Introduction: Going Bananas
This is a weighty and angry case study that looks into the causes of the ignorance prior to the First Presidential Debate concerning Resident Joe Biden and principally how ironic and dumb the discussion of protecting democracy has become. I want to set aside the Donald Trump assassination attempt and triage the Democrat’s largely self-imposed catastrophe prior to that violence and prior to the First Presidential Debate. Why? Because as Trump gained strength consistently before the debate and after the heinous attempt on his life, many fretful Democrats were left wondering how it came to be that they must either roll the dice with Biden/Harris for another grueling four years or throw out democracy to save it and select someone after the Democrat votes were cast in the 2024 Democrat Primary. The assassination attempt may only be a further accelerant for Democrats to lock in their guy or throw him and his millions of voters out the window in the greatest Machiavellian play in American politics in decades. So much for high democratic ideals.
After wanting, almost yearning to give Biden the benefit of the doubt after his calls for normalcy and unity, instead, after watching almost every Biden public appearance and his administration generally, I consider him to be an extremely cantankerous partisan, a Resident of an absentee administration at least since the catastrophic Afghanistan Defeat in Summer 2021 and after the unnecessary deaths of 13 US servicemen in a rushed retreat from a foreign war. Though Biden either forgot or lied about them during the recent debate, I have not. Then the seemingly unmanaged crises continued with the Ukraine War, then the balloons, the transportation failures and disasters, then the Maui disaster response, then Gaza, and on and on. Unity has obviously and spectacularly failed in part because the White House retirement home became a by-any-means-object to possess in order to keep Trump out, even if the world burns around it.
Further confirmation of my evidence-based opinion about the Resident came from February's Hur Report, where the Special Prosecutor stated that Biden was so old, forgetful, and infirm that he couldn't even stand trial for document mishandling let alone be convicted by a sympathetic Delaware jury or survive jail time. Judging by elderly Trump's felony conviction, who many want gagged more than the judge allowed nor what remains of the First Amendment would permit, and even though he fell asleep while being forced to sit through hours of court instead of being out campaigning, apparently one old man meets the age, speaking, and mental fitness test for trial or to run a government as president while the other one does not lol. Relax, I kid.
Yet, with the Democrat presidential primaries starting at the same time as this devastating information was released in early 2024, I figured that at least some delusions would dissipate after that alarming information release and that it would give Democrats enough time and a collective brain to consider replacing Biden before their primary votes were cast. I could not participate in that closed primary in NY as I'm a registered Independent. However, this was the chance for Democrat voters at least to do something, for "democracy" to not affirm Biden's request for 4 more years, independent of Drumpf's powerful political resurgence and despite his opponents' best attempts to shut him out as the Republican choice. I hoped the voting masses would realize this because Democrats assessed Biden as being incapable of serving any longer despite his incumbency.
In a smarter world, they would've gracefully eased him out to a happy retirement in Rehoboth Beach instead of the White House. And after a competitive democratic primary, the Democrats would have campaigned merrily with a new presidential candidate in the general election and on what they see as Biden's successful and consequential term in office. Surely, they had someone, anyone else in their brilliant party back when they had a democratic chance to make a change? No, they didn't care enough about the country to even try.
After being set adrift in the right-leaning press and also circulated among people with brains while being attacked by the left-leaning, partisan mainstream, the Hur Report did nothing for most Democrat bubble-dwellers as they tricked themselves into believing in Biden's invincibility as both an incumbent and as the Republican slayer in 2020 and more questionably in the 2022 midterms. By 2023-24, they also had the insurance policy of Drumpf's 88 felony charges placed strategically in multiple states in heavily Democrat jurisdictions. To them, the Drumpf menace was so ever-present and maddingly blinding that they had to see Biden for themselves during the debate before openly considering abandoning him, and long after he was democratically locked in as the nominee in waiting.
I clearly have no ideological delusions about the past 3.5 years, and I've done my civic duty by responsibly paying attention to current events separate from partisan media. I dutifully witnessed how the Biden government was run as any good citizen of the Republic should have done (independent of the endless "but Drumpf" comparisons). Since Biden is the current leader and wants to continue, I've posted constantly about my issues with him in ways that a hostile media once provided in previous presidencies, but didn't seem to be doing well enough until Biden seemed ready to lose.
