Year in Review 2021
By Domenico Montanaro
The Nation
National Public Radio
provided this short wrap up on the disaster called 2021. The
article was written by Domenco Montanaro
This year was supposed to be one of recovery,
but it has been far from that. It began with the
insurrection at the Capitol, a second impeachment of former
President Donald Trump and President Biden's inauguration. As
the year went on, Trump continued to lie about the election
results while he remained one of the most popular figures among
Republicans.
With new coronavirus variants, the deadly
pandemic has continued to drag on. And even though the stock
market has boomed and unemployment is down, Americans have felt
the pinch of rising prices. Biden has paid the political price,
ending the year with his approval ratings at their lowest point
since his taking office.
10. Afghanistan withdrawal
As he promised on the campaign trail, Biden ended the United
States' almost 20-year war in Afghanistan, America's longest
war. But the withdrawal of troops was chaotic and deadly, with
13 U.S. service members and some 170 Afghans killed in a suicide
bombing by the Kabul airport. The U.S. and its Afghan allies
didn't foresee the speed at which the Taliban would take control
of the country. It has meant a reversal of years of progress for
women's rights in Afghanistan, and it hurt U.S. credibility
abroad and Biden's credibility at home that he could govern
competently.
9. Extreme weather
events Floods, tornadoes, fires
and drought — all were too common in 2021. Multiple
one-in-1,000-year events aren't supposed to happen in a single
year, but that's exactly what happened in 2021, as the climate
continues to change and legislators appear paralyzed to find
solutions. And as global emissions and temperatures continue to
rise, the number of weather disasters is likely only to
increase.
8. Rise of the far right in the House This
year has seen the Trump wing of the Republican Party continue to
be ascendant, led by brash and controversial far-right voices in
the House. GOP members like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of
Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado seem more in touch with
the base than Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate
Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The intra-party
divisions came to a head with an altered anime video by Rep.
Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. that showed him killing New York Democratic
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking Biden with knives.
The House censured Gosar, but only two Republicans voted with
Democrats — Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of
Illinois, both of whom have already broken with Trump.
7. Biden-Harris take office They
were elected largely in response to Trump and the coronavirus
pandemic. Trump was one of the most divisive figures in the
history of the office, and Biden ran as something of a panacea.
And his running mate, Kamala Harris, was a historic pick: the
first woman, first Asian American and first Black vice
president. Their supporters saw a brighter day
on the horizon, but that would soon dim. Biden was able to get
through a COVID relief bill and eventually infrastructure
legislation, but Democratic infighting got most of the
attention. The right found its footing in opposition to Biden;
Biden's popularity hit its lowest point at the end of the year;
and Harris' favorability ratings tanked. The duo has to hope for
a turnaround in the pandemic and for inflation to recede to turn
around their prospects.
6. Jan. 6 committee investigation The
Democratic-led congressional committee looking into what
happened on Jan. 6 hit its stride toward the end of the year. It
issued dozens of subpoenas, held Trump officials who didn't
cooperate in contempt, and read explosive text messages from the
former president's son and Fox News personalities, all urging
Trump's then-chief of staff to get him to call off the
insurrection. The clock is ticking on the committee, however, if
it hopes to piece together all of what was happening behind the
scenes. Republicans are favored to take back control of the
House in 2022 and in all likelihood would shut down the
investigation.
5. Trump's continued lies about the election
Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. But he was never able
to accept that. For a man who built his brand on "winning,"
losing was unacceptable. He's lost plenty in his life. He's
taken businesses into bankruptcy and written off almost $1
billion in losses. But he was always able to spin his way out of
those things. That was far more difficult to do with a
presidential election. So his only off-ramp was to lie about
what happened. Trump has continued to falsely assert he won when
he didn't and managed to convince millions of his followers of
the same — the first time since the Civil War that there wasn't
a peaceful transfer of power with both sides accepting the
outcome.
4. New restrictive voting
laws States have moved in opposite
directions this year when it comes to voting laws:
Democratic-led states like Nevada or California have codified
expansions offered during the pandemic, while Republican-led
states have enacted new restrictions on voting. The most notable
changes have happened in those GOP-led states, like Arizona,
Georgia, Florida, Texas, Iowa and Montana. Most of these states
enacted an omnibus package with many new restrictions, such as
to mail-in voting, all in the name of "restoring election
integrity." Some other key states would have joined them, had
they not had Democratic governors veto the legislation.
3. Ongoing coronavirus
pandemic More than 800,000 Americans
have now died amid the pandemic. Biden was close to declaring
independence from the virus in July as a result of widespread
distribution of the vaccine and dropping case numbers. But the
delta variant led to more infections and more restrictions, and
fears began to rise again toward the end of the year with the
massive surge in cases due to the omicron variant, which has
infected many who are vaccinated.
2. Abortion restrictions and court
battles The landmark Supreme Court decision
that made abortion legal in this country appears in jeopardy.
Trump's appointment of three conservative-leaning justices has
meant that this year the high court took steps to gut Roe v.
Wade. All indications are that it will uphold restrictions, like
a 15-week ban in Mississippi, and it has so far let a Texas law
stand that has all but shut down access to abortion in the
state.
1. Jan. 6 insurrection No shock here. This
was an unprecedented event that capped off a chaotic Trump
presidency. A mob of pro-Trump supporters breached the Capitol
building and marauded through the halls in an attempt to disrupt
the ceremonial counting of states' votes that confirmed Biden's
victory in the 2020 election. Despite the violent images
broadcast on television, the handful of deaths, 140 members of
law enforcement who were injured and more than $1 million in
damage as a result, some on the right continue to dismiss what
happened, calling it a peaceful protest. So far, more than 700
people have been charged with crimes due to their actions that
day.
One note. By the end of 2021, over 840,000 Americans had died
during the COVID pandemic
AW