There are many long term issues that need attention such as immigration, infrastructure, health care, gun carnage, climate change and new energy proposals that will not get fair and serious hearings in the present political climate. The same goes for long standing foreign policy decisions in regard to the Middle East and China. Unfortunately, most of these issues will not be resolved during the Biden administration or, perhaps, for years to come. American politics is dead in the water.
Congress is deadlocked; it is dysfunctional. Democrats and Republicans can’t agree and even worse don’t want to agree. The idea of compromise, give and take, getting a half -of- loaf is ancient history. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, is determined to oppose everything proposed by Biden and the Democrats just as he did while majority leader during Obama’s presidency. Sadly McConnell’s virulent partisanship exemplifies congressional politics.
We will continue to stumble along. Culture issues continue to take center stage to the detriment of the big issues cited above. Contempt and hate for the opposition prevails. Republicans are most energized about critical race theory, Dr Seuss, Q’Anon, election fraud and political correctness. The assault on the Capitol is conveniently not mentioned. At the same time, the Democrats spend too much time trying to fix everything at once and overreach with their political agenda. Too often they see spending public money as a solution to everything.
Both parties want to go back to the good old days: the Democrats look to the bipartisanship of the past and the Republicans and their fellow reactionaries want to go back to the way things never were.