Commentary
As Vice President Harris panders to blacks, especially men lately, for political purposes, I’m reminded of President Biden, blatantly pandering at all black Morehouse College
“Instead of a trail of broken promises, we’re investing more money than ever in Black families and Black communities. We’re removing every lead pipe in America so every child can drink clean water without fear of brain damage. We’re delivering high-speed Internet, so no child has to sit in their parents’ car doing homework in a parking lot outside of McDonald’s.” – President Biden, Morehouse College Commencement, May 19, 2024
Of course, Biden and Harris know both the lead pipe removal project and delivering high speed Internet have been stalled since first announced in 2021, but they continue to speak as if they are on schedule.
Lead Pipe Removal
On December 16, 2021, the administration released its lead pipe and paint action plan with a goal of replacing all lead pipes in the next decade. That’s kind of like mandating all electric vehicles by 2035.
During a February 11, 2022 roundtable meeting in Newark, aimed to amplify issues directly affecting underserved communities, Harris told a woman concerned about high levels of lead in its drinking water, saying “You should not have to worry about that,” reminding that the White House made removing every lead pipe within 10 years a centerpiece of its plan to address racial disparities and environmental issues.
On September 30, 2023, the New York Times, reporting on Chicago’s 400,000 lead pipes, the most in the country, was told by the city’s water commissioner that Illinois had set a timeline of 50 years to rid the city of lead pipes, remarking that it cannot be done in 10 years.
Harris, knew it wasn’t true, but she told donors in Washington State that the administration was “on track to remove every lead pipe in America.”
On November 20, 2023, “as part of President Biden and Vice President Harris’s vision for a lead-free future” announced a proposal to “strengthen its lead and copper pipe rule that would require water systems to replace lead pipelines within 10 years.”
On October 8, 2024, President Biden announced that the EPA is issuing a final rule that will require the replacement of lead service lines within 10 years. Harris called the action “an issue especially important for underserved communities.”
High Speed Internet
Appearing on NPR, just four months after taking office, Biden, speaking on the importance of the administration’s high-speed internet plan, said, “I’m asking the vice president to lead this effort, if she would, because I know it’ll get done.” What!?
“If it goes well, great,” said Joel Payne a political strategist who worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, prophetically added, “if it does not go well, it certainly becomes a very sticky part of your resume that does not wash off easily. There are definitely risks.”
Payne was right. Now, three years after she agreed to take on the $42 billion infrastructure plan, not one business or home has been connected to it, and the administration has confirmed that construction projects will not start until next year, or perhaps 2026.
On November 6, 2021, the administration “ensured every American has access to reliable high-speed Internet” is part of the Infrastructure and Investment and Jobs Act.
On May 9, 2022, Biden and Harris announced that they had secured private sector commitments to lower high-speed Internet costs for millions of American families. With it, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) was created.
Two years later, despite the absence of funding for ACP, Biden-Harris said they remained committed while asking Congress for funding.
Last month, the left-leaning Politico reported, “Mounting political snags will mean the administration will have virtually nothing to show for it by Election Day.”
With three years of talk, it’s no wonder the Wall Street Journal referred to Biden’s broadband blowout “a waste.” Considering that few households are in areas without access to broadband, the cost of service to the unserved would amount to more than $55,000 per household.
The New York Times notes that “some state officials and industry analysts remain wary and have raised concerns about whether the funds will achieve all of the administration’s goals.”
Much of the delay, like that with the construction of charging stations for electric vehicles, is due to the administration’s requirements of adherence to diversity, equity, inclusion, and climate change. In addition, use of union labor and schemes for government-run networks were favored.
If Trump is elected, he will surely eliminate the foolish diversity, equity and inclusion requirement to be contracted, if he decides to continue the effort at all.
Harris Panders
Harris is currently making an embarrassing desperate appeal to blacks with her Opportunity Agenda for Black Men, with its $20 million forgivable loans for business startups and the possibility of legalizing marijuana as she touts government “investment” in black communities.
She appeared on the Breakfast Club with Charlamagne tha God, where it was obvious she was concerned with the inroads Trump has made among Black voters, and appeared in two black churches over the weekend, one visited by music legend Stevie Wonder. During one campaign rally, supporters were entertained by the more than full-figured Lizzo and singer and dancer Usher.
The real test for Harris remains if blacks see her as a legitimate candidate, who isn’t taking their vote for granted, or did she have to call on celebrities and former President Obama to persuade the “brothers.”
I see the “trail of broken promises” Biden spoke of at Morehouse College.
Election Day is just 13 days away. If you can vote early, and haven’t, please do.
May God continue to bless the United States of America.
