The Super Tuesday Hangover

Warning: a political post.

The internet is full of disappointed people today who don’t like the way Super Tuesday went for Democrats. I’ve seen all  sorts of people bemoaning that Sanders is our only chance to beat trump, that Americans are choosing safety over change; that Elizabeth Warren has sunk to low number because the old white guys (and the media) are determined to ignore a female; that Joe Biden will lose us the election; that Mike Bloomberg just blew half a billion for no good. Tulsi Gabbard is the only candidate I have not heard defended. To my mind, none of that is true.

I think democracy worked just as it was supposed to. The people spoke and got behind one candidate. If Biden wasn’t your choice, so be it. That’s what the process is about, and I urge you to remember that deposing trump is more important than any one individual.

People voted for Joe Biden, in my opinion, because he is an honest, decent man who wants to return America to what not too long ago was normal—a society that valued morals and honesty and decency, that valued the poor and sick among us as much as the wealthy. Voters recognized that he has the experience and expertise needed to guide this country to recovery. Yes, he represents safety, but that is what we need as we recover from the destruction to all our values the trump administration has brought. Presidential historian Jon Meacham may have said it best: “The people voted for normalcy.”

So, yes, we chose safety over revolutionary change. I like Bernie’s ideas, and I think many of them will come to pass with time. But, now, we need to repair the country, to reunite it around traditional democratic (the form of government, not the party) values. Now is not the time to try to jam radical reforms down the throat of Americans.

To my mind, Bernie is not a team player. Wanting to run on the Democratic ticket, he has yet, after two presidential runs, to join the Democratic Party. Losing the lead in the primary, he was angry rather than dignified and gracious as were Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and Bloomberg. He is an ideologue who wants to ram his ideas through. And I do believe that giving him the nomination would give trump a second term. Much of America is not ready for the radical change he proposes. They are frightened by the word socialism, even as they misunderstand its implications. Changing the world is not our need now: defeating trump is.

I am sorry that Elizabeth Warren’s campaign has tanked. She is bright and articulate, has solid plans and ways to implement them. She is passionate about our country and what she believes. Many today complain that the male dominated world—politics and media—have quashed her campaign.

Years ago, after I divorced, my brother suggested that I was too educated to appeal to most men. I was a white female with a Ph.D. I read an article today that suggested that is Warren’s problem—she is a highly educated, articulate, bright, self-confident white woman. Most of the electorate are not. You’d be surprised at how few among various electorates—black, Hispanic, white, Native American—have college degrees. They simply don’t identify with her.

For various reasons, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and Bloomberg didn’t end  up with the votes, and there is no sense now speculating on why. I can see some reasons. But the big thing is to me that we owe them a huge debt of gratitude for doing the graceful thing and bowing out when it was clear their campaigns were tanking. Several pundits today said Bloomberg blew a half a billion dollars. Not at all. He boosted the Democratic campaign when it was faltering, he exposed trump’s weaknesses and failures, sometimes cruelly, and now he is putting his money and his organization behind Joe Biden. Buttigiest and Klobuchar likewise put their considerable followings behind Biden. I hope they find meaningful positions in a Democratic administration in 2021.

Be of good cheer, all of you who are moaning. Democracy is working, and I have high hope that we’ll oust trump, the president who is squatting in the people’s house.