Monthly Archives: March 2020

Point of View Columns

The Triumph of the Law of Unintended Consequences

As we continue to have the feeling that we are in the cast of a bad sci-fi movie, this badly written script continues to take twists and turns that are barely moored to reality. We awaken to the news that the Republican governor of Ohio, taking his cue from the Republican governor of Georgia, has postponed its presidential primary vote.

Of course this is virtually meaningless to Republican voters, but it means a hell of a lot to Democrats, not only in Georgia and Ohio, but throughout the country. This was supposed to be the third Super Tuesday, the one that would virtually settle the Sanders or Biden question, if not once and for all at least pretty definitively.

Instead, there is even more concern that the 2020 electoral process is going to be fundamentally different than at any time in the history of this country and that includes elections that were held during the Civil War, the Great Depression and World War II. Clearly the Law of Unintended Consequences is hard at work.

We all need to keep in mind that a mere 17 days ago what had been the most competitive and diverse presidential primary race in the history of the republic morphed into a race between two elderly white men. And then the Biden-Sanders race has been elbowed into a barely lit corner of the national consciousness due to the coronavirus and the spectacular mismanagement of the ensuing pandemic by the Trump administration, starting with Donald (“I give myself a ten”) Trump.

And so, by tomorrow, these questions will be in the forefront of political observers before everyone rushes back for the latest news regarding the pandemic that some fear might kill two million Americans:

  1. Will Joe Biden seize the definitive lead as the likely Democratic candidate?
  2. If that is case will Bernie Sanders concede or will he follow a scorched earth path to Milwaukee thereby insuring a debacle that will warm the heart of Republicans from coast to coast?
  3. And finally, will there even be a convention in July if the coronavirus pandemic is still raging throughout the country, as many epidemiologists predict?
  4. And if there cannot be a convention in Milwaukee, then what?
  5. And last, but certainly not least, will Trump use his presidential powers during this declared State of National Emergency to impact the election. Delaying the November 3rd election, for example? And if that seems improbable please note that the Republican governors of Ohio and Florida have already given him the playbook.
  6. One hopes that the statement Joe Biden made in what may have been the last Democratic debate to the effect that he will choose a woman as his running mate portends the very real prospect of him choosing a Black woman. If he believes that an all-white ticket will inspire the Black base of the Democratic Party he should ask President Hillary Clinton how that worked out when she chose Tim Kaine in 2016 instead of a Black or Latino man.

It is more than ironic that the only woman ever to be a vice presidential candidate for a major national party was the blessedly and thankfully forgotten Sarah Palin. Hopefully Biden and the Democrats can do better than that.

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Point of View Columns

A View From the Maelstrom

Considering the existential importance of the 2020 presidential election an eerie quiet has settled over the Democratic campaigns. It may be due to the fact that Joe Biden has delivered everything but the coup de grace to Bernie Sanders’ candidacy and that now the only question will be whether Sanders can be less graceless than he was in 2016. But somehow it feels that there is something more.

Perhaps it is the fact that Sanders still has a puncher’s chance of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat if…….if Elizabeth Warren endorses him. If Joe Biden has a total meltdown in the debate on Sunday. If Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gives an epic campaign speech that finally mobilizes the seemingly somnolent youth vote that Bernie Sanders swears is waiting to carry him to the nomination in Milwaukee. But somehow it feels as if there is something more.

And, of course there is. The fact that we are now living in a global pandemic caused by the coronavirus has cast a pall over everything from the NBA to upcoming nuptials. From Harvard to Harlem and from Rome to Singapore, there is fear in the air –everywhere.

And as bad as the threat of what a 21st century plague might look like, the stunning stupidity and inimitable ignorance of Donald Trump justifies all fears. His performance and that of his administration finally illustrates how incompetent this man is – and always has been.

There has always been a concern as to what would happen to this country, and this planet, if a real crisis occurred while Donald Trump was president. There have been crises of his own creation – see North Korea and the Mexican border as exhibits A & B. But now there is a real world disaster looming and Trump is being exposed for the hapless hack that he is.

Consider the fact that he falsely claimed that the coronavirus would just disappear miraculously. And the fact that even now, with millions of Americans at risk from the virus that is fully embedded in the United States, Trump seeks to deflect by referring the “Chinese” coronavirus and by banning flights from Europe which does nothing but enable the travel sector of the economy to crater just a bit more.

And, of course, it should be noted that since he has been in office the Trump administration has sought to reduce the budget of the Centers for Disease Control by 16% (this did not happen only because Congress restored those cuts in the final federal budget – but the fact that the cuts were even proposed tells you a lot about the priorities of one Donald J. Trump).

And now, the pure stench of Trump’s Panglossian incompetence has caused the economy to teeter on the brink of something worse than the crash of 2008 or the crash of 1987. The clear lack of basic intelligence that accompanies virtually every word that Trump spews gives reason for panic and fear not only across this country, but also around the world.

And all the while Biden and Sanders and the Democrats can comment on the obvious but there is not much that they can do except state the obvious, either of them would do a far better job in this situation than Trump on his best day. But right now that is thin gruel for the men and women and children who fear for their lives and for their future.

Senior citizens are now even lonelier than ever as no one can come visit them in nursing homes everywhere. Schools and colleges and universities and Disneyland are all closed because Trump doesn’t have the sense to listen to anyone who knows anything about how to deal with this pandemic.

And we can only hope and pray that the evangelists and 2nd Amendment zealots and conservative judge crusaders and the anti-abortion fanatics will not find out that they and their families are not immune from the pandemic disaster that is being artlessly orchestrated by their Chosen One.

