OPINION:
With Americans abandoned behind enemy lines in Afghanistan due to their disastrous politically inspired withdrawal, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are cavalierly traveling to California to rescue embattled Gov. Gavin Newsom from being recalled by the voters on Tuesday. Ms. Harris flew to her home state of California last Wednesday, and Mr. Biden is making the trip on Monday.
The fact that both Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris — the two people responsible for the ongoing Afghanistan debacle — are dedicating so much precious time in their schedules to fly across the country to campaign purely for the incompetent Mr. Newsom illustrates a tone-deaf White House where political concerns dominate every decision. In a short eight months, arrogance and irresponsible behavior have fast become the Biden administration’s trademark.
If Donald Trump had been in a similar circumstance grappling with a foreign policy crisis such as this, the mainstream media would have been in a frenzy asking how he could engage in craven political campaigning on the West Coast at a time when American lives are at risk.
Sadly, this is just the latest example of the media double standard that Americans have grown accustomed to.
With hundreds of Americans still in danger due to Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris’ Afghanistan policy, the Biden administration should be spending a majority of its time focused on getting every single one of them out of harm’s way. Instead, the Biden-Harris team seems to be focused on everything else — abortion, climate change, COVID-19 mandates, their $3.5 trillion socialist wish list, and a Washington takeover of our elections.
And their allies in the liberal media are more than happy to let them get away with it. You’d think they would have been pressuring Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris to get every American out of Afghanistan before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, but no such luck — covering Afghanistan is a political loser for both the left-wing media and this White House.
Although the left has spent the better part of a week trying to suppress Republican turnout in deep-blue California with fake polls and junk headlines, the race is clearly close enough to merit both a presidential and vice-presidential visit at the 11th hour. Anyone who has followed polling in the Trump era knows that voter sentiments are very difficult to capture, especially with the amount of uncertainty that’s currently swirling around out there. With a border crisis, crime crisis, and inflation crisis — in addition to the Afghanistan crisis — the American people have developed a crisis of confidence in the leadership of the reckless Biden-Harris duo.
The president and vice president are taking a major risk showing up to campaign for Mr. Newsom with their own approval ratings plummeting due to all the crises they’ve created. If you’re trying to counter exploding Republican enthusiasm, sending in the gang who can’t shoot straight is a bit of a head-scratcher for the Democrats. One thing is for sure. A vote that recalls Mr. Newsom on Tuesday would be a cataclysmic event for Mr. Biden, Ms. Harris and the Democrats. This result would set up the dreaded domino effect narrative, with the next stop being the elections in Virginia in November.
If there was ever a time for the people of California to say “enough’s enough,” it’s right now. Mr. Newsom is the poster child for the nightmare that has been the one-party rule in California. Whether it’s violent crime, homelessness, rampant drug abuse, sanctuary cities, high taxes, ballot harvesting, cradle to grave welfare handouts, mask mandates, or the general feeling of lawlessness, California — once described as “The Promised Land” — is at the breaking point.
Larry Elder, the leading conservative Republican on the ballot, says that a vote for him is a vote to save California. Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris are coming to California with a message that is quite the opposite; they’re trying to preserve the failed status quo that’s causing fleeing residents from the Golden State. It’s a risky proposition, to be certain. Mr. Elder and the other Republicans are campaigning on American Exceptionalism, optimism, restoring liberty and much-needed change in Sacramento.
What are Mr. Biden, Ms. Harris and Mr. Newsom offering? More of the same. Late-term abortion, inflation, high gas prices, more mandates, the list goes on. In the words of former California Gov. and President Ronald Reagan, it’s a time for choosing.
In the meantime, let’s implore our leaders to focus on saving American lives in Afghanistan — not the next election — because there are more important things than power. Those stranded deserve the best our nation has to offer, every available resource at our disposal, and must be the No. 1 priority for Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris.
• David N. Bossie is president of Citizens United, and he served as deputy campaign manager for Donald J. Trump for President.
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