Most voters did not watch it.

Politics is show business for ugly people. Donald Trump knows this.

The RNC and DNC do not.

Come on, Trump was promoting himself using a fake name. That’s what Trump knows, fame. And his image was cemented by the Mark Burnett produced “Apprentice.”

At this point, we all know that reality TV is a creature of editing. You can look good or bad, depending upon the storyline the producers want to convey.

Donald Trump was depicted as a brilliant businessman, a hands-on billionaire who made quick decisions, who was all about the Benjamins.

And that message was conveyed week after week on network television, before it was eclipsed by Netflix and YouTube.

The issues don’t matter!

The people watching tonight already know who they’re going to vote for.

It’s just the non-watchers who don’t.

News trickles down to those not paying direct attention. Oftentimes it’s inaccurate, but they don’t want to take the time to watch, to read, to research…they have other priorities.

And that’s fine.

But what they’re looking for is a star. Someone to believe in. Someone to follow. Someone to dedicate their life to.

Like musical artists.

Not actors, they play roles.

But musical artists? Their message is embedded in their songs. You believe they are these people.

But if you’re privileged enough to get up close and personal with these artists, in most cases you’re disappointed. They’re narcissistic, nonverbal and usually they are not interested in you.

But the image prevails.

Talk to any macher in the music business, one who signs talent, and they’ll tell you they’re looking for stars. I’m not a huge fan of the self-congratulatory Clive Davis, but he got this right.

Doesn’t matter who is the best player, it’s all about image. If you can write your own material, fine, but if you can’t, we’ll tailor some for you.

Want to talk about a star?

Harry Styles. His dates sell out immediately. He’s got rabid fans. He’s good-looking, generous and doesn’t self-promote, at least not compared to most people. Hit records are irrelevant, Harry’s fans believe in him.

Kind of like Oprah. She’s not the most beautiful person on television, but she’s one of the most honest, who radiates intelligence, who refuses to get in the gutter just for ratings. Hell, Oprah lifted her program up and became an icon! Yes, it’s those who break the mold who lead us into the future, they are stars.

Want to talk stars? How about John Lennon. He said what he thought, and it had gravitas because of his talent and success. He poured his passion into efforts like peace, and was willing to say the uncomfortable.

Now I could go through the history of show business and point out more stars, but one thing’s for sure, the Democrats will only win if they run one.

Tom Steyer?

I wouldn’t even want to have breakfast with him, I’d be fearful of being bored to tears.

Andrew Yang? A nerd who struck it rich whose heart is in the right place but seems out of touch with reality, at least that which is involved with running for President.

Amy Klobuchar? Like the girl running the bake sale. You know, like Paige Hardaway on “Atypical,” she’s always involved, always doing the right thing, but clueless as to how others perceive her.

So write those three off.

Let’s go to Pete Buttigieg.

He started off with star power, but somehow he’s lost it.

A star appears not to play the game. A star tests the limits, doesn’t shy away from them. A star, at least in the old days, is not a member of the club, but singularly in their own club. Pete hanging with billionaires, raising money from the fat cats? Who can get behind that except for those donating?

Biden?

Now listen people, we’ve been through the movie before. John Kerry? Supremely qualified. And was Swiftboated to defeat. That’s right, a war veteran was beaten by someone who didn’t go.

Same deal with Hillary Clinton. A wonk’s wonk. Who doesn’t even know how to read society, and no one around her did either. Big stars have instinct, and lesser ones have managers who tell them what to do. Neither Hillary nor her handlers had a clue as to how she came across.

Biden is no star. He’s the uncle you avoid at parties. Who tries to be hip and ends up looking clueless.

So none of the above-listed candidates can win. IMPOSSIBLE! They lack the magnetism of a star. Once again, Buttigieg had it, but he squandered it, like a hit act that puts out an album contradictory to their image.

So that leaves us with Bernie and Elizabeth.

Now I’m not saying they are the biggest stars, I’m just saying they’re the only stars presently running, at least those with any traction.

Michael Bloomberg? Anybody who knows him knows he’s brilliant, but boring. Steve Jobs was a star. Bill Gates never was. You might be interested in what Bill Gates reads, but you don’t want to take personal advice from him, he seems out of touch. Rich, but clueless.

Bill Clinton was a star.

Barack Obama too.

Clinton was like Trump, the slings and arrows kept coming but he kept ducking and soldiering on. You see every star is subject to blowback. The key is not to cave.

Kind of like elite athletes. Skill is one thing, performance under pressure, when the trophy is on the line…that’s a separate quality that is developed with experience.

So I’m not against the Democrats putting up a star not presently in the race. A superstar, hopefully. Someone who may not be perfect, but can lead. Kinda like musicians. There’s a good chance there will be a brokered convention, we may not have seen the last candidate.

Elizabeth Warren is a star. Because she switched parties, because she pulled herself up by her bootstraps, because she stands up to the man. But she’s only learning now how to stand up to pressure. You double-down, you don’t re-evaluate, that’s what they’re looking for, the gotcha moment.

Which brings us to Bernie Sanders. He’s Kurt Cobain. Deep into democratic socialism when no one was paying attention, just like Kurt was into punk. You have no doubt where Bernie is coming from, he’s got credibility, as in he walks the walk and talks the talk, he sticks to his guns (and lives in Vermont and can’t be too against firearms).

You react to Bernie. You either love him or hate him.

And Bernie’s message is loud and clear… The working man got screwed and I’m going to level the playing field.

