Assault on America, Day 498: Childish Grampa Joe losing substance battle with President Trump

Trump’s policies have been called a lot of names, but “childish” isn’t one of ‘em

Anyone who’s been around children long enough knows they occasionally come up with unanticipated and timeless pearls of wisdom, moments of clarity cloaked by cute-as-a-button exteriors and tendencies to prefer chocolate chip cookies to healthy broccoli and Brussels sprouts at dinnertime. As we get older it’s often said we grow more child-like in our preferences, and it’s not intended as a compliment. To be labeled “childish” usually infers whatever you’re doing is either unimportant, trivial or annoying.

The dictionary defines “childish” as, “of, like, or appropriate to a child”, or, “silly and immature.”

Democrat nominee-in-waiting Joe Biden visited the Washington Post op-ed page earlier this week to weigh-in on President Donald Trump’s response to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or Wuhan virus and suggested the chief executive’s handling of the crisis was akin to kids playing in a kindergarten yard’s sandbox. Or something like that.

Joseph Simonson reported at The Washington Examiner, “Joe Biden took to the op-ed pages of the Washington Post to continue attacking the federal government’s coronavirus policies, which are led by President Trump.

“’[Trump’s] goal is as obvious as it is craven: He hopes to split the country into dueling camps, casting Democrats as doomsayers hoping to keep America grounded and Republicans as freedom fighters trying to liberate the economy,’ the former vice president and presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee wrote in a Monday guest piece. ‘It’s a childish [emphasis added] tactic — and a false choice that none of us should fall for.’ …

“’States and cities that have attempted to reopen are discovering that the economy isn’t a light switch you can simply flip on — people need confidence to make it run, and that confidence must be earned by credible leadership and demonstrable safety,’ he wrote about Georgia, which reopened its dine-in restaurants in late April but found that demand has barely ticked upward.”

(Note: You can read the entire op-ed by clicking here.)

No one I know ever hinted that reviving an economy that was wholesale wrecked by government decision-makers would be as simple as flipping on a light switch. For a major party candidate to assert this is patently… childish. There must be a deeper motivation here, something besides the plain truth that Biden’s flat run out of things to say these days.

What it is then? Georgia this, Georgia that. Georgia, Georgia, Georgia. Expect Grampa Joe and the Democrat propaganda crew to relentlessly bash on the Peach State in the coming months as a shining example of a reddish purple jurisdiction with a Republican governor who just happened to have won his office by besting Democrat upstart and the vastly unqualified Stacey Abrams, the woman who refused to concede defeat and remove her name from liberal cable news channels’ headlines despite being behind by 50,000 votes after the count was concluded.

Of course Abrams is widely rumored to be near the top of Biden’s veep short list. Instinct and observation indicate Biden is dying to choose her to fill out his ticket. But the party establishment probably isn’t swayed, since Abrams doesn’t have any high-level executive or legislative experience (she served in the Georgia House for ten years and as Minority Leader for six) and it would be an extremely tough sell to bill her as ready to step into the POTUS role on day one behind the visibly faltering and mentally slipping Biden.

Heck, even Barack Obama had been a U.S. senator for a couple years before launching his presidential campaign — and Stacey Abrams ain’t no Obama. True, like “the One”, Abrams is a diehard leftist activist — hence, her appeal to Biden — but she’s not all that articulate and comes across as a lightweight loony nutcase (such as when she delivered the party response to Trump’s State of the Union speech, which thankfully for Democrats, no one watched).

Plus, to put it mildly, she’s not much to look at. Yup, I said it. Democrats and liberals will scream “FOUL!” for even bringing up the appearance angle, but big-time American politics rarely advances those who’d finish last in a beauty contest line-up. Biden could solve that particular dilemma by drafting the much more attractive Kamala Harris — the other prominent black woman supposedly in contention — since Obama himself once said the California Attorney General (at the time) was the “best looking” among her colleagues. If ‘ol back slappin’, hair sniffin’, child repellin’, shoulders massagin’, nude swimmin’ and sexual assault denyin’ Grampa Joe wants a looker, it ain’t gonna be Ms. Abrams.

Which presents a minor dilemma for Joe and his campaign team since they need to check all the appropriate demographic boxes for his number two. The buzz surrounding an Abrams selection would last approximately three hours until people got a glimpse of her on the evening news — and listened to her speak. Talk about a rapid decline. But then again, when the Biden/Abrams ticket loses in November, Democrats could cry and moan about how it was due to nationwide voter suppression (only in the states that went for Trump) and that racist Trump-ian “deplorables” backwards-butt rednecks couldn’t stomach the prospect of voting for a homely black woman.

Never mind Abrams. Biden and crew need a convenient kicking boy on the issue-of-the-hour, coronavirus. Georgia just happens to be it.

After all, Colorado’s reopening mirrored Georgia’s and you don’t see or hear doddering Joe and his fellow Democrats stringing out Democrat Governor Jared Polis for his callous disregard of “science” or testing or whatever it is they’re talking about at the moment. Biden’s — and the media’s — highlighting Georgia is 110% politically motivated, since if they can convince enough folks that Gov. Brian Kemp acted carelessly and jumped the gun, then perhaps they can steal a normally reliable GOP state and make their Electoral College challenge not quite as daunting.

