Heavens, Charles, you want us to think!
Imagine that!
Thanks, good to read you again.
5
Mr. Blow is absolutely right. pandering to fickle voters is a lost cause. You're never sure which way they're going to turn. Demographics are changing rapidly in America, and the Democratic leadership should be reaching out to new groups, like suburbanites.
I spent most of my life in working class jobs, and I found out firsthand that white workers often vote against their own interests out of resentment. Many of them voted for Obama twice, because he helped them stay out of soup lines. But once our economy was healthy again, their resentments trumped their thinking. And, so, here we are, in a mess, sliding into autocracy.
6
Amen Charles. It was the white working class voters who gave us trump and endanger the healthcare and benefits of poor and working class citizens. I, for one, have no sympathy for any of them. They had it good for years and now that the cards are beginning to turn and suddenly they are the victims. Cry me a river. And you're 100% right Charles, the Democrats are treading tepidly on impeachment because they don't want to offend trump supporters. I say offend them. They deserve it.
4
Here, here! I'm a white female and I completely agree with Blow's argument.
4
What can be the practical point of this article? Mr. Blow certainly knows that neither party can win with only its core supporters.
Despite that knowledge, here is his plan: talk to 20% of all voters (blacks and Hispanics) and ignore whites - especially the working poor Obama-Trump voters.
My guess is that Trump's campaign can't believe their good fortune to have Mr. Blow on the opposing team.
6
Charles Blow’s column “The Fickle over the Faithful” is a concussion grenade dropped down the chimney of the Church of Quadrennial Conventional Wisdom. I have been listening to the pundit pep rally for “go after the straying white voter” since the discovery of “Reagan Democrats” and it has never made any more sense than Mr. Blow suggests.
The Democrats’ first priority should be to do whatever is necessary to get those stricken from voting rolls by Republican suppression laws re-registered and ready to vote. When those voters elect Democrats, the priority becomes governing so as to prove we deserve the trust they have repose in us, year after year.
6
I think the Dems fear the Gen Z millennials more than any economic class of voters. Bernie Sanders has the more idealistic of them enthralled, and the others are backing the many young congressional members.
Biden's problem will be dealing with the possibility of a year and a half of apologizing for one past misstep after another ("I remember that time you were in 4th grade and......") ad nauseam.
1
Thanks so much for articulating this important point so all can understand it.
I am liberal 74 year old white woman - I've noticed lately just how important blacks (especially women) and minorities are to the Democratic vote. However, I still found it shocking to hear that Democrats have not received a majority of the white vote since polling began!
It is so past time for the Democrats to quit whoring after the fewer and fewer white, mostly Mid-Western and rural voters. Fickle is a good word for them, as well as under-informed whiners who seem proud to carry their grievance on their sleeves.
It's time to pay attention to the real core base of our party, and give them the respect and attention they deserve.
6
I think the Dems fear the Gen Z millennials more than any economic class of voters. Bernie Sanders has the more idealistic of them enthralled, and the others are backing the many young congressional members.
Biden's problem will be dealing with the possibility of a year and a half of apologizing for one past misstep after another ("I remember that time you were in 4th grade and......") ad nauseam.
I get the point and I understand why non-white Democratic voters might feel taken for granted. But there aren't enough non-white voters in America to defeat Donald Trump.
Also, Blow's central thesis that white voters want white candidates is false: Obama did better with white voters than either Hillary, Gore or Kerry.
Blow is reducing Biden's appeal to whiteness, ignoring the fact that he's also more centrist, more experienced, and better known than most of the other candidates.
Biden played a loyal second fiddle to Pres. Obama for 8 years and is hardly a symbol of white supremacy.
Biden is also no whiter than Warren, Buttigieg, O'Rourke, Klobucher etc etc. His appeal to white, working-class voters rests not on his being white, but being (or seeming to be) working-class.
Biden showed in his announcement statement he understands the main job of the candidate is simply to defeat Donald Trump and end this nightmare. He is the best-placed to do that. That's what matters here, for all Americans of all backgrounds.
4
Biden Harris sounds like a winning ticket but Joe has to forge into the lead and stay there. Frankly, I like Harris. She engages and she is obviously tough. She would destroy Trump in a debate.
Joe might.
Anyway, let’s see what Joe can do. There is no need to debase ourselves but some recognition that there are legitimate grievances might help- even for white working class men.
I perhaps naively believe that any Democratic candidate who runs on a policy of fair wages, support for organized labor, fair and equitable tax laws, universal health care for all, serious investment in rebuilding infrastructure, fair and humane immigration policy, and honest, science-based attention to climate change-----can find the support among all working American men and women, more than sufficient to remove the lying, cheating, racist, proudly ignorant sociopath from office.
These policy issues are far more important than the personal charm or experience of any individual candidate, including Joe Biden....
3
Thank you Charles Blow! And please keep giving it to the Democrats for their weak-kneed pandering and fear of principles and values until they listen up, lest we all go down to defeat, like last time.
3
The salient point is that Trump won in 2016 because he won in rust belt states like Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Unless the Dems think that the other canddiates will suddenly start winnning other GOP states, then they have to decide who has the best chance of taking those states back. If they think Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris or Pete Buttigieg can achieve that while holding the states Hilary Clinton won, then fine. I have reservations about Biden too, but they are more about his age and tendency to say stupid things. American elections are generally won in the centre and Biden is a strong centre candidate.
2
"...Democrats, particularly established ones, whose main, if not only, objective is to defeat Donald Trump."
why does Blow think it is 'established' Democrats whose main and only objective is to defeat Trump?
and why does Blow imply that 'established' Democrats only objective being the defeat of Trump is not an objective shared by all Democrats, Republicans and Independents?
why are so many alleged Democrats so intent on reelecting Trump?
The party's "faithful" weren't too faithful in 2016.
3
fanning the flames of identity politics will reelect Trump.
5
Be conscientious and creative to find agenda for all European, African, South American, and Asian American working class people in this country.
I am really sick of these divisive and boneheaded opinions here.
2
"Indeed, I believe the entire reason that the Democratic leadership is proceeding so tepidly on the issue of impeachment is because they are afraid of the reaction of white, working-class voters."
Classic Charles Blow.
No matter what it is it - literally - always reduces to white racism.
I wonder if, at any time during the rest of his life, he will realize that the racism is coming from within himself, and how lucky he was to have the New York Times provide a venue for him to reveal it to others for so long.
3
I won't vote for Biden. Although I wasn't inclined to support him, two things solidified my position: 1)the photo of him being handsy with a woman in a bar (lack of boundaries, no respect for personal space; reveals his attitude toward women. Do I trust this man to fight for my rights? No.) He gave a disingenuous apology to Anita Hill only when he decided to run for president (lack of responsibility, more of the same regarding women's rights.)
I loved Obama as president, and he is an attractive man. But if he had snuggled up to me, my respect for him would have crumbled. I'm interested in policy statements, but talk is cheap.
2
just beat trump--everything else is footnotes
I certainly agree with you point, workin-class (factory blue collars? little self employed lawn maintainers? etc?) white voters represent an ambiguous electorate that is at the moment basically republican. So to chase their vote the party has to run on the right and this is what will kill the party.
Better to consolidate and expand the base with ideas and proposals that favor the real democratic oriented people which are working people too and may be the republican oriented white voter will understand (?) and change their mind.
2
“What’s in it for us, specifically? Life, Liberty and pursuit of happiness, or healthcare, freedom from guns and god and the last attempt to save the boiling earth.
It is hard to ignore the way partisan oped hacks on both sides like Mr. Blow and Stephens use their tribal racial pandering as a sort of opiate for all the sheeple in this dysfunctional nation of lords and peasants. What a strange country where both parties are seemingly in cahoots with their sick hatred of anyone without money. Why else would these hacks waste so many words on something that didn’t work in 2016. This is a nation circling the drain at warp speed. Get real America, there are no honorable politicians in the West. Joe Biden, Obama, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, etc. have all taken us to this sorry point. We are done and do not even fit the historical criteria of a nation. It’s more like an occupied nation ruled by collaborators.
1
I understand a risk in turning off "the core", but, tell me, what does that core gain by putting Trump in the White House. This is yet more evidence of the spite vote that animated so many who voted against Hillary, either by voting for Trump or just sitting out. Might make you feel superior, folks, but it's downright stupid.
Blacks have been a loyal constituency of Democratic party for a long time. What did they achieve out of that loyalty? Out of the more than 800 students admitted to elite schools in NYC, only 8 were Blacks. This outcome would show what Democratic politicians did to Blacks community? They promoted policies and practices that keep Blacks loyal to them, but keep them an underclass always.
3
Somehow all these articles questioning Biden’s purity never mention that he voted against Clarence Thomas while 11 other Dems voted for him.
3
We should not be focusing on 'What's in it for me?'
We should be focused on 'Saving America!'
Trump and The Russian Republican Party MUST BE defeated/exterminated like the diseased plague they are. Only when that existential threat is removed can we as ONE people move forward.
"Indeed, I believe the entire reason that the Democratic leadership is proceeding so tepidly on the issue of impeachment is because they are afraid of the reaction of white, working-class voters."
Mr. Blow hit the nail on the head with this one! Absolutely.
They do not want to do their jobs because they are afraid to do the right thing.
1
To Charles Blow I say, thank you and amen.
1
Charles, 2 1/2 years ago "our" "president" asked the black community to vote for him asking "What have you got to lose?" I hope that there were few in the black community who responded and said, "Hmmm, he may be right", and voted for him. Questions about policy are certainly fair game, but at the end of the day there is one thing that should be crystal clear to every minority voter of whatever minority group they belong to - unless they are in the white right extremist minority, they should know by now what they had to lose with Trump and won't make that mistake again.
27
Democrats should choose the person most able to beat Trump soundly regardless of age, race, or gender. Most Democrats believe that person is Biden due to his connection with Obama, his likability, and his well researched past, ie. all of his skeletons are likely out of the box. There are over a dozen really good Democratic candidates running and that says something very positive about the Democratic Party. But most of these candidates are untested in a rigorous national election. Any one of them would be a perfect VP for Biden, however. As for the White working class, it is true that with sufficient base turnout, Democrats can win without them. But these folks have some real social and economic problems that need to be addressed by the Democratic Party. And certainly moving past Trumpism, which will not necessarily end when Trump goes back to NY or goes to jail, will require bringing White working class voters into the Democratic fold.
1
I agree with the analysis. However we do need a candidate that can win in WI. MI and PA. I do not feel that we need to sacrifice our principles and elect a moderate. But maybe, just maybe, a majority of voters do not want "medicare for all" or free college. Medicare buy-in at 50 makes sense to me.
As a longtime Democratic voter, I just want us to win. It does seem like old white folk tend to vote more reliably than younger voters. An aging boomer like myself cannot figure out why older voters vote Republican, when it is obvious republicans want to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
Only twice in history was I really enthused about our candidate (Obama). I was fine with Mrs. Clinton, as the goal was to win the WH. However the Sanders supporters acted liked spoiled children when their candidate did not win.(full disclosure; I voted for Sanders in the primary).
I feel that a woman should definitely be on the ticket as women are largely responsible for us taking back the House in 2018. I prefer a more progressive candidate, but since 1972, other than Obama, we have nominated a lot of candidates who could not ignite enthusiasm.
No excuse for sitting this one Dem out voters. While I do not want to lower the bar and vote for "the lessor of two evils," we need a "W" in 2020.
2
I hate to say this, but I really don't care who the Dem candidate is as long as he or she is the one who's most capable of beating Trump. There is no litmus test for me, or purity test, or ideological threshold the candidate must cross.
I'm an older white male (well, one-quarter Filipino), and I know that affords me privileges a lot of other people don't have. But I'd be happy with Biden or Bernie or Kamala or Elizabeth or Pete or Cody or whoever, as long as they beat Trump. That's all that matters. That's the only game in town for me.
Maybe I'm wrong for feeling that way, but there it is. The United States has been tilting off its rocker since 2016, and all I want is it to regain its balance again.
4
I wonder why Mr. Blow thinks race is more important than class or, what is worse, that class doesn't matter much. They both matter, and it seems pretty important to consider that many African-Americans are of the working class and know it. In 2016 he opposed Bernie Sanders early and often during the primaries, and supported Hillary Clinton, as did all the Times's op-ed columnists. Anyone who pays any attention to politics at all knows that Obama got a big enough share of white working-class votes to carry several key states in the Midwest, and that many of these voters turned to Trump when faced with the choice of Clinton, rather than Sanders, whom many had supported in the primaries.
5
Trump ran as a populist and drew huge crowds. A lot of people voted for him because they wanted to see the system shaken up. They wanted their government to address the systemic problems that were hurting a so many people. Donald promised to "drain the swamp" but he lied. Turns out he is a fraud.
A lot of people would not vote for Donald again. But if the Democrats don't nominate someone who has a clear vision for how government can be a positive force that serves the needs of ordinary people--and stop deferring to the wealthy and large corporations that have exercised an outsize influence--a lot of those people will stay home on election day.
Maybe Joe Biden could calm a frazzled nation; but maybe he won't fight for what government needs to do.
1
I don't want "Middle Class Joe." I want Joe - or someone - to say they're for all Americans, not some subdivision. That's who can win. I believe Biden can get the nomination, but will lose the election. This does not make me happy one tiny bit.
2
Mr. Blow, perhaps it is time you write a piece about the unfortunate power of the Electoral College as well as the fact that it is unlikely to be minimized in its importance prior to the next election.
Your notions regarding the "white vote", as you call it, are going to have an affect on the 2020 elections. We will either face four more years of an unbridled Trump administration or we are going alter that trajectory?
But unfortunately, all black and hispanic voters, combined with the votes of loyal Democrats, are not enough to win much more than the popular vote. Hillary lost with a cushion of over 3M, and prior candidates also did so but with far less of a margin. Yet the Electoral College defeated Gore, Kerry and Clinton. And it will most likely defeat the next Democratic nominee but perhaps not Biden.
So unless Mr. Blow can change the weight of the Electoral College between now and election day or unless Mr. Blow can detail how an EC win is possible without "white" votes, I suggest he better focus his writings on either what will America be like with four more years of Trump.
Or perhaps Mr. Blow might exhaust his personal fortune of opinion to winning the Electoral College, for the benefit of our future, our lives and that of our children.
He is correct in noting that the stakes in 2020 are extremely high. But if Biden is our best chance at changing that course of history, how do we help him make it better?
3
We're aleady asking 'What's in it for us?' However many of us didn't get into the fight until the 2016 election. There are a lot more of us working now and we've honed our skills. We now know to call our representatives and what to say to make those calls count. We know to write effective letters to the editors. We have our own politcal organizations whose agendas may not always be in lock-step with the DNC's agenda. We are not just supporting the party candidates, but are running and winning ourselves. Hint that you will compromise our rights with stale, pale, mysoginist, racist, GOP males in the name of decency, after we put any of you in office, again, and you will know our displeasure. We are not going away.
1
@AnnaJoy
Nice~!
