So far, the House Republicans have nothing beyond somebody talking to someone in the FBI in 2020, saying Joe Biden took bribes; report dated while Trump remained President. Rudy in Ukraine is nobody's secret, and if he had found anything real, a provable money trail, anything substantial, would it have remained kept under a hat and undisclosed until now? DC being DC? Trump wanting dirt before the election he lost, not for years later.
So, without mentioning a single "Hunter laptop" word, a fellow named Coolican, a senior editor at MinnReformer, days ago wrote:
I spoke to someone in Phillips’ orbit who is familiar with his thinking, and this person likened the current moment to the 2016 election cycle, when Democrats were told to get on board with Hillary Clinton, who was a sort of quasi-incumbent.
“She was a historically unpopular nominee and there wasn’t much conversation about whether it would work out. Lo and behold, it didn’t work out,” said the source.
The party establishment assured everyone that America would not elect a game show host who bragged about sexual assault. But Clinton did not excite enough voters and was weak with key voter segments in the Midwest, and the rest is history.
Biden is especially weak with an increasingly important set of voters for Democrats: Young Americans. First Millennials and now Gen Z have buoyed Democrats in the face of losses among non-college white people and older voters. But a Biden candidacy is shaping up poorly with this demographic, the New York Times recently reported, citing its own recent poll:
“Just 1% of 18-to-29-year-olds strongly approve of the way Mr. Biden is handling his job. And 94% of Democrats under 30 said they wanted another candidate to run two years from now.”
The elephant in the room — or donkey, as it were — is Biden’s age. Biden will be 82 if he’s reelected.
Anonymous source. Quite convincing? Who to? "In Phillips' orbit" means not an independent objective observer. Getting past that, the nutshell of the Coolican man's argument is Biden is Hillary, and besides that he's old.
That the Dems have been disdainful of anything approaching decent attention to the future of the nation, the young, is not Biden's fault. Look to Pelosi, Hoyer, and Clyburn, and Schumer , for the seat of that fault, with Jeffries no answer to such negligence. That the feeling of disdain is reciprocated is no surprise either.
A 54 year old middle road suburban CD3 conservative is not an answer to fueling the party's future via embracing the young. Aside from that, the Hillary analogy needs vetting.
The Clintons became multi-millionaires via being career politicians, as has Biden, waterfront home and all.
But Clinton provably took 3/4 of a million bucks for three speeches to Goldman Sachs saying nobody knows better than Wall Street how to police Wall Street. Not money to any campaign. Into the Clintons personal wealth, no doubt on that.
THAT SHOWED ME THE MONEY. After that, party ticket down ballot was still there, but how could any honest person overlook the Goldman Sachs money? Having our noses rubbed in it. Disdainfully so, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and company.
It appears from reporting that Dean Phillips is now moving from naked ageism to the real nitty-gritty:
If any of this Hunter Biden shit sticks to Joe the party is in trouble.
So? That is the serious worry, whereas the ageism hand wringing before the 2022 mid-term was tied to much keening about some kind of red wave that failed to happen. Old Joe did not sink a thing.
That Biden's age did not hurt the party in the mid-terms is, thus, a provable fact.
That Ms. Clinton took Goldman Sachs money in big chunks was a provable fact.
That Hunter Biden is a big-time asshole seems a provable undeniable fact. But he's not Joe.
Blaming Joe for Hunter would be like blaming Hillary for Bill's flying on the Lolita Express. Kind of. If not exactly.
That Phillips is standing on shifting sands, and he is getting to the real worry, now but not earlier, seems clear from Breitbart's reporting of Phillips on a CNN talk show.
And get the phrasing:
Phillips said, “I love Joe Biden. I think he’s a man of decency, of competency, his record [is] extraordinary. … Just imagine, Jake, the energy behind a next generation on the Democratic primary stage, perhaps a woman at the top of the ticket in a year in which reproductive rights are going to be front and center, other than the former president being under indictment and now the son of the President we have right now being subject to a special counsel. It’s a sad day for America, I want to start with that. I do not think the President is corrupt — I want to make that really clear — but we are duty-bound to investigate, to ensure the facts come out, and the fact is, we don’t know where this goes, and I think it’s too much risk for Democrats to take this chance without a backup plan. Because what we have right now in reserve is awfully consequential and, frankly, frightening.”
He added, “I really cannot imagine that this reaches the President. I think it’s fairly clear that Hunter Biden, a former addict — this is unsavory, probably unethical, and possibly illegal, some of what he did, we will find out. I don’t think it touches the President. But we all know what kind of an era we live in, it’s not what’s real, it’s how people feel.”
How I feel is that Phillips is bullshitting us big time. If he cannot imagine such and such, why go on a talk show and talk of it. Oh, yeah, he can imagine it. Got it.
How much more fucking obsequiously insincere can you look to show yourself to be, than that preambled fudge?
It offends by its cloying amateurish style. Simply say, "I don't know if Biden is a bribe taker, but if he is he should not be reelected, and it is a pending question that suggests a back-up Plan B might be wise." That is saying it direct, no "I love and trust" preamble bullshit before knifing Caesar in the back.
BOTTOM LINE: They showed me the money Hillary Clinton took and I did not vote for her. It was nobody's fault down ticket so I voted accordingly down ticket. Nobody has similarly shown Biden taking anything. Rudy spent time and effort for Trump in Ukraine. So, where's Rudy's firm evidence? None shown, so far. Trump strongly wanted it then, not later, and Rudy came up empty. House Republicans can massage that as long as they like, but Rudy came up empty. If House Republicans end up showing the money, the story clearly is different. If they had anything real, presumably in the flow of things they'd have shown it before November 2020.
End of story.
___________UPDATE__________
Yes, the Republicans could be sitting on an October surprise. If so, the Phillips idea would be too late - he's talking primary, not general election.
Yes, Pompeo has not declared himself a candidate yet and that is a mystery. If he wants traction he'd have to move soon.
Yes, nobody has a crystal ball that can divine the future and eliminate worry.
What's probable? Likely? Hand Phillips a Tarot deck, it would make no difference.
Party regulars are saying, "Dean why in the world are you rocking this boat? What have you to gain by it?"
Is that a surprise? Something somehow not expected?
And what has Dean Phillips to gain by it?
That question intrigues thinking.