Made me smile. I pictured Ted Cruz, like Charlie Brown, going out to the mailbox every day looking for party invitations, and they saying every day "There'll be some in there tomorrow..."
I will offer this about Trump, however. His two years in office have made it clear that neither Kaisich, Rubio nor Cruz were the worst choices of 2016 in the Republican primaries. Like "Fahrenheit 451" firemen, the Republican proles chose the absolute worst selection out of the crowded field, and, predictably, the Republican party is flailing, going down in flames with Trump. Trump might 'declare victory and get out' in 2020, and then try to stay one step ahead of the process servers, but after seeing his personality up close for the last three years or so, I think that's highly unlikely. Trump will go down fighting, and take the whole country down with him before he'll admit he's a loser, and the worst president ever. Far too many Republicans are ready to ride along with him... I wonder what it would take to get them off the Trump train-wreck?
62
OK, I know that the shtick here is that one writer plays the stock character of conservative while the other is the liberal. Nonetheless, the reality provided by the Trump ascendancy has added a note of irony to the production, at the expense of the conservative ideal.
Trump has been so inept, venal, corrupt (and ultimately likely criminal) that conservatives, and by extension, Republicans, have suffered by association with him. The curtain has been pulled back and we have seen the man masquerading as a wizard. The willingness of the R’s and C’s to embrace Trump in all his awfulness, have made even reasonable C’s like Bret Stephens, seem tainted with the corruption. I suppose that the lesson here is to beware of whatever seems too good to be true. They couldn’t believe that Trump could have beaten Clinton, so when he did, they forgot how miserably unprepared and ill-qualified he was for the job.
The lesson here should be how dangerous it is to veer too far from the center, either to left or right.
27
The current president will not be a candidate for re-election in 2020.
He will resign and declare victory, claiming that he has already "Made America Great Again", with nothing more to accomplish.
He will leave office before the end of his first term. There will be a Huuuge Deal that allow allows him and his family members to avoid prosecution in exchange for his resignation.
28
Forget about the politics... as a former manager, the achilles heel of any organization is the depth and breadth of talent running the company. Yes, every organization will have its incompetents or marginal employees, but, to have every office filled with incompetence is a recipe for failure and decline. Trump and his band of incompetents are doing a lot of damage to our bureaucratic structures--it will take the next President years to restore any semblance of SOP to our governmental agencies.
42
The candidate who will beat Trump will be the anti-Trump, just as Trump was the anti-Obama.
A woman, a minority, a person with experience in government.
My money is on Kamala Harris.
Beto would be a great running mate.
13
No fair Bret. You picked the CNN poll, most favorable to your POV, but flawed on its face.
It polls "adults," the least informed cohort.
And the question fails to reflect Trump's proposal.
Poll question: "Would you favor or oppose building a wall along the entire border with Mexico?"
Trump: "We have 2,000 miles of which we only need 1,000 miles [of wall], because you have a lot of natural barriers, right, that are extremely tough to get across. We have 1,000 miles."
But even this flawed poll by the virulently anti-Trump CNN is trending in Trump's direction.
So much here to comment upon.
Biden: More experience than all the other potential candidates combined. Decades in Congress, 8 years as VP where he was in every important meeting and read every document that Obama received. He can honestly connect with working people. He should preemptively choose a VP candidate from among the many younger (but not devoid of experience) contenders. But never commit to a single term, that would make him a lame duck upon inauguration.
Ryan: Krugman got it right. A con man who somehow convinced some people that his magic asterisks reflected economic thinking. His adoration of Ayn Rand was tamped down but never abandoned.
Sasse: One of a number of Republican senators who occasionally talk the talk but never walk the walk (also Murkowski, Collins, Corker, Graham).
Daniels: A terrible IN governor who appointed everyone to the Purdue board that in turn made him president. He has started some experiments (charter high schools to attract more minority members to Purdue; bought a for-profit online college for $1, made it non-profit, and christened it Purdue Global with hoped-for academic credibility), and can boast of 7 years of no in-state tuition or on-campus living cost increases--but as an alum I worry about whether he is dismantling the parts of the university that he disdains to make that possible.
3
Please spare us the deification of Nikki Haley. She was unqualified for the post. She showed only minimal backbone. Where was her condemnation of MBS and the murder of Khashoggi? You are giving her such a pass.
8
Biden for 4 with a sharp younger Veep is not the very worst idea I have ever heard. Mind you- the video from 88 with Biden stealing the life history of the Labour candidate for PM is out there somewhere. Likely that the GOP have it.
2
It is wonderful to read a discussion between Gail and Bret. I always enjoy comments made by Gail and Bet. Please continue!!! Show the blockheads in Congress there can be a serious dialogue between different opinions on different topics.
1
Brett, with his small government comment, inadvertently plays into the right-wing government is the enemy nut job view. A big reason that millions of Americans voted for a grifter like Trump, is that they feel their own government is evil. You dont fight against your own government, if you now they are on your side. This is one of the big ideas the Democtrats must fight against to win. We must have a positive message or they will not win.
4
Jerry Brown thumped Meg Whitman for California Governor in 2010 by insisting that only he had the experience to restore order to California’s dysfunctional state government. People bought it and guess what - he did what he said he would. Maybe Biden would be the same. But making yourself a lame duck in advance by pledging not to run again? No way.
Dear Bret,
Please chat with Mary instead. That used to be more interesting back in the day.
Regards;
1
MITCH DANIELS? He has soiled Purdue's reputation by tying it to the remains of for-profit Kaplan University. He has alienated much of the faculty, threatened free speech. If he runs for President, it will be Indiana's gain and a national disgrace.
1
Brett's most honest writing was about Stephen Miller. Maybe next time he can expand upon Miller's special brand of charm to include Miller's newly acquired painted on hair, or whatever "it" is on his head.
2
Hi Gail, sorry to disagree, but Trump’s biggest problem is the State of New York, not the SDNY. No way to pardon himself out of that mess and the people of New York have been waiting for this for a long, long (within the statue of limitations), long time.
2
Oh you two guys! I'm down on my knees. Please don't EVER stop. Please!
I saw your column featured (on NYT's list of features). I felt a warm, holiday glow pass through my entire body.
Within a minute, I was laughing heartily. As if Mr. Trump--and the GOP--and cancer--and the Ebola virus had vanished from the earth. As if I had just looked up, and actually glimpsed a sleigh with its eight tiny reindeer coursing across a clear sky.
SPEAKING OF WHICH--
--may I recommend Wolcott Gibbs' parody of super-conservative columnist, Westbrook Pegler? Doing a retake of that famous letter--"Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus." A venomous anti-liberal tirade! Priceless!
But I digress.
Oh you guys! Can't the Democrats find anyone younger? I like Joe Biden--and let me tell you, I'd vote for him in a heartbeat. Ditto Senator Warren, who is rather younger. And maybe too liberal for some folks. Though not for me.
But sakes! I wish I saw some younger faces among the up and coming Democrats. Well--there's still time.
But speaking of Mr. Zinke. Remember how that worthy gentleman rose into work on his first day? On a HORSE!
Beware of men on horseback.
French general Boulanger (long ago) was riding HIS horse somewhere in Paris. A right-winger sprang forward and seized the bridle. "Onward--to the Chamber of Deputies!" he cried. "Overthrow the government!"
His hand got caught in the bridle!
Oh to have been there!
Thanks again, you guys!
3
"Bret: History will remember Paul Ryan as the mouse that squealed."
Perfect. One of the most overrated US politicians in the past 50 years. Joins the Jim from Maine "Most Phony Politicians" list, currently topped by Mike Pence but which has also featured such giants as Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, John Edwards, John Kasich... the list, Republican and Democrat, goes on forever....
6
Will Trump's ego ever heal from the approaching cataclysm? Only Donald Trump can announce proudly that he will shut down the government. Hundreds of thousands of government workers who voted for Trump in 2016 will think twice about voting for him again.
2
The fact is, whether you like it or not, that two factors have driven good people out of politics. At the presidential level, people within striking distance of the presidency were traditionally expected to have some discernible smarts, accomplishments and gravitas about them. But what we have mostly now is a bunch of megalomaniacal personalities elbowing one another in an effort to get press coverage and a public platform from which to embrace publicly whatever ideology looks good to them at the moment, and which they think they can sell to an uninformed electorate.
The second factor is that with their at times absurdly expansive interpretations of the first amendment, the courts have elevated (or more accurately sunk) public discourse to a gutter level. This not only legitimizes and facilitates absurd ideological positions by candidates, but also grants the media the power to lie at will -- hence "fake news." If you haven't seen it , recently or at all, do see the movie "Absence of Malice." It's entertaining and instructive.
2
maven3,
The mainstream media are not fake news. The exception in the media world is, of course, Fox and friends. Fox reminds me of the sets on tv westerns, just the facade of a building in front and empty behind.
2
@joe parrott
Wish it were so. But I have written extensively in the legal press about mainstream press misrepresentations of legal controversies. Citations on demand.
And I assure you that the misrepresentations came from the mainstream press, not Fox.
1
Bret a perfect solution for you having a federal government that gets little done, put Paul Ryan in charge. I hope that Ryan goes the way of Dan Quayle.
3
It's always a treat when a conservative blames Obama for the moral collapse of the Republican Party and Trump.
It's never the fault of the conservatives and Republicans who voted for these awful officeholders, it's never the fault of the officeholders and right wing media who worked so hard to bring out the worst in the Republican voter.
No, it's the guy who opposed them and their hatreds who is at fault, so the only recourse isn't voting Democratic, it's voting Republican because the Republicans presently in charge are the only bulwark against even worse Republicans.
That's the logic of your nominally anti Trump conservative.
4
During the government shutdown, are border guards going to work without pay?
3
Thank you, Gail and Bret, for your Conversations this year. It's so, so good to listen in on discussions based on respect and a desire to genuinely communicate with and understand differing viewpoints. Which, now that I think on it, is why you are in the op-ed pages of the Times instead of on a TV show. You're completely lacking the rudeness and viciousness needed to succeed in ratings there. And that's one of the saddest things about our country today. Anyway, a very Happy New Year to you both!
1
While it is too early to call favorites among likely Democratic candidates for president, it is also too early to predict what Trump and other Republicans will do.
