This is a Democrat we know doesn’t pull punches and the remarks she made during an interview with Katie Couric go beyond the narrative of President Biden are hard hitting. Yet there’s an aspect to what happened that has ramifications that didn’t get talked about. I’m referring to the war Israel wants to force us to fight in Iran.
I’ll bet you’re saying ‘Wait a minute; have you gone off the deep end dude?’ but bear with me. First let’s talk about the actual goings on during the hour long interview Crockett did with Katie Couric from Slingshot News. I’ll include the clip in its entirety but the “trailer’ lead in will get your attention for sure. Reacting to who will emerge to lead the Party and I guess be our nominee in 2028 Crockett says it will be “Someone that has been out there and showed they won’t allow themselves to be punched in the face, and say Thank You, like they will punch back.” Now THAT is the kind of attitude we need in the Democratic Party. If you’ve got an hour to spare this interview is worth the time.
Anyway I started writing this because of what Crockett has to say about how even fellow Democrats treated, and continue to treat President Joe Biden. Anyone who follows me knows I think it was and remains shameful. Worse, destructive to the good of this country and the free world. I like how at one point Ms. Crockett refers to grandparents. Anyone who has had (as I did) or known grandparents that lived into their late 70s and beyond should recognize what she points out. (Yes, some do decline significantly mentally and physically) but her general observation was spot-on. At that point they tend to be not as concerned about moving a little slower, or not bothering so much to cover up disdain or annoyance. Or just not caring as much what others think.
My “granny” was a great example. She was as sweet a person as one could hope to know but by that point in life she became more blunt. Willing to be dismissive of idiots and idiocy and even pointedly calling it out in private. She wasn’t so concerned with being all super accommodating of other’s feelings when she felt they were being stupid. She’d either ignore it and carry on or quickly dismiss them and move on.
I suspect with all that was on his plate Joe Biden became less interested in ‘playing nice’ and politely indulging people. Rather he would let them drone on and focus on more important (to him) things. For powerful DC types I can see how they’d think ‘he didn’t used to be like this. When I talked he listened intently and responded to ME instead of changing the subject.’ So their fee-fees were hurt. With the GOP out there screaming about Biden’s verbal gaffes (which he was known for his entire career) as evidence of mental decline, or his no longer trotting around, bounding up steps and ramps but walking carefully (he ignored doctor’s advice after breaking his foot) as being “feeble.” Democrats chose to pile on instead of constantly showing TRUMP’s clear physical infirmities, or HIS clearly diminished (not that they were great to begin with) cognitive abilities!
I tried to copy the five or six minutes of the Joe Biden part of the interview here but couldn’t. I had to pull up the full thing on YouTube, but if you click just after 35 minutes in you can hear that part. (The first 30 seconds about not getting punched are awesome too) I promise you it’s worth that bit of time at least. It took a while for me to realize it but all of a sudden I got a sense of WHY the takedown of Joe Biden happened. Why Democrats allowed themselves to ‘get played’ by Trump and the GOP as Crockett contends.
Some very powerful Democrats including Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer didn’t just stab Biden in the back, they gave ‘cover’ for other Democrats to do so. I think it all was due to goings on in Israel and more specifically Gaza. Israel has always been the spoiled rich teenager that does what it wants including hurting people and even breaking laws knowing that “daddy” will bail them out of trouble. Many of us, especially from small towns have seen it. We’ve seen it politically too. Over and over Poppy Bush bailed out his namesake. W was never the man or politician his father was but Poppy Bush’s (along with James Baker) enabling allowed him to get well into life unscathed. Enough so to become Gov. of Texas and then President. Well, we’ve seen how THAT worked out including the mess in the middle east.
Trump as we know was enabled by his father who chose to groom a f**kup to take over the family business when his preferred choice walked away and the only other option was Trump’s sister. A GIRL! So it was Donald. And again we have a President who isn’t up to the job during a crisis in the middle east. Better and far smarter and more capable President than Trump and Bush 43 would have had to deal with cleaning up messes hard-core right wing Israeli politicians have made.
The Oct. 7 terrorist attacks put us in yet another impossible position. My epiphany is that prominent Democrats, elected and appointed as well as deep pocket donors (and therefore power brokers) were nervous about the GOP and Trump (himself old, and not moving slowly but dragging a leg and stumbling!) painted of BIDEN being too old. Biden was still getting a lot of good done but as I say faced an impossible choice with Israel. If he cut off all aid/support as so many Democrats demanded that would lead to a wipeout in Nov. 2024. If he tried to thread the needle with a carrot and stick approach his support would soften with key groups we needed. And lead to a loss.
A cold calculation I believe was made. Risk losing big or risk losing little (as in dumping it all on Biden and by extension Harris) to Pelosi and Schumer choosing the latter strategy. Perhaps they thought they could at least retake the House but I doubt that would have made much difference. It’s the Senate that confirms Presidential appointments and even if Schumer wasn’t a lightweight compared to predecessors I still think we’d end up with many of the disasters in key jobs we have.
