By studiostoks @Adobe Stock
Consequences of Choosing a VP – a Cautionary Tale
Democrats are abandoning any pretense of a democratic and accountable government. Yesterday, the President of the United States appeared at the lectern to denounce the Supreme Court (another unflattering parallel), reports Noah Rothman in NRO:
Who’s Orange Man Now?
(Joe Biden’s) complexion had transformed into an unsettling shade of orange. Voters are not short on metaphors for Biden’s degeneration, but his physical transformation into the figure Democrats most oppose must rank near the top of that list.
How many times do voters need to hear from the President Joe Biden’s handlers, “I think Biden was trying to say …”?
Biden’s handlers seem intent on keeping President Joe Biden out of the public eye, operating under the justifiable assumption that the candidate most likely to lose the race is the candidate with the most exposure.
A Well-Meaning Elderly Man with a Poor Memory
Who knew when the Joe Biden presidency ended? What Americans do know, argues Mr. Rothman, is that it has been usurped by a fraudulent use of executive power.
Nobody serious about America’s institutions could want any other outcome in the next few days than that of Joe Biden’s resignation or removal in favor of his vice president, Kamala Harris. If there are political reasons that militate against wishing Harris to remain president, that is for the Democrats to decide at their nominating convention — or for the people in the general election a few months later.
Time to Put Our Constitution in Play
Mr. Rothman makes the case of why Kamala Harris must take over Joe Biden’s responsibilities:
Our nation requires a functioning executive. … he cannot govern us because his mental and physical condition now leave him under the custody of others who govern him — his son, his wife, and a couple of trusted aides whom the American people would not recognize by name. Luckily, our Constitution provides for such a situation. It’s time we made use of it.
Constitutional Obligations to an Existential Threat
The Democrat Party warns of the threat Trump poses to the American civic compact, long ago denuded by Joe Biden’s actions.
Democrats warn that Trump will head a lawless administration, but that admonition rings hollow after three years in which the president has repeatedly admitted that the actions he was taking were beyond his constitutional remit.
… the Supreme Court’s circumspect verdict defining the parameters of presidential immunity has given Biden acolytes new license to indulge their wildest fantasies. Trump, they say, has just been handed license to order the extrajudicial murder of his opponents, cancel elections, and take bribes with impunity.
President Biden has repeatedly — “indeed, boastfully — flouted the rule of law and the courts that enforce it,” writes Nat Silver. The President has admitted the actions he has taking were beyond his constitutional remit:
- extendingamnesty to migrants
- abrogating property rights
- transferringindividual debt burdens onto the taxpaying public
Live by Identity Politics/Die by IP
To the uninitiated ear, this sounds like hyperbole fueled by hyper-partisanship, panic, and limited familiarity with the Court’s ruling. As with Trump’s movement, however, the true believers see themselves as Cassandras cursed with foreknowledge of our fates.
Concerns from the NYT:
Robert K. Hur (special counsel DOJ) characterized the president as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” The furious president defended himself and his memory to reporters but referred to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt as the “president of Mexico” in the process. On Monday, House Republicans sued the Biden administration in an attempt to procure audio of Mr. Biden’s interviews with Mr. Hur.
From Rep. Mike Quigley (D., IL): “He clearly has to understand that his decision not only impacts who is going to serve in the White House the next four years, but who is going to serve in the Senate, who is going to serve in the House, and it’s going to have implications for decades to come.”
Support Tumbling
One Democratic senator openly asked for assurances from the White House about Mr. Biden’s “condition” — “that this was a real anomaly and not just the way he is these days,”
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D., RI) told a local television station, where he said he had been “horrified” by the president’s debate performance.
Much of the anxiety among lawmakers, strategists and operatives is being driven by a double-barreled fear — not just that Mr. Biden’s stumbles will cost him the White House, but that they might also make it impossible for Democrats to win the critical races that will decide control of the House and Senate, thus depriving them of a crucial check on the power of a potential Trump presidency.
Also in the NYT, Nate Silver opines on Joe Biden’s debate debacle, suggesting it does not pass the smell test. It is no small thing, Nate allows, that Biden has a 35% chance of winning the election. “But (Joe) Biden needed to shake up the race, not just preserve the status quo. Instead, he’s dug himself a deeper hole.”
