Is Biden still president?
Then again, was he ever?
Some would say he’s always been a complete figurehead, right from the start. But I’ve never felt that he was entirely out of the decision-making loop, especially early in his presidency. That’s not to say he wasn’t strongly influenced and even at times overruled by his handlers, whom I always felt were in turn under the influence of some sort of coalition headed by former president Obama. But certainly, in the past few months and especially since the coronation of Kamala Harris as nominee, Biden has been shoved aside far more and perhaps even entirely.
Which brings us to the next question: will Biden try to sabotage Kamala’s election chances out of spite? After all, he was done dirty by those who decided it was time for Joe to go. Or is his hatred of Trump and the GOP great enough to overcome his anger at those in his party who deposed him? I think the latter, but I’m not sure.
Then again, Kamala Harris doesn’t seem to be in charge now, either.
And isn’t it funny how the Democrat voters don’t appear to care about any of this? I believe that the top priority of most of them is to stop Trump, and they trust that the Deep State and the Democrat Party will take care of things after that. The priority of stopping Trump has been fueled by the propaganda branding him as Hitlerian, but it is a reflection of more generalized fears and hatred of his supporters as violent, racist, homophobic, misogynist, gun-toting, anti-science fundamentalists who will ban not just abortion but contraception as well.
So, who cares about the details of Kamala’s plan for the future? Who cares how Joe was treated? The only thing that matters is that Joe stopped Trump when it was needed (either through a fair election or a fraudulent one; the latter doesn’t matter to them either, except the need to deflect all talk of the possibility of Democrat fraud), and that Kamala do the same now that it’s needed again.
And if Kamala wins in November – heaven forbid – I don’t think she’ll be in charge, either. Not fully, anyway. Kamala is identity-politics window-dressing, and the left as well as Trump-hating liberals are hoping that will be enough for victory in 2024.
He’s now the lamest of all lame ducks ever. I think he’s been totally gelded. I think whatever committee has been pulling the strings all along have doubled down on their power. I presume Obama has always been in the shadows; he never really left DC.
It’s amusing how so many soi disant leftists are contemptuous of the workers and peasants. Marx would not approve. Mao would have sent college professors and tech moguls out to the sticks to shake hands with a shovel.
tcrosse:
Lenin would have done so (or worse), Mao would have done so (or worse). But Marx himself was someone who had no familiarity with that sort of work or those kinds of workers.
It will be easier for Obama and his advisors to control Kamala Cacking Harris than it was to control joke bidet.
Kamala is so dumb and stupid she will just do as she is instructed; she is simply a moron.
joke Bidet, on the other hand, even with his senility strikes me as a stubborn, old coot, who thinks highly of himself and has no problem believing in his own intellectual superiority. I don’t think he would hesitate for one second telling his subordinates things will be done his way.
Here is Kamala Cackling Harris explaining the Russian – Ukraine conflict in her
own words:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuDsUV44h10
Her explanation would be suitable for children under the age of 6.
I still find it astonishing that she passed the bar exam ( assuming it was actually her that sat for the exam).
We can only hope. 🙂
Just like we can hope that the Hamasniks do a YUUGE job of disrupting the Democrat National Convention in Chicago.
CSNY: Chicago
My opinion is he always was a best a mouthpiece to the whispering in his ear.
I think we are at the point every day it’s a 1 – 100 dice roll if he makes it through the day. I want him to turn into Capt Queeg in a public venue telling us what they did to pull this Coup D’etat on him just as he was the head figure on Trump being caught in a Coup D’etat. He deserves anything done to him, I got nothing but despise for him
I presume Obama has always been in the shadows; he never really left DC.
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Another unpleasant bit of business about him; his younger daughter completed high school in 2019. At that point, he should have sold his house and left town.
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One of the few American presidents who remained in Washington was Woodrow Wilson. Wilson’s father was a clergyman whose series of teaching and ministry positions had the family moving from one locus to another about every ten years. The closest thing his son had to a hometown was Augusta, Georgia. At the time Wilson left office, no one in his family had lived in Augusta for 50 years. Wilson had had 20 good years in Princeton, NJ. One suspects the 2d Mrs. Wilson did not relish the prospect of attempting to establish herself among the faculty wives who included the 1st Mrs. Wilson’s circle of friends.
==
The 2d Mrs. Wilson had arrived in Washington on her marriage to a local merchant in 1896 and she had scant connection to public life until meeting Wilson in 1915. The only other place she’d lived was in southwest Virginia, an area to which her husband was a stranger. Since he was an invalid, her preferences were paramount. (She lived in Washington until she died, 40 years after her husband’s term concluded).
