John Avlon

Hello, I hope that your weekend was good.  

Have you ever had a friend tell you that they’re running for office?  I had that experience a few weeks ago – my friend John Avlon announced he is running for Congress in New York’s 1st district in Long Island. 

If John seems familiar to you, he’s a journalist and author who has been a CNN anchor for years.  He also was a guest on my podcast last year to talk about his latest book on Abraham Lincoln – he’s a massive history buff with a deep love of country. 

“I talk about the importance of the time that we’re in, that democracy is at stake, and I felt like I shouldn’t just be talking, I should do something about it,” John said when I interviewed him on the podcast this week.  “I thought that if I decided to run, I could make a seat competitive that otherwise wouldn’t be in play.” 

From the early returns, he’s right.  His announcement video has been watched 2.6 million times and he raised $400,000+ in his first week.  “The reaction has been even better than I’d imagined,” John says.  The local Democratic party helped enlist John in part because they thought he would inject some energy into the race. 

“My opponent is endorsing Trump in a district that is a lot more middle-of-the-road.  I’d like to provide a common sense alternative which is what most people seem to want.”  John is focused on affordability.  “When I talk to families, they are struggling to make ends meet.  I want to bring back the child tax credit so families feel like they have a bit of support.  I’ve got two young kids myself so I know how hard it can be.”  He also wants to help address climate change in an area that has a lot of shoreline. 

John is a longtime political reformer in favor of measures like Ranked Choice Voting.  “We are rewarding the wrong behavior.  I want to improve the incentives so that leaders feel like they can do the right thing without getting singled out or punished.  A lot of that is about getting beyond the toxic partisanship that is so dominant right now.”  John presented me an award at the Fairvote Gala last year and has been a friend to reform efforts for years.  He would make a phenomenal ally in Congress – I can imagine some very smart reform bills getting a lot more energy with John as a co-sponsor. 

I’m excited about John’s candidacy in large part because he’s genuine.  You know when you see someone on TV and then wonder if they’re actually that sincere and patriotic in real life?  Having known John for years, he’s the real thing.  He cares.  He’s stepping up to run because his country needs people like him to do just that.  It’s what you want to see.  Let’s help him win. 

For my interview of John click here.  To support his campaign click here.  To check out the Forward chapter in your area click here. 

Dean, Andy, John and Krist

As most of you know, I supported Dean Phillips in his presidential run that recently ended.  I was glad to support Dean – he is the kind of pragmatic, well-intended, bipartisan 55-year old leader that most Americans actually want. 

Dean got 20% of the primary vote in New Hampshire, and it would have been much higher if Independents had participated in the Democratic Primary.  That 20% was based on about 10 weeks of campaigning in the state and expenditures of about $6 million.  There were enough television commercials in New Hampshire where a majority of voters knew who he was.  

This was not the case in South Carolina or nationally.  In order to succeed, Dean would need to spend $10 – 12 million in the next contested state, Michigan, to build the same kind of name ID as quickly as possible.  Focus groups showed that Dean’s ceiling was quite high in Michigan; over 50% of focus group participants said they’d vote for him.  That money never came, and his support plummeted down to the low single-digits.  Dean dropped out after Super Tuesday and endorsed Joe Biden, a decision I agree with, as his campaign was past a point where it would have been good for the country.  And Dean’s interest has always been to do what he thought was right for the country. 

Now the focus turns to primaries around the country and of course the November presidential election.  There are candidates around the country that I’m excited about.  One is Andy Kim, who is running for U.S. Senator in New Jersey against the corrupt Bob Menendez and the first lady of the state, Tammy Murphy.  I’ve known Andy for years and he’s an earnest public servant who is as upright as it gets.  Watching the Democratic establishment close ranks against Andy – despite the fact that he’s a sitting member of Congress in excellent standing – has been educational. 

I’m also excited about John Avlon, who is running for Congress in Long Island.  John is a political reformer at heart who is stepping up to run because he thinks he can make New York’s 1st district competitive.  John is an author and journalist who is as patriotic as it gets.  He’ll be for reforms like Ranked Choice Voting and would be a prominent voice in Congress for transcending partisanship. 