After that Debate, I wish I could say the same level of awareness is present for many of those going through the stages of grief about their fate in November. Thus, if you didn't open your mouth to protest about the failures, if you were too blinded by hatred to halt the self-inflicted actions that breathed life back into Trump, if you can’t see threats to democratic processes from all sides, if you shut your eyes to Biden’s obvious decline long ago before because of ignorance, cowardice, or because you actually believed the countless health signs were right-wing "cheap-fakes," whatever, and you're devastated by what you saw on the debate stage without any introspection, then I have no sympathy for you at all. You deserve what you get. And in this brutal case study, the reader will see why.
The Late American Republic: Still Not a Democracy
America’s Government System is a Constitutional Democratic-Republic
Decline in the Late Republic
“In the constitution of this small, maritime banana republic was a forgotten section that provided for the maintenance of a navy.”
“Cabbages and Kings,” 1904, by O. Henry, the originator of the term “banana republic”
What does it mean to have a Republic, at least the kind that the Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, said was ours if we could keep it? A ponderous question indeed, so let me clarify. The United States is a constitutional democratic-Republic, not a pure Republic and not a democracy, the latter of which simply means rule by the people and in the purest sense by equal citizens each having an equal say in how society is run. Obviously America does not have a democracy, just democratic elements to its government and society. Even democracy’s inventors in ancient Athens, far apart from us now, didn’t allow for a pure democracy for many reasons including but not limited to slavery, female disenfranchisement, and the exclusion of everyone but citizens from that democracy. In our country, inroads to expand suffrage to white males during the Jacksonian Era, to male, former slaves after the Civil War, to women after WWI, and to re-enfranchise African Americans during the Civil Rights Era, led to an expansion of who the people are that could vote, meaning the forging of the democratic elements we have today. These necessary changes meant that “We the people of the United States” finally became closer to the balancing intent of the Founders, the Constitution, and especially its amendments like the Fourteenth.
Though it’s a complex place with people of many minds, America has a written agreement called a constitution, an old foundation that binds its people to the government they formed while explaining the rights and boundaries of both parties. Rather than staying a mass of people, a chaotic state of nature, they formed a government. Neither the people nor the government are dominant over the other, instead a Republic is formed for “a more perfect union,” better than its parts, as stated in the very introduction of principles in the Constitution’s Preamble. Both the people and the government are lesser when not working in concert, stemming from the Founders’ fears of mob rule (the people) and the chaos of pure democracy, and their experience with oppressive government under the British.
So, we have a democratic-Republic as all Americans thankfully do not decide issues of governance as one would in pure democracy. Instead, as a republic, representatives make those decisions after being elected. The democracy of our country is that eligible voters decide who those representatives will be, or after the early 20th century, eligible voters get to decide matters in their states and not nationally by ballot initiatives, referendums, or by recalling bad state politicians. Changes to the country’s Constitution are specifically NOT democratic, as changing moods and passions might suddenly deny fundamental rights like speech or religion. Instead, fundamental changes require amendments and that process is slow and complex.
Yet, democratic principles were also extended to the formal primary voting system in the states rather than in some smoke-filled room or by some group of white only party leaders who like in the past, denied African Americans the right to participate in the primary system based on race up until 1944. When unconstitutional barriers to democratic primaries like race were removed, Democrat and Republican party voters of all backgrounds chose delegates who then formally nominated their party’s candidate for president. Some states like NY don’t allow non-party voters to participate while open primaries allow voters to select a nominee regardless of partisan affiliation. As flawed as it is, the primary system of selecting partisan nominees is still democratic in nature. And the battle to get to democratic primaries was long, often unjust, bloody, and an important part of American history. Thus it follows that undermining or overturning the primary process after it has been completed is anti-democratic. Therefore, those are the most significant democratic elements in our society and when compared to the overarching nature of the US Constitution and the republican system, they are not dominant, but rather an integral part. After all, citizens are not expected to show up for votes in a 350 million person Congress nor are they appointed directly by that mass to be a bureaucrat in some government department.
However, misunderstanding democracy and its actual role in the US Government is also why it has become such a political catchall phrase, one that can be easily demagogued, used as a political hammer to stir up partisans with fears for the future whether it’s a 2025 Project Conspiracy that would deny voters their rights or used to stir up the fears of an incapacitated puppet covering for dark radicals that have the real power over the people. Both political parties scream at each other that “democracy is at stake.” That’s because it’s all about who makes up that democracy, which people are deciding, and which ideas are harmful or helpful to a vision of the country, an abstraction that is not to be more often than not.
