The lede, buried

I’m always interested in wargames, but this one by the DNC strategists is particularly intriguing in light of the current polls:

Democrats are contemplating secession and potential civil war as they game out possible scenarios for a closely contested election, according to a report by Ben Smith in a New York Times column Sunday.

The bulk of Smith’s column is devoted to the question of how the media will handle Election Night coverage, given that the result may not be known for weeks. Vote-by-mail, which many states have only recently adopted — ostensibly, to prevent the spread of coronavirus in polling places — could lead to an uncertain result.

However, buried near the end of Smith’s column is a report that Democrats have participated in a “war game” in which they considered several possible outcomes of the election.

In one scenario, John Podesta — the former chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and a leading figure in party circles — played former Vice President Joe Biden, and refused to concede the election.

The result: the threat of secession by the entire West Coast, followed by the possible intervention of the U.S. armed forces.

Ask yourself this: why are Democrats wargaming the loss of the election if Creepy Joe is genuinely ahead in the polls by seven points?

We’ll just skip over the fact that most of the country would celebrate the secession of the entire West Coast. Throw in New York City and we’d happily pay them to leave.