Biden Now, Biden Tomorrow, Biden Forever!

 

Friends, I'll admit I was mighty worried as I watched the debate on Thursday night, and in the hours and days thereafter.  That's because Sleepy Joe, as I feared, made such an ass of himself that calls for him to step aside as the Democratic Party nominee for president became deafening.  As I've argued, Joe Biden is the best thing that the GOP has going for it, so the very last thing we should want is the end of Sleepy Joe's reelection bid.  Well, I'm pleased to report that the Dem establishment is, once again, rallying around its standard bearer, as is the Biden family.  These people just "can't quit" the old man!  I say: hooray!  Pretty soon the Democratic National Convention will formally nominate Sleepy Joe, and from that point on replacing him will be well nigh impossible.  At that point, I think we can safely say that Donald J. Trump is on a predictable glideslope to a second term.  Yes, there are still some curveballs that the Dems and their media allies could throw at us, but the public has, fundamentally, made up its mind about both Trump and Biden, and Biden sure looks like he's falling short.  Assuming that the next president will be chosen democratically -- and, as my next article will opine, that's not a bulletproof assumption nowadays -- Trump is the man to beat!

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/06/30/gov_wes_moore_democrats_are_united_behind_joe_biden_the_biden_administration_deserves_another_four_years.html

 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/06/30/report-hunter-biden-strongest-voices-urging-biden-remain-presidential-race/ 

In other news, the "far right" is ahead in French parliamentary elections, and the establishment is beside itself.  Of course, we might reasonably ask: who gets to decide who is "far right" as opposed to just...right?  How about we judge a politician, or a party, or a movement, based on its ideas, and how about we let the people choose whatever leaders they prefer?  It's a radical notion, I know, but what would you expect from a "far right" loon like me?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx82n333ze7o

 

And kudos to South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, which will now help to govern the nation as part of a coalition government.  That's good news for South Africans, but it may not be good news for the DA.  That's because coalitions are often less than kind, politically speaking, to their junior members.  As the weaker partner in a coalition, the DA may find it gets all the blame when things go awry, but none of the glory when things go right.  If I were the DA leadership, I'd be ready to pull the plug on this coalition, if need be, and I wouldn't let the ANC push me around -- no, Sir!

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw9yx5w9577o 

Score One for The Donald

 

Friends, no one cares much what I think about the first presidential debate, but what the leftist media pundits are saying is very telling indeed -- they're freaking out!  All their worst fears about Biden's senility played out in front of them, and they can hardly believe it.  They've been assuring themselves, and each other, for so long that Biden is just fine that this demonstration of his unalloyed obsolescence is very jarring.  Yes, they all agree that Trump was awful and lied through his teeth, but they expected that.  They didn't expect a sitting president who can barely string a sentence together.  Speculation about replacing Biden on the ticket will therefore intensify, but it's still unlikely to happen, for several reasons.  

 

First, switching horses in the middle of a race is damn awkward, virtually unprecedented, and maybe close to impossible.  It would open up all kinds of tough questions about how precisely to sideline Biden, what to do with Kam-Kam, and who to push forward in Biden's place.  Second, this debate was moved up to June for a reason -- Democrats wanted to give pundits and voters plenty of time to forget about it before the election.  It looks like that was very prescient and sensible of them!  Third, Biden's performance, while poor, reflected what many already thought about him -- that he's inarticulate and bumbling.  His delivery did improve somewhat as the debate wore on, and he said plenty of things that lefties will have liked.  The talking heads on ABC who I watched analyze the debate were at pains to point out all Trump's "lies" -- while, as usual, giving Biden a pass on all his whoppers -- and crediting Biden with being on the right side of the issues.  Well, that reaction from the Left is entirely predictable.  Thus, progressives will evaluate Biden's performance much more favorably than you or I would for the simple reason that they were primed to agree with virtually everything he said.  This will insulate Biden, to a point, from internecine attacks.

