Saturday, March 02, 2024

2024: Does Anyone Want To Be President?

Assuming Trump isn't the GOP nominee for some reason, who is there for the Republicans? Nikki Haley? She's lost six races in a row, including her home state of South Carolina. She even lost to "None of These Candidates" in the Nevada Republican primary, and Trump isn't actually out campaigning.

How can anyone take her seriously? Nevertheless, Haley's is the only active candidate on the Republican side. It looks as if the entire Republican Party has decided to capitulate the 2024 presidential election, which has never happened before.

So, what if Trump is removed from the ballot, has the GOP blown the next four year?  After all, there are some 91 felonies charges pending against "The Donald" and they need only one to stick. to disqualify him from office. I can't imagine this is the Republican Party's grand strategy, and it isn't any better on the Democratic Party's side.

The Democratic power brokers see the same polls we do (and few that we don't). They know Biden has no realistic shot at winning in a general election. His approval rating is just 38%, but then it's never been strong. So, who's there to step in when---not "if"---Biden is removed from office for being mentally unfit? Kamala Harris? Hardly.

Ms. Harris's only accomplishment to date is not having accomplished anything with the possible exception of somehow managing to maintain the lowest approval rating of any VP of any party at any time.! Her current disapproval rating is 52.8%. It's almost as if the Democratic Party is intentionally throwing the 2024 presidential election to Trump which is impossible to imagine.

Then we have to look at the consequences of what potentially could happen if either of these "for display purposes only" candidates wins by default. As we saw in 2016, when Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, and thus denied her of the coronation she and her supporters felt entitled to, there were demonstrations throughout the U.S., Europe,  Latin America, and Middle East (especially among those who had donated millions to her foundation, expecting special excess). They blamed everybody (including Putin and Xi Jinping) for the defeat except for the candidate herself.

There were violent protests seemingly everywhere to the tune of $57.4 million dollars in damages.  If Trump should win in November, is there any reason why we shouldn't expect more of the same? Antifa, LGBQT groups, and BLM will be back in business and better financed than ever before.

Accusations of racism will skyrocket while claims of reverse racism could reach epidemic levels, creating an climate of unmatched racial and gender tension in this country. Censorship, especially on campus as well as on social media will seem to be everywhere. Given the depth of our national divide, can we endure even more?

Meanwhile,  President Trump will find himself playing hell at getting anything accomplished. Even Republican members will fight him at nearly every turn, sending bill after bill down in defeat. I suppose that if there's a "silver lining" to be found here, is that the Republicans and Democrats may finally have an issue to bring them together, namely shutting Trump down for the next four years.

Ultimately, pro-Trump forces ---which comprises about 64% of all conservatives---will grow so frustrated at seeing their agenda being blocked at every turn, and with continued social chaos and crime  reaching record levels, they may take to the streets to fight for "traditional American values". In the end, America may find itself staring into the abyss with the abyss staring back. 

On the other hand, what if Joe Biden somehow manages to win in November, with thanks to the corporate media and in large part to the years of political character assassination directed against Trump. Let's face it, by November Trump will be physically, mentally, and financially exhausted., and who can blame him?

To date, he's already spent over $76 million dollars  over the last two years to 60 law firms on his defense. He's raised just over $27 million for his campaign, but much of that is having to be diverted to his defense. Never before has one individual endured as much as Trump has in his quest to be president again. He might be a billionaire, but even billionaires have finite resources.

So, what if Biden manages to win? Perhaps the most obvious threat facing the U.S. in the event of a Biden victory is on the global front. A Biden win could be the green light China has been waiting for to reclaim Taiwan, not to mention enforcing its claim over fishing and territorial water disputes with Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, India, Japan, and the Philippines.

Given a weakened American military, which is currently at a ten year low in terms of recruiting having adequate supplies and proper updates of equipment, combined with a perceived weak president, could be the ideal situation for Beijing. Meanwhile, this may be the impetus which forces  these countries to unite economically and militarily in lieu of their dependence on U.S. forces.  

A Biden win in November could present Iran with an opportunity for approving a full court press on Israel through Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, and the other terrorist cockroaches organizations.  Maybe to North Korea's tinpot dictator, Kim, will use the global situation to press Seoul's defenses. I put nothing pass any of these states or their leaders.