Democracy is all very nice-sounding, abstract, and ideal, but its real forms are clearly critical elements to the order and prosperity that our country enjoys. So, what’s the problem with those ideals when considering the Selection coming up in November 2024? Aren’t voters practicing those democratic elements by selecting their party nominees and representatives freely and without any oppression, that is at least without the perception of powerful interests forcing them into one choice or the other? Well, no partisan had a gun to their head in 2024 as far as I’m aware. And of course, those that couldn’t stand up to the two party nominees certainly aren’t profiles in democratic courage. So, what’s the problem with complaining about the threat to democracy now that democracy has led to these two old men running for Selection in November?
As we will see, my answer is that the democratic element has been viciously and in some cases unconstitutionally corrupted since 2020 and that damage has gone far past the harm done on January 6th’s Riot in 2021. Any further messing with the system now, after one bad Joe Biden debate, will further call into question the actual powers of the people to decide their representatives and shred the constitutional checks that are supposed to hold back the partisan mobs, be they MAGA monsters or radical socialist nation-enders.
Because so much is at stake from the very words of the two parties themselves, I want to dig into why so many people felt surprised by the first presidential debate and why a responsibly informed citizen that's not ideologically delusional would not be caught so unaware. Why did this confused and shocked group lull themselves into such a deep sleep for years while preaching fire and brimstone about the consequences of their opponent’s election and impending fascist dictatorship? Because they are suddenly urgent and have seen Biden on the debate stage, why do we have to wake up to their apocalyptic prophecies now when they sent such a weak champion to thwart it? Why is their acceptance of a weak Biden or basically anyone but Drumpf now such a dangerous prospect for the country and how it’s to be run in the future?
I contend that any regular consumer of current events, politics, and history should not have been that surprised and that any rational person should not be so flippant to just turn the country over to whoever the Democrats decide to put forth and regardless of their physical and mental state (as do the intolerable Joy Reid or the idiotic Whoopi Goldberg). Democracy isn’t an end without any means, we don’t just vote and then call it a day, all problems being solved, the government running itself well ever thereafter. And, we don’t just go through all the primary processes and vetting in front of voters, however minimal it may be, and then throw it out because the act of democracy itself is too valuable to trust even when it’s being exercised or because one party doesn’t like the outcome. It shouldn’t have been the case for Republicans to challenge that will in 2020 and it shouldn’t be for Democrats to throw out their primary in 2024 either. Democracy through voting is one means to the end of good governance, to holding those elected accountable, and no person in a coma (or the Biden that we’ve endured for 3.5 years) could possibly be justified as governing well or being held to account just because one democratic outcome is desired over the other (Trump being defeated in 2024).
So, my focus is on the undercovered Democrat strategy and while presenting a reiteration of the Biden Administration actions from 2021 to present and some of the mania over Trump, I analyze just some of the efforts to protect "democracy" by warping or removing actual democratic parts of our society. With Donald Trump, someone I don't share a party with nor support, he’s reviled by large swaths of the public and he’s also the most critically covered man in America. With him, the cake was baked long ago as I acknowledge in this case study. With actual evidence instead of blind ideology, I dismiss the vapidity, irony, and stupidity of much of the "protecting democracy" discussion. The inescapable past 3.5 years of tumult suggest a serious weakening of our constitutional democratic-Republic, so I vent my fears of us becoming something closer to a banana republic, or some purged mono-party state that some (mostly Democrats) want and have taken actions for us to become.
Failing to Dispose After the January 6th Riot
The Foolish Martyring of Donald Trump, Colossal Democrat Blundering, and the Republican Resurgence after the January 6th Riot.
Causes for this Case Study
"The die is cast"
Julius Caesar, 49 b.c.e., after crossing the Rubicon River and starting a Roman Civil Wa
Let’s dispose of the Republican side and Former President Donald Trump first, who from now on, I’ll disguise as Drumpf in order to not trigger emotional reactions of the simple-minded at the mere mention of his name. Since the 2021 innaugural of Joe Biden, a name that doesn’t seem to trigger such country-ending hatred from his opponents, there were monumental events that solidified the Republican side of the 2024 Selection like the January 6th Inquisition, the Mar-a-Lago raid, the sexual assault civil ruling and NY Attorney General Letitia James’ attempt to seize all of Drumpf’s assets including Drumpf Tower, the 4 criminal indictments, and the NY felony conviction. Throughout these, claims of unequal treatment under the law and political retribution rightly or wrongly were given a public face, a mugshot even. Republicans solidified behind MAGA and this was anything but surprising. “Defend a now-convicted felon or you face the same political extinction if he’s not re-elected” is what you might expect MAGA supporters to think.
