Former GOP Strategist Rick Wilson

Rick Wilson’s new book is entitled, Running Against the Devil: A Plot to Save America From Trump — and Democrats from Themselves. Why would a career GOP strategist offer a play-by-play strategy to help Democrats defeat an incumbent Republican president? Wilson explains: “My political ideologies and political predicates don’t matter in the face of a guy who could destroy our country and is rapidly working to do so.”

Therefore, Wilson’s tome sets out to reveal “the tricks and the traps” GOP operatives like him will set, and includes this warning…

“If I were still doing the Republican job I used to do,” Wilson told MSNBC’s Brian Williams, “I would be rubbing my hands together and dying for Bernie Sanders to the be nominee.”

Why does this concern me? Because I remember George McGovern. I loved McGovern. I believed in McGovern. He was my guy — a man of peace, who spoke truth to power. I have great admiration for Bernie Sanders, too. I’ve followed him for years. He’s a man of principle — a virtual unicorn in American politics. And, he’s stuck by his principles, remaining steadfast, regardless of prevailing political winds. In the 2016 primaries, my choice of Bernie over Hillary was a no brainer.

But now, a mere four years later, we’re waking up to a new normal and the decision of a Democratic candidate is far more complex. Today’s America is a hyper-partisan battleground, where surreptitious foreigners meddle blatantly in our process, spawning distrust in our fundamental systems and fomenting hatred between neighbors. Meanwhile, a self-serving narcissist spews lie after lie from the White House lawn and far too many Americans actually believe his bile is gospel. Don’t get me wrong, I’m eternally skeptical of Republicans who deign to give Democrats advice — especially when it comes to which candidate is the most electable. After all, how many of these so-called experts gave Trump even a chance of victory?

However, that being said, I think it’s critically important that Dems take heed of Rick Wilson’s warning. Why? Because he knows from whence he speaks and I think he’s coming from a sincere place. I honestly believe he’s just as frightened by the specter of Trump getting a second term as I am. But, more importantly, I’m old enough to see how eerily similar today’s political landscape is to 1972, when a crazy-ass, paranoid criminal occupied the White House and the rift between Americans was just as deep as it is now: liberal, anti-war hippies, artists, and academics on one side of the chasm and the burgeoning “Moral Majority” on the other. And, what happened? The Dems nominated my guy, McGovern, a rumpled, idealistic pacifist, and he got crushed in the most lopsided presidential election in modern history.

If you find it difficult to trust an ex-Republican operative, you might lend an ear to Democratic strategist Jim Messina: “If I were the campaign manager for Donald Trump, I would very much want to run against Bernie Sanders. He could say, ‘I’m a business man, the economy’s good, and that guy’s a socialist.’” And, after all, Trump himself makes it crystal clear which Dem aspirant he’d choose to run against. His fear of boogieman Biden is so extreme that he went and got himself impeached. Meanwhile, he’s tweeting this… “Wow! Crazy Bernie Sanders is surging in the polls, looking very good against his opponents in the Do Nothing Party.”

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not a big Joe Biden fan. However, when Ruth Bader Ginsberg turns in her gavel, I’d much prefer a President Biden — or, better yet, Buttigieg or Warren — to nominate her replacement. Should Bernie get the nod, I will vote for him with the same, hopeful enthusiasm I had for George McGovern. But, if Rick Wilson’s sooth proves sage, RBG’s seat on the bench will be filled by another Neal Gorsuch. And, my granddaughter will have to wave goodbye to her rights to make her own reproductive decisions. Not to mention the damage another Trump term would wreak upon the health of Mother Earth, the office of POTUS, American democracy, our international reputation and alliances.

“Bernie,” Wilson observes, “is every cliché the Republicans want to run against. He’s a North-Eastern liberal. He’s 375 years old. He just had a heart attack. He doesn’t scan as president. He scans as an associate professor of poetry at Bennington Community College.” Wilson reinforces his warning by citing the recent British election in which an unpopular populist goofball from an unpopular party named Boris Johnson obliterated Jeremy Corbin, who Wilson calls, “Bernie Sanders with an English accent.”

“I could make a hundred ads about Bernie Sanders without breaking a sweat,” Wilson asserts. He’s talking about the kind of campaign that would leave voters, even many who can’t stand Trump, trembling in fear that a Commie President Sanders would start sending capitalist aristos to the guillotine on Day One.

“I mean this for Democrats in the best possible way,” Wilson claims. “I’m not trying to pick your candidate. I’m just telling you this guy is absolute poison for you. And you will lose 45 states…”