The testing issue also isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Most lay people hear virus “testing” and think it’d be as easy as walking into a clinic, providing a urine sample in one of those little cups and receiving a courtesy phone call within an hour or two with the results. Not so. According to family members familiar with the actual coronavirus test, it involves taking a sample from deep within the nostrils and the process is described as “extremely uncomfortable.”

Necessary, yes, but it’s quite painful and not exactly the type of thing anyone would do unless they’re symptomatic (or your doctor orders it) and reason it’s time to know for sure. Therefore, even if a testing station were right down the block it’s doubtful people would be lining up to endure it, especially when the chances of testing positive aren’t exactly that great (a check revealed there have been about 10 million tests and “only” about 1.4 million confirmed cases).

Are there more people out there with the virus? Emphatically, yes. Even the experts agree there’re exponentially more carriers than confirmed cases. And they keep popping up in places you’d never consider, such as inside the Vice President’s office. So yes, lots of people have the virus, lots more are worried sick about getting it and the public is apprehensive about venturing out like “normal” when no such thing exists any longer.

But for Biden to maintain Trump’s response “divided” the country between heroic freedom fighters and doomsayer Democrats isn’t exactly accurate. It’s not childish at all. And by no means is it a “false choice” either. Simply look at Florida’s success under the stewardship of GOP Governor Ron DeSantis and you’ll see there’s a vast difference between political leadership that trusts people to rely on good judgment and sound advice to stop the spread of the pandemic.

Contrast DeSantis with blue state governors in Connecticut, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Illinois and New York, all of which exercised their petty tyrant powers to shutter businesses (many permanently, as this report indicated) and punish citizens for demanding more freedom. Polls also show Republicans are significantly more likely to support relaxing or ending social distancing mandates. Paul Bedard reported, “In a new Gallup survey, 60% of Republicans said they are avoiding ‘small gatherings,’ down from a peak of 76% at the end of March. Since the survey dates ended May 3, the number is likely down more.

“By comparison, 74% of Democrats are still avoiding small gatherings, down from a high of 84% at the end of March.”

The distinction is easily explainable. Republicans and conservatives don’t live their lives based on an expert’s or governor’s arbitrary opinions or dictates. Democrats are much more receptive to being “ruled.” Case closed.

If Grampa Joe Biden can’t talk about testing (and a lack of it), what else is there to say?

Imagine you’re a Democrat (you can envision yourself as Biden himself if you wish), or, if you are already a member of the party, try to think objectively. You’re positioned in a conference room at headquarters, (or these days, you’re taking part in a Zoom call) with other strategists.

Everyone’s tossing out ideas on how Grampa Joe might improve his political position vis-à-vis Trump during the coronavirus quarantine phase. Invariably the conversation winds down to the “when do we reopen” dilemma and there are no solid answers, other than perhaps to shed doubt on Trump’s statements on the need for and availability of mass testing (note: Trump has recommended all nursing home patients and staff be tested — finally, some common sense on the subject). Bingo! You’ve got your op-ed topic and you hire a ghostwriter to pen something legible from Joe’s typical stream-of-consciousness ramblings.

Since only a tiny fraction of U.S. citizens have been tested, you try and scare the bejesus out of the ones who haven’t been and tell everyone to damn the economic consequences and stay the (heck) away from each other for another month — or until a vaccine is developed, approved and distributed. It’s all you have. Let’s run with it!

Trump Derangement Syndrome won’t be enough for Democrats to win in 2020

While most Democrats we see on TV are more than committed to a campaign strategy of bashing Trump 24/7, a token few voices are recommending party candidates include more substance in their pitches to voters. Seth McLaughlin reported at The Washington Times, “One of the masterminds behind Pete Buttigieg’s rise in national politics said Monday Joseph R. Biden’s path to the White House hinges on presenting voters with a positive alternative vision for the nation, and not getting too wrapped up in ‘Trump derangement syndrome.’

“Lis Smith, a senior advisor to Mr. Buttigieig’s 2020 bid, said the coronavirus has provided Mr. Biden with an opportunity to think outside the box when it comes to campaigning and said she hopes the party learned some lessons from the party’s mistakes in 2016.

“’There is a theory in the Democratic Party that if we just kept giving Donald Trump rope that he would eventually hang himself,’ Ms. Smith said on Political Playbook virtual interview. ‘Well, he didn’t, and I think it is completely wishful thinking to think that he will self-destruct and that we can just run against Trump and Trumpism.’”

From all appearances, Grampa Joe Biden isn’t taking Smith’s advice. Grossly mislabeling the president’s policies and attitudes towards reopening the economy — meaning, Trump is pushing for it — isn’t just childish, it’s ineffective. Biden’s formulated his political career out of pretending to be somebody he’s not (smart, accomplished, empathetic, ahead of the curve), so ripping at Trump is what he does best.

But sitting around in a basement bunker lofting bombs in the Washington Post is a lot closer to Trump Derangement Syndrome than it is to offering concrete proposals. Why doesn’t Joe jump into the issue mosh pit and start throwing some elbows?

Because he doesn’t have a clue what to say, so he defaults to calling Trump “childish.” When should the economy open, Joe? Would everyone be forced to take a test? What happens to those whose tests don’t match your projections?

With the quarantine portion of the weird coronavirus conundrum seemingly winding to a close, politicians like Joe Biden will be compelled to come out of hiding and supply substance rather than submitting op-eds to the Washington Post and calling Trump “childish.” Will Joe offer something more than Trump Derangement Syndrome? Voters want to know.