Wednesday update

Those of you who spend a lot of time on Twitter have already seen this, but for those who haven’t, this was the Commercial Appeal yesterday:

They broke down Super Tuesday, listing each state voting in the Democratic primary and how many delegates were up for grabs in that state. States are listed in alphabetical order starting with Alabama, then Arkansas, etc. in a column on the right-hand side.

Look at Maine.

I haven’t read the election results in depth yet, but I got a Daily Memphian briefing that Biden won Tennessee, as expected. A quick look at Google News indicates that Biden did better in Super Tuesday than predicted, and this may narrow down to be a two-person race. I’ll have more to say about that at the end of this post. For now, let’s get on to the news.

Soccer supporters’ group Bluff City Mafia released their schedule for Memphis 901 FC’s first home match against Indy Eleven on Saturday.

The DM reports that the One Beale project will disrupt traffic once again. Beale will be blocked between Front and Riverside from 9 AM to 4 PM every day from Monday, March 9 to Friday, March 20 for sewer work. Note that if you have an 8 to 5 commute, you should not be affected.

Cafe Keough at 12 S. Main is now hiring experienced kitchen staff. Apply after 1 PM.

Ketel One and the Memphis Flyer are teaming up for Let’s Brunch Memphis at Beale Street Landing Saturday, March 28 from noon to 3. Tickets include food samplings from about 15 of Memphis’ best places to get brunch, 12 cocktail samplings, and a pampering station. There will be a cash bar for those who want to go beyond the samplings included in the ticket. Proceeds from this event benefit Volunteer Memphis.

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center has launched a coronavirus website.

Indie Memphis hosts the film Zombi Child tonight at 7 at Malco Powerhouse. From the movie’s description: “In 1962 Haiti, a man is brought back from the dead to work on a sugar cane plantation; many years later, a teen tells her friends her family secret, not suspecting that it will push one of them to commit the unthinkable.” Tickets are $8 if you’re an Indie Memphis member and $10 otherwise.

There’s a bike ride departing from Bass Pro at the Pyramid tonight at 7. Lights and helmets are required. (This time next week, you won’t need the lights.)

As your number-one source of news and information about The Edge District, it’s my pleasure to inform you there’s a salsa lesson tonight at Sabor Caribe Venezuelan restaurant, 662 Madison, tonight at 7 PM. This is a free event, but I’m sure they’d appreciate it if you order some of their delicious food.

If you’re into tarot, there’s a free tarot share night tonight at the Broom Closet at 546 S. Main. Bring a drink and snack and learn with others.

All right, back to politics. Those of you just here for the news can leave now and not miss anything.

It takes 1991 delegates to secure the Democratic nomination. I can see a scenario where the primary season wraps up with something like this:

  • Biden + moderates who dropped out 1950
  • Sanders 1800
  • Warren 241

That would create a most interesting scenario: Biden would have a clear plurality, assuming all the moderates who dropped out requested their delegates to vote for Biden on the second ballot. Bernie himself said a couple of weeks ago that the candidate who received the most delegates should be the nominee.

On the other hand, the progressive wing of the party would argue that they won a majority of the delegates. It would put Elizabeth Warren, with not even a tenth of the total delegates, in a position of tremendous power. I think in the end, Biden would still end up being the nominee, but Warren could force the party to tack to the left. That could be in the form of a progressive vice-presidential running mate – though probably not Warren herself, because two 70-somethings on a ticket is not a good look. Or, it could be in the form of the party adopting some of Bernie’s more harmless and less expensive promises – for example, signing an executive order to legalize marijuana nationwide the first day in office.

That’s why I don’t consider my vote for Warren a wasted vote, despite that I knew she had almost a 0% chance of winning the majority of nationwide delegates.

I have to admit, though, had the weather been sunny and 65 degrees the week before the Nevada debate, I probably would have walked up to the election commission and early voted for Bloomberg. I appreciate his, and his supporters’ belief, that Trump is an existential threat to American democracy, and must be stopped at all costs. However, it’s now time for Bloomberg to admit that a Democratic candidate exists who can beat Trump, and it’s not him. For the good of the country, it’s time for Bloomberg to exit the race and endorse Biden.

That’s it. Back tomorrow with more.