On the Republican side, there are 9 candidates running for Senate in Utah to succeed Mitt Romney.  Only 1 of these 9 candidates has not endorsed Donald Trump:  Congressman John Curtis, who co-founded a group called Conservative Climate Caucus.  Yes, a Republican who believes in combating climate change and has rallied people to that cause.  I have the feeling I know which candidate Mitt will be voting for in this race.  I’ve met John and he’s a great guy running for the right reasons. 

This week on the podcast I interview Krist Novoselic, co-founder of the rockband Nirvana and chair of the Washington Forward Party.  Krist and Forward are backing positive local candidates around the country.  Krist used to be the chair of the local Democratic Party but became an enormous champion of independent politics years ago as the chair of Fairvote.  I was in high school when “Smells Like Teen Spirit” hit the airwaves, so it’s a lot of fun working with a bonafide rockstar like Krist to help make good things happen.  “We need something different in our politics, I’ve known that for years.” 

Indeed, I think that’s one of the joys of Forward – you can get behind any candidate of any party if you think they will help make good things possible. 

Dean Phillips was one such candidate.  If I had the chance to do it all over again, I’d be glad to.  

To everyone who leant Dean a hand or gave him a look, Thank you!  

Click here to check out Andy Kim, John Avlon, John Curtis and your local Forward chapter.  Let’s get behind good people who want to make good things happen in any party and build what the country needs.   

Don Sun

My friend Don Sun passed away last week from cancer.  It’s been a devastating blow.  He leaves behind two sons and countless friends he’s touched over the years. 

I first met Don in the early days of my presidential campaign.  I was pitching myself to a group of elderly Asian American community leaders as a fledgling presidential candidate in San Francisco.  I gave a speech about how our families came to this country for a better life, but now this country needs us to step up and do more it because it is falling prey to division.  We can help bring it back together.  They were fairly stoic so I wasn’t sure how it went. 

Afterwards, Don took me aside.  He said something that would change my life.  “I have dedicated my life to helping Asian American political leaders rise.  You are the real deal.  I have been waiting for you for years.  Helping you is the most impactful thing that I can do.  So I am going to drop everything else and dedicate myself to your campaign.”  I didn’t know quite how to respond, but simply nodded and said, “Thank you.” 

After that, Don became a constant presence in my life for the next four years.  At first my small team didn’t know how to receive this smiling 60-year old Asian man who just showed up in Iowa and New Hampshire.  But he quickly became beloved by all, as he would fold himself into the backseat of the rental vehicle for hours, seeming thrilled to be there no matter what the circumstances.  Many people thought that he was my father or uncle, which he took as a compliment.  He would help out with any task, no matter how small. 

As the campaign wound on, we would start having “Don events” – Don would organize the Asian American community wherever we went.  Months later, I was in a beautiful home in Southern California with a group of hundreds of supporters that Don had organized.  He did the same in Portland, Minnesota, Austin, Seattle and anyplace else that we went.  Our presidential campaign went on to raise $40 million from hundreds of thousands of Americans, many of whom had never been involved in politics before.  Don was behind a lot of that energy.  He would say, “Not just pictures, donate money!”  He was with me and Evelyn in Iowa and New Hampshire for months. 

After the campaign, Don organized youth camps for Asian American high school students to develop leadership skills. He started a PAC called “Asian Americans Forward” that supports political candidates at every level.  And he continued to connect me to communities around the country where I could lend a hand, in part because he felt that I needed to keep going.  “You should run for governor!”  We spoke regularly and saw each other often.  He would join my family for dinner in New York when he was in town.  Evelyn loved Don – he was part of our family. 

In late 2023, Don was mourning the loss of his longtime partner, but it seemed that he was bouncing back.  In January though I called him and he said that he’d been sick in bed.  He was having trouble keeping food down.  He said he was going to go to the hospital to get checked out.  I encouraged him to do so, and had a sinking feeling.  Don was always so energetic, and he sounded weak on the phone. 

