Three Non-Policy Victories Essential to a Successful Biden Administration
Much talk has been said about the Nation’s need to heal. From racial tensions to a deep partisan divide, our country has not experienced greater domestic trouble in recent history. The divide is no more apparent than the fact that Joe Biden won the Election, but only just barely. For his greater agenda to gain traction with all people, he must achieve three basic broader victories first.
Reestablish Press Authority
The most basic but arguably the most essential — Joe Biden must stop the war against the media. Every piece of the governmental apparatus has their own function, the media is not part of the government but they are a part of the apparatus. Their ability to operate independently and without constant attacks on the legitimacy of their work is paramount to the public regaining trust of the happenings in and around Washington D. C.
The secondary objective in this category is eliminating the scandals. The Trump administration was hounded by near constant allegations of personal misconduct, abuse of powers, collusion with foreign governments, illegal business dealings, and misinformation or lack thereof. This objective amounts to another relatively simple action item, but will result in mountains of success to the end of achieving other (actually important) objectives.
Deescalate Partisan Politics
Too much about Washington is Republicans vs. Democrats. While this is far from new, many aspects of life became politicized that simply should not have — highlighted by COVID legitimacy and Election results. Items of this nature should be relatively simple, but like much in the Trump administration, they became points of inflammatory inflection. Creating a united front on these types of issues will do the Biden Administration well and is a core piece of the “healing” promise that the country so desperately needs.
The other side of partisan politics will be more difficult, but it is Biden’s supposed strength: cutting deals with the other major political party in Washington D. C. The strange thing about Congressional voting is that it’s become nearly split across party lines for every major vote. Eliminating this chasm could be asking too much but its what we should hope for these next two and four years (depending on House and Senate election results, including Georgia runoffs, rather than hope this could be a fact of a divided government).
Maintain Economic Progress
Trump will likely run again in 2024. Or even if he doesn’t, Republicans will be quick to point out any economic failures or “worse” numbers than what Trump produced. If Biden is not able to outperform Trump, he and the Democratic party will have trouble achieving their initiatives. If he is able to stay on par with Trump’s performance, he will likely have a sound administration. But if he is able to outperform Trump, the 45th President and GOP will have no chance come the mid-term elections and 2024 election.
The major pieces that will stay in the conversation are the unemployment rate (especially that for Black Americans and other minorities) and the performance of the stock market. What surprised many pollsters is that Black men voted for Trump at a greater percentage than from the 2016 election. If not proving once and for all that economic factors are of the highest concern to a large swath of the population.
Conclusion
President-elect Biden will have an odd array of priorities coming into the White House given the chaotic Trump administration. These three measures (Press Authority, un-Partisan Politics, and Economic Progress) are key to restoring a sense of normalcy that so many Americans sought in their vote. Quickly establishing that will be the biggest victory the President-elect can deliver.
