As primary season gets underway one thing is constant in the
minds of Democrats: who can beat Trump. This is leading to lots of
hand-wringing and overthinking. Let me propose a solution: stop thinking so
much. Primaries are for following your heart. General elections are for
following your head.
In the last election everyone predicted Jeb Bush would be
the nominee. Logically, it made the most sense. Yet it became clear very early
on that he didn’t excite people. There’s a video of Jeb attempting to inspire
people at an event, pausing where he expected applause and, upon not receiving
any, imploring his audience to “please clap”. Yikes! People clearly weren’t
passionate about him. You know who people were passionate about? Trump. He
energized people and made them want to support him. And they did. What’s the
takeaway for Democrats?
Stop overthinking. The election is 9 months away. So much
can happen between now and then that attempting to strategically choose a
candidate is a fool’s errand. Support the one who inspires you, whose vision of
America you want to live in. It’s only with passionate voters that a candidate
can succeed and defeat Trump. Cold, calculating logic won’t save us.
Passionate, inspired involvement will.
Amie Acton
Alfred Station, NY