Welcome to the resistance.
NotMeUs
1
The key to winning, as Paul Krugman has pointed out innumerable times, is economic issues, not identity politics. Charles Blow and lots of other commentators do not do the Democratic Party any favor by incessantly analyzing the issues that confront our country - and the electorate - in terms of skin color and sexual orientation. That analysis leads to fragmentation of the existing Democratic electorate and inability to expand that electorate. On the other hand, a focus on economic inequality issues is the way to unify the entire spectrum of the Democratic Party, including lower middle class disaffected white voters who were split off by Trump in 2016. Just stop with the black/white/queer/straight/et al., analysis. This election - and many beyond it - should be focused on the inequality between the ultra-rich and the rest of us and the legitimate public policies that can be implemented to address those inequalities. To date, Elizabeth Warren has addressed these issues more comprehensively than any other announced Democratic candidate. In my opinion, I don’t think Biden has any sincere desire to address these economic issues. He is much too beholden to the status quo, starting with the banking industry.
6
Let me make it very, very simple:
Joe Biden is just way, way too old to run for POTUS. Just the long brutal competition for the nomination is grueling, then you've got the campaign itself and THEN you have to be healthy and fit and strong enough to serve as POTUS.
BTW: Reagan was too old too and he was much younger than Biden is today. The left mocked him as a senile old coot.
For what it is worth...Trump is too old, too, but we had no choice. With Dems in 2020, we have 20 choices already and it's still 18 months away!
3
If the Democrats want to give Trump a second term, they'll give the voters Sanders or Warren. Period.
That leaves Joe Biden and about a dozen other people, all untested, most or all of whom are bad bets; remains to be seen, but that is not a low-risk strategy. Joe will not set the world on fire, and maybe that's a good thing. Keeping the likely alternative outcomes in mind is another good thing.
1. Biden's appeal is not to working-class white voters only; with non-Hispanic white voters making up nearly 70% of the electorate according to Mr. Blow, reaching middle-class and upper-middle class white swing voters is essential.
2. Energizing minority, young, and female voters is terrific, as long as the Democrats can get them to show up. Minorities and young voters often fail to show up at the polls, and enthusiasm does not always translate into votes.
3. Biden's experience and reputation could be crucial in getting legislation through Congress and rebuilding America's alliances around the world.
4. Pair him up with a younger, less conventional running mate such as Pete Buttigieg or Kamala Harris and Dems could win in a landslide by pulling in both older whites and younger, more diverse voters.
6
Well said. I have been incredibly worried by the Democrats' infighting as they try to forge a platform.
Biden, to me, is too "vanilla" -- a safe, warm touchy-feely Uncle Joe, with no platform except "I'm not Trump".
Trump is good at destroying Constitutional norms, and shredding those who oppose him. He's not intelligent, but he has learned that bullying, dishonesty and intransigence work for him -- they have throughout his life.
In Biden, the DNC is presenting a male Hillary. He's taking contributions from rich corporations. He has no position on anything. I don't agree with Warren's idea of student debt forgiveness, as it basically benefits the well off. But at least she has an idea.
Sanders is the only Democrat who can take Trump's insults and let them roll, like water off a duck's back. He has a fully formed, progressive platform, and a plan for how to pay for it. He has a motivated base and, so far, has raised the most money, all from small donors.
I do not want to see the DNC make the same mistake two campaigns in a row -- that money and name recognition will bring a win. Biden is nice, but not charismatic, and so far, a man without a plan. Being Obama's sidekick is not sufficient reason to vote for him.
Much of the Democratic electorate, and independents, want what Sanders is offering. Buttigieg merits more attention, too, for his intelligence, even if opionators say he's not "ready". He could stand up to Trump, easily.
3
I do not for a minute think that the Democratic Party considers white working class voters to be more important to it than minority working class voters. The suggestion that the party distinguishes working class voters based upon their race strikes me a off base. In the end, working class voters will choose between the current occupant of the white house, whose lies about the benefits he would bring to the working class are legion. Hopefully they won't make that mistake twice.
1
Just one comment on the impeachment question.
Morally, it's the right thing to do. Congress has a duty to impeach someone who is so blatantly unfit for any kind of office.
Politically, it could spell suicide in the key swing states come 2020. The "white working class" voters have been largely brainwashed by Hannity/Limbaugh propaganda for years and many are lost in a sea of misinformation, fake news and right wing propaganda.
Any aggressive move by the Democrats towards impeachment would be immediately weaponized by the right wing propaganda machine as an assault on white identity, on nationalism, on the second amendment, whatever would stir emotions and bring voters to the right.
It's all because of the absurdity of the electoral college system of course. But elections are won or lost on a handful of marginal (and marginalized) states, so the Democrats are forced to play by these rules and forget the moral high ground.
2
MEMO to Democrat Party insiders. THIS is the moment of truth. April 29, 2019, about 5:30 PM.
A decision must be made now about Trump's as-things-stand-now better than 50/50 re-election prospects, given the economy (fantastic numbers for Trump, earned or inherited), Democratic party disarray, and the disaster that has been the Mueller report that Dems had been pinning ALL their hopes on.
As things stand now, the simple fact that no amount of denial will be able to overcome is that whatever the polls say, close to half the country passionately supports Trump. In a word, Trump was able to win in 2016 despite the most compelling reasons to doubt his preparedness for the job. And despite an army of opponents' efforts to trip up his presidency and ensnarl him in an impeachment, by most measures voters, especially his base, care about, Trump's presidency has been succeeding beyond anybody's expectations. That's the brute reality, which would normally bode forvtge strongest re-election prospects.
Dems must choose prez/vice ticket that overcomes this staggering challenge, anc stave off republican consolidation of power (incl. SUPREME COURT appointments) for a generation. This is ALL that matters.
Forget Corey Booker, forget what's-her-name from California.
I'm thinking the only option may be Biden at the top of the ticket with a more leftward running mate, younger, who will be the implied successor in 2024, no 8 years for Biden. Biden must be understood to be a bridge to 2024.
4
Hillary Clinton is much better suited to be the president than Donald Trump by any metric. Yet, here we are.
Neither the fickle nor the faithful matter if you don't win the election.
4
@Ali
your assertion is what got Trump elected.
Hillary by any metric was not suited to be President let alone the Democratic Party's candidate as by all metrics Hillary is a Rockefeller Republican.
3
I generally agree with you, but wondering about that 18.6% statistic (working class voters as a percentage of the nearly 70% of the electorate who are white non-Hispanic). If that's correct, most of the white working class is not voting, because only about 37% of white Americans have college degrees (which is the generally accepted marker of being "working class" in this country). So as we concentrate on energizing sectors of the population who have been written off as non-voters, that should include white working-class voters who have been left behind as have people of color.
4
I am a bedrock liberal Democrat. I have been all my live, and am proud of it. I have many dreams for my country. There are so many things we could do better. I am extremely aware of how many dreams have been postponed over these last few years while we endure our current discomfiture.
That being said, all I care about, and I mean ALL I care about, is beating Trump.
Nothing else is important at this time. "Anything to defeat Trump" may not be a soothing elixir, but when the patient is dying, it is more important to find an elixir which is effective than one which is soothing.
Trump will win if the forces that oppose him are so foolish and narrow minded that they focus on each other instead of the clear enemy.
If the loyal constituents do not realize that there is nothing more important than beating Trump, and focus on their own areas of grievance, they may find there is little to salvage when 2024 rolls around.
9
It is so disturbing that so many political articles I read these days are about race. The media seems to be doing a great job of sharpening the edges of tribalism. This is not going to end well irrespective of where you stand on the political spectrum.
9
The Democrats need to stay focused on issues, not who is up in the polls. Polls are less than stellar in their predictions and it is way too early to figure out who is going to end up winning the primarey.
If we all just paid attention to what the most important issues are to the American voters, all voters, then Trump will be defeat. I do not believe that most Americans are racists, are against LBGT's, women, or social safety nets.
They are against Citizens United, Voter suppression, Gerrymandering, the Tax Reform Bill, the murdering of innocent people in schools, churches, entertainment venues, malls, etc.
This is what the democrats need to concentrate on. If they do, then the Senate will turn Democratic as will the White House.
If I were running I would not even mention Trump's name. I would refer to him as "my opponent". Why give him any more mention.
Frankly I am tired of hearing his name, McConnell's name, Lindsey Graham's and the Cabinet names. They should all be banished from public office.
3
Governor Jay Inslee would make an excellent candidate but ALL democrats must support and vote for any of the candidates.
TRUMP MUST BE DEFEATED!!!!!
@David J. Krupp
I am supporting Jay Inslee because he has promised to make climate change his number one priority if he is elected and he has more experience working on that issue than any of the other 20 candidates. He is not focused on getting white working class votes, he is focused on making the electorate realize this is our last chance to address climate change with any hope of avoiding an utterly catastrophic outcome. Sanders is a progressive so he is focusing on the working class because the working class is at the center of the progressive political view of the country. Biden has always presented himself as someone from gritty working class Scranton who can relate to those type of people. But he launched his campaign in Charlottesville which indicates that he is putting the fight against white supremacy at the center of his campaign. Because of the electoral college I don't see how the Democrats can avoid paying a lot of attention to white working class voters. They are regarded as being swing voters perhaps more than any other group and they are in large numbers in several key swing states. Trying to get their votes for the Democrats may be fool's gold but it is going to be hard to resist, particularly with the Sanders' wing trying so hard to push the party to the left.
Mr. Blow, all that most of this county wants is to get back to “normal”. Someone to steady this ship and lead it forward again. An avuncular, oldish man with a life time of experience is just fine for me, at this time. I can’t imagine that most minorities don’t want the same.
5
His age is a negative and he will be harassed with the long-past "transgressions," but he comes from a tradition of bipartisan GOVERNMENT with three senators we just lost, John McCain, Birch Bayh, and Richard Lugar. The tea party and freedom caucus take-over of the Republican Party (Grover Norquist) is bent on destroying government. trump needs to be stopped from finishing that.
3
Voters need to remember that Biden read the 20 minute statement out load to America written by the rape victim, Stanford's former swimmer.
He also took a big stand for LGBT before Obama did.
He has a track record of building civil rights.
I, too, wd prefer he offered a more indepth apology to Hill, but no matter what, Biden has my vote for president!
6
Two words: electoral votes
2
I enjoyed Mr. Blow's column and perspective but I would offer this additional thought. There were voters who both voted for Obama and Trump. What is so wrong with Biden trying to attract a portion of that electorate to support him based on his record as VP under Obama? If he secured a good portion of that electorate and continued to pursue broadening his base of new and traditional democratic supporters, that should secure a popular and electoral victory for Biden
2
If you do not win, you do not have power. Principles do not get change if you lose the election
4
Today a co-worker, a well educated 50-something Indian woman, told me in a hushed tone that the Democrats need to pick Joe Biden because we need a white man to calm everyone down. I don't like that people feel that way, but unfortunately they do.
2
I think this just reinforces Mr. Blow’s point. Your co-worker isn’t saying she herself prefers Mr. Biden. She just has the belief that certain other people will be reassured by him. This it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy despite the lack of statistical support.
Karl Marx famously implored "Workers unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains."
Since Reagan the Republican party has successfully used identity politics to fracture middle / working class Americans along racial lines. Multiple Polls show the precious White Working Class voter to vote contrary to their own economic interests if it ensures that "undeserving" African-Americans (and now immigrants) do not get a dime of tax money.
No candidate will - or should - flirt with Marx. However, Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in particular try to remind us not only that "...it's the economy stupid", but that it is the haves versus the have nots.
Core economic issues -- health care, education, housing, retirement funding, tax fairness -- are not white, Black or Latinex. What has emerged as the "white" issue is racism and xenophobia, deftly fanned by DJT.
As a long time white progressive I have no interest at all in the Democratic candidate trying to appeal to whites. My excitement and motivation to vote hinge on economic fairness and opportunity. Framed correctly that will bring along many other whites.
3
White voters need medical care just as much as anyone else, and it's an issue where Republicans and Trump are already in trouble. Attack your enemy where he is weak. (Sun Tzu, I think.)
Climate change is an issue that is not only critical to our survival. It is an issue of which people are becoming increasingly aware. Many businesses, especially insurance companies, are ahead of the public on this. Farmers are being hit hard already and that's an opening to rural voters. Again, here Republicans and Trump are weak here. We should exploit it.
2
So pragmatism should play no role in the 2020 Democratic nominee?
If the goal is to take back the White House... If Biden really can sway the wiggling whites... And (big) if the progressives get one of their rising stars (and who else to complement the Obama/Biden pairing of '08 and '12 than a certain prosecutorial firebrand who just happens to be female and black) and the closest thing the Democrats have to a sure lock on the next election, are they really gonna put the crosshairs on their own collective foot when they pull the trigger?
"I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat.": Will Rogers.
I fear that may be the answer to the question I pose.
3
I say we follow Mr Blow's advice and double down on identity politics. A ticket of Harris & MayorPete would give the highest score in terms of diversity points.
5
Mr. Blow. Congratulations for being the first to recognize this and state it publicly. That took courage. I think your points abut the white working class voters are valid The tail is already wagging the dog, it serves no long term purpose for the Democrats to continue in this vein. Short-sighted policy for which leadership must take responsibility.
2
Anyone thinking what’s in it for us should be denied the franchise. Res Publica.
1
Mr. Blow wonders why Democrats bother wooing a critical swing voter rather than those black and Hispanics "...who overwhelming and consistently support..." them.
The question sort of answers itself, doesn't it? Getting the Other on board is how you win elections, not simply preaching to the choir. Why just capitulate to the GOP on this constituency?
Mr. Blow's advice is almost the opposite of how best to appeal to a large national electorate.
I'm one of those dreaded straight white males, and voted eagerly for Barack Obama twice, and revere the man today. Somehow I felt included in his idea of "inclusion" and "diversity," ironically because he rarely felt the need to call out to every possible combination and sub-combination of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, etc., etc. - except for straight white males. Sadly, his uplifting, inclusive rhetoric is already sounding like an anachronism in today's Democratic Party .
7
@Livonian
Great explanation. I also dig Obama. But, IMO, he is not what liberals wanted to see in him. He played politics with the Chicago (my hometown) machine to get ahead there and then moved downstate. Axelrod had his cabinet (and probably Fed) picked for him a year before the election. He gave Bill and Hillary the Sec.of State position for votes, knowing what she is all about. He then endorsed her over Bernie after he had plenty of time to reflect on Libya. (Bernie would be president now if Obama endorsed him, IMO.) He's a class act, but he's no progressive. He could get Hyde Park, Evanston and the burbs - but not Cottage Grove or East Chicago. He's all about pragmatics, compromise and incrementalism. The executive orders were too little, too late (and labile). I just think our country needs to listen to it's people and bring on the major reform.
4
Please don't go this route - in this hair-trigger, anger-loving, environment all people need is a little bit of encouragement that their anger is righteous and they're off and we have Trump. I remember reading how some activists had to chastised by Pres Obama that they were sitting in the Oval Office w/the President b/c they didn't think that was enough. And now we have Trump.