After visiting the emergency room, he was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer.  The cancer had spread to multiple organs throughout his body.  The doctors gave him 2 to 4 weeks to live. 

It was a shock to everyone.  Don had been hale and hearty just weeks earlier.  I jumped on a plane to visit him and then came back again days later. 3 weeks later he was gone. 

He said to me on his hospital bed as I clasped his hand, “Be the leader for all of America, not just Chinese Americans or Asian Americans.  You are our best hope to bring everyone together.” 

He also said, “I’m just an ordinary person.  The world will keep on going without me.  I’ve lived a good life.” 

He was wrong about the first part.  Don Sun was an extraordinary person who brought so much positive energy into the world.  He touched so many lives because he was selfless. 

You know the person who believes in you even more than you believe in yourself?  Don was that person for me.  I’ll miss him terribly. 

Rest in peace Don.  I love you.  I’ll miss you.  Keep smiling down on us.  We’ll do our best to make you proud.  

The American Exchange Project

What if every high school senior went across the country to another town and spent a week hosted by another family working, volunteering, and hanging out with 12 other high school seniors from around the US?

That’s what David McCullough III is finding out.  He’s the co-founder and CEO of the American Exchange Project, a non-profit that is trying to reconnect America, one 18-year old at a time.  They will host their 1,000th participant this summer across 34 different states.  Every trip is completely free for the student, from airfare to lodging to food and programming. 

David, whom I interview on the podcast this week, started AEP in 2019.   “So many people were concerned about polarization, but what were we doing about it?  I thought this was something concrete that Americans of every background could get behind.”  One of my policy goals in 2020 was a very similar “American Exchange Program,” and I’m thrilled that David and his team have brought such an important vision to life. 

David was 24 back in 2019.  “My parents were surprised when I moved back home to start a non-profit with a couple of guys they’d never heard of.”  Their early days were catalyzed by tragedy.  “One of my co-founders, who was in his seventies, developed Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.  He told all of his friends that the American Exchange Project would become his legacy.  He and his friends raised about $500,000 for our new little organization, which was enough for us to hire a team and get started.” 

So what has the impact been in participants?  “We’re seeing civic benefits where optimism about America’s future and faith in other Americans shoots up.  We’re also seeing mental health and social benefits; 90% of our participants say they made at least one more close friend.  One alum said she’d never gotten so many text messages when it was her birthday the next year from people outside her town.  30% of our participants had never been on a plane before.  This experience has completely changed their horizons.” 

It makes perfect sense.  When I was young I went to sleepaway camps with people from different towns.  When you spend all day with someone you can become friends pretty quickly.  If you are put in an intentional environment where you work together and make common cause, it’s easy to imagine intense, even lifelong bonds forming.  “We’ve seen persistent effects and relationships from the 1st alumni class over what is now several years.”  This genuinely is the way change happens. 

Now David has a big vision.  “Imagine if 1 million high school grads visited another part of the country and brought back a different understanding and new relationships with them every single year.  That’s what AEP is trying to make happen, and I want to make it happen by 2030.”  Given how much they’ve accomplished already, it’s hard to bet against David and his team.  A country where 18-year olds felt better about the country and its people would be a better, stronger one. 

For my interview of David click here.  To check out the American Exchange Project click here.  To see what Forward is doing in your area to bring people together, click here.  

Some fun news - I will be speaking at TED in April!  That should be a great way to get the word out about how to improve our politics.  I will also be speaking at the Hudson Valley Ideas Fest in April.

Soul Boom

Hello, I hope all is great with you. 

What is sacred to you?  That's what Rainn Wilson would like to know.  

This week on the podcast I interview Rainn, actor (Dwight in “The Office”) and author of several bestselling books, including his latest 'Soul Boom: Why We Need A Spiritual Revolution.'  

