Imagine a Republican in the White House and that would have been the lede, there would, by now, have been calls for an investigation, subpoenas, lawsuits and impeachment proposals.
With a Democrat, it’s just subtext.
Days before a major oil-production cut by OPEC and its Russia-led allies, U.S. officials called their counterparts in Saudi Arabia and other big Gulf producers with an urgent appeal—delay the decision for another month, according to people familiar with the talks. The answer: a resounding no.
Saudi officials dismissed the requests, which they viewed as a political gambit by the Biden administration to avoid bad news ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, on which control of Congress hangs. High gas prices and inflation have been central issues in the campaign.
The Saudis are applying pressure to the Biden administration with their usual tool. But the Biden administration was not, despite public posturing by Democrats and the media, concerned with the impact on Americans, but the impact on its ability to hold Congress.
Had the Saudis pulled this after the election, it’s a safe bet that the media and the Democrats would be much less agitated.
But instead of treating the Biden demand as election interference using a foreign regime, you can bet the spin will be that the Saudis are interfering on behalf of Republicans. And then they can cue a retread of Russiagate with the Saudis. What the Saudis want is pretty clear. And they’re playing hardball to get it. The question is why is Biden putting Iran ahead of that?
Biden could jettison the fake deal with Iran, the worthless talks and restore support against the Houthis in Yemen. But that would infuriate the Iran Lobby, Qatar’s Al Jazeera, the various think tanks it backs and the leftist activist base. So, as usual, Biden kept going on autopilot, doing the bidding of the Left and its Iranian allies, with disastrous results, not just economically, but potentially politically.
The Saudis were just as cynical here as the Biden administration and understood that the political impact was all that they cared about. But maybe they weren’t cynical enough. The Dems would love to retain Congress, but the odds of that were a long shot anyway. Getting another country to blame for the gas prices that they want to keep high anyway for the sake of imposing their Green New Deal is a bigger priority. Now they can have their cake and someone to blame for it too. And the Biden regime won’t be held accountable for trying to get a foreign regime to intervene in our elections.
Maybe Dems have a broader view of what’s in their political interest than cyclical elections. Assuming the margin for error is extremely wide with GOP opposition. Republicans drag their feet but they always accede to 98% of the New Normal. So maybe the only question is how long that will remain “sustainable”.
Trump is wired pulling with the Saudis to sabotage Joe’s election chances.
Adam Schiff is holding the evidence. It’s a vial of urine. Scores of anonymous sources are in solid agreement that the vial is very large, and very full. Feel free to ask them for confirmation. This time we got him for sure.
The left has been bad=mouthing fossil fuels in favor of wind, solar, and other hot air for decades. Why should the Saudis give them veto power over their one source of power and wealth? No one but malignantly narcissistic leftists would ever expect such sacrificial considerations. Only the insensate greed for total power, i.e., evil could make people this pathologically entitled and insensitive.
Thanks, excellent point.
Good article Jeff. No reason I can conjure up that the Saudis would ‘get in bed’ with Biden especially to assist him in winning an election here. The Saudis don’t need him and I don’t believe they have any respect for him either and with his track record with them why should they? Time to pay the piper.
Biden is a liar and a crook. He lies about everything. The best thing to do with Biden is to vote him OUT!
The next House majority should impeach him.
The Insane Government we have are the ones making all of this INSANITY that we are living through happen, the only thing to do is VOTE THE DEMS and the BAD REPUBLICANS OUT OF OFFICE, HAVE CORT HEARINGS AND LOCK THEM UP FOR THERE CRIMES. VOTE VOTE VOTE We need the Country back for the People and by the People. Just remember the Dictator needs a war to stop the VOTING.