11.11

I think of a queen sacrifice

It is an unfortunate flaw of our rhetoric that we’re forever reducing politics to a game being played between two sides. For most people, it doesn’t matter if one partying is winning and another losing if the outcome is that nothing gets done and the country feels divided. But when the Donald thinks he's playing multidimensional chess (he's not), then even the idealists amongst us have to admit that the Democrats must consider a game strategy. And there’s a chess move that I think they ought to consider:

A queen sacrifice is a self-descriptive chess move (which I’ll spell out for he sake of the argument) where one player “gives up a queen in return for tactical, positional, or other compensation.” Used figuratively, of course, it is the sacrifice of any seemingly powerful tool or advantage by one party in return for such a tactical or positional compensation.

I think of the queen sacrifice and I think of Joe Biden. I think first that he is not going to get the nomination. I think second that the questions surrounding his son’s work with Burisma are not without merit. (I then nearly get sidetracked by my frustration at the blatant double standard of the treatment of Hunter Biden as compared to the Trump brood, but I pull myself together.) I think finally about the ego of an old white man who has wanted this for so very, very long.

I cannot help but feel, as I have long felt, that it is the ego of these politicians that drives some of the worst and most stubborn decisions that our political class makes. I think of Hillary and her hubris, and about how poorly she played her hand in 2016, how poorly she continues to play it today. Ego. Me. It’s gotta be about me, even if it’s obvious that I’m making things worse for my cause. I think of Giuliani, and wonder if that’s what it’s all about for him as well. I stop myself just before I start thinking about Trump…

But to cut to the chase, here’s the play - a move that will likely never happen because Joe Biden is thought of as such a valuable Queen amongst the array of Democrat Chess Pieces, but which could provide a unique tactical, positional compensation to the party:

Joe Biden pulls out of the race. Loudly and publicly and apologetically. He pulls out and he says: “As the record has shown and will continue to show, neither my son nor I engaged in any illegal activity or discussed our respective positions as they related to our separate work in the Ukraine. As the record shows, I pressured the Ukraine by withholding funding to protect America’s national security interests, unlike Donald Trump, who withheld funding for personal political gain. However, because the Democratic nominee for the 2020 election should be a candidate about whom there is no question of corruption, and around whom there is the broad support of the party, I have chosen to respectfully withdraw myself from the race for the nomination. I welcome any and all investigations into my activity and that of my family, because I know we did nothing wrong. I hope we can hold all politicians to the same standard going forward, including the President of the United States and his family business interests.”

While Biden and many Democratic loyalists and long-time strategists might worry that axing Biden would be a foolish risk, the truth is that this would be an incredible power move given that he shouldn't be the nominee in any event. It would put the Republicans on defense, as they would now be allowed to "look into Joe Biden" (who very clearly has nothing legal to fear, whatever Trump might trumpet), provided that they also consider looking into corruption allegations against the President and his own family.

More importantly, in an era of ego and politicians declaring that 'It's all about me', it would be Joe Biden standing up and saying, in clear words and with decisive action, that the sanctity of the process is more important than him. It would be placing himself and his party in clear and direct contrast to the endless whatabouting by the White House and their media arm.

Sometimes, a sacrifice is just the right move. Yaaas Queen.

Harold

November 11th, 2019