I suspect several of you can remember the radio and later television show Truth or Consequences which ran from 1940 – 1988 making it one of America’s longest running game shows. Contestants received roughly two seconds to answer a trivia question correctly before the buzzer sounded. Failing to tell the “truth” meant that the contestant had to face the “consequences.”
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Biden-Harris Administration I believe it is prudent to assess some of the “truths” President Biden espoused during the campaign and subsequent actions taken by his administration to determine if there are any justified consequences.”
Joe Biden’s Plan to Beat COVID-19 – Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website
First, the central theme of his campaign was that he was going to “beat COVID.” As he stated during the campaign “Today, the trajectory of COVID-19 in America is headed in the wrong direction. In some parts of the country, the test positivity rate is climbing, hospitalizations are skyrocketing, and testing sites are overwhelmed. Donald Trump’s catastrophic failures of governance have led to tens of thousands of needless deaths and economic pain for tens of millions of Americans. We are only four percent of the world’s population, yet we have 25 percent of the world’s cases and deaths. And the United States is barely better equipped to manage the threat of COVID-19 today than we were six months ago. Every day that Trump wastes not acting, he squanders the sacrifices of the American people and sets our response and recovery back even further.”
So, let’s fast forward a year – the number of deaths under Biden’s watch has exceeded that of the Trump Administration there is no end in sight. Have we beaten COVID? I think not and his administration continues to flounder meanwhile our health, economy, and children’s education continue to suffer as a result of inconsistent and failed policies. There is no end in sight.
Biden Pledges to Unify, Not Divide US in Address to Nation (voanews.com)
Second, Biden pledged a return to normalcy and to unify the country. Upon being declared the winner he pledged to be “a president who seeks not to divide but unify” the country during his address to the nation. Echoing earlier speeches, Biden said it is “time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again.” He urged his supporters to reach out to those who didn’t vote for him, and he acknowledged the disappointment of those who support President Donald Trump. I’ve lost a couple times myself,” he said. “Now, let’s give each other a chance.” Nice words but if anything, he has pitted neighbor against neighbor and further divided the country.
His latest Georgia voting-rights speech was not helpful in forging bipartisanship nor restoring normalcy to the nation. I suspect many who voted for him not to become the next Franklin D. Roosevelt in pushing for major changes and transformation in government but rather to move away from the “tumult” of the Trump administration. In reality after being in office for less than a year he has only exacerbated divisiveness and partisanship as we continue to see policy and programs that are not accepted by the majority of the American people.
Third, foreign policy. For someone who was the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for twelve years, one would think he would have a steady and seasoned hand in navigating the ship of state through the shoals of international diplomacy. Unfortunately, quite the opposite is true. From our disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan to the current standoff over Ukraine his administration has consistently demonstrated a lack of clear direction and decisiveness. Consequences of Biden’s failed foreign policies have led directly lead to the border fiasco, the China crisis, and the Middle East crisis.
In spite of the “truths” spoken before and once in office, the consequences” of the Biden-Harris Administration are solely responsible for a nation divided more than ever and still with an ongoing epidemic that was to have been beaten soundly. Inflation is at an all-time high, his misguided policies are responsible for the border crisis, the education crisis, the supply chain crisis, the crime crisis, and the crisis in the faith of our elections. Biden’s record-low approval ratings even among his own party speak to the frustration and angst of many Americans.
I suspect the real “consequence” of his Administration’s ineptitude and false promises will be manifested during the coming mid-terms. One can only hope that the American people will reject the “truth” and those in power will suffer the consequences.