I also think Netanyahu would have done what he’s done. Start a war with Iran. One that might fulfill his dream of drawing U.S. forces directly into the fight. We are I fear at a point where the spoiled teen has taken over as head of the family. WHY you are probably asking would prominent Democrats have fomented Biden’s downfall and risked this? My answer is as appalling as you might expect. THEY are complicit in all the enabling of Israel that the U.S. has done since the beginning. And the current crop has direct responsibility for NOT deciding it was time to bring Bibi to heel and making American support a lot more conditional than it has been.
I find it incredibly naive that our leaders thought someone other than Biden could, as early as during the primaries be shoved aside for someone else and that person (it would have been Harris) could change the narrative! They know damn well we only have one President at a time, and a sitting VP out there promoting a notably different approach than her boss, the SITTING President not only couldn’t be done but would be disastrous. Not just electorally here in the U.S. but diplomatically in world ‘realpolitik.’
It’s not that Joe Biden wasn’t part of a Democratic Party that, like the GOP pretty much indulged Israel all along. But there HAVE been times where a Democrat has been able to apply the right kind of pressure to hold them in line. For a little while. The situation in Gaza become Biden’s version of what Jimmy Carter endured with Iran.
That brings me to a point where we have to look hard at what’s going on. Yes, there are Republicans who are against us involving U.S. forces in any war in Iran. It’s even created a food fight with rank & file MAGAs either for or against. The problem as I see it is the calculation to risk sacrificing Biden (and Harris) and handing the WH back to Trump is he doesn’t have proverbial adults in the room this time. It was incredibly STUPID for any Democratic leader like Pelosi or Schumer to think there would be.
Perhaps they thought/think we will only have to use Air Power. That’s delusional thinking. There’s an old saying and not just amongst those of us who have been infantry in the Army or Marines (I was a jarhead) that you can bomb the hell out of a place but it’s not yours until you send in ‘grunts’ to plant the flag. Perhaps they thought of the wrong example, with our air support after the breakup of Yugoslavia. However it was small area and plenty of other nation’s ground troops were there to tend to the fight on the ground. Iraq is the better example. We dropped plenty of bombs at times and helped others do so but Saddam and his regime weren’t deposed until we sent in a large ground force.
Trump will listen to the voices in his head and ONLY allow people around who agree with what those voices have convinced him of the “right” course of action. When even Hegseth is banished from the inner circle you know Susie Wiles is the only non-batshit-insane person with access to Trump these days. Maybe she can arrange just enough sane GOPers access to tamp down where we fear Trump wants to go. To let Bibi lead him by the nose into a direct war with Iran. Cross your fingers, pray or at least hope Wiles can temper the influence of the ‘Let’s finally take over Iran crazies.
If you thought Iraq was bad you ain’t seen nothing yet. Iran is a far larger country and believe it or not with a savvier and better educated population. Most don’t care for the ruling regime any more than Iraqis were ok with Saddam. However, the lesson of Iraq is that people in such countries will spend a week saying ‘Thanks”, and after that “Now get the f**k out and we’ll take if from here.” And if we don’t, it will be a repeat of all those awful, expensive in money and blood years we got with Iraq.
For me, it’s easy to see why instead of quietly trying to admit the shame I hope they feel (and they probably do) at what they did to Biden many Democrats are continuing to pile on as the magnitude of the cost of a second Trump Presidency comes into focus. Again, if you can go to the video and listen to the portion where Crockett defends supporting Biden then and still does. If we wind up fighting a war in Iran history won’t look kindly on the Democratic Party for tossing Biden aside and paving the way for it to happen. So they are all-in on trying to heap ALL the blame on him, and to an extent Harris.
It’s CYA time with our longest serving Democratic leaders. They hope like hell to escape the spotlight history will shine on them for enabling a second Trump Presidency, especially if we go to war with Iran. THAT is why they are doubling and tripling down on the outright trashing of Biden. Journalists will wind up being assigned a large share of blame too.
It’s time for them to step aside themselves. We have younger and stronger voices that can take over and fight back in a way the GOP assumes we won’t because we’ve not done so before. To paraphrase Crockett not get punched in the face and say thank you, but punch back! As Crockett says tell the story of all President Biden accomplished. What she didn’t say but I hope she (and brave ones like her will too) is that whenever they are being interviewed, especially on camera Democrats need to be asking as many questions and pointing things out as the journalists. And recording it themselves in case the journalists edit it out. Point out TRUMP’S stumbling and leg dragging, the leaning, having to hold himself up using a podium. His idiotic word salad ramblings, and the difference between what he claims and actual reality!
So speak up to elected Democrats! Make it clear we are fed up with Democrats taking punches and not hitting back. WE have truth and facts on our side. And now Trumpty is telling MAGA to blow off Fox, his most effective media platform. We don’t need to kick down the door anymore. The GOP isn’t just leaving it unlocked, they are leaving it open. So let’s shove aside the old guard that has played WAY too much ‘prevent defense’ and enable a new set of leaders who will take the fight to Trump and the GOP. I say a good start would be calling those old-guard leaders out for what they did to Biden if Trump gets us into a war with Iran. From where I sit the blood will be on their hands as much as it is Trump’s.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Dennis. And I also couldn’t agree with Jasmine more.