Today's point-and-laugh bit on Conservative Twitter is remembering how Politico columnist Jonathan Martin proclaimed back in February that it was a cuckoo conspiracy theory that Biden would be replaced on the ticket. Who looks like a failed prognosticator now?  This was the snotty headline:  Get Used to It: Biden Isn’t Going Anywhere The GOP fantasy crowd is so accustomed to conspiracy theories that they’re betting the Democrats will switch candidates at the last minute. Have they actually paid attention to politics? It's easy for an expert to pooh-pooh inevitable crystal-ball notions like "Michelle Obama for President." Talk radio can go on for days with that sort of grist. But the swagger just looks like it had boomeranged in the most awful way for "J-Mart."  On Sunday even Nikki Haley, ostensibly the GOP’s Team Normal candidate for president, put down her cash at the window. “My bet is 30 days from now, I don’t think Joe Biden is going to be the nominee,” Haley told supporters. She and other Republicans are about to look as bad as those who took the 49ers. In the spirit of helping the GOP understand their Democratic counterparts, and to avoid any more bad bets, I’ve put together a primer for Republicans on why Biden will be his party’s standard bearer once more. I especially enjoy his argument that Republicans were spouting this because "Too many of them, even those in elected office, don’t believe or understand the mainstream media." Lab Leak theory of electoral politics, 2024. https://t.co/iZ6elG3XmY — Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 22, 2024 Martin allows the caveat the Biden could have a "health crisis," but this was more of a...health exposure. Martin proclaimed the window had passed: "Democrats had their chance to speak out against Biden running for reelection at nearly 82, they failed to do it and there is no “they” now poised to intervene." He thought Donald Trump was the inevitable reason why no one was going to step in Biden's way -- but Donald Trump became the inevitable reason why Biden had to go.  Martin relies on the conventional political view, that the "red trickle" election of 2022 lowered the panic: "If Biden loses to Trump this fall, it will be in part because Democrats were lulled into security, or denial, by an electorate which favors their coalition more in midterms than in presidential elections." He observed "Republicans always tend to think Democrats will stop at nothing to win and there exists some powerful forces who can swap out Biden for a younger candidate. But Boss Daley isn’t walking through that door." Martin certainly believed that the age issue could be damaging for Biden. We noted Martin's article in November 2023 strongly suggesting Biden was losing his capacity to do The Job.  2024 will be an extraordinary election, and it demands extraordinary measures. That’s in part for reasons Biden refuses to accept: his capacity to do the job. The oldest president in history when he first took the oath, Biden will not be able to govern and campaign in the manner of previous incumbents. He simply does not have the capacity to do it, and his staff doesn’t trust him to even try, as they make clear by blocking him from the press. Biden’s bid will give new meaning to a Rose Garden campaign, and it requires accommodation to that unavoidable fact of life.

