The Democratic Party is approaching this election as the most important election in the history of this Republic. Until the next one, that is, because the purposes of these next 2 elections are to:

First: reestablish the checks and balances among the executive, judicial, and legislative branch of the Federal government by empowering a House of Representatives to provide oversight on the Fascist fool who currently occupies the Oval Office. That can only be done by electing an majority of Democrats to House seats in the midterms. And

Second: in 2020, remove that same Fascist fool by offering an electable candidate with a slate of policies that will resonate with the American voter, which did not seem to be the theme for the Democrats in the last election.

(Just as an aside, these are not the most important elections in our history for preserving the ideals on which this Nation was founded. Our most critical election was held in 1864, while the Civil War raged, between George McClellan and Abraham Lincoln. Had McClellan won, and everyone thought he would rout Lincoln, he had sworn to immediately call for a cease fire and sue for peace with the South. McClellan was prepared to permit the continuation of slavery in this country and provide the South with greater autonomy. That was the election that determined the face and future of this Republic.)

So, how does the Democratic Party prepare for this critical period in our Nation’s history? Poorly, that’s how – just the way the Democratic Party has handled every crisis since the assassination of JFK. Couldn’t organize a one car funeral. As is always the case, the Dems seem unable to focus on a single goal, even when the goal is as obvious as removing a clear and present danger from the White House. It is quite possible that they could screw this up, as abhorrent a thought as that may be to anyone with a mind and conscience.

At this point, all Democrats essentially fall into one of 2 camps: Idealists or Pragmatists. These are my classifications, but they have utility and seem to accurately portray the 2 approaches to these elections.

Idealists: These voters want to plant the Democratic Party flag to the left of center, pretty far to the left of center actually. These are Bernie’s people and have also been tagged with the misnomer of Socialists by the right wing media. More than anything they can be seen as classic progressives, in the vein of Eleanor Roosevelt and the whole Progressive movement of the 40’s and 50’s. Their reasoning is that as the Republican Party has moved further and further towards Fascism, exclusion, and racism, the Democratic Party has moved towards the political center and no longer stands for anything, much less for classic liberal policies. These Idealists want to put forth a slate of candidates and a platform of policies that offer the American voter a stark contrast to the Republicans and let the public make an informed decision on their future. Hard to argue with that plan, at least in an ideal world.

Pragmatists: The Pragmatists in the Democratic Party want this Oval Office idiot relegated to the past just as much as their Idealist colleagues do. However, they fundamentally disagree with the Idealist’s priority for these upcoming elections. The Pragmatists strongly believe that there should be only one overriding goal for 2018 and 2020 – Trump. To remove Trump will take not only a strong turnout by the core of the Democratic Party, but also moving a significant portion of the “Undecideds” from “leaning towards” to “strongly against” that insufferable fool. The Pragmatists would prefer to see candidates for these elections that are more towards the center and a platform that stresses solutions to this country’s problems rather than pushing a far left agenda. The very real fear is that a more radical agenda and candidates will scare those “Undecideds” back into the Trump camp and, horror of horrors, allow him 4 more years.

This is the division in the Democratic Party as we approach these elections. A fractured front, similar to the Party’s appearance in 2016, could lead to the same catastrophe with possibly even more far-reaching impacts if he is allowed 4 more years. I would like to provide some palliative words right here, but I don’t believe this schism will be resolved any time soon and I’m certain the lack of unity will hinder our attempts to take back the House and the White House.

I may be wrong about the White House. The Dem’s ran a terrible campaign with a horribly flawed candidate in 2016 and still managed to win the popular vote by 3 million. Maybe we can put up anyone and they’ll beat this clown, but I seem to remember a lot of people saying that 2 years ago.

My personal view is that a properly crafted series of messages putting forth progressive planks in the Democratic Party’s platform could be a winning formula. But I know some of these swing voters. I’ve talked with them. They can be gotten, but they’re not going to vote for Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, or Bernie Sanders. They just won’t, no matter how smart these candidates are or how compassionate their policies.

Remember the goal.