About Joe and Bernie

Just had an interesting back and forth about Biden that led to thoughts on Bernie. Too perfect not to memorialize here. It started with the question of Biden violating people's space and joking about it The setting was Bruce Bartlett"s Facebook wall.

Biden gave me the Johnson treatment at an event in January 2007. We closed in to about 3 inches as we talked about Iraq and regional autonomy. I was glad neither of us had bad breath that day. He asked me to send him my proposal. He used it but was overruled by National Security Advisor Rice. Had Obama gone with it Daesh could not have emerged.

He takes the advice of others. A key quality for a President that Trump could never fathom. No rich kid can.

My interlocutor mentioned Biden supporting the war in Iraq. I responded that so did I.  Sadam ignored the army at his door, he earned his Darwin Award. Joe had no way of knowing the Intel was faked. He did not run national security. He was not Cheney. The job is commander-in-chief. We don't get to take it out of the job description. The question is, who among the viable candidates should do the job?

After aacrimonious back and forth we got to the subject of Sanders.   Bother Joe and Bernie are a bit too long in tooth. I am to the left of both. I am still wondering if Pence is implicated and Pelosi realizes that her base may stay home if she does not impeach Trump. The iron is hot.


Marx thought that the welfare state prolonged capitalism. Harrington noted that Democratic socialism was not able to make the leap to Marxian socialism and Soviet state capitalism was still capitalism. Sanders perfected the cage. The real action now is voluntary social cooperatives. Not bloody and the pay is better. We are figuring out the MarxIan blind spot, how to get workers to actual socialism. We are so far to the left we are bumping against the libertarian right. The last piece will be getting the funding so that we can finally kill capitalism. If Bernie can be down with doing real socialism and not a better cage and can live long enough, we can cross the finish line. It is still a big if.

There are a lot if balls in the air for 2020. Who will be President in June and will MAGA kill the GOP enough for mass congressional defections, so many that the majority cannot hold because the tent is too big. If the party splits, the question is, who gets Harris or who does Harris get?

Our best bet is Sanders Harris v. Pelosi Booker v. Pence Graham, although maybe not. It depends on who the spoiler is and how many state delegations each side gets. In a split college, each state gets one vote in the House. If the GOP does not get 26 states, then Pelosi or Biden and Sanders can agree to combine forces to get to a majority. Tied states vote present.

The question is whether Sanders is running alone or whether he can field 436 House seats in the Democratic primaries. DC statehood is also essential. We need to change the rule now on super delegates so if the incumbent is beaten in the primary the new nominee gets the vote. The Movement cannot be just about Bernie and a better cage for Millenials and their student loan debt.

Unless Sanders can get control of the DNC by putting Bernie people in all the national committee slots in the primaries and caucuses then he will be a footnote.