When Americans went to the ballot box – or mailed ballots – in 2020, they had a clear choice to make for president. During the campaign, however, The Offence questioned what Joe Biden stood for in describing him as a Shadow Candidate.[1] Following the election, it argued that the country got exactly what it selected – not Donald Trump.[2] With Biden, whose campaign promised an open, transparent relationship with the press,[3] from whom he consistently received ‘white glove treatment,’[4] continuing to remain protected while now governing[5] – largely through a Rooseveltian rate of unilateral executive orders[6] that require no input from any other elected officials – avoiding the press in a way not seen for nearly a century,[7] his handlers are doing very little to appease concerns that he may have become a Shadow President.
Access has been suppressed. Information is lacking.
Where is the president, what is he doing, what does he believe and who is making the decisions in his administration? Nobody has suggested he drafted his 37 executive orders. Without access to the president, in complete unwillingness to directly answer the press’ questions in a formal setting, this remains the same mystery created during his campaign, and an increasing concern when seen in practice. What might insiders know of Biden and the administration that the public does not?[8]
Following the November general election, with the Senate, and thus the power to legislate, hanging in the balance, Democrats campaigned for the remaining Senate seats under Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s declaration, ‘now we take Georgia, then we change America,’[9] and unseated two (2) sitting Republicans, thus providing them the votes required to wield the power of Washington with Biden as their leader, or approver. Consequently, as is the general national philosophical approach to liberal governance, they are exercising their will to hold power over the country at large through nationalization of policy and redistribution of assets, though arguably with a preference toward liberal-leaning states.[10] And they are doing so without the support of a single Congressional Republican, irrespective of the state from which he/she serves.[11]
Par for the Great Suppression, Democrats are leaving half the country out of the policy making. They have decided that such voices are not to be heard. They are being silenced.
Critics have cried about the lack of bipartisanship in the process, most notably the president, who made repeated calls for “unity” in his inaugural address,[12] yet has made no obvious concessions in effort to unite, rejecting Republican Senators’ offer of bipartisan legislation.[13] What these critics misconstrue, however, is that unity and bipartisanship are not one in the same. Bipartisanship involves outreach, finding common ground with those of different political persuasions, and reaching solutions that can be agreed upon across party lines. This is what Biden promised he would bring back to Washington as a lifelong negotiator on Capitol Hill. (Where is this Biden?) By contrast, bipartisanship was achieved with several large COVID-19 relief bills under President Trump, which received overwhelming support in both houses of Congress.[14] Rather than bipartisanship, it is more likely Biden’s intent was to unite Americans behind his policies, policies that are becoming more evidently progressive in practice.
Or, if one were to dismiss the claims of reaching out to ‘red states,’ which are primarily represented by Republicans, and view the president’s words as speaking to his voters, which reside primarily in ‘blue states,’ unity could simply be defined as uniting his party. In that context, he has been true to his word, as evident by a sole defection in the passing of the American Rescue Plan[15] as Congressional Democrats rally behind the progressives’ policies and his 96% approval rating among registered Democrats.[16]
Of course, when Trump provided his inaugural address in 2019, he was criticized for speaking to his voters like a campaign speech.[17]
Unity, as exemplified by President Biden’s early actions, has simply meant ‘our way.’ And rather than work with their duly-elected colleagues across the aisle, Democrats are proceeding as if they won a civil war, moving on to Reconstruction with no need to include their opponents, imposing their vision upon the defeated.
The contemporary term? Transformation.
What might have happened had President James Buchanan (D) and congressional Democrats acted similarly prior to the election of Abraham Lincoln and the south’s secession?
If Schumer’s words were a ‘cold’ declaration of war, might H.R.1[18] be the modern-day firing on Fort Sumter?
Ironically, though an actual civil war remains improbable, these actions could easily exacerbate the concerning political divide in America that continues to trend in the wrong direction. The Gallup presidential job approval ratings, wherein Barrack Obama averaged only 13% among Republicans, Trump averaged 7% among Democrats and Biden has 8% from Republicans,[19] highlight these political divisions with successive record-breaking gaps in favorability by party. If Obama drove a wedge through the nation and Trump exploited it, is Biden now hammering down on it? For whom is this good?
Buchanan is remembered for failing to prevent the Civil War, but he is not blamed for taking overt action to spark it.
Where will Biden’s actions lead? When running on unity as a presidential candidate, immediately taking actions that defy unity, and overseeing a rise in domestic tensions, is he quickly becoming the next Buchanan?
