Democrats Self-Destruction in Las Vegas Boosts Trump
Democrats Self-Destruction in Las Vegas Boosts Trump
President Trump can rest assured that the state of the Democratic field for the 2020 election is still a weak one. He must be delighted this morning that he was able to get into Mike Bloomberg's head, causing him to misfire badly in his first prolonged exposure that was not bought and paid for by his campaign. Every seeming Democratic savior seems to fall by the wayside, and there is a very real chance that Trump will get the exact matchup that he really wants against socialist Bernie Sanders. In the meantime, Bloomberg will continue to spend to get himself in front of the voters when he cannot answer simple questions about his record for which he had ample opportunity to prepare.
Bloomberg Could Not Even Prepare for Attacks He Knew Were Coming
The attack lines against Bloomberg were telegraphed weeks in advance. Everyone across the country knew that his record as Mayor of New York City as well as his years-long history of disparaging remarks would be up for discussion. One of the richest men in the country who built a media empire certainly would have been able to ready himself to either defend his record or apologize when he needed to do so.
Instead, what transpired in Las Vegas was painful for practically everyone not named President Trump. The savior expected to ride in on his golden horse simply could not get out of his own way. The preferred candidate of many Democratic mayors and office holders just could not make a coherent case or even any case at all. It was the classic "emperor has no clothes" moment. The problem is that so many Democrats have gone on record stating their preference for Bloomberg and extolling his virtues as if he was some sort of mythical managing master. He may very well be, but the first thing that needs to be managed is the voting public, and Bloomberg failed horribly at that.
Once Again, Bernie Sanders Escapes the Glare of the Spotlight
What must certainly make Trump giddy this morning is that the frontrunner Bernie Sanders largely emerged unscathed except for some hit about his refusal to honor his word to release his medical records and his passionate defense of socialism. The more the Democrats let Sanders off the hook, the more likely it will be that he ends up as the Democratic nominee.
In the brief time that he was in the crosshairs in Las Vegas, Sanders faced an attack that Trump is likely to amplify should Sanders emerge with the nomination. The same candidate who relentlessly attacks anyone with financial means is a millionaire with three houses. Trump will likely focus on how exactly Bernie Sanders got his money, which is another lengthy discussion about the mixing of campaign business with personal finance.
Nevertheless, Democrats are lurching headlong into a situation where the far-left is taking over the party and will be fully exposed to the Trump Campaign machine. We all know what happened when Jeremy Corbyn stood at the head of the Labour Party in the U.K. election. It is the same thing that happened when George McGovern took on Richard Nixon and will happen to Sanders.
The debate in Las Vegas was perhaps the last chance for the Democrats described by the media as "moderate" had to take down Sanders. Instead, they focused their fire on the man who could spend billions to buy the presidency. Sanders only had to parry a few shots coming his way but maintains his dominant position in the field going into the Nevada caucuses. As long as the polls hold and Sanders prevails, he merely has to survive South Carolina in order to head into Super Tuesday as the prohibitive favorite.
The one wild card in the contest is the Democrats' propensity to rig their own nominating contests to keep Sanders from getting the nomination. They resorted to extraordinary measures in 2016 to rig the election for Hillary and certainly have numerous tricks up their sleeve one more time. This may cause the "Bernie Bros" to either stay home in November or consider pulling the lever for Trump as many disaffected Sanders supporters did last time. Either way, the Democrats are caught in an impossible situation caused largely by their own missteps. President Trump has barely even needed to break a sweat so far as he cruises to another four years in the White House.