Last night, President Joe Biden refused to take a cognitive or neurological test despite widespread concerns over his physical and mental decline. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos pressed the President on his low polling and efforts of Democrats to get him to drop out of the race. He specifically mentioned the effort of Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.) to organize members to pressure him to end his campaign. Biden took a not-so-subtle dig at Warner. However, it was nothing compared to a curious posting by author and Democratic activist Don Winslow, who appeared to threaten Warner on X (formerly Twitter).
When the story broke in the Washington Post, Winslow posted a curious and ominous response:
It is not clear what Winslow meant by Warner knowing what he was talking about when asking if he was “sure you want to go down this road?”
The message has caused a bit of a stir on the Hill. For the denizens of the Beltway, it sounds extortive and threatening. The suggestion is that Winslow has something on Warner.
While some have asked whether this could be viewed as a threat criminally, it is clearly not sufficient for a charge. Warner is a public figure and this comment could just be a reference to political backlash or the lack of an alternative.
His asking Warner “Are you sure you want to go down this road?” could be a reference to the political implications of the resulting chaos, including making Kamala Harris the presidential candidate. Harris is even less popular than Biden according to some polls. While some polls show her doing slightly better than Biden against Trump, other polling shows that she would do considerably worse.
However, it is the follow up of “Think about it very carefully” that has got tongues wagging in D.C.
Whatever the intended meaning, the posting shows the depth of the division on the issue. Those divisions are only likely to deepen further after the refusal to take a test to put these concerns to rest.
Notably, Biden has insisted that the public can simply observe him. However, that position stands in contradiction to the frivolous privilege claims made by the Administration to withhold the audiotape from the interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur. That was an interview that the President was prepared for in advance and held in ideal conditions with staff. It is an opportunity for the public to hear him under questioning to reach the very conclusions that Biden suggested in the interview.
As for Winslow’s posting, it may just be an incautious, poorly worded message rather than extortion or blackmail. We have all made postings that we regretted.
The real issue for Democrats is how to address this looming issue without tearing the party apart. I have tried to drill down on the legal implications of swapping out the top of the ticket or the entire ticket. It is uncharted territory when it comes to the federal election laws on the use of past contributions as well as some states with restrictive rules on ballot changes.
Do I have to re-register my name, etc., every time I make a post? This is a stupid platform. If you hit the log in optional thing, it registers me as “anonymous” and I don’t want to be ANONYMOUS! I’m not a bot I’m a real person who does NOT support biden and his assministration !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The only thing joe hasn’t been yet is one of the 12 disciples. Someone on tv recently said “people with silver hair know what’s right for America, even if joe doesn’t.”
Could someone please tell me how to “LIKE” some of the posted comments? I have tried hitting the star thing but that doesn’t do anything, so how do you do it??
Years ago Mark Watner made a run for president but dropped out early. The political gossip (which was reasonably reliable) was that he had a skeleton in his closet. I don’t know what it was, but evidently it was enough. I liked Warner when he was govener and I think he’s a decent senator; I jusr think there’s a reason he stays in the Senate.
Look at his mouth, you know the white spittle kind of mouth. There’s several of them up there in Congress, Swalwell comes to mind too. You ask them to break a $5 bill, they’ll give you a $3 and two $1’s.
Won’t matter now, the can is open now and people will dig to find out. Just a matter of time now.
Democrats
“While some have asked whether this could be viewed as a threat criminally, it is clearly not sufficient for a charge.”
I’m sure Bragg could make an FEC violation out of it.
We’re witnessing a coup in the Democrat Party, being deliberately spearheaded by CNN. My guess is that Obama is behind it, but CNN, et al, are handling it so that O has plausible deniability in case the coup flops.
So when was this plot hatched? My guess is before the primaries. The plotters had to know a long time ago that Joe was this incompetent.
Why wait until now to launch the coup? Because Joe had one more service to perform for his puppet masters: deny Kamala (and any California Democrat) the nomination. Joe was vulnerable so he could be disposed of later. Later has become now, conveniently right before the Democrat Convention.
The weird timing of the debate now makes sense. Joe thought CNN would ambush Trump. Surprise! If Joe drops from the ticket now, it’ll be a brokered convention. For oligarchs and the Deep State, the less democracy the better.
So Joe blundered into a trap. The handful of megalomaniacs that control Joe are either treacherous or incompetent. Can they handle Xi or Putin?
No, that is why Joe should drop from the ticket AND resign from the Oval Office now. Even the lunkheads at CNN can outwit his team. Even the Taliban made fools of them.
This is what passes for democracy in the Democrat Party. The party of the Deep State. The party of the oligarchs. Long knives, lies, and treachery. Thanks but no, thanks.
I’m not just voting for Trump. I’m voting against the whole Deep State mentality that pervades D.C. Enough is enough. Drain the swamp.
Well said.
Diogenes,
With respect, Diogenes, I dont think there is any grand plan or conspiracy, lest of all, lead by CNN.
Just like the polling in 2016, showing a sound defeat of Trump by Clinton, Democrats believed their own lies and spin.
