Before the Democrats destroy themselves in their debates,
here’s my 2 cents so I can look back and remind myself how wrong I was.
The Democratic Party must strategize, not so the “best”
man/woman runs against Trump, but so the most electable ticket is
running. The priority is to defeat
someone who should not have been elected in the first place, a confluence of
events which perfectly came together to elect the unelectable. One can simply list these, the modern-day enigma
of the Electoral College, the bogus Russian inspired Facebook accounts which
spewed propaganda into swing states, Wiki Leaks, team Trump’s nescient campaign
tactics (e.g. the meeting with the Russians), Hillary’s arrogance not
campaigning in rust belt states, Comey’s eleventh hour reversal on Hillary’s
email, and one could go on to document Clinton’s popular vote Pyrrhic victory,
while going down where it counts in the Electoral College. I tried to detail them following the election
more than two years ago.
So if that was the result, how to reverse it in 2020? The Democrats seem to live in a MSNBC echo
chamber. Biden is the “safe” candidate
while Elizabeth Warren seems to be emerging as the progressive favorite. I worry about Biden in a head to head with
Trump. Yes, he’ll say all the right things.
Everyone on MSNBC agrees upon the non-Presidential nature of Trump, that he is
corrupt, a liar, and an embarrassment in the international community. The retort to that was emblazoned on someone’s
tee shirt I saw on TV at Trump’s recent Orlando rally: “I didn’t elect a Saint.” They don’t care. They feel that Trump is the first politician
who has their backs; how ironic is that given he was born with a
tarnished silver spoon and has lavished his rich friends with most of the
“benefits” of his presidency.
Elizabeth Warren on the other hand is not the “safe”
candidate, but sort of like the hand grenade Trump was in 2016. But will it explode in the Democrat’s
faces? Dare they chance it? Trump has already branded her a “socialist.”
Have the Trump supporters ever considered SOCIAL Security, public schools,
Medicare, Medicaid, and all the benefits they would never want taken away (oh,
except Medicaid if it was needed by the good-for-nothing unemployed or
indigent). Warren would be tougher on
the financial system which is gamed to benefit those who are part of the Plutocracy. But is that going to bring out the rust belt
voter? If she runs for President, the
now favorite Trump mantra will be emblazoned in our brains, “Freedom vs.
Socialism,” 24 x 7, Fox and Friends, taking up the cause.
I’m hoping for a candidate from the “flyover” country and
I’m focusing on Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, Governor Steve Bullock of
Montana, or Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio, all more moderate candidates from
fly-over states, ones who can drain some of the on the fence Republican voters,
capture the independents, and retain the Democratic base. Pragmatism over idealism. Perhaps someone such as Kamala Harris would
run as the VP on the ticket to satisfy the more progressive minds and get a
woman on the ticket. In other words, I’m
simply hoping for a WINNING ticket against Trump and all he symbolizes.
Warren vs. Trump might be fun in the Twitter universe,
but I’d be concerned about what people would do in the privacy of the voting
booth. How many people are there, who
were Republican, and now call themselves “Independents” and who claim they
detest Trump personally but are sympathetic to his “accomplishments” (like
what, stacking SOTUS with conservatives)?
I’m not saying a fly-over candidate is going to win all these people
over, but some? Especially in the
important swing states?
In any case, this is a rumble, a gang war coming up. Grab your zip guns even though they have
AR-15s. Confront him with the least assailable ticket.
P.S. Coincidentally,
a MarketWatch article published the day after I wrote this sort of underscores
the argument : “If [Warren is] the
Democratic nominee, that may help Trump, too. Politicians from Massachusetts
generally blow presidential elections, and always for the same reason. They can’t campaign in Middle America.” The opinion is based on shifts in the betting odds. Money on the line beats any poll and the Democrats, as in 2016, may be
taking this for granted, especially with a far left of center candidate from a
Blue coastal State.
