Stop the Stupid – Primary 2020 Edition

The ‘only this person can beat Trump/McConnell’ attempt at manipulating voters should anger everyone. It’s a glaring attempt at manipulation by media and by certain campaigns, as well as by party leaders in some cases.

Before I get to the presidential primary, I will focus on the Senate primary in Kentucky, since nominating the most qualified candidate to run against McConnell is equally (if not more) important as finding the right candidate to clean up Trump’s disasters. The best Democrat in the White House (remember Barack Obama?) doesn’t stand a fair chance unless McConnell is gone from the Senate (remember Barack Obama?).

Recently, a candidate who was reportedly hand-picked by Chuck Schumer  announced she was running in Kentucky’s Senate primary to replace McConnell. She rolled out this big announcement on Morning Joe. Yeah. MORNING JOE, one of the most RW, irresponsible, examples we have of punditry posing as news. MORNING JOE on MSNBC, the network that did everything they possibly could to help team Sanders/Trump/Putin in 2016 and gives Joe Scarborough, registered Republican until 2017 when he switched to independent, the hours of 6 - 9 a.m., Monday through Friday for his TALK SHOW instead of real early morning news. The network that always helps GOP in election season and then feigns outrage after they succeed to recover viewers who might have caught on, and to retain people who join them in the practice of self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Adding to my skepticism about choosing Morning Joe for a rollout is the fact that this candidate didn’t register as a Democrat until 2017 (just like Joe), when she wanted to run on our ticket for another race, which she lost. Her husband, who worked her first campaign, didn’t even change his registration to vote for her in the primary and still hasn’t as far as I can find.

Worse than any of this, on her first day, she said she would have voted to confirm Kavanaugh and indicated that she was sympathetic toward Trump because McConnell stood in his way. Yes. McConnell, who paved the way, provided his tabled agenda, loaded the courts, blocked President Obama’s attempt to warn citizens that Russia was compromising the election, and abetted Trump every single step of the way. She actually did that and was dubbed a Trump Democrat [sic - it hurts me to type those words together because that is an oxymoron]. After receiving appropriate outrage in response to her statements, she tried to walk them back later, saying she hadn’t been fully aware of the Kavanaugh problems. This tells me she is totally unqualified. My grandchildren were more informed so her lack of involvement is inexcusable to me.

So, who do you think sent her supposed record-winning donations that first night? 

1. Irresponsible Democrats who don’t have a single clue about a primary?

2. People with money to burn who thought she looked like as good as any fire to toss it on? 

3. Responsible, thinking, informed Democrats who think the early bird gets the worm? 

4. People who had fully vetted every potential candidate and believed she was the best?

5. People who know how easy she would be to beat if she wins the nomination, and how difficult that record amount would be for other primary candidates to compete with?

Remember, we’re stopping the stupid here. Look at those choices again and decide which make the most sense.

At the time McGrath rolled out her DOA (pronounced by ME campaign), Steve Cox had already announced. He had a website, linked to google search, and a video of a more-impressive interview than hers without the shockingly wrong Trump and Kavanaugh supporting blunders. Yet, when I ask people who sing her praises because, “She was on MSNBC!”, they know nothing about him and aren’t the least bit interested in learning anything about him.

Since then, Jimmy Ausbrooks, Mike Broihier, and Benny Smith have announced, and two others are considering. I’ve looked at all of them and consider each to be a better choice than Schumer’s and media's pick. I will also say that from all I’ve seen (which is very little because he has been totally ignored by media who are pushing Schumer’s pick) Broihier seems far more able to win and to represent Kentucky and the country in the Senate, as does Jones, who is still considering. (Update: I was present to hear Broihier say he wouldn't have considered voting to confirm Kavanaugh.) 

Why are people allowing media to manipulate them?

            And then there’s the 2020 Democratic Party presidential race primary, where the same is happening. Democrats are openly allowing themselves to be manipulated by media and rhetoric.

               If we stop the stupid, the truth is, any candidate can beat Trump if we get out the vote. So, the wisest thing would be to carefully evaluate the pros and cons of all primary candidates. Discuss. Reflect. Think. Cast an informed vote for the candidate who will fight for what will best serve the most people concerned. 

               Demand responsible media who give all candidates equal time without pundits ‘shoulding’ on them and their campaigns, pimping push polls, presenting survey/poll questions as news, etc. And choose the candidate who can fix this mess. We don’t have the ridiculous ‘it’s only four years’ that people always use to blow off the possibility of an error in judgment. The world is literally burning and blowing away, babies are dying in cages, women are being told to accept rape and unwanted pregnancies as an expected part of life, education is in the toilet, and this country is hanging by a thread as I type.