'Soul Boom' is extraordinarily ambitious and personal.  He shares his struggles with mental health and relationships as a young adult, which led him to pursue a better relationship with God.  He writes that spirituality serves two integral purposes: 

1. Make people happier and more fulfilled, which he calls the “Kung Fu: the Series” journey; and

2. Help our species overcome our myriad challenges and come together, which he calls the “Star Trek” journey. 

Rainn draws on writings from many different faiths and spiritual traditions – he is a voracious reader – to find universal truths that most of us would agree upon.  For example, it turns out that just about every faith believes in charity and caring for others. 

He notes the institutional degradation that many of us sense:  “As all the existing organizational systems around us break down, we need answers.  We need solutions.  We need hope.  Unity.  Love.  Compassion.” 

Rainn extensively critiques our profit-seeking economic system.  “From a spiritual perspective, we need to shift our view of true success away from the accumulation of wealth and toward nobility, selflessness and generosity.”  He quotes Captain Jean Luc Picard of Star Trek: the Next Generation: “People are no longer obsessed with the accumulation of things . . . we’ve eliminated hunger, want, the need for possessions.  We’ve grown out of our infancy.” 

He calls cynicism the opposite of joy, and observes that our society has become a conspiracy against joy in many ways.  He is very negative on political parties.  “Basically, I believe the toxicity of partisanship is one of the greatest threats to our way of life, the future of our nation, and perhaps the fate of the world.”  Instead, what Rainn wants to see is more universalism and unity born of spirituality.  He asks a very personal question:  “What is sacred to you?”   

Traveling this country for the past decade, I’ve met thousands of Americans of different religions and seen firsthand how faith plays an integral role in many communities.  I've also seen beleaguered churches that have had a hard time recovering from Covid.  

In the ‘War on Normal People’ I wrote that our future will come to resemble either the cultivated benevolence of ‘Star Trek’ or the pervasive conflict of ‘Mad Max.’  Which are we heading to? 

AI is coming fast, and it will make it harder and harder for most Americans to keep pace.  What’s required is a new economy that resembles our values – caring, creativity, kindness – as opposed to capital efficiency.  I’m yet pursuing a secular and political path to get us to head in that direction.  Rainn thinks we need a spiritual movement too.  He may be right.   

For my interview of Rainn Wilson, click here.  For his book “Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution” click here.  To change the partisan dynamic that is tearing the country apart, check out the Forward chapter in your area.  And for my take on the challenges we face with AI, check out “The War on Normal People: The Truth About America’s Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income is Our Future” here.    

The Primary Solution

Hello, I hope that your week is going great.  If you have friends in Michigan tell them to vote for Dean Phillips in the Democratic Primary tomorrow! 

This week on the podcast I interview Nick Troiano, the Executive Director of Unite America and author of the brand new book, “The Primary Solution: Rescuing Our Democracy from the Fringes.” 

At this point most Americans are probably frustrated with the choices the party primary system is delivering us at the presidential level – less than one percent of Americans have voted, and yet they tell us it's already over.  While that’s an extreme example, the same thing applies to Congressional races around the country. 

“Only 8% of Americans effectively select 83% of our members of Congress and that influences everything in our politics and policies,” Nick writes.  “Abolishing partisan primaries is the single most important thing we can do to improve representation in our government and hold it accountable for better results.” 

This isn’t widely known.  “If you ask voters, most – 72% - say that the problem is our politicians.  We have the wrong, corrupt people in charge.  Only 2% of Americans think that the primaries are the problem.  That’s why I wrote this book, because the primaries are the core mechanism that distorts our politics and makes it so that solving problems is punished, not rewarded.”  Nick’s book details the history of primaries, which originated 100 years ago in their current form and have been changed several times, but have now become immensely unrepresentative. 

Nick learned this the hard way by running for Congress in Pennsylvania as an Independent. “More extreme and ideological voters tend to show up, and candidates respond to them.  It changes everything.”  That was ten years ago, and it's only gotten worse. 

