Biden Wakes Up. Democrats Don't.

With Donald Trump poised to return to the White House, gleefully plotting revenge against all enemies, foreign, domestic, and imagined, many wondered if Joe Biden would stick to his vow not to use the Constitution’s pardon power to keep his son from the fangs of Trump’s stooges or would he cease being a Boy Scout, go back on his word, and get Hunter out of the crosshairs.

He chose his son, reminiscent of E. M. Forster who, when asked if he would choose to betray his country or his friend, replied, “I hope I should have the guts to betray my country.”

But Biden betrayed neither.

It is not as if the pardon power has a pristine history, with presidents only using it to reward the most deserving of ordinary citizens, those who were wrongly convicted or had exhibited saintly behavior while paying their debt to society. Bill Clinton pardoned oil trader Marc Rich, a total crook who, although an orthodox Jew, was happy to trade with Iran during the hostage crisis, after which he escaped to Switzerland, where he opened a kosher delicatessen in Zug. By coincidence, Rich’s wife Denise was a major Clinton contributor.

But no one abused the pardon power more than Donald Trump, which is hardly a surprise. Trump pardoned the likes of such stalwart citizens as Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, and convicted con-man, tax cheat, and next ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, Jared’s father. In addition, he may well pardon a slew of Capitol invaders who will emerge from jail posing a greater threat of violence than when they went in.

Makes Hunter Biden’s pardon look tame.

Given the comparison, it would be reasonable to expect Democrats to cheer Biden, who saved his son not only from the prison sentence to be meted out in two weeks, but also from the vendetta that was almost sure to follow. Trump has already promised to turn the Justice Department into an instrument of personal retribution, a plaything, demanding, among other wastes of time, a full investigation into the 2020 election. It would be no surprise at all if Hillary Clinton’s emails were resurrected as well. As such, Biden did not so much commit a venal act as prevent one.

But Democrats did not cheer. Quite the reverse.

Michigan Senator Gary Peters called it “wrong,” adding that “a president’s family and allies shouldn’t get special treatment.” He also noted, giving evidence that his head has been buried somewhere with no light for the past month, “This was an improper use of power. It erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests.”

Peters was not alone. Maine Congressman Jared Golden scolded “such a sweeping pardon for a close family member sets an unfortunate precedent that undermines trust in the office of the president.”

Precedent? Are they kidding? What country are they living in? The United States just elected a FELON! If it were a federal crime, Trump would pardon himself. He would pardon any member of his family, any associate, no matter how heinous the misdeed, as long as they groveled appropriately. Even worse, those who voted for Trump did so with the full knowledge that he had bragged about becoming the most corrupt person ever to hold the office, with no other president even coming close

Precedent? What these Democratic critics of Biden’s pardon, and there were a lot of them, demonstrated is that if they were out of touch on November 5, they are more, not less so now. They seem to think you can bring a water pistol to a gunfight.

Open your eyes, Democrats! This is a war. Maybe no actual shots have been fired—yet—but even that is not out of the question. The United States just voted to abandon the rule of law, sweep aside separation of powers, and toss checks and balances into the trash bin. Pretending that nothing has really changed and that, in Michelle Obama’s unfortunate phrase, “When they go low, we go high,” is absurd. At least she learned her lesson, as did Biden. Peters, Golden, and other Democratic critics of Biden’s pardon quite obviously have not.

What this election made clear was that a majority of Americans favored the perception of strength, the puffed up boasts of a bully, over reason. Whether that strength is illusory is not the point—Trump voters did not seem to care. Democrats are not going to win back their trust and support by adhering to what they deem a higher standard than Republicans, by pretending the Constitution still matters, that we are the same country we were fifty, forty, or even ten years ago.

Instead, the perception of strength must be faced down with real strength. Every non-violent tool should be employed to oppose the ruling cabal. Strikes, civil disobedience, economic boycotts, should all be at the ready and aggressively utilized to maximum effect. Already, Elon Musk’s X has reportedly experienced millions of defectors to Bluesky, a once tiny, insignificant competitor that is fast becoming the social media site of choice for the left. It will not change the world, perhaps, but at least it’s a move in the right direction. Democrats should look for other areas in which to set up a shadow society, some of which I proposed in my post, Where To Go From Here—Part 2: Moving Past Denial.

What Democrats both in and out of government must come to realize is that, in a very real sense, we are starting over, that we need to view the new federal government almost as an occupying power, which must be resisted if it is to be defeated.

Resistance can come in many forms. Hunter Biden may be a tiny gesture, but him walking free will rankle conservatives and for that reason alone, his father made the right choice.