Last night at a secretive fundraiser in Florida, Trump brought onstage two war criminals. They were former US Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance and former US Army Maj. Mathew Golsteyn.  Both had been given clemency by Trump last month.  One was convicted of ordering the murder of 3 unarmed Afghans, and the other charged with murdering an unarmed Afghan.  The fundraiser netted $3.5 million.  One attendee noted that Trump “was in rare form” and “hilarious”.

Yes.  Nothing is more “hilarious” than honoring murdering war criminals.

Deval Patrick, former Massachusetts governor and current co-chairman of Bain Capital (yes, that Bain capital), announced today is candidacy for Vice President of the United States.  Yes, I said VP.  Patrick knows that he has zero chance of being nominated president, especially at this late stage.  He’s positioning himself, in my opinion, to be the go to person for the VP slot.  He has all the qualifications, and would be the perfect running mate for Biden (and others, but especially Biden).  Think about it – Biden has the best chance of beating His Orangeness, but he’ll undoubtedly be a one-term president.  Therefore he’ll need a Veep who can take on the 2024 mantel.  That could very well be Patrick.  He’s experienced, worked closely with President Obama, and is well liked among Democrats and New Englanders.  He’s the perfect presidential candidate – for 2024.  I think that’s the play, but others believe that Patrick will try to take New Hampshire and go head to head with Biden in South Carolina.  That approach virtually guarantees a win in SC for Warren by splitting the African American vote between Biden (who’s very popular there) and Patrick.  That’s unwise, and I believe Patrick knows that.

I like Patrick in the mix, which makes the whole thing very interesting.  Biden/Patrick?  I like it.  A lot.

Hillary’s now saying she hasn’t ruled out running in 2020.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.  That’s ALL we need.

Dems love to carp about Repubs and their purity tests on taxes, social conservatism, articles of faith on everything from religious freedom (so they can be assholes to people not like them), and voter suppression.  Most of that carping is done nose-in-the-air about how ignorant conservatives are, and how purity tests ruined the GOP.  Then, Dems blindly apply their own intolerant purity tests on their side:  Cases in point – Obama should have waited his turn (2008); Sanders wasn’t Democrat enough (2016 and 2020); Biden’s actions over 40 years ago disqualifies him today; Biden’s too old, too frail, sleepy (amplifying the right’s latest personal attack); male Dems who dare to favor a male candidate over all female candidates are “misogynist” (yes, I’ve been accused of that regularly).  Now the purity tests are already being applied to Bloomberg – he’s “a fool”, “a tool”, “not a democrat”, on and on and on.

I get it.  Dems want the perfect candidate with the perfect file cabinet full of perfect plans (that will never see the light of day).  They demand that their chosen candidate pledge to turn the entire system immediately on its head to fix everything the Repubs have done wrong since 1995.  AND, all candidates who don’t promise to do that are denigrated as “fools” and “not true Democrats”.

And that intolerance is a formula for LOSING.  I watched in disbelief in 2016 as the Dems pushed everyone out and followed the most unpopular Democratic candidate in US history over the cliff because it was “her turn”.  I watched as they dismissed all other comers because they weren’t pure enough.  Apparently, they’ve learned nothing because here we go again in 2019. The second most popular candidate in Iowa can’t get out of single digits nationally.  The most popular candidate in Iowa can demonstrate NO scenario where she can win the electoral college.  I know Dems that muse about a Warren/Buttigieg or Buttigieg/Warren ticket, neither of which would get within 50 electoral votes of a tie with Trump.

National elections are certainly about the vision of a future for our country.  They are a time for introspection and big thinking.  But they are also opportunities for gigantic disasters and averting disasters.  We are where we are today because the Dems were stupid in 2016, ignoring all the signs of loss with a weak unpopular candidate.  We have an opportunity to avert another gigantic disaster, but only if the Dems stop being stupid and start applying grade school level arithmetic.

It’s a hard truth.

Right now, Democrats are doing what Democrats always do: They form into a circular firing squad and snipe at one another to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  Currently, the Dems have three viable 2020 candidates – Warren, Sanders, and Biden.  Buttigieg, as great as he is, can’t get out of single digits in national polls, and let’s face it – it’s not his time and he should prepare to run for governor or Senator from Indiana and then come back in 10 years.  His time is in the future.  There have been no votes cast in any primary yet, but the intramural feuding is well underway with Warren supporters smearing Biden and amplifying Trump’s idiotic conspiracy theories, Biden supporters saying Warren is unelectable, and Bernie supporters hating everyone.

