In the run up to the 2016 election, the press was unanimous. There was lockstep, unwavering, complete, unrelenting, unquestioned, utter, total, belief that Hillary Clinton wasn’t just going to win but win hard. Trump, we were assured, was an ignorant troglodyte incapable of doing anything but demonstrating how stupid the non-elite had gotten. Hillary, they insisted, was pure walking genius; simply incapable of losing.
The fish could not see the water in which they swam. I could. I wondered why I was different. I still wonder. I found it unnerving; like being a non-believer in a city run by a cult. It’s the sort of thing you have to experience to understand.
Nothing the press said matched what I saw in real life America. Not even close. Notably, on a road trip right before the scheduled coronation of Mrs. Clinton, I kept a clipboard within reach while I drove. I marked how many Trump signs I saw versus how many Clinton signs. At the end of that trip I had a plethora of check marks in the Trump column and a scant few in the Hillary column. Meanwhile, my truck’s radio had never let up on a constant barrage of “it is pre-ordained that Hillary will win”. It was a long drive.
That evening, after I checked into a hotel for the night, I had a stiff drink at the hotel bar. I nursed my liquor and thought “we are being lied to”.
The next day I shrugged and got back to work… because that’s what regular people do; we go about the business of living. These are politicians after all, not Gods.
A few weeks later there was a national (and to some degree planetary) eruption of cognitive dissonance as fish discovered there was water. They encountered, however reluctantly, creatures who are not fish, and recoiled to learn that these aberrations breathe air. The caterwauling has not ceased. I thought folks would eventually calm down but now I wonder. Can one engage a religion (and that’s what it was) so deeply that they never return? How dreadful that fate must be!
Fast forward to 2020. The people that believe Trump never won the election are desperately trying to impeach him, lest he win again… which to them, will be the first time… because “shut up”.
Meanwhile, all signs point toward a Trumpslide. Probably not along the lines of Reagan’s crushing second term election (a 49 state win); demographics, social media, and propaganda now preclude such a uniform mandate. But certainly a bit more than the 2016 squeaker. Everyone knows Trump has to win beyond “margin of cheat”; especially Trump. He’s working on it. He doesn’t coast. He’s not counting on party or employees to win for him. From his point of view, nothing is assured but it’s looking good.
What’s interesting is that the wind wasn’t always blowing Trump’s way. As Scott Adams has said (I’m paraphrasing); “All the Democrats have to do to win is not be crazy.” He’s right. Any sane, non-BS candidate at the helm of a calm statesmanlike party could unseat the Orange Menace handily. However, people are what they are and they do what they want to do. From certain angles it looks like they’ve gone full retard. As they say, there’s no coming back from that.
As far as I can tell (and barring a black swan event) there is one and only one competitor that could beat Trump. Basically the only guy people vote “for” instead of “as a calculation against some other asshole“.
Hold on to your seats. It’s Bernie.
Quit laughing. I’m serious.
I don’t want him to win. I’m just saying he’s probably the only one that can beat Trump.
I don’t like Bernie’s policies. I’m happy to dismiss him as a commie bastard but that’s irrelevant. When I try to assess who, among all assembled, can defeat Trump; it’s Bernie. Aside from Bernie, there’s a gaggle of forgettables and a few failures. Who’s not going to win? Hair sniffing squishy DC bred Biden ‘aint going to win. Nor will Elizabeth Warren and her 1/1024th heritage. Nor the exquisitely gay Buttigieg. (Buttigieg’s candidacy is a human joke about identity politics. His experience is from being the mayor of South Bend Indiana. Quick! As fast as you can, name the last mayor of South Bend Indiana! You can’t? That’s because nobody cares about the mayor of South Bend Indiana. Nobody has ever cared about the mayor of South Bend Indiana. We live in a time of unserious people making odd choices in lieu of reason. The party of D is legitimately running a candidate who’s main qualification is how he utilizes his genitalia. You can’t make that up! Perhaps he ought to start a line of scented candles?)
The other tell is that the Democratic party (as differentiated from Democrat voters) is trying to kill Bernie’s candidacy. They’re oddly desperate to get him off the stage. They did it in 2016 and pissed off a lot of people. They’re trying again in 2020. There are three times I’ve seen a political party try to nuke their own serious contender with a lot of popular support; Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, and Bernie Sanders. Perhaps there’s a moment when a party recognizes a person that will do his own thing… and they cannot abide it? Perhaps it’s better to lose than have a winner on your ticket who thinks independently? Ask “never Trumpers”. They might have words on the subject.
As far as I know, virtually nobody agrees with my assessment. The press has lockstep, unwavering, complete, unrelenting, unquestioned, utter, total, belief that Trump would eat Bernie alive if they ever put that doddering old man in a shark tank with Trump. I have my doubts but who am I to disagree?
Interestingly, I’ve found one person with a similar opinion. I found it at Grim’s Hall:
Go there and read it.
Also, and in this I will brook no crap, be polite! All comments on my blog will be seemly or deleted. I’m not linking to Grim’s Hall to start a food fight. We can all entertain notions with with we disagree (such as the suitability of Bernie as an American president) and lets try to do so with character. One doesn’t have to like Bernie to recognize he’s cut from different cloth than weak kneed creatures like Biden.
I’m sure Trump knows precisely what I’m talking about. I’m also sure he’s prepared for and fully willing to take on any contender on earth. He certainly has a tendency to win; regardless of and not due to the caliber of his challengers. If it’s Bernie, he might have a tougher fight. And maybe that’s for the best. Competition brings out the best in both sides. I doubt Bernie will survive his own party, but if he does 2020 may shape up to be a hell of a ride.
A.C.