It’s hard to imagine how the second night of the second round of Democrat debates can surpass the first night for one simple reason — Marianne Williamson won’t be on the stage!
The New Age author is wacky as all get-out, which means she is the perfect exemplar of Democratic politics. In a very real sense she is the Democrats’ answer to Donald Trump.
Trump’s main campaign themes in 2016 vibrated to the same concerns and fears of the majority of the Republican Party — close the southern border, stop the global growth of Islamic fundamentalism, restore our economy and generally put America first. Although pundits were slow to recognize it, Trump had embodied the very reasons why people vote Republican in the first place. That’s why it didn’t matter if he was criticized as a kook by those who didn’t get him. Trump voters heard themselves in his voice, and he wore the invincible shield of authenticity against the establishment pols who tried to diminish him by calling him an outsider.
Now we have Williamson sucking the oxygen out of the Democrat tent. No, she didn’t start at the top of the polls like Trump did, but that’s only because she didn’t have a long-running show on NBC. But she did have a string of bestsellers behind her, plus the imprimatur of Oprah Winfrey, on whose show she had been a frequent guest. Plus, she is saying the things that all Democrats believe instinctually — that people are innately good and just need love to help them blossom. That’s political catnip to Democrat voters.
That explains why Williamson was the most Googled candidate on the stage last night. And she makes a much more interesting foil to Donald Trump than Bernie Sanders does. Sanders turns the race into socialist vs. capitalist, but a Williamson nomination would turn the race into good vs. evil, with Democrats and Republicans seeing the race in diametrically opposite terms. To Republicans, Williamson represents the evil of Satanic deception and temptation — just eat the apple and everything will be all right! To Democrats, meanwhile, Trump represents the personification of secular evil in the form of the greedy white man who stands for oppression and bigotry.
You couldn’t ask for a better script if it was written by divine inspiration.
It’s hard to imagine Williamson riding her wave of popularity to the nomination (though few believed Trump would do so either), but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have an important role to play in 2020.
Where it could get interesting is if Joe Biden wins the Democrat nomination. Williamson has already made it clear that she thinks Sanders and Warren are the cat’s meow, but she has her claws out for Biden. If Biden (or any of the other non-socialist candidates) were to win the nomination, Williamson might be tempted (there’s that word again!) to run as a third party candidate. The Green Party would have a hard time turning her down since she checks all their boxes, and will have name recognition far beyond any other potential Green candidate.
Ironically, such a turn of events would have the effect of making Williamson the instrument of the re-election of Donald Trump, which currently she cites as the worst possible manifestation of evil. Nonetheless, it is an entirely reasonable scenario. Despite her ethereal voice, Williamson is no angel, and if she succumbs to the allure of fame and power, she would find it hard not to reject a moderate Democrat as just another rinsed-over establishment politician.
Williamson would no doubt see herself as on a divine mission, and would believe that she could “visualize” herself into the White House, but the fact of the matter is she would only be able to ensure the re-election of Donald Trump.
Come to think of it, maybe she is being used by God, who often works in mysterious ways. So we are told.
Frank Miele writes from Kalispell, Montana, at www.HeartlandDiaryUSA.com and is a columnist at Real Clear Politics. My new book is “The Media Matrix: What If Everything You Know Is Fake.” To support my work, please consider buying “The Media Matrix” or my “Why We Needed Trump” trilogy, which documents the downward spiral of the USA before Trump arrived on the scene. The books are available at Amazon in paperback or Kindle editions. Go here for a free sample:https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/sitb/B07PDQBJM4
