The vice president and the speaker of the House of Representatives are, literally, the second and third most powerful people in the U.S. and, therefore, in the world.
In his speech on Wednesday, perhaps the only big concession or nod to the culture wars of the past few weeks that U.S. President Joe Biden made was in his opening words, when he indicated the two women standing behind him. They were the speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and the vice president, Kamala Harris. “Madam Speaker,” he said, “Madam Vice President.” He could not continue because of the thunderous applause. When he managed to speak again, he pointed out the obvious: “No president has ever said those words from this podium. No president has ever said those words, and it’s about time.”
If there was ever a time that the phrase “girl power” was more than just a slogan, it was then: Harris and Pelosi are, literally, the second and third most powerful people in the United States, and therefore in the world. It also did not seem to escape Biden’s notice that he could use his age and Harris’ maturity to further his political agenda, and to fight back against the argument that he might have to hand his post over to her at any moment. It became evident when he was describing the future that, in his view, the country can expect, thanks to the new rescue packages.
Packages that “will create thousands and thousands of good paying jobs.” Those jobs, among other things, will connect “every American with high-speed internet, including the 35% of rural America that still doesn’t have it. This will help our kids and our businesses succeed in the 21st century economy.”
Biden continued with, “And I am asking the vice president to help lead this effort, if she….”
Immediately, Harris cut him off. “Of course,” she said.
“I know it will get done,” Biden concluded.
That was how the feminist agenda linked to the other big agenda, the most important: appealing to the destitute, the losers of globalization and those who missed out on the distribution of benefits across the country. Because only by gaining their support can Biden begin to fix a political rift that is also cultural and economic. It is the type of abyss that he intends to close up by appealing to all Americans — through his nods to Republicans, and through recycling messages that could be part of Mark Lilla’s “The Once and Future Liberal,” in which he claimed that the Democratic Party was blinded by the elitist atomization of those who bet everything on identity politics. Undoubtedly, at the forefront of all this, standing at the helm, is the girl power of Harris and Pelosi.
Harris y Pelosi, en el puente de mando de Estados Unidos
La vicepresidenta y al presidenta del Congreso son, literalmente, la segunda y la tercera personas más poderosas de EE UU, es decir, del mundo
Quizá la única gran concesión o guiño del discurso del presidente de EE UU, Joe Biden a las guerras culturales en los últimas semanas haya sido su arranque del discurso del miércoles. Cuando se dirigió a las dos mujeres que lo contemplaban a su espalda, la presidente del Congreso, Nancy Pelosi, y la vicepresidenta, Kamala Harris. «Señora presidenta», dijo, «señora vicepresidenta…». No pudo seguir porque el aplauso fue restallante. Cuando pudo retomar añadió lo evidente, a saber, que «ningún presidente ha dicho jamás esas palabras desde este estrado. Ningún presidente ha dicho nunca esas palabras, y ya era hora».
Si alguna vez el sintagma poder femenino ha significado algo más que una consigna identitaria, fue entonces: Harris y Pelosi son, literalmente, la segunda y la tercera personas más poderosas de Estados Unidos, esto es, del mundo. A Biden tampoco parecen escapársele las posibilidades propagandísticas de usar su edad, y la madurez de Harris, para darle la vuelta al argumento de que en algún momento tendrá que cederle el puesto. Resultó evidente cuando al detallar el horizonte que a su juicio espera al país gracias a los nuevos paquetes de estímulos.
Unos paquetes que «crearán miles y miles de empleos bien remunerados». Que, entre otras cosas, conectarán a «todos los estadounidenses con Internet de alta velocidad, incluido el 35 por ciento de las zonas rurales de Estados Unidos que aún no lo tienen. Esto ayudará a nuestros niños y nuestras empresas a tener éxito en la economía del siglo XXI». «Y le pido a la vicepresidenta que lidere este esfuerzo, si ella...». Inmediatamente Harris cortó la frase. «Por supuesto», dijo. «Sé que se hará», zanjó Biden.
Fue así que la agenda feminista enlazaba al mismo tiempo con la otra gran agenda, la más importante, que es la de apelar a los desheredados, y a los perderores de la globazación, y a los que quedaron fuera del reparto de beneficios en las dos Costas. Porque sólo ganando su apoyo Joe Biden podría comenzar a suturar una brecha política que es también cultural y económica. La clase de abismo que pretende tapiar mediante sus invocaciones a todos los estadounidenses, mediante sus guiños a los republicanos y mediante la recuperación de unos mensajes que podrían formar parte de El regreso liberal de Mark Lilla, cuando denunciaba que el Partido Demócrata estaba preso de la atomización elitista de quienes apostaban todo a la fragmentación. Eso sí, en el frontispicio de todo eso, y en el puente de mando, el poder femenino de Harris y Pelosi.
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[T]he letter’s inconsistent capitalization, randomly emphasizing words like “TRADE,” “Great Honor,” “Tariff,” and “Non Tariff”, undermines the formality expected in high-level diplomatic correspondence.
[T]he letter’s inconsistent capitalization, randomly emphasizing words like “TRADE,” “Great Honor,” “Tariff,” and “Non Tariff”, undermines the formality expected in high-level diplomatic correspondence.