President Joe Biden talks on the phone with veterans, Monday, August 29, 2022, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
Can it be that there is no ongoing emergency, despite what President Biden says?
The Nation laments that this country is in a “polycrisis.” Well, something sure doesn’t sound right about that. Nor, as Jim Geraghty at National Review argues, does it sound like a ringing endorsement.
Whose Leadership Is Being Questioned?
Since January 2021, Democratic officeholders have been the incumbents. So why would they need to question their leadership?
One of the problems facing the Democratic Party in the 2022 midterm cycle is that it is the incumbent party, but it acts and sounds as if it doesn’t want to believe that it is the incumbent party.
Democrats Promise a “Fundamental Shift”?
According to this week’s Washington Post:
“Biden says Democratic election wins will bring ‘fundamental shift’ on economy.”
But the Democrats already are in the White House and enjoy majorities in the House of Representatives and a de facto majority in the Senate, Mr. Geraghty reminds voters.
You could argue that the reason they’re in so much trouble as the midterm elections approach is because they’ve already brought about a “fundamental shift on the economy.” Democrats passed, with few or no Republican votes, the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act.
What the Heck Is a Polycrisis?
Mr. Geraghty admits to not knowing what a “polycrisis” was before he read Katrina vanden Heuvel’s column in The Nation. Even if you didn’t know what a ploycrisis was, it sure doesn’t sound (especially if you were the incumbent party), like something you wanted to preside over, Geraghty continues.
In fact. you might say that the whole point of government is to avoid a polycrisis. The argument in the Nation is that things under this administration and these Democrats in Congress have never been worse, which is why they need to stay in power.
The Point of Government Is to Avoid a Polycrisis
Really?
The argument in the Nation is that things under this administration and these Democrats in Congress have never been worse, which is why they need to stay in power.
Biden’s Own Words and Policies Smell Pretty Darn Fishy
Appearing on 60 Minutes in September, Biden boasted that, “The pandemic is over. If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape.”
Xavier Becerra, secretary of Health and Human Services, issued a statement:
“The president is right.”
Yet six weeks later, Becerra renewed the declaration of a public-health emergency.
As Charlie Cooke observed, the memo that the Biden administration released to justify “Biden’s student-loan-relief order rested entirely upon the pandemic being an ongoing emergency; therefore, it is significant when the president declares that the pandemic is over.”
Finally, in late October, while encouraging Americans to get boosters, Biden lamented, “Let me be as plain as I can. We still have hundreds of people dying each day from COVID in this country — hundreds. That number is likely to rise this winter.”
So Is the Pandemic Over?
If it is a crisis, it’s hiding.
The Biden administration’s perspective of the pandemic swings dramatically depending upon its political needs of the moment — “Schrödinger’s Pandemic.”
Why It Matters So Much
Charles Cooke (also at National Review) informs readers:
… because the memo that the Biden administration released to justify his order rested entirely upon there being an ongoing emergency, and because, as Biden has just confirmed, there is no ongoing emergency.
If you’re willing to fight for Main Street America, click here to sign up for the Richardcyoung.com free weekly email.