As the screws were tightened further against MAGA, particularly after the partisan January 6th Committee and the ruthless prosecution of offenders from that Riot, the victimization appeal pushed enough moderates and independents towards Drumpf that when combined with the ongoing failure to stop the Israeli campaign in Gaza, which alienated younger left-leaning people, or Biden failing to meaningfully address inflation, which affects all economic classes, Drumpf gained a lead in the national and swing state polls from late 2023 on. Despite the failure to make even a small conciliation to Drumpf voters, the Democrats pushed harder in an effort to snuff out the Drumpf candidacy through financial ruin and criminal prosecution among other means. To this publication date, this has had a boomerang effect, solidifying his core support after defeating mild challenges from Republican moderates turned bitter opponents like Nikki Haley in the Republican primary. Though lopsided because of Drumpf’s command of the Republican machinery and the grassroots, Nikki Haley and others were defeated in a democratic primary the same way that Biden smote Representative Dean Phillips and railroaded Robert F. Kennedy Jr. out of the Democrat Party, who took somewhere between 7-10% of unwelcomed, mixed party voters with him. Perhaps an unfair treatment of a progressive liberal member of Democrat Party royalty, but still, both primaries were democratic elections.
I wasn’t shocked by any of that political back and forth other than the Rubicon crossed when those actions were taken against Drumpf in the first place. I always wondered how Democrats could reason in an election with people they labeled as fascists and who they believe follow the second Adolf Hitler. Why let MAGA supporters vote at all for someone Democrats don’t choose if those voters will tear apart “democracy”? Why acknowledge their existence at all let alone the right to vote for their “fascist” candidate if they pose such a threat to society as the Democrats see it?
So, it must seem obvious to a rational person that there has been a destruction of norms on both sides of the aisle. I hardly used that term in the past and thought it was just a cover word to attack opponents. However, there is little question that the two parties are ripping out the support columns of the country even further and threatening us with the farce of Banana Republic status. The past 3.5 years have been parade of unthinkable firsts regardless of the partisan view of them as being necessary or not: a retroactive impeachment, the classified documents fight despite long-standing deference to executive powers and their unequal application to non-presidents like VP Mike Pence or Senator and later VP Biden, the 4 felony indictments with 88 charges, the first arrest and mugshot of a former president, the first trial of a former president, the destruction of the criminal justice rights like the right to know what one is being charged with especially when being persecuted in a hostile jurisdiction (85% disapproval in Manhattan does not make the jury pool peers of a notoriously unpopular defendant like Drumpf in their jurisdiction), with a hostile judge and prosecutor, the gagging of the lead Republican candidate during the campaign season in violation of the First Amendment, the Conviction, and the calls for jailing the opposition for the rest of his life starting during the election itself.
Though Eugene Debs did campaign for the presidency from jail in 1918 for the Socialist Party and garnered more than a million votes, we’re not under the harsh Democrat regime of Woodrow Wilson during WWI where speech and dissent were crushed and immigrants were unconstitutionally deported on account of their then radical views. We’re 106 years from then and no party has sought to crush the other side in quite the way that Democrats are attempting now, aside from Nixon’s massive bipartisan failure during Watergate in 1973. While you may agree or not with the necessity of each of these actions since 2020, they are shattering events that the US State Department would attack in other countries for being undemocratic.
The US has never and so eagerly sought the arrest, conviction, and permanent imprisonment of its former leaders. However, those changes have already occurred with two impeachments, one of which was unprecedented, retroactive, and more a garment rending and wail after the January 6th Riot than a serious pursuit of justice. All of these tremors in the system bode ill for our nation beyond the prophecies of an impending dictatorship or the collapse of a democracy that we never had. Thus, the question for me might be why I’m harping on the Democrat Party and its equal role in forcing Selection 2024 on us. Let’s check out the greatest hits on the road to a Banana Republic and find out!
A Railroading “Democracy” in Journal Form from 2021 to Present:
Democrat Strategy Versus Drumpf for “Democracy’s Sake”
Ensuring Biden is the Only Hope for the Country
Winning Regardless of Democracy
Biden/Harris won the 2020 Election because of COVID devastation, mismanagement, because of Drumpf, Biden's promises of unity (lol), and that Biden would be a transitional figure, which good-natured people trusted and took to mean that if he was elected over Drumpf, he'd serve one term after driving his opponent and all January 6thers into the abyss. Most assumed he would step aside in 2024 to let younger generations take over. Why didn't that transition happen?