What's in it for all of us is getting Trump out and getting the Senate in b/c those courts that are being stuffed will affect us for a long time. Right now it's the needs of the many, time will come for the needs of the few.
4
This editorial displays a tragic lack of insight into recent presidential politics. At this point, hand-wringing is probably counterproductive, quibbling is likely self-defeating, and appeals to decency could be viewed as a curious anachronism in this bizarre political season. But who knows?
5
Thank you Charles! Sometimes what’s called for is a big dose of courage because it is the right, and urgent, thing to do. Mollycoddling the white working vote is a waste of valuable resources. Sometimes what’s called for is stepping up, together. The current Democratic leadership is refusing to see that this patient (our country) needs immediate critical care, and unity from the whole team working toward the same goal: keeping the patient alive. We cannot afford to pussyfoot around with hugs to the white vote. Biden thinks all he has to do is put his arm around somebody’s shoulder to make them fall in love with him. It’s patronizing and it’s too risky. Give me Pete any day because he speaks the truth regardless of who he’s talking to. Charles, you are so right in saying, “Indeed, I believe the entire reason that the Democratic leadership is proceeding so tepidly on the issue of impeachment is because they are afraid of the reaction of white, working-class voters.” Get real leadership!
1
The effectiveness of identity politics as a winning strategy will only wane as our country becomes more diverse. Liberal democrats tend to split the country into two halves: whites vs non-whites. However, this categorization only serves to paint all non-whites with a broad brush and presupposes the interests and perspectives of blacks, Hispanics (of all races), and Asians are virtually identical. They aren't.
Asians now account for the wealthiest (and most educated) demographic block in the US (Bureau of Labor Statistics), while upward mobility among Hispanics continues to climb and far outpaces black upward mobility (Race and Economic Opportunity in the United States: An Intergenerational Perspective). Meanwhile, rapid demographic shifts suggest that, in an increasingly large portion of the country, minorities don't just interact with their own group and with whites - they also interact with one another.
To effectively build a coalition across such broad groups, Democrats can't just bank on assuming they're all the same; they'll have to transcend identity politics altogether.
3
The three "cons" listed are significant, but I feel it should be mentioned in any story on Biden that he a) has been carrying water for the financial services industry for decades, and b) has been willing, multiple times over the years, to weaken or hamstring both Social Security and MedicAid.
We can do so much better in 2020.
1
Joe Biden may not the perfect candidate for this moment in time but he is a decent, honorable and compassionate human being. In other words, he is everything that Donald Trump is not. In 2016 too many working class Democrats and Independents voted for Trump more out of protest than conviction. They completely ignored all of the warning signs about Trump that were blatantly obvious throughout the primary and general election seasons. Well, they've now gotten a good look at the Trump horror show and hopefully will want the honor of the presidency restored. Biden can fill that role. In addition, with his years in the Senate and the Vice-presidency, Biden has a great deal of expertise in the foreign relations and national security arenas. These are no small things compared to Trump who has to have crucial information presented to him in cartoons and pop-up books because he has no attention span and is just not interested. On the domestic front, Biden may be a "progressive" as the new hard left wing of the Democratic party defines it but he's progressive enough. At the end of the day all of the progressive policy ideas in the world mean nothing if Trump gets a second term. If Biden does get the nomination, God help us if we see a repeat of the third party and non-voters that we saw in 2016. Our democracy may not survive four more years of the Orange King and his criminal vassals.
2
Let's nip this at the bud to prevent another myth perpetuation (like the one in 2016 that Hillary Clinton is a progressive, along with Eugene Debs, Saul Alinsky, Cesar Chavez, etc.).
The working class have NO interest in establishment politicians of either party. Joe Biden is clearly the democratic establishment's choice. He has the support of centrist, middle class voters, not the working poor. Bernie and Trump, on the other hand, have their support. Saying otherwise will not make it so. The youtube record demonstrates this pretty clearly. Biden's Scranton rally in 2016 was embarrassing; Bernie's was anything but.
4
Charles, in saying that the Dems shouldn't treat white, working class voters as sacred, white buffaloes, you are are characterizing them as a monolithic block of voters just as you are accusing the Dems of doing.
Many of those voters voted for Trump not out of any great love for him but they couldn't bring themselves to vote for Hilary, who in many circles (including among Dems) was a divisive, even odious figure and poor campaigner. They will drop him and again vote for a Dem - the right Dem.
The right Dem will focus on health care, income inequality, cost of higher education, jobs programs, consumer protection, infrastructure and the other meat and potato issues that appeal to the vast majority of Americans, not just white working class ones. If he/she successfully does that, enough white, working class voters will stand behind him/her to win the election.
5
Why are voters who switch between parties "fickle"? The democratic process relies on voters who do not vote party line.
7
I don't know. Why are we assuming the Democratic Party has thrown in for Biden, and even if so, so what?
We are the voters, our primary rules have changed to be more inclusive, Biden has no guarantee to get the nomination, and if he does, he's getting my vote just because he's the Democrat and he's not Trump.
All I care about is healthcare, and nothing the Republican party ever does on that front has ever helped me.
2
Why do so many "centrists" determined to find an "electable" Democratic candidate always talk as if the only people who could possibly vote in 2020 are exactly the same people who actually did vote in 2016? The turnout was quite low by European standards. Shouldn't Democrats be concerned with the possibility that some of the nonvoters did not participate because they felt neither candidate had much to offer people like them? Why do the same thing again?
Another question: while lots of people talk about appealing to the voters who voted for Obama in 2012 and then for Trump in 2016, has anyone convincingly established that a significant number of people actually did any such thing? Without evidence, I'm skeptical that this category even exists.
4
I sincerely hope Biden has a dog. If so he has my vote. If not he’s got my vote in the hopes he will get one.
4
There are 30% out there who are going to vote for Trump no matter what he does or who runs against him. But I do believe the biggest mistake Hillary Clinton made was the infamous "basket of deploreables" foolishness. What would it have hurt to say, "I would like the people supporting Trump right now to take a serious look at the proposals I am making to benefit the entire country. I'm confident that they will see who is the better candidate for the country." Biden, at least is only attacking one person, so far. Maybe he knows something about politics and leadership?
2
@KC Yankee
Or said, the policies have left people in a deplorable state.
@KC Yankee
He also dissed millennials.
“The younger generation now tells me how tough things are—give me a break,” said Biden, while speaking to Patt Morrison of the Los Angeles Times to promote his new book. “No, no, I have no empathy for it, give me a break.”
https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-says-millennials-dont-have-it-tough-780348
1
Well, "anything to defeat Trump" is good enough for me.
Anybody who isn't a republican is fine with me.
Anybody who doesn't froth at the mouth with hypocritical religious blahblahblah would be fine, too, long as he/she had half a brain and can articulate democratic party values.
Preferably somebody who has little or no baggage. That lets Biden out because he'll never get over the Anita Hill episode.
Plus, all of the other candidates sound fresher, quicker and smarter than Joe. We've heard his schtick over and over and over again, punctuated by his now overly familiar 40-watt smile and it no longer works very well.
But...but, Joe over that thing currently sliming the White House and the whole country. I don't care what's in it for me personally or particularly. I care about the destruction of my country.
Yes, I'll vote for anybody over Trump, my identity be damned.
5
The media is full of justified agony over Trump’s divisive politics and bigotry.
However, identity politics feels like more of the same. The media endless draws sharp lines and labels among our citizens. It is destructive too.....
2
Mr. Blow, you are conflating fickle with genuinely thoughtful. Are some swing trump voters superficial, easily convinced, and ill-informed?--Certainly. Are some desperate for a break from a past that saw multiple administrations from either party fall short--yep.
The flip side of the "fickle" coin is faithful, and that also requires a certain level of willful ignorance. We need to acknowledge the discussions are complicated, and we certainly avoid labels like fickle and faithful
3
Charles, you are taking something that is not an issue of race and trying to turn it into one. Again.
6
Nominate. Hillary. Again.
2
"Indeed, in political circles, Biden’s chief attribute in this election feels like his apparent appeal to these white voters."
First of all, when Blow says "in political circles," this is Blow talking. He wants to push a racial angle and he should have the guts to come right out and say so.
Second, Blow is wrong. Biden's chief attribute is not his appeal to white working class voters. It is, and this should be self evident, that he was President Obama's right hand man. And Obama is the only most respected and liked person in the party since, maybe, JFK.
Sure, people who like Biden to begin with argue for him by touting his electability, especially in the swing Midwest states where Clinton got clobbered among white voters. Indeed, Obama made this very point, saying that even if you can't win these groups, you still need to campaign with them so that you don't get swamped. So, this is a real point.
But, it is not why most people like Biden. It's his proximity to Obama. Also, that by virtue of being VP, he is a known quantity and so voters are inclined to trust him in ways we don't with other candidates who sound good but who knows what they will really be like. If it wasn't for these attributes, no one would care that Biden has pull with the white working class.
2
Electoral College. Electoral College. Electoral College!
While I agree with many of the points made by Blow, any data provided that reflect U.S. national sentiment is not useful - and an argument based on these data is rendered moot.
As Democrats (and other anti-Trumpists), we should be laser-focused on data that helps us choose the candidate who wins enough of the swing states to rid us of Trump. The last thing we should want is a candidate who wins the popular vote but not the Electoral College. That only gets us 4 more years of this malignancy.
5
Joe Biden’s appeal is that he is the “good” Trump: electing him will Make America Good Again. He is decent, has integrity and is perceived as an “average” Joe. In reality he is your average politician,whose positions blow with the political wind. Trump was elected on the myth that as a non politician he would blow up the system. He has, but to obscure the need to Fried his narcissism and greed. He is a false prophet and fraud.
Regardless of race, gender or religion, we need a President with the foresight to change the American dream from the Horatio Alger quest for individual success , to collective betterment of our society. Not socialism, but reordering our priorities to ensuring basic human and economic needs and finding solutions to collective problems such as crumbling infrastructure and climate change.
4
@Asher Fried
"....but reordering our priorities to ensuring basic human and economic needs and finding solutions to collective problems such as crumbling infrastructure and climate change."
That's a definition of socialism.
But unless you want to remain with your rapidly approaching oligarchy (the new judges are completing the circle) or venture down the rabbit hole of some version of anarchy, or a primeval autocracy or whatever "y" or "ism" used to collectively direct the population of a country, its' been pretty well established that the most successful system of directing a modern economy and population in a global society is a form of social democracy.
I'm sorry, it just is.
1
I agree 100% with this article. Why chase a diminishing electorate that doesn't want to move forward? The Democrats are the only ones that are following the Constitution right now - and they had better stand strong during these investigations on behalf of we voters. If they waffle at all on pursuing Trump by making a decision NOT to impeach because they are worried about the politics, then they are making the same craven political decision that the Republicans are in allowing this authoritarian, drunk on power, to continue unchecked.
2
I think this conversation is moot! Trump has encouraged Russia to meddle in 2020 to empower him and the Republicans. Will we even have free and fair elections? I doubt it!
1
The front-runner is still out there trying to sell old, discredited ideas about marijuana use leading to heroin addiction, an idea from the Reagan world that was soundly debunked by doctors and addiction specialists in the 1999 Institute of Medicine report on medical marijuana.
This is the same report Al Gore lied about on MTV's Choose or Lose program when queried regarding his position by someone whose uncle was a disabled chronic pain patient serving federal time for growing medical marijuana.
Just FYI -- this prisoner was repeatedly placed in solitary because the other prisoners in his cell were able to get marijuana. But they don't test all prisoners for pot INSIDE prison. They only test the marijuana prisoners. So the big criminal cellmates don't go to solitary, but the little disabled marijuana grower in the cell does go to solitary for failing a drug test.
Gore misrepresented the IOM report during that event, but it was available online. MAJOR FAIL. His lie went viral on the discussion boards and Nader picked up just enough votes that night to send us all to Florida for a miserable recount.
Now we know that chronic pain patients actually give up opioids when they get marijuana.
Biden needs to stop misrepresenting the science on marijuana. This is old 90s behavior and we are not that Democratic Party anymore. And the science that proves he's wrong is all available online. Maybe he should read some of it before speaking on this topic again.
2
A side note on polls. Remember how they had Hillary in a walk in 2016, including this paper up until the eve of the election. Believe them and their pundit brethren not.
2
As a progressive, Biden would not be my first choice, but bottom line is, I'm going to support whichever candidate has the best chance to defeat our current disgraceful, inept president. If Biden stays top of the polls, he'd best serve himself and his chances by choosing a progressive VP, but we'll see - dems have an uncanny way of shooting themselves in the foot.
1
Blow is flat out wrong. There's no evidence that Booker or Harris would be either a better candidate for POC or that POC are more likely to support Booker or Harris over Biden. Mr. Blow ought to start by reading the rest of the writing in his own paper, starting with this piece about how well Biden polls among blacks in the key swing state of Pennsylvania and why.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/28/us/politics/biden-pennsylvania-2020.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_up_20190429&nl=upshot&nl_art=4&nlid=68986257emc%3Dedit_up_20190429&ref=headline&te=1
Then he could look at some of the research on how the white liberals driving the progressive wing of the Democratic Party are actually to the left of the general Black and Hispanic populations - even on questions of race, immigration, and diversity. https://www.vox.com/2019/3/22/18259865/great-awokening-white-liberals-race-polling-trump-2020
Lastly, before he cites Biden's history with the '94 Crime Bill (which enjoyed widespread support among the black community at the time of its passage), he might look at the more recent issues with criminal justice that faced the two main minority candidates, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris in their stints as Mayor of Newark, and San Francisco DA respectively.
In short, if blacks and Latinos are looking for a token candidate, then yes, the best strategy might be Booker or Harris, but current polling suggests, these voters aren't as simplistic and melanin obsessed as Blow is.
4
Quiz question: who can actually name all 20 Democratic candidates without turning to Wikipedia?
You have put your finger on it - the Democrats don't care about the problems of blacks and low-income Hispanics, because these groups always vote for them.
What you need is a credible threat that these groups will vote for the GOP instead. Then you will see the Democrats coming around and asking what they can do for these constituencies.
The question is: Why do we need, or better yet, who is asking for the male version of Hillary Clinton? At this time that Trump has exposed how many deficiencies we have in our republic, are the stale, old safe policies of a corporate funded politician like Joe Biden what America needs at this time?
The answer is a resounding NO, we need bold progressive ideas that we put forward what the MAJORITY wants, not politicians that are going to D.C. to "get along" w/ the other "side". They work for us and are supposed to be elected by US!. Not corporate America. Joe Biden represents old ideas, not change, more like the same as before.
1
The Republicans rail at the policies of Obama and Dems expect them to accept Biden? I’m with Elizabeth or Bernie.
2
Sorry Charles as long as we have the electoral college to hand elections to Republicans, even after the Democrats win the popular votes, this white working-class male cohort will hold much sway. The older whites also turn out more in elections and see the value in their votes. Why are minorities in Texas and the deep South not voting? And why aren't you trying to get them to the polls?
