Wednesday, June 8, 2016

"And... AWAY WE GO!!!" - Jackie Gleason

Primary season came to a conclusion yesterday (not counting the CA vote-counting, still underway).  And, as seemed most likely from the start of the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton made history by becoming the very first woman to be a major party Nominee for the presidency of the United States.  It was quite the moment.  Bernie Sanders, who had hoped to win most if not all of the 6 states voting yesterday, eked out victories in just 2 states while Hillary won 4 states, including the all-important prize for the night - California.  Hillary carried delegate-rich NJ by a 2-1 margin, continuing her successes in neighboring east coast states and, at this writing, leads Sanders in California by nearly 500,000 votes.  The California system, including mail-in ballots, takes some time to count all votes, and, although Hillary's led may be reduced by some amount, the current returns have resulted in a far greater margin of victory for Hillary than was anticipated given recent polling data.  Bernie Sanders placed a significant bet on carrying California and, though not a landslide, it appears that the Clinton campaign will win by a wide margin.  As of sunrise today, Hillary carried the Pledged Delegates by a wide margin, the raw votes of Democrats by around 3.5 million votes, and continues to lead in Super Delegate head count by a crushing amount.  By any measure, Hillary won every aspect of this election cycle and now faces Donald Trump in the fall race.

OK.  So, both Trump and Clinton are the "presumptive" nominees of their respective parties.  Translation - absent an earthquake, an arrest, or some other disaster visited on either or both candidates, these two will surely face each other in the fall race.  Yes, there are still substantial Republican office holders and contributors who have distanced themselves from Trump (the Never-Trump crowd)... and, Trump continues to spew out some really shocking or, at least, unfortunate comments regarding the Judge in the Trump University matter. And, there are Bernie Democrats who maintain that they will never vote for Hillary.  But, I must say here that the initial comparison weighs in Hillary's favor.  Trump's penchant for self-inflicted wounds alienating various minority groups and women as well, certainly does not help his cause or attract the moderate independent voters that the Republicans will need if they hope to win the presidency.  Hillary, on the other hand, must work with Bernie and his allies to heal the primary wounds on both sides and to forge an alliance with the young cadre' of Millennials, progressives, and the more liberal wing of the party, to cover the flank and do their best to capture the Senate and the House as well as the Presidency.

Meanwhile, Republican Speaker Paul Ryan released his Anti-Poverty plan.  Senator Warren immediately took to the microphones (and megaphones as well) to denounce the plan as just a rehash of his past policy of protecting tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, privatizing Social Security, slashing Medicaid and a variety of social supports for the poor.  Its just the same old story - more tax cuts, less revenue, higher debt, and cuts to entitlement programs aimed at uplifting the poor out of poverty on the premise that we cannot afford it!  Trickle down at its best from Ryan and racism and scapegoating from Trump - perfect together.  Add a dash of the Koch brothers dark money to fund the attack dogs of the right under the color of the Supreme Court Citizens United decision, and you get the GOP's best chance to elect Trump and to lock up the Supreme Court for decades to come.  Quite a horror show in my view.

Meetings of the leadership and strategists of both parties will take place over the next several weeks.  The goal of these meetings is to plan a course and a campaign that will lead to victory for that party's candidates for president, Senate, and the House.  Given the course of both campaign so far, I am keeping my fingers crossed that Hillary Clinton can succeed, that the Dems carry the Senate (more likely) and the House (less likely) majority, and that the American people survive the fall campaign process.  If that happens, the pain of the 2015-2016 campaign will have been worth the discomfort, the pain, the outrage, and the shock of the Trump invasion into our politics and into our homes. And, maybe then, the United States can get past the gridlock of the past 8 and more years, and focus on the business of the American people, rebuilding opportunity and infrastructure, forging new partnerships for progress economically and socially, and emphasizing equality for all persons, regardless of race, religion, ethic origin, or .... gender.     

Thursday, June 2, 2016

STILL FEELING THE BERN???? OR, BURNED UP????

