Neoliberalism
Democratic (neoliberal) Party
Joe Biden
Fig. 1. Joe Biden and Pope Francis, unknown photographer, April 29, 2016, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
For a full week, the president sequestered himself at Camp David with more than a dozen aides to prepare for Thursday’s presidential debate with former president Donald Trump. He rehearsed answers, met with policy aides and participated in mock debates, with his personal lawyer, Bob Bauer, playing the part of Trump.
Every topic he was asked about Thursday, he had practiced answers for — including the final one about his age.So aides were bewildered by his performance. Many felt they had never seen him collapse so dramatically. After all, Biden was a veteran of numerous debates — as a senator, vice-presidential nominee and presidential candidate. And they did not understand why he gave an entirely different answer on the age question than the one they spent more than a week perfecting.
The president did not just stumble over words. He appeared to lose his focus and often was unable to finish sentences. His voice was raspy and thin, and when the debate concluded, first lady Jill Biden appeared to help her husband down the stairs.[1]
The raspy voice, by the way, was gone the next day.[2]
It turns out that Joe Biden’s problems at the debate[3] are absolutely nothing new. His aides have been shielding him so no one could know the extent of his deterioration.[4] But that’s not all:
The openness of some Black men to voting for [Donald] Trump — despite his history of racist and offensive comments — is often rooted in the belief that the Biden administration has not done enough to ease their economic struggles. A defection by a significant number of them could be disastrous for [Joe] Biden’s campaign. . . .
Andra Gillespie, a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta, said there is no evidence yet that a significant realignment of Black voters is taking place, calling polling data “noisy” with “lots of fluctuations.” But she said she will not be surprised if more Black men vote Republican this cycle, in part because of the masculine tone of Trump’s messaging, as he portrays himself as strong and powerful and mocks Biden as weak. In Gillespie’s own work, she has traced a gender gap between Black men and Black women — showing Black men to be less Democratic in their voting patterns — going back to 1972. The one year that was the exception: 2008, when Barack Obama ran to become the first Black president.[5]
There’s just way too much going entirely the other way. If the war criminal (Biden) really stays in the race—it’s getting harder and harder for me to imagine he will—the fascist (Donald Trump) will win and if you have the opportunity to leave the country, you should. Because this will be at least as bad as so many fear.
Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade, and Ryan Lizza, “Team Biden tries to quell Dem panic,” Politico, June 30, 2024, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2024/06/30/team-biden-tries-to-quell-dem-panic-00165945
Tyler Pager, “Biden aides plotted debate strategy for months. Then it all collapsed,” Washington Post, June 30, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/30/how-biden-debate-prep-led-to-damaging-event/
Maeve Reston, “Black men helped power Biden’s 2020 Georgia win. Some are wavering,” Washington Post, June 30, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/30/black-voters-georgia-election-biden-trump/
Alex Thompson, “Top aides shielded Biden from staff, but couldn’t hide the debate,” Axios, June 30, 2024, https://www.axios.com/2024/06/30/top-aides-shielded-biden-white-house-debate
Illiberalism
Fig. 2. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.
[Emmanuel Macron] called the snap vote, after a disastrous defeat at the hands of the far right in June’s European election, with one aim in mind: to halt France’s lurch to the extremes in its tracks. He achieved the opposite.[6]
Not so long ago, I wrote of the “mandate of heaven” that
When a ruler loses that mandate, they’re doomed. Nothing can put it to right and the question is only how long before someone else takes over. The language refers to Heaven, but I interpret the mandate as somewhat more terrestrial, indeed human—and the loss of that mandate looks a lot like what’s happened to the Tories: They’ve gotten too accustomed to the levers of power. They have lost perspective. They have lost touch with their electorate. They make stupid mistakes because their groupthink is toxic. They trip over themselves trying even to think straight.[7]
We’re seeing it in France and, somewhat similarly, in the United States—with the entire political system—as well.
Even if the Democrats replace Joe Biden as their candidate, I very much fear the battle is lost. An incredibly hateful right-wing tide still rises; it cannot be resisted.
It’s always, always, always the same, every single goddamned time: It happens as neoliberals across North America and Europe consistently usurp progressivism, leaving progressives no choice but to vote for neoliberals, who consistently reject any move to ameliorate poverty and many other forms of inequality, supposedly to avoid antagonizing the right and absolutely refusing to address the fact that economic anxiety and insecurity lies behind much of the right’s rise. Neoliberals evince progressive values even as they enact right-wing policies. Progressives keep falling for it. Which means that the only prospect for change is with the right. And so the right keeps winning.
