Okay, I'd like to take a minute to talk about why a Biden nomination will mean a second Trump term. Yeah, yeah, I know, heresy. I'm going to tell the truth anyway.
First, no one is excited to vote for Biden. He's completely uninspiring. The only things he brings to the table are knowing Obama and not being Trump. Now compare that to Trump's base and how rabidly fanatical they are. That's what we're up against, and Biden just doesn't measure up.
Now, Trump voters don't make up the majority of the country. Not even close. They don't even make up the majority of registered voters, which is still a smaller number than the number of US citizens who are eligible to vote. The thing is, neither do registered Democrats.
So... A quick summary of the way our political system works, so you can understand why a Biden nomination hands Trump the election even if Biden wins the primaries. There are two major parties in the US, Democrats and Republicans. There are also a handful of other parties, but it's rare they have any real impact on national elections, though occasionally they win in smaller, local or state races. But even that isn't terribly common.
The majority of the people in this country *despise* both major parties. There are three main ways to register to vote in most states. You can register as either a Democrat, a Republican, or an independent/unaffiliated voter/third party. And, again, that doesn't even get into the people who don't register to vote at all but could if they wanted to.
Now, of the people who are registered to vote at all, more people are registered as independent/unaffiliated than as a member of any party. And the reason for this is, as I said before, most people *despise* both major parties. For the majority of Americans, there doesn't seem to be much difference between the two parties.
And, unfortunately, for the most part, they're correct. Both parties serve their rich donors, and they both screw over regular people. Which means, unless a candidate offers something different that gives people hope, most Americans don't bother to vote in most elections.
Now, when parties run primaries, in most states, only the people who are registered to vote as a member of that party can vote in their primaries. There are exceptions to this, but that's how it works in most states. This means only a very, very small percentage of voters choose who runs as the nominee for the major parties.
Then, and this is the crazy part, once the parties have locked the majority of Americans out of the process in selecting the candidate, they then turn around and demand everyone they told to screw off during the primaries show up and vote for the candidate they didn't get a voice in choosing. Predictably, this often does not go well.
How does this translate into Biden losing to Trump? Well, right now, Democrats are in the process of choosing their nominee. There are two choices left in the race. Bernie, who whatever you think about him, indisputably has an enthusiastic base of support to rival Trump's. And Biden, who no one but oligarchs is excited about.
But, since it's those oligarchs who are controlling both the primary process and the mainstream media narrative, Biden is doing really well. In the primary. But once the primary is over, if he's the nominee, he'll have to win the general election. And he won't be able to do that.
Why? Well, several reasons. First, as I've said, no one is really excited about Biden. Some people are excited about getting rid of Trump, but the majority of people really just aren't all that engaged in politics. The system is broken, probably beyond repair, and most regular people just don't have the time and energy to invest in something that is designed to frustrate anyone who wants to challenge the status quo. Not when everyone is so busy just trying to survive.
And, as is human nature, when a problem doesn't seem to have a solution, most people just check out. They turn their attention elsewhere and try not to think about it. Because what good will it do other than to make their lives even more unpleasant?
So, taking all of that into consideration, what's going to happen if Biden is the nominee? Well, first, Trump will clobber him with Ukraine and his son's involvement there. That will be a major focus of the election. And Trump will have the advantage of being correct, Biden's son being put on the board of an energy company when he had no qualifications for it, and being paid ungodly amounts of money, is corruption.
It doesn't matter if it's illegal. It doesn't matter if it's a common form of corruption that all the oligarchs engage in. It doesn't even matter that Trump is guilty of much worse corruption because his base doesn't care and pointing that out just makes most people shrug and say, "Okay, there's no difference between them, so why should I take the time and trouble to vote?" This means the only people voting will be the people who are enthusiastic about Trump, no matter what.
Then Trump will run compilation videos of all the times Biden has sounded incoherent and confused. Like when he didn't know what state he was in or whether he was running for the presidency or the Senate. Or when he didn't know his wife from his sister. Or when he forgot Obama's name. Or one of dozens of other examples. Trump will say this is evidence that Biden is in the early stages of dementia. And he might be right about that.