What did I think of Trump's performance?  It was good -- good enough.  Trump was more respectful of Biden than he was back in 2020.  He was more disciplined, in the sense that he virtually ignored the moderators' questions and hammered away at a few consistent themes, especially what a disaster Biden has been, and what a mess the border has become.  In my humble opinion, Trump is not a masterful debater or rhetorician.  He's not very knowledgeable about policy and offers few specifics to back up his arguments.  Not a single factoid to drive home the pain caused by inflation?  Not a single concrete example of an American victimized by illegal immigrant crime?  These were themes suggested by Trump but never properly illustrated.  These were missed opportunities.  Trump also talked way more about the border than he did about inflation or crime, and this may be a mistake, because almost every poll says that the economy is the main issue on voters' minds.  The bottom line, however, is that, while Trump was arguably bombastic and thin on evidence, no one will be surprised by that, and he showed absolutely no sign of diminished mental capacity.  He was, if anything, a more focused, more disciplined, and more competent version of his former self.  Biden was...the opposite.  And that is what debate viewers will remember, more than anything.  I saw nothing in this debate that will hurt Trump, and nothing that will help Biden.  I also saw nothing that will, in itself, kill Biden's candidacy -- and that too may be, as I suggested last week, a win for Trump, because the last thing he needs is for the S.S. Biden to go down with all hands.  It can take on water, sure, and limp around the ocean blue while listing this way and that, but Trump needs barnacle-encrusted Sleepy Joe to remain seaworthy, above all, and it looks to me like he still is.

One final thought: the moderators were reasonably restrained.  They could have injected themselves more forcefully into the conversation, presumably in order to save Biden from himself.  They didn't.  They asked both men tough questions, but if anything they were more preemptory towards Biden, who they repeatedly cut off.  What's more, Trump didn't get suckered into a shouting match with the moderators, which is all to the good, because it allowed the focus to remain on Biden and his ramblings.  CNN, for once, did its job, journalistically speaking, and nothing more, and that may end up delivering the White House to Trump.  I know that sounds like hyperbole, but, in a race in which Trump has consistently enjoyed a polling advantage, and opinions about both major candidates are so fixed, this may have been Biden's last real chance to change the dynamics.  He blew it.  Now, you'd think the lefties at CNN would do anything to prevent Hitler 2.0 from showing up Mr. Democracy himself, but maybe not.  Remember, CNN is struggling, and nothing has ever breathed life into the liberal media like Trump's first term did.  Food for thought!

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/27/biden-debate-opening-concerns-00165595

 

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/cnn-debate-trump-biden-06-27-24#h_895e5511ddbe0ea5ef0c65318aaf288e 

The Crossroads of the First and Second Worlds

 

Friends, this week's Newsmaker Show reflects on the centrality of the city of Berlin to the dynamics of the Cold War.  Berlin is an amazing place.  It was a modern, sophisticated, even debauched city that nevertheless became the capital of the Third Reich.  Soon after, it became a thriving capitalist metropolis, alongside a staid Stalinist capital city.  Long story short -- if WWIII had ever begun during the Cold War, it's most likely that the fuse would have been lit on the mean streets of either West or East Berlin.

When we turn to current events, Brian and I consider the twisted logic behind the Western obsession with Ukraine, the mixed messages conveyed by the plea deal between the federal government and Julian Assange, the arrest of Tommy Robinson in Canada and the Western assault on free speech, the latest developments in the Trump hush money case, the political predicament of Speaker Mike Johnson, Tucker Carlson's views on parenthood, Louisiana's controversial decision to mandate the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms, the likely contours of the Big Debate between DJT and Sleepy Joe, and where the candidacy of RFK, Jr. stands.

 

We cover all the hot-button topics on the Newsmaker Show, and we promise to press your buttons as we do so!  

 

https://wlea.net/newsmaker-june-26-2024-dr-nick-waddy/ 

***

In other news, the Supreme Court just made what I would regard as one of its most important decisions of all time: it threw out Missouri's case against the federal government, which was designed to establish the principle that the Feds cannot lean on and coordinate with social media companies to limit types of speech that they deem dangerous or "misinformation".  SCOTUS decided that Missouri has no standing in the case -- what??? -- and therefore the federal government can continue meddling in Big Tech's policing of speech as much as it likes.  Now, in the short term, it appears that social media companies are acting in a more independent way, and are not kowtowing mindlessly to the agenda of the Biden Administration.  That's all to the good.  But -- and it's a big "but" -- in the future there's now nothing in the law or in the Constitution, according to the Supreme Court, that can stand in the way of governmental/Big Tech collusion to suppress speech.  I believe this is a landmark case that could herald very great danger for democracy and for liberty.  My hope would be that, at some other time and in some other way, the Supremes will weigh in on both the perils of lawfare and the threat posed by federal coercion of media and social media companies.  If they adamantly refuse to do so, then Big Brother may ultimately decide for us what we're allowed to say and to think.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/supreme-court/3052932/supreme-court-sides-with-biden-administration-social-media-censorship-case/

Free At Last?