4
From what you have written, I believe Warren is doing exactly what you suggest. She is talking about reforming the banks, Wall Street, tackling college debt, inequality, racism, affordable health care and consumer advocacy. This working class white voter believes she represents real issues for all Americans. She is bringing up the issues I care about right now. I get the sense she is going press these issues and give them traction. She demonstrates she care about what make this country great and what citizens care about now. I am not sure she will win yet, but I am behind her right now.
4
@EJW
Once on stage, she’ll shine with her grasp of the issues and the knowledge required to solve them. And, I haven’t witnessed any whiff of self-centeredness, just a will and spirit to solve the problems facing our hard working citizens. She appears to put others above herself, too, probably a result of losing her father, knowing you’re there for others, now.
2
Those who demanded favoring the faithful while dissing those toward the middle gave their parties Goldwater in 1964 and McGovern in 1972.
How well did that strategy work for them?
1
Mr. Blow, perhaps it is time you write a piece about the unfortunate power of the Electoral College as well as the fact that it is unlikely to be minimized in its importance prior to the next election.
Your notions regarding the "white vote", as you call it, are going to have an affect on the 2020 elections. We will either face four more years of an unbridled Trump administration or we are going alter that trajectory?
But unfortunately, all black and hispanic voters, combined with the votes of loyal Democrats, are not enough to win much more than the popular vote. Hillary lost with a cushion of over 3M, and prior candidates also did so but with far less of a margin. Yet the Electoral College defeated Gore, Kerry and Clinton. And it will most likely defeat the next Democratic nominee but perhaps not Biden.
So unless Mr. Blow can change the weight of the Electoral College between now and election day or unless Mr. Blow can detail how an EC win is possible without "white" votes, I suggest he better focus his writings on either what will America be like with four more years of Trump.
Or perhaps Mr. Blow might exhaust his personal fortune of opinion to winning the Electoral College, for the benefit of our future, our lives and that of our children.
He is correct in noting that the stakes in 2020 are extremely high. But if Biden is our best chance at changing that course of history, how do we help him make it better?
1
Mr Blow gets it wrong. Obviously, older white males do not constitute anything like a majority of the US electorate. They did, however, provide Trump's razor-thin margin of victory in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. In an election determined ultimately by the Electoral College, the Democrats need these three states. Also, the Democrats need nothing like a majority of that bloc to tilt the election in their favor. This sounds, and it is, manifestly unfair, but it's the way the map and the Constitution are drawn.
4
I like Joe Biden. His long years of public service deserve respect and he will bring integrity, knowledge and experience back to the White House.
But with that said, is he who we need? Yes, he is at the top of the polls right now, mostly I suspect because of name recognition and he is a known. And let’s face it, all Democrats and some independents are motivated by one factor ; voting Trump out of office.
Clinton, on paper, was a formidable candidate but she didn’t inspire and had too much baggage. Kerry and Gore both, on paper, as were also great candidates but failed to inspire and unite. I fear Biden,while more liked then the previous Democratic presidential hopefuls, may fall into that trap of familiarity but no excitement. Obama was young, fresh, smart and inspired people to unite. Trump,for all his awfulness, inspires his base. We don’t need an old comfortable shoe, we need a candidate who can inspire all elements of the party and Independents, not just middle aged white men.
I think Biden could have beaten Trump in 2016 and the party made a mistake by anointing Clinton. But I fear the time has passed for Uncle Joe. I don’t want to see the Clinton mistake repeated. This election is too important for the future of our democracy and institutions.
6
Trump's "base" of approximately 30 to35% of the electorate, is large enough to swing the election. They seem immune to logic or reason and even to their own self-interest. The Democrats musts chose a candidate who will not antagonize them and,so far, Biden seems the only one
4
Let's not be confused. Defeating Trump is the most important outcome that Democrats can achieve for the country. The next is capturing the majority in the Senate and maintaining the majority in the House. Without those accomplishments, the republicans will continue on their current self serving and obstructionist path and the dismantling of our government and destruction of its institutions will continue.
Forget about distinctions between the fickle and the faithful. We're not going to get everything fixed overnight, but without changing the power dynamic in DC, we can't even get started. As the current administration has proven, it starts at the top
4
"I think that we need to question why the presence of the white male elder seems to ease anxiety among these white voters, and why the Democrats seem to be banking on that.
"What does it say that the Democrats lust after disaffection rather than rewarding devotion? Democrats tell their base that this must be done, that the prodigal children must be brought home, as if that is their only path to victory. It is not. That is a lie. And, it’s a lazy lie."
I am frankly shocked and surprised that a columnist for The Times would exhibit such ignorance of our political realities.
It is not working-class voters, per se, the Democrats are trying to court; it is the moderate voters, generally, in battleground states who will decide the election, voters who do not subscribe to all the liberals’ cultural sacred cows, but do seek better economic opportunity and security.
These moderate voters come in all races, genders and socio-economic classes; they are not just white-working-class, as Blow invidiously implies.
I voted for Obama because I thought he was the right person for the times; race did not enter into my decision. If I decide to vote for Biden, it will be for exactly the same reason.
7
Those white working class voters helped to return a democratic majority to the House.
The democratic candidate that shows that she or he has a good handle on the problems we have and a good handle on the way to solve them should be the nominee. The poll numbers and campaign fund numbers that the media dotes on are the lazy person's report of the campaigns. Mindlessly repeating trump's nastiness doesn't help either.
I wish the media would work more on providing policy information and allow the candidates to speak for themselves, and at the same time, reduce the amount of trump stupidity that they always put above the fold every day and night.
3
I agree with Blow; the DNC seems to be obsessed with wooing blue collar white folks who seem to prefer the Republican Party.
Biden may be well liked, but I have not read or heard any of his policy position as of yet. I don't care as much about his previous screw ups; however, I would like to know his proposed plans to address important issues like climate change, student loan debt, infrastructure, and corporate tax cuts,etc.
3
The Democratic Party did not select Joe Biden to run instead of the many contenders competing in its forthcoming primary elections; People like Joe because he is perceived as warm, caring, honest, and descent, the opposite of Donald Trump. Joe is popular because he is down to earth and projects the image of a friendly neighbor.
4
The Democrats should not be looking for a Messiah to run. They need to be looking for a mortal to defeat Satan in 2020.
9
It's not a matter of which voters. It's a matter of where they live. The issue is the electoral college. The Democrats have won the popular vote on a regular basis. But, thanks to the outmoded electoral college, the 2016 election was won because they lost in three states. Just three states ultimately decided the election.
The push to elect Biden on the strength of his assumed ability to win the white working class is all about which candidates can win in the states that make a difference in the electoral college vote. Until we fix the huge electoral college elephant that sits in the middle of the room muddying our electoral process, both parties are stuck with appealing to the "swing state" voters and the heck with the rest of the country.
Personally, I don't think Joe Biden is the candidate I want to run the country. His inability to truly apologize for past behavior and tendency to make it all about him is frightening. We don't need another person with narcissistic tendencies leading our country. Plus, I don't agree with most of his voting record. And it kills me to think that I might have to vote for a man I think is as much mired in the past as our current president, even if the past for Biden isn't quite as destructive to the country. I truly wish he had decided not to run.
1
Charles Blow is right about the need for blacks and minorities to vote Democratic but he is delusional if he thinks blacks and minorities are going to pick our next president.
3
Unsurprisingly, I guess, Blow does not support an old white male for democrat candidate.
4
@jaco
The racist assumption of your comment is on full view.
1
Mr. Blow believes the "entire reason that the Democratic leadership is proceeding so tepidly on the issue of impeachment is because they are afraid of the reaction of white, working-class voters." I too believe it. Stop catering to the MAGA-hatted morons who voted for Trump and worry about the rest of the country.
3
Nothing's in it for us if we don't win the White House. Every vote counts, Buddy.
5
Those pesky, disloyal White People are the problem—right? Keep the hate flowing Mr. Blow—your guaranteeing 5 1/2 more years of Mr.T goes to Washington.
7
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The unbeatable ticket!
2
I’ve had the same thought the last few days. Biden with his experience, his Everyman countenance, and his Obama cred coupled with a younger, female veep who’s a good public speaker and who, as a former prosecutor, defies being pigeonholed as a thoughtless lib, seems like a combo with exciting possibilities.
Blow's not so veiled threat is similar to what we've heard out of that camp for decades: What are you gonna give us?---and---We'll blow it up if we don't get our way.
I say a pox on both houses of the extremes, left and right.
5
Nonsense. And, again, nonsense.
For all the hyperventilation about the voters to whose ethnic and identity concerns Mr. Blow seems so concerned, it should be emphasized that Hillary lost in 2016. Must the party's presidential candidate reflect the ethnicity and gender identity issues that you propound and that are parallel with the greatest numbers of their voters?
In 1984, Oliphant had a telling cartoon that epitomized then Democrats' obsession with gender and ethnic identity issues, in terms of Mondale's prospective choice of vice president as someone who covered all those bases.
It is not the Democrats' infatuation, as you suggest, that determines their interest in white working class voters: it is self-interest. They need a broad appeal that transcends gender and ethnic identity politics.
Divisive nonsense such as you propound is a recipe for repeats of the same disasters that have befallen Democrats, who lost presidential elections in 1968, 1972, 1980, 1984, 1988, 2000 and 2004 -- winning only in the disastrous economic climates of 1992 and 2008 and Watergate in 1976.
I would point out that Obama campaigned and won, not as a black candidate, but as a caring, knowledgeable man who cared.
I'm sorry. Democrats can't wait for Republicans to screw up. They need to appeal to unity and try to attract all voters, not because their candidate is of their ethnicity but because they care.
3
The way to beat Trump is voter turnout. It worked in the midterms and it can work in 2020. Trump is and always has been a blithering idiot and with the exception of cravenly opportunistic politicians his followers are nothing short of a cult and it’s a waste of time and effort to attempt to change their minds. I still believe that most Americans, if not particularly savvy, are kind and decent people. The problem is energizing them to vote.
9
Those "working class white voters" (care to define that term a bit more precisely? are the 80% of non-working class whites all either unemployed or part of the rent seekers?) are mostly how the present occupant of the Oval Office squeaked by with an Electoral College victory with a margin of 70 thousand sufficient to carry the crucial purple states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Keep up these types of columns and get ready for four more years of Trump. Who's really good for the minorities Blow is extolling.
My sentiment, arrived at with some reluctance but with practicality too, is that whoever wins the Democratic candidacy is getting my vote. But keep on with the identity politics and circular firing squad.
Maybe Charles should immediately go on another book leave. His columns have become shockingly stale and redundant.
4
The nation's democracy... its survival... is in serious peril. Sorry, Charles but I find the perspective and points projected in this editorial hopelessly naive. You have fallen prey to the ploys and destructive forces of Trumptopia. Every American needs to face this fact. If Trump is reelected, he will destroy the power of the Supreme Court by placing puppets who will destroy and deflate the civil rights of EVERY American... African Americans, Hispanics, Women, the Elderly, Gen X & Z and middle class White Americans. If Trump is reelected, the ONLY Americans who will be protected and carry on as usual are the 3% most wealthy Americans who cater to and promote Trump's Ego. In Trump, our country is experiencing the rise of a Modern Day Hitler. Watch his NRA Speech. This is NOT the time for Americans to separate into different cultural groups... with the mantra "my group is more important and has more challenges than your group". We most all join together and remove the Monster who is living in the White House and many of his minions who are taking up space in the Senate and the House. We must remove them before they disembowel the Supreme Court. If Trump is reelected, this country will no longer have a President who represents any part of the American Public... we will have a Dictator who is a deadly threat to the entire world.
5
This time we need to agree on a policy, to rise above identity politics, choosing a candidate with the best chance of winning. Disaffected Democrats cost us the last election: not voting because your candidate wasn't chosen, or voting for a third party candidate, or not voting at all. The debates will reveal a lot, including how the candidate will react to a bombastic, loudmouth opponent who likes to loom and hover behind the Democrat on the stage and call her names. Our candidate has to be tough as nails because s/he will be dragged through FOX hole mud and smeared by the Republicans with lies and innuendos. Keep that in mind as you choose your favorite to support.
2
I love how Joe can't tell the difference between noisy haters showing up in ONE place -representing racial hatred in Charlottesville, VA -
- as opposed to roving violent masked people who beat up grandmothers for holding flags and create riots in streets from one end of the country to the other on behalf of guys like Robert Creamer, Steyer and Soros.
2
@The Observer
Those "noisy haters" as you call, them keep killing people and terrorizing the populace.
Those "masked people" are fighting self declared Nazi's, Klansmen, White Nationalist, Alt-Right Republicans and racist bigots.
If you can't see the difference...well dang.
But hey...good to know who's side your on.
1
The disastrous 1994 Crime Bill was disastrous only for criminals. Blow's argument seems to be that if white people like him, he can't be any good.
6
Unfortunately, many Democrats are 'new' Democrats, like the Clintons & Obama. These Democrats (the Party stalwarts) would undoubtedly prefer Biden to a socialist like Sanders, who is really interested in improving people's lives. I don't know how much this has to do withe race or gender. I see it as do you want to support the people's interests or the corporations' interests.
2
“Democrats treat the working-class, white voters as if they are white buffaloes — sacred entities...I say, do this at your peril.”
2016 says, fail to do so at your peril.
While I appreciate where Blow comes from, contempt for the white middle class probably isn’t the way to move our country forward...at least not in one piece.
4
Biden represents DO NOTHING
1
Nominating an old white guy would fly in the face of everything that progressives believe. Sorry Uncle Joe.
1
Thank you, Charles- mother of three girls who are very concerned with how the government could control their bodies-daughter of two yellow dog democrats who thought government could make lives better
Seems like it is time for new folk to lead the way...
????2020
2
Can we please get beyond this “working class” foolishness? Unless your income is largely from rents of some kind, you are a worker. You might be a knowledge worker or managerial worker, but you’re still dependent on others for your wages, and you pay a worker’s taxes.
You got a degree and want to feel a little superior? Good for you. Now please use your big brain to figure out what we hold in common, and how we might work together to protect it.
3
Good for Mr. Blow. Weakminded souls who believe such an obvious grifter as 45 are not a good foundation for a nation much less a party. Go with the future
2
So, Charles...I take it you're not for Biden?
1
Did I miss it, or did you include Biden's horrific leadership launching the imperial invasion and destruction of Iraq?
1
All this navel gazing by democrats has to stop. And uh, no offense, but expert opinions just ain't what they used to be. Between the NYT, WAPO, and MSNBC - Biden has already been written off. Why do dems always seem to eat their own?
2
Joe Biden is unfit to run for propping up a Republican candidate.
