A Democratic Socialist Could Beat Trump

[DonViejo]

August 7, 2018 at 7:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

Jonathan Last: “It has become an article of faith among Republicans that Trump will be very lucky if the Democrats nominate a radical progressive—or maybe even a socialist—to challenge him in 2020. That would assure his re-election, the thinking goes, because Trump won by converting disillusioned working-class white Obama voters in the Rust Belt precisely because the Democrats were already too far out of the mainstream. If Democrats double-down on their progressivism, then Trump might be able to win with two pair, instead of having to draw to an inside straight.”

“On the one hand, that makes a certain kind of sense. On the other hand, it’s hard to square this belief with the argument that conservatives have been making for 40 years: that the key to victory is bold colors, not pale pastels. Because if the bold colors strategy could work for Republicans, why couldn’t it work for Democrats, too?”

“Think about it this way: In the wake of the 2012 election, Republicans spent a lot of time on their own autopsy and came away with the conclusion that if they were going to be competitive again at the national level, they had to moderate their stance on immigration. Instead, the party nominated the biggest immigration extremist since Levi Boone. And he won.”

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https://politicalwire.com/2018/08/07/a-democratic-socialist-could-beat-trump/

[Hortensis]

1. I've always supported socialist solutions where they

would work best. Perhaps going "bold color" could work well for Democrats. Hillary wanted to run on a universal basic income in 2016 but couldn't make the economic numbers work yet. The Democratic Party establishment is a lot more on board for making big advances than most realize.

As for the premise of this OP, though, the problem is with the kind of people who would be most likely to run as Democratic Socialists right now. The kind who despise and fight the centers of power from outside, wasting critical energy and time chewing the party's ankles, are very different from those capable of respecting other viewpoints and who and fight through cooperation and leadership from within. Example, Elizabeth Warren.

And that difference goes directly to competence and to ethics and fitness for power. Respect for the needs and wishes of all citizens and the ability to cooperate and compromise are intrinsic to democracy. And competence means being able to use power wisely, well, and honorably.

Give me a worthy successor to Obama and Hillary who says we need to move more quickly toward some socialist solutions to specific problems, and I'll be there. It could happen in 2020, we do have work to do, but not if some passionate ankle-gnawer parading a fire-drawing label managed to frighten and repel support for bold solutions.