Is the Democrats' Answer Parkinson’s?
Is the Democrats' Answer Parkinson’s?
Saving Face While Dumping Joe
Thanks to the American Thinker for running an edited version of this piece. You can visit the website at: https://www.americanthinker.com/
The idea that President Biden is suffering from a significant, progressive, degenerative neurological disease is not new or a surprise.
Despite the loathsome spin the media and the Democrats have been desperately trying to put on Biden’s obvious and worsening mental and physical collapse, the world has seen it with their own eyes. And the debate with Donald Trump ended even the possibility of anyone continuing to try to deny reality anymore.
They have no choice now but to admit it, and admitting it they are, as formerly “nothing to see, he’s sharp as a tack, you MAGA fascists” pols and donors and staffers and “journalists” have rushed to air the issue…and rushed to defend their past lies with an almost covid-esque form of “we really weren’t sure and we did the best we could” pathetic cringing begging denialism.
Since the debate, the question for the Democrats has been simple – what to do? How to get Biden off of the November ticket to maintain some semblance of hope (not decency - that’s gone) they can hold the White House and maybe even the Senate (along with countless other down-ballot races)?
The problems are myriad, with just the logistics of switching the name on ballots and moving the money that has been raised for the Biden campaign to the new person being enormous hurdles.
Then there is Jill Biden, a First Lady who loves being not only First Lady but also essentially running the country, a la Edith Wilson and/or Lady Macbeth. ‘Dr. Lamprey’ will not be unstuck easily, no matter how clear it is that keeping Joe in office is not only untenable from a policy and national security standpoint but also because of its innate cruelty.
Then we have the Biden family, which has lived off of Joe’s political leavings for decades.
Then we have staffers worried not only about their current jobs but future ones as well – an unceremonious dumping of their boss does not look good on a resume.
And, of course, we have Biden himself. He is stubborn, reportedly quick to anger, and no interest in being tossed aside from his singular goal in life in such a humiliating fashion. And, if his recent pronouncements are an indication, he doesn’t seem to think he has to go, either for the good of the party or the nation.
Many ideas to dislodge Biden have already been flouted publicly, many more, it can be assumed, privately. Having Biden release his delegates and declare an open convention is one, having him leave next week and setting up a quickie, practically Zoom-call (hearkening of covid again; not a good sign) series of primaries or at least “get to know the candidates” public events before the convention is another.
But those concepts hinge on Biden (and Jill) agreeing that their time is over, something they are loathe to do.
But there is an out, a new possible way to be rid of Joe with as little humiliation as possible that could even generate a swell of public sympathy for him and the Democrats. And that’s why the idea that he may have Parkinson’s disease has begun floating through the political ether.
Here’s a scenario:
President Biden announces that he has Parkinson’s disease, a fact that was only confirmed to him recently (possibly after his reported January meeting with a neurologist.) During the announcement, Biden admits he has been struggling – a bit, and only on occasion, and never when it really counted for the nation – with certain symptoms he had put down to mere aging and/or controllable with some minor medications.
But, Biden then tells America, the diagnosis became official and he has admittedly been lapsing off more frequently – but, again, never when it mattered…until the debate.
Because of the “very recent” diagnosis, he and his family have decided that he should not run for re-election.
His doctors, however, assure him he is still capable of his presidential duties for the rest of the year and even a year or two after, but then… Therefore, he will remain as president, though Vice President Kamala Harris will be stepping up her involvement, nearly to the point of co-president, to help Biden and prepare for her ascendancy in November.
This concept works for a number of reasons. Logistically, by making Harris the new nominee, the party dodges many of the issues involving ballots and money and staffing and such. It is true she is currently polling worse than, or at least as poorly as, Biden but the party may believe they can turn that around. They know they can’t turn Biden’s decline around anymore.
As importantly, Parkinson’s is a disease, like cancer, and not just an amorphous slide into senility. Unlike simply slowly deteriorating because that’s what many people do when they hit that age, Parkinson’s has a certain serious respectability and almost grace to its diagnosis.
To be blunt, Parkinson’s is not humiliating – it’s a disease anyone can get, thus allowing Biden to leave with his head held high.
Also, it doesn’t necessarily matter if it’s actually true if Biden has Parkinson’s. The symptoms fit - the stiff gait, the progressive loss of coherence, etc. – and match up with what the public has seen over the past few years. In other words, it will sell.
What matters is that Biden can then be defended publicly as a person who tried mightily to do his best, did amazing things for the country, but his political life has been sadly cut short by a tragic illness, forcing him to make the right decision for the country. And there is no shame (and no shaming will be tolerated, by the way) in that.
This scenario does not in any way obviate Biden, his family, his handlers, and the Democratic Party from the blame they must take for the preternaturally vicious scam they have pulled on the country over the past five years. The party – and its deep state thugs and minions – intentionally lied to the nation and used a feeble man in order to hold and increase their power.
Their actions are detestable and they should void any trust the public has in them through these actions – sadly, that may not occur entirely because one of the other benefits for the party and the security state is that they can try to claim blamelessness - Parkinson’s gives all of them a least a bit of cover.
As to going forward, Harris would be faced with multiple challenges, not the least of which is her babbling incompetence. She will have to pick her own vice-presidential candidate, for example, and expect to see one of three types of people in that role: a relatively conservative soon-to-be-former governor like Roy Cooper of North Carolina to try to balance the ticket somewhat may work.
Or, if in an intersectionality box checking mood, she could go with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker or with former Rhode Island governor and current Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (amongst many others.)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom cannot be considered as he, like Harris, is from California and the constitution says people from the same state cannot be both president and vice president. Newsom, one assumes, would breathe a massive sigh of relief if that scenario comes to pass, in large part because being part of a potential Harris administration is political suicide (do you think it will go better than the Biden administration has?) and would keep him from running in 2028.
If Biden does not opt for an auto-Harris elevation, he can still use Parkinson’s as a humiliation shield in his “I’m not running” announcement. The politics become very muddled and complicated, but it may almost look better for Biden to not appear to be playing politics and would make the whole endeavor look a little less planned, a little less brazenly manipulative, a little less sordid.
And planned and manipulative and sordid – no matter what happens, no matter the spin, no matter the truth, no matter the fallout – it would be.