Finally, we need to look at the big bear in the room---Russia. Putin could decide to finally end the drain on Russia's economy vis-à-vis Ukraine while daring NATO to threaten its strategic border again. I think Putin has been more than patient with NATO's saber rattling. He has also demonstrated remarkable restraint in avoiding to be drawn into a new Cold War, which is something the neocons in the West have been desperate to revive.

Nevertheless, Putin may find it necessary to temporarily circle the wagons behind "Brics" and continue to build an alternative to the global petro-dollar based economy."Brics" currently includes some strong and growing economies such as China, India, Brazil, and several of the Gulf States, as well as Russia.  Whether I'm right or not (and I hope I'm not), there won't be many golden opportunities like a second Biden term.

Meanwhile, domestically the Republicans will continue to the dominate party in Congress, though in reality the only clique of  true importance is that of Wall Street and its K Street knights errant with their bags of money and favors. Without them there is no politics in this country. So, we can expect to ended up with more of the same gridlock, petty sniping, and distractions as before.

Of course, the only joker unaccounted for are the Trump supporters, of which there a millions. If Trump losses and Biden manages a second term, there will likely be a upheaval to make January 6th look like a five year old's birthday party. There will naturally be claims of fraud, election sabotage, outside interference, and every other form of tomfoolery you can envision. You can expect mass protests and demonstrations from coast to coast. As an aside, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are currently some 200 militias operating in the US. as of 2015.

Sure, the Feds will do everything in their power---legal and otherwise---to downplay and redirect the anger coming from the Far Right over a Biden victory. How successful they'll be is hard to say. Federal agencies such as the FBI , NSA, Homeland Security think they're clever in their efforts to infiltrate, bug, and monitor these groups, but it's just as likely they'll be the ones to have the infestation especially given that most of these organizations on the Far Right are run by former members of the military, law enforcement, and intelligence communities. In short, nothing is as it seems.

Should the Left make the mistake of trying to confront these groups of the Right, it could get seriously ugly very fast. Let's hope that doesn't happen. Despite having had largely card blanche to do as it pleased in the past, the Left really has no idea of the hurt the Right can bring.

Of course, the media will do its best to villainize Trump and his  supporters as it has in the past while covering up the Left's "peaceful" demonstrations as we watched stores being looted and torched, people brutally attacked (mainly white, Hispanics, Asians, and seniors), and private property vandalized. I suspect the corporate media will get a rude awakening as to just how far their credibility has fallen.

I think there will be another factor to consider, and that's the American People themselves. Americans are overwhelmingly politically Independent. They are sick and tired of the two corporate controlled parties.  We all know the political, judicial, and economic systems don't work, at least for us. For the ruling elites, it works just fine. It's how they designed them to work. The American People want a deep and fundamental change which isn't going to happen willingly. Power is never surrendered voluntarily.

So, who do we do ivote for if Donald Trump is ineligible for some reason  and we don't want Joe Biden? Do we have any other choices aside from Nikki Haley? Well, we do. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of Robert F. Kennedy, the former senator from New York. Senator Kennedy was murdered in his 1968 bid for the Democratic Party's nomination.

 I remember that at the time (I was about 10 years old), I really liked Senator Kennedy and had high hopes he'd win. We had a mock election with all the candidates represented and I was "Bobby Kennedy". I had to articulate his various positions. before the entire 6th Grade class.  For what it's worth, I (or rather Kennedy) won! America would have been so much better off if he had. Instead, the nomination went to Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota  who lost to Richard Nixon.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running as an independent and while he's more than qualified to be President, the political duopoly has virtually made it impossible for anyone outside to the two corporate parties to get on the ballot. and the media is virtually ignoring him. Nevertheless, Kennedy has been mostly successful and poised to be a serious contender in November. However, like any outsider, he needs a lot of grassroots support.


Regardless of who you vote for or who ultimately wins in November, remember that America is at a dangerous crossroad. Once chosen, there will be no turning back. We'll be committed to whatever comes next.


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Kennedy24


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