Nick went on to run Unite America, an organization meant to remedy the incentives in the system.  Unite America was one of the key drivers behind Alaska getting rid of its party primaries in 2020, a change that immediately improved governance and representation in the state 2 years later.  Getting rid of the primaries led Sarah Palin to lose her Congressional race and Lisa Murkowski to win her Senate race despite voting to impeach Donald Trump.  Now, there is pressure within Alaska to reverse these changes by those who are displeased with these results. 

“We have to keep moving forward, and that involves defending progress in some places while breaking new ground.  There’s more energy in this movement than I’ve ever seen,” Nick says.  As many as 7 states – Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, Montana, Idaho and South Dakota – may consider changing their primary process in 2024 to weaken the dominance of the fringes.  Imagine another 6, 8 or 10 Senators and even more members of Congress who could do the right thing without fear of getting primaried and punished?  “The path is opening up.  The main question is whether we get there too late.” 

To get a copy of Nick’s book click here.  For my interview of him click here.  To check out Forward to help make these ballot initiatives successful around the country click here.  We have some big opportunities in ’24!  

Solving Your Own Problem

Happy President’s Day!  I hope the weekend is treating you well. 

I love entrepreneurship – it makes the world go around. 

I started my first company when I was 25.  The company didn’t work out and folded within a couple of years.  But I had been bitten by the bug.  I joined another startup and went on to become CEO of an education company that was acquired.  I turned around and founded an entrepreneurship organization, Venture for America, that I ran for 6 years.  My love of entrepreneurs runs deep. 

Last year I met an enterprising young man, Nick Naclerio, at a dinner in New York hosted by a friend.  I asked him what he did. 

He said, “I’m the founder of a healthy cookie company.” 

“Do you have any on you?” 

“Of course,” he responded and took out a couple of samples of Mmmly cookies.  I tried them and was blown away. 

It turns out that Nick was a former chef who had had a weight problem when he was young.  “I was around food all through my childhood and had a complex relationship with it.”  I interviewed Nick about his journey on the podcast this week.  It might have also have been that he was working through his sexual orientation.  “I came out to my family as gay when I graduated from high school, and they said, ‘we kind of knew.’” 

Nick went to culinary school and became a pastry chef.  While working, he became obsessed with trying to create a cookie that was both healthy and tasted great.  “It had to be something that people enjoy to get that full cookie experience.”  After a year of experimenting in his apartment, he finally came up with recipes that both he and other people loved.  “It’s delicious and healthy; we use apple juice as a sweetener that also keeps the cookie moist.” 

It’s a very big leap to go from recipe to company.  “I went to my friends and family and managed to raise some money from my aunt and parents and others.  It wasn’t easy.  People invested out of love.  I’ve been out trying to sell these cookies for the last two years, literally going door-to-door in some cases.  We worked on packaging and honed our recipes and product lines.  We’re now at about 1 million cookies sold, and are in Whole Foods, Sprouts and other retailers.” 

I loved Nick, his product and his story.  He had already done the hardest parts:  come up with a set of cookies that people loved and then gotten distribution in retailers, who are generally very finicky.  But his passion was clear; the best entrepreneurs are energized about the problem they’re solving because it affected them.  That’s Nick. 

Mmmly is now raising money for growth and has decided to crowdfund to open it up to its fans.  “We have about $2 million in orders and need to be able to produce cookies and put them in retailers.  This is a multibillion dollar market and we are just scratching the surface.”  You can become a stakeholder in Mmmly for as little as $100 right now.

I consider myself an entrepreneur working on improving policy via Forward and Humanity Forward, but in the meantime I eat a lot of cookies.

“We can make millions of people happier and healthier with Mmmly,” says Nick.  “if that’s not a great reason to get up and work every day, what is?”  If enough people solve their own problems like Nick, the world would be a much better place. 

To hear my interview with Nick Naclerio of Mmmly click here.  To try his cookies click here and to become a backer/shareholder of Nick’s company for as little as $100 click here.  For an entrepreneur running for President check out dean24.com.  

62%

Hello, I hope you had a great weekend. 

