Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world."
Ezra Klein's op-ed in The New York Times is the most recent iteration. He says that an event of some kind will cause Biden to abandon his re-election plan. LBJ did so in March of 1968, so there is still time. Maybe Jill Biden will say something. Maybe Biden will have a health event. In Klein's imagined movie, Democrats will have a convention, and instead of a coronation it will be old-school sausage-making. Out of it will come a new face, someone broadly acceptable to Democrats and to the nation. No one could possibly be as flawed a candidate as Trump. The person will have been chosen by political professionals and activists, and there are eight or 10 senators, governors, and members of Congress who have been vetted by their state's electorates
But wait.
Leftist pundit Matthew Yglesias writes that Democrats have the same problem as do Republicans, the ones who are insisting that Trump won in 2020 and that human life must be protected, beginning at fertilization. The activists and professionals in the two parties don't represent the broad middle of American voters. They represent the near-extremes. The proof of that pudding is that the three leading Democratic U.S. Senate candidates from California oppose the Biden-supported bipartisan border deal. To get a convention nomination a candidate must remain acceptable to its leading-edge flanks. A Democrat who supported a 21-week abortion period would run afoul of reproductive rights advocates who insist that it is the woman's choice, not subject to politically chosen end-dates. Democrats who compete with Democrats cannot choose a broadly popular position on immigration regulation, nor on natural gas as a transition fuel, nor on energy drilling, nor on siting offshore wind, nor on transgender rights on bathroom use, athletic competition, and gender-affirming care for minors.
Biden, with all his flaws, did something important for Democrats when he won in South Carolina four years ago. He was the one person who could lead Democrats from a party centered around the politics of approximately Elizabeth Warren, to the politics of the center-left. Many Democrats regret that because engaged Democrats have moved left. The country has not.
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| Democratic Convention, Chicago, 1968 |
The problem with a brokered convention is that Democrats would not nominate someone whose politics reflect the American center. Those activists and professionals would see a weak Trump and decide this is not time to compromise. They would likely "go big."
Biden carried battleground states -- but barely. Trump is not as unacceptable to voters as most Democrats think he should be. Democrats who are well-tethered to voters are brought back to reality on what is popular. South Carolina did that for Democrats in 2020. A brokered convention allows them to vote their aspirations.
Democratic aspirations are not yet broadly popular enough to win in the states needed to carry the Electoral College.
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12 comments:
Curt really needs to take a break, or perhaps have his meds altered.
C'mkn, Curt, put up your unassailable "proof" that The President is on the take, or is senile or physically unfit. Or did your proof just get arrested for lying to the FBI, or leave the Country like Comer Fudds first solid witness, one step ahead of jail.
Over the objections of many readers, I am publishing this comment by Ankerberg. Ankerberg often -- even usually -- writes unpublishable comments.
Ankerberg does stupid things sometimes, but he is not stupid. He has the capacity to be a solid politically conservative GOP candidate. If he can maintain this style of communication I consider him a plausible GOP primary election candidate. Indeed, he may begin to make substantive criticisms and suggestions for local government. He acts manic sometimes -- rather like Trump -- and I find it disqualifying for public office, but many people do not. They like the Trump who rants. Ankerberg's rants are a notch or two too extreme to be electable, even here in Jackson County, but Ankerberg has the ability to moderate himself sometime. Therefore, the head's up to readers: Ankerberg could win. He is not as offensive to Republicans as he is the average voter.
Of course, most of his nastiest comments are directed at me, with a weird, top-of-mind focus on gay sex, my genitalia, and pedophilia. That is part of the Ankerberg story and this may come out in the future yet again, but it is not the whole Ankerberg story. He has two sides.
IF -- and in my opinion only if -- he can keep his focus on public policies and not obscene ideation, then he could win elections in this city and county. My readers need to understand that.
