The other day, I reran a series of articles I wrote a couple of years ago asking the question “Will America Elect a Socialist?” The answer to that is still unknown for sure, but I think it’s clear that it’s very likely that America would, indeed, elect a socialist.
There is compelling evidence that we already have a socialist in office in Donald Trump, in a number of respects. And, of course, as I explained in the series mentioned above, we have been moving more toward the socialist direction for at least 100 years.
But can Bernie actually win?
The general consensus among Never Trumpers is that the Democrats are making a grave mistake in possibly nominating Bernie. That Bernie is the one Democrat that can’t beat Trump. He’s the one Democrat that most of us will not, cannot, vote for. We just can’t believe that the Democrats can’t see that as we can and would risk everything by taking this path. Why don’t they heed our warnings that we cannot vote for Bernie, and thus, they should conclude that he is unelectable?
The answer is easy. They don’t believe it. They don’t believe that anymore than the Trumpsters believed us in 2016. And they saw that our withholding of our votes for Trump did not prevent Trump from winning.
Make no mistake…Bernie can win.
Many people, including many here at TNB, are saying otherwise…that Bernie cannot win, especially in the swing states.
I disagree.
I am near positive that Bernie would have at least won Wisconsin in 2016, and probably the other states needed to have actually become President. In Wisconsin, Trump did not win it nearly as much as Hillary lost it. The Dems simply did not come out for her, and that was because so many of them were Bernie supporters who were absolutely pissed that the Dems “cheated” Bernie out of the nomination. That perception, by the way, was greatly enhanced by the efforts of none other than the Russians.
In the end, Trump received less votes in Wisconsin than Romney received in 2012…but Hillary received 300,000+ less than Obama received. Votes that Bernie would have gotten, or at least enough of them to overcome Trump’s extremely slim lead.
So, no, the Dems do not need the Never Trumper votes to win this. All they need to do is get out their voters. And they all believe that will happen, no matter who the Dem nominee is. In fact, an argument can be made that it is more likely that the only Dems that won’t come out to vote in 2020 would be the Bernie supporters if they, once again, feel cheated (which is why Trump is now on a near daily basis putting that thought out there in his tweets).
That said, just like in 2016, when Trump was Hillary’s best chance at winning, Bernie is also Trump’s best chance at winning. And Trump is Bernie’s best chance.
The 2020 Presidential election is the Democrat’s to lose. Any one of them should beat Trump. And this explains the stubbornness of those who support Bernie and the socialist policies he spouts on (and on) about. They know that this is their one best chance to win. If not now, when?
They will not be swayed.
Just as Trump’s rabid supporters could not be.
And, thus, we see an exact replica of the 2016 primaries…this time on the Dem side. It’s playing out exactly the same. I am hearing all of the same arguments and suggested strategies to thwart Bernie as we did against Trump. It’s all so surreal, and discouraging.
But not surprising.
The Dems are not saviors. And we should not make the mistake in believing, or even hoping, that they are. They are every bit a part of the problems we face as the Republicans are…in fact, I believe more so because it is their progressive march towards socialism during that past 100 years that has put us in this precarious, shitful position.
In looking at how 2016 worked out for the Republican nomination, I see nothing different happening for the Dems. I think it is more likely than not that Bernie is the nominee as a result, unless something dramatic happens (such as a consolidated ticket between two of the more viable Bernie alternatives that never materialized with the Republicans in 2016).
But that would have to happen sooner, rather than later…as in now, probably before Super Tuesday.
Would a Biden/Klobuchar ticket do it? Maybe. Amy would be a fool not to take that deal. But I hold out no hope that will happen (egos and all).
In the end, I’m afraid that we are facing the same scenario in 2020 as we did in 2016. If so, I will not vote for either Trump or Bernie. But, as in 2016, my vote probably won’t matter, even in Wisconsin.
Of course, crazy things can and will happen. Manipulation, cheating, lying, etc. will happen. How much all of that will play in determining the results is anyone’s guess.
We can hope that, miraculously, some sort of rational, sane, one-of-a-kind, unifying, statesman steps into the race to provide an alternative. All that person would need to do is stand up between the two idiots on the debate stage and just shake his head the whole time. His/her campaign slogan could be “I’m Not Them”, or “At Least I’m Sane”, or “C’mon, Man…Really???”
But I’m not holding my breath.
Buckle up. Let’s all try to help each other weather this sustained electoral hurricane we are now entering.
