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The Bloomberg-for-president commercials are over. Just stop and frisk yourself (or someone else) and enjoy this moment.
It’s not that I necessarily have anything against him or his politics. I’m just happy that a billionaire can’t simply buy their way in.
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News Rundown
Joe Biden had a super Tuesday last week winning ten states, including Texas, on his way to a 664 to 573 delegate lead over Bernie. Amtrak Joe drafted to the front off the endorsements of Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Beto O’Rourke. Technically, Two-delegate Tulsi is still running, but the Democratic race is basically down to two heading into next Tuesday’s primaries which include my home state, Mississippi!
How’d Joe do it?
A few things came together for him:
Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Klobuchar, both knowing they had no route to winning themselves, dropped out of the race based on the theory that it would create a vacuum for Biden to gain support in the moderate lane. It worked out. It’s also possible that they’d like to be considered for VP or some other position in a Biden administration, especially Mayor Pete who isn’t actually a mayor anymore since his term ended on New Year’s Day. At a minimum, Klobuchar wanted to avoid the embarrassment of losing her own state primary like Elizabeth Warren.
Much like in South Carolina, African Americans turned out for Joe.
Whites, especially suburban whites and those that were late deciders, also went for Joe.
Turn out was high overall, but not among young voters (under 30) which, along with Latinos, make up the core of Bernie’s grassroots support.
Without some unforeseen event, the path to the nomination is wide open for Joe.
After reducing violence in order to get the so-called peace deal done, the Taliban resumed attacks against the Afghan military (who are trained and supported by the US) in Afghanistan only four days after the agreement was signed:
These attacks did not violate the terms of the deal since they didn’t threaten the US or its allies (outside of Afghanistan at least). Yet, they do seem to confirm the fears of those that believe radical Islamists will rapidly regain control of Afghanistan if the US withdraws as set forth in the agreement.
After nearly two decades of fighting and nearly a trillion dollars spent, not to mention the thousands of American lives lost and the fiscal and emotional costs associated with those who returned, we would all be happy to see an end to this war, the longest in American history. But as former Marine Corps general and Secretary of Defense James Mattis likes to say, “the enemy gets a vote.”
If I may: Suppose you support the Trump administration’s deal to leave Afghanistan despite some saying it’s a political move to bring troops home before an election and that it will lead to a terrorist takeover of that country. Would you agree with it if it were a Democratic administration? Conversely, if you think it’s the worst deal ever for the US, would you be so critical if it were President Obama making the decision to bring our soldiers home even if we got “nothing” in return? Are you sure soldiers reuniting with their families is nothing?
Think about it. Then apply the same mental exercise to every other issue.
In May 2018 the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran which aimed—for the duration of the agreement—to keep the country at least a year out from having enough material to build a nuclear weapon. Although Iran had been complying with the deal, which included several other world powers, President Trump said it was “terrible” and pulled us out. Now, according to a report from international inspectors, Iran, for the first time since 2015, has enough material for a single nuke.
The good news is that Iran only has the raw material (uranium) for such a weapon which requires enrichment to be useful, a process that takes months or years. Also, Iran appears to be interested only in having leverage in negotiations rather than making war.
President Trump announced via Twitter that he is moving to his fourth chief of staff:
Why was Mulvaney fired?
Outside of Trump, no one is certain. Some see it as a continuation of Trump getting rid of those that hurt him during the impeachment process such as Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Vindman who was removed from the White House last month. In Mulvaney’s case, he wasn’t opposed to the president, but made some missteps that could have been costly.
Who is Mark Meadows?
Mr. Meadows was a Republican congressman from North Carolina before accepting his new gig in the White House. After his election to Congress in 2012, Meadows co-founded the House Freedom Caucus and has been one of Trump’s fiercest allies in Washington.
Here’s a taste of him in his own words:
Culture
The Dixie Chicks are back with a new single, “Gaslighter.”
If that hurt your ears, how ‘bout one from the good ole days.
Should Natalie bring back the cornrows? I think so.
Presented Without Comment
Note: Andrew Bates, responding here to a tweet from James Comey endorsing Joe Biden, is Director of Rapid Response for Joe Biden.
Also Presented Without Comment
Loose Screws: Can’t Do Math Edition
For the record, $500M divided by 327 million people is $1.53.
I feel ya Buzz.
Until Next Time
How to Destroy a Government (your long read of the week)
‘I believe moral courage is more difficult than physical courage,’ Ronald Neumann, the retired ambassador, told me. ‘I was an infantry officer in Vietnam. Some courageous officers on the battlefield became very cautious bureaucrats.’ Physical courage in battle is made easier by speed, adrenaline, comrades. ‘Moral courage—you have, in many cases, lots of time, it’s a solitary act,’ he said. ‘You are fully aware of potential repercussions to your career, and it’s harder. It shouldn’t be harder—you’re not going to get killed—but that’s the way it is.’
Portrait of a Fuhrer (Hitler) – The Demagogic Personality (short read)
It was one of his primary rules to ‘never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.’
The Go Bag (short read)
Two former special forces soldiers explain what you need in your “go bag.” A go-bag is a bag you’ll need at the ready in order to make a rapid departure from populated areas if and when, say, the power grid goes down and jungle law returns.
Why Do Such Elderly People Run America? (short read)
We have now before us three candidates divided by ideology, but united in dotage. All three white men were born in the 1940s, before the invention of Velcro and the independence of India and Israel. Amazingly, each is currently older than any of the past three U.S. presidents. If, through some constitutional glitch, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, or Barack Obama jumped into the 2020 race at this very moment, each would suddenly become the youngest man in the contest.
Housekeeping
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Thanks for reading,
Peyton
Photo of Joe Biden by Gage Skidmore via Wikipedia Commons.
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