During the 2020 campaign, democrat Joe Biden said he would bring policy and plans to the White House if elected to address COVID and the economic recession to reverse the situation and move the country forward. And one of those plans was "infrastructure" legislation and was a priority. The President also said he would work with the GOP on the issue. The President and his party did so and produced a bill with the support of 17 republican Senators of which Cassidy was one. The bill will now be voted on soon by the full Senate for passage.
Cassidy's support for the bill has been the subject of commentary in the New Orleans Advocate who has praised the Senator for disregarding other GOP opposition to the bill. Cassidy himself wrote an opinion column in the Advocate dated 8/9 about the subject matter that turned out to be a self serving statement. Tyler Bridges wrote a long article about Cassady that was flattering on the same day which was silent on Cassidy's many failures during the Obama and especially during the Trump administration.
As a U.S. Senator representing Louisiana Cassady showed little character or courage during the Obama and Trump administration. It took a democratic administration and Biden's proposed "infrastructure" plan to rescue Cassidy's failed past. Cassidy followed Mitch McConnell's lead when he pledged to oppose President Obama's legislative agenda and then the last 4 years supported the corrupt Trump administration. During those years Cassidy being a doctor promised health care legislation and voted to kill the Affordable Care Act that would leave millions of Americans without health insurance. Cassidy and his party failed to pass their bragged about health care plan. He also supported Trump's partisan tax cuts under the reconciliation process with out any democratic votes. Neither Cassidy, McConnell or Trump introduced or even debated immigration reform legislation, infrastructure or DACA during those 4 years even though it was billed by the GOP as a priority. They just kicked the can down the road to the next administration. Maybe that is the reason Cassidy is supporting Biden's infrastructure legislation.
Cassidy voted against impeaching Trump the first time even though it was as serious as the second impeachment he voted for because it was about Trump using a foreign government to interfere with a U.S. Presidential election. The difference was Trump was out of office when the vote was taken for the second impeachment and still in office during the first impeachment. That was a lack of courage on Cassidy's part allowing Trump to intimidate his vote.
Cassidy also voted against President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief program that the U.S. Labor Department reported contributed greatly to the economic recovery and job creation this year. He is also on record as opposing the President's proposed $3.5 trillion parallel package that will move along side the infrastructure bill. Cassidy calls the $3.5 trillion reckless in his 8/9 opinion column but is silent about the fact that in fiscal year that ended 9/30/20 Cassidy and his party set two spending records. Total federal spending was $6.5 trillion and the federal deficit came in at $3.1 trillion. The previous spending record was by the Trump administration also and the previous single year budget deficit was by another republican President George W. Bush when the deficit came in at $1.4 trillion in his last fiscal year.
Unlike Trump and past GOP administrations, President Biden's legislative proposals are paid for. Trump's tax cuts were not and financed by deficit spending to the tune of $1.5 trillion. That did not bother Cassidy or the GOP at all because those that benefited from the tax cuts the most were corporations and the wealthy, the same ones who contribute the most financial support to the GOP.
Senator Cassidy's support of the President's legislation is the right position to take but it does not erase his past position of opposition when he had an opportunity to produce for the state and country. So time will tell if the real Senator Cassidy has character or courage in the future. Or will his past come front and center once again. But it is safe to say as of this writing that former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu produced more positive legislation for Louisiana and the country than Senators Cassidy or Kennedy has produced combined. As for Senator Kennedy, he is taking up that old science course some teach in Congress, TIME AND SPACE.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