Come on, give me one sentence about everybody above other than Warren. Joe…I’ve been there and will bring back normalcy? Who can get excited about that? That would be like David Bowie saying he was going to remake “Let’s Dance.” I’ll give you a more recent example… U2 went on tour playing the entire “Joshua Tree,” and they instantly became an oldies act. Sure, their fans loved it, but the rest of us put them permanently in the rearview mirror. Come on, an artist doesn’t kowtow to his fans, and never does it solely for the money, who can believe in that?

Now Bernie Sanders is not Michael Dukakis and it’s not 1988 anymore.

Tell me exactly what Dukakis was promising, boil his message down to one sentence. Utterly impossible! As for 1988… Many people thought things were going pretty well, a lot of people don’t think things are going so well today.

So there it is Democrats. Your only choice is Sanders or Warren. They’re the only ones who have the star power. I’m not saying they have the best star power, the most star power, but of those running, they’re the only ones who can compete with Trump.

Trump was his own man during the whole election cycle. He didn’t care about the pundits, the news, your perception of him, he was playing to a base that existed in his mind, but no one in the Beltway’s…and he won!

So let’s boil it down.

Only a star can win. Trump is definitely a star. Who is the Democrats’ star?

Think about that.

He created AOR, the album-oriented rock radio format. He designed the original XM channels. Legendary radio programmer Lee Abrams is just not another consultant, listen to glean his insights.

Howard Stern talks to Hillary Clinton about Lee Abrams (start at 15:20):

Hillary Clinton on the Howard Stern Show Pt. 5

You can also read some of Lee’s musings here:

Lee Abrams

iheart

apple

spotify

stitcher

At what point does America break?

There’s this canard that the Constitution will keep us together.

Ironically, it’s the Constitution that’s keeping us apart.

I thought it would be the unavailability of abortion. But despite one clinic in states, despite all the anti-abortion laws, the left has been strangely silent.

I guess that’s because you can still easily get an abortion in elite, blue states.

And there you have it right there, the elite.

When the hoi polloi start denigrating education, you know we’ve lost.

Not that the elite are blameless. They embraced the inevitable globalization but left those negatively affected by it without a safety net.

Ironically, those who lost their jobs are anti-safety net. If you can explain that to me…

Up is down and down is up.

I was for impeachment. How many times can Trump break the law and disregard the Constitution.

But I know the right doesn’t see it that way. I know that primarily because of what comes into my inbox.

So, where’s hope?

Why obey the law?

Then again, with cameras everywhere, it’s the poor who get nailed while the rich go scot-free with their white collar crimes.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The Wall was supposed to fall and harmony and democracy were supposed to reign. But now Trump can’t stop lauding Putin and for those of us who grew up in the fifties and sixties, when Russia was our mortal enemy, we’re left scratching our heads at best.

So…

Let’s say Trump loses in 2020. Bill Maher keeps positing that he won’t leave office. Sounds ridiculous until you look at that governor in Kentucky who refused to accept the vote, and when he did pardoned the unpardonable, in volume.

As for the election process itself…every day sees a new article questioning the integrity of voting machines. So, if you lose, and you have power, and control the military…

The right has defined the debate and circled the wagons while the left has been nearly asleep. Raising their hands and shaking their fists while doing next to nothing.

Yup, the right wing used the Federalist Society to groom right wing judges and right wing administrations installed them.

As for McConnell refusing Obama a Supreme Court pick…there you go, the black man afraid of looking angry didn’t go bonkers, unlike the white man Trump.

Then the right wing politically assassinated Hillary Clinton. And now Joe Biden. Biden’s the loser in this whole Ukrainian kerfuffle. Trump will go free and Biden, if nominated, starts with one foot already in the grave, and I’m not talking about his age.

But let’s say a Democrat wins the Presidency, then what? Do you think Trump, Fox News and Redville are going to accept this? NO!

If you think the big issue is Newsom standing up to Trump, as BTO said, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

But BTO is from Canada, which is dealing with its own right wing insurgence, but it was fought off and there’s national health care and more freedom than in the U.S. and…

Down here we must be free. Free to starve, free to go broke from medical bills, free not to help our neighbor, free to live the American Dream even though statistically it exists more in Canada and Europe than it does in the U.S.

So, tribalism rules.

Contrary news has been neutered. Talk to someone on the right, if it’s in the “New York Times” or the “Washington Post” it must be disregarded.

So if you can’t agree on the facts…

And we haven’t been able to agree on those facts for a long time.

So how did we get here?

Well, income inequality, which was a result of Ronald Reagan’s policies and the right wing anti-tax strategy. Trickle down my ass.

But Reagan is a national hero! Yup, the Republicans went on a campaign to name every edifice and highway in his name. Talk about disinformation.

And then you have the increase in anti-Semitism, all that white nationalism…they love Trump, he’s one of them and he speaks for them. At what point does the left crack and stand up?

Not after they shoot up a pizza parlor.

Not after they kill a woman in Charlottesville.

The left stands by as if the rule of law will save them, ain’t that a laugh.

The right has circled the wagons, gotten behind Trump even though he doesn’t represent traditional Republican values. Meanwhile, the left is busy arguing amongst itself, while the Electoral College allows those with a smaller share of the popular vote to become President.

I think the crack will come from the right. As it did during the Civil War.

And it took the south’s defense of slavery for Lincoln to act.

As for the announcement of the Lincoln Project…read the comments, they’re not swaying those on the right.

We keep on hearing that it can’t happen here.

But it will.

Tune in tomorrow, Tuesday December 17th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

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