Donald Trump has become a ridiculous distraction. His campaign is toast. He has gotten everything he wanted out of the race for the presidency. He is (pause) the world’s Most Notorious Man.
Okay, we’re done with that. Now it is time for Democrats, independents and moderates who care about the future of the country to focus on the challenge that is real.
The name of that challenge is Ted Cruz.
His ambition is boundless, his curriculum vitae looks impressive, his political career seems meteoric, and his political beliefs would make Vlad the Impaler look like a Scoutmaster. He is dangerous in the extreme.
And he may win the presidency if Democrats do not come to their senses very soon and unite behind someone who can actually win the presidency in November.
The operative verb here is unite. The Democratic Party is currently bringing forward the most exciting group of candidates we have seen in years, from the bottom of the ticket to the top. They are, as a group, smart, experienced, articulate and willing to work their hearts out for the people and values of this country.
Meanwhile the GOP is sinking under the weight of crazy, sometimes criminal candidates, lying philanderers, terrible policy ideas and elected officials who cannot do their jobs without messing up (Maricopa County voting, by way of example). Pretty much the last thing the GOP has going for it is the money of the Koch brothers.
So what is it we are to rally around, as the campaign of Ted Cruz gathers strength?
As a rational Democrat, I submit the answer lies in pragmatism. We need to rally round the candidate who has the greatest chance of winning. We need to rally round the candidate who will carry the greatest number of down-ticket Democrats to victory, so we can take back the Senate and win the House. We need to rally round the candidate who, while running, will fund and support the thousands of other Democrats who share the ticket, and the desire to fight for America and her values.
And the time, my friends, is now.
(Peter Hoe Burling of Cornish is a former Democratic leader of the House and a state senator. He was also chairman of the Rail Transit Authority and a DNC committeeman.)