“We live in the age of the overworked and the uneducated; the age in which people are so industrious that they become stupid.”
–Oscar Wilde, 1891
Whether a huge portion of Americans is suffering from amnesia or stupidity, combined with an under-performing Democrat Party, the net result could mean Trump wins the next election.
And if that happens as the country experiences its most severe pandemic in history, combined with the most corrupt presidential administration in history, and an impending economic tidal wave, we can blame it on the Democrat Party.
This is because the process to produce the most electable, popular and energizing candidate are characteristics Democrat Party pashas should not be able to manipulate from behind the scenes.
Now, whether this is the case or not, based on the past election, many voters have a reason, founded or unfounded, to think the presidential candidate nomination process is tainted or slanted.
True or not, the perception dictates the behavior of millions of left-leaning and independent voters that the leading Democrat candidate today, Joe Biden, is not up to the task of defeating Trump.
This sentiment is shared at many levels. Even Barak Obama is quoted in recent articles as advising Biden not to run for president in 2020.
A New York Times article, summarized in Vanity Fair magazine, said the following about Obama’s cautionary advice to Biden:
“After Biden entered the race anyway, telling him that he could “never forgive himself” if he didn’t personally try to oust Trump, Obama began pushing for Biden to “expand his aging inner circle,” according to the Times. His advisors needed to ensure Biden didn’t “embarrass himself” or “damage his legacy,” Obama told campaign staff in a March meeting, per the report.”
As the Times article says, among the other vice presidential candidates Obama considered were Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia and Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana. (Kaine got another chance when he was selected by Hillary Clinton to be the VP in her campaign.)
But Obama chose Biden; a man with policy knowledge, but no apparent ambitions to outshine Obama. Even then, Obama fell for Biden’s homey, working-class aura and as a politician who did not embrace social change.
This is Biden’s baggage. It contrasts with the very energetic and vocal progressive wing who agitates for Bernie Sanders’ policies of serious economic and social reforms, many of which Biden opposes.
The Epic Epidemic and Impending Economic Collapse
Biden’s candidacy now looks weak as we flash forward to the COVID19 outbreak and its impending economic tidal wave. In these two related events, we have the second great event facing Democrats. It’s a historic opportunity to show the fundamental differences between Trump’s economic libertarian, anti-government policies, and its right-wing prejudices.
All of these are well-documented and evident for any voter who cares to see them or is not blinded by Trump’s sociopathic theater.
The big question is whether the leadership of the Democrat Party will be too timid to take over the national stage from Trump by presenting a candidate who can present new policies that address the epidemic and the upcoming financial recession or depression.
This approach should avoid confronting Trump, a man with serious mental problems, and focus on the mismanagement of the COVID-19 preparations and the approaching recession-depression. As Bernie Sanders has said, the virus is a rare chance to re-examine American society.
This perfect storm of pandemic and negative economic events should become the new platform for the Democrat Party. Bernie Sanders has presented the case for a national healthcare system that would be better prepared than the one that is either deficient or does not even exist. His economic proposals will also resonate when the recession-depression unfolds over the next year or so.
The post-epidemic economy will not recover quickly, if at all. It took a decade for some segments of the population to recover the from 2008 housing fraud-led recession.
Less will be more in post-epidemic America. We’ll see the following:
–Home shopping and work will re-shape consumer behavior as people avoid crowded areas, such as malls and restaurants.
–Retirement savings plans will be de-railed by the suspension of 401(0k matching contributions by some employers. More people will borrow from their 401(k)s with bad results.
–The crisis is affecting different age groups differently. Gen X and Millennials will again suffer more job dislocation and financial insecurity. They will not be able to buy houses, for example, and this means they will not have a wealth engine for retirement security. This wealth destruction or delay requires a new, harsher and realistic perspective.
–Retailers today have more debt than in past crises (think 2008), so their cash flows have been reduced. Mall and store closing will put more stress on more retailers, including bankruptcies.
–Corporate America has again shown that it will take a federal handout whenever possible when the repayment conditions are right.
–E-commerce will grow as in-store retail suffers. This will be accelerated by technology and existing trends.
–Employees who work from home may prove just as productive as when they are in the office. This could cause a permanent reduction in in-office staff and an increase in vacancies in downtowns office spaces with high rents.
If the Dems Blow This, The Party is Over
The unsettled progressive wing of the Democrat Party is suspicious of the DNC leadership and many of its corporate partners in think tanks and the media. Centrists and moderates looked appealing just a few months 
ago, but the perfect storm of the epidemic and the impending financial tidal wave has changed all that.
The Democrat Party wanted to present a return to post-Trump normalcy, but that nostalgia still evaded huge portions of the Democrat base. Back to the past is no strategy for confronting an even more uncertain future than ever before. There are too many variables domestically and globally as whole nations have been destabilized. A cautious Democrat candidate with known limitations, combined with a timid DNC, is no formula for victory against Trump’s propaganda machine.
By the time of the election, the economy will be in recession and the national will suffer a historic number of epidemic-related deaths due to the mismanagement and lies related to the national preventative health system and related government agencies.
If the DNC cannot develop a winning strategy from these historic events, it will show it has run out of energy and ideas.