It is much too early to project Biden’s legacy, but the polls suggest the public has already lost confidence in his ability to unite the country.[20]
Bringing Out the Old Playbook
In proceeding with this form of ‘unity,’ Democrats are simultaneously repeating both their success and failure under the Obama Administration, only at lightning speed. It took 14 months for Obama and Democrats to drive a wedge in Washington, and thus the country, by pushing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through Congress without broad public support, as evident by the lack of Republican votes.[21] Some have argued that Biden’s presidency is but a third term for Obama,[22] supported by the return of many Obama officials under the new administration[23] and Obama’s policy preferences by reversing Trump’s policies,[24] which themselves were largely reversals of Obama policies. And it is, after all, Obama’s former Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, who has famously advised “never allow a crisis go to waste.”[25]
If this early assessment of Biden’s administration is accurate, in spirit, it would seem they have collectively learned from their past, passing, under the auspices of ‘urgent’ COVID-19 relief – relief so urgent it will remain largely unspent for years – what has been described as the greatest expansion of welfare since the Great Society[26] or what Biden’s Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, lauded as “one of the most consequential and most progressive pieces of legislation in American history.”[27] This time around, it is taking them less than two (2) months to accomplish what it previously took them more than a year to do. Will they further divide the country at that same pace? Early polls indicate Americans are largely supportive the recent bill;[28] however, the process and its details have yet to be fully absorbed by the public.
What was the Obama-Biden administration’s approach amidst the financial crisis that was the Great Recession? Go big or go home.[29] What was the result? Go big…go home. In the wake of Washington’s spending and the ACA, the country saw a rising influence of the conservative Tea Party movement and Democrats sustained catastrophic political losses across the country,[30] losing the general support of the American people, as evident not only by losing control of both houses of Congress, but hundreds of local and statewide elections. Were it not for the cult of personality, upon which executives like presidents may ultimately survive, it is quite possible they would have similarly lost the presidency in 2012. They did not. It took another four (4) years, when Obama could not run.
By their action, their eagerness to repeat the partisan handling of the ACA, only with loftier ambitions, the party’s progressives may be signaling their willingness to sacrifice the American Democratic Party for a generation. The progressive agenda of the Obama years, which focused on redistribution of wealth with efforts to enhance equity,[31] and an international foreign policy[32] that held Americans to higher standards than its allies and adversaries, as evident by the failure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations to carry their ‘fair share’ of investment,[33] or the more stringent standards Americans would be held to under the Paris Climate Accords when compared to others such as the world’s top emissions polluter, China,[34] clearly helped fuel the rise of Trump’s America First movement. In their haste to erase that movement, Democrats may be overstepping their “mandate,” even prioritizing other nations and their peoples over their own constituents.
As example, whilst pushing partisan legislation through Congress, the president, by executive action, is granting progressives’ wishes by bypassing the immigration system and opening borders with the elimination of policies that restricted illegal entry along the southern border [35] and de-incentivized the dangerous trip through Mexican cartel country, leading to what Republicans are calling a border “crisis,” a word the Biden administration refuses to use. Granted, it is but a word, but why would they refuse to use that word when it applied in similar circumstances, which they blamed on then Commander in Chief, Donald Trump?[36]
The more cynical explanation is that it is not a crisis when it is precisely what you desire. The slightly less cynical answer may be that it has not reached the level they would define as a crisis, which would then enable them to move in a manner that does not ‘go to waste.’ Create a crisis; offer a solution. After all, this messaging worked for four (4) years by castigating Trump with daily claims of bombshells and crises. Their solution? Joe Biden.
The more probably political reason is that crises are of Trump’s creation, and he is the past; Biden is the present and he does not have any of his own – he is the opposite of crisis, calm and steady. Indeed, we have seen the president’s surrogates even make efforts to blame the former president for the situation at the border.[37]
There are plenty of Americans who want nothing more than the assurance that Trump and his policies will never return to Washington. Even many Republicans and conservatives do not support another Trump run for the presidency,[38] yet progressive policies appear to be repaving the road that led to his rise.
Perhaps, then, they can prevent him from even running. This was, for some, the motivating reason for the mostly-partisan, hearing-free, snap impeachment that followed the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot,[39] for which he was swiftly acquitted.[40] Though failing in their efforts, impeachment managers sought to convict and exclude him from holding public office. Is this silencing also what has driven tech platforms to suspend, or ban, the former president and his supporters’ ability to promote his positions?[41] If so, this may all be woefully misguided, emotional short-term thinking.