Trump, as we know, changes his mind from day to day, if not from moment to moment. Even if he chooses not to run in 2020, or is unable to run due to prior commitment (preferably to jail), Republicans have ruined their reputations to the point that very few have validity or are trustworthy.
Speaking for myself, the "show" has become too tawdry and too dangerous to continue. May it lose its time-slot soon.
9
Gail and Brett, I like your exchanges and regularly read your individual columns as well. While I respect you and many other journalists, I do think that you all contribute mightily to the paralysis killing our government by talking non-stop about the next election. There is no journalistic value to discussing people who may or may not run in two years. We have not yet sworn in the people who just got elected to Congress last month. Yet most of you started talking about 2020 within two weeks of the last election. (It would have been sooner, were it not for all the undecided races that required attention.)
In order for citizens to be informed enough to vote intelligently, journalists need to cover the issues: policy, the functioning of government, the problems that need to be addressed. Nonstop coverage of who will run next time is not journalism. It adds to the toxic level of partisanship by making everything a zero-sum game.
There is no news value to talking about who will run in two years. We need to focus on what the people who now hold office are doing.
18
With so many Democrats having presidential potential just image a 2021 cabinet chock full of Democratic "also rans." Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.There wouldn't be a weak, totally unqualified, corrupt or self- serving department head amongst them. And to restore our nation's role in the international community may I suggest a rock star, former President Obama as Secretary of State!
4
Somehow I am certain that Bret would not agree that "a government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible” applies to Israel: clearly the country he loves best.
3
Gail I thought you were going to say that Trump would be greeted by 20 people with HAND CUFFS!
3
I wonder if Russia took note of the racism here, saw a Black President, and somehow created the Tea Party.
3
I am in favor of the shutdown.
First of all, because it will ruin his planned 16 day vacation.
Second of all, because it will ruin his planned 16 day vacation.
Third of all, because it will ruin his planned 16 day vacation.
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-will-spend-16-days-mar-lago-during-holidays-while-thousands-1257860
5
Bret Stephens claims that Obama's "missteps also helped galvanize the Tea Party in 2009, a Republican House in 2010, a G.O.P. Senate in 2014, the collapse of the Democratic Party at the state level, and Trump after that."
I wish Mr. Stephens had said what those missteps were. (It's obviously not for a lack of time, because he had plenty of time to cite the alleged consequences.)
My contention is that Obama made no missteps whatsoever, that Fox News and the Republican Party would have jumped on Obama regardless of what he did, and that these alleged consequences would have occurred even had Obama been perfect.
I support my contention with a quote from Senator Mitch McConnell:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-A09a_gHJc
If Mr. Stephens or anyone else disagrees with me, please respond saying precisely what Obama's missteps were, and please support your claims with links just as I have done.
18
Obama’s missteps (and probably not the ones that Brett is thinking of) that was that he wasn’t ready for battle with the GOP and that he let the grass roots networks (that got him elected) wither on the vine after his election.
3
Dan Styer,
The only misstep by Obama, in my opinion, is when he made a one on one handshake deal on the budget with Boehner, then the Republican house speaker. Obama then reneged on that deal. when some of his staff made what was thought a better deal with some other Republican congressmen. Boehner rightly felt he was double crossed and the bad blood started then. Maybe they would have fought him tooth and nail anyway, but I think Obama should have stuck to his word with Boehner. You dont make friends. by sticking it to the leader of the gang.
1
@joe parrott, I appreciate your reply to my question. But when I Google "obama budget deal boehner" I find a lot of information from October 2015. None of it mentions "some of his staff made ... a better deal".
Was the the deal you were thinking of?
And getting back to Mr. Stephens, if this was the Obama misstep in 2015, it clearly could not have been responsible for "the Tea Party in 2009, a Republican House in 2010, a G.O.P. Senate in 2014". I really wish Mr. Stephens would defend his statements.
1
I love you both and I am happy to find a Republican that I can love, there are so few of them left. Your talk brings me hope and you know I am not sure why, but it does. I don't like Biden, I have never forgiven him for his part in the Anita Hill debacle, but 4 years of peace and quiet sounds so grand.
4
It's good to see "It would be even better if Biden ran with a younger person, with a promise to serve only four years and then make way." The younger could be Beto. If they made a plan like that now, the rest of the field would pretty much disappear.
1
Obama's "missteps also helped galvanize the Tea Party in 2009, a Republican House in 2010, a G.O.P. Senate in 2014..."? Typical Republican excuse: blame everything on Obama. The Tea Party was galvanized by Republican lies about the Affordable Care Act as a "government takeover of healthcare" and "overreach". Ditto the GOP victories in the House and Senate. And for the entire period of Obama's 8 years, an obstructionist opposition culminating in the illegal refusal to advise and consent to Obama's nominee for Supreme Court justice.
24
Bret comments : "And Nikki Haley, the only person to inhabit, and leave, the Trump administration with honor and reputation intact."
Really?
Am recalling her utterly delusional comment that "Now the United States is respected; countries may not like what we do, but they respect what we do.”
Respect is not part of the mix.
12
@Chris Durban
Be careful what you say, Mr. Durban. Nikki Haley is taking down names.
3
1. Biden's the same kind of neoliberal as the Clintons, if he's the nominee, I'm jumping to the greens. BERNIE 2020, Warren's my compromise.
2. Conservatives have always been morally bankrupt when it come to the debt, they've been complaining about the deficit (that usually grows the most under their administrations funnily enough) while happily trying to give handouts to the rich for decades now, Trump is merely perpetuating that. See "Starving The Beast."
3.No offense, Gail, I'm not too familiar with your works, but your liberal condescension ("watch the show") sounds like the exact attitude that cost us the election in 2016. Like I don't want to assume anything since I don't know your or your works well, but it doesn't sound like you've learned from 2016.
4. Seriously, why is Bernie not brought up? Like he gave a hard primary to Hillary, every primary attempt by Biden has been a hilarious flop, seriously who remembers his '08 Presidential Campaign?
A vote for the Green Party is a THROW AWAY vote that only helps the GOP
4
Mrs. Gary writing: @Mohammed Sarker Bernie is not a Democrat; he is an Independent, who deigns to caucus with the Democrats. He wants to have his cake (freedom of action, no commitment to the Democratic agenda) and eat it, too (use the Democratic party structure that he does nothing to help build). If he wants to run, he should do it honestly, as an Independent. And if Biden is too old, the one-year older Sanders is, too.
2
@Mark. As Kang (or was it Kodos?) told us.
1
C'mon, guys, get to the important stuff -- SPACE FORCE!
3
Biden? Come on. What was one of the lessons of the midterms:
that many Democrats want a change in the old guard? Biden is the risk averse alternative. He might appeal to someone like Bret and to the 'corporate' world but what about the 'people'? Young people won't be energized by "Uncle Joe" and he may have apologized for the Clarence Thomas debacle bit Thomas is still on the court. Many are tired of the Washington Insider game. Obama was vilified foremost because of the color of his skin. Stop kidding yourselves.
4
Who and what really matters is which candidates and issues the real smiling and smirking triumvirate that runs America wants aka Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman in order to MAGA.
Bret Stephens most favorite country is Israel. Not sure which nation if any is his second. Saudi Arabia? Bahrain? UAE ?
Winston Churchill was a white supremacist nationalist colonial apartheid right-wing bigot who led a nation that was an irrelevant doormat in Europe and Asia during World War II. Roosevelt, Truman and Stalin won World War II pretty much without him. There is only one humble humane empathetic moral standard for all times and places. Some evil deeds and acts and malign intentions are beyond redemption aka Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao, Franco, Churchill and De Gaulle.
None of the current crop of dreaming and scheming Democrats wanting to become POTUS has any obvious potential strong appeal record nor hopeful vision across the democratic partisan political base.
Biden / Klobuchar is the ticket to win it.
2
OK, wait a sec: Bret is concerned that most of the Dem candidates will have a year of on-the-job training, but he's perfectly happy with governmental gridlock between the House, Senate and dear leader for two solid years until the election?
Can't have it both ways, doodle-bug. Either you want government to get stuff done, or you don't.
6
@Charles Trentelman
Trump is doing on the job training, but he is still not taking to it very well. Not a good student. Not a very good brain.
1
How dare you combine DJT and National Lampoon in the same sentence? Doug Kenney is spinning in his grave. Stick to your GOP apologist nonsense -- at least you have that down pat.
3
I'd like Klobuchar in the top spot, but would be happy to see her with Biden if that's what's needed to win the election. Klobuchar got more legislation passed than any other senator in 2016, and she has a 72% approval rating from her home state of Minnesota. She's smart, dignified and she works hard - and in this age of Trump, she's what we need - a real leader.
7
Bret, not really a fan of your politics but I have a name to suggest. A bit older but maybe has the unwavering resolve to conservative principals you seek. James Comey. He may very well be in a position to run against Trump in a primary or in the general as a 3rd knowing full well he will lose but probably perform well enough to ensure a Democrat ends the Trump presidency.
I would never ever vote for Comey.
2
2421 Rayburn is Kevin McCarthy's office. Not sure why the boxes are there, but he's not moving out. He is, however, moving from the majority to the minority.
4
I’m also going to jump on Bret repeating the tired canard that government needs to get out of the way. Government research gave us the internet. Government gave us Social Security so that old people wouldn’t starve. Government gives us comprehensive weather information every day. Maybe conservatives should get out of the way.
48
If a younger Democratic candidate runs, I hope Trump won't exploit, for political purposes, his opponent's youth and inexperience.
2
It seems quite possible that the democrats will not have to run vs a damaged Trump who may decide to save his fortune and family and just decline to run in order to spend more time with his family preferably not visiting them in orange jump suits. Biden/O'Rourke may be a winning ticket ,experience and youth hinting that Biden would only serve one term, training Beto for the big job after his one term only deal.
7
I don't get the enthusiasm for Sasse. He seems thoughtful and smart, but he still votes the Trump agenda up and down the line. Like Paul Ryan, he has made his pact with the devil. Let me know when he proposes something different, and I'll reconsider.
15
Good riddance to Paul Ryan. That man was a poser and too weak to stand up for his (stated) principles.