Joe Biden’s Paid Speech Buoyed the G.O.P. in Midwest Battleground https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/us/politics/biden-speech-fred-upton.html
“[Biden’s] remarks about Mr. Upton ricocheted through Michigan’s Sixth Congressional District. Mr. Upton alluded to Mr. Biden’s praise in a debate with Mr. Longjohn the next day, and his campaign sent out a mailer stressing Mr. Upton’s bipartisan streak. A business-backed Republican group ran digital ads on Facebook showing a grinning Mr. Biden and the crucial quote — ‘Fred Upton is one of the finest guys I’ve ever worked with’ — above a mock version of the former vice president’s signature.
“Mr. Lester, the local Democratic chairman, said he strove to contain the damage. In an email to Mr. Biden’s staff. Mr. Lester implored the former VP to back Mr. Longjohn: ‘Surely VP Biden did not intend to endorse Upton and slight the local Democratic candidate here,’ he wrote.
“[Mr. Longjohn] said his campaign had reached out to Mr. Biden’s staff through an intermediary, seeking to discuss his involvement in the race. ‘There was nothing but silence,’ Mr. Longjohn said. ‘We had just requested a phone call and there was no response.’”
“The Times needs your voice.”
Apparently not when on-topic comments are not accepted or appear 15, 20, 25 hours later. Wouldn’t it be better/fair to accept them in the order that they are posted?
3
Thank you Mr. Blow. This working class 72 year old white woman is sick of those old white men putting their feet on our backs.
2
Nope, i won't be voting for just any old Dem nominee.
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/wall-street-democrats-2020-candidates.html
1
Suggestions Biden doesn’t properly fit the bill are premature; with all due respect Mr. Blow, it makes sense to anticipate what the ideal Democratic candidate would be, but given they are the party of full spectrum diversity, it is tough to meet every contingency’s expectations and Biden is no exception.
By no means a perfect candidate, he is as seasoned as many other entrants are green, so there’s much to be gained by the Democrats putting him on stage with the rest of the flock; hard to say whether he can withstand the grueling pace, slings, arrows and mud which is our current torture test to become president.
After a few months, we will know enough about each of the prospects, see who begins to ring truest, and take it from there.
1
In the U S it is increasingly, what’s in it for me. We are so far from that guy who said, “ask not what the country can do for me....”. The fear of selflessness, social good and community is surely a legacy of the current president, but it isn’t all his fault. The unwillingness to promote programs that we all pay for, like universal health care, but don’t all directly benefit from has long been an American truism. I’m in Spain where the Socialist had a massive electoral victory and every citizen is guaranteed basic health care and other basic services and the economy is going great. I know America is the greatest country in the history of the world, so why can’t it provide everyone with basic security.
1
Hello Mr Blow; The Democratic candidate HRC lost.
Cinch victory by appealing to the voters that you have to take from Trump and move on.
Get over it.
4
@Robert
Fine. You view this all as some kind of zero sum game that somehow needs to be gotten over when one loses.
Too bad you don't realize just how at risk our free and democratic elections really are -- which means in the end, we'll all lose.
Well said. I have been incredibly worried by the Democrats' infighting as they try to forge a platform.
Biden, to me, is too "vanilla" -- a safe, warm touchy-feely Uncle Joe, with no platform except "I'm not Trump".
Trump is good at destroying Constitutional norms, and shredding those who oppose him. He's not intelligent, but he has learned that bullying, dishonesty and intransigence work for him -- they have throughout his life.
In Biden, the DNC is presenting a male Hillary. He's taking contributions from rich corporations. He has no position on anything. I don't agree with Warren's idea of student debt forgiveness, as it basically benefits the well off. But at least she has an idea.
Sanders is the only Democrat who can take Trump's insults and let them roll, like water off a duck's back. He has a fully formed, progressive platform, and a plan for how to pay for it. He has a motivated base and, so far, has raised the most money, all from small donors.
I do not want to see the DNC make the same mistake two campaigns in a row -- that money and name recognition will bring a win. Biden is nice, but not charismatic, and so far, a man without a plan. Being Obama's sidekick is not sufficient reason to vote for him.
Much of the Democratic electorate, and independents, want what Sanders is offering. Buttigieg merits more attention, too, for his intelligence, even if opionators say he's not "ready". He could stand up to Trump, easily.
1
Could not agree more: forget about the mythical white suburban midwestern swing voter and how we all might mollify them by moving to the “center.” That’s a trap the GOP sets for the Democrats each year and each year they make like Charlie Brown with the football. What we really need to do is expand the electorate. How do we do that? By nominating better candidates! And yes by better I mean not old white people! Need a lot more AOCs, a lot fewer Bidens if we want to beat Trump and what he represents. And whom.
6
Win the general election by 10 million votes, but lose the White House because of the electoral college.
1
The focus on white working-class voters is justified by the electoral calculus demanded by our outdated method of choosing a president. It's not the number of those voters that matters, it's where they live.
443
@Joe Mock So much this. I live in a state where winner takes all in the electoral college. There is no more important goal than winning the popular vote--this is especially true in a gerrymandered state like mine.
I will do whatever I can to get people to the polls, but they have to be willing to go there no matter who is on the top of the ticket.
22
@Joe Mock I was wondering this as well. @Charles Blow, do you have a response?
2
@laura
Charles Blow gotta remember, Biden was with Obama helping him to become one of Only six presidents to TWICE win elections by more than 50% popular vote.
And to give that some perspective, Obama was first since Dwight Eisenhower in 1950's where this record goes back to Trump's favorite (racist's) President Andrew Jackson.
At this moment in time, those of us with thin knowledge of authoritarianism's rise along with vehicle of fascism; we just want someone not to give white men excuses for keeping Trump in office.
2
Democrats don't need to "pander" to white working class voters, but they ought to make a reasonable effort to get the message across that they support things that all members of the working class - regardless of skin color - value. Things like universal healthcare and quality education especially. Dems should also help white working class voters see how they are being fooled by republicans who want their votes but who care little about their well-being.
346
@morphd I don't think either party cares about the people. Only power. Everything - environment, well being of the native born - is sacrificed to it.
10
@morphd
Yes -- but build the wall!
1
@morphd - 100% spot on.
6
"But there is part of the Biden enthusiasm, and to a lesser extent the energy around candidates like Bernie Sanders, that focuses too heavily on the fickle white, working-class swing voters and is not enough focused on the party’s faithful."
If I wrote a comment in The Times calling women "fickle," or people of color "fickle," I would doubtless be blocked by the moderators. Or, if such an invidious generalization were allowed to appear, I would be besieged by readers hectoring me about my obvious bigotry.
But there is a double standard in The Times. There are strict (albeit unwritten) rules of what constitutes "civil" discourse— EXCEPT when it comes to the white working class. For them, it is open season for any kind of dog-whistle aspersion or outright denunciation like "stupid" or "racist," two terms that I have seen used here often these last few years.
It is this attitude, this condescending dismissal of of the WWC— which I argue is a form of bigotry in its own right—that propelled many working-class white into Trump’s arms in the first place.
Many of them have by now lost patience with Trump, and are ready to return to the Democratic fold. But there seem to be many liberal Democrats who don't want them, and who apparently would prefer four more years of Trump. I say that not lightly; I say it because it is these, and other moderate voters in the battleground states, who will decide the next election.
5
@Ron Cohen All too true, but these are perilous times for print journalism. So, go easy if the Gray Lady panders on occasion. That Mr. Blow disingenuously makes the Biden candidacy about or mostly about white working class voters instead of his broader appeal toward older and suburban voters of all incomes rests on Blow's shoulders not the editors.
“At some point, the leadership and the front-runner are going to have to explain to women and minorities why their inordinate focus on white, working-class voters is justified...”
Yep. And they won’t have anything approaching a reasonable response, because a Pyrrhic victory still turns everything to ash.
No Democratic voter wants to nominate a candidate who will lose the election. The entire line of rhetoric around “who can beat Trump” is superficial garbage.
Donald Trump was elected president. The old way of doing things clearly hasn’t panned out too well, and the hypothetical future of our Democratic Republic is about more than who can threaten Trump with fisticuffs.
2
Anita Hill lied. Biden knew it. What does he have to apologize for?
2
@Mike - Silly question. Thomas lied. Full stop.
2
I think, a year ago, Charles Blow would have never have written a piece like this because of his righteousness anger regarding trump. What happened to that anger? Well, I for one, still have it, and think the Dems should go after every single vote to get this madman out of office. I want a nominee that can beat trump. Period.
4
Treat the voters with the respect they deserve: stop thinking about the color of their skin or how much they earn, and talk straight. Biden is quite likely to do just that - and anyone who attacks him on that count will find himself slipping on a banana skin. He is quite old, but apparently healthy: accusations of his having too light a hand where women are concerned must surely pale into insignificance when compared to the present tenant of the White House
3
What's in it for you, dear non-white non-male voter, is a government whose lying, thievery and narcissism will not disgrace you every day. I happen to belong to a demographic minority. But if that is going to determine my vote, I am no longer an American.
Charles Blow is really off the mark here.
"...Joe Biden finally stopped drawing out his decision to enter the presidential race to confront Donald Trump in 2020. He was the 20th Democratic candidate to do so."
This is probably the biggest lie already being told by the MSM about the 2020 elections and we are still 7 months away from 2020.
There is NO presidential race going on right now. There have been NO primaries, caucuses, debates. No campaign advertising. Neither party has even chosen a candidate yet.
But the MSM repeating this lie is designed to make it seem like guys like Biden are somehow doing something cagey or nefarious by their actions, just like they did in 2016 when the NY Times made EMAILS their number one campaign story.
The PRIMARY campaigns (as opposed to the presidential race) can, loosely, be considered to start in June with the first debates, but factual reporting would say January with the first primaries.
The presidential RACE begins after the parties hold their conventions in 15 months.
Funny how Blow considers it a race when no voter has cast a ballot.
His second misfire is to falsely conflate white voters with white working class voters.
The Trump voter's 2016 income was higher than that of the Clinton voter.
2020 WILL be the white (voting) power election and unless the Democrats can cut into that monolithic block, they are doomed.
I hope this is not going to be an example of the anti-Democratic bias in the MSM in 2020 elections.
1
Please correct me if I am wrong, but the only 2020 Democratic candidate who has gone to jail in the fight for racial justice is an old white man named Bernie Sanders.
3
@DMN
Your point is? Sanders was also the only 2016 Democratic candidate who abandoned social progressivism and focused mostly on economic progressivism. That is not who the Democrats are.
3
What does any of this have to do with skin color? Please stop using the wedge of identity issues to break apart the Democratic party. Aside from extreme left coastal and academic types, people do not think or vote this way. Please do not create the perfect petri dish for another Trump term.
5
Trot out the double standard.
Standard applicable to "progressives: the progressive standard is just that - a person should be judged on whether they (and their actions) become progressively wokier. Joe Biden should be forgiven every trespass 'cause he knows now he should not sniff hair without being asked. He will never do that again, especially not as POTUS.
Standard for conservatives: you're not woke so everything your ever did is despicable, even if you were in high school when you allegedly did whatever may or may not have been done and which may or may not have occurred in the company of friends who, unlike you, later became woke (they're cool). As a practicing conservative, you are irredeemable. Everything molecule of your being and every thought in your head have the taint of some oppression you personally practiced, knew was being practiced by others and did nothing to stop, or was practiced by people who look like you.
Thank you!! Excellent!!
1
A one term promise and a Kamala Harris VP seals the deal!
3
Mr. Blow should calm down: if Joe Biden (or, for that matter, Beto O'Rourke) becomes the Party's nominee, he can bet the bank that their running mate will be one of his preferred candidates- whether black, Latino, female, Jewish or gay. For my part, a Biden/Harris ticket is the way to go and not just for the purposes of adding both racial and gender-related "balance" to the team.
comment submitted 4/28 at 10:37 PM
4
Mr. Blow shows no sign whatsoever that a candidate's being Jewish would be a plus. Not it should be a requirement on Mr. Blow that it would. I think that "whiteness" has certain connotations for Mr. Blow, and that for Mr. Blow there are two versions of "beyond white": the torch-bearing crowd we saw in South Carolina a couple years ago, and Jews.
I think Mr. Blow views both groups as having inevitable conflicts with constituencies Mr. Blow most vociferously advocates for. (And I think he had it in for Bernie Sanders by the way.)
1
Very weak piece Charles. Those polls need to define working class. Or they are meaningless.
I nearly spilled my morn g coffee reading this article..I last ghee very hard.
Biden has run for president 2 previous times. He never got above 2% at any time. So what, besides wishful thinking, evidence does Charles have that this ancient clown can even come close to beating Trump?
1
Winning at all cost pits the "white male elder" against the "flagrant white supremacist" and "focuses too heavily on the fickle white, working-class swing voters and is not enough focused on the party’s faithful".
Mr. Blow tolerates whites "faithful" to the transition of power to his kind of racial politics. He sincerely believes, "the entire reason that the Democratic leadership is proceeding so tepidly on the issue of impeachment is because they are afraid of the reaction of white, working-class voters."
Mr. Blow's judgment is blinded by his hate of Donald Trump - a man who is neither a racist nor a white supremacist. President Trump has been exonerated of claims of collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice.
Mr. Blow seems to want his political party to make self-respecting white families and white politicians of both parties to feel uncomfortable.
1
Amen, Mr. Blow. I’ve been writing just this, for years. And have been mocked. And it’s not chasing the white Buffalo, it’s chasing the white Unicorn. Something that doesn’t exist, in the Real World. These white, male, working class voters would never, ever, vote for anyone NOT a White Male. It’s the foundation of their “ belief system “, something the GOP relies upon. Along with elderly white voters, and loyal evangelicals, that’s their BASE. Period. Just stop, and forget them, it’s Futile.
Seriously.
2
To Charles Blow and every individual who reads this comment:
Consider these designations used in this article:
white, working-class
blacks and Hispanics
non-Hispanic white
elder white man
Have you ever spent a few minutes asking why this terminology must be used if you are "writing in America"?
Are you aware that in at least one advanced country in the world no such terms would ever by used in serious discussion?
I have been wondering about these terms ever since August 2013 when I read former Census Director Kenneth Prewitt's OpEd in the Times in which he pointed to the need to end the Census Bureau system of classifying us. The book in which he analyzed these terms had just been published. His proposal has NEVER been discussed in the Times, not even at Race/Related.
Time to begin. Suppose we end that system. How then will voter preference by analyzed?
You might get some ideas by examining how these questions are discussed in Sweden where 1/10th of us 10 million were born in another country, Somalia for example.
You might also read this book,which I have just ordered after reading an interview with the author in the New Yorker (26/4):
"The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality"
The author thinks Americans are too fixated on believing that every social issue can be explained if you just know enough about which so-called "races" are involved.
And you?
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
3
@Larry Lundgren Thank you for your comment. You make some excellent points.
Welcome to our white supremist culture and the need to coddle white’s sensibilities, they are indeed fragile, at the expense of anything not being white. This has been going on a long time, I’m sure you noticed.
3
Biden-Harris would CRUSH Trump-Pence. And a loss to Trump might well crush what remains of our democracy. 'Nut Said.
