COMMENTARY: A classic lesson of modern betrayal

One of the most famous phrases in history is one that my high school Latin teacher Sister Mary David intoned with deep solemnity as we were studying Caesar: Et tu, Brute?

Literally it translates into “And you, Brutus?” — words spoken by a dying despot who, bleeding from many stab wounds, was likely killed by the final blow from his adopted son. But over the centuries it has taken on a more universal meaning, namely, the cry of ultimate betrayal.

I thought of what Sister Mary David would say about the Democrats’ ultimately successful but tortured campaign to remove Joe Biden from the presidential race. The diminutive Mercy nun would have likely looked me directly in the eye and said, “That was a bloodless assassination.”

It may be tasteless to invoke virtual assassination only days after someone tried to commit an actual assassination against Donald Trump. But we cannot ignore the parallels between what happened to Caesar and what the triumvirate of Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and Chuck Schumer — along with their lesser accomplices — did to Biden.

Let’s dispense with the obvious differences first: Joe Biden is not a despot, nor was he killed. While I find his character and politics anathema, no honest person would call him a dictator. He is not Caesar. For that matter, neither is Donald Trump. The rhetoric from the insane wings of both parties is dangerous and should be ignored.

The Democrats employed everything short of physical intimidation to get him to step down from the race. They pretend their efforts began in earnest only after they saw his horrific debate performance in June. But they knew — and we knew they knew — for many months. Independent reports and comments made on deep background, as well as a few on the record, indicate that Biden’s diminished capacity was obvious to everyone inside his inner circle for a long time. They appear to have started the campaign to unseat him only when what they knew was televised for everyone to gape at.

Which brings us to the central question: Did the Dems push for Biden’s withdrawal because they care about the nation or about their own power? In the case of Brutus, a Republican in the ancient sense, his treachery was motivated by a desire to resurrect the Roman Republic and neutralize a dictator. The fact that the dictator was his beloved adopted father made it a deeply difficult task and a great betrayal.

It’s hard to see the nobility in what the Dems have done. If they cared about the country, they would have demanded Biden’s withdrawal when the signs of age-related dementia became obvious to them. Instead, they waited until it became obvious to us. There is no honor in desperation.

Some might argue they are trying to save the country from Trump, who they consider a fascist.

But what do you call people who thwart the will of the electorate by essentially coercing the primary winner to step down? Are they patriots? Traitors? Or something in between?

So the deed is done. We wait for the fallout. We wait to see who will succeed to the throne, so to speak. We will see if there is a bloodless but bitter battle between Octavian and Antony, or Kamala and whoever.

In the meantime, we come neither to praise Biden, nor to bury him. We come to mourn the state of our nation and its flawed and unworthy leaders.

Christine Flowers is an attorney and a columnist for the Delaware County Daily Times, and can be reached at cflowers1961@gmail.com.