In his acceptance speech at the 1936 convention, FDR coined the term Economic Royalists, which offers a fair description of today’s oligarchy:
“For out of this modern civilization economic royalists carved new dynasties. New kingdoms were built upon concentration of control over material things. Through new uses of corporations, banks and securities, new machinery of industry and agriculture, of labor and capital—all undreamed of by the fathers—the whole structure of modern life was impressed into this royal service.
There was no place among this royalty for our many thousands of small business men and merchants who sought to make a worthy use of the American system of initiative and profit. They were no more free than the worker or the farmer. Even honest and progressive-minded men of wealth, aware of their obligation to their generation, could never know just where they fitted into this dynastic scheme of things.
It was natural and perhaps human that the privileged princes of these new economic dynasties, thirsting for power, reached out for control over Government itself. They created a new despotism and wrapped it in the robes of legal sanction. In its service new mercenaries sought to regiment the people, their labor, and their property”
“Which brings us to the next question: will Biden try to sabotage Kamala’s election chances out of spite?”
Maybe I haven’t been paying close enough attention…Does the sitting President still retain that sort of “agency?” or “will?”
He steered close to that precipice in that interview a bit ago…but does he still have the coherence to engineer a torpedo like that?
Jill…? I think the deal’s been struck and she’ll get what they want for her Hunter and the rest of the crime family. Joe will either shuffle off to oblivion shortly after the election/inauguration or have a fatal episode as soon as it’s advantageous.
It’s a matter of keeping him boxed in as much as possible.
I wonder how many people really know who is in charge. It must be quite an exclusive club. If I knew I’d want to tell people about it. That at least half the country doesn’t seem to have a problem with having a secret government doesn’t bode well for the future, no matter who wins the next election.
Biden will continue to do exactly what he is told and, if he doesn’t, back to the beach in Delaware he will be sent for the rest of his term.
I do think there is a distinct possibility that the Democrats might try to to install Harris as President via the 25th or force Biden to resign as an October surprise to rebuild interest and goodwill for Harris after the initial goodwill wears off which is already happening.
That may be underway. She’s trying to distance herself from Biden; he and his press secretary are saying that she’s been integral to all the “accomplishments” of the Biden administration, no daylight between them.
I remember the photo of Obama visiting the White House. White House staffers were all clustered around Obama and Biden was off to the side all alone. I feel that told me everything I needed to know about the Biden presidency.
JFM:
You remember correctly.
It’s one of the saddest scenes you’ll ever see.
neo,
Both Mao and Lenin were born into what may be characterized as middle class families. They were fairly well educated. They were probably unfamiliar with manual labor and never experienced the impoverished circumstances of the working class and peasants/serfs.
In other words, they were typical revolutionaries: i.e., middle class, educated intellectuals, with the means and time and wherewithal to formulate and enact murderous revolutionary ideologies.
I’ve felt for weeks that Biden is probably something close to a prisoner in the White House at this point, being led around on a figurative leash for the most part. What would surprise me is if there is no October Surprise.
All of the above comments have the “ring of truth “, and it’s damn depressing. It all reads like some Tom Clancy novel, but there isn’t a Jack Ryan to come to our rescue. Where will be be in the next 3 months, 6months, or a year?
My “progressive” friends come right out and say that nothing matters to them except keeping Trump from a second term. Nothing.
And yesterday they were swooning over this:
https://image-cdn.hypb.st/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2024%2F08%2F15%2Fshepard-fairey-kamala-harris-forward-poster-1.jpg?cbr=1&q=90
The ramped-up propaganda has become downright insulting, but my friends don’t care. They declare themselves “inspired.” They are literally hypnotized.
MollyG, I’ve seen that image altered with a red hammer and sickle instead of the KH in the corner. Much more appropriate.
It’s one of the saddest scenes you’ll ever see
==
It’s far from the saddest scene I’ve ever seen.
The alacrity with which Biden was shunted to the side, and the ensuing silence, tells you everything you need to know about how completely he’s been dominated during his tenure. I have no doubt he has participated in policy decisions, and no doubt that it was not as the leader of the discussion. He’s been allowed to participate, because it was useful to let him think he’s in control of things, for the rare occasions that he spoke publicly. But Joe Biden is a team player, who’s been led to believe he’s the captain.