Now that we have seen what they did not want us to see, all us normal people already knew as far back as 2020, now they are in absolute panic.
What stands in their way, is Jill and Hunter.
But I fully agree, vote against the Deep State. Vote against the Democrat party and their totalitarian fascism.
Upstate, I admit I’m speculating, but I think it’s pretty plausible. In any event, we both know that weird mix of long-term deception and never-ending gullibility played major roles in this debacle. We can’t let this clown car keep running the country. Res ipsa loquitur!
Just guessing huh? Typical of commnters here. Thanks for the stupid useless comment.
Ok, you’re right. The Democrats really were that dumb.
I tend to agree with you on this. While the street level Democrats are pretty stupid, the higher ups in the Party are clever realists. Anybody with at least half of a functioning brain knew Biden was basically a zombie, and that Kamala was too stupid by far to be President. Not to mention that she has her own people around her, and perhaps not controllable by the DNC. So, they needed to get through the primaries without all that pesky infighting, and the possibility of a Bernie-like candidate coming to the top of the heap.
Now, they can get rid of him as a candidate, but keep him in the White House to deny Kamala any time as President. Note that by and large, they are calling for him to drop out of the race, but not to immediately resign from office. That is significant, I think.
Yep, they want to have their cake and eat it, too. Keep Joe around so that the East Coast establishment won’t lose their sinecures, but knock Joe off the ticket so they can pick a more viable meat puppet.
If Joe’s too decrepit to be on the ticket, he’s too decrepit to be in the Oval Office. That is factual, not speculative.
I think the real issue here is not a Biden second term, it’s what the hell is he doing in office this week? Imagine he wants to call Hunter for advice and picks up the red phone. *&!@X! And, I’m not buying the debate debacle being an accident. Too perfect to be true. Joe may have walked into it, but someone wanted it to happen and orchestrated it. Probably promised him some orange jello before his nap.
It is nice to read the news and ponder the difficulties of the dem but the most important thing is to remove them from power. Hopefully TRUMP and the Republicans can focus on policies for victory and conveying that effectively to the 1% of people who have not made up there minds
Trump might take some action, but the weak dix in the GOP won’t. EX: June 4, Chip Roy and others in Congress send Mayorkas a letter demanding answers. They get none. July 11, Chip Roy and others in Congress, send Mayorkas a letter demanding answers. They get none. Guess what the GOP’s next move will be? I’ll bet they’re drafting it right now. Weak dix…part of the problem now. Fight for us or go home, wimp dogs.
Prof. Turley;
I have little interest in Winslow and Warner.
I am more interested in the claim that the post is extortion or blackmail.
Most threats are NOT and can not be a crime.
Extortion and blackmail require a demand for something of tangible value in return for silence.
Lets bnot go down the same stupid road that NY went down in the Enmoron and Merchan cases redefining Fraud.
Hurt feelings are NOT a crime.
Not getting your way -= is not a crime.
Crimes require having something taken from you that is tangible and yours by force or deception.
Also well said.
One cannot help but enjoy the results of the conundrum of their own making.
I hope you enjoy the “results” as much as the chaos of a Trump 2 dictatorship.😈
@Anonymous: Re: “I hope you enjoy the “results”…”………and may you never run out of Reynolds Wrap. It would certainly harsh your mellow.
Boohoo
Everyone on the Left keeps spewing apocalyptic BS. You had Trump for 4 years, and what you got was no wars, very good economy, etc. The worst thing about Covid was that it happened in 2000. Trumps major failure was not booting Anthony Fauci off the “team”. If you call that some form of dictatorship, you have a lot to learn.
BTW, Joe Biden famously said in a debate that “any President who’s had 200,000 people die in a pandemic should be put out of office.” So, what’s the p3nalty for his successor, who’s had nearly a million die?
Oh for God’s sake, get real. Trump is right. Without him we will have no country, certainly that will happen if we leave the dimwit dems in charge.
Me thinks the down ballot ‘blue meanie’ has finally come out of the closet. There was little conversation on the matter when ‘coattail confidence’ was high. Now some of them have gone to Defcon 1 to meet the perceived threat. It has become a priority matter.
It is obviously a threat coached in legally vague language.
It is designed to influence his thinking about what ever skeleton he has in his closet.
Too bad his name isn’t Trump! (Or the gangsta is named Hillary)
Robert Sterling
@RobertMSterling
Biden lied about his deteriorating mental acuity and physical health.
He lied about his son’s laptop.
He lied about troops not dying during his term.
He lied about Trump calling white nationalists “very fine people.”
He lied about inflation. And the border crisis.
-Graduated at the top of his class
-Received 3 college degrees
-Was a professor at UPenn
-Appointed to the Naval Academy
-Marched for Civil Rights in the 1960s
-Got arrested trying to see Nelson Mandela
-Shot at in Irag
-NAACP endorsed him in all his races (it was none)
-Desegregated restaurants and movie theaters
-Hit a 368′ Home Run at Congressional baseball game
-Runner up in state football scoring
-Use to drive an 18-wheeler
-Didn’t know a thing about Hunter’s business dealings
-Hunter’s laptop was a Russian plant
-His first wife was killed by a drunk driver
-His house burnt down with Jill inside
(small fire contained to the kitchen)
-Corn Pop
-Beau Biden died in Iraq (died of glioblastoma multiforme in Maryland)
-Inflation was at 9% when he entered office
-Created 15 million jobs
-His uncle was eaten by cannibals
Lie upon lie upon lie.
