The Game

To fully understand why Trump and his re-election campaign abused his office to try to get political dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden, you need to understand what the intent was.  Trump and his minions already know there's no way he'll win against a unified Democratic Party in 2020, so their game plan for 2020 is the same one they used in 2016; split the Democratic Party enough to where a large enough percentage of Democrats either stay at home, or vote for a third party candidate, ensuring the electoral college can be utilized to install Trump as President, offsetting the will of the majority of voters.

First things first.  This is exactly what happened in 2016.  The Trump campaign, with the help of the Russians and other foreign entities, successfully made the Progressive side of the party furious at Hillary Clinton's Democratic Party nomination.  We already know a lot of the "outraged liberals" posting in summer and fall of 2016 were actually Russian bot accounts designed to fuel lingering outrage within Bernie supporters.  It worked.  If you look at the numbers from Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, enough angry Bernie supporters voting FOR Trump were the difference makers in those states.

I know Bernie supporters from 2016 are furious at me for pointing this out, and will always retort with "Well if Hillary Clinton wasn't such a bad candidate..."  First, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million.  Second, what's done is done.  We can't undo history, but we can learn from it.  We didn't know the extent of foreign interference in 2016, how far these fake social media accounts and well funded propaganda groups were willing to go, but we sure as heck know it now.

Trump, the Russians, and the Republicans understand the moral 'Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.'  A lot of progressives who did not vote for Clinton in 2016 have already vowed, no matter who the candidate is, they'll bite their tongue and vote Democrat in 2020.  For Trump, convincing the left of the Democratic Party to reject the Democratic nominee in 2020 will be far more difficult, so in 2020 they're planning on targeting the moderate Democrats.

Trump needs Biden (as well as Klobuchar, Buttigieg, Bloomberg and any other moderate Democrat) out of the race.  They want Bernie as the nominee, but will also take Elizabeth Warren in a pinch. Then Trump's 'divide the Democrats' campaign will be focused on talking to moderate Democrats just like they talked to Progressives in 2016.

Here's what I anticipate a Russian troll account will be like if Bernie or Warren becomes the nominee (This is purposely not factual; rather the rhetoric we should all prepare to get buried in):

• I'm a proud Democrat, but I'm also a Capitalist.  Socialism?  That's too extreme for me.  Sure affordable college and healthcare are priorities, but free?  Who's going to pay for all of that?  Plus what's with all these new mandates forced on me to save the environment?  Don't get me wrong, I recycle.  I have an electric car.  I hate fossil fuels and plastics like all liberals, but are they going to force me to have to pay for expensive solar panels?  Will I have to bike to work, even in winter? Will I be forced to be a vegetarian?  And sure the tax code needs to be fairer for the working class, but will we really tax the wealthy and corporations at 70, 80 or 90%?  What will happen to my job?  And my church does a lot of good, so why are they talking about taxing them?  I'm not for persecuting religion.  

Mark my words, Trump and the Russians are already putting phrases like these through test groups to determine which ones will have the most impact on encouraging moderate Democrats to flee a Progressive candidate.

To make this plan the most effective it can be, Trump and the Russians will need to prop up (knowingly or unknowingly) a third party candidate.  This would be some Democrat to come out with earnest speeches about how "I hate Trump, but I cannot stand by when my party is being taken over by extremists who seem to hate everything America represents.  If enough Democrats join me, we can beat back the extremes of both parties!"  Republicans know their voters will never leave Trump, so this would specifically target a few million independents and moderate Democrats, just like Jill Stein (knowingly or unknowingly) was used to target just enough far left votes away from Hillary Clinton, ensuring the four years of chaos we have today.

If one of the more moderate Democrats wins the Democratic nomination, Trump and his allies will fall back to their backup plan; trying to alienate the Progressives again.  It won't be as successful as 2016, but it might be just enough.

Democrats, I know many of you are angry about the US only having two political parties each election, instead of a bevy of political parties to pick and choose from, like a democratic buffet.  Meanwhile, Republicans are pushing this country further and further towards a single party, fascist system.  The fight for a more diverse representation is a good one, but it's a fight which will need to take the back burner for 2020.  First, whether you like it or not, the only two choices with any chance at winning are Trump or the Democratic nominee.  That's it!  No spunky upstart third party candidate has a chance.  Second, Republicans KNOW idealist Democrats want to be the idealist, proudly voting for a no chance third party in the face of catastrophe.  Don't let them distract you from the real choice.  Either you think Trump deserves another term, or you vote Democrat, PERIOD!

Repeat after me: I'm going to vote for whomever wins the Democratic Party primary!

I like elements of Biden, and I like elements of Bernie, and I sure like a lot of from every Democratic candidate, but regardless of whomever is left standing in the end (even if it's Tulsi) I'll vote for them.  That's how you beat back the lies.  That's how you win.

If you start questioning your vote for the Democrat, remember this.  Trump has Concentration Camps in the US, camps where children are ripped away from their parents.  Thousands of Latino children have been sexually assaulted in those camps.  Dozens have died due to the conditions they've been held in.  If Trump wins in 2020, those camps will continue, AND GET WORSE!  If you don't vote for the Democratic Candidate, regardless of whomever they are, you're endorsing those Concentration Camps.  Yes!  Not voting at all, or voting for an iceberg's chance in hell candidate, is NOT a viable excuse.  If you don't vote Democrat, YOU ARE ENDORSING ALL OF TRUMP'S HATE!  Fool me once...

My biggest fear?  If it looks like Trump is about to get destroyed by double digits, someone (the Russians, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the Israelis, big Republican business, or Trump himself) will assassinate the Democratic nominee weeks or days before the election.  These people will try to win at ANY cost.  They know chaos is good for them.  If, God forbid, that happens, I hope Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in the US House have the guts to appoint someone other than Trump as President.

Then again, Trump is banking on exploitable fractures in the House Democrats too.