Frank's Musings

Solving the Democratic Election Challenge



The explosive and chaotic 2/25/2020 debate on CBS between the candidates for the 2020 Presidential Nomination of the Democratic Party, besides being an embarrassment for its organizers, illustrated that those leaders suffer from the same hubris that defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.  Most of the debaters were arguing over what policies should be followed when one of them is elected to replace President Donald Trump this November.  But only two of them actually have plans for defeating him, and they make unrealistic assumptions about what it takes to build an electoral college majority:  Bloomberg thinks that the proper distribution of votes can be bought through advertising, and Sanders thinks that a coalition of right-thinking people in the proper state-by-state formula can be convinced by bombastic argument and finger-pointing. 



Yes, we are entrapped by an archaic election system and by corporate and/or media dominated communications channels so that our next federal executive branch may not be an improvement over the current one.  These problems must be resolved, along with many others in our society.  However, the contest between would=be Presidential candidates is not the appropriate vehicle.  The Democrats must first find a candidate who will win election within the system we now have against an incumbent president who will succeed again to gaming that system and win reelection. 



The margin of victory was acquired by Donald Trump in 2016 because he recognixed that a winning distribution of American voters view politics as entertainment.  If the 2020 election is to be won by galvanizing the public into belief in a set of principles that are different and more socially equitable than those that guide the current Administration,  the public must be convinced that politics is serious business.  One might believe that that once was the general consensus.  It was certainly the belief of our Founding Fathers.  Over time, however, politics and politicians have been cheapened by consumerism and the monetarization of our values. 



A viable opponent to President Trump, unfortunately, has to beat him on his own turf.  Only then can we transform the thinking and priorities of our government and electoral system.   Therefore, the Democrats ought to select a Presidential ticket that includes the most experienced of the current candidates (Joe Biden) and, as VP, someone who has media presence as well as the intelligence and ambition to pursue a national electoral career (Stephen Colbert).

As reported in the 14 Feruary 2020  NYT, William Barr has somplained that President Trump's tweets re federal prosecutions make it impossible for Mr. Barr to do his job.  This is true when you understand that he defines his job not as assuring the faithful execution of the nation's laws, but protecting the President and doing his bidding.  Apparently, Mr. Barr believes he can perform that function better than the tweetbng President himself.