-by Patrick Toomey
DWT just ran an excellent piece, Hell's Painter by Skip Kaltenheuser, addressing the indefensible invasion of Iraq and the presidency of the man who eagerly initiated that invasion. That piece reminded me of 2 photos that help sum up everything wrong with today’s Democratic Party, the one at the top of the page and this one, which was taken when Biden bestowed a Liberty Medal on George W. Bush in 2018:
The party is bound and determined to re-nominate (by acclimation) the president who saw fit to honor Bush for his “work with veterans.” Regular readers of this site already know of the multiple flaws of Biden and of his presidency to date-- there’s no need to recap them now. It’s worth reflecting, however, on the fact that his net job approval ratings have steadily stayed at roughly -10% since last September and that there’s little reason to expect them to materially improve between now and next November.
It’s also worth noting that what passes for party “leadership” at this point won’t address the obvious problem posed by the incapacity of a member of its tenuous Senate “majority.” In fact, the only Democratic House Speaker of the past 29 years openly opposes replacing a senator whose continued absence hampers legislative efforts (including dealing with the looming debt ceiling conflict) and prevents Biden from getting federal judges confirmed to offset some of the damage done to the judiciary during the Bush and Trump presidencies.
With the Democrats’ Senate majority so thin and some of the conservative Democrats at constant risk of voting with Republicans, it’s a disaster having a Senator who can’t or won’t show up. Allowing the trucking rule to die is bad enough, but Feinstein’s absence is also hindering the Senate from confirming Biden’s judicial nominees (previously a relatively effective dimension of his presidency).
Predictably, Feinstein has her defenders, all accusing the critics of various “isms.” Nancy Pelosi suggested that the calls for Feinstein to step down were sexist. New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand agreed, as did California representative Norma Torres, Michigan senator Debbie Stabenow, and even some Republican women like Senators Marsha Blackburn and Joni Ernst of Tennessee and Iowa, respectively. Others have cried “ableism” and “ageism,” real problems but not applicable to a situation in which one person not showing up to work has such a devastating impact on the larger society.
Under different circumstances, the donkey might be on the Endangered Species List by now. The GOP’s continued full-throated embrace of monumentally unpopular policies on abortion and the GOP still being stuck with its Mar-A-Lago Albatross are, however, keeping the donkey off that list at for now. Continued residual loyalty to the party’s New Deal legacy helps, too, despite how little the party does to maintain that legacy. Voters actually like Social Security & Medicare, and they don’t like tax cuts for the top .01%. They would also like to see legislation that tries to keep our schools from serving as shooting galleries, and they realize that climate change is (literally) a burning issue.
There are multiple variables in this nascent campaign, and the GOP has a front-runner who stands a serious chance of becoming a convicted felon. This latter Black Swan event makes it a fool’s errand to offer many political pronouncements with any degree of confidence. One point, however, should be obvious to all. The Dems’ best case scenario for 2024 is to carry Biden/Harris wheezing across the finish line against a presumed opponent who may be out on bail pending appeal by then. Their odds of holding their current nominal Senate “majority” are slim.
Assuming that Democrats do manage to hold the White House for another 4 years, they will have no platform, no mandate, and little chance of doing much of anything other than (hopefully) keeping the status quo from getting any worse. They have no vision, they have no identity, and they see nothing wrong with sucking up to our worst president from 1933-2017.
The Dems’ best-case scenario beats the living hell out of “Trump II—The (would be) Emperor Strikes Back” (or out of “Don’t Dare F With Me DeSantis”). Continuing to live is better than dying. It is, however, light years from what we were sold in 2008, and it’s even further from what we need to undo the damage done by Bush, Trump, and their party in this century.