There is a reason that the ancient Latin phrase quid pro quo (something for something) is still around.
That is because it works. In politics, as cynical as it sounds, nobody does something for nothing.
Politics is the business of doing favors. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.
Now, President Joe Biden is no Latin-speaking Roman emperor, although he might think he is, but he has been around so long that there is nothing about quid pro quo that he does not understand.
It is not complicated. You do something for Joe Biden, and he will do something for you. You do something against Joe Biden, and he will do something to you.
So, no sooner did Massachusetts Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren — especially her — and Eddie Markey announce their support of stumbling and mumbling Biden than the troubled president awarded Massachusetts $1 billion for a new Cape Cod bridge.
A score of House Democrats and one senator to date have asked the flub-prone, forgetful Biden to resign or not seek reelection. But not Warren or Markey.
“President Biden is our nominee,” Warren said, with Markey nodding in agreement. “He is an excellent president. He works hard on behalf of working families every day.”
And the announcement could not have come at a better time for Warren, who is running for reelection in 2024. It’s quid pro quo.
No sooner did John Deaton, one of two Republicans running against her, attack Warren at press conferences at the site of the Cape bridges for failing to obtain federal funds for their replacement, then the funds suddenly appeared three days later.
This is not to underestimate the work Gov. Maura Healey put into seeking the funds. “My team did an excellent job. We had the right people in place,” she said
Prior to the windfall of $1 billion, serious federal funding to replace one of the two functionally obsolete Cape Cod bridges — the Sagamore and the Bourne — requested by Healey appeared to be going nowhere.
Healey could barely get federal funding to deal with the illegal immigrants Biden has let into the country, let alone money for the bridges.
“I must admit that I held my breath,” she said, in the wake of her less than enthusiastic remarks about Biden running for re-election. “But it’s been a success.”
Healey, following a meeting of Democratic governors with Biden praised the president but said that Biden should “carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.” Either way she will support his decision.
Now there is light at the end of the bridge, so to speak. if not for Biden, then at least for the bridges.
It is estimated that it will cost $4.2 billion to replace the two 89-year-old bridges over the Cape Cod Canal that were built and are maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. When replaced, the new bridges will be turned over to the state.
The $1 billion, along with existing federal and state matching funds, would pave the way for a new Sagamore Bridge with the Bourne to be replaced later. Suddenly the Sagamore is no longer a bridge too far.
Biden, following his disastrous debate performance with Donald Trump, along with his follow-up gaffe-studded NATO press conference, is fighting for his political life.
He needs all the friends he can get considering that most Americans polled, outside of Trump supporters, do not want him to run again, or do not believe he can do the job any longer.
Biden is the only one who can make the decision to run, and it appears that he is determined to do so, despite his obvious mental and physical decline.
Warren and Markey did Biden a big favor and Biden returned it with a new Sagamore Bridge.
So, rather than merely saying, “Thanks a billion, Joe,” Maura Healey, in true quid pro quo gratitude, ought to rename it the “Biden Bridge.”
Peter Lucas is a veteran political reporter. Email him at: [email protected]
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