Elizabeth Drew: Could the Democrats Blow It?

[brooklynite]

Project Syndicate

WASHINGTON, DC – The unprecedentedly large number of candidates – 25 at last count – for the Democratic nomination to take on US President Donald Trump in 2020 has led to an awkward opening to the contest. The number of contenders will drop as the qualifications for participating in party debates tighten (especially in September) and some run out of money. Some know they have no real chance at winning, but hope that becoming better known might land them a cabinet post, more lucrative book deals, or larger speaking fees.

Most experienced political observers have assumed that the Democrats can defeat Trump unless they swing too far to the left, turning off those who had supported Barack Obama and then Trump, including the blue-collar workers and suburbanites who decided the 2016 election. There were various moments in both debates when one could envision Trump smiling. And now many Democrats are depressed.

The problem for the Democrats, especially in this election cycle, is that voters in primary contests (in both parties) tend to be more extreme than the parties as a whole. The Democrats’ recent swing to the left began with the 2016 challenge by Bernie Sanders – who calls himself a “democratic socialist” and isn’t a Democratic Party member – to Hillary Clinton’s presumed nomination. Sanders, with his appeal as an insurgent and his unrealistic promises (as well as Clinton’s weaknesses) nearly undid her nomination. Young people in particular found him an exciting anti-establishment figure.

Senator Elizabeth Warren was rising in the polls even before the debates. But her vast policy agenda represents a leap forward in government intervention in the economy and other domestic arrangements; adds up to trillions of dollars, without a clear explanation of how to pay for it; and is unlikely to be approved by Congress (even if the Democrats recapture control of the Senate). None of this has caught up with her, but as she becomes one of the top two or three candidates (drawing some support from Sanders), these vulnerabilities are likely to be exposed.

[BeyondGeography]

1. Lacks imagination

[Thekaspervote]

2. Pushing the old meme Dems in disarray blah blah blah

[BeyondGeography]

4. I'll always like her

But five decades of Beltway will stifle any writer’s originality.

[SouthernProgressive]

3. I don't get some of these writers.

"The Democrats’ recent swing to the left began with the 2016 challenge by Bernie Sanders – who calls himself a “democratic socialist” and isn’t a Democratic Party member – to Hillary Clinton’s presumed nomination. Sanders, with his appeal as an insurgent and his unrealistic promises (as well as Clinton’s weaknesses) nearly undid her nomination."

Clinton beat the snot out of him. Additionally, there was very little about Sanders 2016 supporters that was extreme. They simply weren't extreme, overall.

The rest of the article is just a list of what the author thinks is wrong with us. Impressive. Not much data. Not much thought. Just spin.

[katmondoo]

5. There is enough bad news, we do not need even a sniff of anymore