As for Joe Biden...the Democrats do not need another male septuagenarian at the head of the party. Take notice of who won in the mid-terms. They were young, female, diverse! The next Democratic candidate doesn't have to be all of these things but they better be able to harness that energy or else they'll fall flat on their face. Biden has a the blue collar cred but his time has passed.
15
Biden? Ha ha! Establishment democrats are what gave us conservative extremism, including Trump. Obama promised change but gave us the status quo. And Stephens suggest more of the same? A more intelligent suggestion would be to kill the Republican party and replace it, although my preference would be to kill both parties and stop the ideological playground fights.
4
There is no "old" acquaintance I would rather forget than Donald J. Trump!
How do we make this happen sooner rather than later?
3
There's a FDR-era black-humor joke that deserves reviving.
In it's original form it is about the Connecticut banker who buys a newspaper every day from the impoverished street urchin selling them at the railroad platform. He gives the newspaper boy a dollar (the NYT cost 2 cents in 1930), looks at the front page, and then gives the boy the paper back.
The boy is extremely reluctant to jeopardize a great thing, but finally curiosity overwhelms him and he asks "Sir, what are you looking for?"
The banker humpfs and says "the obituaries."
Boy: "But the obituaries aren't on the front page; they are usually on page 19"
Banker: "The one I am looking for will be!"
Everybody, even Trump's nominal allies in the government, now would find it extremely expedient for the Trump Reality Show to go off the air, without them being forced to accomplish it.
Trump jumped the shark a year ago. His scandals are mounting and the costs of keeping him are rising very rapidly, but the endgame looks messy.
Harding died at just the right moment; it allowed most of his personal crimes to be immediately ignored. The only problem the Republicans had is that nobody, least of all Coolidge, wanted to dedicate the enormous burial memorial that Harding's sycophants built at the cost of $783,000 in 1927.
Hoover was finally coerced into it in 1931, almost everybody snickering.
That 273 k$ in 1927 is worth 3.8 B$ today. Do you think Trump will get that? What president will speak?
5
You can only appreciate the sheer moronic ability of anyone to blame Obama for 63 million Americans pulling the lever for a known con man. The rest of the blame heaped is also ridiculous, but this stands out.
So much for "personal responsibility." Wasn't that the galvanizing principle of the conservatives?
Brett, you have no movement, you have no party.....but you can still bear responsibility. Try that.
14
So Bret calls Obamacare a "misstep" that led to the Tea Party, and Gail doesn't call him on it?
On Biden: He was the personification of the Clueless, Powerful White Man when he chaired the Judiciary Committee that ripped into Anita Hill and put Clarence Thomas on the bench. He represents a state that is a tax haven for the financial services industry, and as such has a consistent anti-consumer voting record. He's had more than his share of female groping charges in his past - way worse than Al Franken. I could see using him as a seasoned advisor, but he would be a problematic candidate. Plus he can't shut up.
7
@HerLadyship. Pls, if you have credible information on Mr. Biden's "groping incidents" , would you share? I may have missed them, so would appreciate an update.
1
In 2021 Trump can star in the male version of “Orange is the New Black.” He’s a natural for the lead, better than a rerun of “The Apprentice.”
1
Thanks to the GOP for giving us an excellent King Herod this Christmas -
Donald Trump
5
Personally I am going to sit back and enjoy watching the new committee chairmen in Congress have their day, while making t rump sweat like the.... oh never mind.
Maybe t rump will resign toward the end of next year with a promise from Pence for a pardon; both forgetting about the Southern District of New York.
Pence, being delusional even more than t rump, will take that as his call to run for re election. He will be beaten in Mondale style while t rump goes to prison for state crimes.
Pass the popcorn.
5
Animal House is a great movie and cultural icon. I resent it's immortal spirit being applied in any way to the disgusting Trump presidency.
1
“ AMY, what you wanna do
I think I could stay with you “
Song, Pure Prairie League, 1972
Amen.
1
Hey you guys! The White House can't go into "full Animal House mode" without a "toga party". Coming right up!!! We're all invited.
2
We don't need a Democrat like Churchill. We need a Democrat like FDR. Remember that Churchill got tossed out at the end of the war as unlikely "to build a nation worthy of heroes," while FDR's New Deal became the new America.
And Nikki Haley did not exit with honor, except in the eyes of maniac neocons.
15
Another conversation with the same old same old being noted. My goodness its the 21st century, not the 18th century in the USA. Our dynamic tension between 50 independent states held together by a limited federal government has been our strength in the past but is a weakness within the global realities of today. Many issues today require a national effort and laws. Not 50 different laws and rules.
Furthermore, the states rights of the USA is what keeps us from moving forward and fixing our voting rights so that they are uniform, equal and fair - just one example of a too limited federal government.
5
“ A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible.”
Ah, that spurious conservative cunard.
Makes complete sense, does it to have a weak government in the high tech, wealthiest capitalist nation in the world of 320 million humans, with a staggering military budget and global presence and reach?
Of course government would be able to do as little as possible if people--most especially the rich and powerful--did the right thing.
Not just for their wallets, but do the right thing for their wider responsibilities that all of us have to society, local communities, the environment, citizenship, and our fellow human beings.
And in the wake of the conservative Reagan revolution, we can see what happens when those pesky gvt. regulations are removed or not implemented: Glass Steagall that protected depositor's savings from predatory banks, Citizens United that trashed our fair elections, and the fossil fuel industry that strives 24/7 to scrap environmental regulations to protect clean air and water.
We have a natural experiment going on right now testing Bret's beloved conservative principle, with Trump & the GOP in charge who believe that corporations and business, no matter how destructive, must be allowed to get done as much as they possibly can, by any means necessary, to advance their profits at everyone else's expense
In 2020, vote for a govt. that does get things done for people & planet--before its too late
14
Speaker-to-be Pelosi should offer this deal to Trump: We'll fund your Wall if you agree to resign. I bet there's a lot of behind the scenes deal-making going on right now in order to avoid all those subpoenas.
4
No matter how much I want to be annoyed with Bret Stephens, his language delights me. But "the mouse that squealed" is not as good as Maureen Dowd's "Irish undertaker" for Paul Ryan. And for a guy who made his way on government benefits, he's got an all-fired nerve trying to cut everyone else off what he received. So typical of Ayn Randian "Christians" who wouldn't touch Jesus with a 10 foot pole if they met him (try the Gospels).
Meanwhile, I hope he is observing what is going on with the climate, and at some point will have to conceded that what we have here is a runaway train. The idea that some magical future genius will solve it all, and we can all get rich and fix it later is pure nonsense. And his heroes are the ones making a good living off catering to the dishonesties of scale and observation involved (Lomborg and Pielke Jr.).
Trouble is, many billions still don't have clean water, and nowadays clean air is for the privileged as well.
Meanwhile, I don't see where it would hurt *anyone* to stop the continuous electioneering and give our money to real charities, not to prop up TV with endless annoying advertisements.
The rise of authoritarians and their lazy supporters who'd rather blame victims than work together to solve problems is not helping one bit. Here's a scary take on that from the amazingly wonderful John Oliver:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ximgPmJ9A5s
10
@Susan Anderson -- Any putdown more witty than Trump's stupid 3d-grade name calling deserves mention, and in Trump's case we can hark back to Harding, perhaps the man he most resembles, but radically underperforms.
Harding was called “a human smudge” (Clarence Darrow); “a cheese paring of a man” (Nicholas Murray Butler, Republican president of Columbia University); “a he‐harlot” (William White, journalist).
His speech and writing, though lucid compared to Trump's, drew gales of disdain:
Henry L. Mencken called it, “Gamalielese,” and declared: “Harding writes the worst English I have ever encountered; it reminds me of a string of wet sponges. … It is a style that rolls and groans, struggles and complains. It is the style of a rhinoceros liberating himself by main strength from a lake of boiling molasses.”
William G. McAdoo, Secretary of the Treasury, contributed: “A big, bow‐wow type of oratory. … His speeches left the impression of an army of pompous phrases moving over the landscape in search of an idea. Sometimes these meandering words would actually capture a straggling thought and bear it triumphantly, a prisoner in their midst, until it died of servitude and over work.”
Harding himself coined "bloviation."
And then of course there's Harding's sex life: he maintained a mistress in the Whitehouse, she was paid $5000 a month by the Republican National Committee -- that's about $72,000 today.
Even Trump's adulteries and payoffs are pikers compared to Harding's.
6
@Lee Harrison
Ah, for the pungent literacy of a bygone age. Thanks for the story and history lesson.
4
CHIP stands for the Children's Health Insurance Program. It provides health insurance for the children of the working poor. It's funded by the tobacco industry legal settlement -- it costs the taxpayer nothing.
Eliminating the program has been Paul Ryan's cause celebre for years. He's been persistent in his efforts to take health insurance away from children who will not be able to get it elsewhere. ( I'm assuming he's OK with having his own children continue to have health insurance....)
15
I also will jump on Bret's assessment of "A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible."
My major problem with this Republicanism that denounces government as inherently wasteful and the public sector as efficient and lean, is its falseness. Think of the Enrons, Goldman Sachs, Tyco, (now) Facebook who love to "move fast and break things" as if it's some kind of badge of honor.
I know Bret was generalizing, but I hate this perpetuated notion that government is the problem. I'm sorry, but Facebook doesn't represent my interests, the government is the place that is supposed to. I can vote, I can contact my reps, I have some avenues to pursue change.
Private sector only cares about next quarter's growth.
21
@Mark; Thanks for this letter. Having worked in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, I am always amazed that people think that for-profit corporations are effectively lean and mean. Typically, they are mean to the lowest but there's plenty of fat going to the top ranks and the stockholders.
16
Joe Biden may be the most seasoned, centered and humane of the current crop of Democratic hopefuls, but making him our standard-bearer in 2020 would be the political equivalent of Hollywood’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The energy needed for a grueling campaign, let alone the presidency, just doesn’t seem to be there. I’m betting on a dark horse. When he steps down shortly after serving two terms as mayor of Chicago, maybe Rahm Emanuel can be persuaded to come to the aid of his party and country. Emanuel is an experienced politician, having served in Congress, as White House advisor and chief of staff, and most recently as coalition-building mayor of a city that many view as ungovernable. True, he has an abrasive personality, with a notorious fondness for foul language, but that could be a definite advantage in taking down Trump and his minions. Once he gets into office we can worry about sanding down the rough edges. Come to think of it, one legacy of the Trump years may be that from now on we will expect our leaders to be a bit rough-hewn (“authentic,” as they say). Routinely doling out offense will be part of the job, like saluting the military and comforting widows and orphans; we can only hope that it’s all in a good cause.
