The Republican Campaign Plan Emerges

I think we are starting to see the essential theme of the Republican campaign to retain the Presidency starting to emerge this week, and it is not really much of a surprise.  They know damned well that they are not going to appeal to anyone outside of their deranged base by trying to convince them that Trump has been a good President, so the only answer they have is to destroy the reputation of Joe Biden.  Of course, this has been a go-to strategy of Republicans since God knows when, and probably succeeded in winning the last three successful Republican Presidential campaigns.

There is a uniquely Trumpian twist to things this time around.  In a strategy that Trump is so in love with, they have determined that their only chance is to go full out in accusing Joe Biden of all of Trump's own faults, in the hope of so confusing undecided voters that they might be able to squeak out another victory.  They've already tried having women falsely accuse Biden of sexual assault, one of Trump's specialties; something that didn't work this spring, but may very likely re-emerge this fall, and we know that William Barr and his corrupt lackey John Durham are preparing a host of false criminal charges against Biden, which they intend to release or leak in October, accusing him of selling out to foreign countries exactly as Trump has done.  Today, however, I wish to focus on the fabrication of a narrative that Biden is falling into dementia, paralleling the obvious decline of Trump's mental abilities.

Just to be clear, anyone who has watched Biden speak or be interviewed knows that these charges are completely false, but Republicans are assuming (with good reason, sorry to say) that their malicious lies will receive far more attention than the truth ever will.  

The attempt to spread these stories at present seems to be centered around the claim that Biden is desperately trying to find an excuse not to debate Trump, for which there is not one shred of evidence.  Anyway, here are some excerpts from stories about this myth which I have found the last two days on right wing websites.  This is all about this one topic, so the repetition is probably a little boring, but it is an example of the coordinated attacks that are so much a part of the right wing playbook:

Brandon Morse, Red State

"I think it’s pretty clear at this point that we’re not going to see presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden debate, President Donald Trump. 

Trump is more or less undefeated in debates and Biden is more or less undefeated in embarrassing himself every time he gets in front of a camera. So far, Biden’s entire presidential campaign has resembled a “Weekend at Bernie’s” movie than an actual attempt at running for POTUS. Just a bunch of people behind a past-his-time candidate trying to make him look like he’s capable of doing things that he’s clearly not.

Trump's history of embarrassing himself every time he gets in front of a camera is pretty legendary at this point, and in truth, Hillary beat the pants off Trump in the debates, unless you don't care about the truth, which Republicans do not.  And talk about a bunch of people trying to make him looking like he is capable of what he is not- Trump is not capable of one damned thing that a real President needs to do, and we all know it. 

Biden’s handlers aren’t letting him within spitting distance of the public unless it’s somehow carefully controlled. Doing otherwise is asking for another gaffe or embarrassing moment that Republicans can point to as one more reason not to elect him, and there are already so many."

As I said, talk about embarrassing moments every time someone gets in front of a camera.  All of the above is just projecting Trump's faults onto Biden. 

Bonchie, Red State:  

"The rush is on to prevent Joe Biden from debating Donald Trump. Over the past few weeks, we’ve gotten numerous op-eds proclaiming different ways in which the former VP can avoid having to stand on a stage for two hours and appear lucid.

Is it?  I haven't seen a word about this outside of these right wing websites. 

The attempts to get Biden out of debating Trump are growing more desperate and varied...The fear among Democrats is palpable. You can sense it every time they make some weak new excuse for why Biden should be allowed to abscond from even the most basic requirements of campaigning."

There have been no attempts to get Biden out of debating Trump.  This is a total fiction.  The fear among Democrats is nonexistent, except in the accounts of these paid liars. 

Bonchie, Red State:

"Dan Bongino: Sources Say Joe Biden Is Reaching the Point of No Return, Democrats Will Have a Decision to Make...Is Joe Biden reaching the point of no return mentally? That’s the word from Dan Bongino, who shared earlier today that he’s hearing from sources close to the situation that Joe Biden is worsening and that Democrats will have a decision to make soon.

"Sources say..." "Is Joe Biden reaching the point of no return mentally?" What sources? And has he reached the mental point of no return, say, of going to Pearl Harbor as President and having to ask people why they were there and what happened there?  That is real mental deficiency.

This is a guy who can’t give a short press conference without a list of hand chosen reporters to call on and detailed notes on how to answer basic questions...There’s no question that his mind is going and that it is having a profound impact on his ability to campaign.

Pure projection.  At least he hasn't advocated taking bleach internally for Covid, or trusting a woman who claims that demons cause disease.  That is true mental deterioration.

 

Matt Vespa, Town Hall:  

"No Matter What Happens, Joe Biden Can't Slither Out of Debating Trump...This was going to happen. Forget the polls supposedly showing Joe Biden in the lead, the man's grasp on reality could not be left open to attack by President Trump on an open debate stage. That is the sure-fire way Democrats can blow this election.  If it's not flashcards, there's a teleprompter telling him exactly what to say—and he still can't do it. He's Hidin' Biden. He's been in the basement for months. Only popping out of the bunker now and then to mitigate a moment akin to being caught pissing your pants and forgetting who you are for a second.

