Libertarian: The Biden Courtier Problem
For “the modern Presidency, the courtier game is probably an occupational hazard,” argues Arnold Kling at In My Tribe. Witness “Biden’s closest associates” urging him to run for a second term and giving “zero thought to the well-being of the country.” It proves that “a President can be ill-served by officials playing the courtier game” in which lackeys devote themselves to “flattering the king” and “doing his bidding.” Given “Biden’s infirmities,” he’d’ve been “better off setting a tone in which aides are focused on getting to the best decisions, not on obtaining a seat closer to the king.” But “the damage that he could do to the safety and well-being of the citizens of the United States meant nothing to” the people around Biden.
From the left: Don’t Bow to the Base
If President Biden quits the race, “party leaders” should pick “a new candidate over the next week” and “instruct delegates to ratify the nomination at the convention,” advises Jonathan Chait at New York magazine. “Most important” is to “find a candidate who can appeal to voters outside the Democratic Party’s base,” which “consists of people who are going to vote” for a Dem “no matter what.” Choices that energize the base usually “reduce the party’s chances of winning.” Naming a replacement quickly can create a “fait accompli.” Yes, it’s possible “for a party’s base to fracture. But if you’ve lost your base, you’ve lost the election.” Dems need to assume “voters will turn out for whoever the nominee is” and “beat Trump.”
White House watch: Joe’s Last Lifelines
“As the president fights for his political life this week,” warns Politico’s Jonathan Martin, “he’s counting on the support of African-American Democrats and his union allies as his last line of defense.” Biden won the “nomination after a string of setbacks in 2020” by “portraying his detractors as mostly elite white liberals who are out of step with the more diverse and working-class grassroots of the party.” But among the “crucial differences between then and now” is the fact that polls show “plenty of rank-and-file Democrats, including African Americans, believe the president is too old for the job.” “If a collection of unions or African American elected officials defect, it will be devastating.” And “if Biden loses support with Black members, it would come from younger lawmakers and those who represent more competitive districts.”
Eye on Albany: Hochul’s Costly 1199 Bailout
“In a new subsidy for the health-care union 1199 SEIU, the Hochul administration is allowing the union’s benefit fund for home care aides to shift some members into taxpayer-funded health coverage through the Essential Plan,” reports the Empire Center’s Bill Hammond. This “appears to sidestep the Essential Plan’s eligibility rules, which normally exclude people with access to employer-sponsored health benefits.” It’s a handout to the union’s National Benefit Fund for Home Care Employees, which has been “running deficits in recent years despite other subsidies from the state.” An outrageous plus: Even as taxpayers cover their care, “the benefit fund can continue collecting employer contributions on behalf of all union-represented workers.” If other unions get the same deal, this is “potentially costly and disruptive” as it would shift hundreds of thousands “from commercial insurance to taxpayer-funded coverage.”
Law prof: Lefties’ Unfounded ‘Immunity’ Panic
“The portrayal” of the Supreme Court’s presidential-immunity ruling “by the left and the media is wildly off base,” chides Jonathan Turley at The Hill. Some said it “would invite ‘tyranny,’ ” and “President Biden fueled the sense of panic in an address that repeated widespread false claims.” Yes, “Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent gave credence to” critics’ “hyperbolic theories,” but she ignored “parts of the majority opinion that expressly refute” her claims. Fact is, the court merely “held that presidents enjoy absolute immunity for actions that fall within their ‘exclusive sphere of constitutional authority’ while they enjoy presumptive immunity for other official acts. They do not enjoy immunity for unofficial or private actions.” It’s “a far cry from a green light for death squads.”
— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board