I desperately want Joe Biden to succeed as president, if only because of the alternative. But I’m starting to wonder if Uncle Joe wants it. His record for the past month or so has been abysmal.
First there was the monumental bungling of the eviction relief issue, sourly and accurately summed up by David Von Drehle for the Washington Post in a piece titled The eviction moratorium mess exposes the decay in American politics. In June, the Supreme Court had ruled that the existing moratorium could stand, but Congress would have to pass legislation for its extension, and Biden announced that, in light of that decision, it was up to Congress to pass the extension.
In the first place, Biden shouldn’t have spoken so lightly of his powers. He should have been in touch with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority leader Charles Schumer as to the mood of their paper-thin majorities, and he should have realized on his own that Congress now regards itself as the check-writing branch of government rather than the legislative branch, so that, at the last minute, Biden put himself in the position of being bullied into action by Missouri Democrat Rep. Cori Bush, in full “mad as hell and not going to take it any more” mode, which will surely encourage more “mad as hell and not going to take it any more” outbursts whenever Congress punts in the future, as it will do, a lot.
Drehle explains why this imbroglio is such a disgrace:
First, it is an example of posturing over governing. The moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September 2020 (and extended multiple times) was an emergency response to an emergency situation: When covid-19 hit, the economy shut down overnight. Millions were thrown out of jobs. No one knew quite what to expect. For multitudes to lose their homes would have been an unnecessary additional calamity.
The long-term solution was to restore the economy, which has been done in significant measure. The midterm solution was to provide financial aid to pandemic victims so they could keep up with their rent through the crisis. That money — tens of billions — was appropriated. But through failures of government, the bulk of the relief is sitting unused.
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Second, we have here yet another failure by Congress and yet another executive branch overreach. The moratorium deadline was set by the Supreme Court, which is the last branch of government — maybe the last small band of people on Earth — with constitutional respect for the House of Representatives.
Third, the handling of the moratorium is more of the same unhealthy dependence on unelected judges to be the last grown-ups in the room. In late June, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh crafted a Solomonic solution to the legal question of a nationwide eviction freeze. While agreeing with many of his conservative colleagues that the CDC bureaucracy lacked authority to maintain the moratorium, Kavanagh nevertheless used his deciding vote to give Congress time to act.
Rather than accept this compromise, Democrats in Congress and the administration are now defying Kavanaugh and the court majority — and you can be sure they will portray the conservative justices as coldhearted when the rule of law is ultimately enforced. Remember: The moratorium is no longer protecting needy renters. It is protecting the government agencies that are failing to connect those needy renters with available resources to assist them.
But, of course, the eviction moratorium mess is very small potatoes indeed to the horror in Afghanistan. Uncle Joe didn’t have to say ahead of time that the Afghan government would probably fall apart. But he should have known that it was a likely possibility—it appears he was given fair warning—and, in fact, the danger was obvious even to people as clueless as myself. If the Afghan government was reasonably functional, wouldn’t we have left already?
Biden’s repeated stumbling is not only painful to watch, but, frankly, terrifying, considering that the only alternative is the return of the Neanderthals. Do better, Uncle Joe. Please!