3
“Another thing I like about President Trump: He doesn’t use language that you have to get a dictionary to understand,”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/us/politics/trump-pennsylvania.html
Scary since Trump rarely uses any words more then two syllables and can barely form a coherent sentence.
Even scarier these working class white swing voters will have a large say in who are next President will be.
1
“I say, do this at your peril. I say that the rest of your base, the ones who have given all to you and received little, are watching with dual lenses of disappointment and dissatisfaction.”
Identity politics is blatant racism and it is an ugly anathema of all that is beautiful in this county.
And the author noting no Democrat President has received a majority of the white vote makes you wonder: why not?
Oh, because Democrats are blatant racists who want the government to use race against its population in college admissions. To pay reparations to what maybe the relatives (many generations removed) of salves? Because white men paid no price in fighting the Civil War to free our black brothers and sisters.
Dear Editorial Board: please don’t publish blatant racism. I do not wish to read it. And anyone who does needs to re-examine their opposition to Jim Crow, as they are embracing its rebranded dogma.
1
Is there any issue in America - make that the universe - that Mr. Blow does not view through the prism of race ?
2
Keep up the good work, Charles. Drive out all the moderates (including the white working class) and let the AOCs and Omars run riot. Trump wins again.
1
This time around the county needs a WOMAN PRESIDENT to go against the Chief Misogynist.
Elizabeth, Tulsi? This is your moment.
I’ll post a roadmap in another comment. If you need to know now, check in with the Colorado Dems.
1
Reading this, one would think the Democrats never elected a black man president. Must have been so long ago your columnist forgot. Spare us the race and gender lectures. The party is blessed with a range of reasonably good candidates. Let each voter cast a ballot for whom they wish, for whatever reason they wish, sort out the nominee at the convention, then unite behind the nominee. All the black v white, he v she, gay v straight is journalistic navel-gazing. If those issues are important to you, vote accordingly. But spare us lectures that are themselves close to racism, sexism and ageism.
4
lemme tell ya something folks. If the dems nominate Biden they will lose. He has WAY too much baggage and is too far right, no matter how much he has 'evolved'. A lot of people on the left will simply stay home. He's worse than Hillary in many ways as far as being a creature of Wall Street.
He's already taking in big money donations and hiding it, according to this paper and others.
With Biden it will be back to business as usual with big money dem politicians.
Don't tell us that we must vote for absolutely anybody in order to get rid of Trump. Thats a lousy way of sneaking a corporate shill under the tent. Remember that was Hillary's whole campaign? Trump is so disgusting you MUST be 'with her'. Emergency! Emergency! We must have a center right democrat because Trump is so awful!
gotta get those elusive Republican women, don't we?
How did that work out for us in 2016?
1
Don’t forget that Joe Biden initially described candidate Barack Obama as “a clean, articulate black man”.
Hillary Clinton was heavily favored in the polls all the way to the bitter end. Then came Election Day, and a very rude awakening for the Democratic Party. There were many contributing factors to Clinton's defeat, but overall the electoral college was the deciding factor with an assist from Comey and Russian interference. So here we are with arguably the worst, most inept president this country has ever known. We need to find another Barack Obama. He understood logistics, had clear policy views, and he had an agenda to give this country access to affordable health care (which he delivered). He also had tremendous charisma and national appeal. He inspired, he united, and he brought us together. The Republican backlash was to divide and conquer, which they did. They did it through fear of those who were "different", i.e. people of color, women, immigrants, gay, even the disabled weren't off limits. Their base is voting for them, even when it is against their own best interest, even if they are ones being denigrated. Why would anyone do that is the question that needs to be asked. Is there a false perception of toughness in Trump that is so appealing? That was Hitler's appeal.
Right now the Democratic field is overcrowded, and Joe Biden is a known factor, which gives some people comfort. There is nothing left to vet. The political baggage is known. We need fresh, young strong voices to overcome the fear of defeat. We need a reset to 2008 and find our soul again.
2
I have been a registered Democrat since 1960 and have always voted Democratic at all levels in every election. Joe Biden is not my favorite, or fifth favorite, or 10th favorite candidate. But if he is the nominee of my party I will vote for him, and contribute to and work for his campaign.
This is the most important election of my long lifetime. A dangerous criminal and sociopath bestrides the White House and our body politic. He must be removed from office, if not by impeachment and conviction, then by an overwhelming, crushing political defeat. We must submerge all differences to achieve this goal.
2
If everyone who could vote in this country DID vote, this column would not need to be written. The Dems need to go after the white vote because minorities have been disenfranchised in America and they accept their treatment. At one time the mistreatment of minorities led to mass protests in the streets. Now minorities won't even vote. And look at what Democratic whites want to do: take down the Confederate monuments so the blemish is wiped off the face of America and the white conservatives want to leave them up so there is no question as to who is in charge. And now the whites want to pay 'reparations' to descendants of slaves. So in the future whites can tell blacks ' you were compensated for that'; racism no longer exists. So much easier to pay to clean your conscience rather than actually doing something about it. We could never do anything like that again. Just ask the people in the cages along the border. Or Jews being targeted. And don't forget to stay home when it's time to get rid of those who foment hatred at home and ignore it in the rest of the world as well as their enablers. It's not rocket science, folks.....VOTE.
1
If I was American and the Democrats ran either Biden OR Sanders, I’d move to Canada.
Isn’t there about 350 million Americans ??? There must be someone younger..........
Good Luck !
Demonizing those who voted for Traitor Trump is not the way forward, Mr. Blow. We are all Americans - we need to come together, not fan the flames of division.
2
Obama got ninety-six percent of the black vote in 2008, and ninety-three percent in 2012. Clearly, “the presence of the white male elder” caused blacks to vote for Obama in overwhelming numbers. . . or am I overlooking something?
We’re all Americans. Embrace the Dream.
1
I'm going to focus on a single word in this column to object to: "Handsy". To me, to describe a man as being "handsy", it has meant a touch that was clearly suggestive, flirtatious, borderline offensive, but with just enough plausible deniability to make not obviously an assault. That is clearly not, and has never been, the case with Joe Biden. I have a real problem with his behavior even being considered in the same light as Donald Trump's disgusting behavior. It is egregiously unfair, and because words matter, I ask you to reconsider yours.
2
I don't know Charles. Hillary went out of her way to court African American voters and look what happened. She won the popular vote, but lost where?..... In the rustbelt states comprised of.... you guessed it, white working class voters. Ignore them at your own peril would seem to be the obvious takeaway. As a dem I love the idea of the Green New Deal, universal healtcare of some sort, and more money spent on education. But, we have to win first. No candidate that the GOP can paint as a 'socialist' will win. Sadly. Biden may be the perfect Trojan Horse.
1
Mr. Blow is sounding like many of his fellow African Americans voters from Michigan during the 2016 election who stayed home in droves because they felt Hillary Clinton somehow "ignored" their needs.
Because of this self-defeating calculus we know who won the key battleground state of Michigan and the presidency.
That person, Mr. Blow, was the real panderer to white working class voters.....a demographic that seems to have a "slight" problem in dealing with people of color.
1
Why can’t the white working class ask “What’s in it for us, specifically?”
2
A single sentence to awaken Charles Blow:
End completely the US Census Bureau system of classifying us Americans.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
Mr. Blow, there is a two word reason as to why Democrats, to use your own words, "coddle" the white working class vote:
Electoral College.
1
Times up! It's nation time! Black lives matter!
The most loyal and long suffering base of the Democratic Party aka black African Americans particularly black women are regularly and routinely mistreated and taken for granted by tiresome trifling troubling condescending paternalistic liberal white pity.
While at the same time black African Americans are also the targets of evil ignorant stupid condescending paternalistic conservative white contempt.
Neither white " liberals" nor white " conservatives" accept and recognize the individual accountable humanity and diverse agency of black African Americans.
This year is the 400th anniversary of black enslavement in North America.
This year is the 100th anniversary of the Red Summer white race terrorist ethnic sectarian cleansing riots that swept across America particularly and most infamously in Chicago.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the murders of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark of the Black Panther Party on the West Side of Chicago.
Each of these events deserve and need proper local, state and national commemoration and mourning. Led by black African American men, women and children and institutions.
NCOBRA is convening it's national convention in Detroit Michigan in late June 2019 focused on reparations for the crimes committed against African Americans during their enslavement and their separate and unequal aftermath through today.
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I urge everyone to read the 2004 Josh Marshall-Joe Biden interview that Josh has posted on TPM. Biden's grasp of foreign affairs will blow your mind.
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This is one angry dude. Why is everyone so mad?
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Biden may not do much for the squealy mob in the clown car, but he would probably bring the peace of a Gerald Ford or Jimmy Carter. Four years of do-nothing would be welcome at this point even if in his bagage is the already-made connection with Clinton and the CIA that most DC big shots have in their mindset.
After 15 years of endless wars from Bush to Obama, perhaps Biden might resist warring with Iran, Russia, and China. Perhaps. The only sure resister is Tulsi Gabbard, but Hillary will not allow her in. Nor will the New York Times.
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Turn your anger toward Trump.
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He is the white voters answer to trump. What a waste!
Biden should not have done this to the voters and America
Obama , Clinton, Biden
All reasons we have trump. And will have him be King.
Dumb move
Klobuchar and Warren have my attention and votes. All candidates should not attack each other. You all have post election cabinet potential. Ambassador assignments must be filled.
Biden , Bernie and Beto another bad choice. Ego abounds. Money being made. Gobs of it by these men.
I’m a white working class dem and what appeals to me about Biden is that because his VP and senate experience, he’ll hit the ground running and is our best bet to undo the profound damage Trump has done. Plus, I think it would be AWESOME to watch trump/Biden debates.
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@Diana Wilson, no one hits the ground running when it comes to the presidency or any other job. What Biden has is experience in DC, in its politics and in national politics. He sat in on a lot of high level meetings as vice president. His experience is an asset. But don't underestimate the ability of the GOP to turn his experience into a liability.
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Mr. Blow, you are right that there is too much emphasis directed at capturing the white working class voter. That would make some sense if we were dealing with that segment in the early 1970’s since it was represented by unions which have dwindled from 20% in the 70’s to 11% today, with the lion share in public sector.
What Democrats need to focus on are ideas and policies that society wants. Medicare for all, free college, facing and dealing with catastrophic climate change, ideas and solutions that are best articulated by Bernie Sanders.
Joe is right to denounce Trump’s disgusting support of Nazis at Charlottesville and his veiled threats of unleashing his stormtrooper Militias and Trump Bikers (another inspiration from Putin’s “Night Wolves”.) if he does not gain re-election.
However, the easiest way to defeat Trump is simply to lead the American people with better economic and social policies. Things that people actually want to see in the fabric of their lives.
Biden has virtually no vision that amounts to anything other than forestalling the fascist far right that is the Trump/Republican regime now in power.
This is really not about electing Bernie it is about empowering us to have the nation an tomorrow we want.
"Indeed, in political circles, Biden’s chief attribute in this election feels like his apparent appeal to these white voters."
This is Charles Blow again trying to put his personal opinion in the mouth of other people. It's just cowardly.
And on the merits, Blow is way wrong. Biden's chief appeal in the party is that he was President Obama's trusted VP. And Obama remains the most liked person in the party. Also, people are comforted by the sense that since Biden was in the last Democratic administration, they know what they are getting. (I get that the lefty activists don't like that but the activists are not the voters). He also is the best known of the Democratic candidates. That Biden also has a strong appeal to white working class voters, a demographic that just killed Clinton is an added advantage in the general election. But it's not why Biden is the current favorite among the Dems.
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What America doesn't need is another septuagenarian president. Trump, Bernie, Biden all need to be put out to pasture.
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“I agree- 100%”. Says white, 61, white woman living in Tampa. Our base and the expanding progressives deserve the attention of our elected leaders and candidates. Let’s move forward.
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Mr. Blow! How about we change your: “What’s in it for us, specifically?” to "what's in it for us, generally?"
Too many specifics drive out the more generous generally. In a nutshell, none of us can have everything. It's the all of us having everything that has all of us in this costly whirlwind.
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Mr. Biden's poll numbers look like Mrs. Clinton's in 2016.
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Joe "Melba Toast" Biden vs. Donald "take no prisoners" Trump. This election should be on pay for view!
Biden's time has passed. He's a good foot soldier not a leader. It will be 2016 all over again.
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Biden is a Clinton dem, meaning "status quo". Well, we have no status quo, unless you count oligarchs and fascists as status quo. The vast majority of voters want greatly improved healthcare, higher taxes on the 10 and 1 per cent, gun control, higher wages, less military industrial ruin, participatory democracy, NO gerrymandering, undoing Citizens United, as a start. Biden, Pelosi, et al are not inclined to head us in the right direction.
I am a 72-year-old white male who has watched Biden his whole life. He couldn't make the nomination twice, during more reasonable, calmer times. A mediocre legislator; a comic relief VP for Obama. A Biden nomination will guarantee doom for the Democratic Party and worse, for America. A Trump win will bring us a cruel criminal aristocracy, a breeding ground for the worst elements in this country. Only an energized, determined candidate will oust Trump and his sycophants. That's where the votes are. That is the key to a Democratic victory in 2020. Biden is an antediluvian relic; the old guy at the end of the bar drinking a Bud Lite who says, "Hey kid, come here, take a seat, lemme tell you how my old man used to do this."
Biden is a loser. He always has been. His tragic personal story doesn't turn him into winning candidate any more than anyone's tragic personal story. We'll hear about the regular, hard-working white guy from Scranton, how rough and tumble he is, and how he can get all those mysterious old hard hats back into the Democratic fold. Don't believe it. He was always a mediocre pol. Take a close look at his record. He represents an old Democratic party which never really existed. He shook hands with the devil his whole career. He can never beat Trump and his necromancers. They will chew him up and pound him into the ground like an old rusty railroad spike under the weight of a sledgehammer.
Go away, Joe. Save yourself the humiliation.
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Mr. Blow you have shed the blinders of conventional wisdom and revealed the true nature of things. If only the fossil class of the Democratic party would do the same. I would add only that the white working class voters are not the only group with whom the establishment dems have a delusional fascination: they also covet the votes of surburban Republican women, a demographic that would sooner lose body parts than vote for a Democrat. ANY Democrat. Strange isn't it? All these people are more important to them than their own base. Isn't life interesting.?
Mr.Blow - DNC's backed into a reactive corner and Trump's leveraging the white working class voter as wedge "issue"- hence(ish) Biden's MAGA-lite intro spot. Also, -particularly after the relative non-event that was the Mueller report - why would the House move ahead with impeachment only to see it fizzle in the Senate(?)
Mr Blow's demographic determinism is faulty: he seems to assume that women and Hispanics vote Dem and are progressives. My Miami is an extreme case of the opposite, but even nationally Hispanics are >1/3 Republican and women are about 50/50. Yes, Biden is chasing that white working class Blow so disparages and treats with racist contempt: "chase the votes of people hostile to the interests of women and minorities." What a way to build coalitions!
Blow also seems to share the paper's hostility to Sanders, who is living proof that the interests of working class white people can be entirely aligned with that of minorities and women, the vast majority of whom, Mr Blow, are working class too!
