Wednesday, May 08, 2019

Road to the White House: Part One: The Pretenders.

JAZZMAN CHRONICLES:  DEFEATING TRUMP.




A LONG & WINDING ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE

A 2020 Presidential Election Analysis from Pretenders to Contenders

Part One:  The Pretenders

By Jack Random



Having been engaged in the political debate for decades, it is both frustrating and infuriating to be subjected to the same specious pragmatic argument every four years.  Individuals that I hold in high regard and whose ideological principals are harmonious with my own, present the case with a straight face and in all sincerity as if on cue from the Democratic Party talking points. 

The argument holds that the Party cannot nominate a true progressive because he or she will lose the general election.  The same message can be applied to all third party or independent candidates in perpetuity.  We must all tow to the centerline where we will almost inevitably be smashed by the big rig of true believers on the right. 

The argument is particularly galling this time around because last time around it was used to nominate Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders despite the stone cold fact that all the energy of the progressive left belonged to Bernie and all the doubt belonged to Hillary. 

It was not just the fact that Hillary didn’t show up in the critical rustbelt states in the weeks before Election Day; it was the fact that she didn’t have anything to say to the working people of the lost industrial middle class.  They would turn to the neophyte Donald J. Trump in a protest against the duplicity of corporate Democrats – and why not?  No one could have done a better job at playing to Trump’s hand than Hillary did.  And yes, Bernie would have beaten Trump and left him bruised, battered and exposed to face the legal fallout of his campaign in the Southern District of New York. 

Now we are faced with a broad and growing field of individuals – qualified or not – lining up for their chance to bring down The Great Con.  Most of them have borrowed from Bernie’s playbook:  Medicare for all, a living wage, fair trade or something like it, access to higher education, humane immigration policies, a transition to a green energy base and a promise of non-intervention in civil wars abroad.  Still, the mainstream media portray Bernie and friends as radical leftists while the political class continues to pretend that the mythical middle ground is the Shangri-La of presidential politics. 

The mainstream of the Democratic Party base is Bernie Sanders.  The mainstream of true progressives is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  The Party operatives stuck with the Clintons where they now find themselves sinking in the quicksand of yesterday’s politics.  Those of us with no viable alternative moved on a long, long time ago.  We never wanted a return to the Clinton years.  What we want now is a government that recognizes the challenges of the new and the next generations.  Moderation has become a code word for corporate domination.  The massive multi-national corporations that finance traditional politicians on both sides of the aisle have proven beyond all doubt that they are ready, willing and eager to sell us all down the river for the almighty profit margin. 

No one really likes a moderate.  A moderate is someone who doesn’t have the courage of his or her conviction.  A moderate is a weasel in the smiling mask of an insurance salesman.  A moderate doesn’t know where she’s been or where he’s going.  Despite all his flamboyance, Donald Trump is a moderate pretending to be extreme.  He is extreme on race and immigration but there it stops.  Even there he has no conviction.  It is all braggadocio.  It is all Clintonian triangulation.  It is all calculated to win, baby, win. 

Okay.  Let us concede that Barrack Obama was a moderate politician that many Democrats and progressives remember with warm affection.  He was portrayed as a leftist by both the opposition and an accommodating media but he never lived up to the label.  Had he been the man he was advertised to be, he would have delivered a hell of a lot more and better than Obamacare.  He would have delivered more and better than a Lilly Ledbetter Act limited to federal employees.  He would have delivered as promised the right to organize in the workplace.  He would have decisively ended the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and limited our engagement in Syria to humanitarian assistance.  He would have created an international economic alliance with the power to replace drones and missiles with targeted economic sanctions. 

Obama is the past and the Clintons are ancient history.  The times demand that we elect a bold new leader to take the reins of a progressive government.  The times demand that America lead the world in a bold new and green direction.  The times demand that we cast off once and for all the debilitating barbarity, isolationism and narcissism of Donald J. Trump. 

We need a president that is not afraid to take a stand. 

It has become clear in recent weeks that (a) every politician of age believes he or she is qualified to take up residency on Pennsylvania Avenue and (b) it is never too early to begin the long and winding road to the White House. 

Likewise, it is never too early to begin our analysis of the candidates and to initiate the inevitable process of elimination. 

TIER ONE:  THE PRETENDERS. 

Don’t get me wrong:  I love the pretenders.  The pretenders have nothing to lose and something to gain.  They represent causes.  They lay it on the line.  They tend to be uncompromised.  They have no need to roll out trial balloons or test the waters.  What you see is what you get. 

Every presidential election attracts any number of pretenders.  Past elections have given us the pizza man, the flat tax joker, the sleepy-eyed brain surgeon and Carly “the CEO” Fiorina.  None had a reasonable chance to become the party nominee but they did gain notoriety, book deals or invitations to social events.  They gained one of the most valued commodities in business or politics: name recognition. 

MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG

This year’s pretenders include most notably the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Peter Buttigieg – that’s Boot-Edge-Edge.  There is no denying the mayor’s eloquence or intellectual prowess.  He’s a Rhodes scholar and a Harvard graduate.  He is also the only openly gay candidate in the Democratic field.  I applaud his candidacy.  His rebuttal to the openly bigoted views of vice president Mike Pence is brilliant and refreshing. 

He is also smart enough to know that a mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is not qualified for the highest office in the land.  He lacks experience in foreign policy.  He has no practical knowledge of the inside workings of Washington D.C.  Still, his candidacy forces the Democratic field to embrace the civil rights of gay and transsexual communities.  He has a powerful voice and will be heard at the Democratic National Convention and beyond. 

CEO HOWARD SCHULTZ

With apologies to Joe DiMaggio, Mr. Coffee stepped into the race with the same argument that former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg trots out every four years.  He is convinced that America is yearning for a middle-of-the-road moderate and that both major parties have drifted to ideological extremes.  He is wrong on both accounts.  What really concerns Schultz is protecting his own interests.  He is a proud member of the one percent club and he doesn’t want to pay proportionately higher taxes.  Sorry, Howard, wrong party. 

BILLIONAIRE TOM STEYER 

To his credit, Steyer jumped on the impeachment wagon before it had wheels.  To those who agree with him that alone is an admirable resume.  The fact that he amassed his fortune as the manager of a hedge fund is an effective antidote.  A San Francisco Democrat with liberal credentials and deep pockets, Steyer threatened to run for US Senator before backing out and he has done the same with the presidency – twice.  Let’s take him at his word:  He’s not running “at this time.”  Translation:  His impeachment campaign has not made a mark in the polls. 

Here’s an idea for all those billionaire progressives:  Fund green communities and industries in Montana, Wyoming, Arizona and throughout the Midwest.  Establish residency there and run for Governor or the US Senate.  We have reached a point where two or three senate seats could have a greater impact than winning the White House. 

HIGH TECH ENTREPRENEUR ANDREW YANG

A big brain with a big idea, Andrew Yang epitomizes the candidate who runs to publicize and gather support for a concept.  That concept is a universal basic income.  Yang read Martin Ford’s Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future.  It is a poignant warning of a not-so-distant future where robots and robotics take the bulk of jobs from industrial workers to white-collar professionals.  For years advocates of Fair Trade have opposed the inevitable job exportation of Free Trade policies.  For decades opponents of Fair Trade have fallen back on the argument that technology will take those middle class jobs in any case.  Now that time has finally arrived.  Yang proposes an answer:  a basic universal income by right of birth and citizenship.  Here’s another solution: the government as an employer of last resort.  Shades of socialism?  Sure.  Why not?  Would you prefer mass unemployment?  The Mother of all Depressions?  It’s coming and like global warming it’s coming fast.  And it doesn’t care if you believe it or not. 

AUTHOR MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

An adherent of the spiritual teachings of A Course in Miracles, Williamson is the best-selling author of inspirational books.  She wishes to awaken the spiritual culture of America to the realities of the democratic process.  Williamson is a true believer and a genuine good deed doer so I will not doubt her intentions or cast aspersions on her character.  She is not running for president but if she can awaken a segment of the non-voting majority to engage the political process, she deserves our heartfelt appreciation. 

MAYOR WAYNE MESSAM 

The black mayor of Miramar, Florida, Mr. Messam is the first member of his family born in the United States.  He is the son of Jamaican immigrants.  His father worked in the sugar cane fields of Glades, Florida.  He is running to highlight the plight of immigrants in Trump’s America.  He advocates gun control, expanded healthcare, a woman’s right to choose, progressive taxation and climate change initiatives.  He knows the issues and would make a solid candidate for congress. 

FORMER SENATOR MIKE GRAVEL 

At age 88 and technically qualified for the presidency, former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel is voluntarily being used by a trio of young tech-savvy libertarians to shake up the race.  Gravel stands against imperialism and demands democratic reform – both discussions worth having and ones that may or may not come up in his absence.  The campaign is refreshingly candid about his chances.  They don’t want the White House.  They want a place on the stage.  To attain that goal they must gain a one percent in three national polls or donations from 65,000 individuals with at least 200 donors in twenty different states.  If they make it the DNC will raise the stakes. 

This completes the current crop of presidential pretenders who have managed to gain some notice because of their status and/or financial resources.  In some ways they represent the best of American democracy.  They bring sincere and pressing issues to light.  They press when more traditional candidates would back down.  Some may well go on to great accomplishments in the political arena.  Others will boost sales and attendance on upcoming book tours.  But none will be president in this cycle. 

Jazz. 

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES AND FOUNDER OF CROW DOG PRESS.  HIS NOVELS INCLUDE PAWNS TO PLAYERS: THE CHESS TRILOGY. 

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