The political world has been abuzz since the Special Counsel report that declined to prosecute Joe Biden for mishandling classified documents but described him as a “sympathetic, well-intended elderly man with a poor memory” and went into multiple instances of failed recall. 

Joe Biden probably made it worse when he held an impromptu news conference to rail against the report and then confused the President of Egypt with the President of Mexico.  He also confused Miterrand and Macron last week as well as Helmut Kohl and Angela Merkel in separate contexts. 

This is a real issue.  62% of Americans have major concerns and an additional 14% moderate concerns about “Joe Biden not having the necessary mental and physical health” to serve a second term.  When I talk to voters, their most immediate response is simply, “He’s too old.”  Biden ducking a layup like a congenial Super Bowl interview only makes the concerns seem more well-founded. 

NBC News

Being President is an incredibly stressful job.  It ages you.  It has aged Joe.  I saw him in January, and there is a marked difference between Joe now and Joe several years ago. 

The Biden campaign is frustrated because it’s not something they can change – they can’t make their guy younger.  They’re right.  They can’t. 

This is when his team is largely able to control his environment – imagine what it will be like during a presidential campaign in the Fall.  I’ve been a candidate before and I know how grueling it is to run a high-stakes national campaign.  You have to travel, shake hands, smile, give a rousing speech, make small talk, do any number of interviews and press conferences, remember people’s names and where you are, and then behind the scenes you have to call people for endorsements, fundraise, interact with staff, review talking points, and maintain positive energy. 

Does this seem like the sort of thing that an almost-82 year old Joe Biden is going to be able to do this Fall in crunch time against Trump?  You can almost hear his team holding its breath anytime he makes a public appearance nowadays.  I’m not sure that they’ll even want to debate Trump, citing him as too big a threat to democracy to show up on a stage with. 

Joe’s team is trying to protect him, but in the throes of a campaign they’ll have no choice but to put the candidate out there.  Who can say with any confidence that that will go well the fifth time, the tenth time, the hundredth time he gets in front of the cameras? 

I certainly couldn’t. 

Some 81-year olds don’t want to gracefully pass the torch and recede from the stage.  I get that.  But democracy isn’t about one person’s feelings.  It’s about the future the rest of us want and deserve.

Joe Biden is upset that he’s being treated unfairly.  He has it backwards.  He’s the one who’s treating the rest of us unfairly by preventing a real primary and competition as to who is the best candidate to face and defeat Donald Trump in November.  The Democratic Party owes the nation a candidate who fits that bill.  

It’s time to turn the page.  There’s still time. 

To help turn the page go to dean24.com to check out Dean Phillips, the 55-year old Congressman from Minnesota who is running to force a real primary. 

What’s Next

Hello, I hope that your weekend was great. 

South Carolina voted on Saturday and the results were what you’d expect:  Joe Biden romping with 96% of the vote in a VERY low turnout race – 132,000 votes cast in a state of 5.1 million, or only 2.5% of the population. 

A lot of South Carolinians were probably saving their vote for the South Carolina Republican primary on February 24th, when the Trump vs. Haley battle will essentially be over in all likelihood. 

What’s next?  After SC, the next big contested primary is Michigan on February 27th.  This week on the podcast I interview Jeff Weaver, who ran Bernie Sanders’ successful Michigan primary campaign in 2016.  “We went up to the peninsula and traveled to the more rural areas.  Local press covered our events.  Dean has a big opportunity in Michigan as he’s a good fit for primary voters there.” 

Jeff has a fascinating story and background.  “I started out as Bernie’s staffer and campaign manager in Vermont.  I was his chief of staff after he went to D.C.  I actually left politics for a while after burning out on it.  But then Bernie called me in 2015 about his presidential run.  He’s not someone who just calls you a lot, so I knew it was going to be important.  He said, ‘Everything the consultants are quoting me costs $300,000.  Can you come and make sure they’re not gouging me and run things?’” 

