Who should win the Georgia Senate runoffs?

Encyclopedia of Opinion

Question: Who should win the Georgia Senate runoffs?
Position1 of 2›: Both Democrats should win
Argument‹2 of 3›: Enact swift and powerful legislation

The pandemic has ravaged life as we know it. There are still Americans who are uninsured, even more facing mounting medical bills. A Democratically controlled Senate would put these issues at the forefront of policymaking.

The argument

Just as swift change is needed in cabinet positions, legislation needs to be enacted to help Americans get out of the pandemic unscathed, and fast. The pandemic has forced many Americans out of work, and a large amount of Americans rely on their employers for health insurance. This disastrous one-two punch could be aided with swift legislation, but the Senate would need to be held by Democrats to do it. A Democratically controlled Senate could take up the issue of universal healthcare on day one. It could also take up extended unemployment benefits for people still unemployed due to the pandemic, or even universal basic income. The Senate could even work on passing Biden's sweeping climate change package. All of these policies will be engrained in the minds of Democratic voters for years to come, but to pass any of them, the Senate needs to be controlled by Democrats. Georgia needs to elect two Democrats to the Senate so that we can work on fixing the problems we deal with every day as Americans and come out of this pandemic unharmed.

Premises

[P1]The pandemic has thrown many Americans out of work and stripped them of employer-based health insurance, demanding swift legislation. [P2] A Democratic Senate could immediately advance universal healthcare, extended unemployment benefits, UBI, and Biden's climate package. [P3] None of this can pass unless Democrats control the Senate. [C] Therefore, to enact swift and powerful legislation, both Democrats should win the Georgia Senate runoffs.

Counter-arguments

Democrats should not push policy agendas that are only agreed upon within their own party. Republicans and Democrats should work together to create bipartisan legislation to provide the resources for the country to combat the global pandemic.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Urgency establishes that something should be done rather than who should do it, so the premise supports a case for relief rather than a conclusion about how Georgia should vote. [Rejecting P2] The list runs well past the pandemic relief the argument opened with, and a bare majority does not deliver it: the chamber's rules on cloture, and the range of views within the party itself, stand between holding the Senate and passing any of these bills. [Rejecting P3] The premise overstates the barrier, since pandemic relief had already passed with votes from both parties — so legislation of the kind the argument calls urgent does not in fact require one party to control the chamber.

Proponents cited

Raphael Warnock
“Understanding the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities, Reverend Warnock’s view of environmental justice doesn’t just focus on addressing long term challenges, but everyday problems. That means addressing the lack of access to clean water and air in many impoverished communities and the higher share of income many Black and brown households pay in energy bills, often as a result of limited cost saving tools like alternative energy sources. He also believes in working toward a clean economy that will create jobs, reduce pollution, and produce a world that our children can inherit.”
Jon Ossoff
“Even today, in the midst of a massive health crisis, the GOP, led by David Perdue, is still working to rip health insurance from tens of millions of Americans. The GOP and David Perdue have also long planned to cut Medicare, putting health care for seniors at risk.”
Charles Schumer
“A Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate would be the biggest difference maker to help President-elect Biden deliver for working families across the country”