47 Years of Failure

By the Editorial Board

The 2020 election has garnered more press, intrigue, and speculation than any election in recent memory. Both sides have erected monumental assertions that this election is “the most important election of our life,” and the news has provided wall-to-wall coverage since early August. Most of the press, thanks to media bias and President Trump’s uncanny ability to generate a headline, is squarely focused on President Trump and his agenda. However, very little attention has been paid to Joe Biden, who is essentially running a campaign on his personality as a “nice guy.” Though personality and demeanor are essential in winning an election, actual policies and platforms are essential for governing. By design, the press Biden receives and reflects is geared towards spearing Trump, rather than convincing the American people that Biden’s policies will work. Time will tell if this is an effective campaign strategy, but it does not absolve Biden from not answering questions or facing scrutiny. Regardless, from recent allegations of corruption, to concerns over his increasingly left-leaning policy prescriptions, there are too many missing pieces for a candidate who has spent this many years in Washington. The Editorial Board proudly endorses President Donald J. Trump for reelection. 

Joe Biden’s policies are a danger to the American way of life and thinking and will fundamentally change the way this country does business and conducts its politics. As Biden considers court-packing, killing the electoral college, and enacting his version of the radical Green New Deal, over half of America could soon be left permanently disenfranchised and impoverished. While minorities have flourished under Donald Trumps’ leadership, Biden and Harris will erase those gains with their back-firing Democratic policy prescriptions. While they pretend to care about healing racial division, Biden and Harris’ worrisome, stained records on criminal justice prove that they will only exacerbate it. Recent allegations of corruption and Biden’s refusal to answer said allegations are also of paramount concern, especially when Biden’s policies increase the size, scope, and reach of our federal government. A Biden Presidency will radically expand the reach of the federal government; into our pockets, our places of worship, our domestic energy industries, our home gun safes, our small businesses, our Supreme Court, and our Constitution. America deserves better than a career politician, with a record of ineffectiveness and corruption, leading our great nation.

The recent allegations against Hunter Biden, and Joe Biden’s tacit understanding and potential enrichment from Hunter’s business deals are a major red flag for several reasons. First and foremost, is the concern of whether Biden’s Ukrainian aid policy was directed by American strategic interests, or the corporate interests of Biden’s son. Second, is the concern at Joe Biden’s refusal to speak about the matter, and the media actively shielding the story as “disinformation.” The allegations against Hunter are serious, far-reaching, and currently under investigation by the FBI. The bulk of these allegations are currently being corroborated by a former business partner, and on their most basic level, warrant investigation, let alone discussion. Instead of offering transparency, Biden has simply dismissed the charges as “not true.” That explanation may have worked last year, but recent information, and the testimony of  Tony Bobulinski raises questions that require answers. These allegations and the subsequent questioning of Joe Biden is not part of a “disinformation campaign” but part of a general quest for truth that Biden needs to answer. It is sickening, and damaging to our democracy to have a political candidate peacocking as the torchbearer of truth and transparency while simultaneously never answering questions and being shielded by an non-objective media.

Biden is running on “the most progressive platform of any Democratic nominee in the modern history of the party,” according to Waleed Shahid, communications director for Justice Democrats. After appealing to the moderate wing of the party in the primary, Biden has since pivoted to attract supporters who voted for progressive candidates such as Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders. By riding along with the mainstream discussion of “medicare-for-all, a Green New Deal, defunding the police, and wealth taxation,” Biden is able to double-down on a seriously progressive agenda without appearing outwardly radical. However, even if the media did decide to call Biden by his rightfully deserved title of “radical,” few democrats would bat an eye. These radical policies would directly counteract the growth that the Trump Administration has set into motion. According to an analysis examining Biden’s tax, healthcare, and regulatory proposals, Biden’s plan “to expand subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act will discourage Americans from working and earning more.” Moreover, the analysis purports that “corporate tax increases will reduce in investment, that new environmental regulations will raise energy costs and that the increased social security payroll taxes will discourage hiring for small-business owners whose profits are taxed as individual income.” The economic prosperity that we have seen under the Trump administration will cease to exist in the case of a Biden Presidency.