@Fidelio - I see your point and Rahm is the only Democrat who, IMO, could run an effective head-to-head campaign against Trump.
That being said, the probability is low (as of today) since Rahm would have struggled this cycle in simply being re-elected mayor - just like last cycle.
But things can change - let's chat again in July 2020.
Bret's (not-so-over) generalization that "A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible" is precisely what's wrong with conservative political philosophy. Too many take this literally to the point of wanting the republic to fail: no funding for education, health care, food for the needy, no environmental regulations, etc. Pay for the departments of defense (homeland security) and offense (the Pentagon) and that's it.
We all need to recognize that government can and does play a meaningful role in creating a preserving common good. The question, ultimately, is where to draw the line between individual rights and sacrifice for others. Bret's maxim does a disservice to that dialog.
6
I don't have any check the box categories for the 2020 democratic nominee other than one: age. It is a mistake to elect someone in his/her late 70's or early 80s. For example, on inauguration day in 2021, Biden will be 78 and Bernie will be 79. Biden is a good guy, but the practical realities of living in a mortal body dictate no one does their best work from ages 78 to 82. Biden and Bernie need to gracefully step aside for this reason.
4
"A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible."
"Everyone else" being the plutocrats, free from constraints and better able to increase their wealth and power at the expense of the majority of the people.
6
Gail if you are going to lean back and "watch the show" of who will be vying to become the democratic presidential nominee in 2020, you are making a big mistake. Treating it as a "show" is how we got Trump. We need to take the exercise of choosing our representatives more seriously, or we'll just get PT Barnum over and over again.
230
@Brookhawk
Not sure that it is possible to choose w/any more seriousness than before. People, on both sides, became hopelessly tethered to their candidate, often feeling personally threatened when called to validate their choice.
Everyone claims to know better.
Historically it seems to imply that the least we know of the candidate the better off we are! And then there is the odd case of knowingly voting in a amoral criminal.
Good luck!
3
@Brookhawk
No. We don't need two full years of looking into them. It didn't help before, and it won't help now. I want to give to help people, not TV ratings.
9
@Brookhawk
It has been a visual show at least since TV cameras focused on Nixon's sweaty brow during his debate with Kennedy. That is not going to disappear, especially with the current status of mass social media.
4
"To (over)generalize: A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible."
This summarizes conservative love of the wealthy as well as anything. It's the affluent who can do more when the government steos aside and abdicates its role to protect the public welfare. People at the lower end of the economic spectrum struggle just to survive.
413
@Chrissy, I always wonder whether conservatives count zillion dollar corporate subsidies and loopholes for the wealthiest under “government doing nothing”.
69
@Dagwood
Bret "Trumps two years of Animal House" with nothing done? What about this:
1.- 3% GDP
2.- Highest worker participation rate
3.- Lowest minority unemployment rates
4.- Military no longer "not combat ready"
5.- NASA funded with Lander on Mars
6.- VA can now fire incompetent
7- USMCA helping American farmers
8.- No North Korean rocket or nuclear tests
9.- Assad no longer gassing his peop!e
10.-China's tax on U.S. cars from 40% to 15%
I will stop there for the point should be made
2
@Chrissy
I remember thinking a split government in DC wasn't such a bad thing when Bill Clinton was in office. Then the compromises he made in deregulation of banks came back to bite us in the second Great Republican Depression in 2008! You can't compromise with the devil, which is what Republicans have become and who they represent.
13
On Joe Biden running:
1) Malapropisms and other speaking gaffes would be a big improvement over flat-out lying.
2) I would agree with Bret Stephens that he should promise to serve no more than four years, and groom a great VP to take the reins (Klobuchar seems good so far). I think this is not an age issue, but a "fix-it" issue: Mr. Trump has hollowed out the government and with 35 years in the Senate and 8 as VP, no one knows it better than Biden, and can get it back to a semblance of working order. This will be grinding work that will get no credit (until many years later), and so is not a prescription for re-election. Promising not to run frees him to do this work unapologetically, and for his VP to start staking his/her positions about where to take the rebuilt government.
267
@Leigh LoPresti
A President who is not running for re-election almost as soon as he/she takes office would be a welcome change.
45
@Leigh LoPresti
C'mon, do you really think Joe would go for that? How 'bout letting him make that decision?
If Joe gets the nod, I'm behind him, but there are others, many others, who could fit the bill.
Clinton lost at least in part due to her allegiance to the status quo. (Her being female loomed larger, in my opinion) Biden certainly doesn't offer any vibrant vision, other than healing, which admittedly, we need!
I like Amy, Beto and others offering a definable vision, one as yet not tattered w/make-believe Republican narratives.
8
@Leigh LoPresti I agree about Biden, especially if he agrees to only one term. Biden-Klobuchar would be a good ticket.
But it's one thing if Trump is the candidate--Biden could have beat him in 2016 and could now. But what if it isn't Trump? If it's a "normal" Republican playing standard politics, then Biden's gaffes, age and easily plumbable record could be a problem. I think the one-term promise helps solve this if his Veep is a legit candidate on his/her own.
12
Obama “misteps galvanized the tea party”? Please. Obama’s skin color built the tea party. Be real Bret. Also let’s include Sherrod Brown in the Dem nominee convos. A winner from a rust belt state w experience. Biden is the past. Nice guy, but no. He could have beat Trump in 2016 tho.
473
Sherrod Brown is 66. That don't smell very future-y to me.
2
@Red O. Greene Hey, sixty-six is the new fifty-six. We're all living longer (thanx to, among other life improvements, Social Security and Medicare).
15
Yes, Sherrod Brown! An authentic progressive from the Rust Belt. Sixty-six is not old. It's experienced.
22
“ A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible.”
It would be interesting to know from this Bret Stephens quote how we as a country deal with climate change, infrastructure reform and guaranteeing access to health care for millions of Americans.
Conservative dogma is to allow the free enterprise system to take the reigns to a better vision through tax cuts, enterprise zones and generally ignoring the depths of these problems.
I would argue that the best social justice of the past 100 years or so was the direct result of strong government programs: Social Security, Medicare, Voting Rights Acts, child welfare protections, environmental protection etc.
647
@JT FLORIDA. As a general principle, Mr Stephens is right. Obviously there are areas where the market fails, like, as you rightly point out, environmental protection. Mr Stephens is not advocating for NO regulations/laws, just as, I suppose, you are not advocating that the government control everything. We saw the full extent of THAT folly about 25 years ago when socialism collapsed in Eastern Europe and the depredations (amongst them, environmental) became clear.
12
@JT FLORIDA “ A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible.”
This essential element in Republican ideology is the reason Republicans can't address the giant problems we face as a nation and world. The market will make it worse. The quest for profit is powerful enough to prompt businesses to do damage to the environment and to encourage more inequality.
It's true that too many regulations can be harmful, but we left that behind years ago, probably during the administration of St. Ronnie. Too many taxes can also distort the economy, but that has come to mean more benefits for the very wealthy and nothing left for ordinary people. Helping people who are suffering does not, as Republicans assert, make them more likely to continue suffering.
Our government ought to represent us. It does not and sophisticated manipulation of public opinion by the very wealthy, as well as the Russians, brought us to this point.
163
@Danny
"A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows unscrupulous oligarchs to exploit as many other people as possible."
There. Cleaned it up a bit. Scans better now.
146
It is unfortunate, but in this day of around-the-clock social media and sound bites the candidate Democrats choose to run in 2020 is going to have to have charisma if they expect to win the election. Experience comes second. It's Kennedy/Nixon all over again. So, I hope Biden gets this and bows out.
4
"A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible. " ---- how childishly silly can you get ?
Why don't we just have the government close down all the schools and watch all the things young people do with their spare time. Or let the hi ways grind down to dust while businesses convert to drones for all transportation. Making a few less aircraft carriers might be a good idea though. And certainly no stupid wall !
8
Keep self-loathing projection in the current -- and sinking -- White House, Bret! For the NYTimes to somehow shield latent racism from Tea Party self-serving exploitation at the cost of blaming Obama's "missteps" is not only blatantly disingenuous but usurps any order under which more perfect unions can be formed as exclusively retrograde and not inclusively MOVING FORWARD.
2
@Chris Morris The NYT is not shielding latent racism. This is an opinion column that shows only the views of the two people who wrote it jointly.
2
Obama's missteps? Yes, Obama made mistakes, he didn't know how political infighting is done and he tried to be too nice a guy, he didn't know how to fight, he couldn't bring himself to threaten destruction on GOP congressmen and senators. That said, the Tea party wasn't reacting to Obama's missteps, they were responding to Obama being black. The fact that with budget busting Donald adding a trillion + to the debt with his tax cut and we don't see all the idiots in their uncle sam costumes and the like, tells the tale of what the Tea party was.
13
If Trump continues on his current sociopathic path, so long as the Democrats select someone with a pulse, they should win.
2
@allen roberts That was the mistake made in 2016.
1
It's all about healthcare. Impeach/indict Trump, remove him from the office and the health of the nation will be restored! Happy Trumpless Year!
5
Obama's mis-steps? You mean like being African-American?
25
"A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible."
Bret's "everyone else" being the pluto-corporatocracy who can happily:
1. Despoil our air, water and soil.
2. Suck up as much of our nation's wealth as possible, damn the consequences.
3. Promote the invasions of small, weak countries that have done nothing to us in order to steal their stuff.
4. Advocate white supremacy.
5. Sell weapons of mass destruction to any despot who can afford them.
6. Throw 1/3 of national budget at the MIC.
7. Allow our infrastructure to continue to crumble in order to support predatory welfare capitalism.
8. Warn the ill-informed about the dangers those icky gays present to their marriages.
9. yada, yada.
17
My hope is that Donald Trump will be the straw that finally breaks the back of the GOP and sends them to wander the wilderness for the next forty years. That is the best they deserve after the damage they have caused our once great nation over the past 50 years.
