Democrats turn their frown upside down

After a disappointing showing on Election Day last week, Democrats ended the week on a high note, with the House passing the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill at long last on Friday night. It heads to President Biden's desk for his signature next. Passed by the Senate in August, the package allocates funding to modernize highways and bridges, rebuild water lines, and build electric vehicle charging stations. Biden called passage of the bill, which is the largest transportation spending package in U.S. history, "a monumental step forward as a nation."

• — For some Republicans, it's about progress. Following the vote, Rep. Andrew Garbarino, who was one of just 13 House Republicans who voted for the legislation, said, "Make no mistake, tonight's vote was about roads, bridges, and clean water. It was about real people, and the tangible actions Congress could take to better their lives by rebuilding and revitalizing our nation's crumbling infrastructure."
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• — For others, it's all about obstruction. The Republicans who voted in favor of the bill are, predictably, facing a backlash from others in the GOP, who refuse to give the Democrats a win—even on something as politically agnostic and widely popular as infrastructure. In addition to Garbarino, the Republicans who voted in favor of the bill include Reps. Don Bacon, Brian Fitzpatrick, Anthony Gonzalez, John Katko, Adam Kinzinger, Nicole Malliotakis, David McKinley, Tom Reed, Chris Smith, Fred Upton, Jeff Van Drew, and Don Young.
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• — No unanimous support from Democrats. On the other side of the aisle, six progressive members of the House Democratic caucus—Reps. Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib—voted against the bill. They had sought assurances that moderate Democrats would back Biden's $1.85 trillion Build Back Better budget bill before voting on the infrastructure bill. Negotiations on that package will continue this week. —USA Today

MORE: GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger mocks Marjorie Taylor Greene for calling infrastructure communism —Newsweek

Hunt: White nationalism's BFF at Fox

"A survey by Robert Pape, director of the University of Chicago's Project of Security and Threats, analyzed 377 perpetrators arrested for the Capitol violence. He found a dominant driver of their rage: 'The great Replacement theory' that holds that minorities are 'progressively replacing White Populations,' threatening—in their view—the American experience. They saw Trump as their guardrail against this tide, why the election had to be overturned. It's a theme struck by some right-wing media, notably Fox News' Tucker Carlson, who has produced a streaming documentary on Fox Nation defending the Jan. 6 attackers and blaming it—inexplicably—on the 'deep state.' It echoes the line of the Jan. 6 criminals themselves, The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum notes, stirring up 'hatred' and 'mistrust' of American institutions. This elevates the danger of more violence from these emboldened haters." —Al Hunt in The Hill

Al Hunt is the former executive editor of Bloomberg News and previously served as reporter, bureau chief, and Washington editor for The Wall Street Journal. He hosts Politics War Room with James Carville.

MORE: Liz Cheney condemns 'false flag' Capitol attack claim seen in Tucker Carlson film —The Guardian

Welcome back

The U.S. lifted restrictions today on travel from a long list of countries including Mexico, Canada, and most of Europe, allowing tourists to make long-delayed trips and family members to reconnect with loved ones after more than a year and a half apart because of the pandemic. Starting today, the U.S. is accepting fully vaccinated travelers at airports and land borders, doing away with a COVID-19 restriction that dates back to early 2020. The new rules allow air travel from previously restricted countries as long as the traveler has proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test. Land travel from Mexico and Canada will require proof of vaccination but no test. —NPR

MORE: Appeals court stays vaccine mandate on larger businesses —Associated Press

Ullman: Democracy on the brink

"The inability of government, regardless of which party is in charge, to respond in a timely fashion to the needs of the nation and public is breeding anger, hostility, resentment, and cynicism that spills over into daily life. Violent behavior on airliners; death threats to those with different points of views or politicians of the other party; massive purchases of firearms for self-defense; and a general coarseness in interpersonal relations are unmissable symptoms of a political cancer eating away at our democracy.." —Harlan Ullman in The Hill

Harlan Ullman is United Press International's Arnaud deBorchgrave Distinguished Columnist and the author of "The Fifth Horseman and the New MAD: The Tragic History of How Massive Attacks of Disruption Endangered, Infected, Engulfed, and Disunited a 51% Nation and the Rest of the World."