Meanwhile Biden and Sanders are preparing to debate each other. And one can only hope that they can find a way to train their attacks on Trump instead of each other. A Septuagenarian Super Brawl on Sunday will only help Trump because it will serve to distract people from the hot, stinking mess that he has created.

And Trump has always been the master of distraction.

 

 

 

 

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Point of View Columns

Here Comes That Race Issue – Again

As we analyze the results of the second Super Tuesday in the past two weeks, there is are a few things that are clear. One is that the eventual Democratic nominee will either be Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden. Another point is also clear. And that is that, after over twenty five presidential aspirants going after the Democratic nomination presented the most diverse group of presidential candidates in the history of this country, one of two 78 year old white men will be the nominee.

Historians in the near future will write about how this could have happened. What policy analysts and the American people who will have to make this choice will need to know is…..what will Sanders or Biden and the Democratic Party do about it? Is the status quo all that will come out of “the most diverse group of presidential candidates in the history of this country” the final distilled, watered down result?

And aside from the mandate of “diversity”, what about the fact that it has been the will of Black voters that has given Joe Biden the boost that has made him the leading candidate? And what about the fact that Bernie Sanders is desperately seeking that Black vote in states like Michigan and Pennsylvania in his effort to become the nominee? And what about the fact that Black voters have been the most reliable component of the Democratic Party coalition for half a century?

And the question stands – what will Biden/Sanders do about it? What will the Democratic Party do about it?

One fairly obvious solution would be to seize the opportunity to make history in America – in a good way. Clearly there is a need for a woman to be the Vice Presidential candidate. Just as clearly there is a need for a Black person to be the Vice Presidential candidate. And just as clearly, the solution seems to be selecting a Black woman to be the Vice Presidential candidate.

There is no doubt that if Biden (or Sanders) makes that choice, he will not only be making history, he will also be making the smart choice. An energized base is key to a Democratic win – Trump’s base has been energized since November of 2016 and they show no signs of leaving their Good and Crazy Shepherd anytime soon.

Black voters have been at the foundation of the successful elections of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and certainly would have elected Hillary Clinton if not for the defection and disaffection of too many white women voters. Now is the time for Biden/Sanders and the Democratic Party to make history and also find a way to win.

In 2016, instead of selecting Julian Castro and sealing her victory with the support of the Latino community. Instead she chose Tim Kaine, a white man who spoke Spanish very well. And we see how that turned out.

There are not many things that Trump does well. But he does do bold well (even if the things that he does are very, very bad). Biden/Sanders have a chance to be bold in a good way and hopefully the Democratic Party leadership will understand that being bold with a Black woman vice presidential candidate will be the first step in ending the reign of Donald Trump.

Which, after all, has to be the unalterable goal.

 

 

 

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Point of View Columns

The Day After Super Tuesday 2020

And now the cage match begins. Joe Biden ran the table yesterday, winning in so many states that all of a sudden he is starting to look like Joe Inevitable, except in Bernie Land. Bernie Sanders will have a formidable position in the race once the California returns come in, but with Biden winning literally all over the country, the prospect of a Sanders presidency has dimmed more than a little bit.

And then, of course, with Michael Bloomberg not only quitting the presidential race, but also announcing his support of Joe Biden, the idea of Biden being the Democratic nominee in Milwaukee in July is looking more and more realistic, which cannot be good news for Sanders. And Trump cannot be too happy either.

And, it would appear that someplace along the line, some reality was slipped into the coffee mugs of the various Democratic candidates and they suddenly realized that they were all a part of the Democratic Party Circular Firing Squad – perhaps someone at DNC headquarters read this column of mine from January 14th –

And a word about Michael Bloomberg. There are a number of things that can be said about the former mayor of the City of New York, but one that is very true is that he is a pragmatic realist. He entered the presidential primaries because he was concerned that the Circular Firing Squad was going to leave Sanders as the last man standing. Standing until he became a sacrificial lamb at Trump’s altar.

Clearly, the rising Biden tide was going to make it virtually impossible for him to win the nomination, Bloomberg made up his mind to make what had to be a hard decision – but the right decision. By ending his campaign and supporting Biden, not only rhetorically but also with the mega dollars that only he can wield, the prospect of a Biden nomination becomes more real by the moment.

Questions remain, however. Will Sanders prioritize defeating Trump over advancing his revolution? Or will Sanders provide a 21st century illustration of what the word “Pyrrhic” means.

And in the near future we may all look back and realize the enormous role that Congressman Jim Clyburn played in the Biden imitation of Lazarus. Congressman Clyburn was probably always going to endorse Biden, if he was going to endorse anybody, but he held on that endorsement until the precise moment when it could do the most good for Biden, leaving the other candidates bereft of any chance to counter that endorsement.

The result was obviously not only a massive victory in South Carolina, but Clyburn also provided Biden with an unrebuttable boost going into Super Tuesday, and we see how that worked out. Clearly, when it comes to political timing Jim Clyburn may have no equal.

And one more thing, when Biden starts thinking about a running mate will he remember that the earliest iteration of potential Democratic nominees was the most diverse in the history of the party, and in the history of the nation. Now, we are soon to be left with two white men from which to choose. As one of those white men, Biden is in a position to insure that the first non-white Vice President will be elected on November 3rd.

Biden made history once as the Vice President to the first Black president in the history of the United States. Let’s see if he can do it again.

 

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