You don't demonstrate your seriousness that Trump is an existential threat to democracy by going through the motions to renominate an 81-year-old with a 38% approval rating who 75% of voters think is too old without giving anyone a choice because that's just how things are done.

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) February 11, 2024

I’m currently listening to Colonel Roosevelt, the last volume of Edmund Morris’ trilogy biography of the 26th President. You might not know it, but TR’s Bull Moose/Progressive Party was important in bringing about the primary system, which replaced the Caucus & Convention system of the late 1800s. Back then, a sitting president was not guaranteed renomination, and had to work for it via, frankly, lever pulling, vote buying, graft, and spoils.

There are obvious problems with that, but at least you knew the nominee had the support of his party. Absent that, it feels artificial, as if something else, unseen and undeclared, was going on. Almost as if there was a predetermined outcome being worked towards.

But with the advent of advanced, small-scale manufacturing technologies, is that so much a problem anymore for the upcoming sportiness? Seriously, you can get a lathe from Amazon for 5 Benjamins, delivered before the end of the week. At that price, availability of working materials and worker skill become the bigger concerns.