MORE: Yaffa Fredrick: The fiercest fight of the 21st century—to save democracy —CNN

Reed: Jan 6 isn't a somber date for many Americans

"The events of Jan. 6 will resonate for decades, and maybe longer. The violent attempt by Donald Trump's supporters to prevent members of Congress at the Capitol from certifying the victory of Joe Biden in last November's presidential election has no precedent in American history. Unfortunately, not only will the wounds of that day not heal any time soon, it now looks close to certain that each Jan. 6 going forward, the wounds will be reopened when Trump admirers treat the day as an anniversary to celebrate. Every Jan. 6, most of the media, Democratic officeholders, and the Mitt Romney-Liz Cheney branch of the Republican Party will lament the terrible events at the Capitol. But every Jan. 6, Fox News, other Trump-friendly media organizations, and millions of MAGA stans will treat the day as akin to the Boston Tea Party." —Chris Reed in The San Diego Union-Tribune

Chris Reed is the deputy editor of the editorial and opinion section of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

MORE: Jan. 6 panel chair slams ex-Trump DOJ official for refusing to answer questions at deposition —NBC News

Focus on the Georgia election investigation

If you're feeling frustrated by the lack of progress the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack has made in extracting testimony and documents, look south. In Georgia, an Atlanta district attorney is swiftly moving toward convening a special grand jury in a criminal investigation of election interference by the ex-president and his allies—and it could happen as early as this week.

• — Prosecutor Fani Willis of Fulton County opened her investigation in February, and her office has been consulting with the House committee, whose evidence could be of considerable value to her investigation. But her progress has been slowed in part by the panel's delays. By convening a grand jury dedicated solely to the allegations of election tampering, Willis would be indicating that her own investigation is ramping up.
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• — Her inquiry is seen by legal experts as potentially perilous for Donald Trump. Given the myriad interactions Trump and his allies had with Georgia officials to reverse the state's election result—most notably Trump's January call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, urging him to "find 11,780 votes"—the case could result in real charges for the ex-president.
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• — "I felt then—and still believe today—that this was a threat." Raffensperger, a Republican, made his view of Trump's election meddling clear in a book released earlier this month, fittingly on Election Day. "For the office of the secretary of state to 'recalculate' would mean we would somehow have to fudge the numbers," he wrote. "The president was asking me to do something that I knew was wrong, and I was not going to do that." Stay tuned. —The New York Times

Whitman: Why Youngkin won and Ciattarelli didn't

"Republicans must eschew Trumpism—and keep him out of the race—if they hope to win independents going forward. Even though extremists on both sides shout the loudest, most voters find themselves in the sensible center and are looking for moderation with their votes. Both parties ignore this reality at their own peril." —Christine Todd Whitman on NJ.com

Christine Todd Whitman was the governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and served as EPA administrator under former President George W. Bush.

MORE: Ben McAdams & Jonia Broderick: Why we support Evan McMullin for the U.S. Senate —Deseret News

Americans are a fickle people. Since last Tuesday's election, it's apparent that everything that's going wrong in America is Joe Biden's fault. Don't take into account that the Republicans will not work with the Democrats to pass legislation that will help their constituents. Don't allow for the fact that the radical right is threatening to burn down America if we don't become a Christian nation. Let there be no legislation passed to control guns or to allow all citizens the right to vote. And for goodness' sake, continue to take control of women's bodies in perpetuity.

Guess my point here is that I don't understand why Republicans are voted into office when they do nothing that helps the American people (and in fact obstruct legislation that would help). Get rid of the Democrats who are working their tails off (with a couple of exceptions, and we all know who they are—they're in the pockets of the coal/oil industry and big pharma and reaping big bucks), but yup, vote out those Democrats who can't get the opposition to work with them on anything. Do the folks who put dozens of Republicans in office on Nov. 2 think they'll do anything for them? Well, God bless and good luck if you think that's going to happen. —Marylea S., New York

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.