This is corruption of a form. It is a corruption that destroys social orders. Or, at least, it has in the past. It might not expressly be the civil war that Emmanuel Macron warns of, but it appears in increasing polarization, which leads to increasing ungovernability that we see at least in France,[8] Britain, and the United States.
Clea Caulcutt, “Macron is already over. Can anyone stop Le Pen?” Politico, July 1, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/france-legislative-election-emmanuel-macron-marine-le-pen-europe-national-rally/
Angelique Chrisafis, “Far-right National Rally in reach of being dominant French party after election first round,” Guardian, July 1, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/30/far-right-national-rally-in-reach-of-being-dominant-french-party-after-election-first-round
Gilead
Donald Trump
Coup attempt
Fig. 3. Donald Trump still has his fans. Photograph along Washington Road in Upper Saint Clair, Pennsylvania, by author, April 28, 2024.
The Supreme Court bounced the immunity case back to the district court, saying it must determine which of Donald Trump’s acts can be considered “official” and which cannot. Trump enjoys “absolute” immunity for official acts—yes, this would seem to include war crimes and genocide, let alone murdering political rivals—and no immunity for unofficial acts.[9] It’s the worst case for the prosecution: The district court’s findings can, of course, be appealed, surely delaying a conclusion to the case well past the election, after which it now appears likely Donald Trump will be able to have the Department of Justice drop all federal charges.
John Fritze, “Supreme Court rules Trump has limited immunity in January 6 case, jeopardizing trial before election,” Cable News Network, July 1, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/01/politics/supreme-court-donald-trump-immunity
My mother and I were talking about California Indians and casinos not so long ago and, while I don’t think I’d frame the issue quite this way, I hope she enjoys it:
Fig. 4. Comic by Dan Piraro, 2015, fair use.
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh
Fig. 5. The confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, with the “Golden Triangle” and downtown Pittsburgh. Photograph by author, October 15, 2023.
It’s name and shame time because I am so far beyond fed up with Pittsburgh assholes. You see how far out this jackass is from the pump (figure 6)? You couldn’t even get to the pump on the right because you’d be driving within inches of his car. (That’s my rental car on the right; I should get my own car back today—and I can’t wait.)
Fig. 6. Photograph by author, June 30, 2024.
It’s just an asshole thing to do. And this is so typical of Pittsburgh toxic masculinity.
- [1]Tyler Pager, “Biden aides plotted debate strategy for months. Then it all collapsed,” Washington Post, June 30, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/30/how-biden-debate-prep-led-to-damaging-event/↩
- [2]Tyler Pager, “Biden aides plotted debate strategy for months. Then it all collapsed,” Washington Post, June 30, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/30/how-biden-debate-prep-led-to-damaging-event/↩
- [3]Aaron Blake, “5 takeaways from the first Trump-Biden 2024 debate,” Washington Post, June 27, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/27/presidential-debate-takeaways/; Tyler Pager, “Biden aides plotted debate strategy for months. Then it all collapsed,” Washington Post, June 30, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/30/how-biden-debate-prep-led-to-damaging-event/↩
- [4]Alex Thompson, “Top aides shielded Biden from staff, but couldn’t hide the debate,” Axios, June 30, 2024, https://www.axios.com/2024/06/30/top-aides-shielded-biden-white-house-debate↩
- [5]Maeve Reston, “Black men helped power Biden’s 2020 Georgia win. Some are wavering,” Washington Post, June 30, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/30/black-voters-georgia-election-biden-trump/↩
- [6]Clea Caulcutt, “Macron is already over. Can anyone stop Le Pen?” Politico, July 1, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/france-legislative-election-emmanuel-macron-marine-le-pen-europe-national-rally/↩
- [7]David Benfell, “To the rather limited extent that justice is a popularity contest, can we just say that Israel is losing?” Irregular Bullshit, June 8, 2024, https://disunitedstates.com/2024/06/08/to-the-rather-limited-extent-that-justice-is-a-popularity-contest-can-we-just-say-that-israel-is-losing/↩
- [8]Angelique Chrisafis, “Far-right National Rally in reach of being dominant French party after election first round,” Guardian, July 1, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/30/far-right-national-rally-in-reach-of-being-dominant-french-party-after-election-first-round↩
- [9]John Fritze, “Supreme Court rules Trump has limited immunity in January 6 case, jeopardizing trial before election,” Cable News Network, July 1, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/01/politics/supreme-court-donald-trump-immunity↩