 

Friends, I'm of two minds when it comes to Julian Assange, the free speech radical who it appears is now at liberty, following a plea deal with federal prosecutors.  They've agreed to let him admit guilt to a single charge, and in return to acknowledge that the time he's already spent in British jails is sufficient punishment.  I say I'm of two minds because I believe strongly in free speech, and some of the information that Assange and WikiLeaks have released is, was, and ought to be fair game in a free society, and the public has a right to know.  And isn't more information, and better and more truthful information, ultimately the answer to misinformation?  I'd say so.  On the other hand, every country has a legitimate interest in keeping some things secret, and willfully compromising that secrecy has to be punished.  Ergo, Assange could have been justly prosecuted for his alleged crimes.  Possibly, then, this deal is a reasonable compromise.  It ends the federal vendetta against Assange, but only after his life has been turned upside down, and he's spent years in confinement.  In a sense, you might say, both sides won...

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crgggyvp0j9o

 

In other news, the big Trump-Biden debate is just days away now, and almost everyone is eagerly anticipating the clash.  What the Left and the mainstream media would like to make clear is that both major party candidates are old and potentially senile, so both should be under massive public scrutiny and enormous pressure to perform flawlessly.  The truth, however, is that public doubts about Biden's competency are far more acute, so it's Biden who has the most to lose Thursday night.  Then again, you could argue that expectations for Biden are so low that it's Trump who has to be on guard.  My prediction, in case anyone cares, is that the most likely outcome is that the debate will change precisely no one's mind about Trump or Biden.  Stay tuned!  We'll know the answers to these important questions soon enough.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn00e8dzq46o 

Sic Semper Bidenis

 

Friends, Virginia used to be a red state.  Then it became a purple state.  Most analysts would say it's now a blue state.  Trump lost there by a fairly wide margin in 2016 and 2020, but he's making a play for the Old Dominion in 2024, and some polls suggest he's not just spitting in the wind...  Putting Virginia and Minnesota in play is probably a smart move, as long as Trump can compete with Biden financially.  That looked questionable even a few weeks ago, but now billionaires are starting to line up behind DJT, and I think you can attribute that to one major factor: Trump looks increasingly likely to win it all and be president once again.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-campaign-to-open-new-field-offices-minnesota-virginia/

 

Meanwhile, in a move that will surprise no one, the British establishment is ganging up on Nigel Farage and portraying him as an agent of Russian President Vladimir Putin.  This is what the establishment always does to populist conservatives, and you can bet your bippy that they will do it to Trump as well, multiple times, before this election is over.  Farage's only crime, by the way, was criticizing Western policy towards Ukraine, suggesting that NATO helped to "provoke" Russia's invasion.  No kidding!  Speaking the truth is not "appeasement".  It is, however, refreshing!  These attacks come as Farage's Reform Party threatens to displace the Conservatives as the most popular right-wing party in the U.K.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c722pn07w99o 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-68079726

Redder Than Red

 

Friends, when you hear someone say "Biden is a red", you naturally think of his neo-Marxist ideology, but it turns out that that isn't necessarily the kind of "red" he has in mind.  Above all, Biden is drenching the country in red ink, as our fiscal predicament goes from bad to worse.  He certainly isn't the first president to try to spend his way to reelection -- at the cost of drowning the next generation in public debt -- but his borrowing is at levels that are, from any perspective, eye-popping.  The sad part is that Congress doesn't care, neither party cares, and seemingly the American people don't care either.  And young people -- those who will be stuck with the bill -- apparently care less than anyone.  I blame the media for ignoring what amounts to a national financial "red alert".  Yes, this is a rich country, and we can probably afford to be profligate for a long, long time...but not forever!  Bear this in mind when you go to the polls in November.

https://issuesinsights.com/2024/06/21/bidens-fiscal-crisis-is-far-worse-than-we-thought/

Reach Out and Stifle Someone

 

Friends, you won't want to miss this week's Newsmaker Show, which includes extended analysis of internet censorship and the degree to which it has affected political discourse and pluralism.  In addition, Brian and I consider the betting markets and the presidential election, the newfound coziness between Russia and North Korea, the sincerity (or lack thereof) of Congressional Republicans' support for Donald Trump, the stock market hysteria surrounding artificial intelligence, and J.D. Vance and the presidential veepstakes.

When we turn to This Day in History, we recall the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for espionage in 1953, and the lack of overt partisanship in the politics of the 1950s.

