President Biden has a new opportunity in the places Democrats struggle most

As they begin a comprehensive effort to convince the country that “Bidenomics” is working, President Joe Biden and his allies are gleefully needling Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) for celebrating Alabama’s receipt of federal funds to expand rural access to high-speed internet, money that came from a bill President Biden signed and Sen Tuberville, like most Republicans, voted against. It’s not an uncommon story these days; the administration is spreading a huge amount of federal funding around the country, and politicians love to claim credit when government dollars reach the ground. But it’s clear that President Biden is determined to convince voters in places Democrats have struggled in the past few elections — including rural areas — that his party can improve their lives. It’s something Democrats often talk about, but President Biden has a rare opportunity to actually show it. And if he can be even moderately successful, it could have a transformative effect, both substantively and politically. The funds Sen Tuberville is so happy to get come from the $42 billion the administration announced to expand broadband access to underserved areas, many of which are rural. The context here is that the administration is distributing a truly massive amount of domestic spending from four significant pieces of legislation President Biden signed in his first two years in office: the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Chips and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Put together, those four bills represent well over $3 trillion in new spending over a decade. If rural Americans see that they got broadband and their town got a new sewer system, they might be a bit more receptive to the case President Biden is making.