration seems mostly capable of helping our nation find its way back to 2016. It seems evident, however, that Biden does not know how capable he is of doing this, and too often is stuck on needless compromise with the very conservatives the people resoundingly voted out last year. Charlie, 17, student, Virginia, Democrat‘We have a deeply unequal and broken society – Biden is not capable of fixing that’It’s fair to say that he has exceeded expectations. I thought I would get the vaccine in the summer but I got my first dose on 12 April. The American Rescue Plan was also a huge help for the economic crisis brought by the pandemic, and it is the first time since the Great Society that the federal government has substantively combatted poverty and inequality. I was feeling much worse before he was elected, but this is still a nation with very little hope, especially for the young. Inflated tuition and a difficult job market mean that the way forward is not clear at all.We all still struggle under a deeply unequal and broken society. Biden is not capable of fixing that. Even if he finds success against the immediate crises we face, there is still a much deeper malaise infecting the nation. One that has destroyed the American dream for everyone but the rich. I’m glad he’s president, but America needs someone with a vision for the nation on par with Franklin D Roosevelt or Lyndon Johnson. Still, Biden’s success in his first 100 days may pave the road for someone transformative. We all wait for that day. Paul Arango, 21, unemployed, New York, Democrat‘His immigration policy is too Trump-like’I am disappointed that Biden has not reversed more of Trump’s policies, like increased sanctions on Iran, and the cutoff of Obama relations with Cuba. His immigration policy is also too Trump-like; parents and relatives should be reunited with children, then monitored. Instead of restoring the corporate tax rate to 35%, he wants only to raise it to 28%. Biden’s economic policies are good, but temporary, when many need to be made permanent while we still have a majority in Congress.Biden has condemned Medicare for All, which is absolutely necessary. I support most of the policies advocated by Bernie Sanders, and wish he were president, but he is playing a very important role as head of the budget committee. Dr Kegel, 73, retired clinical psychologist, Illinois, usually votes Democrat, but not a supporter of the mainstream party‘Refreshing and hopeful’I am happy to be able to breathe again. I no longer wake up afraid of what has been inferred, threatened or stated on Twitter. I find his encouragement of responsibility, sympathy for those impacted by disaster and solemn commitment to climate change refreshing and hopeful. These were things generally expected from a sitting president in the past. They have now become precious pearls of unexpected maturity. The bar had been set so low, that anything above it would seem like a cause for celebration. I think President Biden has much to correct and a big job ahead of him but I am encouraged that we will regain the trust of our world partners and address global problems with respect and maturity.For me personally, my healthcare coverage feels stabilized and the cover offered is better as a result of Biden’s commitment to improving the existing program. Stock markets are stable and the housing market is booming. If nothing else, the last four years have taught me to pay attention. Voting is crucial and holding elected officials to task is important. I will never be that lazy again. Sara Sally L, 63, artist, educator and writer, Kansas, former Republican, newly a Democrat More

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      in US Politics

      White House announces sweeping $1.8tn plan for childcare and universal preschool

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      The White House has introduced a sweeping $1.8tn plan that would invest billions in a national childcare program, universal preschool, tuition-free community college, health insurance subsidies and tax cuts for low- and middle-income workers.The American Families Plan, unveiled ahead of the president’s address to Congress, reflects many of Joe Biden’s campaign promises, and builds on his American Rescue Plan, which was the biggest expansion of the welfare state in decades. While the Rescue Plan was designed to bail the nation out of the depths of the coronavirus crisis – funding the $1,400 cheques that were sent to most Americans, and efforts to ramp up Covid-19 vaccinations – the plan unveiled on Wednesday aims to reshape the economy’s social infrastructure.The vision would be funded by rolling back Trump-era tax cuts, raising the capital gains rate for millionaires and billionaires, and closing tax loopholes for the wealthy, senior administration officials said in a call with members of the media.If the plan passes, about $300bn would be dedicated to funding education, $225bn would go toward childcare and another $225bn toward subsidizing paid family leave. The program reflects progressive ideas, including a national family leave program, which have only recently been adopted by mainstream Democratic lawmakers. The US is the only wealthy nation that does not have a federal policy for paid maternity leave, and is one of a very small group of wealthier countries that do not provide for paid paternity leave.During a press briefing last week, Brian Deese, a senior adviser to the president, said the plan “will provide critical support for children and families and, in – by doing so, critical support for our economy by boosting labor force participation and future economic competitiveness”.The plan excludes some provisions that leading Democrats, including the progressive senator Bernie Sanders and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, have pushed for, including reductions to consumer and government spending on prescriptions and an expansion to the eligibility criteria for Medicare, the government-run healthcare program.Administration officials did not clarify why those provisions were excluded from the plan, though they said that the president has a plan to address drug prices and Medicare eligibility.Republican lawmakers, who have staunchly opposed Biden’s spending proposals despite their broad popularity among both Democratic and Republican voters, are likely to bristle at this latest development. The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, who was unable to block the passage of the American Rescue Plan, this month vowed to fight Biden’s $2tn infrastructure plan “every step of the way”.Central to their opposition are Biden’s plans to increase taxes on the wealthy to fund investments in infrastructure, education and healthcare – a tactic that would unravel the Republicans’ crowning achievement during the Trump administration: the sweeping tax cuts passed in 2017.But Democrats don’t need bipartisan support. Although most bills must surpass 60 votes in the Senate, Democrats are able to pass budget-related measures with just 51 votes through a process called reconciliation. With representation in the chamber split 50-50 between parties, the vice-president, Kamala Harris, serves as a tie-breaking vote. More

