I can just imagine what a campaign management meeting must look and sound like today. They must center around one unifying necessity which focuses on one thing: “What wrongdoing can we accuse Trump for that will unite voters to all choose us?”
Bernie Sanders has a history of campaigning, just like that. But his attacks against Mr. Trump are natural. After all, Trump’s a capitalist. To Bernie and all the “Bernie Bro’s,” capitalism is evil and must be eradicated. All of his policy proposals begin with one cornerstone: Socialism.
Joe Biden, on the other hand, has a history in the presidency — not his own, but being a part of Obama’s eight years at the top. Biden has seen a lot of good and evil in governing (and campaigning) at that level. He’s forced to be careful in his attacks against President Trump regarding economics. Why? Because in his eight years, Biden and Obama promised Americans all the economic benefits they failed to implement, but Trump has in just three years. No matter how loudly Obama and Biden cry that the Trump economy is simply a continuation of THEIR economy, it does not work. It did at first. While the Trump presidency was young, it was easy to state those claims which were believed by many Americans. But as time has rolled on, those economic changes have shown to be direct results of Trump lowering taxes, slashing government regulations, implementing the repatriation of hundreds of billions of corporate profits kept offshore during Obama’s presidency, creating a business environment that has attracted American companies who left the nation while Obama was in the White House to return, expand, and hire more people. More and more people see the truth.
So what arrows can Biden and Sanders put in their quivers that might successfully entice voters to turn their way?
There aren’t very many. Before one gets to face Trump one-on-one, they must get through the other.
Here’s how one pundit put the Democrat plan in place regarding Bernie Sanders vs. Joe Biden:
The “Base”
For three years now, we’ve heard Democrats demean Trump supporters for blindly ignoring all the ills of Donald Trump — most of them personal quirks. Still, they all use a central allegation to undergird everything said about Mr. Trump and his followers: they are all evil. I bet you that Hillary Clinton still to this day regrets ever creating her infamous “basket of deplorables” in which she keeps half of all Donald Trump’s supporters. But that’s the way Democrats roll. Why any politician would in one speech destroy the possible support of half the electorate is beyond me. But Hillary doing that with no thought of any potential backlash is the crux of all Leftist campaign methods.
For two decades, the common thread of Democrats’ political thinking has been to lump everyone in a particular group. That’s called “Identity Politics.” At some point during the Clinton years in the White House, Democrat Party leadership developed that political philosophy. I guess they felt it more comfortable than just to round up those they must attack during each election cycle, put them in one “basket,” and just aim their weapons at the basket. It’s like using a shotgun instead of a rifle. The shotgun shell contains hundreds of small bee bees that scatter in one specific area, (the basket) while a rifle shell contains a single projectile that can hit only one particular spot or target. That wouldn’t work for attempts to get the entire basket with one shot. A shotgun would.
In their basket, they include educated white suburban Americans, blue-collar factory workers, some with advanced education, union members, farmers, Asians, African Americans, immigrants — both legal and illegal, and all those Americans who struggle financially — that includes all on government assistance. Doing so makes the job of speaking directly to their probable voters simple. It has worked well for them for a quarter of a century: until 2016.
2016 was the year that they discovered it is impossible to round up all the Trump supporters like they have Democrat voters in the past. There isn’t a basket large enough to contain so many. So what the Democrat Party has determined to be the center of their party platform for 2020 is “anything bad about Donald Trump.” And they feel they need nothing more.
To that end, they tried Emoluments violations, Obstruction of Justice, Russia Collusion, Obstruction of Congress, and Abuse of Power. The total of all these investigations and the subsequent impeachment trial of President Trump soaked the nation for three years and at least $75 million. And it cost the American public an unbelievable amount of legislative time and attention. Congress came to a virtual halt in taking up and taking action on meaningful legislation. They did nothing.
Democrats did nothing but continued fruitless attempts with that shotgun to kill the Trump support of those deplorables in Hillary’s basket. Each shot was unsuccessful. All they collectively achieved was to see more and more Democrats leave their party and go elsewhere with their votes — many to the Republican Party. Watching these mass defections has put the DNC and other Democrat leaders in a frenzy to find something — anything — they can use to disenfranchise the Trump base. They’re coming up empty.
The “Democrat” Base
Here’s something that scares Democrat leaders even more than Donald Trump: their base is dwindling in numbers. Many Middle-Class Americans have watched from the sidelines as the Trump changes have resulted in new jobs, dramatically lower unemployment, companies rushing back to the U.S. and expanding existing facilities, hiring new people, creating new corporate divisions and headquarters and handing out some significant bonuses along with salary and benefit increases. For a Middle-Class American family in today’s economy, it’s pretty hard to pass on those excellent opportunities while hating the person and political party that made all these possible: Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
What have Democrat leaders offered to their Base? Higher taxes on American taxpayers as well as crippling tax increases on wealth and job creators. They want to reassess crippling taxes on corporations, increase corporate regulations, formalize open borders, and institute socialized medicine they continually promote as a positive for Americans. Still, it really is an economic death warrant. In other words, Democrats are offering to members of their loyal Base four more years without economic growth, much higher taxes, and fewer jobs.
