Rally 'Round the Biden
Bernie and Jane Sanders with Joe Biden
W.J. Astore
Three days, three candidates, three exits. First, Tom Steyer. Next, Mayor Pete. And now Amy Klobuchar. Pete and Amy are dropping to clear a path for Joe Biden, and indeed Klobuchar has already endorsed Uncle Joe.
The Democratic establishment thinks this is a good thing -- the best way to block Bernie Sanders. But is it?
In debates featuring six or more candidates, Joe Biden was able to elide or hide, to a certain extent, his dubious record, since he had so little time to speak. When he did speak, he came across as angry and sputtering, often garbling his message. Now that there'll be fewer candidates, Biden won't be able to hide his poor debating skills as easily. This can't be a good thing for Joe.
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg also takes votes from Biden. Will he drop out as well? He can't be bribed, so how will pressure be applied to get the Master of Stop & Frisk to go away?
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren recently claimed she's in the race until the convention. That can only mean one thing: she's in the race to block Bernie. In which case, she'll be rewarded with -- something. A VP slot under Biden?
I still think the dream ticket for the DNC is Biden/Harris. And it's a guaranteed loser as well. But who cares about winning, right? As long as Bernie Sanders's attempt to mobilize the people is defeated. That is "winning" for the DNC.
As my Kiwi friend just said to me via email:
Democrats now have to choose between Sanders, Biden, Bloomberg…and Elizabeth Warren. Not the most, er, diverse field ever offered to the electorate.
Fascinating times – I still am staggered at how the DNC and mainstream media just cut out Tulsi Gabbard like she was an “unperson” in the Soviet era. One minute she was there, next minute gone.
I still hope Bernie prevails, and if he does, I hope he has the guts to pick Tulsi Gabbard as his VP. Now is not the time for half-measures, Bernie.