Notebook: The great upending

EDITORIAL MUG: Larry Anderson

I was wrong, darn it. I thought President Biden would hang on despite the typhoon of pessimism during the latter days of his tenure, but Joe gave it up without so much as a whimper. The Big Guy is now the lamest of ducks with little impact behind his endorsements and no interest in his opinion or power in his threats. He’s just there, vacant, listless and finishe.

There’s a vacuum presently. Who’s the boss? Is it still Joe who holds the office for a few more months, or is it VP Kamala Harris who hit the track running and who can barely contain her delight at going from plus one to the de facto leader of her dismal party? Who’s really running the show right now is something America and the world needs to know.

It seems certain many responsibilities will be shifted to Harris immediately so she can exude authority and leadership. This would also let Joe off the hook as he heads for the beach. Perhaps kindly Barack will pull up a recliner beside him, and the two can gaze longingly at the sunset while reflecting on their wringing out of America.

Biden’s decision to call it quits definitely upended the current political environment. What about the primary votes that were cast for Joe under the assumption he was the one? What about the millions raised by his machine for the same reason? The right thing to do would be to refund donations and start over, but time is short and Harris has her hand out. How these points are handled will tell us much in terms of the transparency Democrats insist they provide but don’t.

Harris has a lock on the nomination with a burst of donations, many delegates, and celebrity endorsements, but there is surely some resentment on the part of Biden’s remnants that may lead to challenges. It is clear Joe was elbowed out, and unhappy loyalists may flatly refuse to vote for Kamala or perhaps turn to RFK Jr. since he too was dismissed.

Democrats as a whole may come to regret their treatment of Kennedy, now an Independent. After all, the Kennedys were the big cheese long before the Bushes and Trumps came along. There’s residual respect and admiration galore, especially among older Eastern voters. We shall see, but Giggles lacks charm and an impressive sheet while Kennedy embodies nostalgia.

Indeed, I see commonality between Trump the Republican and Kennedy the Independent. Both have been treated badly by the Democrat party and dislike how things are going. Their differences are apparent, of course, but so is their common goal of beating a party begging for a thumping. Discussions may occur and alliances formed.

This is an issue election, and the Democrats’ miserable policies have made it doable for Republicans driven powerfully by the Trump/Vance ticket. These include a stupidly open border, stubborn policy-driven inflation, a high cost of living, high interest rates, high energy costs, depleted international respect, a shrinking military, higher taxes, crime, and costly, destructive green policies to name a few important ones. Trump counters with common sense, an offer of opportunity, and a legacy still fresh in voters’ minds

It is certain Harris as president would continue the march to leftist mediocrity. The aforementioned issues would worsen. With Trump as president, everything will change fast as proven by the boom and optimism he provided a few short years ago.

There was a Democrat bump following Joe’s announcement, but that will cool as reality sets in. Trump is a bona fide rock star with a hefty record; Harris dropped the ball on the border and failed miserably in her 2020 bid for the Democrat nomination. Trump’s record is easy to defend; Harris’s is a lame message already told. That’s reality.

Finally, I can’t shake the feeling Biden’s disposal was part of a grand scheme now coming to fruition. It was a little too neat and timely, don’t you think, this dumping of one loser for another?

Larry W. Anderson is a retired educator.