The death of irony

Dare Pelosi and the Democrats utter the "R"-word?

It's ironic that Democratic Party leaders are hesitant to use the "R"-word while criticizing Trump and the Republicans. It seems they're afraid of alienating the so-called "moderate" Republicans, who they are counting on to elect Biden in the industrial swing states. They are also leery of giving any credibility to the progressive insurgency within the party, which threatens their positions of power.

So even when DT comes out with his most outrageous, naked white-nationalist diatribes, directed mainly at AOC and "The Squad" of four congresswomen of color, (who he told to "go back" to the countries they came from), the closest they come to calling "racism" is to charge the president with "xenophobia."

....and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced yesterday, that Democrats will soon introduce a resolution condemning Trump’s “xenophobic” remarks. OK, but just xenophobic?

I say ironic, because even thick-as-a-brick DT recognizes, in an oblique way, that his MAGA code language is racist to its core. So when Pelosi paraphrases and mocks him, saying MAGA would more accurately be described as "make America white again," DT tells reporters, "Speaker Pelosi said 'make America white again,' that's a very racist statement."

Irony is definitely lost on this man.

"Xenophobia" is now the Dem's saveur du jour. It means dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries, and there's no doubt, DT is a xenophobe. His picture should appear in the dictionary next to the definition. But his attack on the squad is racist, not just xenophobic.

It's a much softer, safer word in white America, one that doesn't have quite the sting of "racist." But it's also inaccurate in the case of the Squad.

Three of the four may come from "broken places," but those places are right here in the U.S. So telling four women of color to leave their country of birth and "go back"to the country they "came from"? Really?

Definitely racist. Let's call it what it is.

Trump claims a 94% approval rating among Republicans... I don't doubt it. It's definitely his party now. So Democrats building their 2020 strategy on hopes that a significant number of disenchanted Republican will swing their way, is likely a losing one.

2016 redux.

They insist that only a right-centrist like Biden can play to conservative swing voters and so, they direct their main blows not at Trump, but leftward at The Squad.

BTW, I don't like the name The Squad. It makes the party insurgency seem small and isolated, which it isn't.

Saving grace may be that Trump's racist attacks on the four are so odious that centrists and leftists will be forced to close ranks in their defense. We'll see how long that lasts.

Also important to note...Today's NBC/WSJ poll shows any one of the top Democratic contenders (not just Biden) beating Trump in a head-to-head race.

I know, it's early in the race and you can't rely on the polls and...blah, blah blah. But my point here is that there's no evidence in any polling to support the claim that Biden is the only one capable of beating Trump or that contenders like Sanders, Warren, or Harris (and the rest of us) should withhold criticism of Biden or the Democratic leadership during the primary.