\u201cShelter in place\u201d was a scary enough term when it we were dealing with mass shooters.\u00a0\u00a0As a teacher, it meant huddle in the corner of a classroom, hope that the door didn\u2019t open, and wait for help.\u00a0\u00a0The concept sucked, as did the alternative \u201cAlice\u201d training.\u00a0\u00a0Throwing Campbell\u2019s soup cans at someone with an AR-15 (yep, I even know that means Armalite, not Automatic Rifle) just doesn\u2019t seem like a fair fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But now it has a whole new meaning.\u00a0\u00a0In other eras it was called house arrest or curfews, but now it means, \u201cplease, stay at home, so we don\u2019t have to make the police force you to do it\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s a kinder, gentler way of keeping folks in their houses.\u00a0\u00a0And, of course, it\u2019s the right thing to do in this corona-virus world \u2013 something I expect we will be doing here in Ohio soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the way, Joe Biden won three elections last night. He gained a 289 delegate lead in the race to the nomination over Bernie Sanders, 1153 to 861. Biden won Florida 62% to 23%, Illinois 59% to 36%, and Arizona 44% to 32%. If Ohio had voted he would have won there as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But with social distancing, sheltering in place, and cleanliness guidelines, how will the remaining half of the states manage to hold primary elections?\u00a0\u00a0Big states are still in play:\u00a0\u00a0New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio (re-run) and Wisconsin among them.\u00a0\u00a0And if they can\u2019t find a way to vote, what does that say for the November election.\u00a0\u00a0The \u201cwave theory\u201d of corona-virus says there will be this first onslaught, then a pause.\u00a0\u00a0Scientists then predict a second \u201cwave\u201d will hit sometime in the fall, when the social distancing rules may need to be applied again.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A friend strenuously objected to Ohio\u2019s postponing the election yesterday, saying that we must protect the right to vote at all costs, even in this health crisis.\u00a0\u00a0He had a point:\u00a0\u00a0if there\u2019s a health crisis in November will there be some attempt to postpone the Presidential election?\u00a0\u00a0It would be hard for me to\u00a0\u00a0\u201cshelter in place\u201d if that happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course there are alternatives. Oregon and Washington vote by mail: no physical contact or polling places needed. Even those who forget to send their ballots can drop them off at \u201ccollection\u201d stations. That minimizes the risks to both the voters and the collectors. While many states have struggled to make voting easier, for political or other reasons, perhaps our current health crisis will \u201ctrump\u201d those concerns. We will see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the meantime, Democrats are treading lightly when it comes to the Bernie Sanders campaign. The writing is \u201con the wall\u201d so to speak for the Senator from Vermont. Statistically speaking there doesn\u2019t seem to be a reasonable chance he could win the nomination for the Presidency. As crazy as it seems, it\u2019s less than a month from Bernie\u2019s big win in Nevada and New Hampshire and the virtual write-off of the Biden candidacy, the world is now \u201cupside down\u201d. Democrats nationwide have spoken, and Biden will be the nominee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joe Biden did his best to sound Presidential, magnanimous, and accommodating to the Bernie Sanders\u2019 supporters in his victory talk last night (it really was a streamed talk, not a typical campaign victory speech). Biden, like Hillary Clinton in 2016, knows that he needs all the help he can get to defeat Donald Trump. Sanders\u2019 supporters represent votes, and even more importantly, energy in the fall campaign. So \u201ckid gloves\u201d is the word for talking about Sanders and his followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And there isn\u2019t, so far, the bitterness that pervaded the end of the Clinton\/Sanders battles of 2016.\u00a0\u00a0The DNC has gone above and beyond to be fair, and like it or not, the voters have made the choice very clear.\u00a0\u00a0So the time is coming to wrap up this primary season.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The election is currently running way back in second place in this corona-virus news world.\u00a0\u00a0It would be a good time for Senator Sanders to do what\u2019s right for the Party, and the Nation, and let us concentrate on getting through this crisis, and onto ending the four-year disaster of Donald Trump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"