Monday Snark

Image courtesy of Politico, believe it or not.

Moral Exhaustion

Sp!ked's Brendan O'Neill reacts to the Biden presidential pardon of son Hunter, covering any violation of Federal law occurring during the last 10 years. O'Neill is not amused.

This is what happens when an elite becomes ever more estranged from the people: it starts to rule by itself and for itself. Rarely has the moral exhaustion of a government been on such frank and grim display.

Reflections

Close to a month later, some reflections on the election result. These have had time to "brew" and, I hope, mellow somewhat. 

• The losing Democrats were sent a clear message. It was like: "Your platform, delivered by a weak candidate who was unvetted by a primary season, was rejected by a clear majority of voters. This happened in spite of the fact that your opponent was controversial person who many disliked, including some who voted for him."

• Donald J. Trump is a skilled utilizer of the public media, perhaps one of the most talented political figures of this time. Which does not make him universally popular, far from it. Trump is able to pull off political stunts - whether with a McDonalds or a garbage truck - that would look silly or demeaning if done by most politicians. 

• Even among those who dislike him Trump manages to become an obsession who dominates their thoughts. He is the subject of nearly every news cycle, even when it makes him look bad. Historians will label the 12 year period - 2016-2028 - as the "Trump Era." Joe Biden will be little more than a footnote.

• Trump began influencing US policy two months before his inauguration. His tariff threats have gotten the attention of Mexico and Canada, and perhaps of China. Fear of what he might do has already influenced the actions of Iran.

• Trump's cabinet and ambassadorial picks have been controversial, and designed to shatter the smug complacency of the administrative state. I'll predict that an above-average number of civil servants will file retirement papers in the next quarter or two. He would be well-advised to not rush into back-filling those vacancies.

Good to Be King

We've been waiting for this shoe to drop. ABC News reports this evening President Biden pardoned his son Hunter for, one supposes, any and all Federal crimes. 

Biden and his spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre had both repeatedly promised that no pardon would be forthcoming. Those promises were worth no more than his vow to "bring us together." 

Hardly anyone believed those promises and, once he decided not to run, the pardon was very nearly a sure thing. Now it has occurred. It is good to be the king, or the king's son (hat tip to Mel Brooks).

It is one of the last tacky acts of the failed Biden presidency.

No Coincidence

Writing at Power Line, Steve Hayward makes the point that increasing numbers of Democrats are admitting the US immigration system is broken and in dire need of repair. No sh*t, Sherlock, that's some fine sleuthing on their part. (sarcasm alert) 

I can't help noticing that this epiphany occurs more or less simultaneously with the discovery that large numbers of Hispanics and other recent immigrants voted for Republicans. 

To the extent Democrats improved their standing with any demographic group, that group would be college graduate white women. Almost no illegal immigrants are college graduate white women.

That nails it. Democrats aren't monopolizing immigrants' votes, therefore it's time to stop illegal immigration. Is it any wonder a majority of Americans wouldn't vote for these repulsive loser Democrats?

Middle East Mess

A foreign policy expert named David Wurmser writes about the various players in the Middle East and how the dominos are beginning to fall. He sees Iran as faltering, Turkey as rising, the Russians as protectors of the orthodox Christians of the region, the Chinese as keeping their options open, Qatar behind some moves, and the future of Syria very much in doubt and at play.

The mess he describes could fall out in many different ways, depending on how quickly the Iranian mess resolves and how nimbly the Erdogan regime in Turkey and Putin’s Russia play their hands. Complicating everything is the conflict between Shia and Sunni Muslims which turns places like Syria and Lebanon into three dimensional chess matches. 

Though he doesn’t focus on Israel, it hunkers down in the midst of all this mess like a porcupine, willing and demonstrably able to badly hurt whoever comes their way. It is a region with too many players violently jostling for elbow room.

The whole thing makes my head hurt. Wurmser’s column is not for the faint of heart.