South Carolina Primary

Is Bernie Sanders An Unstoppable Juggernaut? Not So Fast!

Ronald 14 Comments

Senator Bernie Sanders’ impressive win in Nevada is a warning sign to many mainstream Democrats that he is unstoppable.

Not so fast, as one cannot judge the battle for the Democratic Presidential nomination based on three small states.

Super Tuesday will be the decisive moment, if any candidate can win the vast number of delegates from the 14 states having primaries on that date, including California, Texas, Minnesota, Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Massachusetts.

After Nevada, however, the candidates that still have a chance to stop Bernie are likely Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden, with the bet being that Pete is more likely.

The debate on CBS this coming Tuesday, followed by the South Carolina Primary on Saturday, will be the stepping stone for Tuesday, March 3!

The Las Vegas MSNBC Democratic Presidential Debate: Combative, Confrontational, And Fascinating, All At The Same Time!

Ronald 3 Comments

Yesterday’s Las Vegas MSNBC Democratic Presidential debate can be described as combative, confrontational, and fascinating, all at the same time!

The six way debate, adding former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg to the mix, clearly made Elizabeth Warren look much better, as she challenged Bloomberg, and made him look weak and befuddled.

It seems clear that Bloomberg has lost his image of invincibility gained by spending nearly $400 million in advertising.

Bernie Sanders also did well, and clearly is the front runner, but the question remains if he can overcome the “Socialist” label, which is misunderstood by millions of Americans, who think it is the same as Communism, which it most certainly is not.

The fear is that Sanders will lose the election due to the “Socialist” label, and that greatly concerns this author and blogger.

Joe Biden showed improvement in the debate, but the question remains if he is capable of the challenge ahead, as he seems to many to be a bit slower in response and debate skills, from what he was in 2008 and 2012, when he debated Sarah Palin and Paul Ryan.

Pete Buttigieg put in another good performance, and helped to promote an image of Amy Klobuchar as temperamental in her reaction to his challenges to her about failing to know who was the President of Mexico.

Overall, the loser of the night was Bloomberg, and the major winner was Warren.

We shall see what effect this debate has on the upcoming Nevada Caucuses and South Carolina Primary.

Tonight’s MSNBC Democratic Las Vegas Debate Will Be Fascinating To Watch

Ronald 23 Comments

Tonight’s MSNBC Democratic Las Vegas debate will be fascinating to watch as former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be tested for the first time in what is expected to be a spirited, confrontational event.

Bloomberg will be criticized for spending $400 million to “buy” the election, and it is expected he will come out sparring with all of his other five rivals, but particularly Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Pete Buttigieg.

Bloomberg’s controversial policies and statements on race, gender, and sexuality, in and out of office will be the hotbed of the debate, and it will easily be the most interesting debate held so far.

There are many skeptics of Bloomberg’s record and statements, and it will be interesting to see how well he does in defending himself.

While he is not on the ballot in Nevada or South Carolina, Bloomberg will certainly have an effect on the fortunes of his rivals, as how they do in the two weeks before Super Tuesday will have an impact on March 3 and beyond.

Strong Possibility That Democrats Will Have A Tumultuous National Convention, Reminding Us Of 1968

Ronald 9 Comments

There is a growing feeling that the Democratic Party will be divided all the way to the national convention in the second week of July in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Neither the progressive nor moderate wings seem likely to be able to gather enough delegates to lock up the nomination before July, as things now stand.

The Nevada Caucuses, South Carolina Primary, the 14 states on Super Tuesday, and 10 other states in the two weeks following Super Tuesday, might decide, but no certainty at this time.

The longer the struggle goes on, the more likely, horrible to say, that Donald Trump COULD win reelection, and destroy the Constitution and rule of law, making it impossible to recoup the damage that has been done during these three years of his Presidency.

The last time the Democrats were totally divided was 1968, and it led to the victory of Richard Nixon over a good, competent, decent man, Hubert Humphrey, who would have been far better than Nixon was.

The question remains: who is best equipped to win the Midwest, the area that had Hillary Clinton won, Donald Trump would not be President today, creating a constitutional crisis never ending!

Is Joe Biden “Done”? Not So Quickly, One Might Say!

Ronald 10 Comments

Former Vice President Joe Biden has done poorly in the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary, being 4th and 5th respectively, and many observers are thinking he is “done”.

Not so fast, as Biden is still favored to win in South Carolina, and in theory, is the only Democrat to have widespread African American support.

And Super Tuesday on March 3 will be the ultimate decider on his fate, as if he performs poorly in the 14 state primaries on that day, then it will be time for him to drop out.