He has not been in control, ever, IMO. And when it became necessary to set him aside, there was plenty of evidence and an already-formulated legal procedure to explain to him, pointing out just how badly things would go for Joe, for Hunter, for Jill, for the family business, if he didn’t cooperate. A complete devastation of the Biden wealth, would be my guess. And that is not something that any of them are willing to suffer; their sense of self-preservation informs them correctly that the Party effort would squash them like an ant. They’ve been watching the Trump treatment for the past 5 years. They know the drill. You won’t hear a thing from the Bidens, except the sound of packing & pardons.
MollyG, that is the chillingest political poster I’ve seen in America, ever. “Forward”. The only thing missing, is the ‘Comrade’
Which brings us to the next question: will Biden try to sabotage Kamala’s election chances out of spite? –neo
It may already have happened.
One theory is that Biden’s immediate passing the torch to Kamala upon his ouster was sabotage, an FU to Pelosi, Obama et al. Sure, they wanted Joe out, but they wanted to choose his replacement.
But now the Dem leadership is stuck with Kamala. They are making the best of it. And if they can drag her across the finish line, she’ll be a fine figurehead while Whoever Is Running the Show Now can continue without missing a beat.
However, she is a weak candidate. I imagine Obama knows that.
Joe wins by choosing his successor or by dooming the 2024 ticket.
I think it is more than possible, though not likely, that Biden does not complete his term as POTUS.
Things on which most can agree:
1. Kamala Harris is not very bright, not well read, largely unaccomplished, and easily manipulated.
2. Committed Democrats, Leftists, and Progressives will vote for whoever it is that is in the Democrat spot on the 2024 ballot (simply anti-Trump).
3. The pro-Palestine anti-Israel cohort will either skip the election or vote for some write-in candidate.
“Is Biden still president?”
Biden was never president.
Next question…
Stated here many times these last 4 years that I don’t expect Sundowner to finish his term, and by rights should have been yanked out long ago.
So, if Harris gets installed wouldn’t surprise me, would give her something as a leg up before the election IF they don’t mind exposing her. It sure seems hiding her like Sundowner in 2020 is their plan again.
And would also go with my thinking the deal was to let Sundowner and Jill live their little fantasy out until January then walk away,
Biden to sabatage Kamala ??
Not in one trillion light years.
When push comes to shove, the Dems never break ranks.
They are not dumbpublicans.
Think about it; when the “Squad” uttered their patently anti-Semitic, Jew hatred screeds, what did the demokrat party do about it??
Oh, that’s right; nothing at all (at least in public). Not even the Jewish members of the democrat party condemned the comments.
Obama as much as anyone seems to be in charge that explains everything
The energy policy the foreign policy the chaos in the streets see ferguson redux
So sure scary orange man who brought a degree of stability and prosperity
Who runs the Democratic Party? Why, a small group similar to the Politburo of the old Stalinist Soviet Union, and just as democratic.
I have said before, and say again, the sun is setting on the American Republic. Gramsci’s thesis has been employed to devastating effect by the Progs. So the Progs today control education, entertainment (Movies, TV), and “news”. All propagandistic.
Seeing as the executive branch doesn’t need a functioning President in order to run, should Hell freeze over and the Dems fail to harvest enough ballots in WI, PA, and MI, I think we should expect that the executive branch will continue to run itself despite Trump, and we need to be prepared for that. There is much more required of us than dragging Trump to 270 against the headwinds.
Trump is one guy, Vance is one other guy. They can’t even fire people without underlings willing to carry out their instructions. Most of the Federal government cannot be fired anyway, but the Cabinet and the next level or two down would have to be staffed by people who thoroughly know the bureaucracy–meaning they know who the key people are and their relationships–and are committed to root-and-branch reform.
I don’t think there are any such people available. I think the only people willing to serve in a GOP administration are going to be Swamp Things, or Sir Humphreys if you like a nicer term. Washington outsiders might be committed to reform but won’t know the key people or their relationships in order to carry it out. Insiders will know, and defuse any attempt at real change.
I’m losing faith that working within the system will change anything. Some other big change is required: the states gaining more power, Congress getting interested in something besides appropriations and reelection and reining in the executive, I don’t know what. But the country didn’t get like this in four years and it won’t stop being like this in four years even if Trump is reelected.
What I’m really afraid of is a catastrophe that breaks it all for us: a big war, financial implosion, hyperinflation, I don’t know what.
