Today we have a blissful departure from the trump train where we write of indictments, pardons, resignations, and the likely demise of Donald Trump. We can move past the man who is proving to be a neocon oligarch in populist clothing bearing the sins of too many years to survive Robert Mueller.
Courtesy of the reporting in Axios
The names of Kasich and Hickenlooper emerge as a bipartisan pair of governors who could be an independent ticket in 2020. There are still folk who believe Trump will be around to stagger through a second campaign. But I am not one of them.
I have been writing for some time that Trump will either have become a full-fledged dictator or be out by the end of October. We'll get back to that, but first, feast your eyes on this story.
1 big thing: GOP-Dem combo eyes 2020 https://t.co/iXYZu9EyQI #axiosam
— Stephen C. Rose (@stephencrose) August 25, 2017
Axios is always short and sweet so read this one. It telegraphs that these two guys have been thinking while both Republicans and Democrats were climbing walls. I am not going to argue for a third party candidacy. I would be just as happy to see Kasich flip and have this be a Democratic ticket that could win.
Speculations
The worst thing would be a three-way race that was a toss-up all around, harboring the frightful possibility of more GOP attacks on tolerance, helpfulness, and democracy.
No one can predict 2020 now, but Kasich and Hickenlooper would be what the doctor ordered. Hickenlooper is the only political figure I have known from whom the words "car free" have emerged. That's enough for me. Kasich is hated by Trump for being decent. That is another huge plus.
The end of the tunnel
The winning ticket in 2020 needs to be one that is committed to undoing Trump's reign of intolerance.
This would mean reversing all of his orders that savage Barack Obama. The winners would need to understand that the function of government is to help people -- not with charity, but education and enablement. Finally, they would need to restore bipartisanship to the country.
The thesis
My more than 60 pieces on the likely end of Trump are available to anyone who wants to plumb the archives at my Blasting News profile.
Was I to summarize them, I would say that Trump will be shown to be subject to the law. The final struggle which in imminent will be a showdown on precisely this issue. If Trump wins he will be effectively beyond reach.
I think whatever happens, the emergence of Kasich and Hickenlooper is the best political news in ages. Read the Axios piece and take heart. We are not done yet.
