“I’m not a member of any organized political party…. I’m a Democrat.”

“Democrats never agree on anything, that’s why they’re Democrats. If they agreed with each other, they’d be Republicans.” – Will Rogers

I live to stir the pot, so I’m going to stir it again this morning.  Yesterday, I put Oprah at the top of my list for 2020, and the suggestion was met with considerable pushback.  “Amateur” and “celebrity” were some of the pejoratives used by readers to say no to Oprah.  Some people fled to their own corners, decrying outsiders and calling for mainstream politicians to run.  The very same mainstream politicians who have driven the Dems to minority status in DC and in 32 states.  Over the last 20 years, with only a few flashes of hope, the Democrats have SUCKED at what they are supposed to be doing, which is attaining, and keeping, political power.  You can’t govern if you can’t win and keep power in DC and state houses, and the Dems have failed miserably at that for over two decades.  I was active in party politics from about 2001 to 2012, when I threw up my hands in frustration at the incompetence and petty battles between factions (not to mention a lot of my dollars flushed down the toilet).   When Dems would call a meeting, they’d spend 75% of their effort counting noses rather than doing business.  The party structure wasted millions and millions of donor dollars, and the result was that the only ones doing well were the same political consultants that lost every race they managed. It drove me crazy, so I withdrew to hide behind my keyboard and…stir the pot.

Many years ago a wise political sage told me that Dems and Repubs run their parties very differently, especially since the 60s after Goldwater lost to Johnson.  For 20 years after Goldwater, the GOP rebuilt themselves from the bottom up starting at precinct chairs, local school boards, county commissioners and so on.  When they would then get control of the local level, they would go to the next level.  Once they finally controlled a state, they would then immediately gerrymander themselves into what Karl Rove called the “permanent majority”. The GOP has organized itself as a pyramid with a strong base from which leadership grows.  It worked, and worked really well until Trump turned the party on its ear.  What’s comes next is an opportunity for Dems, if they don’t blow it.

Dems, on the other hand, have relied on traditional constituencies – unions, working class, minorities, and machine politicians.  When they would win office, though, the lip service to their constituencies would go silent and it would be business as usual.  They, too, have relied on gerrymandering, but not to the art form it has been raised to by the GOP.  Dems are generally far less organized between elections and then scramble to rally around a presidential candidate who rises to prominence.  Barack Obama is the textbook example of this characteristic.  The Dems are organized in a pyramid, too, but an inverted one where the entire organization stands on the shoulders of the presidential candidate.  It worked for Obama, but failed miserably with Hillary as the standard bearer.  The party needs to change, but it won’t, especially with its calcified leadership parodied by Saturday Night Live last fall:

The textbook example of this calcification?  It’s the Dems idiotic program it rolled out last year dubbed “A Better Deal”.  “A Better Deal?” What moron thought that slogan was a good idea?  How about, “We Don’t Have Cavities”, or “Make America Just OK Again”?  Here’s a good one – “We Didn’t Get a Flat this Morning”.  Stupid.  This kind of silly sloganeering and message massage is what kills momentum. Trump has provided the biggest opportunity for Dems to grab control since Bush/Cheney, but they’re doing everything they can to blow it.  Again.

That’s why I say Oprah.  In the general election, you have to get a good portion of the middle 6% who doesn’t pay attention until the end of October when they tear themselves away from The Voice or Dancing with the Stars long enough to drag themselves to the polls.  Turnout is key.  Obama won twice because of turnout.  Hillary lost because of turnout.  Turnout is everything.  I look at Oprah as that turnout machine.  Because the Dems SUCK at GOTV, the candidate has to pull the vote.  Oprah will do that, hands down.  The base of the right wing will hate her as they do all Dems; no Dem will get that vote.  So, turnout of the base and the majority of the middle is required to take it.  Oprah can accomplish that like no other Dem on the bench.  Period.  AND, Oprah is a super successful business person as well as a television personality with gigantic recognition numbers.

People say she’s an amateur and inexperienced.  I say hogwash.  Obama announced for president 23 months after he took office in the Senate.  Was he perfect?  No, but he was a hell of a lot better than McCain or Romney would have been.  Oprah can inspire, she’s successful, she’ll pull the middle vote, and she’ll have her pick of the best and brightest for her advisors who will readily serve.  And, the big bonus is that she’s not nuts.  She’s not a malfunctioning narcissist.  She’s not lazy or self obsessed.  The key, though, is that after she took the White House, the Dems would have to stand on their hind legs, get themselves organized and raise money (and candidates) as fast as possible during that first term.  New leadership and a fresh bench are the only assets that will help cement a longer term influence on national politics.

You purists out there who want to keep doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result knock yourselves out.  Me, I want to win 2020, and I damn sure don’t want that task in the hands of the same good folks who got us in this mess in the first place.