Did you happen to catch the announcement by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos regarding changes made to Obama-administration guidelines that now give new protections for those accused of both sexual and non-sexual assaults? If you didn't, it's probably because you were too busy paying attention to this thing called a pandemic. Devos said she was trying to "strike a balance that is fair to all parties."
And obviously, it's a coincidence that the announcement just happened to come only a few weeks after the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, was himself accused of sexual assault by Tara Reade. If you believe that I've got this bridge ... oh, fuck it, what's the use?
Look, I've got a few things to get off my chest and it may take a while, so forgive me if I bend your ear a bit. Over the years, I've written a number of letters to various politicians and groups from Nancy Pelosi to Christians. And while all of them were important, none have been as critical as what I'm about to say here, so listen up.
I smell a rat; a big fucking rat. This Tara Reade thing just doesn't add up. The timing, the questionable motives, the inconsistencies in the story, her entire history, it all adds up to a claim that against anyone else would've died a lonely death. Yet, here we are six weeks later and, far from dying, it's gaining traction. If this story were a flashlight, it'd be bright enough to illuminate a black hole.
Some op-ed writers are calling for Biden to step down and for the DNC to conduct a thorough investigation. Many of them, as you might expect, have a hidden agenda. They want Biden out and someone else in; preferably Bernie. As if Sanders would somehow, magically become the nominee if Biden were to do that. Jesus, what these people won't do to avoid reality.
Guess who decided to pick up the ball and run with it? You guessed it, Trump and the Fox News echo chamber. They naturally saw an opportunity to drive a wedge right down the middle of the Democratic Party and they aren't coming up for air. While all the other networks are understandably covering the pandemic, Fox has been all over the Reade allegation like white on rice. Mind you, they aren't saying that Biden is guilty; they're not dumb enough to go there with a predator like Trump in the White House. Instead, they're calling out Democrats for being hypocrites.
And some Democrats are taking the bait. Like the moral guardians of the universe they think they are, progressives have been foolishly playing by a set of rules that the other side has been taking a shit on for decades. Biden needs to do this, Biden needs to do that, the DNC needs to intervene now while there's still time to save the election. Save it from what and from whom?
You think that dumping Biden will be the end of this? You think Trump and his minions will say, "Ok, we're good now?" Trust me, whoever the Dems pick as a replacement, there'll be a treasure trove of material waiting for that poor soul too. To all the Bernie Bros out there breaking their arms patting themselves on the back over how their guy was as pure as the driven snow, let me ask you this. How many people can you name that spent their honeymoon in the Soviet Union? Or bragged about how wonderful the healthcare system in Cuba was? Apart from Bernie, I don't know a single person dumb enough to say or do that. If you seriously think the RNC didn't have the attack ads ready to launch against him the moment he wrapped up the nomination, you're not just delusional, you're dangerously delusional. Like you shouldn't be allowed out at night delusional.
Trump has been called many things over the last four years: racist, sexist, homophobic, intellectually challenged, myopic, corrupt, you name it, he exemplifies it. But the one thing he's not is stupid. In fact, given his severe limitations and his sociopathic tendencies, his survival instincts are about as honed as any politician I've seen in my lifetime. He can manipulate people better than any salesman I've ever worked with, as evidenced by his cult-like grip over his supporters. I actually believe he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any of them. Hell, they'd probably say the poor bastard had it comin' to him, right? It takes a certain kind of genius to achieve that kind of maniacal hold over people.
Since Biden has gotten into the race, he's been consistently ahead of Trump in virtually all the polls, both nationally and in the all-important swing states. Shit, he's even tied with him in Texas. Fucking Texas, for God's sake! No wonder Trump blew a fuse when his campaign manager gave him the numbers. "I'm not losing to fucking Biden," he exploded at him. Except he is, at least for the moment.
Trump has tried everything possible to damage Biden. He even went so far as to get himself impeached trying to extort the president of Ukraine into launching a bogus investigation into Biden's son. It hasn't worked. Mainly because a majority of the people in this country have figured out who he is. That's the problem with running the same con over and over; eventually it stops working. In a head to head matchup, more people simply like and trust Biden over Trump. It's that simple. Trump knows it and, more importantly, so does his campaign.
