Next week, the 2022 midterm elections will be decided. Although, we’re already being told there will be delays in tallying the votes, there is little chance that the Republicans don’t come out on top. As I’m typing this article, FiveThirtyEight.com is predicting the GOP will reclaim both houses of Congress. There is virtually no chance of the Democrats keeping the house, while there is a slight possibility they could keep control of the Senate, thanks to lackluster GOP candidates like Dr. Oz.
That said, the days of relying on Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema to stave off the more radical proposals of the Biden Administration will be behind us soon. If the GOP manages to claim at least 53 seats, that will also keep some of the squishier Republicans like Romney and Murkowski from playing a similar role to Manchin and Murkowski in the coming years. So… what’s Biden going to do if he doesn’t have a friendly Congress to work with? Well…
The Good: Biden decides to work with Republicans (but for real this time).
For the record, I’m not optimistic about this option, but it’s still a possibility nonetheless. Biden is at the end of his political career, and his life for that matter. If he is under the impression that his Presidency is a failure (as he should be). Then, it is possible he will want to have some accomplishments under his belt before he rides off into the sunset. He thinks he’s running for office in 2024, but he’s not. Perhaps he will come to grips with that fact after his party gets shellacked next week. Many insiders are already saying that Democratic leadership is not happy with Biden’s attempts to stump for candidates, because they don’t see any value in his endorsement. (Weird! I’ve been told he received a record-setting 81 million votes last time around.) The results of next week’s election should finally drive home this point to the old coot, and shine some light on what an abject failure he has been as Commander-in-Chief.
So… it’s possible that Biden wants to erase a few of the smudges on his legacy. He doesn’t have enough time to wipe them all away, but he could work with Republicans to tamp down inflation, revisit Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, increase energy production, etc. These steps would obviously help the country get back in track in a variety of ways. Biden could be the driving force behind these actions, if he’s smart enough to see that it’s his only way to salvage what is left of his legacy.
The Bad: Biden goes full autocrat
Joe’s not a particularly bright man, but he knows enough to know that the media will cover for him. The same media that thought it was so charming of Obama to claim he could run the country with just “a pen and a phone”, but killed Trump for signing a number of executive orders, is going to gush over anything Biden tries to do via executive action. He hopefully will receive opposition at every turn from a Republican-controlled Congress, although sadly that’s not a given either. If Biden finds himself unable to pass laws via the legislative branch, he may attempt to run the country unilaterally. He can attempt to claim all sorts of emergency powers regarding: the climate, gun control, voting access, “misinformation”, “domestic terror threats”, etc. We all saw what the Democrats did with the emergency powers they granted themselves during COVID. Now imagine that, on the Federal level, with a geriatric loon at the helm, knowing he has only a couple of years before he’s pushed back into his basement for the rest of his life. (Don’t worry, Joe. They’ll get you your ice cream.)
The Ugly: Biden resigns
Yes, we all know what that means: President Kamala Harris. (I just threw up a little.) This will give Biden the sort of graceful exit I’m sure he’d like to have. It will also provide him with the legacy of ushering the first woman/black woman/Asian woman into the Oval Office. Something liberals will fawn over for decades to come. They’ll sugarcoat it as noble and chivalrous, and totally ignore the fact that he wasn’t good at his job and would be taking the coward’s way out.
This also removes him from the White House during years where he will get little accomplished due to an adversarial Congress, and allows him to go back to Delaware, where he can live out his days in peace, instead sliding into full-scale dementia while under the watchful eye of the world. Kamala will also get very little done, if this plays out as described, but she can play the victim. She’ll cry about how a GOP-controlled Congress isn’t playing ball with her because of her race, gender or shoe selection. It’s not because the 2 parties have fundamental differences in political/social/economic policy, as is perfectly obvious by the fact that they are separate parties. Nah! It’s bigotry. Obvs!
Heels Up Harris can also bring one of the Democratic Party’s super-losers, like Beto O’Rourke or Stacey Abrams in to be her Vice President, which will delight the staff at MSNBC and all 5 of their viewers. It’ll also give her an ally in the White House that will do exactly what the regime demands, not only because they are preprogrammed to do so, but because this would be the absolute last chance either of them has at relevance. Not to mention, even Kamala has to know that she’s not an electable candidate for 2024, so she could very well be picking her replacement.
My pick: The Ugly
I’m not any happier about it than you are, but I think Biden’s brand is toxic at this point. It would behoove the entire party to move on from him with a quickness. Kamala is not the answer either, but they would look so unbelievably hypocritical if they made the first black/Asian/woman VP step aside, when by all historical logic dictates it should be her turn. This gives them 2 years to remove the stink of Biden, blame the GOP for not cooperating with the new President, paint all opposition to her as both racist AND sexist (Take that Obama!) and hopefully find someone in their party who they could pair with Harris for a 2024 ticket. They are stuck with Biden or Harris. Why be stuck with both? Liberals are not particularly smart people, but the Democratic Party is as politically savvy a bunch as exists in the modern world. How else do you maintain some baseline level of success when you’re so frequently wrong about… everything
?