No honeymoon for President Biden

By the time this column posts, Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States.

Despite the last-ditch conspiracy theories of some Trump diehards, Joe Biden did, in fact, become president. Sadly, several things need to be addressed which, in less-acrimonious times, were near-universally accepted and, therefore, needed no mention.

First, Mr. Biden’s election was legitimate. Every avenue of legal recourse was exhausted by the Trump campaign (including several defeats by the three-Trumpappointee Supreme Court), and no investigation (including those by pro-Trump Republican officials) found widespread fraud. By definition, that means the election of Joe Biden is valid. America’s stability is founded on law-and-order principles, none more important than “it’s not what you know, but what you can prove.” No widespread irregularities were proven, so the results stand. End of discussion.

Joe Biden is “your president.” It’s a free country, and people can believe what they want, but the unequivocal fact is that Mr. Biden is commander-in-chief to every single American. To state otherwise is incorrect.

To be clear, the notion of “he’s not my president” isn’t new. It started in earnest by the left after President George W. Bush’s controversial election, and continued after President Obama’s victory by some who didn’t like his liberal policies and claimed he wasn’t born in America. But it went into hyperdrive after President Trump’s election.

The left, in utter shellshock after Hillary Clinton’s “guaranteed win” didn’t materialize, went into absolute denial.

Hypocrisy doesn’t die easily, and the left’s is again on full display. It demonizes congressional Republicans who objected to Mr. Biden’s certification, yet conveniently forgets that congressional Democrats not only objected to Donald Trump’s electoral certification, but also that of George W. Bush — twice. And while the left loves calling for “unity,” it somehow can’t recall that 66 congressmen boycotted Mr. Trump’s inauguration.

The impeachment proceedings are a colossal mistake.

Do Mr. Trump’s words amount to an impeachable offense? No, or at least they shouldn’t. They were incredibly dumb, and cemented an embarrassing legacy, but he did not tell people to breach the Capitol. The offenders did that entirely of their own volition.

Let’s be honest. This impeachment is purely political, in two ways. First, it’s “payback” for Mr. Trump pushing through so many things that are anathema to the left. Second, it’s to label Mr. Trump “the only twice-impeached president.” If the Dems get their wish, they will both convict him in the Senate and bar him from running again.

Based on both the Capitol debacle and the president’s behavior since the election, whatever chance Mr. Trump had at regaining the White House in 2024 is now obliterated. Mr. Trump destroyed his future all by himself, so Democratic attempts to kick him even further is counterproductive.

That blindness — choosing impeachment over a coronavirus relief package — is the height of political stupidity. Americans are dying in record numbers, both literally and economically, and need their leaders to address those issues, and only those issues. To all but the extreme Left, continuing attacks against Donald Trump are seen as “playing politics” and pouring salt in the man’s wounds.

Democrats forget that 74 million people voted for Donald Trump and/or against Democratic policies. They’re blinded to the fact that their party lost big on election day, as the highly-touted “blue wave” largely dissipated against the red seawall. The GOP came close to winning the House, held the Senate (prior to the Trump-inflicted losses in Georgia), and held crucial state legislatures.

They would be wise not to ignore the concerns of tens of millions who have significant concerns about the integrity of the election. As stated, there was no evidence of widespread fraud, but fraud definitely occurred — as it does in every election. Now is the time to examine those irregularities in detail, including unattended ballot drop-off boxes, Voter ID issues, ballot harvesting, and the validity of mail-in ballots. For the record, this author has received numerous Christmas cards more than 35 days after being postmarked, from locations as close as 80 miles. The fact that mail is still taking that long raises serious questions about the efficacy of any mail-in voting.

Dismissing the concerns of millions outright would be a politically perilous move.

Mr. Biden — Mr. President — congratulations on becoming America’s leader. You certainly have your work cut out for you. Good luck, God bless — and godspeed.