AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Nikki Haley's 2024 presidential announcement this week, which makes her
the first Republican to declare other than former President Donald
Trump himself, formally commences what should prove to be a tumultuous
GOP presidential primary. But despite the impending made-for-TV tumult
in the GOP primary, the fact remains that the party has a number of
possible or likely candidates who are either well-qualified or broadly
popular with a substantial slice of the national electorate.
The same is simply not true for the Democratic Party. And as the
octogenarian President Joe Biden shows all signs of imminently launching
his reelection campaign, even the mainstream press is starting to fret.
The New York Times, the closest thing to Democratic Party Pravda, has
over the past year run a series of urgent articles sounding the alarm on
Biden's unprecedented presidential age and declining cognitive
abilities. Last July, the Times ran an article titled, "At 79, Biden Is
Testing the Boundaries of Age and the Presidency"; last November,
another Times article was titled, "President Biden Turns 80, Making Him
the First Octogenarian in the Oval Office"; and earlier this month,
left-wing commentator Michelle Goldberg titled her column, "Biden's a
Great President. He Should Not Run Again." The Times followed Goldberg's
column with a number of responsive letters to the editor, which ran
last week under the title, "Is Biden Too Old to Run Again?"
What's more, on Thursday, Politico and CNN published nearly identical
articles strongly suggesting White House palace intrigue and a party
apparatus torn about what to do with its senile commander in chief:
Politico's piece was titled, "Senior Democrats' Private Take on Biden:
He's Too Old"; CNN's eerily similar article was titled, "Biden's age is a
hot topic as he looks to extend his time in the Oval Office until he is
86." Clearly, many in the Biden White House are leaking like a loose
faucet. Even more notably, the liberal press, which would normally
protect an incumbent Democratic president at all costs, is the one
stirring the pot.
Some card-carrying members of the insular Washington press corps are
worried about the reelection prospects of the oldest-ever sitting
president, who in his first term has presided over a calamitous
Afghanistan withdrawal, 40-year-high inflation, soaring violent crime
rates and the worst humanitarian crisis at the southern border in U.S.
history. And who can blame them?
At the same time, disposing of an incumbent president -- as the recent
revelation of Biden's illicitly retained classified documents and the
concomitant appointment of a special counsel to investigate his
scandalous negligence indicate some in the Deep State may also desire --
necessitates finding a replacement candidate. And therein lies the rub.
Of the three leading alternative candidates for the Democrats' 2024
presidential nomination, there are no appealing options. All three, in
fact, are terrible options.
I speak here of Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The fact that Kamala Harris is unlikable, unliked, generally useless and
unambiguously terrible at her job is the worst-kept secret in U.S.
politics today. Harris famously secured not a single Democratic National
Convention delegate during her ill-fated 2020 presidential run. She is
ill-informed on policy and often speaks of complex issues in an overly
simplistic and juvenile way. (Who can forget her gem last year on the
Russo-Ukraine War: "Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to
another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country.") She has
endured massive staff turnover, and by all indications treats her staff
horribly. And the Times has also seemingly soured on her; the headline
of a long-form article a week and a half ago: "Kamala Harris Is Trying
to Define Her Vice Presidency. Even Her Allies Are Tired of Waiting."
Put simply, it is extraordinarily difficult these days to find a
Democrat who is thrilled about the prospect of a future President Kamala
Harris. By contrast, most Democrats soberly recognize how awful she is.
And the fact that so few are willing to say the quiet part out loud
bespeaks the death grip that identity politics pablum now has on the
Democratic Party.
Neither Buttigieg nor Newsom is a more enticing candidate. Buttigieg --
who, it must be stipulated, was chosen for Biden's Cabinet primarily not
due to merit but rather on the basis of his personal sexual orientation
-- has proved to be, bar none, the single worst transportation
secretary in the history of the U.S. Department of Transportation. In
barely over two years, Buttigieg has overseen a crippling supply chain
crisis (during which time Buttigieg was AWOL on paternity leave); a
near-horrific national rail strike avoided at the last minute; the first
FAA grounding of all national flights since 9/11; and most recently, a
series of high-profile, visually shocking, destructive train
derailments. It is evidently not possible to be worse at one's job than
the 41-year-old former mayor of Indiana's fourth-largest city is at
being transportation secretary of the United States.
Gavin Newsom is hardly any better. Newsom was forced to withstand a
gubernatorial recall election in 2021, and conditions are so bad in his
leftist fiefdom that California recently lost a House seat in the U.S.
Census for the first time in state history. It got even worse after the
2020 Census: California shed 500,000 people between July 2020 and July
2022. Homicides have soared 41% since 2019, and the Golden State's
estimated homeless population last year was an astounding 173,000.
Meanwhile, Californians are forced to endure exorbitant housing costs
and the single highest top state income tax rate in the country. In what
universe, then, does Newsom, who bears a striking resemblance to
Michael Douglas' "Gordon Gekko" silver screen robber baron, qualify as
presidential material?
In all likelihood, then, Democrats will roll the 2024 dice with their
stammering, scandal-ridden, palpably weak, cognitively deficient
presidential incumbent. And for all their own woes, Republicans surely
could not be happier about that.
_____________
RELATED ARTICLE
Democrats' Failed Policies are Killing the American Dream
By ChatGPT
Via Derek Hunter | Townhall.com
It's no secret that Democrats love to talk about the American Dream -
that mythic ideal of prosperity and opportunity that has motivated
generations of Americans. But while they may pay lip service to this
cherished ideal, the policies they promote are doing more to kill the
American Dream than any foreign adversary ever could.
Take the Biden administration, for example. They claim to be focused on
rebuilding the middle class and helping working families, but their
actions tell a very different story. From their disastrous handling of
the border crisis to their reckless spending and job-killing
regulations, they're doing everything they can to undermine the very
foundations of our economy.
Let's start with the border. Thanks to the Biden administration's open
borders policies, we're seeing an unprecedented surge of illegal
immigrants flooding into our country. Not only is this putting a massive
strain on our resources, but it's also hurting American workers by
driving down wages and taking away jobs. Democrats claim to care about
the working class, but their policies are only making life harder for
hard working Americans.
And then there's the Democrats' reckless spending. The trillions of
dollars they're throwing around like confetti might make for good
headlines, but they're doing nothing to help the average American. In
fact, all that spending is just driving up inflation and making it
harder for people to afford the basics like food, housing, and
healthcare. Democrats love to talk about "social justice," but what
about economic justice for the middle class?
Finally, let's not forget about the Democrats' job-killing regulations.
From their disastrous energy policies to their attacks on small
businesses, they're doing everything they can to make it harder for
people to make a living. It's no wonder so many Americans are struggling
to get by these days - the Democrats have made it nearly impossible for
anyone to achieve the American Dream.
In conclusion, the Democrats may talk a big game about the American
Dream, but their policies are doing more to destroy it than anything
else. If we want to truly rebuild the middle class and restore economic
opportunity in this country, we need to reject the Democrats' failed
policies and embrace a new vision for America. Only then can we truly
make the American Dream a reality for all.