You know, I was one of those who viewed the Bernie Campaign as a good thing.  Bernie would move Hillary to the left a bit and he would be a good foil and sharpen Hillary's skills for the fall race.  However, as time has gone by... and Bernie has become more and more an attack dog, eroding Hillary's chances in the fall... and then making the argument that HE would do better against Trump than Hillary (thanks to Bernie's attacks, of course), he is now deluding himself - and, even worse, his supporters - that he can still win the nomination at the Convention.  This is not only a delusion, but is more likely to become an even larger let-down for Sanders supporters at the Philadelphia Convention.  Adding to the drama, the Bernie set has already secured 4 demonstration permits from the Philadelphia authorities for the 4 days of the Convention.  It sure does not sound like a Sanders plan to heal the wounds of the Primary Campaign and an effort to "unify" the Democratic Party.  It looks more like a 1968 Convention protest and, possibly, a staged walkout to break away from the Democratic Party in front of the entire viewing nation.  If that is his plan, and, if the party split actually happens, Sanders will certainly go down in electoral history as the wolf in sheep's clothing that was let into the Democratic tent one year ago only to attack it from within and, in so doing, help elect the most dangerous presidential candidate ever nominated, Donald J. Trump.

Of course, this fracture may simply occur by accident borne out of the hubris or daydreams of one candidate rather than by some nefarious design. But, don't bet on it.  Had the Democratic Party not let Independent Democratic Socialist Senator Sanders of Vermont run in the Party primary, he would have been relegated to an independent candidacy the likes of Ross Perot or Ralph Nader.  At that point, Sanders would not have qualified for inclusion in the Democratic Party Primary debates and would have been just another voice in the shadows with predictable results.  Instead, he was let in, allowed on the debate stages, provided with substantial exposure that he would not otherwise have had access, and his "outsider" candidacy, now legitimate, has become more than a set of policy objectives.  The Sanders campaign has become the biggest threat to the election of a Democrat in 2016.  No - Sanders will not have earned the nomination... and, if he does, he would lose in my view, once under withering attack by the Right-wing Army.  So, instead, he has taken on the role of foil and spoiler for the Hillary campaign and he is regularly quoted in Trump attacks on Hillary.  Sanders could become the element in the fall that in fact, elects Trump.  Is this what we really want? Evidently, Senator Elizabeth Warren is concerned... and has recently focused her own personal attacks on Trump - just where Bernie should be.  But, he continues to attack Hillary in California and within days, described Governor Jerry Brown as "the establishment" for his endorsement of Hillary.  If there is anyone in office today who is certainly NOT the establishment, it's Jerry Brown.  But hey - the Bernie beat goes on.....  Trump is just one step away from the nuclear codes....  and Bernie's Hillary attacks continue - on her character, trust issues, qualifications, and even misrepresenting her position on health care.  Bernie needs to be attacking Trump in his speeches, like Warren, and make the effort to erode Trump support for the fall race, rather than attacking the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton, damaging our chances of winning the race in the fall. Does Bernie really want to take the blame for electing Trump?

Please.....  Bill and Hillary murdered Vince Foster?  Ted Cruz' dad conspired with Lee Harvey Oswald in the murder of JFK?  Obama is a Kenyan Muslim?  He "saw and heard" thousands of NJ Muslims cheering when the World trade Center came down?  Vaccines cause autism?  The Mexican government is "exporting" thousands of  "it's worst people - murderers, rapists, drug lords" to our shores?  Judge Scalia was murdered?  REALLY??????   Do we really want this person - Donald Trump - who believes and advocates these screwy notions, and is currently in court for perpetrating a FRAUD on hundreds of folks with a fake college, Trump University?  This is the very same person who will not release his tax returns and proudly states that he declared several bankruptcies in his business life - because, under the rules, he could, leaving others in the financial lurch. Last week he released a list of potential Supreme Court nominees who, if appointed, would gut much of the progressive agenda that was adopted in the past several decades or more.  And, women, LOOK OUT! Is this really who we want in the Oval Office?  Women.... Hispanics.... African Americans... Working families.... immigrant families...  and middle class families who are being squeezed by the likes of Trump?  Even our long-time international allies are rightly concerned that this megalomaniac could possibly become President and command the largest military force in global history.  But, evidently, Bernie isn't concerned.... or, at least he seems willing to risk this outcome... as long as he alone sees some slim path to becoming the Democratic party's nominee himself!

One has to wonder which one - Trump or Sanders - is the REAL egocentric danger.