11
@Ronny It's been a while since a major American party died, but the Republicans these days fully deserve what happened to the Whigs.
3
Trump might claim "mission accomplished" but only because he hopes that his base will absolutely demand that he run again. His prodigious ego having been fed, he will graciously agree to cede to the will of the people. Then his ego can feed at the public trough for four more miserable years.
1
re: Ryan - "His political disgrace is that, when it happened, he hedged his bets." No....his disgrace is his disgraceful conduct on so many issues given his speechifying. Thankfully he was not 2nd in line to the President and no longer 3rd in line.
11
Nikki Haley did not leave the Trump administration with her reputation intact. In her on camera exit interview she said that she was going to dedicate the next two years to getting Trump re-elected.
Either she was lying or she is an abysmally poor judge of character or she is a sycophant who is willing to watch the USA further devolve into theater of the absurd. Or all of the above.
19
"A government that gets done as little as possible..."? No, it should accomplish its responsibilities as efficiently and effectively as possible, for the welfare of of the nation. See Michael Lewis' devastating (and seriously wonky) recent book The Fifth Risk for the many dangers to our health and safety that Trump and his fools pose to each and every one of us every day through their incompetence and indifference.
As to Paul Ryan, his tragedy is the same as Clarence Thomas's: shame. Ryan seems shamed by taking social security after his father died, so he needs to crush it; Thomas seems shamed by his fear that he advanced by affirmative action, so he turns his back on others. That they've foisted this on the rest of the country is what's really tragic.
9
If the Democrats want to defeat Mike Pence (or Donald Trump, if he happens to be in the Oval Office when the election rolls around), they need to nominate a white male under 70 from the heartland. I'm not saying this is a good thing, just that it is a true thing.
There are Senators:
Sherrod Brown
Michael Bennett
Tim Kaine
Martin Heinrich
Bob Casey
and my favorite, not quite from Mad Magazine:
John 'Fester Bester' Tester
And let's not forget Governor Steve 'take it by the horns' Bullock.
An all-Montana struggle for the Democratic nomination would give us a guaranteed winner.
Dan Kravitz
2
Dem's not having a better idea is what got Trump elected, and if the dem's nominate Biden, the unfortunate quote machine, I am not sure the lesser of two evils will prevail.
HRC may have been undermined by many things, but she played not to lose, and was a terrible candidate.........and Biden will be better?
1
"... we’re going to have so much action over the next year ..."
Trump is probably fairly safe since the courts are now stacked in his favor and the Senate will not convict him. What exactly does New York plan to do if they convict him of something? I'm not holding my breath.
Trump even has a good chance in 2020 if only he can ratchet it up just past the level of Chance the Gardener. The Democratic field is looking pretty anemic right now.
Trump's real problem is not Democrats or Mueller. He needs to get over himself. That's his real trouble.
Trump has a secret weapon that no other president in recent memory has had. Trump couldn't care less about his country or anyone in it. He cares only about himself. And that is his hidden strength.
Because he cares about no one else, he can play all the games he wants with our lives with absolutely no repercussions to his ego or any morality that he may still possess.
Then when he wins again, he can play golf for another four years, taking all the money he can stuff wherever he can, and his family would be set for generations.
He's already figured out that he can tweak NAFTA, his trade war with China, and steel and aluminum tariffs to control the stock market and unemployment levels, as the times suit him. He just needs to lose the incessant stupidity and petty vindictiveness. All he has to do is get over himself, his ego.
Of course, he'll never be able to do that. And that's our secret weapon. That's our best chance.
3
"...A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible...
In the past 40 years, we've gone through two generations of lighting technology, beyond incandescent:
1.Compact fluorescent – which took the technology of fluorescent lighting (including the drop of mercury), and put it into Edison-socket form factors
2. LED – which, upon realizing that the CFL had to squeeze a fistful of electronics onto the base of the bulb to power it, took things to the next step and put in a fingernail’s worth of LEDs
Both emit at least 5X the light for every watt of power consumed, vs incandescent bulbs...
The LED can be configured to provide any color or intensity of light desired – and now in almost any form factor...
The two-step history roughly parallels that of the cellphone and smartphone...
The difference – the smartphone, helped in no small part by the iPhone, drove its communication grid to increase its capacity by 1000-100000X, with systemic increases in security and clarity...
The LED people, for the most part, didn’t even try to change the Edison socket or the 120V/60 HZ incoming power grid....
See, our government’s given what’s tantamount to historical landmark status to our power grid – and is doing as much as it possibly can to see it lovingly restored to its original 1920’s state...
Probably why NYC so adamant about keeping its subway signaling system from the 1920’s...
For the sake of Auld Lang Syne...
“ A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible.”
GOP government apparently never sleeps, it's working constantly, just like cancer. Their hard won 'accomplishments' and 'victories' include: Destruction of the grandkids' future by rollback of environmental protections; effecting change from We the People to We the Corporatpersonhoods; tax cuts for the very rich, paring down the middle class, and victimization of the poor; elevation of racism; abandonment of public education; shredding of safety nets; assault on health care availability; declared war on and demonized journalists; the rough beast slouching in the Executive, the travesty of the Judicial, and the complicit and self-serving Congress. Oh, and eliminated Truth.
"Homo sapiens is usually at his most inventive when making excuses for himself."
Homo sapiens is an oxymoron.
7
(Mr Stephens)
"As for legislation, you know as well as I do that nothing House Democrats propose is going to make it past Mitch McConnell’s Senate"
Not so fast.
If Trumpov wants anything passed through the House, the price may be swallowing hard and passing Democratic initiatives. You make the mistake of buying in to the GOP Kool-Aid of "heads I win, tails you lose".
3
With all those folks you mentioned gone from public service, do you think there's an opening for Vladimir Putin? After all, he's a guy that can get things done and he's proven to be especially media savvy!
If you're worried about a government shutdown, I bet Vlad would make government, "Big Again".
Personally speaking, I think 2019 will be a year of big changes. I agree with Gail. It's too, early to focus on a particular candidate for 2020. Could possibly be a year of arrests, trials, financial stress including trade wars and continued natural disasters.
Nevertheless, have a nice holiday!
7
"To (over)generalize: A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible."
Tell that to the people of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Or the people of Paradise, California in the wake of the Camp fire.
The survivors of Hurricane Katrina already know the answer to that.
11
Could a deal be struck that goes like this?...Trump, if you resign now, no subpoenas will await you at the curb.
1
@JIM ...and, "at the curb" should be literal, so that when he gets out of his limo and into his next residence, he can be served with a slew of subpoenas.
Thanks Gail and Bret! Just what the country needed - a touch of humor before the government shutdown at Christmastime.
Likely this administration does not know what Virginia knows: that there really is a Santa Claus.
4
Bret: History will remember Paul Ryan as the mouse that squealed.
Gee, I kinda think history might not remember Paul Ryan at all.
8
Ronald Reagan had three shutdowns, George H.W. Bush had one, Bill Clinton had three, and Barrack Obama had one. Donald Trump has has one so far, but it lasted only few hours.
Mitch Daniels? C'mon.
When I hear the name Biden I think of two others. Neil Kinnock, whose speech Biden once copied and Anita Hill who he pilloried as he put Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court. There is only one name worse than Biden: Clinton, any one of the three.
1
Gail and Bret, in the spirit of the holidays...
On the 13th day of Christmas my true Gov gave to me...
Trump's Ten-Forty-y-y-y....
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind,
Help Trump depart from the White House with a boot in his behind...
7
For President I advocate for Sherrod Brown. A older white male who has fought against trade deals that harm American workers. I know that many Democratic voters do not want an older white man, but it is necessary to heal the polarization in this country. An older white men who has spent decades fighting for American workers - and has a next worth of less than $1,000,000 - would help heal the tragic divide in this nation.
10
@Brad
It is not the trade deals that have harmed American workers. It's the domestic policies that allowed the top of the economic pyramid to claim all of the benefits from trade and avoid sharing the largesse. Our tariffs were never high enough to matter, compared to the wage differentials. Capital was free to chase low wages with or without trade deals; they may have helped on the margins, but the world would still look much as it does with or without them.
Now everybody is fighting the last war (offshoring jobs) when the current and future threat is automation.
What we need is to take the money back from the rich and corporations and invest in our people. No, you cannot drift through high school and expect the world to give you a good job. Sherrod Brown can't make that happen. We need an economic system that will work in a world with a surplus of workers and a shared social expectation of population control.
2
"A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible" -- so spake Bret Stephens.
Applause and Present arms! This reads like a refreshing reformulation of Parkinson's law.
1
I know that Gail and Bret are supposed to have a light and fun tone but the breathless anticipation of things to come makes them and the rest of the media appear to be all too invested in the continued chaos of the Trump storm.
The country needs all hands on deck to save us. The media should be setting the course not fiddling aimlessly while the ship sinks.
7
@MKKW
I don't think anyone in their right mind is invested in Trump's continued chaos.
We all just expect it to continue till he's carried out of the WH - one way or another.
6
I'll echo Frank Bruni by saying "I'm qualified" is a losing campaign slogan for Democrats. We saw what happened in 2016. Moreover, a Biden pick would mirror the same internal infighting Democrats experienced with Nancy Pelosi.
The age of any given official is not the issue. Hang in there RBG. The problem is Democrats have a problem with age in general. We shouldn't need to ask the question: If not Biden, who else? That is a crisis entirely of the Democrats own making. A crisis which will not be resolved by advancing Joe Biden for a third presidential bid.
Bret has the ticket backwards. Democrats need a youthful candidate backed by a reliable steady hand, not the other way around. It worked in 1992. It worked in 2008. It will work in 2020. Especially against a candidate Trump. A man so disturbingly out of touch with reality, senior government officials have seriously considered invoking the 25th Amendment.
You want contrast between the Democratic candidate and Trump. Age is one very easy way to create contrast. We don't even need to touch race and gender yet. Put someone in their 40s or 50s on the ticket and you've already made your point.
Meanwhile, experience is a non-issue. We're two years in and the Trump administration is still flailing. Bret's divided conservatism notwithstanding, s candidate who can help build the House and turn the Senate is an essential piece in our national Trump recovery. For that you need charisma AND enthusiasm. I'm not sure Biden is that guy.
