unforceful

"A time for boldness!" sounds good on the stump;
Joe Biden's writers craft a handsome phrase.
And--for our part--we meant to move past Trump;
four years was too much chaos, and malaise.
Still, boldness isn't Biden's stock in trade
He works hard being just 'one of the guys'.
When plans and policies have to be made,
there's nothing on which he won't compromise.
Liz Warren had laid out what must be done;
in text, and verse, she offered us her plan.
A year's gone by, and Joe's barely begun;
To do this job, she'd be the better man.
The calendar leaves not a lot of room;
too much remains undone, as midterms loom.

Better

The senator who'd preached austerity
like Herbert Hoover arguing with Keynes,
belatedly, embraces sanity,
and government that feels a nation's pains.
Joe'd never been the brightest in his class,
and sometimes failed to credit others' words.
But he looks brilliant after such an ass
whose lies were often patently absurd.
His cabinet boasts experts in their fields,
'though most are cozy with the way things are.
Don't look to Biden for a new NewDeal;
He'll contemplate some  CHANGE--but not too far.

Liz Warren's acolytes contribute plans
intent on raising up a better man.

somnolent

Joe Biden waits for Trump to self-destruct
instead of putting forward his own plan.
If we're to wait for him, our nation's fucked;
Liz Warren would have been the better man.
Four years ago, that might have made some sense
presuming voters wanted an adult.
But Hillary got nipped by Trump and Pence;
her wonkery came second to his cult.
A party mortgaged to its donor base
can only nominate a narrow range;
diversity's ok for sex, and race.
(But don't expect a champion of CHANGE).
Like Roosevelt against the moneyed Few,
our hopes are vested in Joe's number two.

who sets the menu

Mike Bloomberg long since promised to bankroll
whomever Democrats may nominate.
Those lesser donors angling for control
wield zero leverage on Biden's slate.
Haim Saban said "not Sanders", but the rest
he'd gladly fund to push Trump out the door.
He'll set the menu, but won't say who's best
our nominee need not solicit more.
Still, habits long engrained are hard to ditch
Joe Biden's chased big donors since his youth.
His office door stands open--if you're rich--
the guys who sign the checks define his "truth".
Obama's said we need Liz Warren's plan
but dinosaurs insist we need a man.

blather

Trump never has a thought he doesn't voice
no filter guards the floodgate of his lips.
Compulsively, as if he has no choice
he keeps his handlers mortified of slips.
Trump's cultists cite this as "sincerity"
a candid glimpse of what's behind his eyes.
But Trumpty's gaze is riveted on "me"
he sells himself his own self-serving lies.
Some few may switch, now that recession's clear
discounting rhetoric to weigh Trump's deeds.
Americans united in our fear
may--temporarily--defeat dumb greed.
If we survive this orange clown  absurd
we'll need a president who weighs her words.

Tragedy

Apollo's wroth; this ersatz Golden Boy
shuns cosmetologists who might imbue
his face with colors living folks enjoy
His plague's upon us; victims turn dark blue.
Athena holds no sway in D.C. town
no expertise can get a maven heard
malignant sycophants advise this clown
what's called "policy" here is just absurd.
While Hera smirks; her husband's such a dolt
ur-narcissist who thinks himself a god
so self-impressed with his big thunderbolt
expecting worlds to tremble at his nod.
Liz Warren comes with plans, but Trump's still vague
on what he'll do to mitigate this plague.

meet the new boss...

Joe Biden'd really rather not campaign;
a scripted coronation's more his style.
So many Senate votes he can't explain
he's got no policy--but sure can smile!
Jay Inslee offered reasoned policy
but voters never warmed up to this man
beholden to no fossil industry.
Liz Warren's well-equipped; and brings a plan!
But donors like the status quo just fine.
And innovation just gives them the trots.
what's yours is mine, they know, and "mine is mine".
And too few voters can connect the dots.
In retrospect, one shouldn't find it strange
the few who wield real power, balk at CHANGE.

Smiling Joe

Joe Biden thinks this contest's done and signed
his handlers coach him: "smile, and go along!
'Though Sanders growls, you mustn't pay him mind"
few voters really know which one is wrong.
Liz Warren's dropped; she couldn't stay the course
so claim  her issues now are all your own!
It's critical you get her to endorse;
Trump's NoiseMachine's too big to fight alone.
Conflating poverty with being Black
expecting Democrats do as they're told
oblivious to what his campaign lacks
the only voters he persuades are old.
Liz Warren found scant traction for her plan
the party bosses want an old, White man.

disarray

In Iowa, Joe Biden didn't place
first, second, third...a sonambulist's show.
If it's a harbinger of the whole race
the nominee will not be sleepy  Joe.
Plurality deemed Bernie the best man
to serve the People as Our head of state.
A lot still look to Warren and her plan
to--incrementally--make us more great.
But mayor Pete was quick to claim he'd "won"
before the votes were tallied, verified
when cavassing was barely halfway done--
as if he'd got the story from inside.
Debacle supercedes catastrophe
until we overthrow this DNC

debacle

The media were eager to give Pete
the win in Iowa, 'though questions mount.
Portraying him the leading man to beat--
if you'd just turn a blind eye to the count.
Plurality deem Bernie is the man
who'd serve the People as our head of state.
While many look to Warren and her plan
to make us--incrementally--more great.
But mayor Pete was quick to crow he'd "won"
before the count was in and verified,
when canvassing was only halfway done
as if he'd got his story from inside.
Debacle supercedes catastrophe
until we overthrow this DNC.

change?

