Free Trials ERIC FELTEN P.55

January 19, 2021 Ʈ $7.99 Exploding Jack Sh** Biden Draws On Guard Boomers ROB LONG — P.56 ‘Revolvers’ at the Capitol PARK MACDOUGALD — P.48 KATHERINE DOYLE — P.19 PHOTOGRAPHS BY GRAEME JENNINGS — P.22 TRANSITION SPECIAL ISSUE Biden’s fight to reshape the judiciary ILYA SHAPIRO — P.12 Corporations suck up to incoming Democrats TIMOTHY P. CARNEY — P.28 Hunter Biden breathes a sigh of relief BYRON YORK — P.24 Time doesn’t heal — it festers DOUG MCKELWAY — P.16 Free Trials ERIC FELTEN P.55 Editorials tack on the Capitol somehow figures into Schumer’s left-wing Senate this is just a non sequitur. Even with respect to the least ideolog- ical of Schumer’s stated agenda items, the wish list should be dead $2,000 pandemic relief checks, not even his own party is unified behind it. Nor should they be. Those checks, initially on arrival Trump’s idea, would go out to the em- o hear incoming Senate Major- “restor[ing] workers’ rights and fairness in ployed and unemployed alike, at a time ity Leader Chuck Schumer tell our tax code” refers, in fact, to something when the unemployment rate has already it, the nation is crying out for quite extreme — first, a national abolition substantially improved. They represent T $2,000 checks to stimulate the of state “right to work” laws, and second, an inappropriate response to a situation economy, on the one hand, and tax increases on the middle class. The lat- that has economically crushed some radical climate legislation that will cripple ter could be especially pernicious because households while leaving others relatively it, on the other. And the Senate, he argues, Schumer is on the record wanting to raise unscathed. It is, as Sen. Mitch McConnell must act quickly, because America has taxes in order to pay for the restoration of put it, “socialism for rich people.” It is one never been in a worse place. big tax deductions for his wealthiest sub- thing to extend unemployment benefits, “The nation,” Schumer writes, “is fac- urban constituents that were abolished by but COVID-19 should not become an ex- ing unprecedented challenges: the great- President Trump’s tax reform bill. cuse for giving government assistance to est economic crisis in seventy-five years, Schumer’s talk of a measure to “defeat life’s winners — those unaffected by or the greatest public health crisis in a cen- the climate crisis by investing in clean in- even thriving during the pandemic. tury, the climate crisis, and worsening in- frastructure and manufacturing” is an ap- Where Schumer tries to push the come inequality and racial injustice.” parent reference to the $90 trillion Green boundaries, the new Republican Senate Oh, the hyperbole. Not one of these New Deal. Or maybe, it just implies a minority must hold firm. Biden must also challenges is actually unprecedented dismantling of the nation’s profitable, show leadership if he is to unite the coun- — racial injustice, for example, is a pale self-sustaining, and world-leading fossil try in difficult times. The voters in 2020 shadow of what it once was, and the eco- fuel production industry. opted to give neither party the numbers nomic crisis of 2009 was much harsher Then, Schumer goes on to say that or the power to effect radical change. The and longer-lasting than the current one. “that’s just the beginning.” voters want some normalcy — some sta- But in any case, Schumer does not In the current tense political envi- bility. In order to respect their will, the want to leave anything to chance, so he ronment, neither Schumer nor Presi- political opposition must do what it was writes ominously, “If our Republican col- dent-elect Joe Biden should be riling up elected to do: oppose such nonsense. leagues decide not to partner with us in their base with hopes of such transforma- And the new president needs to resist the our efforts to address these issues, we will tive measures. And the notion that an at- worst impulses of his party’s left wing. + not let that stop progress.” This veiled threat to do away with the Senate’s minority protections, the revolu- tionary abolition of the Senate filibuster, is probably an empty one. But either way, is this really the new tone that the mixed election result calls for? Schumer’s recent letter to colleagues cites this month’s violence at the U.S. Capitol, then proposes a lengthy Demo- cratic policy wish list. The juxtaposition of these two things within the same letter is not a coincidence. The one is being used as an excuse for the other. In the old days, this was known as “waving the bloody shirt.” Schumer is cynically gam- bling that the rioters’ criminal behavior can be used to justify stretching his tenu- ous Senate majority further than it could ever go otherwise. Schumer’s subtle, ominous mention of January 19, 2021 Washington Examiner 1 EDITORIALS This was quite a way to describe Twitter’s twisted