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Day 114: COVID-19 Bill Kristol’s Fevered Dream
One of the most fearful aspects of COVID-19 is whether it could really deliver the presidency into the hands of Nancy Pelosi. This isn’t as farfetched as I truly wish it to be; both the President and the Vice President at ages 73 and 60 respectively are in an age range at higher risk. Both men’s vitality is evident so even if infected would not in and of itself trigger Bill Kristol’s fantasy. And this is just Kristol’s latest ploy. Earlier he was fantasizing about the 25th Amendment removal of Trump:
But Mike Pence has been stubbornly loyal, so now it is up to COVID-19 to make Bill Kristol’s dreams come true. No, an infection is insufficient, it has to be a full-blown case that renders both Trump and Pence truly done. Maybe that is why Nancy is carefully keeping herself outside of Washington. She can only dream her dark dreams from her redoubt in Napa. At 80 she is significantly more at risk of a very bad case of COVID-19 should she become infected.
But let’s step back and examine another route to the presidency for Nancy. Well, not the one who holds one hand and places the other on the Bible and takes the President’s oath, but the power behind the throne. Does anyone think that Biden will be doing anything should he succeed in taking up residence in the White House. I don’t, and I think 99.9% of Democrats don’t either. Do they take comfort that it would be Nancy pulling the strings? (I am assuming that if Biden wins the Presidency, the Democrats will hold the House.)
You say, what about Chuck Schumer? Has anyone else noticed that Nancy, not Chuck, is managing the Democratic caucus in the Senate? And even if the Democrats took over the Senate, Chuck will still be walking 5 paces behind Nancy. So in the Biden-Pelosi-Schumer trinity, Nancy rules supreme.
But what about that strong woman (of color?) that Biden has promised to pick as his VP? Won’t she have something to say about Nancy ruling the roost? After all, isn’t that gender-appropriate VP nominee the Democrat “insurance policy” for the November election lest voters worry about dottering Joe? Well, pretty much all the high profile women not named Michelle have already crashed and burned. Some of them have already lost to Joe meaning they have tested public acceptance and have been found wanting. Does Nancy even care who the Vice President is, if it isn’t Michelle? I don’t think so. She feels quite secure that she can manage anything she deigns important whatever Democrat sits in the Oval Office, so long as her name isn’t Michelle.
But what if Andrew Cuomo or some other Democrat governor becomes the presidential nominee after Sleepy Joe is pushed persuaded to step aside? That could be a problem for Nancy, and one of the reasons that I think Nancy will do everything to ensure that Joe stays on the ticket. Because it is her ticket if the COVID-19 crisis works out the way Nancy wants it to; not with Trump and Pence sidelined, but that the Democrats can depress the economy to get their 270 electoral votes.
That seems all right with Bill Kristol, even though he would prefer Nancy to accede to the presidency at an earlier date.
But Bill should remember that the dystopian future that he would abet, may not be kind to him. Becoming a made man in Nancy’s kingdom can be fraught with danger:
[Note: Links to all my COVID-19 posts can be found here.]
Published in General
Bill Kristol is a disgrace.
Does Ricochet still host this Democrat’s podcast? If so, why?
Bill is always fantasizing. He lives in a dream world, and always has. I remember one election season where, in the space of two conventions, he is opining/fantasizing that he’d be more satisfied if the ticket were reversed – that the VP should be on top of the ticket and the Presidential hopeful should be the VP. Then at the next convention ( I forget which, but it doesn’t matter) he said the same thing almost verbatim about the opposing ticket.
Of course, this is meaningless naval-gazing, but that’s what he does.
Worthless. I’m happy he’s “helping” Biden.
I can’t keep up with all the possible machinations. I guess I’m just not crazy or evil enough. I am worried about November; people who like Trump need to note that the Dems will do everything they can to criticize anything Trump does, even if it works. And there are so many uncertainties about COVID-19, there are sure to be missteps. But they will blow them up into disasters. I am not resting easy.
