Webb: A battle of Brooklyn, a war for America

The Battle of Brooklyn, on Aug. 22, 1776, was both a stunning defeat of the Revolutionary Army by the British, under Gen. William Howe, and a brilliant retreat by George Washington, saving the American Revolution. 

On April 14, 2016, there will be a second battle of Brooklyn, when the Democratic Party holds another primary debate between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), pitting a socialist against an opportunist.

{mosads}Sanders, who was born in Brooklyn, moved to Burlington, Vt., in the ’60s to plant his socialist seed. Clinton, who served as a New York senator between 2001 and 2009, is a reverse carpetbagger, moving from Arkansas to the White House to the Empire State in seeking her next step to power. Both are proposing their vision for America — and a win by either one would be a political revolution that could reverse the course for much of the success since the original battle of Brooklyn in 1776.

On the Republican side, businessman Donald Trump, the current front-runner for his party’s nomination, was born in Queens and still calls New York home in spite of his global empire. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Trump’s top primary rival, successfully energized his supporters by attacking “New York values” and is now trying to parse words as the New York primary approaches, on April 19. 

Still in the race is the current governor of Ohio, John Kasich, who in some polls is surprisingly in second place in New York and well ahead of Cruz. Kasich is truly the potential spoiler in the delegate battle. Whether Cruz or Kasich block Trump’s winner-take-all hopes, the loser — or at least “not the winner” — is the native New Yorker. 

Confused yet? Let me clear up the political fodder. 

Paul Ryan will not be the Republican nominee. The Speaker is the last man of consequence standing of the GOP’s “Young Guns” — which included former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor — who were going to seize the future of the Republican Party but have now become as much a part of the Washington establishment.

A lot of dots have been connected by The New York Times about Ryan’s recent trips abroad and campaign-style videos on social media. These dots don’t amount to anything more than what is typical of the House leader and a politician taking advantage of being inserted into the political conversation by others. All the activities the Times article lists — visiting Israel and other Middle East nations, visiting Europe, fundraising for members and promoting on social media — are within the boundaries of the Speaker’s office. In fact, Ryan is also raising money for those who opposed him from the Freedom Caucus in an attempt to build a bridge. 

Kasich will continue to wait in the wings and may well observe the convention but not truly play a role. And while it’s no secret that Ryan and many of the long-time GOP establishment don’t like Trump or Cruz, the fact is they do not have another option that does not split the party at the voter level. Leadership will continue to have arguments and fights for positions of influence, but if the Republicans want to remain a national party and win a presidential election they must avoid such a split. 

Democrats are direct and visible with their undemocratic superdelegate system. At least it’s transparent in that, short of federal indictment, the Queen, presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton, will be crowned. Sorry, Sen. Sanders, your wins don’t matter in the big picture and they are simply redistributing your delegate gains. 

Republicans are more representative but arcane. I like the fact that there is state control of the party apparatus rather than national control. The recent dustup in the Colorado primary with the delegates going to Cruz and Trump’s late complaint is a little too late. Here I disagree with the Republican decision to remove the will of the voters. However, this alarm should have been raised in August 2015, when it was instituted. 

Better standards and practices are needed in the Republican primary structure. Caucuses are outdated, just like straw polls. Think of the hue and cry for an Article 5 convention of states. It’s time for a similar call nationally for the states to maintain their party control at the local level but work together to establish a more equitable formula of standards and practices within the model of a representative republic. 

We can’t remain true Republicans if we continue to act like Democrats.

Webb is host of “The David Webb Show” on SiriusXM Patriot 125, a Fox News contributor and has appeared frequently on television as a commentator. Webb co-founded TeaParty365 in New York City and is a spokesman for the National Tea Party Federation. His column appears twice a month in The Hill.