As smart and forward-thinking as are Democrats, I have been shocked to see the lack of political creativity among the Democrat candidates for President. The lone issues most have embraced are a single-payer healthcare program and free college tuition. Those two would necessitate immediate drastic increased government revenue to pay the bill for all the freebies. And THAT money comes from increased taxes on corporations and the wealthiest of Americans. Bernie Sanders put it this way:
Sanders claims it’s a fair trade: taxes for free healthcare. Wow! Everyone can jump on that, right? We’ve all watched as under Obamacare, our health insurance premiums skyrocketed. This happened in spite of the Obama’s promise that, “The average family will see a drop in health insurance premiums of $2500 a year.” Instead, premiums have gone up every year and are, in most cases, double to triple the prices charged for premiums BEFORE Obamacare. And there are still millions who do not have health insurance.
There’s no way for Democrats to get even close in added tax revenue to the amount necessary for Medicare for All premiums. (Remember the Obama promise, “If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. If you like your health insurance plan, you can keep your health insurance plan.”) The Democrat Base saw and heard that for months about Obamacare, cheered for its roll-out and implementation and have watched for years as healthcare professionals by the thousands are abandoning healthcare practices because they can no longer make the money they made formerly. They typically require at least ten years of medical school before starting their careers. And now the financial benefits are a pittance of their previous levels.
What’s Their Solution?
They still hope to “Dump Trump!” No, there’s not sufficient time now to convince Americans before November that Mr. Trump has committed wrongdoing that arises to the impeachment level. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) admitted that Donald Trump WILL defeat the Democrat opponent who faces him in November. But Democrats will NEVER quit. You can bet impeachment is on the table again now and will continue to be during his second term should he win November 3. If the Democrats hold the House, the “Impeachment twins” — Adam Schiff and Jerrold Nadler — will with the Intelligence Oversight Committee and the Judiciary Committee launch a second and more dramatic and much more visible impeachment process against Donald Trump.
Can they run him out of Washington? No one — certainly not me — knows for sure if he has committed any act that is sufficient to rise to the “Bribery, high crimes and misdemeanors” that is required Constitutionally to impeach a president. But if he has and Adam Schiff finds it, look out! He’ll head to Capitol Hill with his dozens of Lamestream media minions and set the world on fire with his vitriol and hatred for Mr. Trump and launch Trump Impeachment Part 2. He can’t wait for the opportunity.
Can Democrats Win the Presidency?
They certainly “Can” win. But it is unlikely they will “Win.” Why? There are two reasons that President Trump should survive all the arrows they shoot at him this year. We’ve seen several attempts already. There are several they have hinted just might be the arrow they need to fire at Mr. Trump that could work. And they are diligently foraging every day for new dirt on the President. Let’s face it: it’s a rarity to find any D.C. politician who does not have some type of dirty laundry they are hiding. Is Mr. Trump one of those? With all he has gone through while still maintaining political credibility seems to have placed him in rare company.
For Democrats, that’s a double “whammy.” First, it proves that Mr. Trump has kept his nose clean. Secondly, it shows to all Americans how Democrats are blinded by their rage and hatred for Donald Trump, so much so that they have allowed themselves to be tricked into the belief that they need to and can get Mr. Trump if they just listen to Democrat political leaders.
They may be right. But I doubt they will be. There are far too many Americans who have personally drawn a line in the sand and dared Pelosi, Schumer and Nadler to cross it. Those two and other Democrat leaders know that the more people see and hear Donald Trump through mass media, the more those people can relate to him and understand his multiple dilemmas just living his life.
Summary
What’s the “gotcha” that’s hanging out there? It is doubtful Bernie or Biden will have sufficient delegate votes in Milwaukee to win the nomination on the first ballot. The rules then state that ALL committed delegates after that vote are released from their political party obligations for whom he or she must vote. Those delegates are allowed to walk with their uncommitted delegate support. Then what happens?
- Each delegate will undoubtedly be bombarded with a vast and non-stop vote harassment by party leaders who have caucused for only two candidates: Biden or Sanders. They could throw their support together for either, or they could find a “new” presidential candidate alternative and get them on the next ballot.
- It’s at this point many think Hillary Clinton just “might” become entangled in the presidential election process one more time. Can she successfully work to pull HER base back together in just a couple of short months? And then there’s the uncertainty of Hillary’s emotional and mental capacities.
Will we see anything like this happen? Or will Joe or Bernie garner enough support to win the Democrat Party nomination. One thing IS certain though: we’re a long way from knowing who will be on that debate stage representing the Democrat Party in a one-on-one with President and then Candidate Donald Trump.
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