Between his terrifying debate performance and his refusal/inability to appear in public without reading from a Teleprompter, it’s pretty clear that Joe Biden hasn’t been the president of the United States for quite some time, assuming that he ever was. His big campaign argument was that he was defending democracy, but this lack of transparency is more indicative of a totalitarian state than a democracy. Who has been making the big decisions in the Biden Administration for the last few years? No one knows.
Most Likely to Protect Democracy
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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This differs — in end result — very little from prior administrations. The multinationals and lobbyists are in charge. What makes THIS case so interesting is the grotesque obviousness of it all. Biden’s mere presence on the stage, res ipsa loquitur, proves that the paranoids of Trump’s base got this one right: There is a secret group running things because the president has lost at least some of his marbles.
It is one of the greatest joys in the whole wide world to be able to call the cops on someone you hate and turn the entire apparatus of the justice system on them. It’s like tricking someone into whitewashing your fence. Trump, once he wins, will be able, with all the fake sincerity he can muster, to turn the entire might of the justice system of these here United States, on Team Biden (God knows, Trump loves fences). If he controls both houses of Congress as well? All bets are off. It’ll be just like Watergate. Everyone will rush to C their own A.
So, who’s running things? “No one knows”? (The Shadow knows, Ted.) It’ll all come out in the wash. I suspect Hunter and Dr. Jill are the two main miscreants, with a coterie of dnc goons and assorted other hangers-on. And Trump’s people will stick every single person they can in jail. And in 2028, even if Trump is dead or otherwise not in the running, the photos of Dr. and Hunter in orange jumpsuits will hand the Republicans a second round in office.
Well done, Mr. Biden. Mission accomplished! You’ve destroyed the democratic party. I hope Trump remembers to thank you on Inauguration Day for handing him his third term. (And here comes moderation.)
Alex, I doubt if any of the big fish will go to jail. But…I’m disappointed to see Ted perpetrating the myth that the Jan. 6 temper tantrum was a “fascist coup.” There was zero organization, zero military support, and dozens of federal agents egging the crowd on to make it a great publicity stunt for the Democrats to exploit and provide a further pretext for limiting our civil liberties. Agreed, however, that the “choices “the corporate state is pushing are a “which Nazi would you prefer?” proposition. That’s why I’m supporting, and will be voting for, Jill Stein.
We saw this before when Trump ordered all the US troops out of Syria. Twice. And none left. Trump was never in charge of anything that mattered. He could order decorations for the Oval Office, but had no command of the US military or much of anything else.
Remember that George W. Bush was the “decider”? It has long been normal, reasonable, and effective for the president to surround themself with smart people, each responsible for drafting policy for some section of government. Sure, the decider is still the boss and can make changes, but having all these other people there is key to success. It’s called delegation and it’s a good thing. The problem with Biden and Trump is not that they will continue this effective tradition. The problem is whom they will pick for that inner circle.
And yes, while the decider is the boss of the inner circle, the boss of the decider is also important. That should be the voters, but in too large a part it is not, and that doesn’t change no matter who wins: Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green, ….
Well, of course I got the term “the decider” from Shrub, and used it with humorous intent, since everybody knew it was Dick Cheney who was calling the short for eight years. And yes, it’s a team effort, and “the boss of the boss of the team” is, as the folks who did the research told us, not “the voters,” but the oligarchs. As my mutual friend with Al Gore told me Al told him when he became VP, “We don’t really get to decide much. We’re just figureheads. We do what we’re told,” which is probably why he got out of politics after the 2000 debacle. Does that contradict my statement that “Cheney called the shots”? Not necessarily.
The US has been run increasingly by the essentially totalitarian institutions of organized religion, the military, transnational corporations (and AIPAC!). To be clear, Biden’s lack of transparency may be enabled by pre-existing totalitarianism but is hardly the cause thereof. Ditto Trump. The competition between them for the post of US
president is the clearest sign of the crumbling of history’s most murderous empire.