Republicans’ top objective through January is clear: Hold the Senate and stop the steal from repeating itself in two Georgia runoff elections.
But an unlikely No. 2 goal may soon emerge: Project Joe Biden.
That priority demands attention if for no other reason than the fact that Democrats are, themselves, inordinately intrigued by the notion that their septuagenarian leader—who turned 78 on Nov. 20—could meet with some untimely mishap.
Already, since the Nov. 3 election, Biden managed to fracture his foot tripping on a rug after pulling on a dog’s tail while in the shower.
That was, perhaps, the most serious bathroom-related injury to befall a Democrat since then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, was assaulted by Mafia injured his retina while using an elastic workout band. (It also was likely the worst thing to happen in Biden’s shower since… well, nevermind.)
Only four days after the election—when votes were still being counted in several states—Quartz climate reporter Tim McDonnell broached the subject of succession for a pre-inauguration president-in-waiting.
“It may seem morbid, but given that Biden, at 77, will be the oldest president-elect in history and is running in the midst of a pandemic, it’s worth clarifying what would happen if he dies before taking office,” McDonnell wrote.
Thankfully, with the Electoral College decision in hindsight, the Democratic National Committee is no longer at liberty to pick whomever it wants as his replacement.
“The balance of scholarly opinion holds that the President-and Vice President-elect are chosen once the electoral votes are cast,” noted the Congressional Research Service in a document compiled in October for members and committees of Congress.
CRS held that the 25th Amendment, dictating the order of succession, took effect following the electors’ meeting on Monday.
“Although the amendment does not specifically address the issues of disability, disqualification, or resignation during this period, its language, ‘failure to qualify,’ could arguably be interpreted to cover such contingencies,” said the report.
That may explain the decision by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to congratulate Biden the day after the Dec. 14 meeting, even as some Trump-backers quixotically shifted their focus to the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress where members may yet raise objections.
The shrewd and politically savvy McConnell may be onto something, however.
Either way, the waning set of options for reversing the outcome under the democratic rules of engagement would involve contesting rather than denying the results.
Moreover, moving forward under the assumption of a Biden presidency—as President Donald Trump himself seems to be doing—can help prevent even greater catastrophe from striking, courtesy of the ever-scheming Left.
That includes safeguarding against the blatant bait-and-switch that many Democrats have envisioned ever since resurrecting Biden from the political graveyard on Super Tuesday.
It’s a commonly held, albeit unspoken, precept that presidents often choose a running mate who will act as an insurance policy against all manner of subversive plots.
Candidate Barack Obama certainly factored this into the equation when choosing Biden—who had made an early exit from the 2008 primaries after uttering a racist gaffe about Obama himself.
While the selection of California Sen. Kamala Harris may keep Biden safe from Republican malfeasance, it will not help him from the greater danger within his own party—none of whom seem overly enthused by their pick.
Take, for example, the decision by liberal Time magazine to continue its custom of naming the newly “elected” president as its Person of the Year—but this time including Harris on the cover, as well.
Then there was Biden’s own admission that if he disagreed with his second-in-command, he would “develop some disease and say I have to resign.”
Joe Biden is asked about his disagreements with Kamala Harris on certain issues:
“Like I told Barack, if I reach something where there’s a fundamental disagreement we have based on a moral principle, I’ll develop some disease and say I have to resign.” pic.twitter.com/SLcvrwaPCA
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) December 4, 2020
By now, conservatives should know better than to dismiss these deep-state dog-whistles as random happenstance or coincidence.
There is nothing too outrageous, unethical, unconstitutional or diabolical for the now-emboldened Left to undertake, given that it has seen its vote-fraud bluff called and still prevailed in the corrupted court system.
Yet, beholden though he may be to radicals, special interests and Chinese communists, the illegitimate president-elect* is still somewhat containable.
Biden’s disastrous administration stands little chance of building on Democrats’ base, let alone unifying the country—and Democrats are as keenly aware as anyone of the political liability he poses if he reaches the 2022 midterm election.
In contrast, by shining sunlight on the corruption, exposing the brazen dishonesty and then sacrificing his seat of power, Trump could lead Republicans to their strongest, most focused and unified upper-hand in decades.
That is, unless Democrats are able, yet again, to eliminate the evidence.
Follow Ben Sellers on Parler at parler.com/profile/Sellers.