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      in US Politics

      Republicans falsely claim Biden wants to restrict meat in climate crisis fight

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      Sign up for the Guardian’s First Thing newsletterAt a major summit hosted by Joe Biden last week, a procession of world leaders fretted over the spiraling dangers of the climate crisis, with some pledging further cuts to planet-heating emissions, others touting their embrace of electric cars and a few vowing the end of coal.In the US, however, Biden’s political opponents were focused on one pressing matter – meat.“Bye, bye burgers” screamed an on-screen graphic on Fox News, which ran the false claim that the US president would tyrannically allow Americans to devour just one burger a month. Larry Kudlow, a former economic adviser to Donald Trump now Fox Business host, baselessly envisioned Fourth of July celebrations where people would only be allowed to “throw back a plant-based beer with your grilled Brussels sprouts” on the barbecue.Prominent Republicans seized upon the supposed Biden climate diktat – which does not exist. The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, retweeted a claim of a 4lb-a-year meat allocation with the comment: “Not gonna happen in Texas!” The far-right conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican representative, called Biden the “Hamburglar” while Garret Graves, ostensibly a more moderate House Republican, said the president’s plan amounted to “dictatorship”.The unfounded claims, which appear to have somehow sprouted from a University of Michigan study on the impact of meat eating, do not reflect Biden’s actual proposals to tackle global heating, which make no mention of personal meat consumption. But they have dealt a hefty blow to Republicans’ latest efforts to present themselves as committed to taking on the climate crisis.A week prior to the White House climate summit, Republicans released what they framed as a sensible, market-based alternative to Biden’s climate plan. “Democrats often dismiss Republicans as disinterested in address global climate change – this is just false,” said Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader. McCarthy said that Republicans have been “working for years to develop thoughtful, targeted legislation” to reduce emissions that, unlike Democratic proposals, “won’t kill American jobs”.Cognizant of growing voter alarm over the climate crisis – a majority of Republican voters now support the regulation of carbon dioxide – McCarthy has brushed aside the objections of some colleagues to recast the party’s beleaguered environmental reputation by promoting various tax breaks for renewable energy, making it easier to import minerals for clean technology and supporting a push to plant one trillion trees around the world.Critics, however, say the proposals are wildly inadequate to avoid disastrous global heating, which scientists say must involve sharply cutting emissions this decade before reaching net zero by the middle of the century. In lieu of any mention of phasing out fossil fuels – the primary cause of the climate crisis – the Republican plan instead calls for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, an oil project halted by Biden.“Getting to net zero requires extraordinary and sustained effort across all of society, not just the federal government, so you can’t just take a piecemeal approach like this, clap your hands and say, ‘We’re done here’,” said Nate Hultman, an expert in public policy at University of Maryland who helped draw up emissions reduction targets for Barack Obama’s administration. “This is a sort of mishmash of proposals, not a comprehensive strategy. I just don’t see how you get to a 50% cut by 2030 or to net zero with this.”Neither McCarthy’s office nor Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES), a conservative group that created a website for the plan, responded to questions on what emissions reductions the assorted proposals would achieve. Last week, Heather Reams, executive director of CRES, accused Biden of “radically impacting our already battered economy” by promising to cut US emissions in half by the end of the decade.During Trump’s presidency, Republicans laid siege to various climate regulations, largely backed his decision to remove the US from the Paris climate accords and acquiesced as the president repeatedly mocked climate science. Despite moves by some younger, more moderate conservatives to prod the party to respond to the increasingly severe wildfires, storms and heatwaves strafing the US, the party’s rhetoric has barely shifted following Trump’s election loss, according to Robert Brulle, a visiting professor of the environment and society at Brown University.“These guys need to get a new PR agency, it’s like they are talking about climate change in the 1990s,” said Brulle. “It’s just recycled arguments from the past or, on the meat thing, just outright lies. These arguments may have worked in the past to delay climate action but it’s so exhausted now. It’s different day, same old shit.”Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Penn State, said it was pleasing to see most Republicans shift away from outright denial of climate science but that a “new climate war” was opening up involving “reassuring sounding but empty rhetoric” to stymie regulations to reduce emissions.“They have the same intent as outright denial – to keep us addicted to fossil fuels as long as possible so that fossil fuel interests, who now have such great influence over the Republican party, can continue to make trillions of dollar profits, at our collective expense,” Mann said.Last week’s climate summit, which featured more than 40 world leaders, offered a stark illustration of the extreme position Republicans now find themselves in the global political landscape.During the virtual gathering, even leaders considered climate villains by environmentalists called for greater action on global heating, with Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, warning the “fate of our entire planet, the development prospects of each country, the well-being and quality of life of people largely depend on the success of these efforts” to reduce emissions.“The GOP is an extraordinary outlier in the political spectrum around the world, they have backed themselves into a political and rhetorical cul de sac,” said Brulle.“They are stuck in a really bad position that no other major political party in the world is in. Climate obstructionism is now a core part of Republican creed, much like opposition to abortion and gun control. As long as they remain competitive in elections I don’t see that changing.” More

