Stuart Stevens—a GOP political consultant best known for being the former strategist for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign—explained why President Joe Biden's "achievements have been nothing short of historic" in a piece for The New Republic.
The article, titled "Just Say It, Democrats: Biden Has Been a Great President," urges Democrats not to view Biden's tenure through the lens of the 2024 election matchup against former President Donald Trump, which is characterized by "a normal, stable president versus an erratic thug under indictment in multiple states."
Instead, Stevens said Biden should remain in office "because of his historic level of achievement here at home while standing on the side of freedom versus tyranny in the largest land war in Europe since World War II, a role no American president has played since the Roosevelt-Truman era."
Ignoring that would be akin to listening to "the same class of experts who knew without question that Bill Clinton was dead in June 1992, when he was running third to Ross Perot and George Bush, with 24 percent of the vote."
Stevens wrote that uniting behind Biden is essential because complaining about him "as if he were some fantasy football pick that was hurting the odds of winning the office pool is increasing the likelihood that the worst and most dangerous president in U.S. history will win again in November."
As for Trump's sway over the GOP, he observed:
"Donald Trump is going to win the Republican nomination easily, be endorsed by all his opponents not named Christie or Hutchinson, and emerge from the primaries better positioned to face an incumbent president than any candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1980."
"If you don’t want to wake up with Trump as your president a year from now, stop fantasying that Trump might not be the Republican nominee. End the whining about a Trump-Biden choice that only helps Trump and get about the business of uniting behind a great president."
Stevens also criticized Democrats' insistence on political purity, noting that a significant faction "have this need to act like ungrateful children of wealthy parents—impossible to please and always demanding more."
He then went on to outline some of Biden's most notable accomplishments:
"The stock market is hitting record highs. Unemployment is at a record low, with 14 million new jobs. Talk to small-business owners, and the biggest problem they are facing is finding workers."
"A child born in the first Republican “infrastructure week” would have been entering grade school by the time President Biden passed the largest public spending initiative in American history."
"As a Republican media consultant, I made hundreds of ads about the high cost of prescription drugs. But it took President Biden to give Medicare the power to directly negotiate with Big Pharma to lower prices and cap the cost of insulin for Medicare beneficiaries at $35."
"For all the bitching about gas prices, the United States is now producing more oil than any country in history. Yes, more than Russia or Saudi Arabia, and that’s one of the reasons gas prices are now lower in inflation-adjusted prices than in 1974."
"Yeah, I know, fossil fuels suck, and the world should run on solar power. But the Biden administration also launched a $7 billion solar power investment project."
All of these achievements, and more, Stevens wrote, are exceptional because "Biden got this done in a world in which the majority of Republicans believe he is not a legal president." Against all odds, Biden has managed to "restore stability and decency to the presidency" and "made governing boring and predictable, both fundamental rights of the people in a healthy democracy."
He added:
"Wake up and show some gratitude. You wanted student loan forgiveness. You got it, for three million borrowers."
"You wanted a president who would finally pass gun safety legislation. You got the most comprehensive bill in nearly 30 years, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which passed with the support of 15 Republican senators and 14 Republican House members, opening the door to some hope that laws on gun violence might finally start to reflect the wishes of the majority of the country."
"Maybe you’re a Democrat who actually cares about the federal deficit, unlike the Republicans who fake concern. Since Biden took office, the deficit has decreased by $1.7 trillion."
In regard to the war in Ukraine, Stevens said that Biden "is fulfilling the role of the greatest American presidents, rallying support in America and abroad for the fundamental values that make America more than a place on the map with a flag" and that without him in charge, "a monstrous evil would be violently spreading in Europe."
Stevens, a member of The Lincoln Project, a prominent Republican Never Trump group, also had harsh words for Republicans who have abandoned democratic ideals:
"At a time when one of the two major parties in the world’s only superpower has embraced autocracy, Joe Biden has stood firm, unflinchingly calling out those who may be Americans by accident of birth but not belief."
President Biden understands that an optimistic embrace of the future has defined America. That hope and confidence in a better tomorrow is the promise that embodies the best of America. This is greatness."
"This is a president keeping true to the legacy of the Greatest Generation who rose to defend the gift of democracy that Republicans now squander."
He concluded:
"Yes, Joe Biden is a great American president. Be proud of this president, Democrats. Be proud that you live at a time when America needs you to rise to her defense. None of us can choose history, but history chooses us."
"When America once again needed a quiet American hero, Joe Biden has met the moment. Now it is up to the rest of us not to falter. Certainty and conviction will bring victory, while doubt and hesitation invite defeat."
Stevens also shared his piece on X, formerly Twitter, and reiterated that Biden "has a remarkable record of achievement" even when "dealing with a party that has completely collapsed as any moral or governing force."
He added:
"With a darkness hovering over Europe like no time since 1939, he has led a coalition to defend European democracy against a genocidal dictator. Across the aisle is a party led by a man elected with the help of that dictator. This has never happened before in US history."
"I spent almost thirty years working against the Democratic party. That's all meaningless now. We have one pro-democracy party in America and we're lucky it's led by a great president."
You can see his post below.
Many concurred with his analysis.
Stevens' piece comes just days after New York Times reporter Lisa Friedman published an article noting that voters "don't seem to know" that Biden "has done more than any president to tackle climate change," the most pressing issue of our time.
Biden has, through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), spearheaded the most extensive federal investment in clean energy and electric vehicles to date.
Enacted in 2022, the law allocates a minimum of $370 billion to combat carbon pollution by promoting the expansion of renewable energy sources like wind and solar. It also offers substantial tax credits to incentivize homeowners and consumers to transition away from fossil fuels.
Biden's proposals include groundbreaking limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants and the most stringent restrictions on tailpipe emissions. Additionally, he is taking decisive action against methane leaks from oil and gas wells, a potent greenhouse gas. Collectively, these initiatives hold the potential to significantly diminish the United States' impact on global warming.
To underscore the significance of these achievements, Democrats are stressing that Biden must effectively communicate his most notable climate policy accomplishments in the months leading up to November's election.