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Biden and Bernie are not the same, although they are both white and male. Biden is the same old, same old. Bernie is the font from which new ideas have sprung. He is also polling very well among the young (who frankly adore him) and minorities. He is also a historic figure in that he would be the first Jew - whose safety we should fear for. So, he may be white, but he is no Biden.
While I understand much of Mr. Blow's sentiment, the "explanation" he seeks is found in the electoral college system. The national polls he cites are, unfortunately, meaningless.
We need the best team to beat Trump because anything less will be a disaster. I think the winning message must be that the eventual nominee will invite all of the democratic contenders to be part of the whole team. This is bigger than just one man or woman. If we are stupid enough to elect Trump twice then we will deserve all the bad luck that comes our way.
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By all means, don't make the Democratic party more racist to court a segment of the white electorate that is looking for that in a politician. But there's nothing racist about voting for Joe Biden, for those who find him to be a solid candidate on the merits.
Maybe the white working class isn't the holy Grail, but it is an important part of the fabric of this country, and holds a fair number of votes, so it's both stupid and insensitive to throw it under the bus in the race to be the party of the future.
Not to mention, the politics of cosmopolitan disdain has lost a lot of it's cover recently, and people do take notice now.
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Agreed that relying on people who were duped by Trump is a poor strategy!
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How about the Dems just plain-old seek the votes of "all" Americans instead of stereotyping any demographic group?
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How conveniently Blow sets up the straw dog of Biden's "handsiness" while ignoring the true sources of discomfort among many Democrats and most on the left. His treatment of Anita Hill as committee chair during the Clarence Thomas hearings. His vote in favor of granting GW Bush a free hand in waging war in Iraq (a vote that arguably cost HRC the presidential nomination in '08). His vote to repeal Glass-Steagall (we do remember the crash of '08). Biden is Hillary Clinton without the pants suit.
Blow certainly has the right to an opinion grounded in mythology - the steadfastness of loyal Democratic voters (not counting the white working class voters who were until '16, a reliable cadre of Democratic voters). But he does so at his own risk as the voting demographics demonstrate the emergence of new voting blocks not necessarily resonating with the appeal of yet another wealthy, white, aging man with more political baggage than a Pullman train.
As the Times continues its editorial march to the edge of the cliff again, as it did with HRC, voters will decide which candidates need to be heard and who will ultimately be selected as the Democrat's standard bearer. There are nearly two years to make that selection and Biden is already losing steam as his Grand Apology Tour creeps forward.
Charles Blow hit quite a few nails on the head in this column. Here is a nail that escaped. Opening a run by blasting the President is playing into the Republican strategy of weakening the Federal level government and allowing the military industrial complex and state legislatures to run the country. Trump is merely the hapless chump who walked on to the political stage thinking he would make a few bucks. Democrats fall into the trap every time they mention his name during a political campaign, since it merely inflames his “base” (and I do mean base) and does not address the abrogation of responsibility of the Republican Party to supply qualified candidates for political office. Dump Trump by attacking the Republican Party.
I'm white and part of the working class, and I've been through enough presidential campaigns to know that anyone who is pandering to me doesn't have a clue about what's going on, is only trying to provoke my gut reaction, and will forget I ever existed the day after the election. I agree with Mr. Blow: you dance with the ones who brought you, not the ones who keep turning their backs if you don't bow to them enough.
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Yes, but if 70 percent of voters are white, can you really afford to ignore them? They didn't all go to Harvard.
@Michael Livingston You cannot,, alas, convince Mr.Blow, and the most obdurate part of the party left wing. He is into zero sum game identity politics. Binary choices. If we seek out white voters of any income level, not just working class, others of different skin hue lose or are disrespected/taken for granted.
That is a viewpoint that will lose this election. You can name states that must be won, you can mention labor union support, you can use your number, and it all falls on deaf ears. The stakes are too high for righteous insufferable preening ideological perfectionism.
While I agree with all of Charles’ points (usually do) I think 2020 is a “special” election. People...you have to get IN to get anything done. If that means “coddling” the disaffected white voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin...then let’s do that.
The only chance Democrats have to right the ship is to own the White House, Congress, and the Senate. If Biden’s the guy to helm that ship, great. He’s a good man who has evolved on important issues. The way some of his fellow Dems are trying to “Franken” him is disgusting, and frankly I hope it backfires on them.
I think we’ve all been stunned at just how much a President can get away with. A decent, left-of-center pro can get a lot more done than a polarizing far left progressive at this point. We need control of all three branches before we tackle the New Green Deal, the obsolete electoral college, gun control...oh, and while we’re on the subject of obsolete, how about revisiting Jefferson’s concept of updating the Constitution every 20 years (way overdue).
Democratic leadership needs to understand that in trying to win back elements of Trump's ignorant white racist base, they alienate the rest of the Democratic Party....and most of the independents. We expect a principled leadership that opposes Trump, Trumpism and what the Republican Party has become under Trump, McConnell and the feckless Ryan. We want fighters. We want them held accountable.
And frankly, most of us could care less what the frothing masses that attend Trump's rallies, or haunt midwestern diners at 10AM have to say about anything.
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Okay, a fair commentary, but I think you’re being too cute when you say we don’t know about Joe Biden’s policies.
Joe Biden’s policies will be Barack Obama’s policies.
Conversely, pick any policy of Donald Trump you really hate, from climate change to immigration. Joe Biden will pursue the opposite policy.
That’s not too bad.
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Joe Biden is unfit to run for propping up a Republican candidate.
Joe Biden’s Paid Speech Buoyed the G.O.P. in Midwest Battleground https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/us/politics/biden-speech-fred-upton.html
“The speaking contract for Mr. Biden’s October appearance in Michigan suggests that he would have known he was addressing a Republican-leaning crowd. The speaking series was underwritten in part by organizations connected to Mr. Upton’s family.
“[Biden’s] remarks about Mr. Upton ricocheted through Michigan’s Sixth Congressional District. Mr. Upton alluded to Mr. Biden’s praise in a debate with Mr. Longjohn the next day, and his campaign sent out a mailer stressing Mr. Upton’s bipartisan streak. A business-backed Republican group ran digital ads on Facebook showing a grinning Mr. Biden and the crucial quote — ‘Fred Upton is one of the finest guys I’ve ever worked with’ — above a mock version of the former vice president’s signature.
“Mr. Lester, the local Democratic chairman, said he strove to contain the damage. In an email to Mr. Biden’s staff. Mr. Lester implored the former VP to back Mr. Longjohn: ‘Surely VP Biden did not intend to endorse Upton and slight the local Democratic candidate here,’ he wrote.
“[Mr. Longjohn] said his campaign had reached out to Mr. Biden’s staff through an intermediary, seeking to discuss his involvement in the race. ‘There was nothing but silence,’ Mr. Longjohn said. ‘We had just requested a phone call and there was no response.’”
Biden may get the democrat conservative (black/white) vote down their in the Southern states of perpetual Jim Crowism but not the east of west coast liberal democrat vote. As far as the heart land goes there are a lot of good folks that seeing our current Prez in office are surely to rethink voting Rep (next time around) and maybe vote more liberal democrat. Just hope like me they don't vote in the same old same centrist neoliberal (old) white man. The new elephant in the room is neither old nor white and it's about time for their say to influence.
This article and many of the responses remind me of a quote
"You know the difference between a liberal and a cannibal? A cannibal eats only his enemies." Lyndon Johnson
If we are going to beat Trump we need ALL Americans. Let all the Democratic candidates make their arguments and let the voters decide. Because they don't agree with you is no reason to eat them. I voted for Hillary in the primary and Obama in the general. Those votes had NOTHING to do with gender or race. Chill Out!
Signed old white guy
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PA, WI, and MI are essentially blue states - maybe with a reddish tinge. I lived in PA for 20 years and it never went for a Republican, until Trump. He won those states by a hair and he will NOT win them again. Call the reason what you will - Russians, bad candidate, Comey, whatever. That being said, I agree with Charles. It is insulting to place the white voter above others. Ignorant and greedy white voters put Trump in the WH and that fact alone should end this fallacy that they are somehow more important or intelligent than anyone else.
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The problem with voting for Biden, or any other Democrat, using the criterion "only if s/he speaks to me and my issue" or chooses a "suitable running mate" or is "likable" that many of the comments on this thread indicate are overriding decision factors is the same old same old that got us where we are.
If you choose not to vote for whoever the ultimately imperfect Democrat nominee and running mate turn out to be because they don't speak directly to you, or aren't cheery enough to invite to dinner, or both are men, or both are women, or both are white or both are not, or one is gay or neither are gay.....whatever your thorn ends up being, you will re-elect the most incompetent, unworthy, potentially criminal and unfit person to ever occupy the People's House.
If you don't choose the Democratic ticket, we get another term of this.
This is end game.
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Re Aesop's tortoise and the hare -- the frontrunner doesn't always win the race. That Biden has an edge over Trump (who was never a front-runner) doesn't guarantee a Democratic victory next year. Tom Dewey was the front-runner against Truman in 1944 and 1948, wasn't he?
Wrestling with the Biden angel candidacy isn't like Trump wrestling with CNN. White working class voters aren't the voters who will elect our next president. Blacks, Hispanics, Millennials, people of colour will make whomever runs for the presidency our 46th president. Anger ("dissatisfaction, disappointment" - Charles Blow) will inform our next election. What's in this 2020 election for us, the people?
https://youtu.be/LthoQPO6YLE
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Wrong on so many levels. Quality journals have interviewed a whole series of voters who are registered Democrats. Black ones, white ones, gay ones, straight ones, suburban couples, middle class, working class, you name it. Contra you, not just working class whites.
Mr. Biden has traction in all of those communities, not least African-Americans. That may not conform to your well established identity politics but it is nonetheless a fact.
You also show a shocking ignorance of how to win an election. We don't have to do the impossible, i.e., win a majority of white voters. We need only peel off enough across income levels (not just working class) when combined with others to deprive Trump of the states of PA., WI., MI. and IA.
You falsely say this is all about working class whites. It is not. That is your ideological fixation wrapped around identity politics. It is about beating the monster in the White House, who weekly drips hints he will defy the Constitution and not leave voluntarily when he loses. The alarm bells are ringing in the night and you're playing the activist purist. No candidate is perfect. But consider the alternative now in office.
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White working class voters may not be an "overwhelming portion of the electorate", but they reliably turn out to vote, unlike blacks who stay home if it's raining on election day.
I think Mr. Blow is too fixated on his manufactured categories here. He has the "woman and minorities," and he has the "working class whites." What about all the middle-class and formerly middle-class whites who might be Democrats to the bone but who are doing worse than their parents, and who are fed up with the direction this country had been heading. Perhaps you have to earn our votes too.
Biden is not for legalizing marijuana. I think his campaign will go up in smoke.
He is also looking for Wall Street money, just like Hillary. We have had enough of Welfare Street deciding our policies. The top three families are worth more than the bottom half. Let's tax them the way they should be. This won't be Biden's way. We have had enough of corporate shills like Biden.
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If democrats really want to win they need to embrace Blow's identity politics.
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Spot on.
As if black and hispanic voters who are also working class don't exist. *eyeroll*
Before he was assassinated, MLK was trying to get white poor and working class people to understand that they're being exploited by the same systems of wealth and power as working class blacks. Bobby Kennedy also.
The GOP has been actively using white racial grievance (i.e. white supremacy) to divide and conquer for about the last 50 years. Quite successfully I might add. And if you think no Democrats have done the same you'd be wrong. In fact, on the crime bill and the issue of school busing to integrate schools, Biden looked a lot more like Jesse Helms than RFK.
The Democratic party takes it's Black and Hispanic voting base for granted. I did not read the comments here before I typed this. I would be shocked if someone has not said this directly already.
In general, African-Americans vote in higher numbers when there's an African-American on the ticket. If there's not, what then? Should Democrats reject a winnable white candidate when "faithful" blacks may or may not show up to vote?
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The usually thoughtful Charles Blow really blew it with this one. Such generalizations! "These people...are being coddled." These people? Are they a monolithic group, just a bunch of Archie Bunkers in hard hats? I don't hear Biden, or any of his competitors, bending over backwards to cater to "their" presumed policy positions. Democrats (again, a monolithic group?) are accused of chasing the votes of "people hostile to the interests of women and minorities," as if every Caucasian without a college degree is hostile to the interests of women and people of color. It's NOT an either-or, Charles, it's a both-and: to win in 2020, the Dems need to take care of their base AND appeal to enough of "those people" to win a few key states (and you know who you are). Who can do that? Let's see how it plays out. But let's not engage in false dichotomies and play to folks' fears of being left out in the cold.
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Charles, what's in it for you is a Dem president. Think about it. If your feelings are hurt, will a second Trump term make you feel better? Newsflash--majorities win elections. With Putin's thumb on the scales, we need the Dem base AND the swing voters. Should we really have to coddle you instead of white voters? For once, forget your self-righteousness and do the math. All Dems want the same things. But only to the victor goes the spoils. Let's fight about it AFTER we grit our teeth, take one for the team, and do our patriotic duty.
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What is the definition of "fake news"? Well, Charles M. Blow comes awfully close in this column.
First, it is not working-class voters, per se, the Democrats are after; it is moderate voters in battleground states who will decide the election, voters who do not subscribe to all the liberals’ cultural sacred cows, but do seek better economic opportunity and security. Moderate voters come in all races, genders and socio-economic classes. They are not just the white working class, as Blow invidiously implies.
Second, Blow has often railed—and rightfully so—against racism in all its many ugly manifestations. Well his aspersion against the white working class, his painting of millions of Americans with a single brush—"fickle"—is a form of racism in my book. (But I'll accept the word, "bigotry," instead, if that resonates more comfortably with some readers.)
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"The way people obsess over white, working-class voters, one would think that they are an overwhelming portion of the electorate. They aren’t."
Uhhh, how about white non-college educated has been ~ 45% of the electorate. The largest single group by far. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2017/11/01/441926/voter-trends-in-2016/
"I think that we need to question why the presence of the white male elder seems to ease anxiety among these white voters, and why the Democrats seem to be banking on that." Please, please, please stop with the soft racism. Perhaps the "white" voters you speak of like Biden for his politics and NOT his race?! Yes, miracle of miracles, that IS possible!! I'm a white guy and I like Biden because of who he is, not because of his race. I voted for (and knocked on many doors for) Obama, because of who he is, not because of his race. When, oh when, will the Democratic talking heads see past race?! Race/gender/religion/age/sexual orientation/etc... None of these qualifies or disqualifies anyone for anything, including public office. Constant focus on these topics will lose the 2020 election.
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I'd love for one of the young 'uns with their zeal and ideals to defeat Trump. But you're not going to knock down an ogre with a laser pointer. You need a plain and simple baseball bat. That's probably Biden.
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Could Blow have been more dismissive about Biden's treatment of Anita Hill?