In the real world, we have a appointed VP and we have Nikki Haley as first female president for 2.1 terms and the Haley/Hawley duo go super-MAGA. The only question is if the DNC will part of the RICO prosecutions against Hillary+Comey+Fusion.
There are many Progressives who see Biden as a neo-liberal, uniparty candidate, and the Ahoy Project’s support of Biden gives them even more evidence that suspicion is accurate. So they are likely alienating many more voters than they can bring. If they really try to push for a neo-con alliance, they will drive up Trumps votes. Progs, instead of voting third party or staying home, they might pull the lever for Trump. So bring it on!
Will Biden try to reach across the aisle for Republicans in his cabinet trying to get those votes? Remember how McCain toyed with the idea of Lieberman for VP?
Nice title.
I heard today from Kimberly Strassel on a podcast that even if the presidency changes hands, the investigations would continue, since they do not involve the president or vice-president.
It’s not as though Nancy is a spring chicken. And considering all the scummy people she hangs out with . . .
And, it appears, nuts.
@rodin , someday, do a post on the status of treatments for the Wuhan Frankenvirus. The USA has had 1.4M cases and 3 months of time. Surely we know which treatments work and just how to use them by now. Conversely, we should know which treatments do not work.
Rodin,
This single tweet from Kristol has convinced me that Bill should be institutionalized immediately. To happily fantasize that the vampiress Pelosi should have her coffin moved into the basement of the White House is a sign that you are completely divorced from reality.
This is no longer Trump Derangement Syndrome but Trump Derangement Psychosis.
Regards,
Jim
Alternate position: Bill Kristol accidentally run over with Abrams tank.
Trump haters have destroyed their credibility with most people. Almost everything they know about Trump is false, made up of the reverberations of their echo chamber and based in part on their ability to read Trump’s mind, which they really can’t do. If Trump does the right thing they fall back on a number of fictions: he did it for the wrong reason, he was forced to do it, it wasn’t his idea, it was dumb luck, and so on.
The good thing is, Bill Kristol has made a CAREER of being wrong.
And after 80-year-old Pelosi comes Chuck Grassley, Mike Pompeo, etc.
Yes, why?
No. But we know where he does reach.
C’mon Susan, c’mon. You’re more than three years old. If the presidency changes parties, everyone involved in investigating the left will be fired on inauguration day.
Loyalty. Something I admire while I know that it is not a virtue in it’s extreme form.
He has interesting guests on his podcast 3 or 4 times a year
Loyalty? Bill Kristol? What?
As soon as Trump stepped down, the first thing Pence would do is appoint a Veep. That person would take over if Pence stepped down. That Veep would then pick a Veep, and the chain would continue indefinitely.
But neither Trump nor Pence has to if they’re not sick. You can be isolated but still conduct the duties of your office. I think Kristol has been smoking some of that magic weed . . .
Oh, yeah?! Well take that– ! 😜
I’m not at all a fan of the bullwark, but he does appear to be joking in that tweet.
“I want Nancy Pelosi to be president.”
“I am a principled conservative.”
This, class, is an example of two mutually exclusive statements.
No Bill.
I wholly disagree with Bill Kristol on this.
If Trump had COVID-19, that does not inherently mean that he cannot govern, just as President Eisenhower was able to govern after heart attacks and President Reagan was able to govern after he was shot. Even if President Trump temporarily relinquishes the powers of his office as President Reagan did when he went under anesthesia, he regained his powers after the surgery.
I do not support Trump, which is well known. But this tweet is not helpful at all.
Because Bill Kristol’s podcast is very well done and is part of the very large big tent of conservatism. You are free to not listen to Bill Kristol’s podcast.
Ricochet is a Center-Right website; it is not a Trump website.
Bill Kristol declared himself a Democrat.
May I remind you of your efforts to make sure Nancy became Speaker of the House again?