Ironically, the concurrent politico-media demonization of the former president may be serving Trump’s best interest. Although some would argue one of his strengths was a willingness to speak his mind, frequently injecting himself in all matters, it often left him the focus of media ire. Silencing Trump may be aiding him in avoiding self-inflicted wounds while jointly serving to make him an identifiable victim and the prime example of “cancel culture,” whilst simultaneously proving him a prognosticator as top-down socialist policies are ushered through Washington, the border is overrun and China becomes more aggressive on Biden’s watch.
Has such a thing ever happened in American politics?
In Richard Nixon’s ‘last press conference’ following his 1962 gubernatorial loss to Pat Brown, he uttered the famous words “you don’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.”[42] In 1968, he came out of the political wilderness, campaigned on behalf of the “silent majority” – professing he represented the working class – and won the presidency.[43] Unlike the self-imposed exile of Nixon, Trump’s has been largely imposed upon him by tech companies restricting access to his preferred media platforms, but there are echoes of the past. The press-hated law and order Nixon returned following the implementation of the Great Society and chaos of the 1960s. The media-hated Trump, who holds a surprisingly degree of support from the working class, may be sitting in waiting, largely silenced, while policies reminiscent of the 1960s are pushed though Washington against the will of half the country.
If history repeats, Democrats only have two (2) years to enact as much change – or inflict as much chaos – as they can before they lose all levers of power in Washington. Their leaders may well realize this. With House priority given to another partisan piece of legislation that passed without a single Republican vote, H.R.1, a bill which expands voting access while reducing restrictions on voter fraud, they are attempting to federalize elections,[44] which could serve to enhance their own power.[45] Only the Senate filibuster stands in their way, and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has indicated that may not stand as we know it.[46]
To moderates and conservatives, it is not difficult to interpret progressives’ actions as a scrambling to pass and spend as much as they can, as fast as they can, and protect their power before the public has an opportunity to learn what is happening and vote them out in 2022. Given the limited abilities and infrequency of the reconciliation process through which they passed the most recent $1.9T bill without reaching across the aisle, and the sluggish pace at which Washington typically operates, Democrats are unlikely to satisfy the most far-reaching, long-lasting, goals of the more ardent progressives. This, however, is predicated on the presumption that Senators Joe Manchin and Kristen Sinema will hold true to their word and prevent the elimination of the filibuster,[47],[48] which if reversed, would green light the left’s platform and allow radical changes to American governance.
Can they resist the pressure of their party’s most emotional impulses?
Unlike the liberal policies of the Great Society, for which Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) was provided a clear mandate in a sweeping election win and bipartisan support,[49] the current progressive policies are being passed on a knife’s edge with little effort to engage moderates, no effort with conservatives.
What is more, should history repeat itself, progressive legislation and policies will pass, Democrats will lose power as the public opts for structure out of chaos, some of the policies will be reversed or restricted, and liberty-minded conservatives focused on American interests will govern for years. Perhaps this is simply the natural progression and order of societies. A similar pattern emerged immediately following the greatest crises in American history – an anti-factional period followed the Revolution in the 18th Century, Reconstruction followed the Civil War in the 19th Century and conservatism took hold with the birth of the American Century following World War II in the 20th Century.
With coronavirus and political tensions reaching new heights, is this our 21st Century equivalent of such crises?
In time, peoples certainly do yearn for change, but they want to be able to breathe free went it is over. The fundamental flaw in Progressivism is that there is no stated end game, only progress, however defined at any given moment, always evolving. There is little evidence to suggest people want to live in perpetual upheaval, certainly not in U.S. history. In fact, the evidence suggests otherwise.
Have Democrats managed to exhaust all their political capital in less than two (2) months?
2020…2022…2024…
In 2020, the self-proclaimed socialist, Bernie Sanders, lost the nomination to the media-prescribed moderate, “I am the Democratic Party”[50] Biden. With the presidential election in the balance, it took four (4) days for news outlets to declare he defeated Trump[51] – a result aided, in part, through the mass mailing of heavily-Democrat ballots,[52] dominated by early voting,[53] votes cast as the polls began to tilt in Trump’s direction.[54] The election was so contested, over 40 lawsuits were filed challenging the results.[55] Democrats lost ground in the House with Republicans flipping fifteen seats compared to the Democrats three (3).[56] The Senate was left split 50/50, only after Democrats won runoffs in Georgia, wherein they nationalized a state’s elections and outraised Republicans with out-of-state money.[57]
Was this a decisive call for socialism? At nearly every turn, the public opted for moderation.