 

Will listening to this week's broadcast change your life?  I can't see how it couldn't!!!

https://rumble.com/v52opws-wlea-newsmaker-june-20-2024-dr.-nick-waddy.html

 

***

 

In other news, there's a fresh Fox poll showing Joe Biden narrowly ahead in the national popular vote, which is fantastic, because it will put wind in the sails of Biden backers as they try to cinch Sleepy Joe's arthritic grip on the Democratic nomination.  These are the last few weeks when the Dems could realistically jettison Biden, so we want him to appear strong (enough) to remain the albatross that will ultimately sink his party.  BTW, a bunch of swing state polls appeared today as well, and they're all bad news for Team Biden.

 

https://www.foxnews.com/official-polls/fox-news-poll-three-point-shift-biden-trump-matchup-since-may 

The Rich Get...Digital?

 

Friends, the chipmaker Nvidia has crept into normal conversation, as more and more people buy the stock to cash in on the potential of A.I.  Well, I can't blame anyone for trying to make a buck, and A.I. does have vast potential, but I caution all of you against betting on a stock that could be in the midst of a bubble.  Artificial intelligence is destined to change the world, yes, but picking winners and losers in such a young industry is inherently difficult.  I advise you to tread carefully.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyrr40x0z2mo

 

Another economic story that ought to be getting more attention is the decline of the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency.  It's occurring for many reasons, and Biden doesn't top the list, by any stretch of the imagination.  Having said that, our economic/financial scorched earth campaign against Russia is making many countries and companies around the world question whether we might, now and in the future, abuse our role as custodians of the reserve currency.  Thus, more and more, the rest of the world is opting to use a basket of currencies to do business, rather than relying on greenbacks alone.  I can't say I blame them, and in many ways the further decline of the dollar is an inevitability.  The bad news is that our high standard of living is predicated on our control over global finance, so expect some painful adjustments in the years and decades to come.

 

https://thefederalist.com/2024/06/17/if-bidens-economy-were-strong-our-trade-partners-wouldnt-be-de-dollarizing/ 

BFFs

 

Friends, Russian President Vladimir Putin is about to pay a visit to his best pal Kim Jong Un, the glorious leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (my dream retirement destination).  We here at WaddyIsRight wish him a "Bon voyage!", and, Vlad, don't forget to sample the kimchi...

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv22l88pr4po

 

J.D. Vance topped a recent poll of grassroots conservatives, who were asked who Trump's V.P. should be.  I must admit, I know next to nothing about Vance, and I've never heard him speak, so I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the man.

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/presidential/3046925/jd-vance-wins-straw-poll-to-be-trumps-vp-pick-at-turning-point-action-conference/ 

Finally, the acerbic nature of political discourse these days is turning off a lot of people, and, shockingly, one of them is Barack Obama!  He admitted recently, while trying to drum up support for Biden, that's he's so turned off by political yammering and negativity that he mainly watches sports nowadays.  Ouch!  Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the geriatric, "Get off my lawn!" style of, err, statesmanship preferred by Sleepy Joe, is it?  Obama is right, though, that many people are sick and tired of the status quo, and they say they don't want to vote for Trump or Biden either, although, as we all know, the majority of Americans will end up doing exactly that.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/06/17/obama-i-frankly-watch-sports-mostly-people-feel-turned-off-by-the-political-discourse/

Could This Be The End?

 

Friends, Donald Trump and Nigel Farage have, as has been noted before, much in common, in terms of their views, their outsized personalities, and, perhaps most of all, in the sheer "derangement" they provoke amongst progressives.  There's one crucial difference, though: Trump has plied his political trade within the Republican Party -- the Grand Old Party -- dragging it, sometimes kicking and screaming, into the Trumpian era.  Farage, by contrast, has pushed for Brexit, British nationalism, and restrictions on immigration from outside of the Conservative Party -- the "Tories" -- who have led the right in the U.K. since the 19th century.  Farage has never been elected to Parliament, despite trying on many occasions, but he has influenced the Conservatives by threatening to poach votes from their right wing.  In fact, by leading the fight for Brexit, he upended British politics in a more fundamental way than arguably any Prime Minister has in the modern era.  Now his Reform Party is contesting the upcoming U.K. election, and this time Farage might actually make it into Parliament -- and his party might, just might, win more votes than the establishment Conservatives.  The practical effect of this would be an historic electoral wipeout for the Conservatives, who currently govern the country -- or misgovern it, if you think like Nigel Farage.  That would mean a massive majority for Labour, which could, among other things, raise taxes, increase immigration, and impose any number of woke diktats on the British people.  Farage seems to feel, however, that the Conservatives, and Britain, deserve such a humiliation, such a catastrophe, and that, in the end, they will all be better off when a new and better conservative movement arises from the ashes.  He could be right, or he could be paving the way for Britain to become a socialist, P.C. hellhole.  Stay tuned!

