Courtesy of Austin American-Statesman
Jan. 21, 2021
By Andy Sevilla
In a deeply politically divided United States, the inauguration of President Joe Biden on Wednesday, in which he said that ‘democracy has prevailed,’ rallied Bastrop County residents and political leaders to pin their hopes for unity on the new administration.
“President Biden is and always has been committed to uniting America,” Bastrop County Democratic Party Chair Steve Chamberlain said. “A percentage of the population will never accept him or his policies. That’s unfortunate. However, the vast majority of our people want to return America to a civil society that can have differences without trying to destroy the foundation of our nation.
“We never want a repeat of the insurrection that occurred at the Capitol” on Jan. 6, he said.
A violent mob, fueled by false claims by outgoing President Donald Trump that the election had been “rigged” against him and “stolen,” stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to demand Vice President Mike Pence and Congress reject Biden’s victory and not certify the Electoral College votes of battleground states Biden won. The insurrection, which delayed Congressional certification of the new president’s victory by a few hours, is blamed for five deaths, including a Capitol police officer.
“All Americans concerned about the future of our democratic republic should be happy and relieved that we now have a president who is honest and capable, and who cares about the health, safety and security of all of us,” Chamberlain said. “I also am pleased that we now have a president who has committed to work for all Americans no matter what their political persuasion.”
Bastrop County Republican Party Chair Mike Gepner said his party stands for the nation’s founding principles of liberty, freedom and individual liberty, and that unity is possible if Biden acts in accordance with the U.S. Constitution.
“We are a government that is of the people, by the people and for the people,” Gepner said. “We pray that the fundamental values expressed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and putting American citizens first, will unite this country. If the actions taken by this president are based on these fundamental truths, which should be our unifying values, unity may be achieved.”
Many Bastrop County residents have said they hope Biden’s administration will keep its campaign promises and effect change.
“I would like to see them get COVID under control, provide vaccines to everyone who wants one, give financial assistance to those who have been impacted by the pandemic, and then start working on health care, environmental protections and education,” Joleen Smith said.
On Thursday Biden released a 198-page “plan to beat COVID-19,” which includes details on his national vaccination strategy to administer 100 million COVID-19 shots in his first 100 days in office, expand virus testing and ramp up vaccine distribution.
Still, some residents in Bastrop County — where Trump received 5,000 more votes than Biden in November — have voiced skepticism about the new administration.
“Don’t undo the good that has been done,” Kim Silman said.
“Socialism is at our front door more than ever now,” Jeffrey Haley said. “A lot of people have no idea what is coming.”
Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other GOP senators last month dubbed an effort by House Democrats and Trump to increase direct payments to qualifying Americans from $600 to $2,000 in a second coronavirus relief bill as “socialism for the rich.” The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget agreed that families making $300,000 a year or more could receive benefits under the House plan though “checks would rarely be available for families at the very top of the income spectrum.”
Still, the committee noted that lawmakers could have adjusted the income phaseout for direct payments to reduce the benefits higher earning families could receive.
Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill calls for a third direct payment — $1,400 — to qualifying Americans.
“President Biden has already begun to address critically important issues with executive orders signed in his first day in office, including climate change and the coronavirus pandemic,” Chamberlain, the Democratic Party chair, said. “President Biden also has announced an ambitious plan to vaccinate Americans to get the virus under control and I am confident he will be successful, given his personal commitment and the resources he will have at his disposal.
“President Biden has never claimed that he alone can solve the many serious problems that he has inherited,” Chamberlain continued. “It will take all of us, on both sides of the aisle, working together to make that happen.”