Then Trump will bring up all the times Biden lied egregiously. Like when he said he participated in civil rights organizing, he didn't, or when he claimed he was arrested for trying to see Nelson Mandela in prison, he wasn't. And, again, it doesn't matter that Trump is a notorious liar himself because his base doesn't care and all bringing that up will do for everyone else is reinforce the idea that there's no difference between the parties. They're all liars, so why should anyone exert themselves to vote?
And Biden can't even use policy positions to argue his case, because Biden has been on the wrong side of almost every major piece of legislation for the last forty years. Trump will run videos of Biden saying he wants to cut Social Security and Medicare, defending segregated schools, pushing for legislation that made it harder for regular people to get themselves out of debt, crafting legislation that led to the incarceration of millions of people of color for minor offenses, arguing in favor of trade agreements that were devastating for working people, arguing against legislation to protect unions, and arguing in favor of the Iraq war.
Trump will also attack Biden's character. He'll bring up the fact that Biden didn't believe or protect Anita Hill. That Biden seems to have a hard time keeping his hands to himself, especially with young girls. Trump will use all that to paint Biden as a misogynist a pedophile. Trump will say that Biden's record of defending segregation and pushing the Crime Bill that resulted in the mass incarceration of people of color proves that Biden is a racist. And, while Trump might not say it himself, the GOP slush fund PACS will run ads with videos about how Biden said he didn't think women should have the right to choose what we do with our own bodies. Which just happens to have the advantage of being something he actually did say.
Again, it won't matter that Trump is also wrong about all these things. His base *doesn't care*. Either they see him as an agent of change and they're willing to overlook anything if it means their lives might get a little easier, or they are racist and love the fact he's persecuting the people they hate, or both. And Biden won't be able to defend himself. He'll babble about Cornpop, or letting little kids play with the hair on his legs, or he'll make up stories about himself that never happened. Or he'll just forget what day it is, and where he is, and what office he's running for and come off as completely addled. And if he avoids the public entirely or hides behind a spokesperson, he'll look weak and like he's hiding something.
And if you're a Democrat or someone who is deeply engaged with politics, it doesn't matter if you think this is a fair representation of Biden and his history. Though, I would argue that at least some of it is completely fair. But, regardless, it's what will be said and how those things will be perceived by most people who aren't paying close attention. And, at best, those people will decide they were right, there's no difference between the parties, and they'll stay home. At worst, they'll decide Trump is the lesser evil and show up to vote for him.
So, what's the good news? The good news is that Biden isn't the nominee. Right now, Biden and Bernie are both still very much in this race, and there are a lot more primaries to go. So, it's still entirely possible that Bernie will get the nomination.
Now, if Bernie gets the nomination, will Trump attack him? Abso-fucking-lutely! Mercilessly and relentlessly. But Bernie has something Biden doesn't have and will never have: a base of support that's just as enthusiastic and unrelenting as Trump's supporters. And Bernie has another advantage against Trump that Biden doesn't have: he can speak to the policies.
Unlike Biden, Bernie has been on the correct side of most legislation over the past few decades. So, he's consistent and that gives him something else Biden lacks: credibility. When Bernie offers voters hope, they have reason to believe he means what he says and will fight to make it happen. And that's something that penetrates down even to some of the people who don't really pay attention to politics.
Bernie, unlike Biden, has the ability to make people think there might actually be a difference between the parties. That taking the time and trouble to vote, and it can be a lot of time and a lot of trouble, might be worth it. Because it might be a chance to make their lives better. And when you combine those voters with the voters who would walk across hot coals to vote for Bernie and the voters who will vote for anyone because they detest Trump so much, the prospects in November start looking quite a bit brighter.
So, if you're in a state that hasn't had your primary yet, and you're registered so you can vote in the Democratic primary or have the ability to so register in time for your primary -- check your state's election rules to find out, if you don't know -- think about what you want to happen in November. And vote accordingly.
Peace!
PS: There are also multiple credible accusations of sexual harassment against Biden and Tara Reade has accused him of raping her when she worked as his staffer. #BelieveWomen
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