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Joe BidenCongratulations to our presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden!
 

H2O Man

(73,308 posts)
Wed Mar 4, 2020, 06:06 PM Mar 2020

Super Tuesday

“History never repeats itself, but the Kaleidoscopic combinations of the pictured present often seem to be constructed out of the broken fragments of antique legends.” – Mark Twain; The Gilded Age: A Tale of To-Day; 1874


The wonderful quote, “History doesn't repeat, it rhymes,” is frequently attributed to Mark Twain, and while there are enough similar examples in his writings to hint that he spoke those words, no one can say for certain. Following “Super Tuesday,” however, the above quote may be more important for us to understand, in order to increase our chances of winning not only the White House, but the Senate as well.

Last night, I found myself focusing upon some of the broken fragments from my memories from 1988. Growing up in an extended Irish-American Catholic family, though not Catholic since learning how to skip church without paternal detection as a teen long before, I was an early Biden supporter. But his campaign got knee-capped early. There are other broken fragments from 1988 that are not dissimilar to some of the current events.

Now, the 1988 Democratic primaries featured numerous good candidates. Many in our party had hoped Mario Cuomo would run, but he opted not to. So in 1987, Gary Hart was in the lead, though a scandal resulted in the loss of that position. Joe Biden was coming on strong, until a pseudo-scandal hurt him. Joe had been quoting Neil Kinnock, of the British Labour Party, in his speeches. Joe properly gave credit to Kinnock in every speech but one, and the Dukakis campaign sent a film clip of that one to the media, claiming Biden was plagiarizing Kinnock.

At the same time, they started the rumor that Biden had been caught plagiarizing in law school. Although the Delaware Supreme Court's Board of Professional Responsibility noted this was simply not true, the damage in the media was entrenched, and Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Several of Dukakis's staff resigned in protest over the “dirty tricks – leaving, in my opinion, a staff that was not nearly as good as their candidate.

Dukakis was a good man, and a good politician. Like literally every politician and human being, he was not “perfect.” His approach might be described as clinical, with little if any emotion. In that sense, he tended to come across similar to Mike Bloomberg. This was one of three things that would hurt him in the general election.

The second thing that hurt the Dukakis campaign was his relationship to Jesse Jackson. It's worth noting that Jesse has recently said that Bernie Sanders has taken up the flag that Jesse was carrying in the 1964 and '88 primaries. A huge difference today, of course, is that Joe Biden and Bernie are friends, and respect one another. Dukakis was not comfortable with Jackson in any way, least of all when they met in person.

It has been said, correctly or incorrectly, that Jesse had a bit of a superiority complex. Jesse himself noted that people should not want a person with an inferiority complex to be president, at times citing the example of Richard Nixon. And in 1988, Jesse ran a strong campaign, winning numerous primaries in states the party would need to carry to win in November.

The “Democratic Leadership Council” had been formed to try to correct mistakes that had been made earlier in the decade, including Mondale's loss to Reagan in 1984. The DLC believed Mondale had been seen as too liberal (he was a really, really good liberal, in my opinion). By focusing upon more centrist candidates, the Democrats had won control of the Senate in 1986. Yet, that can not be seen as separate from the Iran-Contra scandal – something that had the potential to damage Bush the Elder in the 1988 contest. Indeed, after Dukakis won the primaries, polls indicated he had a significant lead over Bush.

Jesse believed that his showing in the primaries indicated he would add the most to the ticket for November. In communications, Jesse and his staff believed they were being given serious consideration. However, the DLC/ party establishment believed Jesse's charisma would overshadow Dukakis. More, while they had the lead in current polls, they believed it was important to try to nail Texas down.

Dukakis had won the Texas primary with 33% of the vote, while Jesse had won 25%. But there was a belief that putting Jesse on the ticket might hurt the ticket's chances of winning Texas in November. Hence, Dukakis would pick Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Jr., as his running mate.

Before announcing that pick, however, Dukakis had to break the news to Jesse. That event did not go well, and included evidence that Dukakis's team had not taken simple steps to avoid the meeting as coming off as a snub. This included the serving of food that Jackson's team had told the Dukakis people that Jesse was not able to eat for health reasons. Things between the two men remained tense.

Bush would win 40 states, including Texas. A number of the states that Dukakis lost by relatively small amounts were the states where Jesse had been the strongest in the primaries. One can only speculate on if having Jesse as VP would have made the difference. But it is certain that, although Jesse endorsed Dukakis, a significant number of Jesse's supporters did note vote in November.

It is too early to say with any certainty if Joe Biden will be our nominee. There are obviously strong reasons to think he most likely will be. But our history has numerous examples of what seems most likely not happening.

However, there is one thing that we can say for certain, without any risk of error. Come November, we will need the supporters of Biden, Bernie, Warren, and all of the other candidates who have participated in the 2020 Democratic primary season to vote for our ticket. And that is definitely something that we all need to keep in mind between now through our convention. For Biden, Sanders, and Warren are friends, and will attempt to provide a united front. A very real danger is that their supporters will insult others in ways that create bitterness and prevent the required unity for victory. We too often see that type of bullshit even now, on the internet. Please do not participate in it.

