Even for the left, it is getting harder to ignore the aging of Joe Biden that is happening before our eyes.
He is at one of his beachfront homes as this is written, fighting back rising sea levels for us. By one estimate, he has vacationed 40% of his tenure as president, which I take as a positive; it means things could have been 60% percent worse.
Even though Joe Biden could throw himself a successful surprise party, he is not the only one aging out in Washington. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Dianne Feinstein are on their last legs. They have too much power for their parties to let them step down. Along with Biden, they have become "Weekend at Bernie's" politicians.
Propped up by their lobbyists, staff and benefactors to perpetuate their power for the benefit of those who bought and paid for them, our gerontocracy shuffles on.
Maybe I am too hard on lobbyists. We need them. Who else would pay $550,000 for Hunter Biden's artwork? "Three Dogs Playing Poker while Smoking Crack" art is in the eye of the beholder.
It probably does not matter how mentally impaired those in Congress are (Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania comes to mind). With votes dictated by their party leaders, D.C. is shirts and skins; everyone votes as they are told along party lines. For years now, there has been no real debate or intellectual swaying of opinions.
Yet it seems none of these folks will let go. Power is too seductive and too compelling. When I worked in Washington while attending Georgetown, folks called Washington "Hollywood for Ugly People." I did not get the joke until troll Alan Greenspan married NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell.
Henry Kissinger said it best: "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac."
Let's face it, few politicians have any other marketable skills. The difference between a prostitute and a politician? No one would walk up three flights of stairs at one in the morning to spend time with a politician.
Biden has the ability to hide his own Easter eggs, which then begs the question: Who is running our government — elected politicians or this permanent political class in Washington, D.C.? Clearly, with the actions of the DOJ, FBI, DOD and the medical/industrial complex, it is our unelected Deep State.
Another member of the gerontocracy and permanent ruling class, Dr. Anthony Fauci, finally retired at age 82. He wants to spend more time overly vaccinating his family. He got his hand out of the Washington cookie jar (with security and a driver paid for by taxpayers) this year. He was retired by public opinion.
There is even talk about the feds requiring more COVID vaccines this winter. Again, when the government tells us we must take a vaccine barely tested by the Big Pharma companies it gave immunity to, I will comply like I did last time: buy more Pfizer stock.
There will be more pushback this time from more people than just a handful of us. Always the contrarian, when skeptics say that COVID vaccines alter your DNA, I see that as an opportunity for many people.
Power couples like Mary Matalin and James Carville, along with Kellyanne Conway and her Democrat lobbyist/husband, have played both sides of the aisle. What's the secret to their marital longevity? To keep their marriages exciting, both couples enjoy role-playing by taking turns playing the taxpayer.
The lobbyist-funded special interests and the permanent political class in D.C. run the show. Our aging elected politicians are just their pawns.
The big pitch that resonated when Donald Trump ran for president, and which he is using this time as well, is that he is "not under the control" of lobbyists, special interests and PAC donors. Trump says we should vote for him because he is not under control — at all.
Contact Ron Hart, a syndicated op-ed satirist, author and TV/radio commentator, at [email protected].