• wet_lettuce@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    My hot take:

    Biden has been the best President we’ve had in 30 years.

    He’s exactly who we needed when we got him. He got us out of Afghanistan. As much as a debacle as it was, he not Trump and not Obama pulled us out. His deft handling of the Ukrainian conflict where he used soft-power and influence to let the EU and NATO members come to decision to enact the super harsh sanctions themselves. Knowing that if the US pressed, they’d resist. It had to be their decision. He’s continued to say and do all of the right things. His attempt to forgive student loans his huge. Some of the measures worked even if all of them didn’t. He got the most meaningful infrastructure bill passed that I’ve ever witness. Neither Trump nor Obama could make it happen and Biden did it with a split Congress That infrastructure bill was also the most meaningful environment legislation that we’ve ever had That bill also paves the way for significant investment in our broad-band across the country Passed the Safer Communities Act …actual gun related legislation since the Brady bill. Again, with a split congress. Gave us our first public defender SCOTUS justice. This might not seem like a big deal but I think its pretty significant given the amount of case law that exists that, so far, hasn’t had a public defenders ‘say’ in it.

    I could go on but I gotta go eat dinner.

    People want to shit on Biden, but I actually like him. He’s not perfect, but he’s been insanely effective given everything he walked in to. Including him diligently and quietly rebolstering the executive branches that were gutted and had people leaving in droves in the last admin. Eg the Department of State. He’s assigned quality folks into key roles and its making a difference.

    I voted for him without hesitation because well, the alternative was terrifying, but I was not expecting much from him at all. He’s surprised me.

    edit: I literally can’t figure out how to make this a list. Sorry for the wordblob.

    • MJBrune@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      I somewhat agree. He’s probably been the best President in the last 30 years but it’s a real low bar. He’s done the bare minimum I would expect a sitting president to actually do. Obama was a disappointment but he got the monster that is healthcare on a decent start. Too bad Trump absolutely gutted it. Should have been made with more longevity but frankly, the real people to blame are solely the Republicans.

      That said Biden for a second term isn’t what I want. I barely wanted him for a first term but again, better than the literal reversal of human rights. He’s probably the best president we could have gotten but he’s still a corporate democrat pushing corporate greed. Republicans are the real reason we can’t make any progress in that regard because we have the choice between literal treasonous assholes who diminish human rights for anyone non-white non-male at any costs or we have corporate greed-pushing democrats that just want to keep the ship upright enough to keep making money.

      I don’t have a lot of faith in the 2024 election but I know I’ll be voting for whomever the Democrats push forward because no one in their right mind wants the alternative.

    • SubArcticTundra@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Very well argued. This is quite unrelated but just out of interest, how realistic do you see constitutional reform in the US? Because to me as an outsider, that seems to me to be what US politics sorely needs rn. Is there appetite for it among the electorate? Among the Dems? Could it be conceivably carried out?