Monday, March 09, 2020

4560 Bernie and Joe and Joe and Bernie

       

So the race for the Democratic presidential nomination has come down to two old white guys.  The main question remains, can either rid us of the current scourge and his movable feast of bad appointees, temporary help and destructive decisions?

Either can. But it’s going to take some deft maneuvering.  If either wins the general election, we’ll at least have a path back to decency and the end of a brutal dictatorship.

About that maneuvering:  What if Biden is nominated? No one seems really excited about that.  And unexciting these days is a virtue. Sanders’ following has loads of energy.  But if Bernie doesn’t get the spot, enough of them may take election day off and head for the video game console.

On the other hand, the money establishment favors Biden and if Sanders is nominated, will its tin soldiers head for the golf course or --even worse-- vote for The Great Dictator?  Could happen.

There could be something really revolutionary like we all get off our high horses and start voting on the basis of issues and facts instead of with our guts.  And in America, part of dealing with facts and issues is making compromises and being practical. Or it once was. Or-or It seemed to be. Or-or-or I’m delusional. 

Lately, we’ve been behaving like some banana republic that throws itself into crises of its own making.  We like to think we’re better run than Venezuela. But these days that’s a hard case to make. Maybe we can take a tip from “The Mouse That Roared,” and declare war on ourselves.  Then, like the Grand Duchy of Fenwick, we could surrender and collect domestic aid.

Nah. Not gonna happen. We’re already at war with ourselves and both sides are losing.

Stories began to appear over the weekend that show suburbanites are starting to gather on the Dem side, even some traditionally hard core “safe Republican” districts.  The key to winning is in the cities and the suburbs.  And the farming and industrial Midwest where jobs -- real jobs -- continue to vanish.

The trump coalition is essentially rural America and particularly the deep south.  In Kentucky, McConnell is bulletproof.  Unless, of course, he’s found in bed with a woman heir to a Chinese shipping fortune. 

Oh. Wait. They’re married.  

Sessions may have something to worry about as he tries to re-win the Senate seat he lost when becoming Attorney General, then disappointing trump by failing to break the law… something with which the present occupant has no problem.

On the good news front, Chuck Schumer whose term in the Senate doesn’t expire until 2023 stuck it to chief justice Roberts the other day. In effect, he called the Supreme Court a bunch of trump sycophants and political rabble. Roberts demanded an apology.  Schumer should be the one receiving one from the court for all of its recent wrong decisions. And so should the rest of us.

But the Democratic Presidential nomination boils down to two old white men.  The question now is will the loser endorse the winner? It’s likely that if Biden loses, he’ll endorse Bernie.  Vice versa?  I’m not so sure.

Bernie wants a revolution.  Earth to Sen. Sanders: we’ve been having one of those in recent years, just not the one you want.  And we’re tired of revolutions, even though the pipe dreams of instant justice, real justice, income fairness, free college tuition and health insurance are wonderful.  We can all work toward that.

The question for Biden: can you move a little to the left without alienating the conservative and moderate democrats and the liberalish Republicans who are your base? 

 And the question for Barack Obama is “what the hell are you waiting for?”

I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®
Any questions? Send to wesrichards@gmail.com
© WJR 2020

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