I thought it would never happen.  Either Gabbard or Yang was going to stay in way too long and then endorse Sanders, was my prediction.  And now they’ve both let me down.

I mean, yeah, sure, nobody could have predicted the election would pivot to be about the Coronavirus.  Taking down Trump I can see, and I even anticipated that the Democratic establishment would fear a Sanders presidency even more than a Trump re-election; not much has changed since 1972, after all is said and done.  Biden… well, he’s not my choice, but I did figure him in advance.

Yang at least is publicly regretting his decision to endorse Biden… sorta:

Literally, he’s acknowledging that other people also would have wanted him to endorse Sanders.  But even doing that is a backhanded regret; Yang’s loyal to his Gang, and it’s easy to see this causes him a great deal of pain, because they like Sanders.

Tulsi’s announcement also contained her regrets.  It’s quite clear, mind:  The only reason she’s quitting at all is because her principles aren’t worth getting people killed over when they go to the polls.  I’m saddened, but I can see it; it makes sense.  It’s not like she had a path to victory; she had a shot at a few dozen delegates if she’d played her cards right, and that’s all.

But… Biden?!

Don’t get me wrong here:  The Not Fake News hasn’t endorsed anyone.  We came close with Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang; we liked Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar.  We could even see our way clear to supporting Tom Steyer, and he’s a billionaire.  Our objection to Sanders is that he’s known to be an election loser; add to this that his positions are extreme, and TNFN simply can’t endorse.  But Biden is actually worse; he’s lost more consistently, his positions are too conservative even for most Republicans, and he’s long since been bought and paid for.

There’s a disturbing irony that the self-proclaimed champions of diversity have put forth two old white guys to lead The Party, and they’re shying scared from the Jewish one.  But it’s them that are the Identitarians; I’m not one, and I’m used to obscene amounts of hypocrisy from politicians.  They’re committing political suicide in the face of Trump — I can understand that too, though not condone it.

I’ll be honest here:  The main reason I’m still sticking around to watch what happens is morbid curiosity.  I want to know if my prediction will hold true, if Sanders will make it to the Convention with a respectable number of delegates.  I still think he will.

But in a larger sense, it doesn’t matter to me any more.

I started this chronicle with a quote from the original great Gonzo, Dr. Duke himself, and tonight I’m ending it with the same one — ending, yes, because after this, it’s all epilogue.  I’ll stick around, but…

…how many more of these stinking double-downer sideshows will we have to go through before we can get ourselves straight enough to put together some kind of national election that will give me and the forty million people I tend to agree with a chance to vote for something, instead of always being faced with that old familiar choice between the lesser of two evils?

—Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72

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Given that editors and publishers are largely considered non-essential personnel, the chances of this mess ever getting published as a book have become remote.  Then again, they always were; the point was to finish it, not to get rich.  If I wanted to be rich I’d be selling drugs — legal or not, that’s where the money is.

But I’m not here for that; I’m here for the truth, and screw the consequences.  If that means I don’t get paid, so be it.  On the other hand, it’d be kinda nice to make expenses.  This effort is fueled by the combined forces of cynicism, fatigue, and massive doses of caffeine.  Kick in a bit, won’t you? Lord knows, you’re not getting informed anywhere else, and I still need the occasional coffee.