Beware of this Summer's New Democratically-Transmitted Disease

Intellectual-Dems-Inside-the-Belt-Itis or (IDIBI)

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Joe Biden just gave one of the most important speeches in the annals of our democracy. Yes, it is on par with George Washington’s farewell address; in my opinion, it was that good and fundamentally important to the preservation of our system of government and a bulwark against the rising tide of MAGA fascism. 

The upcoming election will be a defining moment in our history. If Kamala Harris manages to defeat Trump in November, Joe Biden’s decision to pass the torch will be immortalized in history. However, if Trump secures another term, Biden’s speech will fade into obscurity, and he will be judged for his decision to run for a second term.

Is Kamala Harris our best choice? Maybe not, but at this moment, she is, and all Democrats should set aside any misgivings and treat our vice president as if they were “our favorite choice.” I would love to have seen Gretchen Whitmer, but that will not happen, so now I will look past any of Ms. Harris’ faults and regard her as my preferred candidate. The enthusiasm, even giddiness, for Kamala Harris’s candidacy has our spirits to a level not seen since Hillary Clinton was running against Trump in 2016.

2016. 

Giddiness. 

These two things worry me and make me want to tell super-smart Democrats like David Axelrod and others to shut the hell up — let it go, David. We understand you need to feed your family and keep your voice relevant, but no one wants you to be the extreme Debbie Downer at our party. I started watching Axelrod, Amy Walter, and Jill Steinhauer today on The Cook Report, a YouTube podcast, and lasted only two minutes and 50 seconds before I felt my stomach start to churn. The mincing of this moment by the three very smart politicos led to an overly-masticated, wonky whine-fest about how Harris is an “undefined entity” about to be coronated when maybe there shouldn’t be such a hurry — like, perhaps we should sleep on this for a month and then let it all mature at the convention.

While that is a valid point, it could also cost valuable time to create the most energetic and motivated coalition to push Harris over the top and into the White House. The giddiness of the moment has flashed signs of 2016. Remember the DNC that summer? I cried more than once while listening to speeches. They were so inspiring. I felt so good that our country and the world were finally moving consistently in the right direction. We were giddy that summer, and it seemed like there was no way Hillary could lose. Each day brought us more of the Trumpian ridiculous and more reasons to giggle at the sheer insanity of the Republicans.

We lost sight of the truth during our celebrations, lost in the haze of so much kumbaya. The filmmaker Michael Moore warned us that an upwelling of discontent threatened to overtake us in the rust-belt, but no one listened. Hillary didn’t even travel to some rust-belt states simply because she was convinced she didn’t need to.

Our hubris killed us.

Here we are eight years later, and it is Donald Trump again running against what could be the first female president. Since Biden decided to step down, I have slept better, as I am sure many of you have. I am not as nervous. Nonetheless, as Axelrod correctly said, and this is what he should be saying non-stop to anyone who will listen instead of boring us with the wonky minutiae, we need to keep our eyes on the goal. We have not won anything yet, and there is no reason to celebrate. We had a few days of glee. Now, let’s crush Trump.

Donald Trump does not lose easily. Trump’s greatest power is when you think he is so down that it’s a done deal. Trump longs for us to get cocky and over-confident. Trump knows that the super-smart Democrats will eventually begin to drone on endlessly about inane stuff that, while not understood by most, can easily be packaged into snappy little soundbites and slogans that will scare just enough independents and fence-leaning Democrats to his side.

When the Allies demanded unconditional surrender from Germany at the end of World War II, it meant that a total war was not to be ended completely — not put off for another day. We should not be mincing words or tripping over ourselves as each interest group in the Democratic coalition positions themselves for the spoils of a victory not yet gained. 

We need to come together like a tsunami of energy, goodwill, sincerity, and patriotism, and we need to crush MAGA. Mr. Axelrod, we know you are smart; now, just put your head down and help us defeat Trump, notKamala Harris.