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Letters | Can Donald Trump be beaten in 2020 if Democrats keep playing the same song?

  • With an easy target in the billionaire president, look for candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to amp up the demonisation of the rich

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US Senator for California Kamala Harris is the latest Democrat to join the fray and has chosen a populist theme for her presidential candidacy, one that already declared and possible contenders Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are expected to use as well. Photo: AFP
Letters
I am composing incidental music for the coming Democratic primary process (“Senator Kamala Harris uses MLK Day to announce US presidential run”, January 22). It is a tone poem conveying a mood of anger and resentment at what might have been, had the deplorable candidate not defeated the inevitable one last time.

Irrespective of where on the political spectrum the head of the ticket alights, from mainstream to far-left progressive, the Democratic campaign will be characterised by a constantly recurring theme, as in a rondo. We can expect a hoary demonisation of the wealthy, played triple fortissimo by the brass, even though most of the moneyed-class, even those in the hated 1 per cent, have done nothing to merit designation as public enemies. But, just as Donald Trump uses grotesque characterisations to rouse his supporters, so do many Democratic contenders by claiming that America is a rigged country and that capitalism is a zero-sum system; if I win, you must lose.

Burlesque is a musical form that juxtaposes comic and serious factors, the former being anything savants of satire throw at the incumbent, while the latter are too numerous to count. After all, President Trump is a target-rich opportunity, perhaps, as he might say proudly, the grandest one ever.

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As I apply myself to this task, I am conflicted about whether to add choreography. I think it might be appropriate since Democrats often dance around inconvenient facts.

Paul Bloustein, Ohio

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