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The Three Stooges [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-08-06
Three Stooges; Curly, Larry, and Moe; Kept you in stitches with their side-splitting show. With eye-poking antics And slap-stick quite frantic They upset the elite status-quo.
When I was a kid, I loved The Three Stooges. I didn’t even know what the word stooge meant, except that three of them together made me laugh hysterically at their idiotic behavior.
Yet the word stooge has a darker political meaning. A stooge could refer to a fool who is subservient to a more powerful political figure. Rudy Giuliani is Donald Trump’s stooge. More broadly, a stooge is simply a fool.
But the Republican Party isn’t the only political party that harbors stooges. Alas, there are three stooges running for president who aren’t Republicans. They don’t want Trump to win—at least not consciously—but nevertheless are foolishly and stupidly running against Biden. If Biden doesn’t win, America loses. It ain’t rocket science. It’s political science 101.
Who are these idiots? These three stooges are RFK Jr., Marianne Williamson, and Cornel West.
According to Michael Cohen, as written in his book Revenge:
“Donald Trump ran for President seeking to make money. The campaign was designed to be the greatest infomercial in the history of politics and to increase the value of the Trump brand. I know. I was there. I helped orchestrate it.”
But that isn’t the reason so many Republicans today are running against Trump. Sans a couple, including Chris Christie, none of them dare suggest there is anything wrong with Trump. They pretend he is as innocent as a choir boy, and all those indictments are only trumped-up charges orchestrated by the Democrats to try to deny him of his rightful ascension to the throne of America’s First Great Dictator. So why are candidates like Nikki Haley and Tim Scott running “against” Trump, but never say anything against Trump? Unless they are even more delusional than Trump, they must know they have no chance of beating him, or anyone else for that matter. As for DeSantis, he is simply a sick, pathetic, fascist Trump wanna-be. He is trailing miserably for there is no compelling reason maga-heads to want DeSantis when they can have Trump.
But Haley, Scott, and others are running because they hope Trump will choose them to be his Vice-Presidential running mate. As bizarre as it sounds, Trump can become President and still go to prison. In that scenario, the VP becomes the acting President of the United States, and the Donald has no more political power than a mafia don in prison. Pardon? Why should I give Trump a pardon now, when it means I will no longer be the de facto President of the United States?
So we have a pretty good idea why embarrassing political hopefuls from South Carolina are running for President, but why would any Democrat or liberal run against Biden? Either they are a foolish idiot or, like Trump, they are only in it for the money.
Principles have consequences. In my recent diary, An Open Letter to RFK, Jr.—Go Away!, It was easy for me to attack RFK, Jr. I don’t know him personally and he doesn’t know me. I figured most readers here at Kos would agree with me and reward my condemnation of RFK Jr. with approving recommendations. They did.
But when I got the news that Marianne Williamson was coming to town to visit the Tell Them Tuesday protest group, which I have been actively supporting for years, it was a different story. To stay true to my principles, I should no more support Marianne Williamson than RFK, Jr. Only doing so was far more difficult.
It all began when Lee Turner encouraged me to become a delegate to the South Carolina Democratic Convention—in order to support and vote for Brandon Upson. (See South Carolina Democrats—A House Divided.
I met Brandon, talked with him personally, liked what he said, and subsequently voted for him to become the Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party. In our conversation I encouraged him to attend our Tell Them Tuesday weekly political protest and luncheon. Brandon didn’t win, but I soon got an email saying he was coming to Tell Them Tuesday in Greenville and bringing Marianne Williamson with him to speak. Now, I am not one for cancel culture. But there is a world of difference between hearing what an author has to say and showing up to support her bid to defeat Biden.
I took the battle to Facebook, where a good friend of mine was the virtually only one of many who saw welcoming the Presidential wannabe as a bad thing. He wrote and I quote:
All Democrats should be behind our incumbent, VERY successful President. Not helping some challengers (regardless of whether they are crazy). The “Bernie or Bust “people are the reason we got Trump in the first place. She is a joke. Not worth the time of day.
Others disagreed:
Hey y'all. It doesn't hurt to listen. If we shut out anyone's opinion we become just like the MAGA cult. Listen with an open mind and then make up your mind.
It isn't about whether we vote democratic or not, Marianne's voice in the debate is significant at this point. It can nudge party policy in the right direction regardless of who wins the candidacy and potentially hold the interest of younger more progressive voters.
She is not someone I consider Presidential material but I loved her book ‘A Woman’s Worth’ and would certainly enjoy hearing her speak again!
