NEWS AND OPINION:
The coronavirus relief bill sparked a media frenzy once news came that the jumbo, $1.9 trillion legislation had passed the House on Wednesday. Dozens of preloaded stories and graphics appeared almost instantaneously, heavy with numbers and facts about what it all means. Or doesn’t mean.
The bill was a “major win for Biden” at NBC and CBS; Politico pondered the $60 billion surprise tax on wealthy folk; and ABC explained the “historic expansion of child tax credit.”
Much coverage was devoted to the $1,400 relief checks which appear to be destined for just about everyone.
Republicans had their say.
“Instead of working with Republicans and Democrats, President Biden tried this go-it-alone approach to allow Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi to write a bill behind closed doors, bring the bill forward, not allowing a single Democrat to file an amendment on a $1.9 trillion spending bill in the House,” said House Republican Whip Steve Scalise in the aftermath, striking out against plans to get relief checks to inmates in federal prison.
“The Boston Marathon bomber gets a $1,400 check in this bill and we’re borrowing that money from our children,” Mr. Scalise declared.
Relief bill or not, the coronavirus still looms large in the lives of Americans, despite promising news that the health crisis is improving. Old habits are not going away.
“At a time when U.S. coronavirus infections have decreased sharply from their peak and the public perceives the COVID-19 situation as improving, there has been relatively little change in Americans’ practice of strict social distancing. Currently, 47% of U.S. adults say they are ‘completely’ or ‘mostly’ isolating themselves from people outside their household, compared with 50% in November and December when cases were surging,” reports Gallup poll analyst Jeffrey M. Jones.
Caution is still paramount when it comes to leaving home. See the breakdown of national habits in the Poll du Jour at column’s end.
FOR THE LEXICON
“Maternity flight suits.”
This new garment was cited by President Biden in his comments for International Women’s Day on Monday, cited as an example of the “intensity of purpose of mission to really change the culture and habits which cause women to leave the military.”
Body armor, combat uniforms and updated hairstyle requirements were also part of the new strategy, Mr. Biden noted.
CANCEL CULTURE, THE NOVEL
Those who function as crisis consultants in the nation’s capital and elsewhere bear witness to crisis, drama, damage control, nail biting and much more. They also write about it.
Eric Dezenhall — CEO of Dezenhall Resources, a nationally recognized, high-stakes communications firm — has a new novel arriving Thursday, complete with a virtual launch party for admirers and media pals.
The book is titled “False Light” — meant to create “a fictional storyline that seems all too real, giving readers a thrilling account of the tumultuous events surrounding a public figure’s sexual assault allegations and a path to justice for ‘the little man.’ It demonstrates how quickly an accusation, through the power of online magnification, can bring someone down in a matter of days or even hours.”
Hmm. Seems like familiar headlines these days.
“Between the avalanche of cancellations and a whole culture that doesn’t know what to believe any more, there’s plenty in ‘False Light’ for most readers — especially if you like revenge adventures,” Mr. Dezenhall advises inside the Beltway.
The publisher is Greenleaf Book Group; this is the author’s 11th book.
HAT IN THE RING?
A certain high-profile newsguy, political commentator and TV talk show host may have his eye on public office.
“Pondering running for retiring @senrobportman seat in United States Senate, Go Buckeyes,” tweeted Geraldo Rivera on Wednesday.
He refers to Sen. Rob Portman, Ohio Republican, who has said he will not seek a third term in 2022.
‘JOE MANCHIN RUNS THE PRESIDENCY’
Sen. Joe Manchin has garnered serious attention from curious news media charting his emerging clout on Capitol Hill. The West Virginia Democrat has exhibited sympathetic interest in Republican causes as the COVID-relief bill hung in the balance in recent days.
“I look for that moderate middle. The common sense that comes with the moderate middle is who I am. That’s what people expect,” Mr. Manchin told ABC News this week.
That could appeal to those who wonder why President Biden appears to be opting for far left progressive projects rather than the nice “normal,” centrist ideas he pushed during his 2020 campaign. One analyst has taken notice of the possibilities.
“Joe Biden might be in the White House, but Joe Manchin runs the presidency,” writes David Sirota, a columnist for The Guardian.
“For the last week, Americans paying attention to politics have learned an important truth: Joe Biden may live in the White House, but the conservative Democratic senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia is effectively president,” he says, which is a negative (“a depressing reality”) from his vantage point.
“The reason Manchin has become the legislative center of gravity is obvious if unstated: the implicit threat is that if he doesn’t get exactly what he wants, he will cast a decisive vote against the final bill, killing it in one fell swoop because there will almost certainly be zero Republican votes for final passage, no matter what is in the legislation. Manchin, in other words, seems to have all the power and is more than happy to wield it.”
POLL DU JOUR
⦁ 51% of U.S. adults have visited a grocery store in the last 24 hours.
⦁ 30% have gone to their workplace, 24 % to a restaurant, 23% to a retail store.
⦁ 20% have gone to someone else’s home, 15% to a pharmacy, 12% to a doctor or treatment center.
⦁ 9% have been to a place of worship, 5% to a salon or barber shop, 5% to a gym.
⦁ 2% have used public transportation, 2 % have traveled away from home.
Source: A GALLUP poll of 3,759 U.S. adults conducted Feb. 14-21 and released TUESDAY.
⦁ Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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