I am looking forward to public apologies from all those right-wing loudmouths who said — on talk radio, Fox News, and Twitter — that COVID-19 was “a Democratic hoax” or “a plot by left-wing media to hurt Trump.” There have been some who have pulled a 180 and recognized the danger of our current situation, but that doesn’t mean they’re confessing their earlier egregious errors. And let’s not forget the GOP politicians (e.g. Rep. Devin Nunes, WV Gov. Jim Justice), who encouraged people to go to restaurants and bars, even when infectious disease expert Dr. Fauci was telling us exactly the opposite.
Of course, I’m not holding my breath until the liars and conspiracy theorists admit they were wrong.
That includes Trump The Stable Genius, who said, when we knew of the first 15 infected Americans, that the number would soon go to zero. Even yesterday, Trump (whose tone was markedly different) reiterated he takes no responsibility for his administration’s failure to deal with Coronavirus sooner. His attitude reminds me of Harry Truman, who you’ll remember famously said, “The buck stops somewhere else. Not with me. I’ve never even met the buck. A lot of people are telling me Obama started the buck.”
As for the Democrats, the Biden vs. Bernie debate Monday night was so much better without an audience that it should become the default format for all future verbal sparring sessions. Which of the old white men came out better? Since Biden is the frontrunner, all he had to do was avoid tripping over himself. Unfortunately, he still spoke too fast, which is when his tongue gets in the way of his brain. However, I don’t think he did himself any significant damage and Bernie didn’t do much to change enough minds in the remaining primaries — whenever they’re held — so the path likely remains the same.
One of the bickering points came when Bernie attacked Joe over the Super PACs supporting him. Biden claimed Sanders had similar support, but offered no proof. What he should have said instead was, “Look, we need to completely revamp the way political campaigns are financed in this country, and when I’m the President, I will lead the push to change that and overturn Citizens United. But until that’s done, we have to play by the current rules and accept financial assistance from anyone — without promising anything in return. Because not using every dollar of support we’re offered to defeat Trump in November would be a tragic mistake.”
Here’s something else Joe should have said, when asked how he was going to convince Bernie’s followers to vote for him: “I understand your enthusiasm for Senator Sanders, and I’m glad you’re so politically engaged. But here’s the bottom line. If you don’t go to the polls this fall and cast a ballot for me, that’s the same as voting for Donald Trump. And if that’s not enough incentive for you, I’ll give you three more words to think about: Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”
I say this as a guy who voted for Bernie in the primaries in both 2016 and 2020 because I support many of his ideas and, as I wrote a few weeks ago, have been thrilled to have someone so progressive finally get a national platform to promote his ideas. However, if Biden continues on the path to the nomination, I’ll support him wholeheartedly.
I’m sick of the more rabid Sanders supporters who keep pressing the idea that the Democratic establishment has put its thumb on the scale and somehow rigged the process in Biden’s favor. From what I’ve seen, all they’ve done under DNC Chairman Tom Perez is let the people vote. Whining about it when you lose helps no one.
It’s vital to remember not to throw out the good in pursuit of the perfect. Just because a candidate doesn’t support every single thing you want doesn’t mean you jump ship and let the evildoers retain power. Four more years of Trump would mean a more lopsided Supreme Court, the end of Obamacare, an ongoing lack of ethical and moral leadership in this nation, and the continued destruction of our democracy by a con man and his criminal cohorts.
How would a Joe Biden presidency be worse than that?