April 9, 2019 – 4:20 pm ET
It’s 2:00 am
and you are awakened to the smell of smoke. The laundry room is on fire. Do you
…
“A”: Wake-up
the family, get the pets, get everyone out of the house, call 911 and run to
the street corner to flag down the approaching fire trucks?
Or, “B”: Wake-up
the family, get the pets, and sit down at the kitchen table to continue the earlier
dinner debate on whether the family should purchase an electric vs. hybrid vs.
gas-efficient car?
Just to be
clear, “A” is the correct answer. And, you shouldn’t make the fire people fill
out a form on their past fire-fighting failures, nor on their specific strategy
to fight your fire before they start their work. No, just let them do their job
and put out the fire and save your house. And thank them. Then, and only then,
can you attend to other issues and talk about which car to purchase.
Well, our
democracy is on fire and the Constitution is burning. And we need to put it out
in 2020. That’s all that matters now. We can have many debates on issues after
the 2020 election, but right now, if we continue to tear each other apart,
searching for the perfect Democratic candidate whom we have adored and with for
whom we have fallen in love, with the perfect record and the perfect position
on every issue, then the 2020 election will be as moot as 2016.
Instead, let’s quickly
coalesce behind the presidential candidate who is most electable, who has the
greatest appeal across-the-board, who will inspire the largest group to turn
out and vote Democratic, and who has the vitality, freshness and a clean background
sans scandal, animosity or intra-party divisiveness, so as to win against
Trump. Period. No sour grapes, no ego, just support for the most electable
nominee, based on the need to eviscerate the corruption and hatred Trumpism has
engendered.
So c’mon, let’s
be smart and hold off debating specific issues that divide Democrats. Let’s try
something new this time: unifying as a single voice. And let’s also seriously attend
to voter registration and turnout, paying critical attention to maintaining and
growing the majority in the House, to turning the Senate blue, and to helping
Democrats win down-ticket. Focus, focus, focus. All else is simply narcissism
and self-destructiveness, engaging in highly esoteric and meaningless discussion
as you watch your house burn down. That’s my fear. Democrats will behave in
ways in which they have repeatedly done in the past, and the self-righteous
in-fighting will destroy us, and Trump-Pence and the GOP will win again in
2020.
Let’s do it
differently this time and understand that we have to be united and select a
unifying nominee. Not necessarily your favorite, not one who will be your BFFL,
but one who can command the stage in a way that rises above the nastiness of
the primary fray, who brings a positive, likable and calming message, and who can
appeal to a wide base of voters in new ways, all focused on one goal: defeating
Trump-Pence. Are you on board?
