Here we go. The Democrats are off to the races to decide who will face the huge pile of certifiably insane orange excrement our country currently boasts as its President. In terms of the continued viability of our Republic, there’s never been a more important election than the one we will have in 2020. If Donald Trump were by some outlandish set of circumstances to again win the presidency, the long-term damage to America would be incalculable.
Given the stakes, some would find cause for concern at the sheer number of Democratic candidates, either already announced, or almost certainly assured of announcing. So many faces and voices might serve as a distraction. But the primary process is inexorable: eventually one candidate will emerge. And regardless of who that individual turns out to be, every single voter who truly cares for our nation must be committed to vote for that person. There is no room whatsoever for the ideological errors of 2016. The overarching guiding principle must be, “Donald Trump cannot be allowed to stay in the White House. Period.”
But the yellow brick road through the primaries has yet to be trod. At this end, standing in the center of Munchkinland, just taking our first steps, there is great latitude, and a dizzying smorgasbord of candidates on the menu. Ultimately, this is a good thing. These people will provide useful ideas to be explored, more options from which to pick and choose. One of the best lessons of 2016 was seeing how Bernie Sanders, even in defeat, significantly moved the Democratic needle to the left and to a more progressive platform. His ideas have become solid in the minds of many, if not most, Democrats.
As the horses stamp and stomp around the starting gate, it is already clear that a definite set of favorites has emerged. Polling reveals that Bernie Sanders and Beto O’Rourke are leading the pack, at least among those who have announced. Joe Biden has not yet announced (other than by a slip of the tongue, the sort of thing that endears Joe to lots of supporters). Even so, Joe regardless actually leads many of the polls. Another metric is fund-raising, and in fund-raising, Bernie pulled in an record-breaking $5.9M on the first day of his announcement.
Beto then raised $6.1M on his first day.
Even given his popularity and his fund-raising ability, for some reason, Beto has immediately become the recipient of a barrage of fairly harsh criticism… from fellow Democrats. The primary (stated) reason for this castigation seems to be a perceived lack of specificity by O’Rourke w.r.t. policy specifics. But the underlying problem feels more like disdain for a man who has “white privilege.” The fact that Beto is neither a person of color nor a woman has somehow made him a target for many Democrats.
Look, Beto has freely admitted that he has had a life that benefitted from white privilege. That’s a problem in American life that he is actively working to correct. As for policy specifics, this is not the time in a campaign to nail those things down, not withstanding the fact that he did articulate policy points in his contest against Ted Cruz. This is the time for generating enthusiasm, raising campiagn funds and building a team of advisors and strategists to help win the primaries, and then the election. And there is simply no other person in the Democratic field that even comes close to generating enthusiasm like Beto O’Rourke.
Beto has been compared to Barack Obama, and how he presented himself in the early days of his campaign. The comparison is an apt one. Both men have an energy and a charisma that just naturally draws people to them. Infectious is a good description. Both project an integrity and a powerful optimism that calls forth our better angels.
The same could reasonably be said for how Bernie Sanders campaigned in 2016, when he drew large and extremely enthusiastic crowds wherever he went. And Joe Biden certainly has a wide appeal and a good heart, and that cannot be denied. But both men are ancient. Biden is 76, Sanders is 77. They would be in their 80’s in their first term as president.
As much as these elder statesmen have done for America, as progressive as their ideas are, we cannot afford to put our fate in the hands of men that old. The Presidency erodes a person like no other job on earth. The pressures are unrelenting. Donald Trump is an anomaly in so many horrible ways; he simply ignores the overwhelming responsibilities of the office, and so is untouched by its life-draining nature. The man whose job it will be to undo the travesties Trump has perpetrated on our nation will have even greater than usual stress and pressure.
Beto O’Rourke will find advisors; members of Obama’s team have already started to join him. He will fill in the blanks on planning and policy. And along the way, he will snowball and concentrate the positive enthusiasm we need to both defeat Trump and turn the ship of state around.
I think O’Rourke deserves our support and our vote. Time will tell its tale, but, unlike Han Solo, I have a good feeling about this.
© 2019 Chuck Puckett