Further, all Republican governorships up for re-election were retained while a Democrat lost,[58] and Democrats failed to capture any state legislature while experiencing losses,[59] which could challenge their election futures since many states’ drawing of House districts is determined by the governing party, a process that historically favors the party in power through gerrymandering. With the 2020 census expected to result in several states won by Trump gaining House seats at the expense of states won by Biden,[60] this impact could be felt as quickly as 2022.
Rather than see this as reflecting a centrist – or more balanced – public weary of extremism, sending both parties back to keep the other’s passions in check, Washington Democrats declared a “mandate,”[61] proceeded as if ‘nothing is off the table’ and quickly allowed their id to run roughshod over red states and districts by unilaterally moving to open the southern border and enact legislation that has been compared to the New Deal and Great Society.
How will this bear out for Democrats?
It is typical for the party of the president in power to lose seats in midterm elections.[62] (This most recently occurred in 2018, where Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives.[63])
Dating back to 1934, there have been 22 midterm elections. The president’s party lost ground in the House on 19 occasions, the Senate 16.[64]
But, more specifically, how did they fare in the wake of Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) and Johnson’s sweeping progressive agendas? After small, anomalous, gains in the 1936 elections, the public responded by handing FDR’s party a combined net loss of 95 House and 13 Senate seats in his two (2) subsequent midterm elections. LBJ’s sole midterm election resulted in net loss of 47 House and four (4) Senate seats.
And these, unlike Biden, were presidents voted into office in historic landslides.[65]
FDR…LBJ…JRB?
Biden is proceeding as if he has the support of an FDR or LBJ. If the past two (2) progressives were voted into office with clear mandates only to be repudiated, by some degree, through the large loss of Congressional seats, what might happen to a president that proceeds with sweeping legislation in a partisan fashion despite such narrow public support? Will he govern as a ‘president for all Americans,’ or as a president for blue state Americans? Rather than LBJ, might he be setting himself up to be the next Jimmy Carter, preceding the next Ronald Reagan?
Although Carter was admired for his gentleness and good intentions, he was perceived by many to be weak, and ultimately lost to the ‘fighter,’ Reagan, in another historic landslide. Does Biden present himself the strong leader?
Trump warned about weakness and the forfeitures of independence and freedom through socialism and globalism. Are Washington Democrats trying to make him the prophet? Is this how you prevent his return?
The president’s economic advisor, Jared Bernstein, plainly stated that ‘nobody cares how the stimulus bill was passed.’ Have we reached the point where politicians are so shallow, so intransigent, so uncompromising, so disinterested in persuading people on the merits of their positions that they are openly embracing the Machiavellian approach of ‘the end justify the means’? Do they genuinely expect a free, democratic society born of debate to simply submit to this antithetical philosophy? What does that say about their view of America and Americans?
Given the current style of governance, which is rejecting the input of half the nation, further pushing the unheard away with increased frustration, it is more likely the voting pattern will hold, resulting in catastrophic Democratic losses in 2022. With slim margins in both chambers of Congress, including an evenly split Senate and the slimmest House majority in modern history,[66] astute Democratic leaders may be working with the recognition that they have a small window of opportunity.
And at the age of 78, showing what many have claimed to be signs of diminished vigor and mental faculties, whereby a third of the public already believes he is mentally unfit for the job of president,[67] it is unlikely Biden will survive on the cult of personality, should he survive at all.
Will his policies?
If not Trump himself, it remains probable that history will hold and a relatively right-of-center proven leader will secure the middle ground on policy and win the next presidential election, as happened in the three (3) historic crises previously mentioned – George Washington (Commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolution), Ulysses S. Grant (Commanding General of the Army in the Civil War) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander in World War II), who ran as a result of a grassroots campaign,[68] labeled his approach “The Middle Way”[69] and was even courted by Democrats to run on their ticket.[70]
Is Trump (Commander in Chief during the coronavirus crisis), who initiated the unprecedented Operation Warp Speed,[71] a plan, once mocked only to result in several ‘miracle’ coronavirus vaccines[72] – vaccines upon which Biden is basing his COVID-19 recovery plan and relying to usher the nation through the crisis – set to return? Will a governor of one of the more successful states – states that remained largely open throughout the crisis – such as Ron DeSantis of Florida, take up the mantle?
