The National Democratic Committee just embraced Milwaukee, the most Socialist large city in the U.S. Party centrists have failed the cat herding test.

The one thing that Donald Trump understands is that you can't achieve your goals except by winning. The Trump campaign race is designed like dog racing, having the pack of supporters chase a fake policy rabbit while enduring treatment that endangers their well-being, all in front of non-sprinting fans of Republican policy positions who warily go to the betting window with their money. The Republican Trump reelection is off to a smartly focused start. As noted here previously (see the end of this post), the Washington Post article on that campaign explains that...

• "Trump spoke to a mostly Hispanic crowd when he visited Miami last month to call for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to resign",
• "Trump’s campaign began running Spanish-language ads on Facebook last
  
  week, primarily targeting Florida voters, that amplified his message about Maduro and socialism",
• "the campaign and Republican allies have pointed to recent Democratic proposals for expanding Medicare and investing in green energy projects as a chance to frame the 2020 race as a referendum on what they view as socialist policies",
• "The president’s strategy...relies on a...relatively narrow path for victory, hinged on demonizing Trump’s eventual opponent and juicing turnout among his most avid supporters in Florida, Pennsylvania and the Upper Midwest — the same areas that won him the White House",

...which means that the Democrats have to be equally focused on winning, not on policy.

The Democratic milieu being who they are have made it difficult to focus on winning. The "herding cats" analogy in the other Washington Post article isn't even new to describing their behavior.

Since winning the House of Representatives - literally the only Democratic success when measuring their wins nationally - obsessed Democrats have insulted Jews and advocated for socialism making it much more difficult to win Florida. As noted here previously, appealing to the thinking of the majority of voting Californians and New Yorkers is the best way for Democrats to elect Trump.

The irony of the cartoon to the left is that it reflects the political trap of health care reform policy discussion which forced Obama to herd the same Demo-cats over a decade ago. Because health care policy details are now primary campaign issues associated with bills being introduced by naive newcomers in the House, the Demo-cats are providing divisive fodder for the Trump campaign even though it is all a total waste of time because Democrats have literally no chance of getting anything through the Senate.

And so today the Democratic National Committee announced it selected Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the 2020 National Convention.

In Milwaukee County in 2016 Hillary Clinton won 65.48% of the vote to Trump's 28.58%, but of course as the New York Times article explains: "Wisconsin holds a searing place in the Democratic Party psyche after Hillary Clinton, the party’s last presidential nominee, opted not to campaign in the traditionally blue state during the general election — a decision that some blamed for her 22,000-vote defeat in the state."

I suppose many reasons exist to have picked Milwaukee. As Wikipedia notes: "In 2015 Milwaukee was rated as the 'worst city for black Americans' based on disparities in employment and income levels. The city's black population experiences disproportionately high levels of incarceration and a severe educational achievement gap."

But as this American political history junkie knew immediately, one reason to have not picked Milwaukee was this instant we-could-hardly-wait-for-the-announcement comment to the news media:

    "No city in America has stronger ties to socialism than Milwaukee,” Republican Party of Wisconsin Executive Director Mark Jefferson said. “And with the rise of Bernie Sanders and the embrace of socialism by its newest leaders, the American left has come full circle. It’s only fitting the Democrats would come to Milwaukee.”

In 1910, voters chose socialist majorities on Milwaukee’s common council and county board and elected Victor Berger to Congress. Victor Berger of Milwaukee, one of the two Socialist members of Congress during the first two decades of the 20th Century. Berger was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party of America and its successor, the Socialist Party of America. Milwaukee was the center of the "sewer socialism" movement, being the first and the only major city to elect a socialist mayor, which it did four times between 1910 and 1956.

From 1923 until 1928, Berger introduced bills in the House proposing "dangerous ideas" like unemployment insurance, a safety net for the elderly, and public housing.  Nonetheless, the National Democratic Party has handed the Trump campaign and the Republican Party the ability to use the "socialism v free enterprise" attack with impunity.

As noted here previously, historical statistics indicate that to beat Trump the Democratic candidate will have to win in Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, and Florida. The Republican Convention will be in North Carolina, so it may be out of reach but might not matter. Once thing is certain. Winning Wisconsin isn't going to indicate that the Democratic candidate will appeal to voters in enough states.

Of course it is still way too early to predict anything about the 2020 election. It just seems like the Democrats (Demo-cats?) ought to avoid some of the bigger potholes on their trip to regaining the White House.

                                                                                                              

2020 Election Series