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/06/15/sunak-goes-into-damage-control-as-farage-overtakes-conservatives-in-uk-election-polls/

 

https://www.politico.eu/article/nigel-farage-uk-election-reform-uk-party/ 

Not Your Average Joe

 

Friends, if you're like most people who read this blog, you view Joseph R. Biden as something of a walking joke -- a senile has-been who couldn't govern his way out of a wet paper bag.  Well, that may be so, but my latest article argues that, if you want Trump to prevail in November, you might want to root for ole Sleepy Joe in the first presidential debate on June 27th.  Why on Earth would I do that, you ask?  Read on and find out...

 

 

Run, Sleepy Joe, Run!

With the first and presumptively most important presidential debate coming up in less than two weeks, many Republicans and conservatives are exultant. Their candidate, Donald Trump, has enjoyed a consistent if small lead in the polls, especially in those that most accurately reflect the true nature of the race – by allowing voters to choose between Trump, Biden, Kennedy, West, and Stein. Trump's advantage hasn't been dented by a wide-ranging campaign of lawfare, up to and including his recent felony convictions in New York City. Many Trumpers expect the first debate to consolidate Trump's dominance – mainly because they take it for granted that Biden's senility will be laid bare. From that point on, they assume, Trump will be on a secure glidepath to a second term.

Much of this logic is sound, but the last part – the idea that a poor debate performance by Biden will cement Trump's status as the frontrunner – is dangerously naive. Trump is currently ahead, and has been ahead more or less since the campaign began, but this advantage, if one digs deeply into polling data, does not necessarily reflect any particular strength on Trump's part. His favorable ratings, and the percentage of Americans who say they will vote for him, are not significantly changed from 2020, when he lost by more than four points. At this same point in the race in 2020, in the RealClearPolitics average of head-to-head polls, Trump was receiving around 42% of the vote. Today, he is receiving roughly 45%. That's a significant difference, but hardly an earth-shattering one. Joe Biden, by contrast, was receiving 50% of the vote in 2020, versus less than 45% now. In a five-way race, Biden currently receives under 40% – an extraordinarily weak performance for a sitting president. The lesson here is that Trump's dominance at this stage of the race is mostly a factor of Biden's unpopularity, and the divided field of candidates, rather than Trump's own appeal.

But why, then, would a flawed debate performance by Joe Biden not serve to improve Trump's prospects of victory still further? That's simple: because Trump's chances of victory rely on the assumption that his main opponent is, and will be, Joe Biden. While it would be difficult, and maybe even excruciating, for Democrats to pull the plug on Biden's reelection bid and choose another candidate, it is far from impossible, especially before the nomination has been officially bestowed on Biden at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. A different Democratic candidate, needless to say, would upend the presidential race entirely, and this would threaten Trump's primacy by injecting new blood into the contest. No one can say whether the Democrats could find themselves a dream candidate, but at the very least they could find one who wasn't burdened by all of Joe Biden's baggage, and who wasn't obliged to defend the status quo, which so many Americans find repugnant.

If, therefore, Trump's likelihood of winning in 2024 depends on Democrats sticking to their guns and following Joe Biden like lemmings over the abyss, then the best way to ensure that they do so is to hope that Biden puts in a performance in the first debate that will be judged...satisfactory. That debate is, and will be seen as, the greatest and most important test of Biden's political viability before the Democratic National Convention. If he passes it, he will most definitely be the Democrats' nominee. If he trips up modestly, Democrats will probably still be stuck with him. If, however, he crashes and burns, as so many Republicans and conservatives seem to expect he will, and hope he will, then it would be shocking if Democratic Party elders, along with members of the Biden family, did not take Sleepy Joe aside and explain to him that the time to retire gracefully is now. And, in that case, the modest lead that Trump has built – over one of the least popular presidents in modern history – could evaporate overnight.

Elementary political logic dictates that the candidate who is ahead in any race should do everything in his power to ensure that the dynamics that helped to craft his advantage should be left as undisturbed as possible, and he should hope that nothing dramatic or even interesting happens in the course of the campaign to change voters' minds. A mediocre debate performance by both candidates on June 27^th, or a debate that surprises and excites no one, would be entirely to Trump's advantage. Thus, while it may appear highly ironic, those Americans who sincerely wish for a second Trump term would be well-advised to hope and pray for a reasonably solid debate performance by none other than Joe Biden. Such a result would keep Biden's struggling campaign on life support – but decidedly alive – and that is exactly where Republicans, conservatives, and Trumpers should want it.

