Eugene Robinson: Biden's staying power has everything to do with beating Trump

[highplainsdem]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bidens-staying-power-has-everything-to-do-with-beating-trump/2019/11/04/c530e7a2-ff49-11e9-8bab-0fc209e065a8_story.html

How can we miss Joe Biden if he won’t go away?

It’s beginning to look as if Democrats don’t want him to go away at all. The betting odds, along with many of my fellow pundits, assess Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to be the likely nominee. So why, then, does Biden continue to hold a substantial lead in the national polls? And why, at the moment, is that lead growing?

The clear and simple answer has little to do with the Democratic Party’s progressive-vs.-moderate divide, which is more a theoretical chasm than a practical one. Biden’s staying power has everything to do with President Trump — and the imperative that the incumbent be defeated next November.

-snip-

Hypothetical matchup polls taken over the past month show any of the leading Democratic contenders beating Trump in the general election. But almost all of them have Biden beating him by the biggest margin. A Fox News poll released Sunday, for example, showed Biden leading Trump by 12 points, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) led him by eight points and Warren led him by five.

-snip-

A set of New York Times polls of likely voters in battleground states, released Monday, offered more good news for the Biden campaign — and bad news for his nearest competitors. They showed Biden beating Trump narrowly in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida and Arizona, tying him in Michigan and losing by a whisker in North Carolina. In every one of those states, Biden was seen as faring better than Warren or Sanders. Warren was shown as beating Trump only in Arizona and either losing to him or tying him in the other state matchups.

Numbers such as those may be why Biden continues to lead the Democratic field in the RealClearPolitics national poll average, with 29.1 percent, followed by Warren with 20.6 percent, Sanders with 16.6 percent, and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 7.1 percent. At this point, everybody else in the race is basically hanging around, waiting for lightning to strike.

That is not what anyone would call a commanding lead. But it has been remarkably durable, and I see no reason to doubt it reflects the reality of the contest.

-snip-

[msongs]

1. warren/sanders/harris can intro their preferred legislation the day biden is sworn in

since they will still be in the senate

[Celerity]

3. even if we take back the Senate, MFA will NEVER pass, and even IF it did, Biden will veto it

But like you said, those 3 (and anyone else) are welcome to introduce it to their heart's content.

[Turin_C3PO]

4. I actually

don’t think Biden would veto it if the legislation somehow made it to his desk. I also believe Warren wouldn’t veto a public option. Of course this is all theoretical anyway, since we’d have to first gain a solid Senate majority, enough to neutralize Manchin and Sinema who wouldn’t vote even for a public option.

[Celerity]

8. it is more than just Manchin and Sinema in the Senate, and then there are the 118 (and counting)

moderates, conservatives centrists to even a few centre right (Cuellar for a perfect example of that last genre) House Democratic caucus members. Only takes 20 or 30 of them to block even the Public Option, let alone MFA.

I have been following in pretty fair detail the forces aligning against even the PO. I was using the figure of 45 to 50 trillion USD that the US will spend on healthcare over the next ten years. That was a semi-lowball figure. One of the architects of the ACA was on MSNBC over the weekend, and he said that the US will spend 52.5 trillion USD (at current rates of increase) over the next tens years under the current ACA (and other mechanisms) system. That would make my 115 to 120 trillion USD over the next 20 years figure short by 10 or so trillion as well.

Lets call it 125 trillion USD. Even at very low margins, that is trillions upon trillions in potential profits at stake. The systemic controllers will fight to the DEATH to keep that gravy train a rollin'.

It may well take a systemic collapse to change it out to a large degree. A twisted form of Schumpeter's 'creative destruction', so to speak, except this destruction will costs millions of lives that will be shortened, perennially blighted, or outright ended via a lack of care as well as the associated stress that comes from that lack of care. Now add in the misery of ever increasing debt and wealth extraction that grinds down tens of millions under the combined synergistic weight of all that, and we begin to see the price that will be paid.

[highplainsdem]

6. I don't think there's any chance Biden would veto MFA if it got through Congress. It won't

get through Congress in the first place unless there's widespread public support for it.

[Kahuna7]

13. At this time, Nancy Pelosi doesn't back MFA, so it may not pass the house. nt

[Cha]

2. Thank you for Eugene Robinson's

article!

Stay Steady Strong, Biden!

[peggysue2]

5. Dare I say the 'electability' deniers are seeing the light?

First I was reading about Biden's Zombie Campaign. Now I'm reading astonished articles about Biden's Undead Campaign. LOL.