Jeff remembers the 2016 run well.  “Oh yeah, we had the energy.  We were running against the establishment who were trying to kneecap us at every turn.”  He recalls the media treatment.  “MSNBC has become pretty much become the communications arm of the DNC, so they were generally not very good to us.” 

Jeff knows Michigan well and thinks it’s a great environment for Dean.  “Michigan is a microcosm of America.  Everyone just thinks of it as blue-collar auto industry and Detroit.  But there are small cities, there are rural areas.  Bernie traveled to all of them.  Dean will do the same thing.  If you’re someone who can practice retail politics well, as Dean can, he’s going to spark a lot of interest in folks.  Anyone who’s registered to vote can vote for Dean including independents, so there are a lot of voters.  If Nikki Haley is out, a lot of independents will come over and vote for Dean.” 

Jeff also believes that Dean doesn’t need to win Michigan, just show that Biden is vulnerable there.  “Joe Biden’s entire rationale is that he could put the Blue Wall back together to defeat Trump.”  Biden won Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in 2020, states that Trump won in 2016 and is currently leading in in most polls.  Biden is currently down 8 points in Michigan and has persistent problems there.  “If we can demonstrate how weak Joe Biden is in Michigan in the Blue Wall, the entire rationale for Joe’s candidacy evaporates.” 

A lot has to go right very quickly, but the opportunity to upgrade from a Trump vs. Biden rematch – one that I believe Trump would win - lies right in front of us. 

For my interview of Jeff, click here.  To check out the Dean Phillips campaign, go to dean24.com.  And tell your friends in Michigan that democracy is coming their way February 27th. 

The View from South Carolina

Hello, I hope that you had a great weekend. 
 
I spent the weekend campaigning for Dean Phillips in South Carolina with Evelyn.  We saw our old friend from 2020 Jermaine Johnson who led our efforts in the state before becoming a State Representative.  I campaigned many times in the Palmetto State 4 years ago and people were glad to see me – they are very friendly and appreciate people who spend time with them. 

We campaigned in Lexington and Columbia before attending the South Carolina Democratic Dinner, where both Dean and President Biden spoke.  It was a flashback to the numerous cattle calls in 2020 where all of us candidates would give our stumps to various party leaders and activists, except this time only 2 candidates were in attendance:  Dean Phillips and Joe Biden. 
 
And it’s not exactly like there was equal billing.  President Biden was flanked and introduced by a small legion of Secret Service and fabled Congressman Jim Clyburn, the last remaining Democrat in Congress from South Carolina and kingmaker in 2020, as well as Senator Chris Coons, Congressman Ro Khanna and many other party leaders.  Gavin Newsom appeared earlier in the week to stump for Joe Biden and set himself up for 2028. 
 
Dean gave a compelling speech to a crowd of 600 about him being there to win in November.  It was awfully impressive given how much the deck was stacked against him in that hall.  Everyone there should have been grateful for Dean, as he made the pageantry about an actual primary contest instead of a simple celebration and coronation of Joe Biden. 
 
Indeed, I came away discouraged and somewhat enlightened – Joe Biden and Jim Clyburn had set up a forbidding firewall for any challengers, making South Carolina the first in the nation primary and daring anyone to try and contest the incumbent in Clyburn Country.  An 83-year old political legend protecting an 81-year old President he brought to power from competition – good for them but is it good for the country? 
 
Other prospective candidates saw this firewall and were daunted, feeling it more prudent to wait until 2028.  Only Dean Phillips saw the writing on the wall for November and decided to act.
 
South Carolina Democrats will vote on Saturday, and I’m sure Joe Biden will win a resounding victory.  But his victory will reflect an arrangement made months ago by a handful of powerful insiders, not how the President will fare when votes are cast by the whole country in 9 months.  I fear that electability and winning a general election are distant concerns while political patronage and maintaining clout within the party are very much front and center.  The Democratic Party is being set up to lose to Trump in November.  Watching it unfold up close made my heart hurt. 
 
If you’d like to see a better race in the Fall that will keep Trump from office go to dean24.com and get the word out about Dean Phillips.