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March 19, 2021 | by Lauren Dezenski, Allison Gordon and Sonnet Swire
These are stark reminders of America's divisions
President Joe Biden’s visit to Atlanta was supposed to be a victory lap. He and Vice President Kamala Harris would tout the $1.9 trillion stimulus package -- and all the local sweeteners inside -- in the state responsible for flipping the Senate majority to the Democrats, which helped make the whole thing possible.
But instead, a gunman’s senseless acts of violence at spas near Atlanta wrenched the spotlight back to a seething issue in America: racism and its dangerous and deadly impacts.
Now Biden will meet with members of the Asian American community in Georgia as he and others decry the violence and discrimination the community has faced since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It’s a bitter reminder that amid all of the change and progress over the last year, efforts to address racism must continue.
Meanwhile, America’s state and local leaders continue to roll out the Covid-19 vaccines in a patchwork manner, with varying degrees of success, as the threat of dangerous new variants and a potential third surge looms.
Back in Washington, true bipartisanship still feels like a pipe dream. A House measure to award Capitol and Metropolitan police officers the Congressional Gold Medal for their work protecting the US Capitol on January 6 passed handily: 413-12. Yet those dozen “nay” votes, all from Republicans, reveal an ongoing and growing gulf.
Their issue was with semantics: The bill referred to the riot as an “insurrection.” Which, for the record, it was.
At the US-Mexico border, where the Biden administration still refuses to call the situation a “crisis” despite the 14,000 migrant children in custody, there is apparent bipartisan agreement that the current setup is untenable. Republicans, Democrats and bipartisan groups have traveled to the border to highlight the situation.
Yet despite the apparent consensus, the path forward, at least on Capitol Hill, seems murkier than ever.
The Point: Many times this week, it felt as though America’s divisions were on full display.
-- Lauren
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I take no joy in introducing this resolution, but any member who cites political violence and threatens our lives must be expelled."
-- Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California formally introduced a resolution Friday to expel Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress, suggesting that she "advocated violence against our peers, the speaker and our government."
The move requires support from two-thirds of the House and is not expected to pass.
Today's episode: George W. Bush's GOP is unrecognizable.
TEXAS-SIZED TRIVIA 🤠
Question: Which of these men does NOT represent Texas?
a. John Cornyn
b. Big Tex
c. Richard Shelby
d. Dan Crenshaw
Send your answers to [email protected] and [email protected]! Test your political trivia prowess with The Point trivia on Chris' Instagram stories.
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LAUREN'S GOOD READS
Who gets to decide what is racism and hate?
Remembering the victims in Atlanta
Don't miss Ronan Farrow's Cuomo deep dive
A new kind of political spouse
I love this weekly political cartoon roundup
This one goes out to all the horse girls
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MUSICAL INTERLUDE
U2 just released four songs -- including "Where the Streets Have No Name"! -- from a show the band did at Slane Castle in 2001.
THE WEEK IN 14 HEADLINES
This week, the surge of unaccompanied children at the southern border quickly grew to be a political emergency for President Biden. Meanwhile, ongoing fear among Asian Americans rose to new heights after shootings in Atlanta left eight people dead, including six Asian women. This all comes amid Biden’s push for a speedier vaccine rollout and Covid-19 response.
Monday
- Two men arrested and charged for assaulting Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick
- Officials located December recording of Trump call in a trash folder on Georgia investigator's device
Tuesday
- Border crisis stymies Congress as GOP bashes Biden and Democrats spar internally over immigration strategy
- Biden tells migrants not to come to US: 'Don't leave your town'
- Biden says he supports bringing back the Senate's talking filibuster rule
Wednesday
- Man arrested outside Vice President Kamala Harris' official residence and had rifle and ammunition in car
- Biden says Putin 'will pay a price' for Russian efforts to undermine the 2020 US election
- House votes to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act
- Georgia Republicans make unexpected push on another bill to restrict voting
Thursday
- Biden orders flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of Atlanta shooting victims
- Asian American lawmakers implore Republicans to tone down rhetoric in wake of attacks
- Biden says US on pace to hit his administration's goal of 100 million Covid-19 vaccine shots on Friday
- McCarthy tries to rewrite history by claiming that he didn't back Trump's efforts to overturn the election
Friday
ONE BIG THING
60 days
The amount of time it took the Biden administration to administer 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses, according to the White House.
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ONE LAST THING
Today we bid farewell to Point team member Alli Gordon. She's headed over to the TV side of CNN as an editorial producer, starting Monday.
We will miss her and wish her all the best! 🌟
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