18
Dear Mr. Stephens, in my opinion, Mr. Obama made no missteps. Everyone else was out of step, or would you rather he wasn't called to "sit in" at that late-2008 meeting at the White House where he showed everyone the way out of the financial crisis? Would you rather see 40 million needy Americans go without any real health insurance? You're correct when you write that he is one of a kind but hopefully we'll soon see something similar in the coming Trump backlash.
42
Nikki Halley is exceptional in that she is leaving this administration without her reputation being torn to shreds. She was not a drooling sycophant nor exploited her position to satisfy greed. She did however, defend with more enthusiasm than necessary to keep her position very bad Trump policies: moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, withdrawal from the Paris accord and the Iran accord, pressuring nations not to promote breast feeding as superior to the products supplied by US companies, etc. Any respect I had for her evaporated with her overall performance at the UN.
82
@serban Totally agree -- she gets far too much credit. Just because she didn't end up investigated for some type of fraud, doesn't mean she's a paragon of virtue.
She just laid low and did what Trump told her to do.
18
The discussion of Trump's pre-presidential experience on reality TV offers the germ of an idea for salvaging both his presidency. How much would NBC have offer Trump to resume his career on "The Apprentice."
The network could even create additional roles for him as host of a new show combining old style and anything-goes wrestling. And, as part of the agreement, he could join "Fox and Friends" on a permanent basis from his bedroom. By mid-2019, he might jump at the chance to leave the White House and return to TV. That would be a tremendous service to both the nation and reality TV.
18
@Smford
They can call the show "Jailhouse Apprentice."
7
@Smford Good ideas! But just want add that "Reality TV" is an oxymoron...
5
@Smford
I'm not sure how much of a service it would be to reality TV to have Trump back-- but oh, what a service it would be for America to have him out of the White House.
2
Trump proclaimed himself a genius. But no one else, outside of Fox News has joined the proclamation. But I have made "not a genius" one of my minimum standards for a new candidate.
I am a registered Dem. but have always proclaimed myself to be independent in my voting. But recent years have given me little opportunity to practice being independent. I have not voted for a Rep. since John Heinz was my senator. More importantly, I don't see myself ever voting for a R since I see how evil that party has become.
43
I don't think Obama-level experience is a good standard to judge people by. Obama had his strong points and his weak ones. His inexperience in any sort of executive position was one of his great weaknesses. His failure to be able to get the troops in line on health care for a full year and inability to get anything else done sealed the fate of the rest of his presidency after the elections of 2010. A better and more experienced politician would have realized that his strength was temporary and paid more heed to the need to produce something tangible for voters earlier, like tax reform to address inequality.
12
@Tom A President needs to have been a Governor. That was indeed Mr. Obama's chief handicap going into office in 2009. For that reason, I have no enthusiasm for any of the Senators or other legislators being touted now. In 2009, what was needed was true tangibility. I don't think the general populace had yet grasped the problem of inequality caused by the tax code. Plus that isn't tangible. Instead of health care, the first emphasis should have been on a huge infrastructure renewal. I thought so at the time. But I understand Mr. Obama's determination to honor his virtual deathbed promise to Teddy Kennedy. That integrity is one of the reasons Mr. Obama is my favorite President of my 62 year lifetime.
3
@Tom You appear to forget that Obama gave the lead on healthcare reform to Max Baucus -- a so-called seasoned politician who proceeded to screw up the assignment by being a lily-livered goose when it came to pushing through the legislation.
Obama's "tragedy" on healthcare reform was Ted Kennedy dying just a few weeks after the inauguration. Had Kennedy lived, he'd have led healthcare reform and gotten a bill passed with the help of the Republicans as he'd have stood up to McConnell and batted him down.
9
@Tom It is called racism and it is very strong and alive in this country.
The racist repubs in congress were never willing to work with him on the Affordable Care Act, or join him and the Democrats to support other important issues. They punished us, for electing him for two terms, by obstructing him at every turn no matter the harm to the country.
3
At the risk of piling on: I have a particular contempt for Paul Ryan, because although he did not create the Trump debacle, he could have stopped it. I firmly believe that with his beautiful family and earnest, squeaky-clean image(whether that is deserved is a separate issue), he could have derailed the Trump train with one heartfelt speech after the Access Hollywood tape was released. But, for whatever reason - maybe the pull of his Ayn Rand fantasies was just too strong - he blinked.
145
@Bluesq "he blinked," or maybe shrugged.
He was a reluctant Speaker and was eager to go. He probably was deluded enough to believe that any republican would be better than Hillary, that the old rules still applied, and that he would get to do all the things he had hoped to do for so long. He was wrong on all counts.
27
@Bluesq
Then there's the "wonky" thing. In that respect, Ryan was The Great Pretender, always busy with some big project, except that they didn't exist.
34
@Bluesq Ryan has no guts along with no brains. He was a fraud from the beginning. The fake policy wonk whose economic proposals were ludicrous as well as disastrous.
47
I hope if we have a Democratic president in 2021, that individual doesn't decimate Democratic leadership by picking sitting governors or senators to be in the cabinet. Arizona has never recovered from losing Napolitano to Homeland Security; Kansas suffered when Sebelius was tapped to run HHS. It's not worth losing a potential Senate seat so someone can serve maybe 2 years in a cabinet role. We have plenty of competent individuals who aren't national legislators or governors.
87
@Mike S. This is a very canny insight that I have never heard before!
5
@Mike S. Depends on who get to appoint the replacements, but otherwise your point is well taken.
2
Mr Stephens: You speak of Obama's mistakes in detail, but leave out his most catastrophic mistake: BPWB: Being President While Black. You, Douthat, and Brooks need to acknowledge that your Congressional party held that against him. Your racist party.
442
@Big Frank
Well said!
You busted all of them on the elephant in the room that they all prefer to hide.
19
@Big Frank
Excellent observation, Big Frank. I am so tired of hearing that Obama could have somehow worked around Mitch McConnell and company's virulent racism if only he'd been smarter. Like what else did he have to do, win a Nobel Prize in physics?
21
The reason Biden is too old is not just because he's too old. Which he is. It's that an old white guy like Biden won't motivate the millennial and minority voters that the Dems need to turn out. Old Joe should go find a nice retirement community, and take up bingo, or bridge. And let the next generation of Democratic leaders take over.
26
@John Ranta I'd like to see Biden continue doing what he's doing now. He should be an Elder Statesman within the party, offering advice and insight to the younger generation of democrats who are still getting onto their feet. But he should be staying out of the limelight and working to support the next generation, rather than trying to make a big show about how much more important he is than they are.
His experience could definitely be valuable.
71
@John Ranta
The problem with that is minorities and young people especially don't vote, and then complain about the consequences. In the midterms like 20% of those under 35 voted, and minority voting was nothing near what it was in 2012 with Obama. I realize Hillary wasn't a candidate to raise much blood pressure (other than people who hate her), but in 2016 the young and minorities, despite the fact that Trump is basically what you see is what you get, didn't bother to vote.
11
@sam
To me there is no doubt we need to elect younger people; we need fresh ideas, and plenty of energy for the office. At the same time, these younger people should recognize their lack of full experience and seek out mentors such as Biden, Clinton and others. Just think how much better off we would be if GWB had sought some mentoring from GHWB!
3
Biden/Beto would crush any ticket the GOP could muster.
17
@EricR
Two white males. How original.
3
Amy Klobuchar, that is all.
33
@Edward Blau Yes! Partnered with Mitch Landrieu.
5
Brett wrote: "But his missteps..."
Brett, President Obama being born black is not a "misstep."
301
@Victorious Yankee
Well played VY.
Well played indeed.
10
So long as we stop our expectation that a Candidate must be pure ideologically, we may get a real human being with experience and common sense to run on the Democratic side. There are certainly plenty of potential Candidates. Biden has experience and charisma, but there is the Clarence Thomas problem. And given the unforgiving mood in this country right now this might be a huge hurdle for Biden.
Klobacher and Kennedy as running mates could be the ticket. They both have the smarts, the temperament, the charisma, and so far no skeletons in the closet.
I must say I have a lot of respect for Bret keeping an open mind about the Democrats and what maybe accomplished by them in the House. Now if only McConnell could go home to Kentucky and stay there. Oh well, we cannot have every thing.
And Gail and her wonderful sense of humor gives me hope for the New Year.
I like the idea of ending the year on a good mood note. Here is hoping the New Year gives us all hope for this Country's ability to right the Ship of State.
17
Kennedy shouldn't be on any national ticket. at least not for the foreseeable future. remember his Democratic response to the State of the Union address a couple of years ago? earnest, but completely ununinspiring. love Klobuchar at the top or as running mate. but there are lots of other, more inspiring candidates besides Kennedy.
2
@Jean Kennedy? It's time we stopped trying to elect dynastic heirs.
2
Otherwise, I’m increasingly of the view that, like the proverbial village in Vietnam, the Republican Party needs to be destroyed in order to be saved.
I thought the GOP was more a Potemkin Village. There certainly does not seem much behind it,
11
Ben Sasse has been a lot of sound and fury but what has he actually done to stand up to Trump? Zilch. Nada. Bupkis. Just some occasional tweets that would fail the first round of any comedy writer’s brainstorming session.
Instead we have a Senator that tries, approximately every quarter, to promote a book of his that nobody wants to read. “I want a book that’s William F. Buckley meets Mayberry” said nobody, ever.
51
@Dudesworth: same with Flake, Collins, Corker...
4
Ever wonder why Individual 1,
who is a second-generation immigrant,
whose mother was an immigrant,
whose first and third wives are immigrants,
Whose first, second, third, and fifth child are second-generation immigrants,
never talks about his family when he talks about immigration?
Does that seem strange to anyone else?
265
@Josh Wilson Good point, wasn't there some funny business going on for Melania's family to be allowed to come to the United States? It sounded like Trump paid a lawyer to pay off someone to let what was it, Melania's father come in.
Melania is probably Trump's handler for Putin by the way, they make stuff up I can too, only mine might be true.
31
@Josh Wilson: don't foget that individual 1's parents-in-law also took advantage of chain migration to get to the USA.
63
@Josh Wilson Let's not forget that his in-laws are also immigrants.
Totally agree that a guy surrounded by so many immigrants - by his own choice - certainly has a huge hate for immigrants.
