I get what he is trying to convey: if you aren’t so self-absorbed in what is being done, you can find unity and coalitions to achieve greatness in America. However, if you don’t take credit for amazing things being done, in turns out you might not be able to continue doing those amazing things.
Republicans are the Olympic Gold Medalists of the “want to have their cake and eat it too” concept, except we let them eat it.
A recent example is a poignant one, Hurricane Helene & Milton.
Take the boldly ineffective Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna’s view right before Hurricane Milton made landfall.
“We have a Cat 5 inbound to Pinellas and @KamalaHarris is spending her time attacking @GovRonDeSantis over his handling of the hurricane. She has no clue what is happening on the ground. FREE UP FEMA $$$, get us resources, and DO YOUR JOB. NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR PETTY BS @VP”
The week prior, Congresswoman Luna voted against additional FEMA aid for areas affected by Hurricane Helene and the upcoming storm in Milton.
Before conservatives yell at me and talk about how Democrats voted against a similar measure the week prior, let us explain the difference between the two bills. Republicans wanted to sneak the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE ACT) into the stopgap bill. What is the SAVE ACT? It would require documentary proof of citizenship to vote in US Elections. This is part of Republicans' longstanding crusade to combat the myth of American voter fraud. It is so clear that the goal is to disenfranchise poor, young, and minority voters as they never offer a federal voter registration card program; as such, these requirements function as a barrier to voting than any actual effort to “secure our elections.” So, I support Democrats voting against the measure, as we should not package FEMA aid with a bill aimed at disenfranchising American citizens.
Back to Congresswoman Luna, shortly after she complained about the claimed lack of aid, which she openly voted against, she got a call from President Biden.
Just got off the phone with @POTUS Biden. He is personally overseeing that FEMA does not create problems with the debris removal and is supportive of the 15 Billion in FEMA funds ONLY FOR Hurricane victims. If Congress goes into a special session we can get it passed immediately. This needs to happen. @SpeakerJohnson call us back.
So not only did Biden reach out to her, crossing partisan lines (in a time when all politicians should), but then she demanded Speaker Johnson call the House back. It is not right that Congresswoman Luna can get the credit for sticking it to the establishment by yelling “FREE UP FEMA $$$,” while simultaneously voting against such funding, then separately get credit for being bipartisan when it was the President who extended that olive branch to begin with. You should not be able to portray yourself as anti-establishment and say that programs like FEMA are fundamentally broken and still reap the electoral benefits of said programs when they work as intended (because they are not broken).
I am not suggesting people do not get hurricane relief; it would not be suitable for people to suffer at the behest of their congresswoman because she deserves to be punished for her inconsistent moral and political frameworks. Or am I? There needs to be some line where actions have consequences; take this suggested framework from Tim Miller at the Bulwark (it is important to note he is not convinced of it) for consideration. The voters have elected a Congresswoman who actively harms the legitimacy of our institutions while gaining their benefits. As a result, the country suffers, but she remains in Congress. At some point, the voters need to learn the ramifications of what their vote sows. Blue states should stop subsidizing red states; they provide the least and act as an anchor for the rest of the country.
There are a few potential problems with this framework.
What happens if such ramifications are henceforth blamed on Democrats?
What happens if the people do not mind the ramifications based on ideological lines, that they would rather suffer than provide liberals with an electoral reward?
What happens if the people most affected are the least deserving of the punishment (think one bad apple), and then those who hope for such pain and suffering to occur enjoy the results of the chaos that Representatives like Congresswoman Luna cause?
I do not have a good answer, but something needs to change. Before we resort to such a drastic approach and allow the relentless deterioration of parts of conservative America, we liberal Democrats must develop a space that enables us to enthusiastically take credit and expose Representatives like Luna as absolute frauds. In my 2024 US Election Post Mortem, I wrote extensively about the need for a liberal media ecosystem, and the goal with the above example and the following is to make an even more robust case in favor of such an infrastructure. While Biden helped and approved all FEMA aid in advance for both red and blue states, we Democrats reap none of the political benefits and instead are slandered as ineffective.
Let me infuriate you more than I may already have, dear reader; take it as a call to action.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Biden signed will provide funding through 2026, meaning massive highway projects will be completed under Donald Trump’s term. What do you think Trump will say when said projects are finished? He will take credit for them, a piece of legislation passed by Biden, something that Trump could not do in his first term.
Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, beginning in 2026, Medicare will be able to directly negotiate some of the most expensive Part B and D drugs with pharmaceutical companies. Trump will take credit.
The Broadband Infrastructure Program, which seeks to provide grants to states to expand broadband access to areas that desperately need it, is progressing (albeit slowly) on schedule. The expansion will be finalized within the next few years, probably in 2026; Trump will take credit.
What was something Trump exclaimed over and over again during his first campaign and administration? He wanted to do onshore manufacturing once again. Did Trump succeed? No, he spectacularly failed in this effort. Yet, thanks to Biden, we signed the Chips and Science Act; we have made fantastic progress and will continue to advance massive projects and investments in manufacturing in the US. Despite Republicans espousing rhetoric that they want to repeal the Chips Act, this clip of Mike Johnson getting pushback immediately from a fellow Republican Congressman should summarize why that will be nearly impossible. So when the projects are finally finished by the end of 2026, Trump (who has publicly denounced The Chips Act as “so bad”) will take credit.
Once again, on the need for a media machine, consider consumer sentiment.
Already in the wake of the 2024 election, both parties have switched, with Democrats becoming more pessimistic about the future of the American economy, but Republicans are optimistic. While not all, it is likely many Democrats are worried about Trump’s planned tariffs’ effect on inflation (backed up by economic experts). In contrast, Republicans now feel the soft landing our economy had that the Biden admin helped engineer. Naturally, however, Trump will get all the credit for the recovery Biden’s admin did for COVID-19.
Joe Biden was an excellent President, and the above only scratches the surface of what he accomplished in his term. Yet, it was overshadowed by inflation outside of his control and a right-wing propaganda machine constantly telling voters everything was terrible. Biden needed to improve at communicating with the American people about what he had passed. Yet, everyone has fonder memories of the 2019 pre-pandemic economy that Trump was still coasting on Obama from.
Not only would a communicator-in-chief have been helpful, but (and I know I am beating a dead horse here) we need a liberal media sphere to evolve. CNN, WaPo, NYT, and MSNBC engaged in way too much sanitization and both Trump and the Republicans over the past four years. It is up to liberals to create such an environment so that we will be able to promote Democrats in a glorious, not a gloomy, light. That also means establishment Democrats need to aid in the legitimization of such creators and content by getting on their shows and prioritizing interviews with liberal YouTubers, TikTokers, and Podcasters over mainstream media. This is a sentiment that Brian Tyler Cohen has espoused recently.
So please, liberals, let’s start taking credit for our damn achievements for a change cause no one else deserves to but us.