Democracy 2024: # 37

I do not know what kind of post this will be. I should have written it 12 hours ago but I put it off until later because it is frankly depressing to have to write about politics. Today was Rosh Hashanah so I probably should not even be doing this. Now, I am trying to watch the Chicago Cubs play in the 13th inning of a baseball game in the hope that they avoid losing 4 in a row. This game has seemingly had more challenges than the post 2020 election Trump campaign.

A lot happened in the news this week and there have been various subjects that I might have otherwise written about in depth. Of course, I would have had a lot to say in tribute to Utah Senator Mitt Romney whom this week announced he would not seek reelection. That move was not much of a shock to me, but it still sad nonetheless. The Republican Party I was once so proud to belong to has definitely changed, and in my view for the worst, since he was our standard bearer just over a decade ago. I will always be proud to have supported Mitt Romney. Now, he is calling for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate (baseball is definitely on my mind) and that seems very fitting as the nation seems to be hurdling towards another Biden vs. Trump election. People like me will absolutely be hoping for another option, even if they cannot win, just to be able to be satisfied at a personal level over casting a vote. 

It seems like nobody wants to be part of an effort to "spoil" an election and hand another term to Donald Trump. I get that completely, but it is sad for America and an extremely sad commentary on Joe Biden and his party that it has gotten to that point. Perception is reality in politics and the past week has seen even more of a narrative form that will be nearly impossible to shake. So many people,even those who are hard-core Democrats are simply convinced Biden is too old to run again and to serve effectively as President in a second term. Everybody is starting to notice, fairly or not, signs of his "decline" and any sort of medical episode could all but end his chances for reelection.

As I have said before, I do not believe Biden has become senile. I simply think he is a shameless liar and always has been. He has that in common with Trump. They will say virtually anything to try to make themselves look better. Biden may not lie about his weight or his golf scores, but he claimed this week that he was at Ground Zero in New York City the "day after" the September 11th, 2001 attacks. Indeed, he was there about 9 days after, but that was not the next day and he should have known better. The current President has continued to say all sorts of odd and untrue things about his life and background but again he has literally been doing that for decades.

One could not help but chuckle to hear that today Trump said that Biden is in such bad shape mentally, that he would lead us to "World War II." Talk about stepping over a line. Maybe he was channeling Charles Lindbergh discussing FDR.

So many other things happened this week I would not even know where to begin. Just one thing in particular was that South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, whom has pretty been openly campaigning to be Trump's next running-mate and recently endorsed him, has a news story out alleging she has been conducting a long-term extra-martial affair with Corey Lewandowski, Trump's former campaign manager. In the past, both parties, whom are both married, have denied these allegations. Now that a British tabloid has provided more details, the denials are not exactly being offered in as solid of a matter. What will this mean for Noem's Veep chances?

I need to wrap this up. In the weeks ahead, there will be much else to discuss. There is now an auto workers strike and that could portend bad news for Biden. He also is probably going to be impeached in the months ahead, and that could actually be good news for him politically while a bad development for the country. Speaker Kevin McCarthy sure has been in a bind this past week and that is not ending anytime soon.

Also much discussed in recent weeks are the claims that the 14th Amendment could disqualify Trump from running again because he is believed to have taken part in an Insurrection. Many think Secretaries of State have the authority to keep him off of ballots. I will just say that I do not expect anything to come from that, even if it makes its way up to the Supreme Court. It does not feel right to have partisan officials be able to do something like that, especially since Trump has at least not yet been convicted of any crime. What some people want to see happen in the name of keeping Trump off the ballot would be bad for democracy. He is probably going to be convicted of crimes anyway though sometime down the line. For now, the voters will just have to be the ones to keep him out of power.

I cannot see him becoming President again, but the concerns that voters have about both Biden and Kamala Harris are real and growing. Either party would be wise to jettison their frontrunner and find somebody, virtually anybody, different in the hopes of winning in 2024.

Maybe the Cubs can win a bigger prize in 2024. The last week has gone very badly, as indeed they lost in 13 innings as I was writing these ramblings. It seems like it might come down to the wire if they want to even make it as the third National League Wildcard team this season, but they better start winning again soon.

One thing I have in common, albeit for very different reasons, with the MAGA crowd, is at least we had the fall of 2016.