Biden has been trying to be President for a third of a century, longer than any Presidential contender in American history, having first tried in 1988, and then 2008, before now.

He has never come near being a serious potential candidate, and his age is a detriment, plus his seemingly declining public performance.

This blogger and author has been a long time fan and supporter of Joe Biden, who exudes the most important trait any President should have, empathy. He is the kind of person who one could imagine that if he was your neighbor, he would ask if he could help you with anything.

He is a genuine, sincere, decent man, with more experience than any Presidential contender or President ever came with to the Oval Office.

But we know that experience and capability is not always a plus, and that many Presidents we have elected were far from the best choices, but they had the magic and the luck to be able to win.

We may be seeing the final conclusion on the public life of Joe Biden in the next month, but he can still be an adviser or participant under another Democratic President, and of course, he can stay in the public eye through speeches and writings, contributing to public discourse.

And since he is in his late 70s, he can also choose to enjoy his retirement, his family, and recall all of the contributions he made as a six term US Senator, and as one of the best Vice Presidents in American history!

New Hampshire Primary: Moderates Dominate, And Joe Biden And Elizabeth Warren In Free Fall

Ronald 29 Comments

The New Hampshire Primary results are in, and the winners are Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, who together won 44 percent of the vote, compared to Bernie Sanders winning 25.7 percent, only about 3,700 votes ahead of Buttigieg, who had 24.4 percent of the vote on his own.

Even if you add Elizabeth Warren’s poor showing, 9.2 percent of the vote to Sanders’ total, the moderates clearly won, even not including Joe Biden’s embarrassing 5th place finish, with 8.4 percent of the vote.

It is clear that both Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren are in free fall, and if they do not do well in Nevada and South Carolina, and on Super Tuesday on March 3, they are done as candidates, and it is likely down to Sanders, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and the likelihood that Michael Bloomberg may do well on Super Tuesday, after spending about $300 million on advertising so far.

Tom Steyer, Deval Patrick, and Tulsi Gabbard remain technically in the race, which is down to just nine candidates, after Andrew Yang and Michael Bennet withdrew last night.

No one thought that Buttigieg and Klobuchar would get this far as survivors, and the sense is that one or the other, or both as a team, might very well be the Democratic ticket for 2020, two Midwestern candidates, who could, in theory, accomplish what Hillary Clinton could not do in 2016, win Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and potentially, even Ohio and Iowa, enough to win the White House!

African Americans And The Democratic Presidential Contenders

Ronald 3 Comments

A major problem moving forward is that African Americans seem tied to the destiny of former Vice President Joe Biden, who they seem to favor overwhelmingly in the upcoming South Carolina Primary, the first state to have a large African American population, in the Caucus-Primary season.

It seems clear that African Americans, based on polls, are not thrilled by Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, or Amy Klobuchar, all of whom have had lack of their support in their own states and cities.

But if the Democratic Party alienates African Americans, they could stay home, and that would kill off chances of a Democratic Presidential victory in November.

Clearly, African Americans will not vote for Donald Trump, who gained less than 10 percent of their vote in 2016, but “sitting on their hands”, and staying home, is counterproductive.

So other Democratic contenders, with the sense that Joe Biden might be fading as a candidate, need to convince African Americans that they offer an alternative to Biden.

Time For A New Generation Of Leadership: My Endorsement Of Pete Buttigieg For President!

Ronald 7 Comments

With the Iowa Caucuses taking place on Monday evening, followed by the New Hampshire Primary, the Nevada Caucuses, and the South Carolina Primary later in February, and then Super Tuesday on March 3 (14 states voting), it is time to consider who would be the best choice for President of the United States.

Anyone who has read my blog for the past eleven and a half years knows of my genuine affection for former Vice President Joe Biden.

I wish he had been the nominee in 2016, and believe he would have defeated Donald Trump.

But at age 77 now, and concerned about the idea of an octogenarian Presidency if Joe, or Bernie Sanders, or Mike Bloomberg wins the election, I do not think any of these three would be the best choice for the future of the party and nation.

I wish to make it clear that I will support whoever the Democratic Presidential nominee is in 2020, but prefer a younger candidate who represents the future.

So therefore, I am endorsing former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg for President!

I believe that Pete, while seen as a “dark horse”, represents the future of the party, and would move the nation forward in a rational, reasonable way.

He would be the John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama of his time, as the thought of a Catholic, a Southerner, a Governor of a small state, and a mixed race African American President was unlikely, but occurred in 1960, 1976, 1992, and 2008.