logic Chinese efforts to control its Muslim population through mass involuntary sterilization, IUDs, and forced abortions of Uighurs. Though this particular tweet end- ed up being deleted following a public outcry, the account still lives, unlike Trump’s. t’s no secret that President Trump In another tweet, the account called In another example of Twitter’s lack — as a private citizen, a presidential for more terrorism against Israelis. of self-awareness, the company put out candidate, and as president — has “The Zionist regime is a deadly, can- a statement this month warning that I used Twitter to make outrageous, cerous growth and a detriment to this “ahead of the Ugandan election, we’re uncivil, and conspiratorial state- region,” read another thread. “It will un- hearing reports that Internet service pro- ments. But this has been true for years. doubtedly be uprooted and destroyed. viders are being ordered to block social Until this month, when Trump was Then, the shame will fall on those who media and messaging apps.” It went on permanently banned from the social put their facilities at the service of nor- to say that “access to information and network, the company had resisted the malization of relations with this regime.” freedom of expression, including the step, arguing that it had a policy against The thread went on to say that “my public conversation on Twitter, is never banning world leaders. main advice is to continue this struggle & more important than during democratic “Twitter is here to serve and help ad- better organize anti-occupation organi- processes, particularly elections.” vance the global, public conversation,” zations, cooperation & expand the areas This is laughable, considering that in the company announced in 2018. “Elect- of #Jihad inside Palestinian territories. the run-up to the 2020 election, Twitter ed world leaders play a critical role in Everyone must help the Palestinian took the draconian step of suspending that conversation because of their out- fighters. We will proudly do everything the Twitter account of the New York sized impact on our society.” in our power on this path.” Post, one of the nation’s oldest and larg- The statement went on to explain that In addition to Iran, China has used its est newspapers, over its reporting on “blocking a world leader from Twitter Twitter accounts for dangerous propa- Hunter Biden and then blocked other us- or removing their controversial Tweets ganda purposes. Tweeting last month, ers from even sharing the link to its story. would hide important information peo- the Chinese Embassy in the United As a private social network, Twitter is ple should be able to see and debate. It States used its account to claim that within its legal rights to ban Trump, but would also not silence that leader, but it due to its policies, Uighur women were the move is the culmination of its twisted would certainly hamper necessary dis- “emancipated” and experiencing “gen- logic and shifting goal posts. It speaks to cussion around their words and actions.” der equality” because they were “no the unseriousness and rank hypocrisy of In taking the step not just to ban longer baby-making machines.” the company. + Trump but to restrict his access to the @ POTUS account, Twitter broke with its own standard. In a statement, the network said that “we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” If incitement to violence is the new metric, however, Twitter is going to have to explain why it has banned Trump and not other world leaders who have con- sistently and repeatedly incited violence. For instance, an account attributed to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, remains active despite being used to promote violence and anti-Semitism. “#Holocaust is an event whose real- ity is uncertain and if it has happened, it’s uncertain how it has happened,” one tweet from the account reads. VIA GETTY IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET IMAGES GONCHAR/SOPA PAVLO BY ILLUSTRATION PHOTO 2 Washington Examiner January 19, 2021 JANUARY 19, 2021 16 The Last Days of the 46 Stephen Moore Get ready for more Trump Presidency Obama-era green energy scams And what it means for Volume 27, Number 3 the next era of politics By Doug McKelway Life & Arts Editorial 19 Biden and Big Tech’s 48 Books The Real Thing ‘Reverse Revolvers’ 1 Schumer’s left-wing Senate wish Melding of government and 48 Books OK, Boomers list should be dead on arrival Silicon Valley could be a menace to free speech 51 Life In Uniform Struggling with 2 Twitter’s twisted logic By Katherine Doyle Dry January? It Could Be Worse 22 Changing of the Guard 51 On Culture Trading Places and Letter From the Editor This presidential inauguration the Joys of Commercialized will look a lot different Christmas 6 A transition like no other By J.

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