This fine Sunday morning brings a visit from no less than three top Ukrainian officials to the morning talk shows to discuss the clash with Russia in the Donbas. But the star guest is a more familiar face: Elizabeth Warren is set for “Meet the Press,” “Face the Nation,” and “State of the Union” to discuss her op-ed this week arguing that Democrats can avoid disaster this fall by … doubling down on leftism. Ain’t nothing wrong with the Democratic Party that a little more progressivism can’t solve, it seems:
For example, by a margin of more than two-to-one, Americans support providing some student loan debt cancellation — an action the president could take entirely on his own. Doing so would lift the economic outlook for too many borrowers who still weren’t able to get a college diploma, for the millions of female borrowers who shoulder about two-thirds of all student loan debt, and for Black and Hispanic borrowers, a higher percentage of whom take on debt to attend college compared to white students, and have a harder time paying it off after school. With the stroke of a pen, the president could make massive strides to close gender and racial wealth gaps.
And he can do more. Decisive action on everything from lowering prescription drug prices to ensuring that more workers are eligible for overtime pay can be executed by the president alone, using the authority already given to him by existing laws, without rounding up 50 Senate votes.
Dubious giveaways from a president rocking a 39 percent approval rating sound to me like just what the electoral doctor ordered. For further comment, I direct you to Karl Rove’s reply column pithily titled, “Please, Democrats, Follow Warren’s Plan.”
As I said, top Ukrainians are also scheduled this morning, partly to thank Americans for their generosity in supplying the country with weapons but mainly to remind them that the war is not only ongoing, it’s about to get harder. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will speak with “Face the Nation,” Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna will talk to “This Week,” and ambassador Oksana Markarova will chat with “Meet the Press.” Their collective task: Convince their benefactor not to lose interest as the war drags on but rather to keep up the pressure with sanctions on Russia and more heavy weapons for Ukraine.
Finally, Biden’s new COVID czar, Ashish Jha, will discuss the abrupt end of the transportation mask mandate with “State of the Union.” I *strongly* encourage him to remember that it’s not illegitimate for a court to find a public health measure illegal no matter how much “the science” may justify it. Some federal bureaucrats have trouble grasping that, believe it or not. The full line-up is at the AP.
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