The past four years have been trying for Americans, in no short part because so much of what divided us as a country emanated from the very person who was supposed to be leading it. Donald Trump thrived on pitting Americans against each other and sought every opportunity to demonize others, especially immigrants and people of color, if it served his political interests. So it is both refreshing and unsurprising that President Biden would mark the start of his presidency with a call to unite the country.
This is both needed–and possible–but it is important to define what unity will actually look like.
Unity will be achieved by addressing problems that concern a broad swath of Americans and advancing solutions that are supported by a majority of them–including Democrats, independents, and some Republicans. Unfortunately, much of the conversation in Washington wrongly positions bipartisanship as the marker of unity. This skews the entire discussion and gives all the power to the minority party–Republicans, today–at the expense of empowering the American people.
The fact is Democrats can enact a far-reaching agenda that is supported by a significant majority of Americans. More than 80 percent of Americans support another Covid rescue package, yet Republicans in Washington have been overwhelmingly opposed to Biden’s proposal. Eighty-six percent of Americans support allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, but just two House Republicans sided with the majority of Americans in supporting legislation to do this in the last Congress. Two-thirds of Americans want the federal government to do more to address climate change — and overwhelming majorities support specific solutions to boost the production of clean energy, increase the fuel efficiency of cars, and limit pollution from power plants. Despite this, it is highly unlikely that many Republicans will support President Biden’s push to tackle the climate crisis. Two-thirds of Americans support increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, but only three House Republicans supported passing the measure in 2019. In fact, 60 percent of Floridians approved a similar ballot initiative this past November, but not a single remaining Republican in the House of Representatives voted for the federal bill.
The list of policy solutions with strong public support is extensive. Policies to expand voting rights and create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, to policing reform, to increasing teacher pay — all enjoy majority support among Americans. Aggressively pursuing issues and solutions supported by the American people would lead to the most productive and effective Congress in a generation. But it is doubtful any of these policies, despite broad public support, would garner significant bipartisan support in Congress.
But this is our political reality, so Democrats who control policymaking in Washington, and reporters who cover it, need to recalibrate accordingly: A partisan vote in Congress can still be a sign of unity in America. It’s time to stop focusing on the things that divide Washington and to start focusing on the things that unite Americans. It’s with the people, and not the politicians, where unity will be found.