From Afghanistan's collapse in August 2021 on, Biden's poll numbers consistently dropped. The lleast available, very disunifying, and also the oldest president ever has seen his support fall as his administration acts on autopilot to address numerous problems affecting the country. Chances to pick someone else were consistently dismissed and his re-election decision supported by his closest (and enabling) inner circle was solidified as early as November 2022.
The Loss of public trust in the Biden administration starting from his lofty promises of unity at the 2021 Inaugural, through the trials and tribulations after the Afghanistan Defeat, the January 6th Inquisition, COVID, controversial health and environmental mandates, mishandling the Maui wildfire, economic turmoil, historic inflation, historic migrant and border disasters, divisiveness on social issues, spy balloons, the Ukraine War, a Defense Secretary who was missing for weeks while undergoing treatments leading to questions as to who was running the Pentagon during the middle of multiple crises, the October 7th terrorist attack, the Gaza War, etc. Unless you're Biden's speech writer, like so-called historian John Meacham, history will likely not be kind.
Dark Brandon’s Authoritarian Imagery and the Least Unifying Speech of Biden’s Presidency, September 2022: Distorting a right-wing meme, “Let’s Go Brandon!,” Biden’s communication staff takes the meme and turns Biden into a dark figure with laser beam eyes in order to show him mowing down the evil villains (presumably Drumpf and MAGA) or holding gallons of their tears. Using the attempted theme’s conversion, Dark Brandon (Biden) gives a divisive speech essentially lumping Drumpf supporters, almost half of all voters, with fascists and the KKK. He doubles down in a Tweet afterwards and declares they are “a threat to the heart of soul of the country.” The Dark Brandon Speech is intended to extol the need to protect democracy, however, most observers react negatively to the imagery of a militant president, backed by armed marines, and an ominous red background calling for a response to an evil threat to the country. While attacking his opposition using Manichean terms (good vs. evil), Biden appears to call for the destruction of divisive elements in American politics (MAGA Republicans and Drumpf), or basically anyone that disagrees with him. To many, this is the final nail in the unity coffin from January 2021. The irony of this speech and its tone is lost on most Democrats as they push forward for the demolition of their opponents.
Democrats squeaked out a minor loss in the November 2022 Midterms by campaigning LOCALLY about abortion after the fall of Roe. vs. Wade in the Supreme Court, promising now unconstitutional student loan redistribution so all of the country pays, and against terrible Republican nominees. They only lost the House of Representatives and eventually regained control of the Senate despite the historic trend of the ruling party having significant midterm losses. Yet, Biden and his people chalked this up to a national mandate to continue all of their policies and as a rejection of age and competency concerns. This caused them to double down on Biden, who despite being labeled by friendly media figures as a compassionate, friendly, grandpa-like figure is also a notoriously stubborn, cranky, and ambitious man who has run for office many times, and who is notorious for lying so much that his 1988 campaign was ended because of plagiarism allegations. He has always wanted to be president and isn’t likely to give up easily just because his party seeks to deny his wish to continue that ambition.
The Biden people also used the midterms as justification to not FIRE a single senior administration figure let alone a cabinet secretary of any stripe despite foreign policy disasters (Afghanistan, Ukraine, Spy balloons, October 7th, the Gaza War, etc.), ending “COVID” in 2022 with more deaths than in 2020, controversial mandates on vaccines and the environment, rock bottom trust in administration health officials, transportation and natural disasters (East Palestine derailment, Maui, etc), the largest border and migrant crisis in decades, economic turmoil, massive federal spending with questionable results, and historic inflation. Defenders like Representative Dan Goldman (D-NY) call his lack of turnover as “administration stability” and a plus, dismissing any question of accountability because Drumpf fired a lot of people he was unhappy with during his administration, making permanent enemies of them. In contrast to Drumpf’s volcanic treatment even of his allies, one could be justified in labeling Biden as the most stubborn and inflexible president since Woodrow Wilson when it comes to his closely trusted people and despite his early promises of transparency and accountability.
