Hmmm…Why all the Democrats running for President in 2020? Think they sense vulnerability in the incumbent? I dunno…but among the many, the candidate I’m looking for in the 2020 Presidential election is the one not running against Donald J. Trump.
That’s right. Here’s why.
My candidate does not necessarily even see Donald Trump on the 2020 Republican ticket. For starters, there’s the investigations, 17 in total, from Mueller to the Southern District of New York (SDNY) to the inauguration contributions to emoluments and more. It’s enough for a whole season of a law procedural series.
Donny Dragnet?
Here’s a late December guide from Wired. Additional reporting since then has not helped the President, and it will only get worse, much worse, for him now that Democrats have control of the House and can, unlike their Republican predecessors, investigate the President as opposed to acting in his defense. Oh, and we don’t even know what we don’t know from the various reports/investigations, but we will soon…
And all logical interpretations paint a very troubling picture for the sitting president. Even in the best case scenario, man’s about to be in a big legal mess on many fronts that have nothing to do with the details of day-to-day of his job (whatever that is) and the burden of running for re-election. Does Marie Kondo organize lives?
And let’s just say President Trump survives the respective investigative gauntlet of Mueller and SDNY and Congress, will another run at the presidency be in his best interests personally and financially, considering how fortunate he’d be to have survived the first go round? Maybe, just maybe, the rich kid takes his ball, declares victory, and goes home to his tower?
And let’s just say, despite the other challenges, President Trump goes Trump 2.0 in 2020 (and, yeah, he very well may because the man never ceases to amaze), what will he have to show for his accomplishments during his first term? Four more years of exactly what? He had two years with full control of Congress, and he got one legislative win: tax cuts that are proving to be unpopular even before people get hosed on their returns. Word is that team Trump is going to run on border security and wall funding which is a big reason why Republicans lost the House in 2018.
Things have not improved since: The government shutdown was a disaster that the President owned; the emergency declaration gambit has little chance of making it through the courts and is a clear overreach of government powers. But what else does he have? There’s no imagination; no other ideas. Baby’s in a corner…
Is there such thing as a lame duck running for re-election?
My future candidate for the 2020 presidency knows that President Trump is damaged goods, and – if he does run – the only strategy will be scorched earth / smash mouth / smack talk / twitter attack / and all that. And my candidate simply won’t engage because they know:
- Left to his own devices, Donald Trump is his own worst enemy. Without an engaged foil, he becomes his own.
- There was already a referendum on President Trump, and the result was a blue wave. And he wasn’t even on the ticket!
What my candidate will recognize is that the time is now to start rebuilding our nation. We need someone who speaks to our collective unity and decency. I’m looking for an optimistic vision that emphasizes inclusive practices and practical policies that make sense for the vast majority of Americans.
I’m looking for a leader to lead us out of the darkness that settled on our country the moment Donald Trump came down the gilded elevator to play the fear card. My candidate will appeal to the better angels that exist in the majority of Americans. We need to heal as a nation not to hate as separate tribes.
I don’t wish ill-will on the President. I want him to go away, figuratively and literally, as soon as impossible. He’s been living rent-free in so many of our heads for so long; we need him to get gone. I need, once in a while, to watch something else on TV besides cable news.
My candidate will be a Post-Trump candidate, not an Anti-Trump one, whether the name Trump is on the ticket or not.
And, who knows, despite all the candidates lining up on the left, my choice could be an Independent or even a Republican! Whaaaa???
More on this to come…
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