Tag: Biden
Explaining Bill Barr
One of the most famous quotes of the Vietnam War was published in an AP story by Peter Arnett on February 7, 1968. Describing an operation at the village of Ben Tre, an unnamed American army major said, “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.”
It was a sentence that seemed to capture the insanity of American policy with respect to the whole Vietnam War. It also explains the insanity of Bill Barr’s support of Donald Trump for president.
Bill Barr is prepared to destroy the country to save it from progressive policies.
He knows that Trump is a danger to democracy. He accused him of “abuse of power,” called his claims of voter fraud that denied him victory as “bullshit” and compared a second Trump term to the country playing “Russian roulette.” Yet, he has declared that he will vote for Trump because the “progressive agenda” is even more dangerous.
One wonders what progressive policies are so threatening to America? Student loan forgiveness? Infrastructure spending? Child development subsidies? Reproductive healthcare for women? (Yeah, that’s probably it).
In a way, his position on the presidential race is a huge compliment to Joe Biden. He said, “I think it’s my duty to pick the person I think would do the least harm to the country.” He’s betting that Trump’s incompetence will save us…again. While that may have saved us in his first term, the team around Trump this time will be fully prepared to impose authoritarian rule in the second term. While Trump is busy nursing and massaging his many grievances, his army of wannabe-be fascists will be relentlessly dismantling the “administrative state.”
What Barr really fears more than Biden’s ideology is his effectiveness. Biden gets shit done!
That’s why Barr is willing to debase himself before Trump. Trump has rewarded Barr for his endorsement with ruthless ridicule. Here’s Trump’s thank you note:
“Wow! Former A.G. Bill Barr, who let a lot of great people down by not investigating Voter Fraud in our Country, has just Endorsed me for President despite the fact that I called him ‘Weak, Slow Moving, Lethargic, Gutless, and Lazy’ (New York Post!),” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Based on the fact that I greatly appreciate his wholehearted Endorsement, I am removing the word ‘Lethargic’ from my statement. Thank you Bill.”
Fortunately, nobody really cares what Bill Barr thinks about the presidential race. The rest of us just have to make damn sure that Biden wins.
Democrats Win in a Landslide. A Realigning Election
OK, I’m dreamcasting (new word I’ve just learned). But I really think it’s a possibility, albeit remote. I write it just to see it in print. And as a response to all the talking heads that are forecasting how this election is going to turn out.
I’m tired of hearing how close it’s going to be. Or what this or that state is going to do. Or how this or that development will have a minimal impact on the outcome. All of these analyses assume that the political situation is largely fixed and that we will only see movement by the electorate on the margins. What all this commentary does is normalize a political situation that is simply not normal.
I like reading the Hopium Chronicles by Simon Rosenberg. He is both optimistic and realistic. But his main case is that nothing will happen to Trump between now and the election that will help him politically. Trump has a high floor but a low ceiling. He’s never been above 50%. And the more visible he is, the less the voters like him. Things could happen to Biden that will help him politically, like a health issue or an international crisis. But Trump, for himself, is facing nothing but bad news, day after day, week after week, month after month. Combine that with the utter clown show that the Republicans are running in the House of Representatives, and it could be a perfect storm. Maybe political gravity will reassert itself.
It makes my head explode to see that the polls are tied now. The fact that half the country wants Trump back in the White House again is beyond stunning. It validates a good description of America passed on by my friend Luke as the United States of Morons. I just have to believe that the steady diet of information about Trump’s loathsomeness will take its toll. And, by the time November rolls around, the voters will come to their senses and reject Trump, MAGA and the whole Republican Party. I can dream, can’t I?
If not, i guess i will have the benefit of having lived to witness the decline and fall of a once great country.
Elizabeth Drew on the Debate
She gives it to Joe going away:
Determined to not let Ryan get away with anything—to dismiss many of his points—Biden, not a subtle man, did patronize him a bit and smiled often, to suggest that Ryan wasn’t to be taken seriously. Biden did overdo this somewhat, and the Republicans complained almost unanimously after the debate that their candidate was treated rudely—the tender-hearted conservative Republicans of course abhor rudeness. But their making a big thing about Biden’s frequent smiling, their criticisms even of the moderator (a familiar effort at misdirection), were clear signs of how they thought the event had gone.
Read the whole piece.
