The Democrats' Turn to the Left Is Overblown

[DonViejo]

June 28, 2019 at 6:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard

Jonathan Bernstein: “I saw a number of analysts flag the liberal positions that some candidates took as general-election vulnerabilities. Perhaps! But it’s not exactly a secret that candidates tend to play to their parties during the nomination fight and then moderate their positions when they face the larger electorate. So I’d guess that such concerns are overblown. And in a world where Republicans will call even very modest Democratic proposals ‘socialism,’ it’s not clear that supporting somewhat more liberal policies will change anyone’s perceptions.”

“That said, I’ve always thought Sen. Bernie Sanders is an exception. It’s normal to back away from a campaign promise, claim to be misunderstood or generally modify specific policy positions for the general election. Sanders just isn’t in a position to do that, and I doubt he has any interest in it. Perhaps that’s to his credit, but it makes him a very vulnerable potential nominee nonetheless. Political-science research is uncertain as to whether ideological extremism harms presidential candidates, but the truth is, there hasn’t been a comparable major-party nominee in the last century.”

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https://politicalwire.com/2019/06/28/the-democrats-turn-to-the-left-is-overblown/

[George II]

1. The only people claiming they've "turned to the left" are those on the left who wish it was so.

All those policy positions that they claim "turned" them to the left have been Democratic principles going back to the '50s, '40s, even '30s.

[watoos]

2. The 1% are the people who

are saying that Dems have turned to the left. Democratic positions are centrist to working Americans.

[empedocles]

3. Candidates will play to the base as DJ mentions - it is inevitable . . .

it is a problem. With the higher ratings more of a problem. Lot of ammunition for the trumpsters.

However, we can overcome - if we can limit our Dem mistakes over the next 17 months.