Amy Klobuchar's Big Idea: Bipartisan Appeal Can Beat Trump

[brooklynite]

New York Times

NEVADA, Iowa — She doesn’t speak Norwegian. She never played bass in an emo-punk band. And she isn’t trying to lead a “political revolution.”

But Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, is making a rather traditional political bet. While primary voters might flirt with flashier presidential candidates, in the end, they will settle down with a steady Midwestern senator in 2020.

“People are so mad about Donald Trump and the Republicans,” she said during a recent interview in Des Moines. “But remember, this is about actually getting things done. And first of all, winning an election. There’s nothing wrong with anger and passion, but it’s putting it into something that will get results.”

Since entering the race more than two months ago in the midst of a Minnesota blizzard, Ms. Klobuchar has been resolutely inching her way forward. Forgoing packed rallies and soaring rhetoric, she is trying to sell voters on the politics of the practical, arguing that her record can win back some of the coveted Rust Belt voters who supported President Trump.

Instead of high school gymnasiums crowded with sweaty, cheering Democrats, there have been health care round tables and tours of ethanol plants. As other candidates roll out the policies of left-wing dreams, Ms. Klobuchar has focused her early proposals on reliably bipartisan concerns like infrastructure and privacy protections for personal data.

[BeyondGeography]

1. Anyone pushing bipartisanship is way off my list

Because it ain’t gonna happen. Eight years of watching Barack Obama getting his outstretched hand slapped should have taught us something. And he came in with a ten million vote margin of victory. Ryan and Swalwell are making the same noises. Forget it.

[yaesu]

10. yep, the fascists burned that bridge over a decade ago. nt

[Maven]

29. Same here.

Agree with everything you said.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I'm all for data privacy and infrastructure initiatives,

but Klobuchar is doing just what she's always done as a MN senator, which is going wishy-washy and trying to please everybody. It's why I was never that crazy about her and didn't expect her presidential campaign to go very far. She's been doing a good job in the various committee hearings but I don't think she has enough spine to be president.

[question everything]

30. I don't know about "wish-washy"

Having the courage to stand in front of college students and to not support free college for all, debt forgiven, and other freebies shows a core of principles.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

31. She's one of my senators. She's smart and competent but

there have been too many occasions where the positions she took on controversial issues were timid and vague. I wrote to her office a few times about those issues and got boilerplate responses that didn't really say anything at all, and I was left with no idea what she really thought or what she was going to do. So although she's done a good job in hearings as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and she's been presenting herself well in interviews, I'm not yet convinced that she has enough backbone to be a strong president. She has always seemed to be trying to please everyone. I'm willing to be persuaded but I'm not there yet.

[PeeJ52]

3. And what has gotten accomplished, Ms Klobuchar? What has Mr. McConnell allowed to come to ...

the floor for a vote, other than bills he thought he could embarrass Democrats over. Nothing.

[Mme. Defarge]

4. She has my vote for

Joe’s running mate.

[USALiberal]

5. Harris a much better choice IMO. Nt

[elleng]

14. Would be pleased to see that,

Pete too!!!

[shanny]

6. ugh. Eom

[MineralMan]

7. Amy Klobuchar is not going to rise to become a front-runner.

She probably realizes that. She's a clever person. Really, by the time Iowa, New Hampshire and the Super Tuesday crowd of primaries happens, the field will get reduced to just four or five front-runners, with the rest trailing along and dropping off one by one.

Klobuchar's one of my Senators, and I like her very much. She's a good thinker, a good politician and reliable as can be. But, things are hopping in the Democratic primary race, and only the most vocal idea-mongers are going to rise to the top for this round. Biden, Bernie, Mayor Pete, Kamala Harris and maybe one or two others. The rest will be also-rans in the history books.

That's my opinion, and I doubt it will change much before March 4. If I'm surprised that day, I'll be very surprised.

[empedocles]

8. Klobuchar may be the best campaigner and best at the crucial middle 40% of the vote

[elleng]

13. Will be interesting to watch this,

and I'd be happy to see her win. (ALL the other Dems too, of course!)

[Bettie]

9. In theory, bi-partisanship is a good idea

in reality, these days it means "start with what the Right demands, then give them some more, and they might, well, no they won't, give you a crumb of what you want".

If we were negotiating with people who had even a shred of decency in them, there might be a chance, but these people are utterly in thrall to interests that have no interest in doing anything for human people making less than, I'll be kind and say ten million a year.

[empedocles]

17. However, down the dump trump dump road some, some republican may

be looking for distance from the rw. Not necessary to give up all hope, write them off, at this point.

[Bettie]

22. Maybe not all of them

but current Republican leadership? Never, ever trust them.

[qazplm135]

11. I just don't think she has the charisma to break through

neither does Booker or really anyone other than the big 5-6

Biden
Bernie
Harris
Buttigieg
Beto

and maybe Warren.