Joe Biden is not trying to "slither out" of debating Trump.  I'll tell you what, I bet he is afraid of what Trump is going to do to turn the debates into a gigantic clown show, which he is capable of doing.  But that will not stop Biden, who has been a surprisingly effective debater.  As for the rest, if I were Matt, and I were supporting Trump, I'd be careful of jokes about hiding in a bunker. 

President Trump is quick on his feet, slew up-and-comers in the GOP primary in 2016, and took down the mighty Clinton political machine.

That's because his Republican opponents were all doing nothing but lying their asses off, and Trump was the most persistent liar of the bunch.  That is not going to work with Joe. 

Rick Moran, PJ Media:  

"Democrats Urging Biden Not to Debate Trump...Democrats are also worried about Biden’s mental stamina and his ability to remain engaged for an hour and a half during a debate."

"Democrats."  What Democrats?  More about this in a minute. 

Stephen Green, PJ Media:

"Joe Biden: Unfit to Serve by Any and Every Measure

The ultimate projection.  I don't need to explain that any further. 

Joe Biden's Veep Delay Underscores a Campaign and a Candidate in Chaos...Why Biden chose to announce that he’d announce early and then announced that his early announcement would be delayed, is unknown.

A statement made days after Trump fired his campaign manager, withdrew all his campaign advertising and announced that his campaign would soon have a whole new strategy, which, by the way, is nowhere to be seen, because there is no way to change Trump's "strategy" of lying and bullying. 

This will-he/won’t-he routine is symptomatic of a campaign — and a candidate — that has no idea what it stands for.

If Biden seems confused, maybe it isn’t dementia — or at least not only dementia. Poor Joe is just getting pulled in too many directions at once by the various factions in his party because the only thing he really seems to stand for his getting Joe Biden elected."

Another master class in projection, because what politician in all of our history has cared less about anything but being re-elected than Donald Trump? 

Haris Alic, Breitbart:

"Pressure Mounts on Joe Biden to Skip Presidential Debates...In recent weeks, a bevy of political strategists, pundits, and even allies have intensified their efforts to push the former vice president’s campaign into reneging on the three customary presidential debates. Much of the effort has played out in the public eye, spanning across the editorial pages of the nation’s leading newspapers, network television, and even social media.

"A bevy..."  What bevy?  See below for the answer. 

“I worry about Joe Biden debating Donald Trump"   The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote last month

Well, there's one:  Tom "suck on this" Friedman, a man who gets paid millions by the New York Times to never be right about anything, and who is hardly a Democrat; and then there is this guy: 

A similar sentiment was echoed on Sunday by Joe Lockhart, a noted Democrat strategist who served as press secretary for the Clinton-era White House"

"Noted Democratic strategist" Joe Lockhart, a name so lost in history that I bet hardly one person in a thousand even remembers who he is.  And here I want to mention that a number of these stories mentioned the very same Joe Lockhart, who is apparently the only Democrat on earth they could find that would support their claims. 

John Nolte, Breitbart:  

"While Donald Trump Leads, Joe Biden Panders

Because Trump never panders, and also has done such a good job of leading in our nation's time of crisis.  Again, a master class in projection. 

Regardless of what the media want you to believe, decent Americans (and most of us are decent) are disgusted with the ongoing violence at the hands of the domestic terrorists in Antifa and Black Lives Matter. Trump sending federal law enforcement to protect federal property was exactly the right decision.

Actually, a very strong majority support Black Lives Matter and are against Trump's Gestapo tactics, but whatever. 

It’s all blah, blah, pander, blah, blah, platitude, blah, blah, send me money, blah…

Boy, that would never do as a description of Trump when he gets in front of a TV camera, huh? 

Biden is running as Deepak Chopra, not a man ready and eager to lead America out of its current mess...There’s no leadership coming from Biden, there’s no plan, there’s no roadmap, there’s no there there to lead us out of this mess 

Trump does not give a damn about leading America out of its current mess.  We have not seen a shred of real leadership from him, or any kind of "roadmap," so just accuse Biden of the same thing. 

Worse still for Biden, most voters know why he’s hiding. His cognitive decline is real, and he was never all that sharp to begin with. Every time he strays off script, this becomes even more apparent.  For all his flaws, right now Trump is the one with vision, energy, and passion."

"Every time he strays of script..."  Again, an almost exact description of what we have seen the last three and a half years.

Well, that's enough of that.  I think I've made my point.  Expect over the next three months that every time Trump displays his loathsome incompetence, Biden will be immediately accused of doing the exact same thing.  That's their story and they are sticking to it.

And just one more comment:

Sister Toldja, Red State:  

"CNN’s Brian Stelter, Oliver Darcy Get Smoked After Blaming Biden Debate Speculation on ‘Right-Wing Media’

Blaming the speculation on the right wing media.  Because that is the only place on earth that this speculation is occurring. The oldest left wing dirty trick on earth:  telling the truth.