Now-President Joe Biden has talked plenty about “unity,” healing” and coming together. Biden also provides evidence to doubt he really means any of this.
For one thing, Biden, a proven plagiarist, is a notorious but skillful liar. Moreover, in securing the Democratic nomination, he had to retreat from nearly every position he once held.
Examples of his most famous flip-flops: the Hyde Amendment (supported for 40 years but now opposes); the successful anti-crime bill he authored in 1994 (supported for 25 years but now opposes, and fracking for natural gas and oil (once promised to ban but now denies he will).
But one Democrat is trying to do what Biden has, so far, only talked about doing – Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.
Last fall, as the Senate debated Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, Feinstein hugged Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican and chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Liberals tore Feinstein apart.
Now, Feinstein is defending GOP Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri. Cruz and Hawley sponsored the House Republicans’ challenges to the certification of some of Biden’s Electoral College votes.
Democrats have demanded that the pair resign in the wake of the tragic Jan. 6 riot by President Donald Trump’s supporters, who stormed the U.S. Capitol in trying to halt the proceeding.
Feinstein told the San Francisco Chronicle this week, “I think the Senate is a place of freedom. And people come here to speak their piece, and they do, and they provide a kind of leadership.”
“In some cases, it’s positive, in some cases, maybe not. A lot of that depends on who’s looking and what party they are,” she added. “But it’s an important place to have this kind of dialogue. It’s probably the highest-level dialogue that you get in an electoral body.”
Feinstein will undoubtedly take heat from the left for defending something her own party has done repeatedly – not to mention endlessly promoting the idea that Trump was in cahoots with Russian operatives.
Both Hawley and Cruz have defended their actions as part of the process in determining the winner.
In a recent opinion piece in the Southwest Missourian newspaper, Hawley noted, “Anyone who objected has been called an ‘insurrectionist.’ Sadly, much of the media and many members of the Washington establishment want to deceive Americans into thinking those who raised concerns incited violence, simply by voicing the concern. That’s false. And the allegation itself is corrosive and dangerous.”
He added, “Democrats objected after the elections of 2000, 2004, and 2016 — in other words, every time a Republican has won the White House in the last 30 years. And they were within their rights to do so. The joint session is the forum where concerns about an election can be raised, debated, and ultimately resolved with a vote.”
Feinstein also has rejected – sort of – her party’s impeachment rush, which crested last week with a largely partisan vote impeach Trump for a second time.
She recently told reporters, “I think it’s a moot question — this president is leaving office. So it won’t have any practical application. But whatever happens is fine with me.”