I heard Marianne speak at Dem Women several years ago and found her very interesting. She is a spiritual person whose policies are based in her spirituality. She is not a threat to Biden. He will be the nominee.
So although I usually eschew posting on Facebook, I picked up the gauntlet and supported Ron Cowen.
I find it awkward to disagree with so many of my good friends, but I sincerely believe it is a dire mistake to give Marianne Williamson the time of day. I have delved a little into her campaign. She called Biden "weak" and says most Americans don't want him. She is asking for thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, money that should go to verifiable candidates, and support the Democrats winning the House and the Senate. Make no mistake; she has, and intends to weaken Biden, in order to appear to be a better candidate. This isn't simply listening to a different point of view. She is running against Biden, not speaking as an author who wants to share ideas. There was never a bigger Bernie supporter than I was, giving time and money to his campaign. So why isn't Bernie running? Because Bernie knows better than anyone that it's either Biden or Trump. No respectable candidate, not Bernie, not Elizabeth Warren, not Corey Booker, would dare risk weakening Biden and the Democrats by opposing Biden. Only light-weight egotistical candidates such as JFK Jr. and Marianne Williamson are running against him, to service their own personal agendas. All Democrats need to stand behind Biden. I won't be there on Tuesday. Ron Cowen is right. We have to deal with political realities as they are, and not as we wish them to be.
So did I change anyone’s mind? Hell no!
Realities eh? Polls show most voters do not approve of Biden's administration, and half of democrats wish he would not run for reelection. As a theatre guy, you should come hear her speak. Charismatic, engaging delivery. Forget judging her motivations, or being offended by her longshot, gadfly candidacy. Go for the show. She was a great speaker at the convention. With Sanders and Warren out, she is the only progressive messenger to challenge Biden.
There is something insidious about Facebook. Below every posted comment are two words, like and reply. This is the way the game of Facebook comments is scored. Whomever gets the most likes, wins. What’s more, you are playing the game against your friends. Everyone likes to be liked. Consequently, there is an unconscious tendency to only write what you think your friends will think is right. The same principle applies to diaries at Daily Kos, only the game is scored with comments and recommends. But there is a key difference. The feedback on Facebook is almost immediate, thus, receiving likes is far more addictive. Moreover, it is far easier to objectively argue political points on their merits, if you don’t personally know who you are arguing with. It’s a whole other story when comments you disagree with come from someone you not only know personally, but someone who has supported you when you ran for office.
I can't go on Tuesday because I have to work, but Stephen would you feel the same way if Cornel West ask to speak to the TTT [Tell Them Tuesday] group?
Cornel West? I attended a Bernie rally where I listened wholeheartedly to Cornel West, as he was the surrogate speaker for the absent Bernie Sanders. (I was also attended several rallies where Bernie was the main speaker.) He is a great speaker and well worth listening to—providing he isn’t speaking as part of a campaign against Biden!
As long as Cornel West isn't opposing Biden, I would gladly listen to him. John proves my point. John claims half of Democrats don't approve of Biden. While this percentage is questionable, there is no question about the reality that Biden is running against Trump, and needs all the support he can get, unless you prefer Trump, DeSantis, or Mike Pence to be our next president. If you our anyone else thinks there is a snowball's chance in hell of some other Democrat other than Biden having a better chance of defeating Trump, then indeed you are not separating real politics from political fantasies.
When I play Table Tennis, I fight like hell to make every point I can to win. I play against my friends, but I play hard, as if they were enemies I need to vanquish. When I lose, defeat is difficult, but I acknowledge I lost because my opponent made better points.
When I argue politics, I fight like hell to win every point I can. I play against my friends, but I argue hard, because the issues really matter. When I lose, but I acknowledge I lost because my opponent made better points. They knew something I didn’t know, or provided a valuable perspective I didn’t have had. Admitting you are wrong is difficult, but it is the price to pay if you want to be right more often in the future. Yet there is a key difference between Ping Pong and politics. In a game of Ping Pong, you know the score at the end of the game, no matter how well each player played. In the game of politics, it is always hard to know whether you are right or wrong, and simply scoring more likes doesn’t mean you had the better argument.
West is running for President and that will be against Biden, so you will have to decide with your own definition...is he opposing Biden?...Of course, Biden is running against Trump, that is not the question. And neither is, can anyone one else beat Trump?…of course someone could. Real politics is seeing that anything could happen. Trump could drop out, make a deal, get sick and die and so could Biden, then Harris would take his place or would she? There are several democrats that would step in. So the real question is, are you afraid to listen to a view point of another person running for President?
