Today’s Word: Manipulation

Manipulation: Exerting shrewd or devious influence
especially for one’s own advantage.

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Snippets from Heather Cox Richardson’s latest newsletter.

The Sanders camp wanted to get rid of the superdelegates altogether, believing it would help him win the 2020 nomination.

But now that it looks like he will likely not win outright, he will likely be sunk when the superdelegates are in play on a second ballot. So now he wants the nomination to go to someone with a plurality of delegates—that is, not a clear majority, but more than anyone else—on the first ballot.

Did Buttigieg or Klobuchar cut a deal with Biden before endorsing him? Almost certainly. But that is not a corrupt deal; it’s how politics works.

(Emphasis added.)

Yes, ’tis the story of politics AND government.

We are often reminded that our government operates under the premises of being of, by, and for the people. Perhaps this is true when “the people” are those with titles like President, Senator, Representative, Judge, Governor, and a plethora of other titled officials on down the line.

The common refrain is that these people are OUR representatives. They are (supposedly) speaking and acting for us … for our benefit. Yet again and again, we hear and read about actions these individuals have taken that benefit no one except themselves. In other words, they have exerted shrewd or devious influence to their own advantage.

Since we are currently in an election year and many of us are hopeful there will be a change in the regime, one can’t help but wonder how much manipulation will take place before the election is over.

Biden for President?

I recently came across this quote as part of an article title — “Joe Biden inspires no one” — and I must say I agree.

Yes, I know. He’s the most likely candidate to put Trump out to pasture, but I have real concerns about replacing one oldster with another one … that’s even older!

What I find rather interesting is that much of Biden’s support is simply because he’s familiar. People seem to forget his previous attempts at the presidency … or why he lost. They tend to overlook that he’s waffled on some of his platforms, and has had little to nothing to say about many of the critical issues facing us today. Instead, their primary focus is on booting Trump out of office. (While this is certainly a noble cause, it’s also important to know the objectives of his potential replacement.)

I will admit there’s something to be said for the fact Biden supports Democratic values and viewpoints, along with having experience and maturity, but I’m not sure that’s enough to sway me.

(Some have said Biden is simply Hillary Clinton 2.0. And in some ways, I don’t think that’s too far off.)

Interestingly, while the media continues to paint Biden as the inevitable 2020 candidate, there’s been some rumblings the grassroots enthusiasm for him may be receding. And I, for one, am not too disappointed at this news.

Who am I rooting for? At this point, I really like Pete Buttigieg, even though I recognize his election chances are slim. I don’t care for Sanders as I think he’s too focused on one issue (plus, I would hate to watch him deliver a State of the Union message with all his arm-waving).

Of course it would be great if Elizabeth Warren stepped into the Oval Office. Allowing a woman to run this country for a change would definitely shake things up (read: improve). I may not support all of her platform, but I can’t help supporting her gender. 🥰

Bottom line. When voting time rolls around, I’m going to vote for the person whose name is on my ballot. If it ends up being Joe Biden, then so be it. That’s where my “X” will go. We simply CANNOT allow Trump to run this country into the ground any longer!

And I have a hunch most of my readers feel the same.

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P.S. Just curious … how many of you donate to political candidates?

And a Child Shall Lead Us?

Watched the Republican Debate last night and could not believe how childish these men, who claim they are POTUS material (!), behaved. tRump (surprise-surprise) was the worst! Out of the entire time, only two or three of his comments made any sense (tRump sense, that is). The majority of the time he was attacking (and interrupting) his fellow candidates.

(Picture this scenario: tRump meets with an important foreign leader. The leader says something tRump disagrees with. He rudely interrupts to tell him how wrong he is (“Excuse me … excuse me”). The dignitary tries to explain his position but tRump will have none of it because HIS perspective is the only right one. Can you say World War III?)

And the bickering between Cruz and Rubio wasn’t much better!

Glenn Beck (whom I cannot stand, but must agree with in this instance) said this about the debate:

Tonight’s debate is the most uncomfortable, angry, hate-filled 2 hours I have ever experienced.”

He went on to say this was “not a presidential debate,” but “a combination of WWE, a cheap game show and the worst of Jerry Springer.”

Yup!

Yet, for all his theatrics, tRump’s hard-core supporters will never leave him. And that is downright scary!
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One of the primary reasons I watch these Repug debates (besides the entertainment factor) is to see which of the candidates I might be able to “live with” should a Repug happen to win the election (Thor forbid!). Of course, the worst scenario would be tRump, but I cringe (and even get a little sick to my stomach) when I consider Cruz (God’s Special Choice). And Rubio or Bush are no better.

Kasich has a more tempered approach in that he urges cooperation, but while his platform has merit, he’s still a Repug. Further, it’s obvious from the polls that he’s not “showy” enough to garner much support. And the doctor? He’s a no-brainer.

All I can say at this point is “Feel the Bern!”