State of the Union: Biden’s Win Over Clown Caucus

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

Tuesday’s State of the Union marked a turning point. This was an aggressive and expansive progressive political, economic and social agenda set against Putin’s worn out GOP cat-calling clown caucus.

President Biden was in full force, speaking clearly and forcefully, with the full weight of two years of concrete achievements to his credit, making amateurish fools, frankly, of the “usual suspects” among the so-called Freedom Caucus of the GOP who kept trying, and failing, to disrupt him.

In fact, it was Biden’s confident and deft ability to turn those fools against themselves that made for the most entertaining moment of the evening.

When he stated that “some” in the GOP want to cut Medicare and Social Security, the GOP disruptors in the audience started yelling “No!” and “Liar!” and booed loudly. Biden offered to document his charge. After some exchanges he said, “So, folks, we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare are off the books now, right? They’re not to be touched!”

As big applause then accompanied his remarks, he said, “All right. All right. We’ve got unanimity! (Applause). Social Security and Medicare are a lifeline for millions of seniors. Americans have to pay into them from the very first paycheck they’ve started.

So, tonight, let’s all agree – and we apparently are – let’s stand up for seniors. (Applause). Stand up and show them we will not cut Social Security. We will not cut Medicare!”

(Among those who could be seen standing at that point was House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, seated along with Vice President Kamala Harris behind Biden).”

Biden added, “Those benefits belong to the American people. They earned it. And if anyone tries to cut Social Security – which apparently no one is going to do (laughter and applause) – and if anyone tries to cut Medicare, I’ll stop them. I’ll veto it. (Applause).

“I am not going to allow them to be taken away. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. But apparently it’s not going to be a problem!” (Laughter and applause).

What a great moment. What went largely unnoticed was his subsequent promise to cut the deficit by another $2 trillion in a way that “won’t cut a single bit of Medicare or Social Security, and doing it by extending the Medicare Trust Fund by at least two decades.”

He added, “I will not raise taxes on anyone making under $400 grand, but by making sure that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share.”

He added, “Here’s my message to all of you out there: I have your back.”

Indeed, for working Americans, as much as he is able, he clearly does.

Touting the achievements, underway and soon to be, of the American Infrastructure Act. “The story of America is a story of progress and resilience, of always moving forward, of never, ever giving up. It’s a story unique among all nations. We’re the only nation that has emerged from every crisis we’ve ever entered stronger than we got into it. That’s what we’re doing again.”

“Two years ago,” he said. “The economy was reeling. As I stand here tonight, we’ve created 12 million new jobs, more jobs created in two years than any President has created in four years. Two years ago, Covid had shut us down, our businesses were closed, our schools robbed of so much. Today, Covid no longer controls our lives. Two years ago, our democracy faced its greatest threat since the Civil War. Today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken.

“As we gather here tonight, we’re writing the next chapter in the great American story, a story of progress and resilience…That’s always been my vision for our country, and I know it’s many of yours: to restore the soul of this nation, to rebuild the backbone of America, America’s middle class, and to unite the country.”

It was as impressive and strong a State of the Union address as I’ve ever heard, and I’ve watched them all dating back to the 1960s.

This is a man not defined by his chronological age, but by the greatest age in American history that saw victory over global fascism and the realization of the promises of the New Deal.

Our Man in Arlington

Announcing another landmark soon to vanish: Essy’s Carriage House, the American cuisine steakhouse that’s been a fixture in Cherrydale for 48 years, will close its doors at the end of March.

No other Arlington full-service restaurant has been open longer, according to founder-owner Essy Saedi, an Iranian immigrant who came to the United States in 1962. (An exception might be Mario’s Pizza, primarily takeout since 1958.)

My tasty lunch there last week (pork schnitzel and cabbage) was served by executive chef Janet Saedi, the wife of Essy, who will also retire. We spoke amid the 1950s décor with fresh flowers, cloth tablecloths and napkins (maintained by the chef’s mother).

I took in the view from Quincy St. and Langston Blvd. showcasing the D.C. skyline beyond Cherrydale Auto Parts, Northside Veterinary Clinic and Safford Brown Honda.

The reason for closing? Essy has heart issues and diabetes, so retirement is looking good for the couple, who live in nearby Bellevue Forest. Contrary to rumor, Essy’s has no connection to the old Billy Martin’s Carriage House (now Martin’s Tavern) in Georgetown. (The Martins were also an Arlington family.)

But for decades Essy’s has drawn what he calls a “high end” clientele—judges, attorneys, fourstar generals—and notable regulars such as the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist and state Del. Patrick Hope. It is geared toward regulars from the older set, not children or teens.

The $18 — $24 entrees of steaks, seafood, burgers, soups and salads (35 dishes) could be called traditional American, with a soupcon of European influence due to a previous chef from Belgium.

Essy engages three other employees with varying hours— daytime eating has always been slower than dinnertime. The 25 tables, plus a full bar, seat 50-55, and reservations have topped 160 in an evening, he says. Also popular: Sunday brunch.

Essy’s for years was open seven days, but has been closed Mondays since May. Evening business was actually decent during Covid, he says, due to take-out orders.

Essy’s longtime landlord, the Koumas family, is hoping to sell the restaurant and rear parking lot to a developer who would create new apartments. (Old Dominion Drycleaners next door would be unaffected.)

Essy Saedi plans to auction his period-piece furniture. He will not return to his native Iran.

Black History Month launched locally Feb. 4 with activists reeling from news of the video-recorded suffering of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police. Some 100 came to the Arlington Career Center for a session on public history museums sponsored by the Columbia Pike Partnership and the Embassy of Switzerland (whose ambassador, present, follows American social conflicts closely).

The Black Heritage Museum of Arlington is “a safe haven, and anchor in the storm—you can talk about anything,” said president Scott Taylor, raised in Halls’ Hill. Events such as police violence and bias against blacks “all go back to slavery,” said Felicia Bell, advisor to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, even though “eyes roll when you say it.”

Marvin-Alonzo Greer, community engagement officer for the Prince George’s County Parks and Planning Commission, advised small museums to avoid putting black history “behind a paywall” just for the privileged. Some nonprofits even offer food to low-income visitors.

The curators’ common theme: “Black history is not about slavery, it’s about overcoming slavery.”

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The Arlington Players (staging productions since 1951!) made good use of shared county space at Thomas Jefferson Middle School theater last weekend. The New England-flavored comedy “Almost, Maine,” by playwright John Cariani, directed by Alexa Roggenkamp, presented “a series of vignettes about love at its best” performed by 19 skilled volunteer actors.

They deliver amusing visual wordplay, such as falling to the floor when falling in love and gawking at a one-shoed woman, during a lover’s quarrel, as other shoe drops from the ceiling.

I was also impressed with the free nearby parking underneath the beautiful Alice West Fleet Elementary School. The Valentines month show runs through Feb. 19.