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ALPERN AT LARGE - As the drumbeat to replace Joe Biden at the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee becomes louder and longer, the obvious questions keep being downplayed, if not ignored altogether:
When did the Mainstream Media (CNN, Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, and a host of large-city newspapers from throughout the U.S.) know about his health issues, and when did the Democratic Party leadership know of President Biden’s age- and speech-related problems, and why are they all focusing on it now?
Because it’s certain that the Mainstream Media and Democratic pols were piling on former President Trump for age-related and speech-related issues well before he was sworn into office January 2017, and long after he left the White House January 2021 (with each of those two events swarming with controversy and chaos).
For those of us who listen to both liberal-leaning and conservative-leaning media outlets, it’s quite glaring that the claims of “elder abuse” and “he’s too old” were coming for years from the Right…remember President Trump’s obnoxious nickname “Sleepy Joe”?
But television, radio and Internet news and opinion outlets now report a rising flood of “aftershocks”, and/or one “sudden change of heart” after another, with respect to this or that major political or media or Hollywood/VIP supporter turning on President Biden, and demanding he step down for the good of the nation, world, and humanity.
Because Joe Biden’s speech, train of thought, and command of the issues are suddenly being called into account…because…because…WHY NOW?
Is it because the President and the White House did such a great job of hiding it?
Is it because it’s a sudden new and unlooked-for development in Joe Biden’s physical and mental health?
Is it because the media had the wool pulled over its collective eyes?
Or is it because the media and Democratic Party were so apoplectic over staying in power and keeping Donald Trump out of the White House (both in 2016 and 2020, and now again in 2024) that way, way, way too much from Joe Biden was being willfully, aggressively, and zealously ignored?
It’s hard not to presume it’s the lattermost option, which makes it very difficult for opposition (or even independent) voters to stomach the current shock and outrage from Media, Democratic, and Hollywood figureheads over Joe Biden “bad debate” or “bad interview”.
President Joe Biden is—no less than former President Donald Trump—an egotistical blowhard who deems himself the center of the Universe, so President’s Biden stating to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he’d drop out only if the “Lord Almighty” told him to shouldn’t be a surprise.
Especially when Biden probably considers himself a sort of “Lord Almighty”…and, probably, the same can be said of Donald Trump.
On a similar note, the stubborn and entitled Joe Biden told Democrats on Capitol Hill that he is staying in the race, and staying no matter what they might ask or say.
Yet after winning two hard-fought primary races in 2020 and 2024, it’s no surprise that Joe Biden (if one truly considers things from Biden’s perspective) would avoid throwing it all away and stepping down after just one bad night…
…and would you or I say or do anything differently after primary season was over?
In response, we have a Democratic political leadership increasingly open to a “brokered convention” when the Democratic Party formally nominates a presidential and vice-presidential ticket for November 2024, because of both:
1) The fears of returning Donald Trump to the White House in January 2025, and
2) A host of downstream GOP election victories at the federal, state, and local level that would result in November 2024 being one of the reddest of Red Waves in modern history.
And many are fearing both an as-of-now-unknown Trump running mate wielding immediate and long-term future power over much of America, and perhaps just as many are fearing a President Kamala Harris running the White House.
Too many controversial domestic and foreign policy issues are on the line.
The Left fears a lying, senile, tyrannical Trump. The Right fears a lying, senile, tyrannical Biden. And RFK, Jr. didn’t seem to assuage any fears as a viable third-party candidate, so right now it appears to be either Biden or Trump winning in November 2024.
But with respect to our current President, and focusing in this piece only about our current President…the question of blaming Dr. Jill Biden, the Biden Family, the political and media leaders who did and likely do support Biden over Trump at any cost, or any other longstanding Biden supporter…
… still raises the overarching questions that many are, or at least should start, asking:
1) How long did you know about Biden’s age-related or speech-related issues, and
2) How long did you know that Biden might be so easily controlled by family-related or globally-related special interests, and
3) How long did you think that hiding Biden from public speaking after the pandemic ended was realistic?
So for those who are “shocked” and throwing President Biden under the bus, and who will do ANYTHING to win in 2024, and all this despite it being well after the Democratic primary season has ended:
Do you blame others or YOURSELVES for getting yourselves and the nation into this mess?
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