The entire time, he’s been abetted by White House aides—paid with taxpayer funds—gaslighting the public.
And by mainstream media reporters covering for him, willfully disseminating his lies, and spoon-feeding him questions ahead of interviews.
Yet, according to those same political officials and those same reporters, Trump is the guy who can’t be trusted to tell the truth?
Come on. Stop lying to us. All of you.
We’re done with the bullsh**
https://x.com/RobertMSterling/status/1809695397411189090
Joe said that he had trouble in the debate because Trump kept yelling when his mic was turned off. Hey Joe it was a split screen in case you didn’t know. He had a cold without the presence of a virus. I guess any excuse will do. Scarecrow Joe sings, if I only had a brain.
The liberal’s liberal Lyndon B. Johnson was once asked about liberals in a moment of pique and delivered the following, telling punchline:
What’s the difference between a liberal and a cannibal? A cannibal won’t eat their own.
I have a feeling Joe Biden and a lot of Dems are about to find this out the hard way.
Pass the popcorn.
The evil dawn of Trump 2 is at hand. 👺
Biden will soon be out, and Kamala will then be POTUS. She will likely engage Barrak Obama as her new VP. Democrats will squeal with delight, as will reluctant Trump voters. I’m not sure if Kamala-Obama win in Nov., or the election process is interrupted by either a nuclear WW3, or trouble via Zecheriah 13:7-9. Either way, Obama will likely soon be the evil dictator for all of planet Earth. We will soon see.
I’ve read several of Winslow’s novels. I hope he doesn’t plan to send Joe DeMarco after Warner.
Abstain 2024
We The People deserve better than Hobson’s Choice.
N1M.com/bostonkronik
Poor troll.
The clear choice is Trump.
Now while you may not like the man… so be it.
However as POTUS he did a much better job w one hand tied behind his back than Pedo Joe did.
Whomever comes out of the Democratic Convention as Candidate for President, they are sure to face a Michael Dukakis (now 90) type fate.
Dukakis’s popularity waned as an Ad featuring Willie Horton a felon who was let out on a weekend furlough in Massachusetts and subsequently assaulted and raped a woman, attributed to his fall. The same (Ad) can be made for Illegal Immigrants whom have committed the similar act(s) today.
So it seems that the attractiveness of being the ‘Fall-Guy’ for the 2024 Democratic Presidency is an obvious career killer.
That, and the fact that the Domestic and International affairs have been made such a mess by the Democrats over this current Administration,
No-One in their right Mind would take the Job. Which now leaves us with Joe Biden, whom is obviously not in his right Mind.
So there you have it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dukakis#Crime
Does it really matter? BLACKROCK runs America. Voting is just a gimmick. Americans have absolutely no say in it – I hope Biden wins just so I can watch him deteriorate.
Success does breeds success, doesn’t it?
Failure breeds contempt-cum-covetousness, doesn’t it, Aninny?
Certainly true for demoncrats since we’ve watched them and the DNC make the pick not their people who voted for many years now – Seth Rich dead over it.
Hillary made thieving it public.
So yeah, you demoncrat btchs have no say. Get back to the slave plantation and start pickin, keep it under 950 bucks worth
Well here’s some more insight into our fearless leader’s tactical game:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/2nd-local-radio-host-says-they-were-given-questions-ahead-of-biden-interview/ar-BB1pwFpb?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&cvid=bf685900186c4bb4fa64626d30ab0325&ei=14
It sounds like replacing Biden will be a difficult path to take given that Joe doesn’t want to go; the Kamala question is even harder. The Dems made a bad bargain 4 years ago when they settled on them as a team. It allowed them a win but at what cost?
After the debate, the media can’t hide from their role in hiding Biden’s flaws and covering up the laptop, and his supporters should have difficulty supporting him. I think that it clearly showed (to those who didn’t already think that he was incompetent) that he’s not capable of being President. His reliance on Hunter as a key advisor is really troubling because of his conflicts of interest and lack of security clearance.
I would think that his supporters would have to see that he should be removed immediately. But I just heard an interview with Ami Bera (D, congress) who was talking about how this is about winning. He’s clearly putting the good of the party as opposed to what’s good for the country. Biden can be removed for both reasons, but the good of the country should be paramount.
I think that another reason Biden is losing support from his party is that they are afraid of what will be revealed in Hunter’s tax trial starting in September. The “age problem” gives them cover to jettison him before his involvement in the family business becomes more clear to everyone.
I’d like just once when one of these politicians are being interviewed and they brag about how long they’ve been in office the interviewer turns to them and says “yes and look where that’s gotten us”.
Nothing will go well for us unless we limit terms of office and government workers are treated just like any other American in the workforce.
Nailed it!