Photo by John Minchillo of The Associated Press / Members of the National Guard stand at a roadblock near the Supreme Court ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington.It is always good to see America shine in the world's eyes. Nothing says "peaceful transition of power" like barbed wire, barricades and 25,000 troops standing by. When Chief Justice John Roberts took the Bible to swear in Joe Biden and started the oath by raising his hand and saying, "I, Joe Biden," Biden said, "No, I am Joe Biden!"
Political Washington puts inordinate taxpayer assets on the line when it is, itself, being protested. There are FBI billboards across the country, at who knows what cost, asking for information about those who went into the Capitol Building on Jan. 6. I do not remember our politicians sending in National Guard troops or spending millions on billboards when American cities, government buildings and people's businesses were burning all across America last year. But when there is the slightest threat to our politicians, there is no limit to the amount of your money they will not spend to protect themselves.
There are more troops in Washington protecting politicians than we have in war zones across the world, all in an overreaction to a small fraction of marauding knuckleheads who ran amok in the Capitol. These self-absorbed career politicians should get over themselves. I have long supported term limits, and I feel further that no elected official like Schumer, Biden or Pelosi should serve more than one facelift or one hair transplant.
Thousands of National Guard troops for an inauguration no one attended? This was the only personal security detail bigger than the one that looks after Beyonce and Jay-Z. Thank goodness Trump brought so many of our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan to be able to staff this. You know you were elected by the people in an honest election when you need 25,000 National Guard troops to protect you at your swearing-in.
There are folks in burned-out "protest" cities who wish Washington politicians protected them the way they protect themselves. And for Democrats who say fences do not work and we should not have guns, it seems they have a lot of fences and guns around them.
Trump may leave Washington for a nicer, newer city like Palm Beach, but he will never find a city with more boobs than Washington, D.C. The Capitol Police, who cartoonishly opposed the intruders, must have been trained by the French Army.
Now that Biden is in, the media are acting like COVID-19 does not have a chance. Never mind that shut-down, command-and-control, Draconian states like New York and California have seen the worst results. Maybe Biden can appoint Govs. Newsom and Cuomo as co-heads of the Chamber of Commerce, getting them to treat COVID-19 like they do businesses so it will eventually pack up and leave California and New York for good.
Trump didn't exactly take the high road. A reasoned person has to be able to separate the man's policies and accomplishments from his crass behavior. Leaving early for Florida and not attending the inauguration was bad form. Now I am just a monkey who writes political satire, and I will leave this to the political pundits, but I am starting to feel like Trump might not release his tax returns.
It is fun to watch the left preening after the election and Big Tech curtailing their opposition's First Amendment rights. Biden should appear at the Washington Nationals' MLB season opener and throw out the First and Second Amendments.
The perpetual and petty impeachment of Trump indicates that the Democrats have no workable policy agenda. They remain the Party of Payback, though they say they are going to "unite the country." If Trump gets his impeachment card stamped one more time, he gets a free Subway sandwich and large soft drink.
It will be up to Biden and his team to try to reach out to the other side and keep this country from careening toward civil war. If that happens, I bet on the South. We have a bunch of guns, better athletes and tons of re-enactors who have been gathering and practicing this for decades.
Contact Ron Hart, a syndicated op-ed satirist, author and TV commentator, at Ron@RonaldHart.com or on Twitter @RonaldHart.
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Ron Hart