Biden’s journey to Georgia to thank the state that gave his presidency a voice

“It is perfectly symbolic that he would come to Georgia for this event, because Georgia made the difference to his administration and his administration is trying to make the difference to all of America,” said Keith Mason, a veteran Democratic agent with the Organization helped Biden’s primary move to the rural town of Warm Springs a week before the vote.

“Without these victories in the Senate, there would have been no coronavirus rescue plan. There wouldn’t be a big infrastructure plan, ”said Mason. “Georgia has given its presidency a voice.”

GOP chairman David Shafer said the president should instead spend his time in Georgia to apologize to the corporations and workers suffering from his administration.

Biden’s visit follows his first joint address to Congress in which he was asked to outline the American family plan, which included a rush of new spending to fund universal pre-kindergarten, free community college for all, and an expanded anti-poverty initiative and new health care subsidies .

The plan would be paid for through tax increases on some of the country’s top earners and stricter enforcement of Internal Revenue Service regulations. The company is targeting $ 80 billion in new investment in the agency to generate $ 700 billion in additional revenue from criminal companies and individuals.

Two more expansive packages will follow. Biden and his allies in Congress worked through a $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package in March without a single Republican vote in Democrat-controlled Congress.

The stimulus package has quickly become a dividing line in Georgian politics. It funded $ 1,400 for direct stimulus checks for many residents and provided approximately $ 8.6 billion for state and local governments, funds most of which have not yet been allocated.

Republicans have tried to turn public opinion against the package by saying it will increase the public deficit and overcompensate for larger states at the expense of Georgia with weak economies, while funding liberal priorities unrelated to coronavirus relief . However, surveys have shown that the package is popular with most Americans.

Biden has also proposed a $ 2.3 trillion infrastructure package that goes well beyond fighting roads and bridges and provides funding to expand broadband access, modernize public schools, develop more affordable housing, and fund research – and development projects.

The plans met fierce opposition from Republicans, who say the record spending will result in record deficit and waste. They also oppose the tax hikes they launched as an attack on the package of tax cuts that then-President Donald Trump signed in 2017. Senate Republicans have also unveiled a more modest infrastructure proposal that they believe involves more targeted spending.

Biden’s trip to Georgia, his second since taking office and his fourth since his victory in November, also signals the central role that the state will play in the medium term. Warnock will then stand on what is likely to be one of the most competitive battlefields in the country for a full six-year term in the Senate.

Along with Warnock’s seat, any statewide constitutional office is available, and Republicans are still embroiled in fierce fighting that has cost Governor Brian Kemp and other GOP incumbents the support of their party’s pro-Trump factions. Some Republicans are sounding the alarm.

“The Democratic Party is all hands on deck. You will see that when President Biden comes here, ”said Martha Zoller, a conservative commentator and former GOP congress candidate.

Still, she said, the same polarizing issues that revitalized Democrats can revive Republicans, and Biden’s focus on the state and trillion dollar spending acceptance could help fuel conservative turnout for the next year.

“There are still a lot of chips on the table,” she said. “This is a game of poker and both sides have many cards left to play.”

• The Democratic-backed stimulus package paid $ 1,400 direct stimulus checks for residents earning less than $ 75,000 a year or married couples earning less than $ 150,000.

According to the complicated auxiliary formula, the state of Georgia receives about $ 4.6 billion and the 159 county governments together receive $ 2.1 billion. Another $ 1.4 billion will be distributed to 534 cities in Georgia. More than 190 cities will receive at least $ 1 million.

• The government pushed for a nationwide infrastructure to distribute vaccines. Federal officials opened a mass vaccination station at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in March to dispense tens of thousands of life-saving doses every week at a time when state officials were struggling to cope with the demand.
• Biden immediately clashed with Republican civil servants, and a senior federal health official soon came up with Governor Brian Kemp’s plan to provide health coverage to thousands of low-income and uninsured adults as long as they meet a work or activity requirement.
• Biden attacked Georgia’s new electoral law, calling the electoral restrictions an “atrocity” and “blatant attack on the constitution and good conscience,” leading to Republican counter-attacks in which he misrepresented the effects. He said he would “strongly support” Major League Baseball if it moved its all-star game out of Truist Park days before MLB ripped the event in protest against the law.
• The president also tried to reward his most loyal supporters, including Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. He hosted his first fundraiser since his election for Bottoms, which faces a tough re-election campaign in November.