Therefore, the time after the 2022 midterms and into 2023 combined with a notorious lack of accountability of senior administration officials was approximately when the Biden mindset of running again no matter the record was locked in, to be shoved down the throats of Democrat party primary voters, despite even the most favorable acknowledgment of the administration’s handling of all of those listed problems. Therefore, the midterms are a pyrrhic victory for Democrats because it shut out an easier 2024 election path vs. Drumpf as they could've recalibrated to defeat him if they lost more in 2022, picked a more vibrant and electable candidate for 2024, instead of locking Biden in as the incumbent and because he defeated Drumpf once already. They should've locked in their wins and gracefully shown Biden the door, allowing Kamala Harris and others to compete in a fair primary for the 2024 candidacy. Past success (vs. Drumpf) may not equate to a future one especially if the age and ability clock is ticking faster than ever.
Epic Biden administration gaslighting on its policies is bought by enough Democrats to consider him again even as Biden's poll numbers plummet from his Afghanistan Defeat in the summer of 2021 on. Biden is the least available president in modern history and holds few press conferences, frequently calling a lid (ending administration contact with the outside world) even during crises like the invasion of Ukraine by Russia (2022), the East Palestine train derailment (2023), the Spy Balloon Debacle (2023), the handling of the wildfires in Maui (2023), for a few days after the October 7th terrorist attack in Israel (2023), or in its first major case after the 13 US soldiers were killed in the 2021 retreat from Afghanistan. Biden press secretaries equate a few short answers getting on Airforce One to answering questions in depth and off the cuff without notes, without questions given ahead of time, without a teleprompter, to an intensive live interview, or to a formal press conference.
Biden announced his intention to run again in April 2023 and proceeded to use the party apparatus and the support of elites to muscle out Democrat primary competitors like Congressman Dean Phillips (barely 1% of Dem. voters) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a progressive leftist activist who was driven out of the Democrat party despite his Kennedy lineage over his strange vaccination views and who now commands around 10-11% of the vote in a 4 way Presidential race, with Drumpf leading all others as of Debate Night 6/27/2024 almost everywhere in a head-to-head or a 4 way race. However, for over a year, Democrats had the time to come to their senses and pick someone else.
In the winter and spring of 2024, the Democrat Party railroaded Biden’s intra-party competition out of the Democrat primary race, making it non-competitive, and Democrat primary voters forced Biden on America as half of the true selection in 2024. Many of the biggest states with the most delegates, like NY, have closed primaries, which prevents party outsiders like me, this work’s author, or Republicans and Independents from choosing, and it also gives Democrat primary voters a lot of power in deciding their party nominee. However, this democratic action (a primary vote) will have consequences post Presidential Debate in 2024 and ironically in any intra-party debate about replacing a candidate (Biden) with millions of primary votes in a democratic primary election in order to protect American “democracy” from Drumpf.
The State of the Union Address 2024: Because Biden, a politician for over 35 years, was able to shout through his teleprompter address and provide a few quips and digs at his opponents in Congress, many Democrats took heart and wanted to believe he could be dragged over the finish line of re-election. He received a small post-speech poll bump, but this quickly faded as there was little change in the administration or its policies, much as it had been since taking office in January 2021.
Four criminal indictments and a Civil Lawsuit in various friendly courts and jurisdictions are used by registered Democrat lawyers and attorney generals to swamp Drumpf and drain his resources, hopefully forcing him out of the race. These come after an unprecedented raid by an armed FBI squad on the home of a former-President in August 2022. Beyond genuinely believing that he's a criminal and that he deserves “justice,” these court proceedings are often viewed by Republicans as part of a coordinated campaign (or conspiracy from the top to some) intended to label him as a convicted felon, which after NY's hush money ruling becomes a real thing (until it's likely thrown out on appeal for the civil rights and constitutional travesty that it is).
Quixotic and unprecedented efforts by "pro-democracy" Democrat Attorney Generals, governors, and local county executives in Colorado, Maine, and Illinois attempt to protect "democracy" by removing the Republican party candidate (Drumpf) from the voter's ballots so there's no temptation of voting for him. Presumably, the Democrat's pick would be the only major party presidential candidate on the ballot since the deadline to replace Drumpf, despite the will of millions of Republican primary voters, had passed. The Democrats might have allowed the Republicans to write someone else in since they believe Drumpf’s actions on January 6th are literally equivalent to leading the Confederacy in the American Civil War that cost the country 600,000+ people. However in March 2024, these partisan efforts failed when the Supreme Court unanimously (9-0, includes the liberal justices) struck down those state and local de-balloting efforts as unconstitutional and anti-democratic. Drumpf will be on the ballot in November 2024 barring some other unforeseen effort and regardless of his incarceration status. After this ruling and other unfavorable ones, most national Democrats attack the court, despite saying in the Drumpf indictment cases and other favorable ones that the courts and verdicts need to be respected, saying the Supreme Court is threatening democracy, and that after of course setting aside any criticism of the liberal justices who also decided the case, some demand that conservative justices be investigated for malfeasance, be forced to sit out on cases involving Drumpf, impeached if possible, and removed from the court. Or, the Court should be packed, that is, increased with Democrat appointed justices in order to get the appropriate rulings that will better protect “democracy.” Democrats also attack conservative justices in places like Florida and seek to force them to recuse or remove themselves from cases in order to protect democracy when a case goes against Democrat views about democracy.