Back in 2020, Joe Biden made it a point to pick a black woman to be his running mate. In 2024, now that Vice President Kamala Harris is running for president in her own right, MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell declared it “clearly racist” on Tuesday for Republicans to point this out. Addressing former RNC chairman Michael Steele, Mitchell whined, “It took only a day for the Republicans to attack Vice President Harris in clearly racist terms. Republican Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee says the vice president is a diversity hire. I mean, here’s a former senator, attorney general of California, our largest state. Take a listen.”     Mitchell then played a clip of Burchett with CNN’s Manu Raju, where Burchett condemned Biden for excluding women of other races. After Raju asked if Harris was a DEI hire, Burchett replied, “One hundred percent. She was a DEI hire.” Mitchell’s only response was to do whataboutism with JD Vance, “That was to CNN, of course. Michael, compare that to JD Vance's two years in the Senate, she's been vice president for almost four years and before that a senator on the Judiciary Committee and, as I say, attorney general and a prosecutor.” Despite proving he is fully in the Kamala Cult less than two hours earlier by tweeting a picture of Harris as Captain America, Steele tried to claim that he is still a Republican, “Yeah. You know, it's a familiar theme. It's a sign of, and this has been a problem that, you know, many of us in the party have had to confront and help through for many, many years, how to actually engage a conversation when they're confronting an African-American or person of color that— in the political space.”   Hey @realDonaldTrump. You ready for this? pic.twitter.com/GHBy697yRI — Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) July 23, 2024   He then claimed Burchett and anyone else making a similar point is just trying to appeal to white men, “And so they revert to themes that appeal to white men, essentially, conservative white men who have these views about a successful black female in this particular case. It is a stupid thing for him to say, and, you know, look, the reality of it is, what else are you going to do?” Lacking any citation, he proceeded to claim that Republicans are scared of her, “A lot of Republicans didn't want JD Vance and they were dreading the conversation between him and Kamala. Now that's shifted to Donald Trump, and so, there's a little bit of panic going on.” When Republicans were arguing over who would make the best VP for Trump, the ability to debate Harris was at the bottom of the list. Nevertheless, Steele rolled right along, “You know, the name-calling is just getting started.” Steele concluded by claiming: It is transformative, and, you know, where it's going to land the strongest, I think, is with those younger voters who have started to check out of the process, and this kind of conversation does not help with those voters when they check in and so the Democrats have got to now work their system to get through the process to the convention, but Republicans now have to figure out how they're going to run against a Kamala Harris, who is a little bit more than a DEI hire, Republicans. I just want to let you know that. The same network that is constantly throwing horrible names at black conservatives is upset that Republicans simply noticed what Democrats said out loud, but refused to positive spin on it. Here is a transcript for the July 23 show: MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports 7/23/2024 12:26 PM ET ANDREA MITCHELL: Michael Steele, it took only a day for the Republicans to attack Vice President Harris in clearly racist terms. Republican Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee says the vice president is a diversity hire. I mean, here’s a former senator, attorney general of California, our largest state. Take a listen. TIM BURCHETT: What about white females? [jump cut] When you go down that route, you take mediocrity and that's what you have right now as a vice president. MANU RAJU: Are you suggesting she was a DEI hire? BURCHETT: One hundred percent. She was a DEI hire. MITCHELL: That was to CNN, of course. Michael, compare that to JD Vance's two years in the Senate, she's been vice president for almost four years and before that a senator on the Judiciary Committee and, as I say, attorney general and a prosecutor. MICHAEL STEELE: Yeah. You know, it's a familiar theme. It's a sign of, and this has been a problem that, you know, many of us in the party have had to confront and help through for many, many years, how to actually engage a conversation when they're confronting an African-American or person of color that— in the political space.  And so they revert to themes that appeal to white men, essentially, conservative white men who have these views about a successful black female in this particular case. It is a stupid thing for him to say, and, you know, look, the reality of it is, what else are you going to do? What are you going to put up against Kamala? Now you've got, you know, JD Vance out there floundering.  A lot of Republicans have second guessed— are starting to second guess, that there were a lot of Republicans didn't want JD Vance and they were dreading the conversation between him and Kamala. Now that's shifted to Donald Trump, and so, there's a little bit of panic going on. You know, the name calling is just getting started, but what I think you see, Andrea, you put your finger on an important part in the question to Garrett is the energy level now on the Democratic side has shifted.  It is transformative, and, you know, where it's going to land the strongest, I think, is with those younger voters who have started to check out of the process and, this kind of conversation does not help with those voters when they check in, and so the Democrats have got to now work their system to get through the process to the convention, but Republicans now have to figure out how they're going to run against a Kamala Harris, who is a little bit more than a DEI hire, Republicans. I just want to let you know that.