Legislating with narrow majorities – doing so through budget reconciliation – and leading with executive action – by the stroke of a pen – has proven to yield short-term gains, only to be reversed through like means. Were the empowered willing to give but an inch and attempt to garner the support of their colleagues across the aisle, perhaps the priority goals would become more permanent. Instead, almost all their gains may prove fleeting.
Who will be the champion that finally recognizes this?
Until then, the leaders of this nation seem content to cut off its nose to spite the face, leaving America scarred and disfigured.
[1] Editor, The Shadow Candidacy, (The Offence, 2020)
[2] Editor, Congratulations, President-elect Purple Monkey Dishwasher, (The Offence, 2020)
[3] Molly Nagle, Biden campaign pledges ‘transparent, open’ relationship with press as Biden prepares for conventions speech, (ABC News, 2020)
[4] Editor, Different Gloves for Different Gloves, The Press Shows Its Colors (Blue), (The Offence, 2020)
[5] Emily Jacobs, Press corps ushered away after asking Biden questions – again, (New York Post, 2021)
[6] Tamara Keith, With 28 Executive Orders Signed, President Biden Is Off To A Record Start, (NPR, 2021)
[7] Matthew Brown, Joe Biden has not yet held a press conference as president. Does that matter? (USA Today, 2021)
[8] Joe Concha, Why is Joe Biden dodging the public and the press? (The Hill, 2021)
[9] Valerie Richardson, GOP alarmed after Schumer vows, ‘No we take Georgia, then we change America,’ (The Washington Times, 2020)
[10] Jack Durschlag, Senate GOP blasts ‘blue state bailout’ in Biden’s $1.9T coronavirus bill, (Fox News, 2021)
[11] Jacob Pramuk, House plans to pass $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill Wednesday, send it to Biden, (CNBC, 2021)
[12] Inaugural Address by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., (White House, 2021)
[13] Jarrett Renshaw and David Morgan, Despite ‘productive’ Republican meeting, Biden will not accept a scaled-down COVID-19 bill – White House, (Reuters, 2021)
[14] Kristina Peterson and Andrew Duehren, Congress Passes Covid-19 Relief, Spending Package With Overwhelming Support, (The Wall Street Journal, 2020)
[15] Mariam Khan, House Democrats pass $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, handing Biden major victory, (ABC News, 2021)
[16] Presidential Approval Ratings – Joe Biden, (Gallup, 2021)
[17] Sean Sullivan and Emma Brown, Trump’s speech sounds just like a campaign speech, (The Washington Post, 2019)
[18] H.R.1 – For the People Act of 2021, (Congress, 2021)
[19] Jeffrey M. Jones, Last Trump Job Approval 34%; Average Is Record-Low 41%, (Gallup, 2021)
[20] Biden Viewed Positively on Many Issues, but Public Is Less Confident He Can Unify the Country, (Pew Research, 2021)
[21] History and Timeline of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), (eHealth, 2020)
[22] Peter Lucas, Biden to usher in Obama’s third term, (Boston Herald, 2020)
[23] Alex Thompson, Theodoric Meyer and Nahal Toosi, Obama’s foreign policy team gets a do-over, (Politico, 2021)
[24] Mabinty Quarshie, OnPolitics: Biden’s wild week of executive orders, (USA Today, 2021)
[25] Rahm Emanuel, Let’s make sure this crisis doesn’t go to waste, (The Washington Post, 2020)
[26] Jason L. Riley, Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Great Society Remake, (The Wall Street Journal, 2021)
[27] David Lauter, Republicans call the COVID-19 relief bill a ‘liberal wish list.’ Democrats are owning that, (Los Angeles Times, 2021)
[28] Matthew Brown, Polls find most Americans support Biden’s COVID-19 stimulus package, (USA Today, 2021)
[29] Craig Gordon, Obama: Go big or go home, (Politico, 2009)
[30] Mara Liasson, The Democratic Party Got Crushed During The Obama Presidency. Here’s Why, (NPR, 2016)
[31] Derek Thompson, Thanks, Obama, (The Atlantic, 2016)
[32] Stephen M. Walt, Barack Obama Was a Foreign-Policy Failure, (Foreign Policy, 2017)
