FEBRUARY 29, 2020 – At every chance, I’ve been asking fellow Minnesotans how they’ll vote next Tuesday. My findings:
- People under the age of 35 are overwhelmingly in the Bernie camp;
- Older people are overwhelmingly undecided.
Me? So far, I’m an older person. (That was a semi-joke.)
Here’s my run-down of the field:
- Pete. Positives: smart, articulate, calm/cool/collected. Negatives: zero experience with Washingtonian mud-wrestling; at just three years above the minimum eligible age, what drives him to be president?
- Elizabeth. Positives: practiced large business bankruptcy law—a knowledgeable “mechanic” from the repair shop of broken businesses and accordingly, knows how stuff works; has legislative experience and ran a federal agency. Negatives: too often petty and school marmish—not effective traits when having to herd opposing political cats; “wealth tax” idea is demagoguery (if passed would trigger massive litigation over valuations); campaign has yet to resonate.
- Joe. Positives: gained invaluable experience via eight years as “president-in-training”; has genuine empathy derived from personal losses; extensive legislative know-how, including years as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; widely traveled; Negatives: when lacking a cogent plan, relies on repeated verbs (e.g. “I’ll insist. Insist!”); thinks we think he thinks he has more hair than we think he has.
- Amy. Positive: no matter how you feel about any topic, at some point she’s agreed with you. Negative: no matter how you feel about any topic, at some point she’s disagreed with you.
- Mike. Positives: in aspiring to the most complex job in the world, brings 12 years of experience in the second most complex job in the world; is a multi-billionaire determined to buy the White House; though a serious pragmatist, he once told a joke. Negatives: is a multi-billionaire trying to buy the White House; turns out the joke was a bad one.
- Steyer [No one calls him “Tom.”]. Positives: first Democrat to seek openly Trump’s removal; is the “real deal”—only candidate to have appeared in my dreams (WTF?!); Negatives: has zero elective political and governmental experience; campaign hasn’t gained traction.
- Bernie. Positives: stays on message; would have long coattails as big turnout among youth votes Democratic down-ballot; has proven stamina and energy despite heart situation. Negatives: stays on message, but still no such thing as a free lunch; billionaires aren’t the only problem—Exhibit “A”: mere millionaires like Trump and sycophants, but demonize mere millionaires (as Bernie once did, before becoming one himself) and tens of millions of people will be scared and alienated; has heart situation, despite proven stamina and energy.
So where do I stand?
Undecided. Strike that. I’m very decided: we can’t survive another four years of Trump and a Republican-controlled Senate. Thus, when I fill in the circle (our local method of balloting), my overwhelming consideration will be, “Whom do I think stands the best chance of defeating Trump and delivering indirectly, a Republican Senate?” My conclusion will involve a review of the states in which Republican Senate seats are up for re-election . . . and, as always required in a democratic republic, a clothes pin.
Stay tuned!
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© 2020 by Eric Nilsson