An 80-year-old man living in a small city in Michigan's Upper Peninsula is in the hospital with serious injuries after an ATV driver apparently ran him over as he put up a sign in his front yard to show his support for the candidacy of former President Donald Trump.On Sunday, police received reports of three attacks likely tied to the same suspect in Hancock, Michigan, a small city at the base of the Keweenaw Peninsula, the stretch of land that juts out into Lake Superior in the northwestern area of the state's Upper Peninsula.'We’re not sure what could happen. Could he die from these injuries? Possible.'Two of the incidents involved "intentionally vandalized" vehicles, a press release from the City of Hancock Police Department said. On one car, "the tire valves were broken off," while the other had all its windows "smashed ... out," added Hancock Police Chief Tami Sleeman.However, the third incident may cost an elderly man his life.On Sunday afternoon, an unidentified 80-year-old man was attempting to put Trump signs back up in the front yard of his home along the 1400 block of Anthony Street after the ATV driver suspected in the vandalism incidents allegedly pulled the signs down. Around 5:45 p.m., while the man was still working on the signs, the ATV driver allegedly returned to the home and struck the man with his vehicle.The victim was rushed to UP Health System hospital in Portage, where he remains in critical condition. Reports say he may have suffered a "brain bleed.""We’re not sure what could happen. Could he die from these injuries? Possible," Sleeman said.Not only do police believe the ATV driver is involved in all three incidents, but they also believe that all three incidents may have been "politically motivated." "The subject appeared to target both Trump and Law Enforcement supporters," the police press release said.Police soon identified a suspect, but the individual has likely already died. On Monday, Hancock PD reportedly received a call from someone who wanted to "confess a crime involving an ATV driver within the last 24 hours." The person also requested a ride.Hancock police and Houghton County Sheriff's Office then went to the address associated with the caller. There, officers and deputies discovered "a 22-year-old male suspect ... found deceased with a single self-inflicted gunshot wound," a statement from the sheriff's office said.At the suspect's residence, investigators allegedly found "the four-wheeler used during the incident in the city." They also confiscated electronic devices that will be subjected to forensic analysis. The suspect's name has not been released.Investigations into the incidents remain ongoing, and "there is no further threat to the public at this time," the statement from the sheriff's office added.H/T: Libs of TikTokLike Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A former teacher in California has been hit with a maximum prison sentence after being found guilty of child sex abuse of an eighth-grade student on his graduation day, according to authorities. The Gridley Police Department arrested Michelle Christine Solis, 46, in November 2023 after a concerned parent claimed "explicit photographs" of a Gridley Unified School District teacher were "circulating among students."The attorney for the former teacher argued that she should receive probation because the incident was only 'one act.' Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Solis was having an illegal sexual relationship with one of her eighth-grade students at Sycamore Junior High School.Solis allegedly “friended” the minor on Instagram and later sent the boy explicit photos of herself. "Evidence showed Solis sent the boy four explicit photos of herself before having sexual intercourse with him in her classroom on the day of the boy’s 8th-grade graduation," the DA's office said.Investigators allegedly verified the accusations by reviewing messages on the victim's cell phone; the teacher reportedly instructed the boy to delete their communications. Solis also gave the student "special treatment" in school, according to the DA's office.Solis was charged with one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under the age of 16. After she pleaded no contest, Butte County Superior Court Judge Michael Deems sentenced Solis to the maximum term: four years in state prison. Solis also must register as a sex offender and cannot contact the victim for 10 years.The attorney for the former teacher argued that she should receive probation because the incident was only "one act." However, the DA's office said the sentence was appropriate due to the 29-year age difference between the minor and Solis, her position as a trusted member of the community, and a pattern of conduct that amounted to "grooming."Judge Deems said at the sentencing, "The manner in which the crime was carried out demonstrated criminal sophistication in that the defendant groomed the victim in order to get the victim in a situation for sexual contact. The court finds that there is a factual basis for the plea, and it is the judgment of this court that the defendant is guilty of that offense."Solis had been a teacher with the Gridley Unified School District for 20 years, according to police. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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