Peace,
H2O Man

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
10 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Super Tuesday (Original Post) H2O Man Mar 2020 OP
Kick Hekate Mar 2020 #1
Thank you! H2O Man Mar 2020 #2
Choosing a VP will be complicated. Hermit-The-Prog Mar 2020 #3
I like Stacey Abrams. H2O Man Mar 2020 #4
Remembering the Kavanaugh hearings ... Hermit-The-Prog Mar 2020 #6
Right. H2O Man Mar 2020 #8
Hear, hear. PETRUS Mar 2020 #5
Yes, definitely. H2O Man Mar 2020 #7
Your history lesson about 1988 sure brought back a lot of memories. llmart Mar 2020 #9
That is such H2O Man Mar 2020 #10
 

H2O Man

(73,308 posts)
2. Thank you!
Wed Mar 4, 2020, 07:33 PM
Mar 2020

Last night, as the results were coming in, I kept thinking of how each of the four candidates was so superior to Trump. I'm feeling good about November. I know that if we are united, we'll win the White House and very possibly the Senate.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Hermit-The-Prog

(33,021 posts)
3. Choosing a VP will be complicated.
Wed Mar 4, 2020, 07:44 PM
Mar 2020

Stacey Abrams comes to mind, but mine is not the most informed mind to rely on.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

H2O Man

(73,308 posts)
4. I like Stacey Abrams.
Wed Mar 4, 2020, 07:48 PM
Mar 2020

However, I do not think that option will be seriously considered. Everything I'm hearing is that Joe Biden is being urged to pick Senator Harris. I think that she would be a good choice. But a lot can change between now and summer.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Hermit-The-Prog

(33,021 posts)
6. Remembering the Kavanaugh hearings ...
Wed Mar 4, 2020, 07:54 PM
Mar 2020

I think Harris would be a good AG to unravel the GOP criminal enterprise, thread by thread. There must be an accounting that Barr and the GOP in both House and Senate have actively avoided.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

H2O Man

(73,308 posts)
8. Right.
Wed Mar 4, 2020, 08:01 PM
Mar 2020

Senator Harris would make a great Attorney General, likely the best in 50+ years.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

PETRUS

(3,678 posts)
5. Hear, hear.
Wed Mar 4, 2020, 07:52 PM
Mar 2020

At this point, it looks like a Biden-Sanders race (with Biden being more likely to clinch the nomination). But as you say, things can change! Nevertheless, I'd be completely comfortable voting for either of them. If an open convention produces an unexpected nominee (i.e. neither Joe nor Bernie), I'm not sure how I'll react, but I'm guessing I'd be fine with whomever the party puts forward.

There are plenty of people on DU who have emphatic opinions about policy. I'm one of them! However, most of us are pointed in the same general direction; the differences are more about what path to take (and how far to go), but we're all in agreement on the first necessary step in our political journey - defeat Trump and the Republicans.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

H2O Man

(73,308 posts)
7. Yes, definitely.
Wed Mar 4, 2020, 08:00 PM
Mar 2020

Personally, i will be happy to the same degree if it's Biden or Sanders. I have a high opinion of both, and am confident that either one would beat Trump. I also think any of the other candidates from this year's primary contests would have beat Trump.

About half of my family and friends were solely focused on beating Trump, rather than supporting any one of our candidates. The other half had picked their favorite candidate. Quite a few from both groups are very happy with Joe being our candidate. But even the few who are not particularly fond of him will definitely be voting for him.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

llmart

(15,499 posts)
9. Your history lesson about 1988 sure brought back a lot of memories.
Thu Mar 5, 2020, 08:51 PM
Mar 2020

I sort of remember how confident I felt that Dukakis would prevail and then seeing his campaign plummet seemingly overnight. However disappointed I and fellow Democrats were, I never got the sense that Bush "cheated" his way to victory. In 2016, the shock I felt at the results of the election was something I'll not forget.

It is truly a shame that this upcoming election is truly about just getting rid of what's in the White House right now and not more about experience and policy and platforms. But as the saying goes, it is what it is and we have to deal with that first and foremost - winning the election. I still feel that winning the Senate is equally important.

Thank you again for your informative essays.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

H2O Man

(73,308 posts)
10. That is such
Thu Mar 5, 2020, 09:45 PM
Mar 2020

an important part of the struggle we are in : winning the Senate. For if we maintain control of the House and win the White House -- no matter if it is Biden or Sanders -- if we do not win the Senate, the republicans will seek to continue to frustrate every meaningful effort on our part. We can win the Senate, is our party is united. But if we are divided, it won't happen.

The 1980 "October Surprise" arrangement with Iran, and the later Iran-Contra scandal, convinced me that the Bush machine was very capable of doing anything to promote their agenda. But all of that is water under the bridge now. We have a pressing threat to the Constitution today. And we need to crush it.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
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