Though Biden’s written positions are radical, what concerns The Editorial Board most is his lack of consistency and hesitancy to reveal his positions on several contentious political proposals. His unwillingness to reject radicalism indicates that he’ll be an easy target once in office for the far Left to co-opt to implement their radical agenda. While Biden’s opinions have a tendency to flip flop concerning controversial issues such as fracking and police reform, his policies have seen a definite leftward shift in recent months. Biden has also been hesitant to call out violence and the idea of court-packing for fear he will disrupt support among the “Bernie faction” of the party. In response to this tepidness, Democratic senators, Harris, and the congressional “squad” are likely to usher in far-left policies in the Trojan horse that is “moderate Joe Biden.” In response to a cable news interview question about Biden’s contradictory statements on energy policy, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stated, “It would be an honor to lobby him.” But while Biden looks mainstream compared to the leftist mob, he’s no moderate. Sometimes, Biden lets his political freak flag fly, outright announcing his intention to kill the oil industry at the second, most pivotal, presidential debate. We the People deserve to know the true intentions of a presidential candidate. A president is elected to represent and carry out bills that are in the best interest of their constituents— the American people— not themselves.

During the first presidential debate, Biden declared that he did not support the Green New Deal. However, further review of the Biden Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice just seems like the Green New Deal in sheep’s clothing. The plan pledges to launch America on a trajectory to achieve net-zero U.S. greenhouse gas emissions “no later than 2050.” Meaning, there will be massive shocks to our transportation systems, supply chains, energy sector, and far more. Biden’s plan hands the Left the gift it’s always wanted: total economic and societal overhaul. The monetary cost of confronting the alleged global climate crisis via Biden’s plan is gargantuan. However, the plan also wholly reimagines the way in which our society functions and would have tremendous and outsized consequences. However, no cost is too high for a Democratic-controlled Congress, regardless of the people harmed- and the injury will be severe. Apart from higher taxes, increased energy prices and production costs ripple down the supply chain and ultimately make goods more expensive for everyday Americans. For instance, in California, the model for climate progressivism, electricity prices are the highest of the lower 48 states. Biden’s environmental program is an unprecedented attempt at central planning that will invite increasingly invasive government intervention over time. Like free-market economist Friedrich Hayek’s book title foretold, Biden’s green energy plan will put America on “The Road to Serfdom.” The older generation of Democrats must realize, before it’s too late, that a Biden Presidency will preside over a party that JFK and his predecessors would not recognize and would likely condemn.  

Biden’s refusal to answer the question on court-packing is the scariest of all of his proposals. While the Green New Deal would cost millions of jobs and has the potential to permanently alter the way our economy works, the question of court-packing has far more vague yet far-reaching implications. The Supreme Court was established as an independent check to both the legislative and executive branches. It is not a legislative apparatus, and its forced descent into partisan politics (overwhelmingly by Democrats) highlights a sad truth: our government is broken. Democrats want to pack the Supreme Court, not because they’re upset about Amy Coney Barrett or because they wish to defend abortion or gay rights. The Democrats want to pack the court to legislate from it. This departure from the Constitution violates our system of checks and balances, and principally breaks down the effective governance of our government. Joe Biden’s refusal to oppose court-packing has the potential to permanently alter our country’s democratic process and political fabric. Unbridled, unilateral power has a tendency to overextend itself and manifest in a tyranny of the majority. If you need a real-life example, just look at California for the last ten years. 

Biden has had 47 years in Washington, and has a muddy record to show for it. He authored the crime bill, has faced routine allegations of corruption, and has a disastrous record on foreign policy. President Trump has objectively achieved more in four years, than Biden did in 47. His ineffectiveness raises the question of his intended purpose. He ran in a crowded field, with many rising stars and perfect textbook candidates, why did Joe, an uninspiring, unoriginal swamp creature get the nomination? Because he is the perfect Trojan Horse. He is a shell candidate with a moderate exterior, but a hardened progressive core. A Biden Presidency will change America fundamentally for the worst socially, economically, and politically. The Editorial Board of The Conservateur strongly opposes the election of Joe Biden, and proudly endorses Donald J. Trump for President. The American people have a choice on November 3rd: vote for 47 years of failure or for four more years of real policies, real solutions, and real results.

Photo via @vortexmedia