On the surface, it is scandalous that Washington Democrats, and the Democratic press corps, knew for years that Joe Biden could barely function, and yet they covered up his condition until it exploded into public view in last week’s debate. The Democrats didn’t care about Biden’s dementia until public knowledge of it threatened his re-election.
Which raises the question: Don’t the Democrats think it is dangerous for the U.S. not to have a functioning president? Isn’t it unpatriotic to help to perpetuate in office a president long gone in dementia?
The Democrats don’t think so, because they believe it doesn’t really matter who is president, as long as he is a Democrat. The reality is that loyal Democrats–the large majority of them–would have voted for Biden even if he died before the election. This also explains why, in evaluating potential replacements for Biden at the top of the ticket, the only consideration is wether Kamala, or Gavin Newsom, or whoever, can beat Donald Trump.
Why don’t Democrats don’t think it makes much difference who the president is? Because they are content to have our government run by anonymous White House aides and administrative state bureaucrats. What do they need a president for? To issue Pride Month proclamations and appoint liberal judges. But anyone can do that. Thus, there is no obligation to talk about the fact that the president might as well be a waxwork effigy. And as for foreign policy, they are embarrassed by American power and don’t want the U.S. to play a strong role in the world. So a weak president is fine there, too.
All of this flows from the fact that the Democrats are the party of the status quo. They are happy with the way things are in Washington–which is, in a nutshell, government by people no one voted for. Republicans, conversely, are the party of change. To Republicans, it matters who the president is. We need someone who is competent and energetic, and above all able to battle the bureaucracy to bring about change in a conservative direction. And if you want America to play a positive role in the world, you need a functioning president, too.
So from the Democrats’ point of view, their silence in the face of Biden’s increasing dementia is understandable. The only thing they want from a president is that he beat Donald Trump, and thus block change from occurring. It was only when Biden’s obvious decline threatened that objective that they became concerned. From their point of view, their conduct was entirely reasonable.
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