Democrat elites, media pundits, the Biden Administration press secretary, and key supporters label questions of Biden's age problems, inactivity as president, or competency as "deepfakes" or "cheapfakes," meaning previous video evidence of the problems finally seen by most Americans during the 6/27/24 debate are actually doctored by right wing media in order to harm Biden. As "liars" and purveyors of "fake news," critics are lumped in as Republicans and their motives are questioned (even if they're foreign leaders or not Republicans but still expressing concerns), labeled as ageist, and that label is used to engage in "whataboutism" with Drumpf.
Drumpf "whataboutism" excuse (fallacy): Ignoring the vastly different debate performances of the two, Biden defenders point out that Drumpf is also an old man who mixes up people's names, drank from a cup while using two hands, and once almost slid down a slippery ramp while wearing designer shoes. Not being ageist or ableist because Democrats are doing it, this whataboutism about age and ability is used to put Biden and Drumpf on the same level of criticism and to negate questions about Biden, even though Biden is the current leader, that he's also asking for 4 more years in his obviously worse state, and the public has disagreed with that view for months about their quite different abilities as elderly men (most polls prior to the debate showed that about 70% believe Biden is unfit and unable to serve another 4 years, which is vastly different than Drumpf's 20-30%). Concern of Biden's abilities is labeled "ageist," hate against those with a disability (Biden’s studder), and fake news. Prior to seeing for themselves during the debate, most (delusional) Democrats laughed these criticisms off as impossible, gaslit that he was the most vigorous man ever like Morning Joe did on MSNBC, or outright lied to the public about how he really is. To them, it’s not ageist to question Drumpf nor to call for the use of the 25th Amendment to remove him from office because he’s mentally incapable or physically infirm as was done repeatedly from 2017-2021 when he was president. In Biden’s debate performance case, this 25th option is not serious to most Democrats despite what is undeniable to the vast majority of the country. This whataboutism for Drumpf's age, though very much dampened after the debate because of the inescapable contrast on the debate stage, was continued as an explanation for Biden's performance.
The Hurr Report of February 2024: Apart from the devastating description of Biden, the dismissal of charges on account of his inability to stand trial let alone govern, and the discussion I used above, the Hur Report was viewed as being beyond Hur’s scope as prosecutor and despite his sympathetic portrayal of Biden, the fact that he wasn’t charging anyone, and that he was a fair life-long prosecutor, he was viewed as a partisan Drumpf hack. Even though a prosecutor often judges a potential defendant based on their ability to stand trial, many Hur critics accused him of acting like a pop psychologist even though he provided valuable insight into Biden’s state that was covered up at the time. Though any attacks on NY A.G. Letitia James, Fulton County, Georgia D.A. Fanni Willis, or Special Prosecutor Jack Smith in Drumpf’s own documents case were seen by Democrats as being beyond the pale and attempts to obstruct justice, Hur was mercilessly savaged and his astute observations were wished away by Democrats right as the primaries started.