Dr. Nicholas L. Waddy is an Associate Professor of History at SUNY Alfred and blogs at: www.waddyisright.com. He appears on the Newsmaker Show on WLEA 1480/106.9.

 

And here it is at Townhall:

https://townhall.com/columnists/nicholaswaddy/2024/06/14/run-sleepy-joe-run-n2640460

Walls Work!

 

Friends, this week's Newsmaker Show reflects on President Reagan's bold speech in Berlin in June 1987, when he challenged the Soviet leader to "tear down" the Berlin Wall.  Such a suggestion seemed far-fetched at the time, but just two years later -- presto!  Down the Wall came!  Maybe Reagan was clairvoyant.  Maybe he was a great statesman.  Maybe he was just plain lucky.  Be all that as it may, he said what he said, and the Russkies did what they did, and the rest is history.  Speaking of which, Brian and I also reflect on the recent anniversary of the D-Day landings, and the fact that so few WWII veterans are left to partake in these remembrances.  We also look back on the presidency of George Herbert Walker Bush.

 

When we turn to current events, Brian and I ponder the political impact (or lack thereof) of the Trump and Hunter Biden guilty verdicts, whether a Trump victory in November would unleash an almighty "bloodbath" and a campaign of vengeance, the fallout from the recent E.U. elections, and the travails of Nigel Farage and his Reform Party in the U.K.  It's a milkshake a minute in British politics!  Never a dull moment.

Please do listen in when you get a chance.  You won't be disappointed!

https://wlea.net/newsmaker-june-12-2024-dr-nick-waddy/

 

***

 

In other news, while Joe Biden has publicly ruled out pardoning his son Hunter, a commutation of his sentence might still allow Daddy's boy to escape meaningful consequences for his actions.  It would be a miracle if Hunter ever went to prison, believe me!  Even aside from the fact that Sleepy Joe obviously loves his son, he needs to stay on his good side, as the Bidens can most easily escape justice for any crimes related to their influence peddling if they stick together.

 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/06/12/report-joe-biden-says-hunter-is-victim-of-weaponized-system-of-justice/ 

North Dakota has passed a law applying age limits to its federal representatives, i.e. its Senators and its member of the House of Representatives.  Such a law is very unlikely to be upheld by the federal courts, however, so get used to octogenarians telling you what to do!

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/06/12/north-dakota-becomes-first-state-to-enact-age-limits-on-federal-lawmakers/

 

Finally, the post-verdict polls continue to pile up, and there's just no evidence that everyone's favorite "convicted felon" has taken a tumble.  Quite the contrary -- Trump remains in the driver's seat.

 

https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/06/12/national-polls-donald-trump-leads-joe-biden-post-conviction/ 

Guilty...of Being a Great Son!

 

Friends, according to Papa Biden, a.k.a. "the Big Guy", the key takeaway from Hunter Biden's guilty verdict -- he's now a "convicted felon", and we know how seriously the Left takes that moniker -- is that Hunter is a wonderful guy, whose victory over addiction should inspire us all...  Well, that's certainly one way to look at it.  From my own perspective, it's extraordinary that a Delaware jury would convict the president's son, when even Dr. Jill was in the room to make it clear that Hunter has the full support of the Biden clan.  Nevertheless, perhaps this conviction was just what the doctor ordered for the Dems, since it gives the U.S. "justice system" a fig leaf to hide its nakedness behind, and, after all, there's not a chance in heck that Hunter is going to jail.  His dear old Dad certainly won't allow that.  All in all, I expect the political impact to be close to nil, although Hunter's trial for tax evasion might be more consequential, because that hits closer to home, i.e. it involves the family influence peddling business, of which Sleepy Joe is a very big part.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c044xmnm574o

 

In other news, leftists really, really hate Nigel Farage, and they seem to enjoy throwing things at him.  So far, those things don't include anything lethal, but the election campaign is just getting started in the U.K., so don't rule anything out.  One has to wonder whether DJT will get pelted by irate progressives in the course of our own campaign.  Can't happen, you say?  When Trump was president, I attended a Trump rally, and I easily got within hurling distance of the Commander-in-Chief.  I, of course, am a model citizen who would never milkshake, or assassinate, anyone, but not everyone possesses my admirable restraint!

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmjj1n030djo 

Don't Get Mad -- Get Even?

