The American Middle Still Exists In Politics. We Just Saw Him In St. Louis.

Joe Biden was not my first choice for president. When the 2020 race started, I preferred Sen. Elizabeth Warren or maybe Sen. Cory Booker. But his candidacies dwindled and it soon became clear that Biden would be the firebrand to defeat Donald Trump.

As president, Biden has been somewhat boring but consistent. It doesn’t inspire, but it doesn’t shy away from the great moments either. Last week, the president had one of his best moments, and it gives me hope for a nation that revels in its divisions.

Biden and House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy designed a bipartisan vote of great importance postpone the federal debt limit for two years and avert a potential economic catastrophe. The bill was opposed mainly by people on the extreme left and the extreme right. The great center of America remained united.

Biden’s instincts that there is still room for Republicans and Democrats to work together on the biggest issues proved correct. The deal is far from perfect, but Medicare and Social Security were not cut, veterans were protected, and most of the budget cuts secured by Republicans were less damaging than those originally proposed. Go ahead and let Senators Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, both Republicans, and Representative Cori Bush, Democrat, vote no; a bipartisan majority can still get the job done.

This is a time to celebrate. In today’s world of social media, it’s easy to jump to the outrage of the day and drive a wedge between groups of Americans separated by politics, religion, or race. The divisions are real, but so is the fact that we can still come together.

St. Louis is watching this closely with the appointment of new circuit attorney Gabe Gore. Charged with the difficult task of rebuilding the DA’s office left by Kim Gardner, Gore has quickly exuded poise and confidence, proving he is the right person to steer the ship.

As with the debt deal, the politics here offer hope that Missouri still has leaders willing to put partisanship aside for our most pressing issues. Gore, a longtime lawyer at the powerful Dowd Bennett firm, does not advertise his politics, but has given to Democrats over the years. He was appointed to the office by a Republican, Gov. Mike Parson, with at least some influence from Mayor Tishaura Jones, a Democrat.

Among Gore’s first moves was to bring back Marvin Teer, a former judge, as his assistant chief justice. It was the same position Teer held under Gardner before resigning amid the avalanche of problems in his office. It is worth noting that Teer and Gore, who were members of the Ferguson Commission created in 2014, he was part of the task force that focused on solutions for the judiciary in St. Louis.

The Ferguson Commission report wasn’t about Gore’s new office, but his ideas for reforming the police and the courts—and applying a racial equity lens to everything we do in the region—certainly guide it, at least in a general sense.

This should be encouraging to supporters of the progressive ideas that Gardner espoused but was unable to follow through on, although the main task at this point is to show that St. Louis has a functioning prosecutor’s office.

Gore would not be in his job if not for the actions of Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, who brought legal action that helped force Gardner out of the job. I’m not necessarily a big fan of Bailey’s, but using the courts to force a resolution was necessary in this case, where there was a great need for stability.

It’s okay to say it: in St. Louis, Republicans and Democrats, including some people whose politics you don’t like, worked together to consolidate the circuit attorney’s office. In Washington, DC, Republicans and Democrats found a compromise to avert a potential economic disaster.

Trust and stability are two things the American people want in their government, and they can still have it when they don’t let people on the fringes control the narrative.