Lefsetz: Guy With the Funny Name for President!

John Hickenlooper‘s following the Jimmy Carter playbook…

And Carter may (not) be the best ex-President – as opposed to one in office – but one thing’s for sure, he won.

We underestimate winning.

It’s a long road to the top if you wanna rock and roll and AC/DC lit up bars throughout Australia before they shook the world years later. It’s what you do in the trenches when few are watching that matters. And then you’ve got to find a way to win.

Jimmy Carter used the Allman Brothers and the rest of the Capricorn crew.

Never underestimate the power of rock and roll.

It brings people together and spews out bucks, which were used in the ’70s to fire campaigns. Not only Jimmy Carter’s, but Jerry Brown‘s too.

And now Hickenlooper has Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats on his side. They played his launch rally in Denver.

Not that you paid attention.

The coasts are betting that you’re not paying attention.

They can’t stop making fun of Hickenlooper’s name and his lack of recognition. But have you ever heard of Barack Hussein Obama? I mean, to make fun of someone because of their name… Hell, I wish Alicia Keys and John Legend went back to their original monikers. If you’re not proud of who you are, your message is compromised. You win on identity. You make mistakes, you apologize for them and you carry on.

Only losers don’t have faults. Winners are flawed, but we get behind them because of their character.

I’m left of left.

But this week has me questioning the progressives.

If you can’t smack down anti-Semitism, the game is rigged.

If we all don’t begin on the same starting line, we can’t win.

The holier-than-thou standing up for Ilhan Omar have lost me.

Like AOC. And even Bernie.

There are some things that can’t be said. The fact that Trump has legitimized them is no excuse. This reminds me of the Women’s March that was compromised by anti-Semitism.

Don’t ask me why the blacks hate the Jews, but there’s a long history of it.

So we need to come together, we need hope.

Did you ever see the movie “Milk“?

I’ve never forgotten it.

After trouncing his competitor in a debate for state office, Harvey/Sean Penn smugly exits the building to find out his opponent is unfazed. He tells Harvey/Sean Penn that he can’t win, because you’ve got to give the people hope.

One thing’s for sure, Trump ain’t giving us any.

And I’m not sure the far left of the Democratic Party is either.

It’s one step forward and one step back.

Now the truth is most of us can get along.

We’re the same under the skin. Come on, you’ve hung with the other party’s members and you find out you like the same sports and have similar families.

But for decades the right has been the party of division. Running on fear, creating tropes so you’ll vote for them, and avoid the bogeyman.

That’s right, the Republicans define the debate, with their code words. “Government schools.” The “Democrat” party. It’s a secret society built on hatred that wants to keep anybody not like them out.

MSNBC is as biased as Fox.

But it’s not.

Every media outlet other than Fox leans left. How do they know this? Fox and Trump keep telling them, they’re certainly not reading or watching the opposition.

So that’s how we get to today.

John Hickenlooper is running on hope. As he said in (his) speech, he’s not about YOU’RE FIRED, but YOU’RE HIRED! He personally has created jobs, after losing his initial career and starting over.

And if you talk to the far left he’s specious because of fracking and marijuana and…

There you go again, the Democrats are infighting. There’s a purity test as the right laughs. The right is laughing about Ilhan Omar.

You mean you can’t even condemn anti-Semitism?

And nobody with a dollar likes Elizabeth Warren.

And Kamala Harris has little actual governing on her resume.

Cory Booker peaked years ago.

And now Bloomberg has punted.

And Sherrod Brown.

Which only leaves Joe Biden in the middle.

Who are these fanatical Biden supporters?

They never showed up when he ran for President previously and notoriously put his foot in his mouth. And between his hair plugs and fake smile he’s hard to take.

So, Hickenlooper has a chance.

Bernie has traction, he plowed this road, he demonstrated the falsity in Hillary’s anointment.

But first and foremost you must win.

And maybe a centrist can.

No one ever agrees with every position of a candidate. Just as long as you’re not offended by it.

I’m not gonna vote for a Republican because they’re pro-Israel, but I might not vote for a Democrat who is not.

Look through history, the Jews have always been the enemy, cast out, killed, but suddenly every other minority supersedes them? They march in Charlottesville and their enemy is the Jews…is that what is holding these people back?

You know, the rich Jews with their big noses and their long sideburns.

Who are cheap, who’ll bargain you down. Who run the media and entertainment businesses.

You may 9not) believe all that, many people who’ve never met a Jew do.

But Hickenlooper is not Jewish, he’s just got a funny name.

And he’s running on optimism and hope, which we desperately need these days. Sure, you’ve got to call out bad actors, but what’s your plan thereafter?

Beto has no history.

Hickenlooper ran not only a major city, but a major state.

It’s a long race. The front runners often fail, can you say Ed Muskie and Jeb Bush?

And never underestimate the power of entertainers to grease the skids. The right decries it, because they don’t have anybody who’ll perform for them.

It’s time for the left to rally around a candidate who can win.

And I don’t care who it is, as long as they succeed.

But right now we’re on a road to Trump’s re-election, because the Democrats can’t get their house in order.

Hickenlooper is taking the right steps.

Boring is good in politics. The edgier you get the more you alienate people.

This election is all about the 10 to 20 percent in the middle, the undecided. Who’s gonna motivate them?

Think about it.