In the last few weeks, Trump seems to be upping the violent rhetoric, saying some terrifying things about approving open season on shooting shoplifters, sixth amendment be damned, executing the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and making jokes about Nancy Pelosi’s husband being beaten with a hammer.
None of this is funny, and while many in the media would prefer to babble on about Hunter Biden and Joe Biden’s age, this is one of the greatest threats to our democracy we have ever faced, even greater than Trump’s first term. Democrats are almost to a person circling the wagons around Biden. Outside of Well-Meaning Moonchild Marianne Williamson and Steve Bannon Plant Robert Kennedy Jr., Biden does not really have a primary challenger. Until, well, over the weekend.
A new Democrat appearing poised to throw his hat in the ring is Minnesota Congresscritter Dean Phillips, a member of the Corporate Schill Caucus aka The Problem Solvers (Causers) Caucus. Phillips announced he would drop his House leadership positions to not be a “distraction” during a primary run.
To be fair to Rep. Phillps, he has been almost always on the same page as Biden, voting for all the big bills that Biden signed like the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act. This challenge seems to be all about Biden’s age.
I get a little suspicious about this stuff because I am suspicious of some of our so-called “moderates.” Joltin’ Joe Manchin and Manic Pixie Dream Senator Krysten Sinema often come off as much more angry about Democrats than Republicans, and seem to relish their role as spoilers to Joe Manchin.
In addition, for literal years I, as a progressive, heard lots and lots of yelling from the center that we needed to get with the program, and our nutty ideas and divisiveness were Surely Going to Cost Democrats the Election, which was the mantra at the time. It often proved to be rather hypocritical and probably just well-off people not wanting to pay higher taxes (I remember the “NEVER BERNIE” hashtags during Bernie Sanders’s brief lead in the 2020 primary).
But then at some point, the roles seemed to switch. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie are both all-in endorsers of Biden, and now we have Phillips, who will be out there driving home one of the GOP’s main talking points – Biden’s old – for months. Not to mention, people like Phillips are out of step with the rest of their party. Most non-progressives and progressives in the Democratic Party are getting along quite well, which is an underreported story.
Phillips pulling this stunt is not ideal. While it likely will not hurt Biden in the long run, the stakes are way too high to fool around. Look, Biden is 80, past the average life expectancy, and of course, he could die any moment. But so could Trump, and Biden demonstrates more physical vigor (I cannot imagine Trump trying to ride a bicycle) and yes, better mental capacity (Trump lately has said some things that if he were someone’s parent, dementia concerns would be legitimate).
Having a member of the party out there repeating this over and over again should not be happening. I do not know what problem Mr. Problem Solver thinks he is solving by doing this, but at the very least he should stop being one.
The last word goes to Tribe Called Question, with a tune about problems…
Um, I freely admit to not knowing much about your weird political system. Is there a relatively nice way to nominate somebody competent and 30 years younger? I admire Biden much more than I expected him too, but he is getting on a bit. The fact that his possible opponent is a psychopathic, self-obsessed lying tool of Putin is, of course, a slight concern, but that shouldn’t negate the need to manage the risk of Biden’s health becoming an issue at an inconvenient time.
It’s no weirder than the Australian system in which leadership coups are commonplace in both the Liberal and Labor parties. Matt Gaetz would fit right in.
I would add that we have a Vice President for the purpose of filling in or replacing the President if circumstances require.