I posted the following as a comment in another dairy and it was suggested I consider creating my own diary using it. Here’s what I wrote — with some additional tweaks:
I am a progressive. I have come to the conclusion that under present circumstances, Joe Biden has to be our choice as the Democratic nominee for President. I wrote to a friend yesterday about this when he sent a note expressing his upset over the latest trends and Bernie’s challenges, given his long-standing support for Sanders:
Bill: the continual earthquakes that are Democratic politics today are getting to us all. Here's my take on it:I have long been an Elizabeth Warren fan - smart, articulate, solidly developed plans to deal with identified challenges and in a debate, she would have shredded Donnie like a log chipper. Sadly, it did not happen.I like Joe and I share the same worries about his flaws, particularly in debates and campaign statements, but will say he seems to be getting better of late.I do NOT believe that his surge has much to do with any deep state or Democratic insider manipulation. It was clearly a decision made by Democratic primary voters who have watched months of overly-populated stages and shouting arguments and desperately wanted, like me, to get to a final decision that is now in the process of happening.With Super Tuesday done, it is clearly down to Joe and Bernie and while I like much of what Bernie stands for, I have one central problem: Nothing he has done so far indicates he would actually generate the kind of large-than-normal turnout that would win in November. Yes he has very strong and fervent supporters who have outshone everyone in terms of small and sustaining donations and commitment to cause. But when you look at Super Tuesday, that was not enough to draw African Americans, moderate Dems and potential independents in the numbers we need.In any close final election, swing states are going to be the key. MI is clearly one of them and you have a real contrast battle shaping up including strong unions, lots of working class folks and independents, moderate Dems etc. Which of the two candidates, in November, in those key swing states, will be best able to attract not just regular Dems, but independents and those Republicans still with enough brain power to say, “If you can get me a candidate I can live with, I will vote Democrat."The whole socialism meme against Bernie we know is BS intellectually, but you know Donnie and his friends will hang that sucker around Bernie's neck like an albatross. We're already seeing it with dark money ads about trips to Russia and "praising" Cuba. They will eat him alive in the open with ads and behind the scenes with targeted social media aimed at those very same swing voters. The Russians did that well in 2016 in concert with Cambridge Analytica and Facebook and Twitter. They’ve had four years to perfect their techniques, we have ample evidence and warnings that they are already at work, and the Trump campaign is already spending millions on social media, in addition to marshaling every GOP Congressman and Senator and most of the White House in coordinated messaging. (You want evidence — enter a suspicious user handle for a hinky Tweet into botsentinel.com and it will tell you how likely it is that the user is a troll or a bot account. Something in the 80s, for example says there is an 8 in 10 chance the account is bogus. And with supportive Donnie Tweets, the evidence of troll support is pretty blatant.)Biden is subject to the Hunter Biden issue and clearly the GOP is planning to haul that puppy out once again, unabashedly, even though it is clearly BS. They have no compunction about lying, about getting federal agencies to give them access to sensitive data and about coordinated attacks. But I would argue that trying to do that is old news now. It has happened so often without really landing that the only place it will really have any effect is on the zombie followers who will believe anything he says. I would also note that Bloomberg’s team is telling Trump that any attacks on Hunter Biden are going to unleash a tsunami of Bloomberg ads about the corruption of the entire Trump family from Donnie to Jr., Ivanka, Jared and the Trump organization.)So bottom line, I wish it was Liz, I like a lot of what Bernie stands for, but I think honestly Joe has to take on the mantle of drawing centrists of all stripes to win the election.It is vital for backers of all nominees to recognize that NO Presidential Candidate will ever accomplish all they claim they want, but the bottom line is that any and all inner party disputes over policy pale in the face of this fact:If we don't take House, Senate AND the White House, we are in for disaster....either another four years of Trump, or a divided Congress with Republicans kneecapping any efforts to pass anything and refusing to vote for any Democratic nominee for SCOTUS.Get a Democratic President....but remember it is the Congress we elect that will determine whether we are able to start repairing our terribly damaged democracy, our global security, our environment and our place in the world community.The debates have revealed we have some really qualified people. I could see Warren as Treasury Sec. or Sen Maj. Ldr., Harris at AG, I'd love to see Chris Murphy of CT as Sec. of State. (Add your own in suggestions in comments.) We all can build our dream cabinets, but remember that without a three-prong victory, taking a stance of ideological purity so intense that you will sit out or write-in is a recipe for disaster. Suppose a supporter for either Biden OR Sanders says, “If my candidate doesn’t win, I am sitting this out or voting write-in.” And then suppose that stances like this are numerous enough that Donnie squeaks through with an electoral college win and holds onto the Senate. And then think about what he and his zealots will try and do for another four years, not the least of them jamming every court in the country with zealous wingnuts, often with a total lack of judicial experience.That will clearly set back and very possibly cripple progressive goals for years, or worse yet, and most likely, create a version of America we don’t even want to think about — exactly when we most need wise adults at the helm addressing the numerous and increasingly critical challenges we face as Americans and as global citizens.For that reason, I have come to the conclusion that Joe Biden is our best choice to attract a swath of voters wide enough to overcome whatever corrupt schemes the Trump team is preparing for this election. How about you?