Dems’ big tent gets deflated
Plenty of snooze from this year’s convention
The big question coming out of this week’s Democratic convention is how far can Joe Biden go to the left without blowing the election?
Whether the soon-to-be Democratic nominee emerges as a moderate, likable, blue collar figure or as a captured hostage of the Alexandria Ocasio Cortez wing will likely determine whether he ousts President Trump in November.
If Biden comes out of the coronavirus-riddled convention with running mate Kamala Harris being the real star, and as a captive of the militant Bernie Bros, then he will have done himself more harm than good.
It will be tempting for Biden to surrender to Bernie Sanders but he has to resist that urge if he wants to win.
Democrats should not believe their own hype and the latest glowing poll numbers because this race is closer than they think.
Biden appears to be aware of his dilemma — it’s why Sanders is relegated to a Monday night speaking role with Michelle Obama following him, and why Biden passed over progressives like Elizabeth Warren to be his running mate.
AOC is scheduled to speak Tuesday night, before the big stars of the evening, former President Bill Clinton and Biden’s wife, Jill.
Why the Democrats gave any role to Clinton is a mystery in this #metoo era. Maybe they think the country will have forgotten Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky.
It’s interesting that the party passed over Hillary Clinton for a starring role this week. Obviously the Biden camp doesn’t want any comparisons to Hillary blowing the last election. The Dems must think Hillary is so toxic that they can’t risk giving her any attention.
The other big question heading into the week is whether anyone will even be paying attention to the Dems’ big virtual party.
Robbed of any crowds or speakers appearing in Milwaukee because of coronavirus, the party is taking to rolling out celebrities to act as co-hosts and obviously hoping its allies in the media get the word out about the convention.
MSNBC, the house organ for the Democratic Party, is somehow going to try and bleed five hours of coverage a night out of this spectacle. But it will be tough. Even CNN will have trouble ginning up any interest in speakers like Chuck Schumer and John Kerry.
Yes, believe it or not, Kerry — the former Massachusetts
senator and failed nominee 16 years ago — is one of the featured speakers on Tuesday night — as a reward for Kerry endorsing Biden during a rough stretch of the primaries. Good luck getting long Jawn to stick to his allotted time.
But by the time Biden appears to accept the nomination on Thursday, Americans will be so bored they’re likely to be dying for Real Housewives or the Bachelor or anything on Netflix.