April 20, 2016

Wondering, on Wednesday (v53)

So, New Yorkers went to the polls, and voted in a primary that mattered. There's still much thinking and talking going on, but I'm mostly wondering.

For example, we all heard from the Sanders folks - campaign people and supporters alike - about the closed primary and the Independents being 'disenfranchised' because we only allow people who are willing to commit, to vote.  But I wonder why we didn't hear anything from the Green Party, and the Working Families Party, and the Conservative Party and the rest complaining about their disenfranchisement? They weren't allowed to vote for anyone either.

Hillary won cities: NYC, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, and Sanders won everything else. Which is bizarre, simply bizarre. That said, it still appears that Hillary can lose, and lose big to Bernie in the remaining contests, and handily win the nomination.

One figure I saw was 29% -- she only needs to get 29% of the vote each of the remaining contests from now until this blissfully ends in June, and she'll still win. I'm not sure what the Sanders campaign's plans are, but I wonder if they truly believe there's a path to victory come the convention?

More importantly, I wonder when Sanders will start telling his supporters that they are committing political suicide, and setting back any hope of progressive legislative victories under any future president if they don't vote for Clinton in the general election?

Because if all of the BernFeelers stay home, the chances of having a Republican president seem to increase, which means that, say, the likelihood of having the next few Supremes chosen by Republicans is high. And the chance of rolling back changes in voting laws, or reducing student loan debt, or expanding the Affordable Care Act (much less replacing it with something more Sandersesque) are slim to none for the duration.  I can't help wondering if it's really beneficial for all of these folks to cut off their noses, or shoot themselves in the foot, or whatever other body-damaging analogy works here?

And if Sanders himself doesn't address this and encourage sanity, what happens if he endorses Clinton, as he surely will, as he must? Do the Berners turn on him as well, I wonder?

On the Republican side, His Hairness won the entire state with the exception of a handful of voters who put John Kasich on top, in that one teeny little part of the map that wasn't Trump red. I don't know about you, but I wonder if anyone thought, last June with the infamous escalator ride, that Trump was riding into this kind of success?  Did even Trump picture this?

Kasich and Cruz, Cruz and Kasich. How do they pull together to stop Trump - or, I wonder, does Trump stop himself?  Talking today with friends at work, and one questioned whether Trump really even wanted to be president, or if instead he really just wanted to influence who becomes the nominee for the Rs. He wondered how Trump could really walk away from his company, and his luxury, and his travel and open schedule and all of that, and actually perform the duties of the POTUS. Others, professionals in the political arena, have suggested that this was done on a lark, and Trump had no clue now how to get out.  I wonder, is that really the case? And who will come to his rescue?

Finally, I wonder on this Wednesday as I have before, what my Dad would say about the Empire State and her voters, about this campaign. I don't have a clue.

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