When all else fails, they take you to war
Democrat poll numbers tanking; Republican Senators talking nuclear first strikes on Russia
Originally posted on my Power and Markets Substack, please feel free to share and subscribe to my newsletter to get these articles in your inbox!
“When all else fails, they take you to war.” — Gerald Celente
Poll numbers are collapsing for incumbent politicians. You know what that means-the public needs a new distraction. Time to beat the war drums.
Just as civilizations from time to time cycle through successively worse leaders, the West seems to be afflicted with a chronically inept series of policy actions. It’s always tough to pick a starting point, but let’s begin with the absolute catastrophe known as the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The world saw images I never thought we ever could see-people falling from US military aircraft desperately fleeing Taliban-occupied Kabul. Days later, 13 American troops were put in the grave. These brave souls were recklessly sacrificed by sheer incompetent leadership. Left outside protective walls, our soldiers were dumped in crowded streets hand searching frantic refugees. This was more than 12 hours after credible intelligence of an imminent terrorist attack around the Abbey Gate. The inevitable carnage followed.
Words cannot justly articulate my utter disdain for the lack of qualified leadership. No one was fired. No accountability anywhere-not even a recognition of fault. This administration and its bureaucrats besmirch the memories of our fallen.
The next action was a retaliatory strike. The Biden Administration droned and killed 10 innocent civilians, including 7 children. 1 Initially, they lied and took credit for a successful hit on an ISIS planner. Weeks later, the Pentagon admitted it was a “tragic mistake.” Again, no one was fired.
Poll numbers for Biden tanked as Americans were shocked and awed at the horrors of August 2021. The Afghanistan catastrophe irreparably shattered the public’s confidence. Biden needed a new distraction.
Enter the federal vaccine mandates. In an unprecedented action, on September 9, 2021, the Biden Administration announced the first ever of its kind-a federal vaccine mandate. The executive order would impact federal workers and contractors. The subsequent OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard required businesses with 100 or more employees to be fully vaccinated, else they face punitive fines. 2 Fortunately, the tyrannical mandates faced prompt abeyance by federal courts.
After getting rolled by the judiciary in recent weeks, poll numbers are continuing to deteriorate. In a Wall Street Journal release on December 7, 2021, Biden’s approval rating with Independents sits at 30%, with 66% disapproving. Within that 30% approval, only 11% strongly approve. 3 These are catastrophic numbers. To earn them in under 12 months is quite an accomplishment. And they’re well deserved.
We now arrive to today. I previously wrote the Biden Administration would choose to ignore the federal courts halting his mandates. I still hold it out as a possibility, but no longer probable. Two Democrat Senators just sent a bill to the House ending the federal vaccine mandates in a 52–48 vote. With Democratic Party support chipping away, picking a showdown with the judiciary over rulings seems foolish even for the standards of this administration.
As frustrated as I was with the vaccine mandates, for me, Afghanistan would be the legacy of Biden. Clearly, I misjudged that, and what a difference 4 months makes.
“Military action could mean that we stand off with our ships in the Black Sea and we rain destruction on Russian military capability. It could mean that….It could mean we participate. It could mean American troops on the ground. We don’t rule out first use nuclear action” — U.S. Senator Roger Wicker
The war drums are pounding for the US getting involved in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The #2 Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Roger Wicker, urged Biden not to rule out military action in Ukraine-up to and including the potential of a nuclear first strike. 4
A war with Russia would be an unmitigated disaster. To loosely toss around nuclear options against another nuclear power is reckless stupidity. Such a powder keg situation would spark World War III. The inflation and shortages today would pale in comparison to this contingency. The loss of life would be horrific.
It’s times we live in today where it can always get worse. In Rome, the Empire went from Caligula to Claudius, and then to Nero and civil war. Recent policies are trending in similar fashion. When politicians seek to remedy poor poll numbers, it tends to be for the worst.
War can be a useful political tool for the Machiavellian type. It consolidates support and redirects focus from your failures towards a common enemy. As with the Afghanistan exit followed by reckless droning innocent children followed by mandates, war with Russia would be extremely unpopular. Given the crisis of confidence, desperate politicians play their ultimate trump card of war. As Randolph Bourne penned, “War is the health of the state.” For society, nothing could be worse…unless you check back in another 4 months and something else may be.
Originally published at https://powerandmarkets.substack.com on December 9, 2021.
