OPINION:
Dozens of Republicans penned a letter to President Biden asking him to take a cognitive test, release the results and put to rest the concerns of the many, oh so many, in America and around the world who think he’s mentally unfit for the high office.
If he can put the concerns to rest, that is.
This shouldn’t be a partisan issue.
This shouldn’t be a Republican versus Democrat issue.
This is an American issue.
It goes to the question of America’s ability to lead on the world stage; to the question of the president’s ability to protect and defend the Constitution from enemies, both foreign and domestic; to the question of this White House’s ability to keep the country safe and secure, free from the dangers of Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and the like.
In other words: Democrats should care as much as Republicans about these matters.
They’re not political — until they’re politicized.
And the fact that Democrats not only want to ignore but actually downplay the concerns that have swirled for months now, for months and months and months now, about Biden’s mental faculties shows the party with the donkey face is quite willing to trade citizen security for personal political gain.
“Jill Biden dismisses ‘ridiculous’ talk about Joe’s mental fitness,” The New York Post wrote in December.
And yet: “Poll: Voters’ doubts rising about Biden’s health, mental fitness,” Politico wrote in November.
Back up to August, and it was more of the same.
“Biden should undergo mental cognitive testing and the result should be made public,” wrote Greg Ganske, a retired surgeon and former four-term member of the House of Representatives from Iowa, in a Des Moines Register opinion piece about his personal and friendly experiences with Biden.
“I pray for the president’s health,” Ganske went on. “I personally like Joe Biden … though I disagree with most of his policies. But there’s enough evidence to legitimately require an inquiry into his mental acuity.”
And if Biden can’t pass the cognitive smell test?
“[H]e should resign,” Ganske wrote.
Back up to February, and it was more of the same.
“33% of Americans Say Biden Isn’t Mentally up for the Job,” Business Insider wrote then.
Ol’ Joe ain’t budging, though.
Just last month, when asked about a Politico/Morning Consult survey that found 48% of registered voters saw Biden as less than mentally fit, the president responded with a shoulder shrug by saying he had “no idea” why Americans would think that way.
No idea?
Perhaps it’s because of the multiple references to Vice President Kamala Harris as president — or to the talk about taking back the House at a time when Democrats already held the House — or to the labeling of self as a senator while serving as president — or to the stumbling over the words of the Declaration of Independence and wrapping with the rather eyebrow-raising, “All men and women are created, by the, you know, you know the thing.”
Perhaps it’s because of his snappy curse-laden comebacks to reporters who are simply doing their jobs.
Perhaps it’s because of his many garbling, mumbling, rambling, off-topic and incoherent speeches and press conferences and public remarks. The guy can’t speak without stumbling. His mind leads his mouth down so many rabbit holes that even the rabbits are afraid of getting lost.
Thirty-seven or so Republicans want to know why.
“My colleagues and I are again asking President Biden to immediately undergo a formal cognitive screening exam,” wrote former physician to the president, Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, in an email to Fox News.
“As a former physician to three presidents,” he went on, “I know what it takes mentally and physically to execute the duties [of the office]. Joe Biden has continually proven to me and to the world that something isn’t right. The American people deserve to have absolute confidence in their president’s cognitive ability.”
Jackson also mentioned that when he discussed taking a cognitive test with Donald Trump, the former president jumped on board, in part because it was agreed, “this is not a partisan issue.”
It’s not.
It shouldn’t be.
But Democrats, with their reluctance and refusal to admit the obvious, have made it so.
And that makes America a lot less secure and safe than the citizens deserve.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Socialists Don’t Sleep: Christians Must Rise Or America Will Fall,” is available by clicking HERE.
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