Staff Reports
Mark Twain once mused that history might not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme. Fast forward to the present day, where Democratic power players are busy trying to orchestrate a grand scheme to keep their grip on power. The conundrum? They need to sideline their not-so-coherent president or their not-so-brilliant vice president without upsetting their most loyal voter base.
It’s pretty clear that there are some very influential Democrats working behind the scenes to find a way to ease Joe Biden out of the picture. After Biden’s embarrassing misstep at the Group of Seven conference in Italy, where Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had to literally guide him back to the group, it seems they might finally have reached their breaking point.
But the challenge isn’t just shoving Biden aside; it’s doing so without elevating Kamala Harris. The Democrats are walking a fine line, trying to figure out how to ditch the duel dilemmas without alienating their key constituencies. As history has shown, when Democrats set their minds to something, no tactic is too shady to consider.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane to see how Democrats might pull off such a political Houdini act. Remember Richard Nixon and his handpicked running mate, Spiro Agnew? Agnew was Nixon’s attack dog against the press, drawing fire from all sides but securing another term for Nixon in 1972. Then came Agnew’s downfall: a tax evasion charge that cost him the vice presidency. Nixon, facing his own scandals, plucked House Minority Leader Gerald Ford out of relative obscurity to fill the vacancy through the newly ratified 25th Amendment.
Western Journal: Gen. Flynn Warning: Before Nov., Dems Can Stick Us with Unelected POTUS/VP – Technically Legal, Extremely Troubling https://t.co/BJyjLyYN16
— Ian Hansen 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@IanHansenFeed) June 20, 2024
Ford was swiftly confirmed and later took over the Oval Office when Nixon resigned. Ford, in turn, made the unusual move of nominating Nelson Rockefeller as his vice president. Presto change-o, America suddenly had an unelected president and vice president steering the ship—a remarkable feat pulled off with little more than behind-the-doors strategizing.
Leaping back to the present, some pundits have floated the idea that Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor might step down. Her age and health issues make her a prime candidate for a retirement nudge. This move would give Biden a chance to nominate a new justice, avoiding the risk of another Ginsburg-like hang-on incident. Enter Kamala Harris, who frequently criticizes the Supreme Court and might find a lifetime appointment more appealing than her current role. Voilà, she’s conveniently moved out of the way.
The next step would be Biden invoking the 25th Amendment to appoint a new vice president. Could it be Hillary Clinton? Maybe. Plenty of Democrat luminaries would vie for that spot. Once confirmed, it wouldn’t take much for Biden to declare a sudden decline in health and step down, leaving the newly-appointed vice president to ascend to the presidency.
Imagine then a president Hillary Clinton selecting a vice president like California Governor Gavin Newsom. Just like in the 70s, Democrats could find themselves with an unelected duo running the country.
History shows us this is not just possible but plausible. Look at how Ford and Rockefeller fared post-Nixon and Agnew. The voters didn’t forget the manipulation and ousted them in favor of Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. If Democrats pull a similar stunt now, it might backfire just as spectacularly.
Will the Democrats resort to shuffling their deck before the general election? Who knows? But for those saying it couldn’t happen, past behavior certainly suggests otherwise.