Why?

Because despite all the criticism, negative press, attempted smears on him and his family, Biden is still standing, still at the head of the pack and designated the 'best candidate to beat Trump.' Biden's ability to withstand all the slings and arrows signifies--as Robinson suggests--the man's strength and durability. Tested by fire, as they say.

There's been a definite turn. Better late than never.

[Cha]

7. LOL indeed!

First I was reading about Biden's Zombie Campaign. Now I'm reading astonished articles about Biden's Undead Campaign. LOL.

[UncleNoel]

9. Stable, reliable, electable! go Joe!

[ReformedGOPer]

10. This will probably be unpopular as I have favored Elizabeth Warren

ever since I saw her campaigning for a senate seat against Scott Brown years ago. But I saw Cory Booker on the View last week and I was impressed. I had written both him and Kamala off after the first debate because of the attack on Biden.They both seemed a little too fake to me; like they were anxious to spout a pre-planned speech against him.

But lately I've been worried that Warren is too far left for this election. If she weren't running against Drump it wouldn't bother me as much but this election is far too important to lose. I live near the Scranton PA area and Joe is a god here. I also think the ACA should stand but obviously get corrected. The cons are framing the narrative that "Dems want to take away your private health insurance" and I think its working. Never mind that the cons have absolutely no plan for health care. That's not what folks around here are getting from that narrative. While I think MFA is ultimately the most workable solution, I don't think the time for it has come yet.

Biden seems to be the candidate that has the best chance of beating the orange one. But Biden's age is a factor, so if he's the nominee I'd like to see him pick someone like Cory Booker as his running mate. I like Mayor Pete but I don't think his time has come yet. He's not appealing to some voter blocks. Biden has strong African American support. Mayor Pete isn't there yet. On the View, Booker was inspiring and I would feel confident voting that ticket. I also like Amy Klobuchar due to her appeal to the midwest states that were narrowly won by Drump. I'd love to see Kamala as Attorney General in a Biden win.

Of course I'm voting blue no matter who, but I wouldn't mind a Biden/Booker ticket. I remember the exact moment I heard that Pres. Obama had picked Biden as his running mate. I knew then Obama would win because he picked someone that had the executive experience he lacked. I think age is holding voters back now; Booker or Klobuchar would complement Biden and would be hard to beat.

[Tarheel_Dem]

11. Eugene is right. n/t

[thesquanderer]

14. If Biden's success is all about beating Trump...

...what happens if Trump is not the nominee? Is he still our best option? There is some danger that we could nominate on the basis of "strongest against Trump" and then end up running against someone else.

Still, in the primaries, I would not vote for any candidate unless polls show them as very likely to win at least 3 states out of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida. (Add Texas if that really comes into play as some suggest.)

[honest.abe]

16. I dont think it would matter.

Joe has appeal to moderates which is the main reason he is beating Trump and that would not change no matter who is the GOP nominee.

[thesquanderer]

17. If Trump is out, Republicans could likewise put up a (perceived) moderate

like Romney or Kasich. Would Biden still be our best counter?

[honest.abe]

18. Who on our side would match up better?

I think any of our other top candidates would be seen as more extreme by moderates and have less chance of winning.

[thesquanderer]

19. Good question. The two ways to go...

...would be to go left against a moderate, and I agree with you, that's probably the riskier approach. So then if you're going to go moderate against a moderate, I think the problem is that Biden seems past his prime compared to a Romney or Kasich. His debate answers can get rambly and sometimes almost incoherent. I think he'll suffer in comparison to a moderate Republican who seems more on top of his game. I'd go with Buttigieg. Or maybe Klobuchar.

[Demsrule86]

20. Those candidates would not win a general...Biden will. Biden is the most electable Democrat...and

as more Democrats realize ths, his numbers will continue to increase.

[Tarheel_Dem]

22. Joe Biden is "our best option" no matter the scenario.

[emmaverybo]

12. Biden has an appeal to the heart. It is his secret sauce. Also, resume. Unmatched by any in

the field. Wears Aviators well. He’s a keeper.


Go, Joe. The world needs you.

[scheming daemons]

15. The bottom line is a solid majority would welcome a return to 2009-2017

But a solid majority does NOT want the radical change that a Bernie or Liz are offering.

We have to reconcile ourselves with that.


All the best plans in the world don't mean jack if you can't win an election.

[Demsrule86]

21. +1000