I want to say you are wrong, Cicero and Niketas. But I will need some time to come up with any good reasons …
the incentives are against sensible reforms, building new ziggurats for the ministry of silly walks I mean loneliness, dezinforma, skydragon mediation seems to be the thing,
Biden did promise to phase out fossil fuels, for us, China and India, can continue to consume sweet crude, although Sudanese and Iranian crude is probably more labor intensive to refine, Nigerian pipeline fires anyone,
of course more electric vehicles put more strain on an even more fragile powergrid, we have seen how this works out in Europe, where the individual countries have a fraction of our power demands, as they continue to eliminate Nuclear, the French are not as
stubborn on that issue, but the Germans are,
the whole WEF Open Society archipelago, the structure is important not the man, the Dems took out Mellon Scaife and largely turned the Koch brother they went after the Mercers, just because, this is part of what the attack on Bannon was about,
And isn’t it funny how the Democrat voters don’t appear to care about any of this? I believe that the top priority of most of them is to stop Trump, and they trust that the Deep State and the Democrat Party will take care of things after that.
Both of the above points are very likely true. However, I think that the deep trust that many of these left-wingers have in the Party and State is the most crucial. They don’t even know much about those important policy issues that they are trusting them to bring forward and implement. Oh, these are my people who are right thinking like I am; therefore, I trust them.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/08/hamas-rejects-biden-bridging-proposal-on-ceasefire-and-hostages-we-refuse-the-current-proposal/?
I hope our hostess will return to this topic frequently. Much to mine here.
I recall Sarah Hoyt on her blog telling us the useful skills of “reading between the lines” — the news left out by implication. Useful again.
She came by this skill in person — witnessing Fascism from the Right, and then Fascism from the Marxist Left in her native Portugal during the 1970s and after.
To cicero and Niketas, I’ll only add Clairemont Institute fellow and Boston University prof, Angelo Codevilla in late January, 2021: we are no longer a self-governing Republic — we are ruled by an Oligarchy.
We are ruled by the rogue Deep State bureaucrats who tip the scales of policy through the IC or Intelligence Community.
But the defacto Fourth Branch of US government also includes the Generals of the (senior Executive) Civil Service, who follow Dear Leader’s voice. An undoubtedly leaked with approval recoding of an early May 2020 phone call to them from Obama confirms this. “I’m still here” for you, was the message delivered and received.
Codevilla mention the inly saving grace of our new Post-Constitutional Oligarchy. It won’t last long.
As per Aristotle, the essence of Oligarchy is a gang of mutual but temporary interests — interests that conflict when the base case facts change. And the players must be changed or gulled or bought off.
We’ve seen the post-debate Biden conflict this summer exposing the Deep State connections
Another is coming: just bet on it.
The likeliest two have heen mentioned: drop in the dollar because Trillion Dollar debt Service forever demands debasement of the dollar (to pay it off with cheaper dollars — watch interest rates). Or else an international crisis abroad, which might dictate a Biden-Harris switch out at POTUS. Or both.
I suspect the anticipated Antifa Black Shirts will stay in their quarters this election fall (the Pale-Hamas faction already viciously occupies that activist lane). So useful in the past, they are no more useful to Ds managing the criminal anarcho-tyranny state where us plebs live, given the suburban mom voters fears it would roil.
Pelosi is unmasked (probably) as the one who got Biden to step down with Obama playing a subordinate role (if even that). It makes sense. Nancy is still very much in the political game, and she truly lives for it. Obama’s rather aloof nowadays.
The New York Times floats a story about Biden’s having consciously and expressly thrown in with his party’s progressive wing, rather than just being the guy they gave papers to sign. Joe, in this version, resented the way he had to play second banana for Obama and the way he was bypassed in favor of Hillary Clinton, so he hitched his wagon to the party left, in spite of his reputation as a moderate.
But of course, picking the team that tells you what to do is a lot different from actually telling them what to do. So the country’s on autopilot, with staffers and bureaucrats deciding what to do. It’s just that the front man is out of the picture.
https://x.com/Joelmpetlin/status/1825131863662371153
First the MSM tried “America’s Dad” from the heartland.
Now, we’ve got reporters trying out the meme that Walz has “a different kind of masculinity” *
As one commenter noted in response to this meme, “He has that Richard Simmons masculinity vibe.”
* See https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/08/not-onion-liberal-reporter-suggests-tim-walz-has/
“whom I always felt were in turn under the influence of…” I always felt them were under the influence… Neo will never get this who/whom distinction correct.