First Presidential Debate 6/27/24 and the greatest political backfire in American history: This was a watershed moment in US History. This debate was meant to force Drumpf to back out after promising to debate Biden anywhere and anytime. Not only did the Biden Campaign pick a favorable venue, CNN, with former Democrats as moderators, but they also got the audience removed, got a response timer included as well a mute button. Prior to the event, the format was believed to be overwhelmingly favorable to Biden and was interpreted by fretting Republicans as a trap meant to end Drumpf’s campaign and bolster Biden’s when he was questioned more than ever. And seeing that he wasn’t going to cancel at the last minute, CNN probably disciplined its two former Democrat Party operatives turned news hosts and moderators to not collapse the low-rated network in charges of blatant bias and debate interference (like Candy Crowley in 2012 vs. Mitt Romney over Russia threat or Chris Wallace in 2020 vs. Drumpf over the Hunter Biden Laptop). Not only did the CNN moderators act almost completely neutral, which actually should have helped Biden in the event he was able to crush Trump again, but most aspects of the format, like having no crowd, were the opposite of what Drumpf wanted. Biden also tucked himself away for a whole week, his people lowered expectations, attacked Trump for rallying and not prepping or at least not talking about his prep, and prepared Biden to deliver canned lines to force Drumpf to self-destruct onstage like he did in 2020. However, during and after the debate, many Democrats underwent the multiple stages of grief after the delusions, gaslighting, and candidate secrecy were dispelled in the friendliest format for a debate that the Biden campaign could hope for. The format clearly backfired and neither it nor the moderators could cover Biden’s performance over the 90 minutes of live TV. Only about 20% of those polled indicated that Biden won the debate, yet polls consistently indicated for years before that most didn’t think Biden was up to serving again. The debate was likely a confirmation for two thirds of the country, which explains why the hit to the Biden campaign was not as large as expected since only those most committed to Democrats no-matter-what would be delusional enough to believe Biden won.
The Debate Aftermath: Biden's debate performance was excused in various ways as first too late in the day since it's outside of his allegedly slim working hours of 10AM-4PM, blamed on a cold or over-preparation and him possessing "too much information" that he spent a whole week practicing, the fault of bad staffers who should be fired (and would be probably the only people "the most accountable administration ever" has fired for a poor job after 3.5 years), a tiring overseas trip that ended a week before the debate, or even the fault of CNN's makeup artists and videographers for making him look old, etc. Basically, the debate isn't part of a pattern to them as it was to most objective consumers of politics prior to it.
After the Debate disaster, lead Democrats float removing Biden from the ballot despite railroading him on Democrat primary voters in the first place and preventing debates with other Democrat candidates where his abilities might've been seen sooner. In order to protect democracy, by replacing Biden now after the primary elections, nearly all Democrat primary voters would have their votes canceled in the interests of "protecting the country."
There are serious questions and apprehension over VP Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden as her approval ratings are as dismal, if not worse. Despite insinuating that Biden was racist and being picked by him anyways for VP, internal party critics point to her not receiving a single primary vote in 2020 as she dropped out before anyone voted. This bodes ill for her potential candidacy in 2024. However, the party of diversity and equity replacing the first Indian and African American VP is troublesome and some suggest is based on racist motives. A number of male Democrat Governors like Newsom (CA) or Pritzger (IL) are floated, both seen as engaging in shadow campaigns while being publicly loyal, but both remain silent about their wishes unless or until the chosen 2024 Democrat Ticket collapses. Using one of them would replace a minority female, current, elected office holder with a white male candidate (or white female if Governor Whitmer (MI) is considered) picked by party elites and who also received no primary votes for president.
Concluding What’s Left of Our “Democracy” or Suffering in Order for It to Live Another Day
I strongly and angrily contend that the country must be forced to vote between the choices presented by the parties, including third parties of which I won't support either. Both major parties made their beds, especially the Democrats, and they should be given no mercy, no more enabling behavior to switch things up at the last second and soil future presidential elections just because they want to change as they could be defeated. If voters are that concerned by the threat to "democracy" from Drumpf, they must be forced to choose the failing Biden of the first debate, with the knowledge that he may be replaced by Kamala Harris, and another 4 years of autopilot administration. If voters are concerned about a Harris Presidency because they believe Biden can't even make it to November, then they must hold their nose and vote for a still-convicted elderly felon.
One doesn't deserve to call for protecting democracy and then do the most egregious, unconstitutional things over many years to prevent actual democratic action. Suffer a loss of power after a vote if you truly believe in "democracy" and not your own gaslighting demagoguery and cravenness for power. If you lose, pay for your political mistakes, do a political autopsy like the Democrats didn't do after 2022, and come to grips with what you've put the country through in the name of your ideals. I feel no empathy for either choice nor sorrow for anyone because they're not getting their way. Pick one geriatric since you made us go through this and stop your hand wringing against those of us that have been sentient, reasonable, and complaining throughout. I'm not an idiot and I will remain independent, never to be misled by this dual party bullcrap. America will suffer, so thanks Democrats and Republicans for the terrible choice of beds that you’re going to force upon us. I will see if I can vote for myself for president in November.
