Well, here I am writing about the presidential election. How could I not do so, on this July Sunday, when President Biden announced he was no longer seeking reelection and endorsed Kamala Harris as his choice for the Democratic candidate for President. Can our politics get any more bizarre?
Last week during the Republican Convention in Milwaukee, most of the country got the feeling that the Republicans were very organized. They turned Trumps MAGA slogan into an actual platform that was both logical and appealed a large measure of the voters. If Biden had stayed on as the candidate, I believe Trump would have been a shoe-in.
Amid all of this Republican energy and optimism, I laid out a plan to my wife and a few friends on how the Democrats could command the news in the week after the Republican Convention right through the Democratic Convention August 19-22. We are talking about a month of getting more press than the Republicans for a month.
How would this happen?
Well first Biden would have to back-out early in the week after the Republican Convention. Everyone but Biden this had to happen. He did just that today and ALL the news was about the Democrats. Next, the Democrats would have to craft and vet a process to replace the ticket. Surely, Harris would be the front runner. But other names should be considered as well. This should take a week to ten days. Then, they should have some mini-campaign events for the various candidates, President and Vice-President (maybe), making their case to the delegates. If they do this right, and craft the message, they could hold the news until a presidential candidate is chosen perhaps in the first week or two of August. Then the convention would take place. The VP candidate would be announced, and the rest of the week would be a Democratic platform lovefest.
The trick will be to make it interesting and engaging to the public. A platform to win the undecided, never Trumpers, and recent newcomers to the Trump camp would have to be crafted. Basically, I am talking about a platform to win back the center as this is where the election will be won or lost. The various potential nominees would then put their spin on it… without attacking each other until the process yields a candidate.
The key has to be crafting a platform that will attract the aforementioned to the Democrats. It cannot be extremely liberal or progressive, the factions of the party must be united to the goal of beating Trump. Secondly, the candidate has to be able to go toe-to-toe with Trump and not just become fodder for Trumps rants, raves, and slogans. I believe this second part will be the hardest part.
Is Harris, Whitmer, Buttigieg, Pritzker, Manchin, or Newsom up to this? The 2020 version of Biden was. Hilary Clinton and the 2024 Biden were not. Trump is bombastic and nurtures populism. There is nothing he won’t say to disparage his opponent. Do the Democrats have a candidate that can match-up and beat Trump with a more magnetic personality and a more appealing platform.
This could all play out differently that I have just laid out. The Democrats might implode due to infighting or a platform that is so left leaning that they drive more votes to Trump. Their candidate may just be fodder for Trump’s demeaning sloganeering. I sure hope not. People need a choice.
No matter what, the ride to the November elections should be exciting.
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