Warren is sticking to a Medicare for All plan that doesn’t have the slightest chance of ever seeing the light of day, wants to fund it by taxing billionaires, vows to shut down the US oil industry,  and is threatening businesses that she’s going to jail CEOs.  Sanders vows to also shut down the US oil industry and tax billionaires; he’s more circumspect on healthcare policy.  Biden is staying down the middle, making the electability argument as his main selling  point.

Let’s be blunt here.  As much as you’ll hate to hear it, big sweeping policy changes and turning industries and healthcare on their heads is NOT a winning strategy.  Dems have only one choice, and that is Trump, not Trump.  Period.  Short of him being removed by impeachment (which I believe is a slim to zero chance), or him keeling over from his artery clogging diet, getting him out of office through the ballot box is the only viable chance to rid ourselves from this metastasizing tumor sitting in the Oval Office.

The New York Times published their latest poll this week that pretty much sums up what Real Clear Politics has been reporting for months – Biden is the clear choice for the best chance to beat Trump:

This is the summary of the latest poll.  Sanders is second, Warren a distant third, yet Warren is catching up to Biden in the early primary states, though she is the worst of the front runners to face Trump, and her rhetoric is making it even harder for her to compete.

Before you say it, yeah, yeah, yeah.  I know, I know – Biden is old, failing, sleepy, confused, (insert your insult here _________).  What’s really weird is that none of those adjectives are used on Sanders or Warren even though he is older than Biden and is ACTUALLY suffering from a heart condition, and Warren is only a few years behind both of them.  The issue here, and the ONLY issue here is beating Trump.  Biden, especially if strengthened by a younger vibrant VP candidate is the highest probability candidate to beat Trump.  Warren and Sanders are not.  Period.  Want to lose suburbanites, and middle of the roaders?  Threaten to take away their healthcare and triple the price of gasoline.  It’s stupid, and a losing strategy.

As much as all of us hate it, this is NOT the election for sweeping policy changes.  This is the election of winning.  That is the only goal.  The choice is Trump, not Trump.  If you think things are miserable now, imagine if this SOB got another 4 years.  He has already destroyed the State Department and the Justice Department.  After he packs another 2 or 3 ideologues on the Supreme Court and hundreds of lunatics in the federal court system, he would have virtually destroyed our democracy.  The risk is too great to lose this one – the cost is too high.

The Dems just have to stop the infighting and focus on the only goal for 2020 – beating Trump.  It’s arithmetic.

Astros win!

Ok, seriously…two Giuliani associates, Ukraine born Lev Parma, and Belarusian born Igor Fruman were arrested last night trying to board a flight out of the country at Dulles airport after having lunch earlier in the day with…wait for it…Rudy Giuliani.  And guess where they had lunch…that’s right, the Trump International Hotel.  They’re now charged with funneling foreign money (including from a Russian oligarch) into pro-Trump PACs to influence US politicians including our own Pete Sessions, former congressvarmit.  Sessions has been exposed for pushing the State Department to fire former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yavanovich; Parma and Fruman have been implicated in that ousting.  Why was she ousted, you ask?  For being “anti-Trump”.

Also, Trump unilaterally announced the withdrawl of support of longstanding allies, the Kurds of Northern Syria.  Recall that the Kurds led the way in ousting ISIS from Syria, and for holding 50,000 former ISIS fighters in prison.  All those bets are off, and some Republicans, including Lindsey Graham have actually learned to stand without spines against Trump’s rashness.

Meanwhile, Jared and Ivanka have reported $82 million in income during 2018 while serving in the White House, 4 more White House staff are reported to have blown the whistle on Trump’s shakedown of Zelensky, and Trump continues spouting bullshit in Hitleresque political rallies.

Oh, and Rick Perry’s been subpoenaed to testify before the impeachment inquiry about his involvement in shaking down Ukraine to get them to manufacture dirt on a political rival.

But, please…let’s talk about Biden.