Is the Democratic Party Living in Fantasyland?

Which quote should be the new motto of the Democratic party?

A. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” The Wizard of Oz

B. “Who ya gonna believe, me or your own eyes?” Duck Soup

C. “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.” 1984

D. All of the Above

I’m going with “D”. Each one of those lines is an embodiment of what the Democratic Party and President Joe Biden’s inner circle are trying to tell us.

“It was a one-time blip.” “Like everyone he has good days and bad days.” “He had a cold.” Horsefeathers!

I’ll give you one more movie quote.

“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.” Network

The party of my youth, my middle age, and my retirement, the party whose convention I have planned on volunteering at, the party that was going to save our nation, has gone ostrich, sticking its head in the sand. Do they really think that a few million voters in key states will forget last Thursday?

I read in today’s New York Times that “in a Zoom audio call on Monday with about 500 members of campaign’s National Finance Committee and some other contributors, some of the Biden campaign’s senior-most officials held forth for an hour on a special call, including the chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks and a pollster Molly Murphy.”

Am I the only one who has a problem with that Zoom call? Where was Joe? The ONLY person who can convince me and the masses that Joe Biden can successfully serve four more years in the White House is Joe Biden. If he can’t be allowed to meet with his biggest donors, what message is he sending to them, and to us?

I know that President Biden has served our country well. I understand he has pride and a combative nature. I realize some party bigwigs fear a divided convention while others fret over a Kamala Harris candidacy. There is no crystal ball predicting the future.

But I am fearful and angry when I hear the President plans to stick with this all the way to November.

And so, just as a young White Sox fan once begged Shoeless Joe Jackson over 100 years ago, I am beseeching you to say it ain’t so, Joe.

Do you agree with me? disagree? Leave a comment and let me know.

Related: Jill Help Joe.

Please Dr. Biden. Help Joe Out.

I am worried. I am concerned. I am terrified. What I witnessed last night has left me shaken and fearful.

Half a year ago. I posted a blog asking President Biden to weigh his options and announce that we would not run for re-election in 2024. Heck, I even wrote the speech for him–and a pretty damn good one, if I must say so myself.

Sadly, Good Ole Joe felt in his bones that he had another four years left. And with his State of the Union address, he came close to convincing me. But last night was a different Joe.

All the backroom talk I had heard about his decline took on new vibrancy. From his first moment walking to the podium, until his final summation, I saw that this was not a man our country would choose in November.

Sure, the spin is that he gained momentum as the evening went on. So what? It’s like a drama critic writing that I wrote a terrible play, but the epilogue was OK. By then, it’s just too late, the damage has been done.

I disagree with almost everything Donald Trump says and stands for. He is a liar, a bully, a narcissist. He has the potential to lead us into a nightmare future. But after last night, I see him as our country’s next President. And I quake.

So Dr. Jill Biden, please intervene. Talk to Joe. Tell him not to run. You don’t have to say it’s because of age or fragility. Say it for the sake of you – his wife, or Hunter – his son. Do it for me. Do it for our country. Do it now.

A Wise Friend In A Troubling Time

When the world is confusing and not understandable, it helps to look to the words of those who are wiser than us. Today I was struck by a Facebook posting from my friend, lunch buddy, and fellow Bruce Springsteen fan Joel Stern. Joel, a retired attorney, frequently writes eloquently about his personal battle with cancer. Today he has done a marvelous job encapsulating his beliefs on the crisis in the Middle East and on campuses here at home. I echo most of his views, and with his permission, I am printing a lightly edited version of his Facebook remarks.

I am a proud centrist. Proud because centrists bring people together and not apart. Proud because centrists can understand either party’s position and even side with the other party when he/she thinks they are right. I also see the same issues arising globally and if you follow history, this period of time looks very similar to the 1930s and we all know what happened next.

Today, I do feel compelled to write about the college protests going on throughout the United States. Let me start with some high level views. First, I am a great believer in free speech. Second, I am very supportive of peaceful protests done pursuant to the law. Third, I have no issue with people speaking and protesting about views I unequivocally disagree with, Fourth, I want peace in the Middle East. I hate the killing of innocent children (and adults) and the inability for a “real” peace to occur.

What I can’t support is an antisemitic movement masked by a pro-Palestinian protest. What I can’t stand is professional protestors with no allegiance to a cause but only money spearheading these protests. What I have disdain for is many of the protestors on campus are not even students. What I abhor is many protestors not even understanding why they are protesting and who have no idea of the complicated history in the Middle East and no idea what “from the sea to the river means.” What I hate is the brain manipulation that is being done on young college students who have no clue why they are protesting. The “dummying up” of America is happening on college campuses – this is the opposite of what college needs to be about. What I will not accept is protestors hailing Hamas as saviors and the victims and not even understanding the difference between Palestinians and Hamas. What I hate is the ignoring of what happened October 6, 2023. At least be consistent in your views of innocent people dying. To ignore what happened in October is confirmation of your singular purpose. What I don’t like is protests impacting parents’ ability to get their kids from schools or a son trying to fly to another city to see his ailing father but because of protests by the airport is not able to make his plane. What I detest is our children (our future) not being able to get an education because of these protests. If the protestors believe their actions are leading to a change of mind and heart in Americans, they are sorely wrong. It is having the opposite effect. Shame!

I hope and pray for peace. I want Israelis and Palestinians to find a way to live in peace even if that means a separate country for Palestinians. I want colleges to have the balls to protect their universities and students so students can take courses to learn including “free thought.” There is no freaking way protestors should be able to take over buildings. This needs to stop. I want people to first seek to understand and then solve versus ready, fire aim mentality. I want the centrists to force their political parties to represent the majority will and not the crazies on both sides of the party. As said in “Network” – “I’m mad as hell and am not going to take it anymore!”

I couldn’t say it better, so I am glad Joel has said it for me. Readers, let me know your thoughts.

Does Trump Have America By The Pussy?

“Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”

Where were you in October of 2016 when the Washington Post published the infamous Donald Trump/Hollywood Access tapes? Did you, like me, assume that this was it, that this was the moment the wheels would come flying off and the Trump train would derail for good?

How wrong we were. That comment and the rest of his “locker room” chatter with Billy Bush proved to be barely a speed bump in the theretofore unimaginable presidential campaign of 2016. And that was just the beginning of the Trump Express. Trump won in 2016, claimed he won in 2020, and has an excellent chance of winning in 2024.

Trump has grabbed us right in the privates. How have we let this happen? How has the American electorate elevated a demagogue with no discernable skills other than to shine a light on our fears and stoke our hatred to once again be within baby steps of the highest office of the land?

He has informed us of his plans to be a dictator. As he told Mr. Bush on that long-ago recording “…when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.” For millions of Americans, he is more than a star. He is a prince, a king, a god waiting to ascend to Mt. Olympus. After all, he has let us know God (Judeo-Christian variety to be precise) has anointed him. Just ask an evangelical.

America, I think we are in trouble. The world is a powder keg, a tinder box. An irrational, unprincipled US President will not bring to the world peace or an end to all wars. He will create a vacuum. The race by aggressive world leaders to fill that void will have the explosive force of hydrogen atoms crunching together in a fusion reactor. None of us will escape the fallout.

I will concede things are not perfect in the present administration. Yes, we need to figure out and pass a humanitarian border/dreamer policy. Yes, we may need to take a more nuanced stand on events on the world stage. The far left is as outrageous as the far right (though I would argue less dangerous.)

But America, please don’t reelect the guy who wants to grab us by the pussy. Let’s grow some balls and welcome Joe Biden for another four years. Not all nice guys have to finish last!