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      in US Politics

      The Republicans’ staggering effort to attack voting rights in Biden’s first 100 days

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      Sign up for the Guardian’s Fight to Vote newsletterThe most urgent crisis facing the US during the first 100 days of Joe Biden’s presidency has been a ticking time bomb that has unfolded far from the White House and the halls of Congress.It’s an emergency that has unfolded in state capitols across America, where lawmakers have taken up an unprecedented effort to make it harder to vote. Even as attacks on voting rights have escalated in recent years, the Republican effort since January marks a new, more dangerous phase for American democracy, experts say.From the moment Biden was elected, Republicans have waged an unprecedented effort to undermine confidence in the results in the election, thrusting the foundation of American democracy to the center of American politics.An alarming peak in that effort came on 6 January, when Republican lies about the election fomented the attack on the US capitol and several GOP senators tried to block certification of the electoral college vote.Biden was inaugurated on 20 January, but the Republican project to undermine the vote has only grown since then. The effort has been staggering not only in its volume – more than 360 bills with voting restrictions have been introduced so far – but also in its scope.Republicans in states like Georgia, Florida and Michigan have taken aim at mail in voting with measures that require voters to provide identification information with their mail in ballot application or ballot (in some cases both). They’ve sought to limit access to mail-in ballot drop boxes, even though they were extremely popular for voters in 2020 and there’s no evidence they were connected to malfeasance.The GOP’s strategy of voter suppression and voter repression is so out in the openTexas Republicans are advancing legislation that would criminalize minor voting mistakes and give partisan poll watchers the ability to record people at the polls. In Georgia and Arkansas, new legislation makes it illegal to provide food or water to people waiting in line to vote. In Michigan, one Republican proposal would even go so far as to block the state’s top election official from providing a link to an absentee ballot application on a state government website.“The GOP’s strategy of voter suppression and voter repression is so out in the open,” said Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who served as the lead impeachment manager during Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. “There used to be some formal, bipartisan agreement that everyone really should have the right to vote and that’s a fundamental value. That is gone right now.”This attack on ballot access has been akin to a toxic undercurrent running underneath Biden’s first few months in office, eroding away at the country’s democratic foundations. Left unchecked, it will likely not only set the stage for Republicans to retake control of the US House in 2022, but also allow the Republican party to hold on to its political power by shutting a rapidly diversifying electorate out from the ballot box.Usually when a political party suffers a defeat like the one Republicans did in 2020, they spend time trying to figure out how to appeal to more voters, said Amy Klobuchar, a Democratic senator from Minnesota.Instead, Klobuchar said, Republicans are trying to shut out those who disagree with them. She pointed to Georgia, where Republicans responded to the first Democratic statewide wins in decades by passing a sweeping new voting restrictions, as a clear crystallization of this effort.“That’s why I think it’s in such acute focus right now. It’s like in technicolor,” she said. “It is a raw exercise of political power.”The constitution gives the US president little unilateral power over voting laws, a power explicitly given to the states, but Biden has done just about all he can to act alone against these efforts. On the day he was inaugurated, he halted a Trump administration effort to try and use the census to limit non-citizen representation. He has used the power of the power of his bully pulpit to unsparingly criticize the measures (“Jim Crow in the 21st century” is how he described Georgia’s voting measure).In March, he issued a relatively modest, but potentially significant executive order, directing federal agencies to expand voting access. He has created a senior-level White House role focused on voting rights tapped two longtime civil rights lawyers with