Pete was the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, a small city, but there is no description of who a President should be, and what matters more is the inspiration that a candidate brings to the race.

And Pete represents a new generation; a man who would be the youngest President in history; a man who served in the military in Afghanistan; a Harvard and Oxford graduate; a recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship; and a scholarly man who can speak seven languages.

Pete is a moderate progressive, which is the mainstream of the Democratic Party, and this blogger and scholar does not believe that Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren can win the election. And were either to win, the strong odds are against their agenda as more ambitious than the next Congress would be.

To accomplish their goals would require a Congress similar to that under Franklin D. Roosevelt in the mid 1930s, or Lyndon B. Johnson in the mid 1960s, but that occurring is close to zero, in reality!

The fact that Pete Buttigieg is gay and has a husband would not, in my estimation, be a major factor in the election, except for extremist religious Christians and Jews, but realistically, they would be unlikely to vote Democratic anyway.

And as far as African American voters, while they might favor Joe Biden now, and there are some issues with Pete’s handling of racial issues in South Bend, can one really imagine African Americans backing Donald Trump for a second term?

The prospect of a woman nominee, either Amy Klobuchar or Elizabeth Warren, would be appealing, particularly after the disappointment in 2016, and the fact that the centennial of the Woman Suffrage 19th Amendment, is in 2020. But I think the odds of midwestern white men supporting a woman over a gay male is highly questionable.

A great idea, however, would be to select a qualified woman for Vice President, with Amy Klobuchar the front runner in that regard, older by a generation than Pete, but Obama had Joe Biden who was a generation older as well.

Having a Midwestern ticket of Pete and Amy would insure, in my estimation, a Democratic victory in November, with two firsts–a gay male President and a woman Vice President–two advancements brought to us by the Democratic Party, the party of reasonable revolutionary change as in the case of John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, half a century apart, and now looking into the future of the nation.

So again, I am in for whoever the Democrats nominate for President as the best choice for the nation, but enthusiastically endorse Pete Buttigieg for President, and welcome all commentary by any reader!

Iowa Presidential Debate Crucial As Caucuses Are Three Weeks From Today

Ronald 3 Comments

The Democratic Presidential debate on Tuesday night is crucial as the caucuses near us three weeks from today.

The latest polls indicate close to a four way split, with only five points between first place finisher Bernie Sanders and fourth place finisher Joe Biden.

It is clear anything could happen on February 3, and it could dramatically influence New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada later in February.

We must remember that Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Barack Obama in 2008 went on to the Presidency after winning iowa in those years.

A win in Iowa could lead to victories in New Hampshire and onward, and that, if occurring, could have a dramatic effect on Super Tuesday, when 14 states, including California and Texas, the two largest, vote in primaries and caucuses on March 3.

A failure to end up at least in third place in Iowa would likely be the death knell of a candidacy.

And yet, even Amy Klobuchar, who is not seen seriously right now, but being from neighboring state Minnesota, could surprise us, having visited all 99 counties in Iowa.

So Tuesday’s debate will be a test of how she can perform, along with how Joe Biden will fare, and also whether Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, numbers one and two, treat each other. Additionally, whether Pete Buttigieg, now third in most polls, can compete against his older and more experienced rivals.

How the debate is judged by media will certainly have a dramatic effect on the likely voting lineup on February 3.

But an additional potential influence on what happens in Iowa and New Hampshire is the upcoming Impeachment Trial of Donald Trump, which will force Sanders, Warren and Klobuchar off the campaign trail, possibly giving an edge to Biden and Buttigieg.

South Carolina Primary: Why Do African Americans In That State Favor Joe Biden Over Kamala Harris And Cory Booker?

Ronald 5 Comments

One of the great mysteries of the 2020 Presidential campaign is the massive support in public opinion polls for Joe Biden in the South Carolina primary coming up in February.

Biden has a mixed record on race, considering that he opposed school busing in the 1970s, and was a cosponsor of a tough crime bill in 1994, which led to a large number of African Americans being incarcerated, some unjustly, by a very harsh piece of legislation.

It seems Biden’s support may be due more to the fact that he served as Vice President under President Barack Obama, and yet Obama has purposely not endorsed his former Vice President.

Right now, Joe Biden is not doing well in public opinion polls in Iowa or New Hampshire, so South Carolina, with its large African American population, may be his ultimate life line.

But the debate is why are not Senator Kamala Harris of California and Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey doing well in South Carolina, as one would have thought?

And also, will the other African American candidate, former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, late in entering the Presidential race, perform any better than Harris or Booker?