Race for the White House 2020 # 9

I am resigned to the fact that these weekly write-ups are going to be a bit depressing for me to do. There is simply not a candidate I can actively root for, at least not yet. While a bunch of former "NeverTrumpers" have resigned themselves to supporting the incumbent, others are just all out Democrats now. Neither option is acceptable to me. My virtual wandering in the political wilderness continues. Such a thing is not totally unbearable, I just wonder if all my interest in politics going back to my childhood was even worth it. America is always worth it though, and with that in mind, I am continuing to "root" for Robert Mueller and for justice.

For the sake of democracy, I can manage to get through hearing Donald Trump deliver the State of the Union Address. I find it virtually impossible to watch him address the annual CPAC gathering as he did this morning. I did catch some bits and pieces of his approximately two hour rambling sweaty speech. Needless to say, the young "conservatives" in the room loved it. The conservative movement and for that matter the Republican Party are at least publicly a wholly owned subsidiary of the DJT Cult of Personality at this point. I cannot help but think many others are also suffering in silence about what exactly is going on. The parts I saw, which was heavily about the 2018 midterms and immigration policy was completely divorced from reality in terms of facts. I started to imagine what it would be like theoretically if Trump had to wear some kind of collar that delivered electric shocks if he told a falsehood, but that would be cruel and unusual.

This upcoming week will mark the 20th anniversary of Texas Governor George W. Bush announcing his Exploratory Committee to run for President. Recently, I read a transcript of his speech, as well as his informal announcement three months later. I can remember how excited and motivated I was at the time to support him. Thankfully, he would go on to twice be elected President of the United States, but the party that he would leave behind is virtually unrecognizable.

I also read the transcript from 1999 of the Presidential announcement speech of Gary Bauer, which took place the day after the Columbine High School shooting. One never sees Bauer on television anymore for some reason, but I checked his Twitter account and he is an all out Trump apologist, like many Evangelicals have become.

Twenty years ago, Bauer was insistent that America was far more than just the value of the stock market or the strength of our military. He was very concerned about morality in America and the concept of values and virtue and how character from the highest office in the land mattered. He reached the conclusion that the bastardization of truth and moral relativism had a direct effect on school shootings, which of course is something that is even more prevelant in our society a generation later. Could these conservatives from the Turn of the Millennium imagine that one day they would surpass every effort in the Clinton Playbook to excuse and celebrate Trump just because the other side hates him or because he can nominate judges?

Conservatism and the CPAC gatherings of my youth which I watched on cable, used to about optimism. Now, it is about "owning the libs" and nothing else. Yesterday, conservative pundit Michelle Malkin, an Asian-American woman who has in the past justified the internment of Asian-Americans in World War II, attacked the "Ghost of John McCain" for immigration policies she disagreed with. By reports, the crowd loved it just as they love any example of name-calling or demonization of those who stand in their way. I can only hope the "Ghost of John McCain" continues to haunt all these sell-outs and frauds who have abandoned what conservatism, the Republican Party, and the United States of America are supposed to be.

Is the other party an option for someone like me? Not even close based on the way they are acting. Democrats may not even truly understand the problems gathering on the horizon for them. This could be made very real for supposed front-runner Joe Biden jumps into the race, as many expect. The grassroots of his party are just in no mood for any entertaining of the concept that any non-progressive be valued in America.

Other news this week saw a failed summit in Vietnam between the United States and North Korea, which I will thankfully concede could have ended even worse if Trump had given in to Kim Jong Un. The summit should probably not have even taken place without a greater understanding of agreement. The worst part of it was Trump once again defending a dictator and whether he believes it or not, stating publicly that he took Kim at his word that he knew nothing about the circumstances that led to the death of American prisoner Otto Warmbier. I cannot help but feel sympathy for his parents who had to watch the leader of our country act so disgracefully.

Convinced felon and former Trump "fixer" Michael Cohen had an explosive public day of testimony before the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee. Cohen admitted to and apologized for previously lying to Congress but insisted he was there to tell the truth about Donald Trump for the sake of his conscience. I can understand why. Whatever one believes, it was fairly obvious that Republicans on the Committee had no intention of even trying to defend Trump on the merits of Cohen's charges.

In campaign news, Bernie Sanders held his first rally of the cycle. His campaign signs this time around look to be a somewhat darker shade of blue. Washington Governor Jay Inslee formally entered the race, the first Governor to do so, promising a bold agenda on climate change for America that he was unable to get passed in his own liberal state. Indications also are that former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke have decided they are a yes in this campaign.

So that's about it for the week. Let it not go unmentioned that no Amy Klobuchar staffer this past week was seriously injured or filed a police report.