 

Friends, the leftist media is full of stories about what a threat to "democracy" Trump is, and how he plans to use his second term to seek vengeance against his enemies.  Funny thing is, quite a few Trumpers are hoping all this is true: they want Trump to settle scores, put lefties in their place, and drive a stake through the heart of the Democratic Party, from which it will never recover.  As Trump himself recently said, "sometimes revenge can be justified".  Well, sure.  Sometimes one man's "revenge" is another man's "justice".  Isn't putting someone in jail for a past crime justified in part by a desire to make them pay for their misdeeds, by a sense that the scales of justice need to be rebalanced by limiting the guilty party's rights and making them suffer...for a legitimate purpose?  

 

By and large, if you ask me, all this talk of "revenge" is hot air.  The president, by himself, doesn't have much power to make anyone's life difficult.  He would require the active connivance of prosecutors, bureaucrats, law enforcement officials, and others to execute his revenge fantasies, and what are the chances that Trump would find many confederates within the federal goverment that would be prepared to assist him in bringing Democrats to their knees?  Of course, as lefties like to point out, just because Trump failed to "lock her up" in his first term, or to hurt a single leftist except in an emotional sense, that doesn't mean he won't exact retribution in Act Two...  

 

In the end, what matters most is perception.  If the Dems can convince most voters that Trump is unhinged and vengeful, they can reduce his chances of victory.  Moreover, if Biden and his cronies can convince enough powerful establishment types that Trump represents an existential threat to their power base, and possibly their lives, they might be able to justify even more unorthodox methods designed to stymie him.  "Lawfare" may look quaint and restrained in a few weeks, or a few months, if leftists take seriously their own rhetoric about Trump.  As I've said before, what means would not be justified to stop Trump, if half the things progressives said about him were true?  I mean, even if he's only a demi-Hitler, surely canceling an election, or mobilizing an assassin, would be the right thing to do to forestall his reign of terror, no?  Food for thought.  

 

It's important to remember that Trump-haters live in a different universe, for all intents and purposes, and they inhabit a completely different headspace than we do.  Thus, their claims and their actions, which often seem paranoid and profoundly irrational to us, will seem utterly commonsensical to them.  In short, then, expect the unexpected, and don't be surprised if whatever norms remain intact in American politics as I write this post are thrown out the window before this election season is over.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/06/09/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-fears-trump-will-throw-her-in-jail-if-he-wins/

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/06/us/politics/trump-retribution-revenge-democrats.html 

The Longest Daze

 

Friends, as you may have heard, the 80th anniversary of the Allied D-Day landings in Normandy, France was marked today by the oldest American president of all time, who heroically remained upright and semi-coherent as he lauded the courage of the few WWII veterans who remain.  He also exploited the opportunity to gin up support for his catastrophic Ukraine policy, and to suggest that anyone who opposes it is basically letting the Nazis win (which is, ironically, exactly the sort of thing that Vladimir Putin would say about his policy).  It was, as one would expect, a conclave of globalists, congratulating themselves on their wisdom and moral superiority, and glossing over the immense differences between the challenges posed by Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, and imperial Japan, all those years ago, and the conundrums posed by a flagging Russia and a surging People's Republic of China today.  Be all that as it may, we at WaddyIsRight tip our hats to all the brave men who fought in World War II, and especially to the millions of them who lay down their lives in service to their countries.  The Second World War was so much more than a didactic tool.  It was, above all, a humanitarian calamity, from which no one but the Grim Reaper emerged an unalloyed victor.

https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/biden-joins-allies-to-remember-d-day-landings-in-a-turbulent-world-7296dd13?mod=hp_lead_pos9

What Might Have Been

 

 

Friends, this week's Newsmaker Show considers the tantalizing "What If" of a world in which RFK (Sr.) was not assassinated in June 1968.  Kennedy romantics no doubt assume that their boy would have done a far better job of running the country, and managing the Cold War, than, say, Richard M. Nixon.  Who can say?  What we know for sure is that sometimes a lone assassin gets a more decisive voice in history than do tens of millions of American voters, and that's a crying shame.

Brian and I also consider the political fallout from the Trump trial verdict, the uninspiring nature of the two major candidates for the office of P.M. in Britain's upcoming general election, the curious logic behind the West's aggressive strategy in Ukraine, our two-tier system of justice, from which the likes of Hunter Biden benefit, the significance of Joe Biden's "tough" new policy at the southern border, and the apotheosis of President Ronald Reagan.

