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Selling the aid bill’s pros and cons

The Biden administration is planning on hitting the road to sell the idea of the $1.9 trillion virus relief bill that passed Congress on Wednesday, giving President Joe Biden his first major legislative win.

It shouldn’t be hard to sell a bill that gives $1,400 checks to most Americans, that extends jobless benefits through August for those who have been put out of work by COVID, that funnels aid to the states and to schools hit hard by shutdowns and revenue losses, that assists bars and restaurants that have been forced to shut down, that increases tax credits for families with children, and so on. Give a lot of money to a lot of people, and they generally look favorably upon you, and this bill gives more people more money than just about anything the government has done before.

Republicans are hitting the road as well, warning that the bill for this legislation is going to come due some day. They had nothing to do with this bill — no Republicans in the House or the Senate supported it — and they are going to be blaming everything that happens on the Democrats.

The hardest sell for Republicans, however, might be among their own rank and file. Polls this week are showing widespread support for the bill, even among Republicans who are not members of Congress. Republicans have been hurt by this COVID-19 pandemic as much as anyone else. They have been laid off and furloughed from their jobs, forced to keep their kids home from school, barred from their favorited eateries and watering holes just like everyone else. They are small business owners struggling to stay open. They need help, and if the money coming in will help them, it won’t matter if it came from Trump or Biden.

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