America is Not a Failed State but a Stunning Success
Boomers like myself have been blessed to live our entire lives in what has been, by any historical measure, a golden age
But first … Listening to the final defense witness in Caligula’s hush money trial, which is about election fraud, not paying off of some sex worker, attorney Robert Costello made a hash of any final defense. As testimony concluded with his debacle, I have no doubt that the jury will find Caligula guilty. Given the conduct of the defendant, along with his circle of allies that testified, the clear lack of remorse and his outright rejection of the legitimacy of the court, indeed the legal system itself, the real question is going to be the sentencing, not the verdict.
The unique leniency afforded the Heir of Hitler may very well persist. But it conceivably will not, and should not. Justice Juan Merchan has clearly tried to strike a balance between running a strict courtroom and granting the would-be founder of a police state unique courtesies, starting with his handling of the gag order.
There are two compelling reasons for this. First, it acknowledges Caligula’s status as a former president, recognizing that a justice department and judiciary under his influence would extend no such courtesy to anyone not considered a supplicant. It is ethically imperative that the good guys do not themselves justify mirroring such conduct as a justification to prevent it.
Second, Justice Merchan is bending over backwards to minimize any small detail that could lead the appellate court (an appeal being a 100% certainty) to overturn the conviction or water down the sentence. Given the conduct and demeanor of the defendant a stiff, even a draconian sentence should withstand the appellate review. Therefore Merchan should impose a jail sentence approaching the maximum (four years), but a minimum at least of one year.
Commencing it prior to the appeal is a very real option, as the presiding judge may grant appeals bail at his discretion. I wouldn’t care to predict, but for this traitor I do harbor a preferred course of action, for which I am drawing on one of DeWitt Cheng’s images to be published in this week’s The Democracy Chain eJournal.
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It pains me to acknowledge that Joe Biden can lose the November election — even if Democrats regain majority in the House (likely) and retain any small majority in the Senate (uncertain). Even if Democrats make net gains in the number of Governors and State Legislatures. Not that he will lose. But it is already a matter of grave concern that the conventional wisdom is that this will be a very close race, when it should be a landslide, a wipeout.
The most successful nation in the history of our civilization may, of its own volition, choose the very path that in the past has repeatedly led to mass suffering and death, based on the completely false premise that America is a failed state.
The number one core reason if Biden does lose will be his age. This would be both ironic and ridiculous. Ironic because his opponent is of equally advanced age, as well as declining mentally and physically at a far more dramatic rate. Ridiculous because Caligula is not a serious person, but a fascist bent on vengeance to be wreaked against all who slight or oppose him, an admirer of the likes of Hitler and Putin … in short, a lunatic and merchant of hate whose lies have only become more ludicrous.
However, Caligula does excel at a few things, and one — in spite of his obesity, bizarre hair style, and unhealthy diet — is that he projects an image of physical strength and aggression modeled on WWE wrestlers. That image may be paper-thin, but the illusion is all too convincing to millions of voters, who ignore the potential consequences even if he survives only a year or two into a new presidential term.
Aware that he may not live very much longer, Caligula is even more dangerous because he has the urgency of impatience. This will make him more, not less, impulsive and radical. The number of experts and commentators who understand this is extensive and varied, which notably starts with former senior Republican officials who served in his first term. I am among a cadre of outside observers who have explained that Caligula is not only utterly unworthy of respect and has already proven that he is incapable of governing, only of serving his own vanity, a catastrophe waiting to happen. Like political arsonist Stephen Bannon, Caligula is eager to deconstruct the administrative state.
Despite the fact that this is so well and widely understood, enough voters are poised to vote for our own national demise to project this to be a very competitive election. Astonishing.
I was among the many liberals and Democrats who openly called for President Biden to step aside at least a year ago. Had he announced his retirement and support for a competitive primary I believe this election season would have a very different tone. (This is not a knock on his VP at all; but the Democratic Party has a deep bench of far younger, extremely talented leaders who deserve to take center stage.) Recognition of Biden’s remarkably effective term, especially in the context of today’s politics, would negate concern about his age, rendering it a non-issue. Instead that concern has dragged down most of his other polling numbers, even in areas that his administration has proven very successful. For Biden to win as polling currently suggests, Caligula must lose. Thankfully, that is still much more than just a possibility. The aforementioned guilty verdict to come in the New York election fraud trial should assure us of that. However, with the NPP and its base being so fully committed to fascism, what should render Caligula’s candidacy toxic to the vast majority of Americans has so far not resonated.
Even, yes even the prospect of conducting a “campaign” out of a prison cell will not ensure doubt on the part of the cult. Count on many voters treating an incarcerated Caligula like Christ on the cross. The false analogy makes the skin crawl.
Democrats’ traditional achilles heel is that they become defensive, even apologetic exactly when they must sell their convictions most assertively. Policy arguments are generally not their problem. Biden and down ticket candidates are often at their best delivering policy tutorials. It is when they must sell the principles and the vision that those policies inform that they are prone to equivocate.
Let me illustrate the point with this example: In the 80 years since WWII ended we have enjoyed a national and global flourishing of stability (particularly right here at home, but globally as well by historical standards), social and technological development, an economy, health care, political infrastructure and more that is so far improved upon ANY previous era as to almost be silly. As someone who is old enough to have witnessed so many of these advances free of the disastrous period from 1914 to 1945, this is simply undeniable.
And what does Caligula have to say about all that? He bellows — this is not an argument let alone a debate — that the American economy lies in ruins. That women and doctors who support abortion rights are baby killers. That blood is running freely in the streets of our cities. That the NATO alliance can be dispensed with. That border immigration is an invasion of terrorists, gangbangers, and drug dealers. That God is punishing us for failing to attend church — the right church — on Sunday. That principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion are the root of all evil. And, of course, that any election he loses is stolen.
He pontificates a fantasy of America being a failed state, but only if he does not run the place. It’s a message at the heart of what is essentially a very poor quality nightclub act, lacking wit and polish. The amateurishness is part of the formula for his victory in November: he relies on low education, low information voters. Remember? He said how he just loves them, a cynical line that rings with actual conviction as it leaves his lips. Importantly, he knows that this schtick is what parts his marks from their money.
If Biden does not fall victim to, say, a stroke, he will have to win on the merits. But by now we know the merits will simply not be enough. He can win on Caligula’s criminal conviction, whether or not he is incarcerated, because some, probably enough voters will balk at voting for a convicted felon. The disturbing truth, however, is that so many will not.
Neither should we lose sight of abortion. In the end that will be the killer issue that will win the day.
But I say that Biden can win going away if he reminds us of America’s phenomenal success over the last 80 years. Many of us have lived it but should be reminded, and younger voters must be made aware of it. Can he sell the Democratic Party’s central role in sustaining this, and also give credit to the role of a Republican Party that is no longer in existence? The parties were once adversarial partners that held each accountable while keeping the country safe and unified. We need those voters to “come home” to America, not just the Democratic base.
It is a sale, and importantly a stark contrast to the failed state argument being made daily by Caligula, that must be made. In it lies not just a winning and optomistic narrative, but the central truth of our time.