The Irrelevant President

Why Biden’s election merely slows the USA’s collapse

Image credit: AP News

Personally, I am delighted that although more than seventy million US citizens were stupid and evil enough to vote for the most incompetent and repugnant president in US history, an even greater number of US citizens cast their votes against him. I forecast a Trump victory and I am extremely pleased to have been wrong by estimating correctly the massive turnout in support of Trump but under-estimating the degree to which Biden would ultimately benefit from anti-Trump sentiment.

Unless the US Supreme Court finds a way to over-rule the Biden victory, or members of the Electoral College decide (as they are perfectly entitled to do and have done in the past) that they’ll cast their votes for Trump rather than following the wishes of the electorate, Biden will become the 46th president of the United States.

Excitable journalists and other commentators will now jump up and down for the next few days squealing loudly about how this proves democracy works and no doubt the tooth fairy will also leave us all a dollar under our pillows tonight.

In reality however, Biden’s victory is profoundly hollow. Lost amid the understandable euphoria are three simple facts that render his forthcoming term utterly irrelevant.

Firstly the Supreme Court is now packed six-three with right-wing judges who will certainly erode most of the progress made over the last fifty years in terms of human rights. Roe versus Wade hangs in the balance and frankly I wouldn’t bet on it surviving. As for LGBT rights…

Secondly the Senate is still ruled by Republicans who will continue to urinate all over the Constitution in order to gain whatever advantages they can regardless of the cost to society and the rule of law. They have zero reason to change their behavior and every reason to continue it. So they will. If you think Biden will get a majority of his nominations through the confirmation hearings, think again.

Thirdly, the House now has far more Republicans in it than before, diminishing even further the Democratic Party’s limited range of options.

In short, the next four years will see Republicans block every Democratic attempt to legislate, and the…