RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.newsweek.com/biden-challengers-will-have-beat-censorship-regime-2024-opinion-1797452?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

When anti-establishment Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently sat for an interview with ABC News, only for the outlet to cut out his criticisms of the COVID-19 vaccine, it illustrated a little-discussed but overwhelming obstacle any challenger to President Joe Biden will face in 2024.

Those who wish to unseat the incumbent commander-in-chief already face a formidable opponent in the Democratic Party and its myriad partners, including a national security apparatus currently targeting Biden’s chief opponent in this election, and that ran interference for Biden in the last one. To win in 2024, Republicans will have to compete under a lax voting system largely of the Democrats’ own making, and which they manipulated and exploited to near perfection in 2020.

But Biden’s challengers will also be facing a hostile and censorious information regime that transcends Biden and the Democratic Party, under which dissent from Ruling Class orthodoxy will likely be given no hearing, and dissenters given few platforms—on grounds of protecting “health” and “public safety.” Biden’s opponents left and right may raise compelling points on any number of critical and contentious issues, but will Americans be permitted to see or hear them?

RFK Jr.’s ABC News interview exemplifies a “soft” version of how this regime will operate.

https://amgreatness.com/2023/04/30/the-crazy-contours-of-the-crazier-2024-election/

We start with the likely American landscape over the next two years.

Joe Biden has no choice but to focus on a purely negative message. So we already know his talking points for the next 18 months: “ultra MAGA” demons, “semi-fascist” insurrectionists, Trump!, Trump!, Trump!, and more Trump!, murdering fellow Americans by putting limits on partial-birth and early abortions, “censorship” as banning critical race theory indoctrination and grooming books, inciting racial tribalism, along with the corollary old boilerplate triad of isms—“fascism, sexism, and racism!”

There will be no Democratic primary debates, even if support for Robert Kennedy, Jr. surges to 25-30 percent of the Democratic electorate. The latter is banking on his name, his gut instinct there are still some JFK-like Democrats and Independents in hiding, the decline of Joe Biden, and the pushback against all things woke.

Biden is failing at a geometric rate of enfeeblement and would likely not be able to rest up, medicate, and prep full-time to salvage the debates as he did as a candidate in the attenuated debate series of 2020. His handlers do not wish to tempt fate a third time and hope that if it comes to a Trump-Biden race that they can goad Trump into offering an excuse to curtail or cancel the debates entirely.

Why Stick with Biden?

So why does the Left stick with Biden, given his high negative ratings, the red-flag example of an enfeebled Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and a disabled Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.,), and his daily lapses of cognition, his inability to read off a teleprompter, his slurring of words to the point of incomprehensibility, his peculiar short-step, hands-out gait, and the indiscreet flashing of his paint-by-numbers, bold-letter prompt cards?

Does the Left not grasp that Biden is one additional bad fall on the steps of Air Force One from full disability, one sparkle-in-his-eye fixation on a young preteen girl in the audience that earns his eerie quips, blowing into the hair, and 20-seconds-too-long hug away from scandal? One complete freeze, in which he loses cognition and the ability to identify those in his immediate vicinity, away from total befuddlement?

Do they not appreciate that Biden is one crooked tax-document dump, one Hunter new-old email release, one burned and flipped former crony whistleblower away from special counsel/impeachment territory?

Do they not understand that the subtext of the current toxic inclusion of Hunter Biden on Air Force One, the shakedown pay for his nose-brush paintings, his new move into the White House, and his cue-card presence at the side of his bewildered dad are all a sort of implied familial blackmail by a prodigal son who believes he got dirty and decadent enriching the Biden clan–his father especially—and yet was never appreciated for his skullduggery?

We are watching a cornered Hunter reclaiming his due as first son. He seeks exemption from the walls-are-closing in law, and wishes to remind the Bidens at any moment he can take them all down with him. Keep your friends close, your family closer.

https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/getting-the-candidate-we-deserve/

In his 1888 essay, “Why Great Men are Not Chosen Presidents,” Britain’s James Bryce wrote that “the ordinary American voter does not object to mediocrity.” Yet by the time of Bryce’s writing, less than one score removed from Abraham Lincoln’s day, America had already produced eight presidents who Bryce said were “statesmen in the European sense” or who “belong to the history of the world.” If Bryce could see the dearth of presidents over the past half-century fitting either of those descriptions, he might recalibrate his assessment of earlier voters’ expectations.

In recent voters’ defense, however, they can hardly help pulling the lever (or licking the stamp) for mediocrity when our current presidential selection process serves up little else. It’s hardly surprising, moreover, that this process was designed (to the extent it was designed at all) by the left wing of the Democratic Party. Republicans then adopted it without much debate. Nor should it be surprising that this ill-advised system hurts Republicans more than Democrats.

