As Dems swing left, Joe may be Biden his time
Greetings from the United States where the media continues to be consumed by the gob-smacking Jussie Smollett scandal. The gay African-American star of Empire had claimed that two masked men yelled ‘‘this is MAGA country’’ while they beat him, threw a supposed chemical substance on him, put a noose around his neck, and spewed homophobic and racist insults before fleeing.
However, the Chicago Police have released overwhelming evidence after arresting Smollett, accusing him of orchestrating an elaborate and ‘‘phony attack to take advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career’’.
It’s been another withering credibility blow for many media outlets who rushed to accept Smollett’s victimhood, because it fitted snugly with their over-arching anti-Trump agenda.
To hell with checking the facts, proceeding with caution, or upholding any semblance of objectivity in this unseemly stampede, it seems.
From Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Covington Catholic students and now Jussie Smollett, the Washington Post, New York Times, NBC, ABC and CNN have been quick to judge but slow to apologise when new facts emerge.
In fact, in the case of the Covington kids, even Australia’s ABC is facing defamation action after one of its breakfast hosts called innocent 16-yearold student Nick Sandmann ‘‘the face of hate’’. But the Smollett scandal has also proven to be a steep learning curve for many Democratic presidential aspirants.
Leading lights Kamala Harris and Cory Booker were quick to condemn what turned out to be a fictitious ‘‘hate crime’’.
Beyond the Smollett imbroglio, it’s been fascinating to watch the Democratic early movers wrestle for attention in an increasingly crowded field.
Current projections suggest there could be up to
30 candidates contesting the party’s primary election.
California senator Harris is the media darling du jour; a fresh face, mixed-race, very personable, energetic and highly likeable. It’s like an action replay of the media’s infatuation with the young, ambitious Barack Obama in the lead-up to the 2008 election.
Despite narrowly failing to dethrone Ted Cruz in the Texas Senate race last November, Beto O’Rourke is still considered a hot prospect and is likely to enter the race next month.
Elizabeth Warren, one of the left’s most rabid flame-throwers, is a fast-fading star on the stump, particularly after apologising for ‘‘conflating family stories’’ and exaggerating her claim to being of Cherokee Nation descent.
Last week, 77-year old Bernie Sanders launched his latest presidential bid, the original, real deal Democratic socialist, reprising the same old themes from his clash with Hillary Clinton in 2016.
I respect his authenticity and his spectacular ability to generate grass-roots fundraising. More than 200,000 supporters donated US$6 million to his campaign within 24 hours of his launch of Feel the Bern 2.0.
Speculation swirls that he’ll pick Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the power behind the Green New Deal, and his political prote´ ge´ , as his running mate.
The fresh faces, like Harris, are parroting his policy programme. He has set the table, swinging the Democratic Party zeitgeist hard left. Speculation swirls that he’ll pick Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the power behind the Green New Deal, and his political prote´ ge´ , as his running mate. Medicare for all, outlawing private health cover, free tertiary tuition, a universal guaranteed income and smashing the wealthy with 70 per cent income tax are all on the Democrats’ radar.
Aside from Sanders, the majestic irony to me of this pile-on against the mega-rich is that Harris and co will happily schmooze with the Beverly Hills and Silicon Valley set, while bashing the super-rich on the stump.
In the scramble to out-left each other, Warren and Harris are now calling for reparations to African-Americans for slavery, despite its abolition 150 years ago. The Dems are clearly freaked that with Black American unemployment plunging to record lows under Trump, their stranglehold on that constituency at the ballot box is in jeopardy.
But it could be another grumpy old white guy that ultimately saves the Democratic Party from its radical overreach. Despite not officially seeking the nomination yet, the more centrist Joe Biden, who was Obama’s vice-president, continues topping the polls, posing as the biggest threat to Trump’s re-election.