an expertise in voting rights to top roles at the justice department, which is responsible for enforcing some of the nation’s top voting rights laws.Beyond that, Biden and Democrats in Washington have been unable to do much.That’s largely because of the filibuster, a procedural rule in the US Senate that requires 60 votes to advance legislation. Democrats do not have enough votes to eliminate the filibuster, and it’s currently blocking a bill that would block many of the restrictions advancing at the state level and dramatically expand access to the ballot, including national requirements for same-day, automatic and online registration.This is really an existential crisis. It’s a 5-alarm fireThe filibuster also threatens a Democratic effort to pass a new version of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that would implement a new formula requiring certain states to get voting changes approved by the federal government before they go into effect.“This is really an existential crisis. It’s a 5-alarm fire. But I’m not sure it’s quite sunk in for members of the United States Senate or the Democratic party writ large,” said Amanda Litman, the executive director of Run for Something, which seeks to recruit candidates for state legislative races.Litman added: “If the Senate does not kill the filibuster and pass voting rights reforms … Democrats are going to lose control of the House and likely the senate forever. You don’t put these worms back into a can. You can’t undo this quite easily.”When Biden was first inaugurated, he made it clear he did not favor getting rid of the filibuster. But in March, he tweaked his position, saying he supported reforming the process so that senators would actually have to speak on the floor in order to hold up the legislation. Some other Democrats have suggested a carve-out to the filibuster for democracy in voting rights legislation.Still, Democrats don’t appear to have enough support to do that. A small group of Democratic senators, led by Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, refuse to budge on changing the filibuster, saying it’s a necessary tool to protect input of the minority. It’s not yet clear how Democrats might persuade them to change their minds, or if they can be swayed at all.Jim Clyburn, one of the top Democrats in the US House of Representatives, has been even blunter in his warnings about the cost of preserving the filibuster, repeatedly calling out Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Synema, two Democrats who have been staunch defenders of the filibuster.“If Manchin and Sinema enjoy being in the majority, they had better figure out a way to get around the filibuster when it comes to voting and civil rights,” he told the Guardian in March.There is increasing urgency for Democrats to resolve their filibuster problem. Later this year, state lawmakers will begin the once a decade redistricting process, which Republicans are extremely well positioned to control. GOP lawmakers are likely to aggressively manipulate congressional and state legislative districts by grouping GOP-friendly voters into certain districts and spreading Democratic voters among others. The process could eliminate the Democratic majority in the House and make it harder for Democrats to get elected to state legislative seats. The Democratic voting rights bills in Congress would implement new safeguards to prevent egregious manipulation in drawing districts.Klobuchar, whose committee is currently weighing the voting rights bill, pledged that the bill would come to the floor of the Senate for a vote. She said it was important to her to keep the bill together as a single package – some observers have suggested breaking it up – and wouldn’t let the filibuster block the measure.“This is our very democracy that’s at stake,” she said. “One of my jobs is to make very clear why we’re doing this…That’s why voting works. That’s how people exercise their right to give their views to their elected officials. Once you start messing with that, you lose a democracy. So I’m not gonna let some old senate rule get in the way of that.”Raskin, the Democratic congressman, said it had been “sobering and demoralizing” to see legislation to protect voting rights stall in Congress.“There is a sense that Mitch McConnell essentially spoke for the whole Republican party when he said during the Obama years that they had one overriding objective, which was to thwart Obama’s success in office,” he said. “And it seems like the one overarching objective they have now is to thwart Biden’s success and to blockade voting by people they think won’t vote for them.” More