So how do you defeat someone who's ahead of you? Simple, by dragging him down to your level. Trump is smart enough to know that there's no point in rehashing the so-called phony Russia investigation. Not when most of the country believes the intelligence community's assessment that they did interfere in our elections and your own committee chair threw you under the bus. And as far as launching another bogus investigation into Burisma, good luck with that in the middle of a pandemic. About the only thing Mitch McConnell seems interested in doing these days is appointing unqualified judges to the bench.
Besides, neither of those would accomplish Trump's goal of dragging Biden down to his level. If anything, they'd probably solidify Biden's support within his own party and among independents. But if something were to come along that could perhaps chip away at that support and damage him with independents, that might just be the secret sauce Trump was looking for to win reelection.
As I mentioned above, Fox News and the Trump campaign aren't dumb enough to say Biden is guilty. That's not their objective. Their objective is to peel away a few of the more "impressionable" and idealistic progressives whose conscience won't let them sleep nights; the do-gooders who are actually dumb enough to fall for the false equivalence argument that an accusation made against Biden carries the same weight as Trump bragging on tape that he groped women by the genitals; or worse, the ones who feel Biden is no better than Brett Kavanaugh. Given his margin of victory in 2016, it wouldn't take a lot of disaffected Democrats for Trump to pull off a repeat.
Never mind that Republicans would never, ever fall for that bullshit. They're way too cleaver. As Bill Maher once adroitly observed, "Republicans apologize for nothing, Democrats for everything." When you've spent your entire life feeling guilty for the things your opponent does every waking moment of their life, there's not much left in the tank for reason or common sense.
Think about the trap that is being set here. Think about the consequences of setting a bar so high that a slime ball like Trump can slither underneath it. Imagine where this country would be if every Democrat had to pass the "holier than thou" litmus test that some progressives are now demanding of Biden. No FDR (he had a mistress), no JFK (he slept with more women than Wilt Chamberlain), no LBJ (he said the "N" word more times than I say shit). And don't get me started on Bill Clinton or we'll never get out of here. Without those four presidents we'd have no Social Security or Medicare, no space race, and no Civil Rights, Voting Rights or Violence Against Women Acts. How does that sound?
But don't you worry none, progressives. I'm sure Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, Barry Goldwater and George H.W. Bush would've been just as fine, especially Hoover who did such a bang up job in 1929. Thanks to your high standards, he would've had an additional four years to finish the job he started. Ain't self righteousness grand?
While some of you seem intent on getting rid of anyone you feel is killing your vision of a Democratic Party that is pure and wholesome, this president's gross incompetence is killing actual people. Yes, the Coronavirus would've eventually reached our shores regardless of who was in the White House, but Trump turned a bad situation into a nightmare scenario. While he's busy distracting you with principles he's never once applied to himself, his administration is moving forward with oral arguments before the Supreme Court that if successful will overturn the Affordable Care Act. Millions of people will be without health insurance, but by all means continue to be smug. You'll be vindicated in the end, right? Maybe you and Susan Sarandon can host a party together, you know, after the revolution, I mean.
Oh for God's sake, wake the fuck up! You're not just being played, you're being led to the slaughter house and you're paying for the ride. I wouldn't mind if the only people who got hurt here were just you, but unfortunately that won't be the case. There will be real-world consequences for your actions. If you succeed in bringing down Biden, you'll pass up the best chance this country has of getting rid of the worst human being ever to occupy the Oval Office.
Think I'm overreacting? Consider this: Ruth Bader Ginsburg was just released from the hospital for yet another medical problem. She's 87 years old and a multiple cancer survivor. If she dies while Trump is in office, you can kiss the Supreme Court and virtually every bit of jurisprudence from Roe V. Wade to Obergefell v. Hodges to Brown v. Board of Education goodbye.
And if you let that happen, may Heaven have mercy on your souls.
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