Normal Is As Normal Does

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

After the inauguration last week, New York Times writer David Brooks used his column to wax eloquent about how optimistic he is for the Biden presidency. He was surprised at how “moved” he felt:

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“Every president sets the moral and cultural tone for the nation. We saw that in a terrible way over the past four years. Just by who he is, Biden sets the stage for a moral revival. His values cut across the left/right, urban/rural culture war we’ve been enduring for a generation.

“I was shocked by how moved I was by the Biden inaugural. We’ve been through an emotional hailstorm over four years. Suddenly the sky has cleared. It’s possible America may emerge from this trauma more transformed than we can imagine.”

One week into his administration, 11,000 pipeline workers have been transformed into trauma with a stroke of Biden’s pen. Their livelihoods stripped with the stoppage of construction on the Keystone XL Pipeline. Arkansas pipefitter Neal Crabtree, a welding supervisor, is one of those 11,000 having a hard time understanding this:

“We need to be finding ways to put more Americans back to work, not the other way around,” Crabtree said.

My thoughts exactly. Another pipeline worker also expressed his bewilderment here:

But Joe Biden’s “morality” appears to care little for actual Americans affected by his policies. Cutting Americans off at the knees for the goal of climate change is neither moral, nor does it benefit the culture. There is nothing virtuous about destroying people’s lives for political gain.

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As he covered the inauguration, Jonathan Bernstein in the Macau Times couldn’t stop talking about how “normal” Joe Biden is.

“That was almost … normal. And, as presidential inaugurations go, nicely done. Three excellent musical performances, an outstanding poem from Amanda Gorman, fully appropriate prayers from clergy. The Capitol balcony filled with distinguished politicians from both parties. The always excellent Marine Corps band.

“And normal President Joe Biden, giving a normal inaugural address.”

Normal is as normal does. Biden has spent 47 years giving off the appearance of a normal politician, and “decency”, as we heard ad nauseum throughout the campaign. But did the aftermath of his policies result in either normalcy or decency? The 1994 Crime Bill produced decades of inequity, inequality, and destruction to Black families. Nothing normal or decent about that.

Today, Biden unveiled his “Equity Agenda”. Despite the victory shouts of the civil rights organizations pushing for this, and the fluffy coverage given by legacy media, Equity is not Equality, and will do nothing to produce equal outcomes. Equity seeks to create this, but it is not only unrealistic, but untenable.

Attempting to affect the outcome of one group by marginalizing another is neither normal or decent. Just because I am a Black female who enjoys dancing and gymnastics or tennis doesn’t mean I will become Simone Biles or Serena Williams. Equity tries to produce this. If the government takes from “X” in order to hand it to “Y” then Y will reach the level of Simone or Serena.

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It’s a nonsensical pipe dream, and frankly, it’s cruel to feed this lie to vulnerable people knowing that it will never be achieved.

It’s indicative of Democrats and the Left to keep using this formula. Their intent is not to solve problems, but to create more problems and disenchantment. They assume a speech, signing something, marching, posturing, is all that is needed to address issues, when actually engaging with the affected stakeholders is the key to lasting change. This goes beyond buying votes and loyalties through pandering and giveaways. The attitude that government is supposed to take this position at all is paternalistic, not to mention dismissive.

CL Bryant of FreedomWorks responded to Biden’s “Equity Agenda” thusly,

“Biden will continue trying to paint himself as an ally of minority communities, but let us not forget the president’s grim track record of addressing racial inequity. He has had over forty years to advance the cause of minority communities through smart economic legislation, but has instead chosen to support legislation like the 1994 Crime Bill that encouraged mass incarceration and made life worse for the people he now pretends to be so desperate to help. It is insulting that Biden thinks he can fix these very real issues in our country with a stroke of a pen.”

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Biden and his campaign handlers spent the entire campaign painting Donald Trump as an evil dictator. My colleague Bonchie points out that Biden’s actions so far are more indicative of dictatorial rule. Signing a ton of Executive Orders that essentially bypass the democratic process, and making end-runs around matters that require Senate approval are neither Constitutional or how things are supposed to be done in a representative Republic.

“Biden signed 17 executive orders in his first few days in office compared to just one for Donald Trump. Those executive orders have spanned the gamut, from killing an already approved pipeline (and 11,000+ jobs along with it), to re-entering the Paris Accords — something that requires Senate approval to have any enforcement. Biden has also taken sweeping, non-consensual action on things like critical race theory being taught in government and drilling for oil.”

Is this behavior Normal for any presidency?

Normal is as Normal does.

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