House Passes Voting Rights, COVID Relief Watered Down More
The David Pakman Show - March 4, 2021
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Biden Limits COVID Check Eligibility
In the continuing saga of trying to get COVID relief passed, President Biden has been negotiating with other moderate Democrats to further restrict the number of people eligible for a stimulus check. Under the old plan, which was passed by the House of Representatives this week, Americans would get $1,400 if their income was up to $75,000, an amount that would start to phase down to $0 between $75,000 and $100,000 incomes (doubled for married couples). Under the new plan, the $1,400 would start to phase out at $80,000 per year instead of $100,000 (and $160,000 for married couples). Every indication is that this change is being made to appeal to centrist Senate Democrats like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema whose votes are needed to get the bill passed through Congress.
While Joe Biden has had many successes surrounding coronavirus, he has so far failed at delivering on this stimulus package. When Democrats won back the Senate with two victories in Georgia in January, they promised $2,000 checks would be sent out right away to most American adults. That $2,000 number soon went down to $1,400, with the idea that combined with the $600 from December, it totaled $2,000. Now, the promise of relief getting passed in the first week of Biden’s administration has turned into a commitment to get it done in the first two months. Certainly politics is about negotiation and Democrats have tight margins to work with in the House and Senate, but the concessions on this relief effort and the time that it’s taking are inexcusable.
Republican Claims Gay Supremacy by "Transvexhikes"
Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado went on “Real America’s Voice” to complain about pro-LGBT rights legislation that is currently working its way through Congress. The Equality Act, if signed into law, would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Given that it’s pro-LGBT legislation, “traditional” conservatives feel a need to attack the bill. Many are using the same tired old arguments that they used to make about same-sex marriage before it became legalized nationwide in 2015.
Boebert claimed during the interview that “Equality Act” is a misnomer because it’s about giving special protection to gay and trans individuals rather than giving them equal-footing. The congresswoman said the bill is about “supremacy of gays and lesbians and transvexhikes” (yes, that’s how she pronounced it). Of course, Bobert was trying to say a word considered by many to be a slur against trans people. But her mispronunciation, combined with her utter ignorance and hyperbole on the topic, added a glorious unintended comedic element to the exchange. Ultimately, people like Lauren Boebert either don’t understand these issues or they don’t care to because they know it plays to their base.
From yesterday’s show:
They CAN'T STOP TALKING About Dr Seuss
Right-wing media is committed to making the early days of the Biden presidency all about so-called “cancel culture.” Last week, networks like Fox News and Newsmax covered the story of Mr. Potato Head going gender neutral ad nauseam. This week, it’s all about Dr. Seuss. It was recently announced that a Virginia school district would be disassociating Dr. Seuss with Read Across America Day and that six of the children’s books would no longer be published over insensitive portrayals of minority characters. Fox has done too many segments on this in the last few days to count and it’s because they know it riles up their base. President Biden has a high approval rating and the big issues in government now are things like COVID stimulus and the minimum wage, which they’d rather not talk about. These right-wing outlets have assessed that for now, it’s best to keep the focus off of serious policy matters and instead to stay locked in on the culture war.
--More on the show:
--James Fletcher, Director and Producer of the documentary film The Accidental President, in which David is featured, joins us to discuss the film
--The House of Representatives passes HR1, a massive voting rights, anti-corruption, and ethics bill, which will have a very difficult time passing in the Senate
--Notable discussions from the David Pakman Show subreddit, including about taxes in Texas and California
--The right wing battle against so-called "cancel culture" is really a fight against the free market capitalism that the American right wing claims to support
--The new grifters are the outrage profiteers who build an audience by generating outrage around imaginary and fabricated pseudo-scandals
--Regular voicemail caller "San Antonio Troll" defiantly attacks David for things David hasn't even talked about
--On the Bonus Show: Pence breaks silence to criticize 2020 election, some Catholic bishops discouraging JNJ vaccine, Parler sues Amazon again, much more...
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