It's a fine show, and listening in will be the highlight of your day -- and on that you have the WaddyIsRight guarantee!

https://wlea.net/newsmaker-june-5-2024-dr-nicholas-waddy/

 

***

 

In other news, Boeing finally notched a win, and NASA secured the secondary option for manned spaceflight that it's been pining for, as the Starliner soared heavenward, after interminable delays.  Kudos to Boeing, and may this success serve to reinvigorate our efforts to return to the Moon and journey onward to Mars.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cl4481nz4x6o 

Boris Johnson, the Conservative former P.M. of the United Kingdom who was ousted by his fellow "conservatives", is sounding off on the Trump verdict, and he sees right through the Dems' strategy of lawfare.  He argues that Trump's felony convictions will help him win.  I disagree.  The evidence so far indicates that they will have little or no effect on the overall dynamics of the race.  It was already Trump's race to lose, and it remains so.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-13480329/BORIS-JOHNSON-liberal-hit-job-political-Trump-victory-likely.html

 

Finally, I had no idea that there was a big political battle taking place in the state of Texas over the issue of school choice.  In case you didn't know, in red states massive strides have been made in recent years in giving parents more options re: where their kids go to school, or if they go to school -- homeschooling has of course become a much more viable alternative.  I've long believed that, if we want to save Western Civilization, Christianity, and conservatism, the best thing we can do is wrest control of the next generation away from leftist teachers and public school administrators.  Finally, after sitting on our hands for decades, we're making real progress along those lines.  Thank God!!!

 

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/06/05/after_texas_win_school-choice_groups_eye_other_red_states_151053.html 

A Strategic Retreat at the Southern Border

 

 

Friends, Joe Biden has decided that maybe we do have a crisis at the southern border, after all.  That is, he's read the polls and realizes that the millions of illegal immigrants streaming into the country have become a political liability, so he's suddenly prepared to give them the heave-ho.  Now, it's by no means clear that the border crackdown he announced today will be effective, but it's still strident and tough enough to attract condemnation from "pro-immigrant" activists, and maybe that's the point: to earn Sleepy Joe a little street cred as a defender of our territorial integrity.  Will anyone be fooled?  I wouldn't rule out that possibility.  Democrats are smart enough to massage their least popular policies at the margins to reduce political pressure on their candidates in an election year.  That's exactly what's happening here.  A handful of independents might be seduced by the mirage -- and a handful of independents may be all that Biden needs to win.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-signs-executive-order-shutting-southern-border-rcna155426

 

https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2024/06/04/joe-bidens-border-shutdown-preserves-massive-loopholes/ 

In other news, higher ed is on its back foot these days, feeling the heat from the Republican House and from parents and students who are questioning whether it's worth it to spend tens of thousands of dollars a year to receive neo-Marxist indoctrination.  A case in point: Harvard not only fired its joke of a president, but it has also reinstated standardized testing (which any progressive will tell you is inherently racist, because it doesn't yield "equitable" outcomes), and now our most elite university is even dispensing with mandatory diversity statements, which had been required of all prospective new hires.  In effect, these statements forced aspiring professors and staff to align themselves with policies of reverse discrimination, broad assumptions about "system racism", and obligatory white guilt.  You know that something big is happening when elite academic institutions backtrack in their commitment to wokeness.  Could it be that they can sense that the political and cultural winds are beginning to blow in a new direction?  Advertizers and social media companies seem to be reaching the same conclusion, and they've shelved much of their most obnoxious virtue signaling as a consequence.  Let's hope all this adds up to a real civilizational turning point.

https://www.thefp.com/p/harvard-faculty-arts-sciences-dei-statements

More Democracy Than You Can Shake a Stick At

 

Friends, even in the USA, democracy seems to have a bit of life left in it.  Despite establishment efforts to silence and/or jail opposition leaders, there's a fighting chance that the American people might have a smidgen of input into the selection of their next president.  In that regard, the first polls to be released since the felony conviction of Republican Party presidential candidate Donald J. Trump -- in a court, and by a jury, strongly disposed to tar-and-feather him -- indicate that his popularity and electoral viability remain intact.  Most interesting!  Meanwhile, a general election in South Africa has left the ruling African National Congress bruised and battered.  With only 40% of seats in the National Assembly, the ANC will have to form a coalition to govern -- and the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, would be the obvious choice.  The problem?  Among other things, the party is led by -- gasp! -- a white man.  I can't imagine someone so debased in a position of leadership, but all things are possible...  In Mexico, it looks extremely likely that a woman will soon be the president-elect, while in India Prime Minister Modi, a Hindu nationalist, is apparently cruising to reelection.  All in all, it's encouraging to see "the people" making their voices heard.  There's naturally never any guarantee that the people will get it right, but at least they can vacillate between one extreme and another, giving the body politic a good airing from time to time.  What could be healthier than that?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx99vww50y5o

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp4475gwny1o 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgllg541xmxo