In the beginning the list of democrats wanting to run Donald Trump out of the White House was huge and many times mystifying. In fact for a while it seemed like every democrat in the nation wanted a piece of the action. Included in the number were obscure Governors, members of Congress, business people, and the occasional dive bar patron loaded up on shots of McCormick's vodka.
It is hard to fathom now, but the first televised democratic debate featured so many candidates CNN had to divide them in half, then hold the event over two nights. As the field continued to grow the Democratic National Committee went so far as to set up arbitrary rules about who was viable enough to be on stage. Even with the restrictions though, the debates possessed an eerie resemblance to speed dating events.
How else can you describe panels which included Tim Ryan, Jay Inslee, John Hickenlooper, and Marianne--love will prevail--Williamson? Even serious candidates with heavy creds such as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, and Cory Booker were reduced to raising their hands like second graders while begging the moderators to, "Pick me, pick me." Indeed, it was as if there was a sign in the wings which read, "Abandon all dignity ye who enter here."
We are beyond all that now as what might be the last great battle for the soul of the democratic party has officially begun. The whip smart Mayor of South Bend, Pete Buttigieg is gone. Elizabeth Warren, with all her debate savvy and detailed plans is also gone. Mike Bloomberg along with his billions has succumbed as well. Most of the rest, including some you thought would have done better didn't even make it to Iowa.
What democrats are left with is a 78 year old socialist with a heart condition who promises everyone the moon, stars, and all that is in between. He faces a 77 year old former Vice President who at best is a political pragmatist and at worst is willing to sacrifice the most hallowed democratic ideals in the name of compromise.
Bernie Sanders is the great idealist. Medical care, he says, will be free for everyone, even if everyone, as proven by a culinary union in Las Vegas, doesn't want it. Student loans will be forgiven. Wages for low income workers will be hiked. The world will glow as billionaires pay and pay, then pay some more. He hasn't a clue how he will get any of it passed in congress, especially if the GOP holds on to even one house, but by God, America will become a workers and student paradise.
His base is so completely fervid they verge on the same type of maniacal behavior as Donald Trump's. To them, the people who oppose their man--especially other democrats--are committing sins against humanity and worse, they're no better than The Big Orange Guy. Yes, only Bernie Sanders is a pure progressive and rigid, uncompromising purity is everything.
Biden, on the other hand, has a proven history of snatching defeat from victory, or at least mis-speaking so badly it is, at times, easy to speculate that the first stages of dementia have set in. He also has a history of being touchy feely with women who don't welcome it. In addition he and his son, Hunter, are going to get hammered constantly from this moment forward by the Trump machine over their connection to the Ukrainian energy company, Burisma.
However, Joe Biden enjoys the support of massive numbers of African Americans, something Bernie Sanders doesn't. This support was key to his win in South Carolina and all across the south on Super Tuesday. So much so, the Senator from Vermont has apparently given up on the region. Just yesterday he cancelled an appearance in Mississippi in order to spend more time in Michigan. It is hard to remember any democrat winning the nomination who didn't have the support of that demographic.
So now democrats are faced with the clearest choice possible in this nomination process and that choice could well define the party for years to come. Move to the left with Bernie Sanders, or to the center with Joe Biden. Both campaigns claim they are the most capable of defeating Donald Trump. Both sets of supporters are running wild on social media saying if the nominee isn't their guy Trump will be handed a second term.
The real question here is how will the supporters of the loser react after the convention. Will they support the eventual winner, or will they sit on their hands and simply not vote in November? If that happens in either case we are, as a nation, fucked.
The only thing we know for sure is the eventual winner will face the most vociferous and prolific liar the world has seen since Herr Hitler--a man who considers honesty a weakness and plays the media like a cheap fiddle.
To paraphrase Holmes, the game is at last afoot. And the odds couldn't be greater.
3-6-20
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