The current process is an outgrowth of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The New Left was frustrated because, though Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy and New York Senator Robert Kennedy battled closely in the primaries, Lyndon Johnson’s vice president Hubert Humphrey sat out those contests yet walked away with the nomination. He was the last nominee of either party to win the honor without entering a single presidential primary. Those dissatisfied with Humphrey’s independence or moderation successfully pushed for a post-election review of party rules led by Senator George McGovern and Representative Donald Fraser. The McGovern-Fraser Commission sought to replace the old process for selecting presidential nominees, in which Democratic party leaders would decide on a nominee at the convention. Primary elections, previously regarded as non-binding recommendations to the convention from the electorate, became the deciding factor in choosing candidates. To the delight of party radicals and the dismay of party regulars, the first great success of the new rules was the nomination of McGovern in 1972, who went on to win one state and the District of Columbia. Republicans, not wishing to be seen as insufficiently “democratic,” had already obligingly decided to follow suit.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2023/04/30/vivek-ramaswamy-schools-chuck-todd-on-the-evils-of-transitioning-children-n1691640

Democrats have a history of claiming to be the party of science. To them, their positions are objectively supported by scientific evidence, be they about abortion, the COVID-19 vaccines, or climate change. Yet, the “science” that they claim backs up their positions is not exactly true. The most recent example of this is the radical left’s endorsement of transgender ideology.

On NBC’s Meet the Press when moderator Chuck Todd engaged in a debate with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on this issue, particularly when it comes to children, Ramaswamy argued that it is reasonable to prohibit genital mutilation or chemical castration through puberty blockers for minors. Chuck Todd disagreed, offering some ginormous whoppers to support his position.

“But below the age of 18, I think it’s perfectly legitimate to say that we won’t allow genital mutilation or chemical castration through puberty blockers,” Ramaswamy said.

“You’re calling it that, but how do you know it’s that? Again, how do you know? Are you confident that you know that gender is as binary as you’re describing it? Are you confident?”

For what it’s worth, Ramaswamy graduated from Harvard College summa cum laude with an A.B. in biology and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Chuck Todd, however, attend George Washington University and majored in political science but didn’t earn a degree.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/dont-count-ron-desantis-out-trump-2024-gop-primary-moderates-culture-war-34be9a75?mod=opinion_lead_pos5

Can Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump? In the game of presidential politics, well-known front-runners often falter and up-and-comers often win—Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton, and Jimmy Carter came from nowhere to beat establishment figures such as Rep. Mo Udall and Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson. When Mr. Trump was the challenger, he polished off Jeb Bush, the Florida governor who once led the pack.

The DeSantis ship is clearly listing and must right itself. I wouldn’t normally give advice to a Republican candidate, but someone has to stop Donald Trump from regaining the presidency, and I wouldn’t count on President Biden to do it given his low job-approval rating and widespread doubts about his fitness. Mr. Trump leads Mr. Biden in the RealClearPolitics polling average. A Trump-Biden rematch is a risky proposition, and with the Democrats consolidated around Mr. Biden, the only way to avoid it is through the Republican primary.

To get back in the game, Mr. DeSantis has to put cultural issues to the side and run on character, competence and common sense. He has the strong character of a family man who cares for his wife, a cancer survivor; the energetic competence of an accomplished governor; and the common sense to campaign on such issues as a balanced budget, a workable immigration system, crime policies that target criminals and improve policing, and programs that reduce the size of government. The major issues facing the country ,according to Mr. DeSantis’s supporters in the latest Harvard/CAPS Harris poll, are inflation (36%), immigration (29%), and the economy and jobs (28%). Eighty-one percent of all voters back a plan to balance the budget, including majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents. This could be the cornerstone of a smart economic plan.

Challenger presidential campaigns always have at least one near-death experience, so a dip isn’t unusual. Mr. DeSantis has been swinging for social conservatives, which has alienated centrist and liberal voters while failing to take any voters from Mr. Trump. Conservative Republicans have, in the face of Mr. Trump’s indictment, rallied behind the former president. How long this supports lasts or how it might hold up in the event of other indictments isn’t clear, but Mr. Trump definitely has gained strength in recent weeks.

https://amgreatness.com/2023/04/27/outcome-of-proud-boys-trial-could-decide-trumps-fate/

Of the hundreds of video clips used as evidence in the marathon trial of five members of the Proud Boys, prosecutors began closing arguments not with a clip of the defendants engaged in criminal activity but with a clip of Donald Trump.

The government showed the jury a portion of the September 2020 presidential debate; goaded by Joe Biden and then-Fox News host Chris Wallace to condemn “white supremacists and militia groups” in an effort to downplay Black Lives Matter and Antifa violence, Trump asked them to “give me a name.” Biden quickly answered, “the Proud Boys.”

“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump said in response.

The offhand remark—Trump later said he did not know who the Proud Boys were—made the group “jubilant,” assistant U.S. Attorney Conor Mulroe told the jury on Monday morning. “These defendants saw themselves as Donald Trump’s army, fighting to keep their preferred leader in power no matter what,” Mulroe said, referring to Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Enrique Tarrio, Dominic Pezzola, and Zachary Rehl.

