Let the pie fights and flame wars begin now that the Mighty Kos has spoken. /s There has been an increasing number of diaries lately taking ever more strongly over what candidate should/should not be the nominee now that we are down to two choices.
Look (and that seems to be the mandatory word these days), I’m not thrilled with Biden. He’s too comfortable with the DNC big money establishment, too corporatist, and too damn willing to reach across the aisle — the better to have sand kicked in his face. He’s gaffe-prone, doesn’t seem to be able to throw a punch, and he’s been around way too long. He seems to be living in a different universe at times, one where Republicans are still honorable people and not monsters.
That being said, Biden’s a decent human being, one who has weathered a lot of tragedy but still seems capable of experiencing joy in the world. He has good intentions — never mind what road they pave if you can just keep him from going down it. He will listen to people who actually know stuff, and take their advice. He’s not crazy — he’s reassuring and after four years of Trump stressing out the country, people may just want a rest. Don’t underestimate the fatigue factor.
Sanders is right about a lot of stuff, angry about the right things, and he definitely has no illusions about the GOP or the Big Money. He would be the first Jewish president — which would both complicate and simplify relations with Israel and the Middle East. He’s not afraid to push big ideas, as opposed to the neoliberals and the triangulators.
Look (There’s that word again!), Sanders has a motivated base — but he hasn’t been able to grow it or broaden it, and not enough of it has been turning out. He’s not gaffe-prone, but he has a history the GOP will exploit to the limits of their ability. He is seeking the nomination of a party he refuses to join; how can he demand party loyalty when he will not give it — and what about the element of his base that wants to see the party punished or worse? What about ‘coattails’ and the down-ballot choices? After four years of Trump turmoil, Sanders is not promising a rest from disruption — even if it is with the best of intentions.
Driftglass has a pointed commentary on the different priorities of the politically moderate Liberal contingent versus politically radical Leftists who want a Revolution, and the direction each is coming from:
...And this is where politically moderate Liberal persons get very confused. Because they cannot understand why politically radical Leftists are so contemptuous of them when everyone agrees on the goal of the alleviation of human suffering and improving people's circumstances. Why such loathing when we just disagree on the means to those ends?
And the answer is, that moderates and radicals do not agree on the goals. The goal of the moderate is to alleviate human suffering and improve people's circumstances, and the moderate's means to those ends are various policy proposals they would like to see debated, enacted and funded though the frustrating, boring, contentious political process.
The radical's goal, on the other hand, is a revolution which would sweep away that frustrating, boring, contentious political process because it is that system which is the root cause of all injustice and suffering which both groups claim to care about. Moderates wish to patch up the rattletrap American political system so it can enact the policies they believe are critically important to the life of the nation. Radicals cannot settle for anything less than overthrowing that system in its entirety and replacing it with ... something.
Which is where things get always get hazy.
If you think nothing less than a revolution will do, your choice is simple. Ditto if you think the best approach is to try to work with what we have, flawed as it may be. And then you have to step back and decide which approach is most likely to be achievable, and which you can live with going forward.
At this point, I am not going to rule either candidate out. I still think Warren would make the best president, but she is not going to be the candidate. Let the primary process continue and let it show us where the Democratic voters want to go. That, after all, is the purpose of voting, right? It is the job of the candidates to convince voters that they are the ones to vote for by giving them reasons to do so, and making the case that they can defeat Donald Trump.
The thing to remember is that both of them are light years apart from Trump, and that gulf is so great, the distance between Biden and Sanders is a comparative gnat’s whisker. Let the process work out and get behind the winner with everything we’ve got. The country will not survive four more years of Trump. Whether you want to keep the current rattle-trap system or have a revolution, neither will happen if we don’t defeat Trump and the GOP. That has to be the overriding priority all the way down the line.
Then there’s this. Neither Biden nor Sanders is young. The prospect of either man being able to put in a full two terms is something that needs to be taken into account. The critical decision going forward may be who ends up as Vice President. Consider the way the Lincoln-Johnson ticket turned out, or the McKinley–Teddy Roosevelt pairing. (For that matter, what about Trump-Pence and Trump’s prospects for living through a second term given his age and health?) The Vice President nomination is something to keep an eye on, especially this time around.
One More Thing to keep in mind if your choice is not the person who gets the nod:
“Since no one is perfect, it follows that all great deeds have been accomplished out of imperfection. Yet they were accomplished, somehow, all the same.”
― Lois McMaster Bujold, Mirror Dance
Also from Bujold: “The world is made by the people who show up for the job.”
We have got to show up, no matter who. Vote blue.
UPDATE: With regard to the poll, Tom Sullivan over at Digby’s Place is also pondering the VEEP choice and has an interesting pick.
As for why I didn’t put down either Sanders or Biden as a choice for a unity ticket, it was primarily because of the age factor and the optics of having two old white guys on the ticket. If you haven’t already voted, pick PIE if you want either unity ticket, or make a comment.