When Vice President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for president, a friend Tweeted that Joe Biden would be the one giving the keynote at the 2016 Democratic National Convention instead of some rising star as is the custom. (Think of Barack Obama at the convention in 2004.)
I Tweeted back that if a gaffe-prone septuagenarian is the best the Dems can do, the Democratic party is in serious trouble. Back came something to the effect that the prospect of a Ben Carson presidency is an equally serious problem.
On the heels of that jab came the offer of a lobster dinner bet – with my friend taking the position that the Dems would nevertheless win the White House.
I didn’t take the bet even though I think the GOP can win. (Or at least I think they darned well should.)
The key to winning the White House in 2016 lies in simply doing the best job of convincing Americans that something meaningful will be done to address a persistently weak economy, a foreign policy that is sewing chaos all over the world, growing domestic unrest, rising racial tension, a complete breakdown of immigration enforcement and a general sense held by a very large majority that things just aren’t going all that well.
Promises from the Dems of more Big Government goodies won’t do it this time. Remember Peggy Joseph of Florida? She’s the one who in 2008 exulted concerning Obama,
“I never thought this day would ever happen. I won’t have to worry about putting gas in my car. I won’t have to worry about paying my mortgage. You know, if I help him, he’s gonna help me.”
Peggy is no doubt not only still worrying about paying her mortgage, it’s probably a greater strain to her now than it was then.
People are fed up. That Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson – two complete political outsiders – are number one and two in the polls for the GOP nomination ahead of party blue bloods is instructive. It’s telling us that the American people are deeply dissatisfied with government as it has been practiced to one degree or another by both parties for the past 20 years.
This is a big enough problem for the GOP but it’s a huge problem for Hillary Clinton. She’s wanting to do something that is rarely done in American politics: win a third presidential term for the incumbent party.
Aside from history, Hillary has working against her the fact that she does not have the roaring economy that propelled George H.W. Bush into a third Reagan term in 1988. Instead, she has seven years of big-government liberalism pursued with a vengeance – only to yield polls that clearly show an electorate more unhappy than it has been in two generations.
Which says loud and clear that if the GOP can’t win this time, it will never win again.
So what does it say that I won’t cover my friend’s bet?
If the Republicans do not win this time, we will know for sure the fix is in no matter what we do or say. I think a Trump/Carson ticket would do wonders for this country. People are STARVED for TRUTH and THE AMERICAN WAY. When are people going to learn that in 50 or 60 years the democraps have NOT made this country better with their welfare and con games, so why do people still believe them? I mean after 50 or 60 years, don’t you think they would have caught on by now??? Nothing is going to change unless WE MAKE the change!!!
Amen Linda
We are too late to make a change! The politicians with the help of a biased media and biased higher education have successfully divided us by every conceivable category; spending, race, religion, gay marriage, equal pay, taxation, healthcare, minimum wage, guns, abortion, immigration, welfare, energy, the environment, education, college tuition and many others. It is no longer possible to get a majority of Americans to agree on much of anything. We are reduced to voting for our own personal self interest and all to often it means voting for government “freebees”. Just talk to a few recent college grads to understand their take on what the government should do for them and you will be shocked. They are socialists plain and simple. Goodbye America, it was good to know ya.
If conservatives lose this next election, this nation is finished and so are our freedoms.
No lobster bet = “chicken” dinner.
Want odds?
Paul, the fact that you do not want to cover your friend’s bet that the Democrats will win the presidency in 2016 tells me that you are NOT a low information voter. You know that the electoral college system gives the Democrats a big advantage, and they start with numbers that require the Republicans to almost run the table in the swing states. This fact tells me that the long-term strategic dream of F.D.R., L.B.J., and the big government Socialists is becoming a reality, as the takers are on the verge of outnumbering the makers. By incremental and persistent efforts, they have successfully created a large underclass that feels dependent on the Democrat Party for basic needs. Once the election process has been rendered useless for those who are actually financing this largess, the country goes into a downward spiral, which eventually results in those who feel that they deserve these freebies taking to the streets. While there is still a chance to turn this ship around, we all need to support organizations like the Tea Party and conservative candidates who will actually do what they say in campaign speeches.
You won’t take your friends bet because like many of us, you do not trust the electoral system, Washington Mafia, Special Interest PAC’s, liberal media, yada, yada, yada! It’s no secret groups attempting to ‘fundamentally change’ a country, targets it’s young & indoctrinates them in increasingly socialist propaganda and lies disguised as altruism. Sadly, history has shown this and/or brutal insurgency actually work to perpetuate the Socialist agenda and coming ‘New World Order’. Coupled with the demonization of moral & peaceful religions it is amazing we haven’t annihilated ourselves already!