I remember 1972

[macwriter]

At the risk of being flamed, I just have to say I'm old enough to vividly remember the election of 1972. We had a president whose closest associates were in legal trouble. The Watergate scandal broke that summer, but a lack of transparency stonewalled connecting the president to the scandal, while his henchmen were going to jail. It didn't matter to the voters. The president emphasized the strong economy and his success in foreign affairs. The Dems nominated someone who was tagged by the GOP as the candidate of "amnesty, abortion and acid." The label stuck. Moderate and more conservative Dems had their doubts about him.

The result is we re-elected a disliked divisive and vindictive president 49 states to 1.

Yes, I favor Biden for the very reason the White House is trying so hard to destroy him -- he appeals to the broad base of working people and people of color in our party.

Yes, I will enthusiastically support our nominee -- just as I did McGovern. But our collective enthusiasm is not going to defeat Trump.

If anyone thinks that Biden being trashed and driven out of this race by some Dems and all GOP is going to mean clear sailing for our eventual nominee, you are deluding yourselves.

Wait for more fake scandals to provide fodder for Barr's future investigations:

Bernie's wife's Vermont financial dealings? Won't take much to fabricate something and beat the drum about that. And his health -- remember when Hillary was at death's door.

Mayor Pete's military career (think Swiftboat) the whispers about his lifestyle, the evangelicals would lead the charge on that.

Amy - how many disgruntled former employees can they get on the record making the rounds at Fox News to trash her as a pushy unlikable woman (Hillary 2.0) And someone in the chattering class just brought up her record before becoming senator.

Elizabeth Warren -- paint her as another version of unlikable -- her numbers don't add up. She insulted Native Americans.

Then we get to the billionaires. And every Dem contender who slammed money in this race and the evil billionaire class will be featured in 30 second commercials for Trump. And then there's the stop and frisk controversy. Great issue to depress voter turnout.

And don't even try to tell me about the current head to head match-ups between any Dem candidate and Trump. They are meaningless when they are comparing our relatively unscathed, untested candidates to Trump. Those numbers will change dramatically when the real contest begins.

Please, Please think long and hard before making up your mind when choosing our candidate this year. It's great to fall in love, but let's not set ourselves up for heartbreak in November.

As for me, I'm taking a break from presidential politics to concentrate on the house and senate contests, so if what I fear most happens, having the senate and the house will mitigate the damage.

Even so, I will continue to contribute to the party and candidates I believe in and campaign tirelessly for our eventual nominee.

[FiveGoodMen]

1. 48 years later, we've moved so far to the right that you can't even see where we were

And it's never time to move back the other way.

Like it's never time to talk about guns.

[wyldwolf]

10. I believe the Democratic party is further left than it's ever been

[calguy]

2. I remember 1972 like it was yesterday

That's why I can't support Sanders no way no how. No matter who we choose it won't be a cake walk. It never is. Biden or Bloomberg is our best chance. I hope we don't blow it.

[AtheistCrusader]

3. There isn't a candidate in the field that doesn't have SOME flaw they can exploit for noise.

Don't let the R's pick our candidate for us by defining our candidate by their potential attacks.

[bonniebgood]

7. And the Media will be on the noise side helping exploited the noise x 10. NT

[NurseJackie]

4. So do I. Thank you for this great post!

[brooklynite]

5. Interesting historical comparison

1968: Progressives reject "establishment" Democratic candidate (Humphrey) allowing Nixon to win a narrow election
1972: Progressives assert themselves to nominate McGivern, allowing Nixon to win a landslide

2016: Progressives reject "establishment" Democratic candidate (Clinton) allowing Trump to win a narrow election
2020: Progressives assert themselves to..........

[BootinUp]

9. Yep. Nt

[DeeDeeNY]

6. Yes they will all be trashed

That’s what Republicans do. The candidate needs to be prepared to deal with it. And 1972 is not really a good example. A lot of things contributed to McGovern’s defeat, not the least of which was his VP candidate being poorly vetted.

[macwriter]

11. Or an Iowa Caucus disaster?

It's something like this that makes me crazy.

[Laelth]

8. Understood, and fair enough. n/t

-Laelth