Prosecutors have used the clip at other points during the nearly four-month trial—a not-so-subtle reminder to jurors from a city that voted 93 percent for Joe Biden that the men on trial supported Trump. But the Justice Department may have a more sisnter reason to tie the Proud Boys to the former president. Any convictions in this trial would give Special Counsel Jack Smith, an independent prosecutor in name only, justification to pursue similar charges against Trump as a coconspirator of sorts.

In fact, the Proud Boys face three conspiracy counts: seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and a conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties. A conspiracy, according to the government, only requires the agreement of two or more individuals.

Prosecutors insist the conspiracy began on December 19, 2020—a date that should alarm Team Trump. At 1:42 a.m. on December 19, Trump tweeted this: “Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” According to the Justice Department, that prompted Tarrio and Biggs to formulate plans to “radicalize” the group.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2023/04/27/gdp-numbers-point-to-a-recession-just-in-time-for-the-2024-presidential-election-n1690868

The Republicans should borrow a page from the Democratic playbook and have signs printed up saying, “It’s the economy, stupid,” plastering them all over the country. The mirage of the Biden economy is beginning to dissipate as $5 trillion in stimulus spending peters out and the economy begins to slide into what will hopefully be a short recession.

The pre-COVID economy gave Biden a solid foundation that he promptly squandered in trillions of dollars of wasteful and unnecessary spending. His “stimulus” ended up stimulating inflation that destroyed ordinary people’s savings and reduced the standard of living for millions of Americans.

The economy grew 3.2% from July through September and 2.6% from October through November. The latest GDP number shows sluggish growth of 1.1% — and the biggest news out of the BLS is the pummeling taken by the housing market.

“This morning’s data was the worst of both worlds, with growth down and inflation up,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, said in a client note.

The Fed has raised interest rates nine times over the past year as Jerome Powell has put the screws to the economy hoping to tame inflation. Inflation has come down some, but the underlying numbers are terrible, leading to an expectation that the Fed’s rate hikes aren’t done yet.

An economic model used by the Conference Board puts the probability of a U.S. recession over the next year at 99%.

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/04/26/can-biden-win-without-covid/

Now that Joe Biden has announced his plans to run for reelection, the question that must be weighing on the minds of Democratic Party officials is “Can he possibly win without COVID?”

They must know that without the pandemic, Biden had no chance of defeating Donald Trump in 2020. When he announced his candidacy exactly four years ago, the economy was booming and optimism was rising. Trump’s approval rating was edging upward. The only reason he had for running, he said, was because Trump was a racist.

Then COVID happened. And it let the already enfeebled Biden avoid a grueling national campaign. It let him pin every death on Trump. It gave him the chance to promise something bold.

Now, four years later, Biden is far more mentally and physically incapacitated and he can’t hide out in his basement. His reason for being reelected – “to finish the job” – sounds more like a threat than a promise.

Biden’s record is so unimpressive that the White House website manages to scrape together only a handful of “accomplishments” – the first of which is a flat-out lie: “Lowering the costs of families’ everyday expenses.”

An honest accounting of Biden’s first term in office would include this list of “accomplishments”:

Added $3 trillion to the national debt … so far.
Boosted long-term deficits by $5.45 trillion.
Set off an inflationary spiral.
Caused real wages to fall.
Encouraged 4.4 million to drop out of the labor force.
Left Americans and weapons behind after a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Evacuated four U.S. embassies.
Sparked a U.S. military recruiting crisis.
Weakened U.S. standing abroad.
Created a self-imposed energy crisis.
Repeatedly exceeded executive authority.
Massively increased government dependency.
Unleashed an unprecedented illegal immigration crisis.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/joe-biden-makes-major-move-win-second-term

America: Joe Biden is lying to you.  He wants another four years in the Oval Office, but meanwhile he’s refusing to do his job.

Notwithstanding high inflation brought on by excess spending, he won’t even meet with Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the House, who is proposing to cut outlays in return for raising the debt ceiling. Biden prefers to spin fables about the GOP and divide our country by demonizing job creators.

Republicans in the House are not crazy; their plans to rein in spending are not “wacko” as Biden has called them. They are common sense measures such as families might embrace after a holiday spending spree leaves them with too much credit card debt. They won’t fix the problem by going shopping; instead, they need to figure out where they can save a few bucks.

Speaker McCarthy and his GOP colleagues are trying to do just that – save a few (trillion) bucks. Their program includes practical ideas like taking back $50-$70 billion of the trillions of dollars allocated by Congress during the COVID emergency that were never spent. 

Now that the crisis has passed, we don’t need to further fund vaccine distribution or help aircraft makers keep employees, both of which were in those monster relief bills. 

The Republican House plan also includes sensible approaches like asking able-bodied people on welfare who do not have children to either work 20 hours per week or enter a job-training program that might lead them to be self-sufficient. Generally, those kinds of rules, which Democrats used to support, get people off welfare and are popular.