My worthy political commenter won with a great point, and getting in the last word, apparently won the game. I didn’t even know Cornel West was running for President. I didn’t even see that shot coming. But the match wasn’t over. And I got some coaching from professional political pundits I heard on Friday on MSNBC, three days after Marianne Williamson took over our Tell Them Tuesday rally, which I didn’t attend. The Reverend Al Sharpton made an excellent point criticizing the campaign of Cornel West. He said this is not the time to be making statements; this is the time to be saving our government.
Indeed, since Cornel West is running for President—against Biden—then no, even if he was coming to our tiny Greenville Tell Them Tuesday group, I shouldn’t show up then, either. It isn’t my bad, its Cornell West’s bad for giving Trump a better chance of winning the presidency and destroying our country. And yes, I went to Cornel West’s website. It looks great. But just like Marianne Williamson, he is undermining Biden by asking for political contributions that should go to Democrats.
Note I didn’t say other Democrats. The West campaign is even more insidious and dangerous than the campaigns of RFK Jr. and Marianne Williamson. At least they are running against Biden as Democrats in a futile attempt to win the Democratic nomination. Cornel West is a Green Party candidate. The last thing our country needs is another Green Party candidate who is in a position to take votes away from Biden in the general election and allow Trump to win.
Now, I am sure there will be those who erroneously think otherwise. They will argue (and have argued) that a two-party system isn’t ideal. They’re right. It isn’t. But there are two stubborn realities that aren’t going to go away simply by wishing they didn’t exist. One, we have a binary two-party system. Third parties only undermine an election in a binary system. Unless one of them dies first, either Biden will win, or Trump will win. Any support of anyone except Biden helps Trump. IF we weren’t saddled with the antiquated Electoral College andor IF we had Three Option Voting (or other voting system like Rank Choice Voting, Approval Voting, or Automatic Run-off) then third party candidates wouldn’t be a dangerous threat to presidential elections. Make no mistake. Had Ralph Nader not run as a Green Party candidate, Al Gore, and not George W. Bush, would have been President. Ralph Nader knew that! He didn’t care! Prior to the 2020 election, he called the White House to speak to Bill Clinton. He was summarily informed the President was unavailable. So Nader requested to speak to Al Gore, the VP. Again, Nader was informed the Vice president wasn’t available either. Regardless of the intention, Nader felt like he was being snubbed as not important enough for the White House to bother with. This is why later he later said he didn’t care if votes for him meant Bush would win over Al Gore.
And now Cornell West is running for the Green Party? Give me a break! As someone recently said on MSNBC, the 2024 Presidential Election isn’t about policies; Trump represents an existential threat to our democracy. If Trump wins, we will have the closest thing to a fascist dictatorship since Hitler came to power in Germany. Moreover, Trump winning is an existential threat to humanity. Unless Biden wins, America will do nothing to fight catastrophic climate change. It may already be too late to save the planet. But at least Biden is trying. It isn’t enough for Biden to win (which I hope to God he does) he needs to win by such a landslide that he has a clear mandate to make the changes we need to make. This is not the time to have any “progressive” candidate running against Biden.
It is more entertaining, and consequently more fun to denigrate political opponents based on their personalities of crazy things they said or did. That isn’t the point. What was appropriate, or at least harmless in 2016, isn’t so in 2024. In 2016 there were dozens of Democratic candidates, including Marianne Williamson. She wasn’t my favorite then and isn’t now. Just as Doanld Trump ran for president to sell more steaks, Marriane Williamson is running for president to sell more books. But it don’t bake no dibbens (It doesn’t make any difference) why she is running. In 2024, like it or not, it is either Biden or Trump.
Even if I disagreed with everything JFK. Jr. says, and agreed with everything Cornel West says, neither of them should be running against Biden now, when everything is on the line. This is why I have decided to post no photos of any of these three political stooges. They don’t deserve the recognition, and they certainly don’t deserve any support. On TV, the Three Stooges were hilarious. In reality, these three political stooges aren’t funny.
What about Shemp?
There were four stooges, even if we only saw three at a time. In many films, Shemp took over for Curley. In a recent presentation of classic Three Stooges shorts, the narrators commented that even if everyone preferred Curley over Shemp, Shemp was the hands-down winner as the stooge with the ugliest mug. So who is the Shemp of politics? No Labels. But this diary is already too long, so chastising the insidious and ridiculous No Labels political movement will have to wait for another day and another diary. In fact, I would consider it a huge favor if one of you did the research and wrote the article, as I really don’t have the time. Of course, if you know of one already published here, please send me the link in the comments section.
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