Everybody knows that Donnie is ripe for the picking. He has messed up so many times and so much he’s like your untrained, overweight, house hound with diarrhea…and just about as popular. Even some of his ever loyal, little lapdogs in the Senate who have been kissing the big dog’s ass for the last three years are so sick of his antics that even they can’t wait till he takes a huge fall in front of God and Country so they can all just be left off the hook and breathe again.
So, given these circumstances you would think that the Democrats are happy as hell (especially the “non-socialists)… who are gathering already in small little Victory parties, smoking cigars and savoring a sweet smelling future… like South Carolina is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party straight through until November”. You get the picture. But the truth is they’re scared as hell… they’re scared because they think Bernie is going to get the nomination and Bernie will go on to lose big time…bringing losses with him for “down ticket” Democratic candidates like Jaime Harrison in South Carolina, who is poised to otherwise beat the GOP suck-up, sell-out of all time, Lindsey Graham…beat him like a cheap drum…with the help of a moderate. Non-Bernie, Democrat at the head of the ticket to draw in some “ready to switch” Republican voters …or as Mayor Pete has so eloquently stated, “Future, former Republican voters. The Las Vegas line also says that a progressive, like Joe Biden or Mike Bloomberg, will bring in more of these moderate, flipping Republicans than the number of losses incurred from Sander voters staying home in protest. And with the latest 3 endorsements for Joe Biden, the real question is what is Bloomberg going to do…given that his continued presence works in favor of Bernie Sanders…which is not part of his plan. How quickly things change.
Everybody knows these things to be true… except for Bernie. Vladimir knows it. Donny knows it and all the sycophantic GOP Senators know it…which is why most of the hard core are all pulling for Bernie and pushing and cheating as hard as they can to get him nominated. The problem is Bernie doesn’t get it. Oh yes, he’s heard the news, and he’s he has received the memo. He just doesn’t believe he can lose to Trump. He and his followers are so self-absorbed… and so in love with their movement, they think that they’re Bulletproof… and there is not a goddamn thing that anybody can do to convince them otherwise. We have all heard about the Legendary stubbornness of Grumpy Old Men…Ditto for True Believers… and double ditto for losers who are hell bent on getting vengeance for previous losses. Bernie is the tri-fecta.
And if you don’t believe me just ask any of your successful Jewish, baby boomer, friends… and their kids and their grandkids…a group to which I (and Bernie) belong… and with which I am quite familiar. And like most “voting groups of similar cultures, Jewish people’s political tastes are quite varied. But as a general proposition, I would venture that most like and respect brother Bernie’s intellect and views… kind of in the same way that they like their mostly unlikable ornery grandfather… or their weird cousin…or their weird “grand uncle on their mother’s side twice removed”.
The truth is that at family or Holiday gatherings, (if he’s invited at all), Bernie is probably the quintessential last-minute fill-in…or seated at the other table safely away from having to be the center of attention or even in the vicinity where someone might get entrapped in a conversation with him for more than a few minutes before they start wanting to pull their hair out.
Sadly, Bernie just does not play well with others. Why? Because Bernie is just a tad inflexible. Pretty much, it’s either his way or no way at all… which is why you’ll usually find him sitting in the corner and just talking to one or more of the five to ten-year-old grand-kids… one of the few groups of people who can listen to him prattle on about the same thing over and over and over again…before fainting in despair.
It is going to take a miracle answer of biblical proportions to persuade Uncle Bernie why he should take one for the team… and trust me when I tell you that “Red Sea Parting” verbal skills will be required to get the job done. I myself do not have the benefit of a “Mike Pence like” direct connection for divine advisories to answer these weighty questions. But I do have the next best thing called Google, whose best non celestial offering was :
“It is not so important that Bernie wins,
It is more important that Donald loses”…or words to that effect!
More to the point, Bernie’s campaign messages are correct, and they resonate with a general electorate who are ready to embrace, to wit:
1. Yes, our working-class people have been exploited for too long and for too much by all of Capitalism’s most awful aspects.
2. Yes, structural change to our Tax Code is required immediately to redistribute wealth more evenly, starting with reversing Trump’s 1.5 Billion tax giveaway to the top 90% in 2017.
It’s just that “Uncle Bernie” is the wrong messenger. It is not just that he is a little bit too self-righteous, characterizing himself as the only person who can truly appreciate and represent the interests of his “ennobled working class against the evil billionaires”. It is that his message is not only arrogant, it is every bit as divisive AND WRONG as the messages he and other Progressive Democrats wish to avoid. With the exception of Bernie, the lone wolf, the emerging democratic unity is nice to see among the candidates; current and former…and the Establishment of the DNC. I only hope that the more likable (and eminently progressive enough) Uncle Joe (and/or Michael Bloomfield) are cutting deals right now to ensure a bullet proof ticket. I can think of a ton of reasons why it makes perfect sense to start firming up and promoting a “Unity Ticket” or a “Sanity Ticket” or an “Anti-Psychotic” ticket or an “Anti-Divisive” ticket as soon as possible. Although it’s still too early to commit just yet, I can visualize a potentially, nice, sensible, progressive, WINNING scenario to promote getting the country back on track.
I’m just ‘spit balling” my “ticket” list below, but I can see all types of possibilities.
Submit your own list…I’m open to anything that begins with the phrase, “In order to remove the most serious sociopath”
For your consideration, my partial list… a mix of old and new, Red and Blue…subject to change depending upon future events:
President: Joe Biden…long shot possibility, Michael Bloomberg
VP: Amy Klobuchar…she has proven herself worthy…smart, strong and happily a healthy, heartbeat away.
Treasury: Bernie or Elizabeth or Bloomberg …hard to decide… Socialist or capitalist…so much in common…ha ha.
Defense: Bring back Mike Mattis or bring in Admiral William H. McRaven, both strong, experienced, honorable
AG: Kamala Harris, Smart and Much Needed Integrity
State: Joe Biden if Bloomberg is President, Mitt Romney, dark horse… original Russian Detractor…or TBD
UN: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, smart as hell and great energy
Homeland security: Mayor Pete…even smarter than AOC…and a ton of experience.
HUD: Cory Booker…How he did not fare better in the primaries remains one of life’s mysteries…Hell, he’s straight out of central casting. Smart and experienced. Strong and decent.
Education: Sen. Michael Bennet…another mystery man. He was often one of the smartest and most articulate on stage
Energy: Andrew Yang. He is too smart and too energetic to ignore
Commerce: Elizabeth Warren…no one knows economics better than the Harvard Professor…or Tom Steyer… nothing wrong with an enlightened capitalistic of honor, integrity and compassion…who put his money where his mouth is and showed us his heart. Billionaire is not a dirty word!
That’s all folks.
Stay Tuned