40
Sorry, Mr. Stephens...not only do we need to "destroy the GOP in order to save it", but conservative columnists are in the same boat. As expected, you and others are trying to back-pedal your way into keeping credibility, but it's too late. You picked the wrong horse and never bothered to try to unsaddle the ugly beast when you should have...in the barn, before he ever left. But you, and all conservatives, shoulder the blame for this fiasco; since you have the power of writing the articles, glossing of history will be the norm. Dem candidates don't need a "year" to acclimate or get experience, especially the "experience" you GOPers are so proud of - lying, fraud, theft, greed...did I mention lying?
We need a 2-party system, at the least; we don't need anymore lying Republicans...or cover-up conservative writers who cannot be truthful in their accountability. This may not be Mr. Stephens specifically, but he is not off to a good start. "I hate the trump!" is meaningless babble.
34
@Aaron AMEN! Conservatives did nothing when it was all, just all, too obvious during the primaries
9
Trump will run again in 2020.
In our popular culture, a one-term president is seen as a failure -- a term that Trump deeply fears. Victory is all important, even if the issue is bad and the final result leaves us all worse off.
The real trick is to devise a way to permit Trump to frame leaving as a great personal victory. I like the idea of inventing some grand new position (e.g. "Grand business success manager of the world") that sounds like a fantastic promotion while stripping him of all authority and influence. He can even supply his own plane and hire his own advisors.
3
As Michelle Cottle pointed out in her column "Chaos? A Trump Specialty," "(Trump) lives to make the other side blink and is eager to signal that he’ll do whatever it takes to win."
He will declare victory regardless of the outcome, despite reality, due to his "pugilistic, vaguely unhinged personality."
Let's take solace where we can. Ryan's failures. Midterm results. Pending subpoena powers. However, let's also make sure to take advantage of this opportunity by ensuring our focus is on real issues, not revenge. Whoever the 2020 candidates are, make sure they stay on point. Healthcare. Environment. Trade. Infrastructure. Employment in emerging technologies.
Don't let our boiling blood bind our vision of a better nation, one that supports our citizens, not disenfranchises them.
29
The thought of Mr. Trump not running for a second term is scary. Without the constraint of having to appear sane to middle-of-the-road Republicans, he'd likely go full-gonzo. He'd shed the pretense of appearing politic. Trump's true self, I'm sure, is more dangerous than his presidential persona. No, he must run for a second term--and lose--to assure peace, prosperity, and stability in the land. "Trump Unchained" is not a movie we want to watch
5
@R. Adelman: of course, if Trump runs and (please, God, spare us) wins a second term, we will four whole years non-stop of the full-gonzo. He would shed any pretense of appearing politic. On the other hand, is already full-gonzo, so I guest it cannot get much worse.
3
"A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible."
I guess you missed saying: "A government that liberates people from forces of gravity and ageing,"
Because both sentiments are laughably wrong.
Events since 2015 suggest that conservative philosophy, the output of conservative think tanks, the discourse about conservatism in publications, what not . . . are pure fantasy with no real world analog.
Conservatism in practice, in the last 30 years anyway, has been little other than ethnic-religious nationalism, and its avatars of robber baronism, exploiting everything possible, while demanding others stop complaining they are being robbed.
Had it not been that, the republicans would not have rushed to embrace Trump in the cloying, mealy mouthed, brown-shirted ways as they have.
72
"I’m increasingly of the view that, like the proverbial village in Vietnam, the Republican Party needs to be destroyed in order to be saved."
Exactly.
Trump is a human version of an exploded "dye pack" used to foil bank robberies. Every policy he touted and every politician in the party that has enabled him is stained in an indelible ink that renders the policies toxic and the politicians easily identified as someone who took part on a sustained attack on our democracy.
It doesn't matter how hard Republicans who did not call out Trump will try to scrub it away, the stain will be visible for years after Trump is gone.
69
@LT Truly one of the best descriptions I've heard of our esteemed leader... he personifies the stained, toxic qualities of an exploded dye pack.
Right up there with a description of his twitter rantings as coming from "..the diseased mind of a shrieking dimwit".
5
I do not love Joe Biden. He's loose canon. He's not any more fit to be President than Trump in many ways.
And I think if you dig a bit you'll find he has a woman problem. If the Kavanaugh hearings hadn't brought up his shameful, even prurient behavior during the Anita Hill trial (because it was a trial and Biden was leading the parade) he might have had a chance, but now, not so much.
I'd never vote for him. To me he is Trump junior in a whole bunch of ways.
2
Thank you, Ms. Collins and Mr. Stephens, for this pre-holiday exchange on the state of our current affairs, and hard-boiled Humpty-Dumpty appears to have taken quite a fall, with a few cracks. Our president is not well and should be allowed to tender his resignation.
'Obama was one of a kind. But his missteps also helped galvanize the Tea Party in 2009'...stop clinging to our former president, Mr. Stephens, when matters do not go right. It is shallow and futile; not well developed, you can do better.
While the Hunting Party continues in the wrong direction, it is Joe Biden for President and Beto O'Rourke for the Vice-Presidency for this voter. The fox is here, grooming his claws; the pony is grazing peacefully; and some of us are standing strong, listening to the trumpets awry, thinking what fools we are.
6
I don't know why the Republicans immediate move would be to get Trump out asap - however possible - and get VP Pence in a bit of a trailer for the next couple years as a "potential 2020 candidate." Yes, the guy has been passive with a ton of ugliness swirling around him, but so far he seems untarnished. As mentioned by other comments in NYTimes before (his silence during the TV showdown last week for example), it seems like he is playing an endgame of sorts and looking ahead. Why don't the Repubs see it as well? Yes, Pence would be a nightmare for the Extreme Left; and probably the only thing keeping them from entering the streets and demanding an immediate removal of Trump. But surely it would be a considerable gain for the Repubs looking ahead to 2020. Otherwise, at best, I could see another third-party candidate emerging who appeals to the Extreme Right in the way Trump did in 2016 and has the potential to bring the government even further towards the nationalism that we fear. I don't vouch for Pence's beliefs re: abortion and sexuality, but at least he would be competent enough to handle the job with a balanced Congress beneath him.
While Brett is all gooey eyed about Churchill I'd like to remind everyone that Churchill advocated for the creation of the NHS (Britain's public health care system) some 70 years ago. Contrast that with the attitude of today's conservatives.
54
@Johnny Edwards
And every military move W.C. promoted and the Allies gave into, from Narvik to Dieppe to Italy's hardened "soft underbelly" was a disaster.
See Andrew Roberts' earlier study of British and U.S. strategists, "Masters and Commanders", and the military historian Gordon Corrigan's "The Second World War. Churchy preferred starving our troops in the Pacific while keeping the British Empire salvageable, spending Canadian and Indian soldiers to keeping soldiers and civilians safe. I love his rhetoric. Few think he understood strategies for victory. Who did know or learn strategic thinking? Stalin, FDR, Hopkins.
When WW2 ended, Churchy was turfed, the Empire was a Commonwealth of vague ties. But Churchill's rhetoric lived on. That was the man's forte and service to the Allies. Words? A+ Strategic planning? Not measurable.
3
I agree with Gail the moment Trump leaves the White House, no matter when, process servers will pounce on him. Trump wants to avoid that for as long as possible, so fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy (and horrifying) presidential election.
21
Stephens shows his conservative, anti-citizen bias by saying: "A government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible." Interpreted, this means simply that, if we just get that pesky investigative & responsible government out of the way with its "oh, so restrictive regulations!", all us greedy capitalist hogs in corporate USA can get on with spoiling the environment, crushing the middle/lower classes and, by the bye, make oodles of cash that we hide offshore - those pesky taxes, you know. Good old standard GOP greed.
43
Joe Biden, if anything, should have been the nominee of the Democratic Party in 2016. He will not be the nominee in 2020. Polls at this point are only measuring name recognition. If the battle for the White House in '20 will be fought in suburbia, Democrats need to nominate someone who will speak to suburban women, will offer more than pablum to disaffected Obama-Trump voters, and keep the Democratic urban base energized. Tall order, but doable. Barack Obama did this with grace and aplomb. Twice. Not certain these qualities have gelled in any of the usual suspects - yet. And if Trump declares victory and limps home to New York - or Moscow, depending on how things go with Mueller and/or the Southern District, then the Democrat will be running against Nicky Haley. And no it won't be Bernie either, not because he's too old, but because he can't keep the Obama coalition together. Forget policies. I fear this election will be about gut feelings and who has the better slogans.
4
What we need is a reality TV show called THE WALL. Build a segment of wall and challenge a variety of highly motivated human specimens to get over it, under it, around it, or, in the case of the especially well-armed, through it. Since most of a thousand-mile structure wouldn't be guarded, that won't be a problem. It will stop Trump dead in his tracks, but not everyone trying to get into the USA using unapproved channels is a dumpy, out-of-shape old man. Except for the likes of Trump's father-in-law. Maybe then America will see that a physical wall is an outdated concept, as stupid as arming our troops with clubs and spears.
As for Biden, he's the perfect VP. The Democrats need someone who will create excitement and bring out apathetic voters. That person will need Joe's help.
12
What a great idea. Pitch it to the survivor franchise
The only chance Republicans have for the Executive Branch in 2020 is if Trump does not run, because the three states that gave him the election should know by now that Trump is a con. Biden would be a good pick for Democrats due to the fact that he is old and white and the vast majority of America feels comfortable with that demographic.
2
"Some Old Acquaintances are Being Forgotten?" To forget follows the predicate.
1
Gail knows and Bret should know that Paul Ryan was always a fraud, and with Ben Sasse voting alongside the president (whom he supposedly loathes) 88% of the time, it's obviously more a character issue with him that it is Trump's abysmal, rapacious policies. Sasse would be happy to advance most all those policies in his ever-so-thoughtful way, aided and abetted by his leader, the Amoral Ogre of the Potomac, Mitch McConnell.
Oh, Dwight Eisenhower, a fallen party turns not its vacant eyes to you...
85
And the Fickle Line of Fate Award in today's column goes to:
A ) "In this administration it probably beats “Have you been subpoenaed yet?”"
B ) Paul Ryan’s "only 48 but just has “loser” written all over him."
