Biden: Forgotten but Not Gone – WSJ

The White House unable to campaign on an inflation-ridden economy, a chaotic border, persistent crime or a disordered world last year laid out its fallback strategy: It would hand out dishes of red meat to core constituencies. What was already a polished Biden re-election plan is now a gift to Kamala and may even be worth more than his campaign-dollar war chest. The administration is throwing open its toolbox of policy promises, handouts, regulatory crackdowns and walking around money to earn chits, gratitude and ultimately votes. Remember the furor when Mr. Trump s name showed up on those election-year Covid checks? That s infant s play.

The Biden-Harris administration this week announced the next step in its sweeping student-loan giveaway, with guidance emailed to millions of debtors to skate out of billions. The week before Mr. Biden s withdrawal, his team rolled out a radical plan for nationwide rent control threatening to strip landlords of tax breaks if they don t cap rent increases. It s a lure to millions of American voters struggling with mortgage and rent escalations.

News dropped Wednesday that military prosecutors agreed to a plea deal of life imprisonment for three odious 9/11 terrorists, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the move revolting, yet the deal elicited cheers from the American Civil Liberties Union and other left-wing groups anxious to deny a future President Trump the ability to pursue the death penalty and for Mr. Biden to comply with their demand that he shut down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

The financial gifts and federally funded campaign reminders also continue to flow. The administration on Wednesday announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued $2.2 billion to 43,000 farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination prior to January 2021 part of an Inflation Reduction Act program. Federal departments in recent weeks larded out millions in new grants for women s health, state climate programs, tribal fisheries, youth skills development, and other core Democratic demographics.

via www.wsj.com

Kimberly Strassel.