The lust for power can blind some to the point where their flanks are exposed to attack. In this case, Democrats have placed Joe Biden in the crosshairs by attacking Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA). The California Democrat who has served since 1992 is pushing 90 years of age. Her mental abilities have regressed mightily, one of the worst-kept secrets in this town. Feinstein’s exceptional staff has kept her office from going off the rails, but progressive members want her gone since she’s clogging up the spot on judicial nominations. Given how Congress is drawn, Wall Street Journal Kimberley Strassel noted that confirming judges is the only area where Democrats can have some level of success. Everything else is dead on arrival with a Republican House. Yet, with the Left conspiring to push Feinstein out, they’ve placed the age and competency issue back on the table, which Strassel aptly notes, puts a target on Joe Biden’s back.
The whisper campaign against Feinstein has been somewhat vicious, with allegations that she’s guilty of dereliction of duty. Her health issues, like a recent bout with shingles, have led to the California Senator missing many votes. It’s excellent ammunition for the Left to use against her, but this isn’t about maintaining a functioning government. If Feinstein isn’t competent, then Biden isn’t either, as seen with his call for international cooperation in Ireland and hopes that both nations “lick the world” (via WSJ):
Whatever Messrs. Khanna’s and Phillips’s motivations, they have thrust into central debate the topic of age and competency. Which raises the obvious question of how it is not likewise a “dereliction of duty” for Democrats to remain silent about Mr. Biden. His decline has become impossible to ignore, and the pace is notable, with weekly if not daily gaffes, stumbles and confusion. This week’s feature: Mr. Biden, in Ireland, embarrassingly confusing the New Zealand rugby team (the All Blacks) with a 1920s British paramilitary group that helped occupy Ireland (the Black and Tans).
Democrats kept mum about Mr. Biden’s predicament in the 2020 election, and even as concern has since grown, the party establishment remains loath to entertain a 2024 primary fight. Apart from what happens to the country under Mr. Biden’s leadership, Democrats might consider the potential for problems for the party, à la today’s Feinstein moment.
How electable will Mr. Biden be 19 months from now? Might Democratic voters—already feeding into the president’s low approval ratings—prove unwilling to turn out for the party’s anointed yet faltering nominee? What happens if Mr. Biden announces a run yet by next spring is incapable of following through, leaving the party in disarray?
One smart move in today’s crazy political environment is to assume anything is possible, including the worst. All the more so when there are already blaring signs of a problem to come. Democrats might view the Feinstein moment as a warning of the danger they are courting by continuing to close their eyes to what the rest of the country so clearly sees.
Joe says he wants to run again, but it’s not official. There’s no announcement date, and while lefty Democrats want Feinstein removed, they should tread carefully because every argument they’ve made against her could be weaponized against the leader of their party. There is no bench on the Democratic side. The 2020 primaries showed how many are unlikable, unelectable, or outright too out of their depth to be president. Bernie Sanders remains a candidate who cannot win over black Democrats, a glaring weakness that sinks any possibility of national election success. Kamala Harris has proven to be an awkward and incompetent vice president. Pete Buttigieg couldn’t handle a train derailment. Biden is all the Democrats have right now, and he’s lost in his own world most of the time.
Maybe Democrats should focus on picking nominees who aren’t radical leftists than attacking one of the most visible liberals on the Hill. Then, perhaps, most of these vacancies could probably be filled, with nominees sailing through the process, but that would make sense, so it won’t happen.
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