Snatching Defeat...
Elections have consequences. So were we told by our antepenultimate President, and so is demonstrated almost every day. The Democrats, continuing to treat their razor thin majorities in the House and the Senate as mandates for radical action, just passed a snotty-faced heap of parrot droppings deceitfully dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act on the American public, in what's likely their last gasp of landscape-changing legislation ahead of a near-certain rout in the House come the November mid-term elections.
This rankly partisan bill, a 'mere' $774B or so, is a pale shadow of its prior incarnation, the as-farcically-named Build Back Better, thanks to West Virginia's Joe Manchin saving the Democrats from themselves. Manchin, unfortunately, remains a Democrat in both affiliation and cause, and endorsed (nay, crafted) this mess, taking his pound of flesh in the process (apparently at Larry Summers’ urging).
America will pay the price.
The other day, the New York Post reminded us that, when it comes to profligacy, there's bipartisan blame to be laid. Trump started the COVID money firehose, and sided with the Democrats over his own party when it came to deciding the size of the relief checks.
Furthermore, echoing myself and many others, the Post also reminded us that Trump gave the Senate to the Democrats last year.
His antics cost the GOP at least one of the two Georgia seats in the runoff elections that took place the day before the January 6th riot, and thus gave the Democrats the 50+1 majority they used to pass the Inflation Reduction Act via reconciliation, to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, to pass the $1.2T infrastructure bill, the $1.9T COVID bill, to appoint dozens of federal judges, and so on.
Imagine how different the landscape would be if Trump didn't engage in a "me-me-me" tantrum after losing to Biden, and the Senate had 51 Republicans forcing Biden to compromise and moderate.
Now, with a mid-term election that should be a total wipeout for the Democrats based on their performance, there is the very real possibility that the Senate will remain in the Democrats' control, thanks again to Trump.
The gambling markets predicted just this spring that the GOP had a greater than three-in-four chance of taking the Senate in the mid-terms. That prediction has shifted dramatically since, and we can easily speculate as to why.
Many suggested that Trump, rather than running for the White House in 2024, should exert his influence and motivate his loyalists by playing "kingmaker" and throwing his weight behind GOP candidates for blue seats. This'd save us from his wild-man antics, while salving his tender and chapped ego.
Unfortunately, his taste remains as suspect as it is garish.
His endorsements of Mehmet Oz for Senator in Pennsylvania, Herschel Walker in Georgia, and J.D. Vance in Ohio are all problematic and reflective of poor judgment.
If they lose, Trump will deserve the blame, and if their losses leave the Senate Blue, Trump will be responsible for whatever the Democrats manage to do therein across the next couple years. Yes, there will be the House - almost a lock to flip Red - forcing the administration to compromise, but with a Blue Senate, the GOP will be jammed up as well, and more easily blamed by a partisan and tendentious press for government shutdowns and Washington Monument Syndrome.
Now, if those three win, Trump will take all the credit, no matter that the real reason will be generalized voter dissatisfaction with Biden rather than the candidates’ strengths. These candidates bring nothing to the table that their defeated primary opponents did not, and offer fewer positives than those also-rans.
As I ponder the landscape, and especially Trump's latest words and deeds, I am certain that he is planning to run for the White House in 2024. I think that, while he has a realistic chance at winning (with the caveat that much can happen in 2.5 years and that his opponent will matter), another Trump term would not be good for the nation as a whole, and both the GOP and the nation would be better served with DeSantis or Haley or Scott or Cotton or one of the other prospects.
Alas, Trump will spin victories for his questionable Senatorial prospects as proof of his might, and will spin losses as proof of the country's need for him. Either way, we shan't be rid of the Untethered Orange Id other than by a contested primary, and even then, he seems the sort to blow up another nominee's chances rather than be a team player should he not get the nomination. He is not a uniter, he is not a President for all, but rather a one-way-street narcissist who takes any sign of disloyalty as a personal affront, and routinely devolves to conduct unbecoming a dog-catcher.
I said it at the time, and I still believe it. Trump beating Clinton was a good thing, and a beneficial reset. What the country needs next, however is not more Trump. Unfortunately, being rid of him will prove as difficult as clearing kudzu or bamboo from your garden, especially after the DoJ and FBI raided Mar-A-Lago.
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Yours in liberty,
Peter.
On the COVID issue, any President would feel prey to it. The real danger to this Republic is the Federal Government and its Agencies. It also keep on growing... and grow some more. Does the IRS rings a bell?
From your lips to God’s ears!