[33] Robin Emmott, In gesture to Trump, US allies close to deal to pay more for NATO running costs, (Reuters, 2019)
[34] Marshall Shepherd, Clearing The Air – The U.S., India, China And The Paris Agreement, (Forbes, 2021)
[35] Ted Hesson and Steve Holland, Biden moves to reverse Trump immigration policies, too slowly for some, (Reuters, 2021)
[36] Alan Bersin, Nate Bruggeman and Ben Rohrbaugh, Yes, There’s a Crisis on the Border. And It’s Trump’s Fault, (Politico, 2019)
[37] Emily Jacobs, Alejandro Mayorkas blames border crisis, migrant surge on Trump, (New York Post, 2021)
[38] Benjamin Din, Poll: Support drops for a Trump run in 2024, (Politico, 2021)
[39] Adi Robinson, Trump could still be barred from holding office despite acquittal: Impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, (ABC News, 2021)
[40] Domenico Montanaro, Senate Acquits Trump In Impeachment Trial – Again, (NPR, 2021)
[41] Hannah Denham, These are the platforms that have banned Trump and his allies, (The Washington Post, 2021)
[42] 55 Years Ago – “The Last Press Conference,” (Richard Nixon Foundation, 2017)
[43] Editors, Richard Nixon elected president, (History, 2020)
[44] Jane C. Timm, Democrats rethink the U.S. voting system. What’s in the massive H.R.1. (NBC News, 2021)
[45] Roman Chiarello, Sen. Hagerty: HR1 is Democrats’ attempt at ‘complete power grab,’ (Fox News, 2021)
[46] Jordan Weissmann, Joe Manchin Drops More Hints About How He’d Reform the Filibuster, (Slate, 2021)
[47] Burgess Everett, Manchin emphatic he ‘will not vote’ to kill the filibuster, (Politico, 2021)
[48] Burgess Everett, The most influential Democrat you never hear from, (Politico, 2021)
[49] Editor, Beware the Narrative, Nixon Was Reelected, (The Offence, 2020)
[50] Jacob Knutson, Biden: “I am the Democratic Party right now,” (Axios, 2020)
[51] Jonathan Lemire, Zeke Miller and Will Weissert, Biden defeats Trump for White House, says ‘time to heal’, (Associated Press, 2020)
[52] Sharp Division on Vote Counts, as Biden Gets High Marks for His Post-Election Conduct, (Pew Research Center, 2020)
[53] Hannah Miao, 2020 election sees record high turnout with at least 159.8 million votes projected, (CNBC, 2020)
[54] Editor, Donald Trump Reelected 279-259, if the Polls Are as (In)Accurate as The Were in 2016, (The Offence, 2020)
[55] Jacob Shamsian and Sonam Sheth, Trump and his allies filed more than 40 lawsuits challenging the 2020 election results. All of them failed, (Business Insider, 2021)
[56] Election results, 2020: Control of the U.S. House, (Ballotpedia, 2021)
[57] Bill Allison and Aaron Kessler, Georgia Senate Runoffs Fueled Mostly by Out-of-State Doors, (Bloomberg, 2020)
[58] U.S. Election Results (Governors), (Reuters, 2020)
[59] Russel Berman, The Failure That Could Haunt Democrats for a decade, (The Atlantic, 2020)
[60] Ed Kilgore, How the Political Map Is Likely to Shift After the 2020 Census, (Intelligencer, 2019)
[61] Pelosi Statement on Historic Election of President-Elect Joe Biden and Vic President-Elect Kamala Harris, (Speaker.gov, 2020)
[62] Niall McCarthy, Historically, The President’s Party Performs Poorly in The Midterms, (Forbes, 2018)
[63] Full list: 2018 midterm election seats that flipped, (Axios, 2018)
[65] Kevin Kaduk, The 10 biggest landslides in presidential election history, (List Wire, 2020)
[66] Scott Wong and Mike Lillis, Biden picks leave Democrats with slimmest House majority in modern history, (Business Insider, 2021)
[67] Jake Lahut, 33% of Americans say Biden isn’t mentally sharp enough for the job, according to a new Insider poll, (Business Insider, 2021)
[68] Draft Eisenhower movement, (Wikipedia)
[69] The Eisenhower Encyclopedia, (dwighteisenhower.net)
[70] Chester J. Pach, Jr., Dwight D. Eisenhower: Campaigns and Elections, (Miller Center)
[71] Coronavirus: Operation Warp Speed, (U.S. Department of Defense, 2020)
[72] Jane C. Timm, Fact check: Coronavirus vaccine could come this year, Trump says. Experts say he needs a ‘miracle’ to be right, (NBC News, 2020)
The Offence 
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