My current plan is to let him publish comments when they appear to add to the civic dialog. When they do not I move them to the huge spam file. I retain copies of those obscene threats and creepy comments about sex with children.
Most off-line comments to me think Ankerberg will be unable to "keep it together." The angry obscene snarling attack dog will emerge. Maybe. Maybe not.
Curt claims: “When people say that Trump is so awful, then I say have you looked at Biden lately? He's senile, he's a proven crook on the take, and he's a proven failure as a politician.
In fact:
Biden’s brain is aging; Trump’s brain is dementing.
Efforts to come up with evidence of Biden being a crook have fallen flat; Trump has been found liable for fraud and sexual assault, and been indicted for 91 other felonies.
Biden has been a successful politician for over fifty years. Curt has run for anything locally that he can for years but never been elected – that’s failure.
TFG is doing great if only republicans voted. Poll and exit poll shows TFG losing to Independents and NAVs, which are a key to winning.
Peter, great game of rope-a-dope with Curt! But I really don't think he contributes any value to your blog and would be best ignored.
I will work to keep him out of office.
I have moved to spam a proposed comment by Ankerberg in which he makes a flat out assertion that a local journalist is a pedophile. I presume that Ankerberg is financially judgement proof, or nearly so, and therefore would be an unfruitful person to sue for damages for defamation, but I am not judgement proof. I do not intentionally publish material that is defamatory.
I do think that Ankerberg's creepy focus on this in accusations against known people and against strangers is weird and creepy, but he is free to do as he wishes. If he wants to make the reputational transition from troll to electable candidate he will adjust. But he may not choose to make that transition.
It is up to him.
Since all you liberal beta males get your panties in a bunch when I post, then I'm going to give you some relief, and I'm going to stop posting on this Socialist website. You can continue to absorb your communist propaganda daily without my intervention. Most of you are uneducated, and you couldn't hang with me. You all can continue in your fantasy. As for Peter Sage, I can substantiate anything I post, and you know it since I already provided you with the proof. Public records are a bitch, aren't they? You may fool your stooge followers, but you can't fool me.
Ciao!
Curt Ankerberg
Medford, OR
Good riddance. Thank you, Mr. Angerberg.
To continue the 1968 analogy ...
Democratic party officials: "LBJ all the way!"
Democratic party progressives who are essential to victory: "Off the pigs!"
Remember, Hubert gave us Tricky Dick.
Curt's clueless follow-up comment is an excellent example of the projection so typical of Trump and his far-white whackos, but it certainly doesn't support the claim that "he is not stupid."
Peter’s reference to the Democratic convention and photo of the one in 1968 are timely, because this year’s convention is also in Chicago. For anyone who thinks the turmoil we’re witnessing in our politics since the rise of Trump is anything new, I highly recommend you see “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” available on Netflix. It’s very well done and somewhat reassuring that in spite of all the ongoing chaos and confusion, we still have the best government money can buy.
Airman Aaron Bushnell, a 25 yr old serving member of the US Air Force, set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in DC to protest the US/Israeli war on Gaza yesterday.
The only reason I know about it, along with the rest of the people paying attention, is that Aaron livestreamed his death. A similar case of a woman in Atlanta was completely buried by the media.
It barely rated an oblique mention in the New York Times. You'll be relieved to know, as was the NYT, that none of the Israeli embassy officials were hurt. That was the Establishment's takeaway from Airman Bushnell's death.
LBJ level alarm bells should be ringing. But as long as the mainstream media plays a soothing lullaby, the Democrats will hum along.
Some people get addicted to their anger. You never view Trump being free of anger, nor will Curt ever stop. I doubt he can stay away from this blog. Expressing his contempt is too satisfying for him as he feels that he is so right. Part of Trump’s secret sauce is this addiction. Facts don’t stop their anger because they don’t want to stop feeling the self righteous anger of I’m right and anyone who disagrees with me is wrong.
I predict two days of Curt being gone to punish us with his absence and then it’s back to square one.
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