A note to SubscribeStar subscribers: I will post an account of my recent trip to Universal Studios tomorrow, to make up for Saturday’s missed post. I will try to have Sunday Doodles posted for $5 subscribers later today, probably this evening. Thank you for your patience, and your support. —TPP
The Democratic primaries continue to get more interesting. First, Buttigieg surprised analysts with a near-victory in Iowa (in fact, I’m still unclear who actually “won” the caucuses there). Elizabeth Warren took down Bloomberg on the eve of the Nevada caucuses, herself going down in flames in South Carolina.
There’s an echo there of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie taking down a robotic Marco Rubio in the debate just before the 2016 New Hampshire primaries. Christie had no chance of winning after New Hampshire, but he took Rubio down with him, exposing the would-be poster boy of the Republican Party as an overly-polished puppet. Similarly, Warren’s aggressive attacks on Bloomberg was the screeching harpies way of clawing Bloomberg down with her.
Of course, unlike Rubio, Bloomberg has billions of dollars at his disposal, and has pledged to keep spending big. That adds an interesting wrinkle, but I’ve held that Bloomberg is a very flashy red herring, and I’m not convinced he can buy primary victories. Super Tuesday will tell us a great deal, but I think the only winner from Bloomberg’s campaign will be television networks and social media outlets making a bundle from ad sales. I would love to get the commission on a Bloomberg ad buy.
Now, former Vice President Joe Biden has come back with a yuge win in South Carolina. Like every armchair commentator with even a passing knowledge of the South and black people, I knew that Buttigieg would struggle here. Black voters dominate the Democratic primaries in Southern States, and black people do not like gays. But I didn’t expect that ButtiBoy would drop out after SC.
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