I spent most of last week traversing what some call free America. Not well-known successful states like Florida or Texas, but the heartland of Nebraska and South Dakota. I spoke to a variety of folks, and unsurprisingly most “get it” when it comes to current events.
Masks are encouraged in stores and venues, but not required; life is basically normal, with fishing trips, baseball games and full restaurants. This continues to show the major cultural divide we’ve witnessed for 14 months.
Aside from misleading statements and faith in proven-to-fail government programs, President Joe Biden’s speech to Congress Wednesday — spectacularly rebutted by Sen. Tim Scott, leading to a left-wing meltdown — ignored this and served as free advertising for the anti-vaccine movement. Seriously. And it had some nefarious claims, too.
An apolitical railroader in Sioux Falls was despondent over one particular section.
“I almost turned it off when he said the greatest terrorist threat is f—in’ white supremacy,” he claimed, with frustration. “I looked at my wife and kids because I was speechless. This is so offensive. Talk about fanning flames of division in America. When did it become OK for a president to say racist things about one group of people?”
In addition to racial division, Democrats seem determined to prove there’s no light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. It’s completely the wrong message. Sadly, however, it makes sense when your party needs political power to pass more unnecessary spending. Why else did Biden openly violate his beloved CDC guidelines so quickly?
“Fully vaccinated people can visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing,” reads the latest guidance.
Everyone inside the chamber was vaccinated, and instead of following the science, they donned double masks and social distanced. Ignoring data and common sense, they now want schoolchildren masked up into the fall?
Democrats are irresponsible, yet also emboldened because everything changed after the Jan. 5 Georgia U.S. Senate debacle and disgraceful Capitol riots the following day.
Biden went from a presidential placeholder, who could be deterred by Leader Mitch McConnell, to pursuing the most ambitious outline for federal activism in 80 years. America now faces a discordant laundry list with zero connection to reality, never promoted in Biden’s 2020 campaign.
In Omaha, I spoke to a Hispanic veteran who now runs a popular bar.
“Everybody kept telling us Biden’s a candidate for the moderates. Look, the Democrats could have nominated Bernie Sanders, but they nominated Biden. I don’t see how he is any better than Elizabeth Warren or Bernie so far,” he explained. “Biden said ‘I beat the socialist. I want to unify the country.’ It’s become a lie. And for me, I cannot find workers, not even my brother. No one came to open interviews I recently had. They say they make more at home with ‘Biden bucks.’”
It’s all very telling and troubling, since Democrats have no mandate for this radical agenda. It’s not 1933 or even 2009. Biden is making the Trump era seem like the age of unity by comparison.
There’s no true economic crisis any more. The Left holds a tenuous hold on unified government. They have a 50-50 Senate. Due to Republicans exceeding expectations last fall, Democrats’ House majority is only five seats, and with new maps next year, actually fewer. I surmise they want to ram through as much spending as possible while they have some power, because they know they’ll soon lose it.
While if Sen. Joe Manchin keeps his promise not to eliminate the filibuster, Democrats won’t get Washington D.C. statehood or court packing, via reconciliation, we’ll experience the largest government spending in history during the next 18 months.
The Left wants Americans drinking at the government trough. They want dependence over freedom. They want the horrifying rebirth of 2012’s Life of Julia.
Based on my extensive travels each year, I’m hoping most Americans know better.
A.J. Kaufman
A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.