[elleng]

12. 'This is about actually getting things done. And first of all, winning an election.

There’s nothing wrong with anger and passion, but it’s putting it into something that will get results.”'

[TreasonousBastard]

19. Looks like she gets results...

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Klobuchar

Getting elected (Yeah, this is Minnesota...)

Main article: 2018 United States Senate election in Minnesota
Klobuchar ran for a third term and was reelected by a 24-point margin.[26] The Republican nominee was State Senator Jim Newberger. The race was not seen as close, with Klobuchar out-raising Newberger $9.9 million to $210,066 as of October 17. Klobuchar maintained a double-digit lead in the polls all autumn.[

Working across the aisle...

As of September 2009, 58% of Minnesotans approved of the job she was doing, with 36% disapproving.[28] On March 12, 2010, Rasmussen Reports indicated 67% of Minnesotans approved of the job she was doing. The Winona Daily News described her as a "rare politician who works across the aisle". Walter Mondale said, "She has done better in that miserable Senate than most people there."

Getting things done...

According to GovTrack, Klobuchar passed more legislation than any other senator by the end of the 114th Congress in late 2016.[30] According to Congress.gov, as of December 16, 2018, she had sponsored or co-sponsored 111 pieces of legislation that became law.[52] During the 115th Congress, she voted in line with Trump's position on legislation 31.1 percent of the time.

[Paladin]

15. There's no bipartisan appeal to being an abusive boss.

We're currently burdened with a president who treats people like shit. I see no reason to replace him with another abusive executive, given the strong field of decent Democratic candidates available to us. Those of you who have suffered the effects of a hateful supervisor know what I'm talking about.

[Gothmog]

25. She was a partner at a biglaw law firm

I am not bothered by these charges

[Hortensis]

16. Amy's definitely on my list. I like ferocious competence,

I like her, and I like Democrats who campaign on representative democracy, which requires bipartisanship. Democracy that serves one party is dangerously broken and in danger of failing.
It simply cannot work. As we're seeing.

All our good candidates know we must repair our democracy and make it function as it's supposed to and be properly representative. Amy's experience and bona fides are among the strongest, though. She's rated as the most effective senator in the Democratic caucus during this mostly hamstrung period out of power.

[BlueWI]

18. Ferocious competence is a good phrase.

I am favoring two liberal wing candidates who I think are the strongest in the field (Inslee and Warren), but Kloubuchar for me is #1 from the moderate wing of the party. She's underrated and to me would be a much better pick than Biden if you like moderates.

She would shred Trump in a debate.

[Hortensis]

20. Oh, wouldn't she! I like those 3 also, including the caveat

about being more moderate than I'd personally prefer. It's not what they promise, though, it's what they can and will deliver and what state they will leave our anxious, divided nation in.

[BlueWI]

21. True.

A win of the presidency and Senate is what's needed!

[Luciferous]

23. Obama tried that and got nowhere. Republicans want everything their way, they don't want to

work with Democrats.

[Gothmog]

24. I agree with Amy that Democrats need to stay away from extremes

Amy is a very effective Senator who I might support

[question everything]

26. Who's Afraid of Amy Klobuchar?

(snip)

In a five-year period from 2014 to 2018, according to GovTrack.us, Sen. Klobuchar’s allegedly browbeaten staff helped her co-sponsor 1,967 bills—more than any other senator except Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal. Another study, conducted in 2016, ranked her No. 1 in the Senate in lending her name to bills that were enacted into law. Perhaps her former staffers wouldn’t have become so disgruntled if they’d gotten more sleep.

Another factor that hasn’t been thoroughly explored is something Sen. Klobuchar flicked at on CNN. Before winning her first election in 1998, she spent 14 years in the private sector managing teams at law firms. If she learned about leadership in a rough-and-tumble corporate performance culture, it’s probably safe to assume that she runs her Senate shop a bit differently than a career politician.

(snip)

Sen. Klobuchar is clearly wired to be a demanding boss. It’s also possible that the spotlight of the presidential campaign will reveal her to be a genuinely defective one. Either way, she’s likely to lose some employees. Trust and loyalty are fragile, and a single ugly episode can shatter them forever.

The important question for voters to ponder is whether Sen. Klobuchar’s management style is unacceptable, or whether it generally falls inside the range of what’s tolerable for most people. If the former is true, she shouldn’t be elected. If it’s the latter, however, there’s a strong argument for letting her be. A time then when good leaders are hard to find is a terrible moment to toss out every candidate on the aggressive side of the spectrum.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/13001

[samnsara]

27. omg Kamales smile/giggle when the supporter of Julian Castro took the mike.....

....is that a combo to be aware of?

[dogman]

28. If we had bi-partisanship we could have impeachment.

If she pulls that off she''l get attention.