Pelosi's trained a lifetime for this role
presiding with a gavel in her claw.
A visionless tactician in control
finds partisan advantage in the Law.
The "Right" reviles her for what she is not;
Progressives know she doesn't have their back.
But she makes any chair Trump sits in hot,
and brings a certain verve to each attack.
Still, fixing our republic's out of range
she won't do what big donors don't endorse
a Sanders or a Warren would want change
and Wall Street wouldn't get to plot that course.
Impeachment may give spectacle and fun
but these are Nancy's last days in the sun.

Betsy Herring

Liz Warren trod her own Damascus road
before she took to heart Progressives' cause.
This Harvard expert in bankruptcy code
took inspiration from the dryest laws.
The daughter of Republicans pure-bred
keeps family ties, but spurns much that they'll do.
The blossom on this rootstock that's so Red
if not cerulean, is deeply Blue.
Some can't forgive her failure to endorse
the Sanders bid, when Bernie stood alone.
But I'll let Bernie choose his friends, of course
I won't tell Bernie whom he must disown.
A second term's no cinch for Trump to steal
when he's contending with a convert's zeal.

vision

Joe Biden aims for what Obama'd got
aware substantive progress would be tough.
Don't look to him to better Workers' lot
Just don't get hugged, and act like that's enough.
But Democrats still stubbornly aspire
to someone who's both competent and wise.
The bits we got, we got by aiming higher
before we settled for a compromise.
Still, all is not as dire as it might seem;
a few still bear the flag of LBJ.
A Great Society's not just a dream
if senator Liz Warren gets here way.
If we're to get our proper slice of pie
we've got to start by asking for the sky.

crises

Two stents restore blood's flow where it was scant
and Bernie's heart continues its tick-tock.
But episodes like this mean people can't
dismiss discussions of the running clock.
The orange geriatric pompous jerk
--incumbent and presumptive nominee--
may argue he's he fittest for the work
albeit with no credibility.
Two old White men won't turn all voters' crank
full half of whom sat out, last time around.
Liz Warren has two Xs in the bank
and now seems poised to tear the system down.
To disenfranchise based on sex must stop;
this might just be a woman's turn on top.

backroom

The threat to Biden forced the Speaker's hand;
she now concedes impeachment could make sense.
The DNC's protective of their man
and calculate he'd win against Mike Pence.
The signals Warren's gonna head the slate
have yet to penetrate through DC's noise. 
Pelosi blithely thinks she'll nominate
two more of WallStreet donors' chosen boys.
Corruption's not a plank that Biden owns
Liz Warren's all geared up to ride that horse.
The nemesis of predatory loans
can't bank on financiers' support, of course.
With thirteen months to go, all Nielsen bets
show CSPAN dominating TV sets.

a dream deferred

Six years, the Eric Holder DoJ
made measured statements, gathered files of fact.
Too late Loretta Lynch engaged the fray
tough prosecutor, unafraid to act.
No urgency intrudes on Holder's bliss
some other day, he'll get in someone's face.
Each opportunity, he duly missed
from Ferguson, to Trayvon Martin's case.
Attorneys working ill-paid for our feds
saw eight years work just languishing, in dust
each month, another Black man shot and dead
and no DA's been doing what they must.
next year, perhaps we'll claim our legacy,
when Kamala serves Warren as AG.

Pass the Torch II

Joe Biden's neurologically too old;
no voter who's awake should find this strange.
Our current crises need somebody bold
to navigate in seas of ceaseless change.
Liz Warren brings the vigor, and a plan
to teach, to practice law, to save the world...
Miami's shown us who's the better man
'though Trump may underestimate the "girl".
Two dozen others get their say, of course
Kamala vivisected Joe in style!
But soon, it's time to step down and endorse
the one who'll bear the torch the final mile.
The 2020 ballot fits just two;
Liz Warren's turn on top's long over-due.

pass the torch

Joe Biden's neurologically too old;
no voter who's awake should find this strange.
Our current crises need somebody bold
to navigate in seas of ceaseless change.
Liz Warren brings the vigor, and a plan
to teach, to practice law, to save the world...
Miami's shown us who's the better man
'though Trump may underestimate the "girl".
Two dozen others get their say, of course
Kamala vivisected Joe in style!
But soon, it's time to step down and endorse
the one who'll bear the torch the final mile.
The 2020 ballot fits just two;
this woman's turn on top's long over-due.

passed expiration

The old man's been so long in politics
schoolchildren who'd been bused have come of age.
Kamala's now a bright star in the mix
eviscerating Biden, live, on stage.
Old battles he long waged, no one still fights.
Desegregation's wounds just ain't that raw.
To still be arguing that it's "States' Rights"
pits Joe against a world of settled law.
Liz Warren proudly offers something new
although she's not the youngster in the pack.
Unless you're battle-frenzied like Ted Cruz
she's not the mark a sane man would attack.
Two women to whom Joe can't condescend
will not retreat, or compromise, or bend.

round one: Warren by acclamation

When Betsy Herring took your case apart
you felt her gleaming logic in your gut.
no one alive could doubt that she was smart
and brought a blazing talent to rebut.
The Senate let her flay a witness raw
for daring to mansplain how banking works.
This full professor out of Harvard Law
has zero tolerance for WallStreet jerks.
Tonight, she took the stage as one of ten
as many more are gonna have to wait
while she makes mincemeat of these taller men
who came less well equipped to the debate.
Another Roosevelt for our new age
laid bare corruption from Miami's stage.