C ) Churchill "had credibility when the crisis came. Today, I don’t think there’s a single elected Republican who can say that."
D ) In keeping with the “The Apprentice” model of the Trump Administration, there’s a thought percolating that to prove to his supporters that he is the smartest boss of all time, Trump might fire himself.
Okay, D is fake, but so is the Trump Administration. Fake is the Trump brand. A brand Trump has stamped indelibly all over the Republican Party.
May Republicans everywhere get a lump of Trump coal in their Christmas stocking (to warm their hearts) and a Trump fake wall in the new year (to calm their fears). To everyone else,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
21
Fantastic. Entertaining and insightful. I only wonder if this conversation takes place as an email back and forth, or are you both frighteningly witty and able to talk in cohesive and astute complete paragraphs like that.
3
"Sasse... smart, and sane, and clearly detests Trump," and either lacks convictions or the courage thereof. Has Sasse ever voted AGAINST a Trump-backed proposal?
76
@A S Knisely No Sasse has not voted against Trump because in the end he supports what DJT is doing.
9
@A S Knisely The most positive thing I, as a Nebraska native, can say is that he is only the second worst senator from my state.
7
‘like the proverbial village in Vietnam, the Republican Party may need to be destroyed to be saved.’ That is a sickening comparison. Surely, Mr. Stephens you can do better.
4
In a nutshell, the Republican voter:
"But what a fool believes, he sees
No wise man has the power to reason away
What seems to be
Is always better than nothing
Than nothing at all"
Biden/Obama is the winning ticket in 2020.
4
@Mark Obama and Biden are the reason Trump is in office and the Republicans control every branch of government and the majority of the statehouses.
By trying to appeal to the conservatives who will oppose them simply to not give them a win, they allowed nothing to get done, we didn't get much "change" with Obama, except in the sense that we got pocket change while the big boys got pallets of hundred dollar bills fresh of the presses.
They didn't play hardball, they only got one major piece of legislation through, (a half-measure on health-care), and they allowed foreign governments to interfere in our election and didn't stop it, didn't go public with it either, because they would have been criticized as partisan and the like, by the conservatives who criticize them anyway.
As an aside to my last point, the Times allowed themselves to be manipulated by the conservatives with their now infamous article about Russian Influence not affecting the election in the weeks before the 2016 election. Lots of people don't trust the Times now because of it. I have a more nuanced view however, each reporter has some influence and there are good and bad articles in any paper, and the Times usually backs what is right to some degree, although when it really counts they always seem to fold like a cheap suit (think also of the 2000 election being stole and Times encouraging people to go with it).
1
Suicide is frequently described as a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Which is exactly how I feel about the border wall. Mexico was never going to pay to build it. I wonder who’s going to pay to demolish it.
6
Biden and some extent Sanders are ports in a storm, a storm that saps our energies and goes no where. Perhaps it would be nice to sit back for four years and take a breath, but our issues of climate change, health care and infrastructure will not go away in that time.
Would Mr. Brett actually vote for Joe Biden, and if so is it because he just wants the government to mortify? Would Mr. Stephens actually support progressive policies? I think I know the answer to that one.
3
Bret, my sentiments exactly. Biden for a steady helm after four years of mess with a younger VP who will be ready to serve after four years.
4
All due respect to Bret, as I appreciate he hates Trump, but as he alluded to, conservatives and people in the "middle" of the parties are the last ones that should be picking the democratic nominee. It's this playing to people claiming to be on the fence and to conservatives saying what is wrong with the democratic candidates, along with moneyed interests corrupting the democrats, that has led us elect candidates like Hillary, but also across the board, beholden to corporate interests and playing to people like Bret that will never vote Democratic.
Which is the reason that half of the voting age population doesn't vote, they see both parties as too corrupted by the same interests, which they are of course, but the Republicans are far far worse. The answer is for the Democrats to adopt true populism, not play to the "middle". Bottom line, taken from the Times after 2016 election, Hillary got 7 million fewer votes than Obama in 2012, while trump got the same number of votes as Romney.
We need another FDR, not another Clinton.
10
Surveying the past 2 years of epic GOP'er wreckage under His Unhinged Unraveling Unfitness, we'd think Bret would at last dial back on the " government that gets as little done as possible is what allows everyone else to get as much done as possible" trope - silly us.
That 'government is the problem' attitude is what's driving Mayhem 45*'s temper tantrum/shiny-object-to-distract-from-Mueller du jour, same as last week's reality episode Oval Office meeting (food fight) with 'Chuck and Nancy', Dems who have no legislative power to do what a GOP'er prez, Senate and Congress won't do - keep the doors open and the lights on in D.C.
GOPers' ethos is epitomized in the news that they aren't even showing up for work since the election, but still getting their pay-checks, even as their party leader threatens to cut off other government employee pay-checks:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/16/us/politics/congress-trump-shutdown.html
Repeating: GOP'ers are not showing up for work, still getting their pay, while threatening to cut off the pay of government employees who actually ARE working.
Again, we see how GOP'ers represent the looting grifting Vulture Class, who pretend 'distruption' isn't looting and grifting; it's their nature, and all they know how to do.
105
Have a wonderful Holiday season to both of you. Stay healthy in 2019, we need both of you in good form to get us through another year of Trump. It's going to be rough.
I don't think he should be impeached (yet) but I expect the investigations will make him even loonier and more desperate than he is now.
11
@Maxie Impeached AND removed. Two separate actions needed to get rid of him completely.
i always enjoy these conversations and often learn more than I would have expected to.
I would cheerfully vote for Biden especially if he offered to run for only one term as a interim president bringing some badly needed integrity and gravitas to the office.
17
@Sajwert Ah, my fellow New Hampshire-ite! Wouldn't that be the ideal situation- Biden for a term, with a Senate and House majority? RBG gets to retire in peace, to be replaced on the SCOTUS by an experienced constitutional lawyer who happens to be between gigs (like BHO). If only Santa could deliver that, we'd all have a wonderful Christmas. (I'm awaiting Southern Boy's response...)
4
Gail and Bret,
Your shared columns are a gift to us all in this political season.
You defend your positions with humor and grace, you find areas of agreement, and give us hope that we may do the same in our communities.
104
Bernie doesn't need a year of on-the-job training. He's seen the Washington swamp up close for many years and knows where the bodies are buried. With a democrat house and all of us who back his proposals by a large majority cheering him on, he can be a force for change.
Remember the good old days when government represented the people rather than global corporations? And don't say the money isn't there for his proposals. To that I say tax the corporations and ferret out the tax havens (put teeth back in the IRS.) The Trump tax cut was a joke of cosmic proportions, reducing our revenue just when we needed it most.
Call out everyone who takes PAC money (bribes,) the better to defeat climate change deniers and other corporate interests who take our money and pollute our air, water, and the very food we eat.
And don't lament that the middle of the country won't vote for Bernie. They want the same things he does according to poll after poll. It's the huge money behind the media grinding away on wedge issues that distract people from their original choice of a clean environment, jobs at decent pay, healthcare, and access to a decent education leading to less crime (not necessarily white collar crime.)
So, give progressives (and peace) a chance.
23
@betty durso The true "center" of politics is the Truth, and progressives with a truly populist agenda would appeal to such a broad swath of the non-voting public that democrats could control all branches of federal government and most of the states for decades, just as was the case after the party did just that with FDR.
A few of those truly populist agenda items needs to be for one, a national freight rail network, alongside passenger rails they should also build. This would save money in moving goods, take more trucks off the roads (one truck does the damage of 10,000 cars), and overall make us more competitive, while allowing the dems to peel off some states like Montana, Louisiana, etc.
Then of course nationalized health-care, private insurance need not be abolished, but every person has national insurance that they don't lose for any reason. What is it 25 or 40 was it percent of all health-care spending goes to administrative costs of insurance companies (a good share of which is them working to not cover people for ailments that oftentimes they are supposed to cover).
Other infrastructure projects as well, roads that last for centuries, (the romans did it we could too). Borrowed money should be spent on things that will save us money in the long-run, and roads that don't have to be rebuilt every 10 years are a big part of that.
5
@betty durso
Bernie, not feeling it.
Maybe if he'd supported Hillary and encouraged his people to do the same. Maybe if he really didn't need on-the-job training. Maybe if he hadn't started supporting misognyist candidates.Alas, he's always been in my-way-or-the-highway mode.
I'll vote for him if he's the nominee. Otherwise, meh.
9
@Kate
He supported Hillary. It was a difficult day for me as I thought he was free of the big donors and she was not. But of course I voted for her.
Now we have another chance to throw off the taint of big corporate influence. It's a heavy lift, but if not now--when?
1
In response to whether or not Trump will run again in the 2020 election, Ms. Collins responded, "I might if he didn’t have to worry about being greeted on the way out of the White House door by 20 people bearing subpoenas."
I can't ask for a better New Year's gift than that. I am sad only because I have to wait two more years for that gift.
122
@chickenlover Perhaps not. The whirlwind is a' comin'.
8
Brett: Exactly where is the idea that Trump himself might choose not to run in 2020 "bubbling?" The only place where the "bubbling" of this idea may be significant is Trump's own head. Otherwise, it sounds like something that's merely on a lot of people's Christmas wish lists. If I celebrated Christmas, it would certainly be on mine. But I wouldn't stay up waiting for Santa to come down the chimney and put Trump's calling it quits in my stocking. I'm afraid Trump is going to need a little push (from Republican Santas) to get him to elect early retirement from the White House.
60
@Jay Orchard: Hi Jay! Have you noticed that the NY Times, both reporters and columnists, engage in a lot of wishful thinking. I cringe every time I see it. It goes along with the exaggeration of how low Trump's approval numbers are ---- and so low that he'll never win re-election. No they aren't. The self-delusion among the good liberals of the country is disheartening. Either the party abandons identity politics and gets on the side of workers--and only workers--or it will die a slow death.
5
@Jay Orchard
Actually, I think it is possible. trump is a man who lives in his own head and reality. He thinks a crushing defeat is really a victory. So, yes, I could see him leaving the White House to go on his fantasy 'victory tour'.
8
@sjs
No, he'll have some phony doctor like Oz certify that he is too ill to complete his term.
He'll take to his bed and be unable to face the judicial music that awaits him.
4