Age catches up to us all.
The thought occurred to me this morning as I contemplated another impending birthday, the type of annual occasion that occupies only one day but many of us ponder for much longer than that. I’m not saying that folks should dread a commemoration -- and celebration -- of another year on earth, but the unwelcome parts of aging become more apparent with each passing winter, spring summer and fall.
My own birthday falls at this time of year, so when it was reported that our president’s special occasion occurred just a few days away from mine, I didn’t necessarily see it as a blessing. The half-century long Washington D.C. swamp dweller and career politician turned 79-years old last Saturday, the media marking the event with muted tones of congratulations and propped up reports of amazing health for Biden’s hefty number.
The visibly senile president briefly transferred power to gal pal veep Kamala Harris while undergoing a colonoscopy last week as part of his regular physical examination. Didn’t it make you feel great to learn that the scatter-brained opportunistic identity politics driven Harris was in charge of the nuclear codes while Joe was in an induced dreamlike state for almost an hour and a half? I guess it meant Harris became the first woman ever to act as president, even if she only held sway for a short moment.
Let’s ensure it’s Kamala’s last time hearing “Madame President.”
After the check-up, Biden’s physician described him as “vigorous”, the doctor clearly under the influence of someone in Joe’s sphere watching over him as he wrote the words. Imagine if the practitioner were to suggest that the president was “lethargic” and “mentally challenged,” the test results having revealed that the elected leader was slipping as dramatically as his public polling would indicate.
As the ol’ back slappin’, hair sniffin’, child repellin’, copious fib tellin’, nude swimmin’, shoulders massagin’, misbehaving son toleratin’, bitin’ pooch pardonin’, name callin’ and flatulence cuttin’ good guy Joe blew out his birthday candles the other day, he probably took a break from worrying about his poll standing. But that didn’t stop others from assessing his party’s bleak midterm prospects in less than a year’s time.
“In recent days, Biden and other White House officials have begun a nationwide tour and media blitz to tout Democrats’ recently passed infrastructure law. Meanwhile, House Democrats are discussing holding as many as 1,000 events between now and the end of the year in an effort to sell the party’s accomplishments.
“Democrats scored another key win on Friday when the House approved the roughly $2 trillion social policy and climate bill, which lies at the center of Biden’s legislative agenda.
“Recent polling shows that both the infrastructure law and the larger spending bill are more popular than not among voters, giving Democrats hope that their midterm strategy may ultimately pan out. Still, strategists say the next coming weeks and months will be a crucial test of just how effective the party’s messaging will be.”
Ain’t it funny how things happen? Or more succinctly, the order in which they happen? Just as Democrats were acting all giddy that Nancy Pelosi had finally herded her party’s House cats to pass a scaled-back (from the original) “Build Back Better” bill came news from Wisconsin that heroic teenaged self-defender Kyle Rittenhouse had been acquitted of all charges in reference to the incident that took place in the summer of 2020 during the lawlessness and riots in Kenosha.
Almost instantly the news entities dropped Nancy Pelosi’s smiling mug from TV screens and replaced it with talk about whether the semi-dormant leftist miscreants who’d had their way with the country last year would once again rise up to protest the “injustice” of a baby-faced 18 year-old being let free after ending the lives of two criminals who’d assaulted him and “vaporized” the bicep of another who pointed a loaded gun at the youth’s face.
Conservatives rejoiced upon receiving the news, finally feeling good again about the justice system after the tumultuous year and a half since George Floyd’s death. Democrats and the “woke” jerks of the left decried the jury’s decision. They’d commended the Minneapolis jury that found policeman Derek Chauvin guilty of murder (despite Floyd having enough fentanyl in his blood to kill him a couple times over). Rational minded people admitted there was at least an argument for Chauvin’s conviction, but the left wouldn’t budge in Rittenhouse’s situation.
Liberals won’t concede that Rittenhouse’s action was clearly self-defense, nor back the views of the 12 jurors who unanimously sat in judgment. Former president Harris (can we call her that now?) summed up the left’s reaction: “My impressions about the verdict is that the verdict really speaks for itself. As many of you know I’ve spent a majority of my career working to make the criminal justice system more equitable and clearly there’s a lot more work to do.”
How much more “work” is there to do, Kamala? When will it ever be “equitable”? Is it when all white defendants who kill other white people in self-defense are deemed racially motivated?
Believe me, this bellyaching over a jury verdict ain’t going to help with the party’s “messaging” in the coming months. And don’t expect the “vigorous” senile Joe to suddenly gain new brainpower and become articulate and lucid all at once. As I began this column, age catches up to us all regardless of the stimulants and quality of coaching they (the Democrats) feed to Biden on a regular basis. The chief executive may be capable of shuffling through the day, but he’s losing his battle with Father Time, at least in the intellectual capacity.
Once again, based on the quotes in Greenwood’s article, Democrats believe the magic for them is in the messaging. Seeing as the House just passed their version of “Build Back Better”, all the rest of them need to do is return to their districts and states and brag about how great they are and how the skies will open up and currency will start raining down from the Federal Reserve Bank. Democrats continue to insist that the bill won’t cost anything, since the built-in tax increases will balance the outlays.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said otherwise -- that the new programs would add nearly $400 billion to the national debt over ten years -- but no matter! Everyone knows it would be more than that, too. The super-rich would find tax loopholes and the welfare spending would grow beyond the government’s ability to keep track of it. And all those IRS agents? They’d be a waste, too.
I don’t know in which universe Democrats believe sending Joe n’ Kamala and any combination of other party honks out to tout higher taxes and deficit spending would produce the desired polling boost. The administration’s disastrous energy policies alone have sucked the money out of the pockets of too many people. My dad filled up with gas the other day. Three-quarters of a tank was over $86 in California.
You would have to be willfully blind to ignore the awful state of the economy. And Joe Biden isn’t a very good salesman. We’ve all seen Joe deliver a speech, complete with a number of pauses and ad libs. Biden is no Donald Trump, put it that way. His non-teleprompter dictated opening segments run on and usually involve personal recollections or other off-topic remarks. There’s nothing more boring than listening to an ancient doofus like Biden grasping to come up with something humorous to please the onlookers.
Perhaps Biden’s and other top Democrats’ time would be better served lobbying Senator Joe Manchin, because the West Virginian is the key to the success of the whole agenda. The House passed bill contains a bigger price tag than Manchin’s said he’s willing to agree to, and with inflation reports continuing to show rising prices, he’s likely to be even more skeptical of the tax boosts and wasteful spending for classic liberal causes like family leave and universal federal childcare.
The deadlocked Senate’s version of the bill should differ considerably with the House’s, which could resurrect reports of division and disagreement among Democrats, the so-called “moderates” vs. the brazen leftists, socialists and climate change pushers. These problems weren’t magically extinguished by the House’s action last week. Indeed, they merely agreed to vote on their own preferences, not because the legislation suddenly coincided with the Senate’s demands.
Making matters worse, on the age issue, other Democrats are receiving attention for their number of birthdays, too. 81-year-old Speaker Nancy Pelosi sidestepped questions about her retirement plans as well. She’ll almost certainly run for reelection with the knowledge that she’ll resign her seat if the Democrats lose the House. San Fran Nan might not be ready to call it quits, but the matter is out of her hands.
It's true that age stops for no one, and time isn’t on Joe Biden’s side. With each passing birthday voters are reminded of just how aged and infirm the president really is, and no glowing physician’s report will change anyone’s opinion. Americans see Biden and Speaker Pelosi out peddling their shot-in-the-dark transformative welfare bill, and their window for success is closing fast.
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