Obama engaged in an explicitly sexist campaign rhetoric and his campaign carried on a deliberate, somewhat successful campaign to portray Hillary as callous to the needs of black Americans, despite her forty-five year record of standing with and for black Americans. Could that be why 675,000 fewer blacks voted in 2016 than in 2012? She only lost by 75,000 votes in three states, two of which have large black populations.
Hillary lost 25% of white, working class Obama voters. That doesn't say to me that the white working class should be dismissed by any Democrat. They are the voters who elected the people who passed the Voting Rights Act and the EEO Act. Could it have been they were influenced by the media's deliberate, concerted misrepresentations and negative attacks on her?
White working class voters have been ignored by many Dems, just as black voters have been taken for granted. Both groups need to get from Dems that which they aren't getting from anyone.
Cry me another river, Mr. Blow.
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White male voters tend to vote for white male candidates, just as racists and bigots tend to vote for racists and bigots. What we learned in the last election is that racists and bigots, including those among the white male voters outnumber all the rest. Because we don't want to admit the extent to which racism and bigotry exist in the American society, these tendencies get downplayed in the polls. Admitting they exist want change them in any way, but we would at least be honest why Trump got elected and can't be defeated.
While praising the intelligence of the American electorate, Trump secretly knows that they can be led around like a bulls with nose rings - only instead of bull rings, he uses their racism and prejudices to lead them wherever he wants.
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds see the survival of a particular belief as more important than the survival of us all. When we understand all this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
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Mr. Blow. You are one of my favorite columnists. But you have disappointed me: WHY does it matter a person's color of skin or sex to run for President??
The issue is that currently the country is not prepared for radical changes proposed by the Far Left.
If you look at demographics roughly 20-25% of the country are liberal and 35-40% are conservative; the rest are independents. Independents mainly come out to vote during Presidential elections, and typically determine whether Democrats or Republicans win.
In our current demographics -- the far Left is pushing an agenda that might barely win in a Primary, but would be a disaster during the Presidential Election.
Let's take Bernie to illustrate:
During the primary between Hillary and Sanders. MSN conducted a statistical poll. They asked Bernie supporters if they were aware that under Sander's plan, to pay for his new social benefits, even a person making $50K a year would pay an additional $6K in taxes.
About 90% of Sander's supporters told y MSN they did not know this; and: **about 66% said this was "UNACCEPTABLE" to them!**
This explains why Republican pacs gave Bernie free advertising. If Bernie won, they only needed to start a scare campaign Bernie would raise YOUR taxes. Unlike Europe, most people in the US live beyond their means; with bigger houses and cars.
So, this is why I am for Biden. Sure, it would be boring compared to the fantastic promises of the left. But I chose to win!
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Mr. Blow, do you really think that a Democratic woman of color has a better chance than Mr. Biden in defeating Mr. Trump?
It seems you do.
I would suggest that in that case you will get a chance to write anti-Trump editorials for many more years to come.
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I was very disappointed when Hillary lost, but, I too, as mentioned previously, would vote for a bag of rocks to get Trump out of there. My first choice is a woman. But, we’ve lost so much ground in the last 2 ½ years that we have to stop the bleeding & make sure that Dems gain back the Presidency, House & Senate. I will campaign for Harris, Warren & Klobuchar, in particular, but if it comes down to a white male, I’ll work for him. Mr. Blow understates the motivation for so many of us: get that horrifying Trump out of there- forever!
"...did not treat Anita Hill terribly well..." No. Biden led a committee who treated Anita Hill terribly.
There. Fixed that for you.
Hey Charles,
Either party can win their base and lose their election. Obama had a lot of WWC males that Hillary lost.
The Dems can win the popular vote and lose the election because of the EC. Let's hear your plan for winning some of OH, MI, WI, PA. Then we'll talk.
I am not prepared to place my bets on anyone yet. I've seen a few things I like. However what counts in the long run in our silly season is how much the candidates can remake themselves (or twist themselves) into someone the party likes and that the people will vote for. More often than not my vote for a Democrat hasn't been for that person as much as it's been against the GOP candidate. I'd like to have a better reason to vote for a Democrat than that.
I want to see how Biden does against the rest of the field. He has experience. So does Sanders. So does Warren. So do some of the others. I want to see how they handle Trump, their own gaffes, etc. In my opinion trying to decide now is like trying to force a neophyte skier onto the expert trail.
Given what Trump has wrought during his "presidency" I'd like to see someone with experience in DC, experience in foreign policy, and the ability to work with others even if the final solution isn't what the opposition wants. However, both sides, the GOP in particular, need to learn to work and play well with others in the sandbox. So far the GOP and Trump are sorely lacking in that area domestically and abroad.
4/29/2019 12:28pm
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the sad truth is that beyond class, beyond race, and even beyond politics is our unfair and corrupted electoral system - in short, geography. it isn't just coddling of white, working class voters, it is coddling of those voters in the districts of rural states whose votes count more in presidential politics than those of similar voters in places like New York and California, where our votes apparently don't count for anything compared to those in places like rural Michigan and Pennsylvania. those voters are seen as important beyond their numbers because of the Electoral College and its built-in bias in favor of rural states. this obsolete institution, designed mainly to preserve slavery and the hegemony of an aristocratic class of planters, is antithetical to the one person, one vote ideal we pretend to honor. time to get rid of it... and with it, the outsized importance of one segement of the electorate. proof: the 2016 election and Bush v Gore.
2
Biden and others should declare now their VP running mate. I do not want to vote for one person. I want a package. But do it now for the primaries, not the general. I did not want to rely on Hillary to choose a Tim Kane. I do not want to rely on any "old" candidate who could stroke out on week two to choose a successor who cannot take over vigorously on day one of his or her new presidency. Biden could ride his recent bubble to victory over Trump if he were to choose - NOW - someone like an Elizabeth Warren or Kamela Harris or a Stacey Abrams to run with him. Pledge to put Bernie on his cabinet along with Beto and Booker and Mayor Pete and Gillibrand and Klobachar. Even the attempt and the suggestion that this is what he wants to do - a team approach made up of the best and brightest of those running would have its own effect. Give us real reasons to get excited, Joe. "Same old same old" is not going to cut it. To state the obvious: It's the same, and it's old. Charles Blow is talking to you. Time to listen and act.
1
Beating Donald Trump in 2020 is most important for sure, but that really shouldn't be all that difficult. He won by fluke last time, when many people didn't realize how horrible he is -- now they do. His base loves him being horrible, but it is not going to grow, and might even shrink a tiny bit with the Mueller revelations. My question is why are so many apparently afraid of Trump's tweets? Hit him back with insults and derogatory nicknames, he is certainly fertile ground for imaginative insults. Humor can be a great weapon. I am not suggesting lowering oneself to his level, but to fight back without demeaning oneself. There are certainly some brilliant comedy minds around that would be glad to help. What's Al Franken doing these days?
2
Most unfortunately, your assumption Trump has weak re-election prospects is naive. As things stand now, I'd be very surprised (and even more ecstatic) if he loses. The reasons are simple.
Much as Dems like myself loathe Trump, he has continually defied expectations and shown himself a formidable political force on a level comparable to Reagan, inspiring similar loyalty & admiration among his followers & attracting more into the fold whether this is admitted or not.
He is tough, steadfast, resilient, wily and smart, with powerful political instincts and the prowess to stand up to an army of opponents bent on defeating him or trapping him into any misstep that can be the basis of impeachment (even failing to flush the WH toilet if that can be made to seem Watergate-like). And I say this as one who loathes Trump.
The stock market is soaring, unemployment is at historic lows, and Trump has "grown into the job", at least ostensibly, so that the "TV personality w/ no gov't experience, in over his head" argument rings increasingly hollow. Trump has proved himself capable of articulating & defending coherent policies (however abhorrent to many/most).
By many metrics, Trump has been succeeding, despite all-out efforts to make him fail. He even came close to a major breakthrough on N. Korea that could've resulted in peace and a Nobel Prize. He stared down Kim & achieved a plausible, if very tentative, shaky detente from seemingly the brink of war.
We have our work cut out for us.
1
What's Al Franken doing theses days?
Fishing in one of his 10,000 lakes of Minnesota I hope and laughing his tail off at how this nation elected a Trump while condemning the likes of himself and Biden for events long past and of another time.
I would love it if he would jump into the race and really force the field of 21 explain why they are a better choice to beat Trump and everything he stands for. I suspect his humorous responses would force some real soul searching.
3
To the above, l add the women's vote factor, however reluctantly. A lot of women publicly decry the loutish, aggressive he-man /alpha make type while secretly admiring him. It's just a fact of life. The more powerful and (at least outwardly) "successful" this tough guy becomes, the more favorably a large swath of females will respond to him. I don't like to engage in sexist discourse, but to a large extent, "nice guys finish last" is a common feminine sentiment. Trump, a classic "bad boy" with high economic metrics, the keys to the White House, a history of sexual conquests, billions of dollars in the bank, and soaring phallic residential/commercial/hotel towers with his name emblazoned in 15 foot tall gold letters on those towers is going to exude something many female voters will respohd to, even if a great many female voters still loathe him. If any of these women give Trump credit for any financial gains in the last 3 years, expect at least some of them to reward Trump with their votes, no matter what they say publicly.
Btw, though veering off this comment's main point (how many women, of a certain psychology, are likely to treat Trump on election day), many men who enjoyed financial gains in the last 3 years will similarly reward Trump at the voting booth, albeit without these other factors adding to the dynamic.
All of the above suggested only with utmost reluctance, but I think it's true, unfortunately.
1
Here we go again. The most important issue is ridding the country of the odious Trump. You don't have the luxury of voting for who you want. You vote for who will win,
If Bernie had not run in 2016 Hillary would be president and that is something that is unforgivable.
2
if Hillary had not run, Bernie woud surely have won not only the popular vote but the EC as well. each candidate was divisive, but Hillary was the weaker candidate.
1
@Pottree
Nope, Bernie would have lost... again. To literally any other Democrat who would have been in the race instead of Clinton.
Consider...
o Bernie had the support of American Crossroads (Karl Rove's superpac), which spent over $9 million in ad buys to prop him up during the primaries.
o Bernie had the support of the Russian troll farms who, per Bob Muller's indictments from last year, were under orders to prop up Bernie and denigrate Clinton at every opportunity. Seriously, the Russians actually organized many pro-Bernie rallys during the campaign.
o The RNC, conservative media, and Trump himself propped up Bernie throughout the campaign, with Trump parroting all of Sander's main attacks against Clinton.
o The Russians filtered over $30 million in back-channel contributions to the NRA (via Maria Butina), who in turn backed Bernie heavily.
And yet, despite all this support Sanders still lost his primary by over 3.9 MILLION votes, by 289 state delegates, and by 550+ superdelegates (and remember, when Hillary lost to Obama in 2008 she actually had the higher vote total, and her combined state and super delegate count was less than 100 from Obama).
So, even with all this Russian/RNC/NRA support Bernie lost in a blowout... do you honestly believe he'll do any better this time without it?
Excellent point. I am tired of the pandering to the
so-called 'Reagan Democrats' - who should have been called racist Democrats.
We have moved so far right that current Dem. centrist policies are pro-corporation (corrupt), strong defense(warmongering), & low taxes (for the weathy). In a word, Republican. Meanwhile, the Republicans have gone to the lunatic fringe.
The richest country that ever existed throws away billions on an insane military budget while the majority of its citizens struggle, infrastructure crumbles, schools are neglected, medical is a for-profit nightmare, and global warming is destroying eco- systems.
4
Claiming that "white working-class" voters are somehow necessarily, or by definition "hostile to the interests of women and minorities" is a bias that Mr. Blow either knowingly or unknowingly exhibits in this discourse. It's a flagrant proposition.
2
Most hardcore Biden supporters ARE the party faithful and loyal supporters.
I support Biden because I actually like his center left polices. The fact that he’s likable and moderate enough to win Pennsylvania and other rust belt states is a bonus and seals the deal for me.
4
We have to keep in mind what we are fighting --- an infestation in the White House and Senate that has brought our nation to the brink of unconstitutional chaos. We can heal and perfect the Democratic Party once we get Trump and his odious crew out of Washington. Until then we have one goal only, and if the young feel that old whites make prickly bedfelllows, imagine how they will feel with four more years of Trump's noodleheaded tweeting, brazen mendacity and climate change denial. And worse could await. Trumpism does not permit us the luxury of spurning fickle whites in swing states no matter how contemptible some may find them.
1
_This_ is it, Charles:
"Democratic candidates would be much better served focusing on energizing new voters among constituencies amenable to this philosophy and these goals, rather than bending to accommodate voters who vacillate between open contempt for those interests and begrudging countenance of them."
So sick of the Democrats playing to today's uglier version of the Archie Bunker crowd. Let them eat their MAGA hats.
1
Absolutely spot on.
1
So as an old white guy [ 60 ] I can say you are wrong Mr. Blow. I campaigned and voted for Obama. Obama talked of inclusion of all, that is why he got the white vote. Obama did not try to push a black, brown, yellow, green agenda he spoke of a united agenda. I guess you have forgotten his 2004 speech. Candidates that talk about special treatment for minorities are deed on arrival. You my friend are trying to drive a wedge between classes of people. For what is good for an old white guy is good for an old black, hispanic, asian guy/gal because to vote democrat is a vote for all. People need to ask this question, what piece of legislation has ever been written and championed by a republican. I have asked that question a hundred times in the past and I have received only one answer. It happened over 150 years ago, Lincoln freed the slaves and that took a lot of politicking to accomplish. Yes their are still people who hate minorities and certain religions. To try and give money away to satisfy decades old discrimination is throwing good money after bad, it's a fools errand , that has been tried and has failed. To educate honestly about religion and slavery would be essential to people understand why these two wedge issues are so strong in the minds of individuals. By separating peoples as you have would only exacerbate the problem. I say this because what your article implies is that an old white guy can't comprehend what is and what has happened over the years. You are wrong!
3
Charles, it has taken you a while to figure out who the real racists are.
John Podesta has heavily influenced Democrat strategy and has a particular focus on identifying one’s candidate’s weaknesses and then accusing their opponent of that very same thing.
The whole fake Trump Russia collusion nonsense fairy tale was invented to combat Hillary’s biggest perceived weakness - $145 million in Russian donations to the Clinton Foundation right around the time the Russians bought 20% of our uranium.
The ardor with which Democrats seem to randomly label anyone that disagrees with them a racist, you have to wonder.
The Democrats’ policies favor illegal alien Hispanics to the detriment of Black citizens.
Democrats attempt to keep the Black folks on board by trying to convince them everyone else is racist.
There are up and coming Black stars in the Republican Party, like Candace Owens, that are making a heck of a lot more sense to Black voters than they are used to.
1
@Ken
Except that the $145 million donation was from a Canadian multi-millionaire, who had sold his interest in Uranium One over a year earlier. Not a Russian donation.
And except for the fact that the entire purpose of the Uranium-One sale was for the Russian company who bought it to gain mining rights in Kazakhstan, which they really wanted. No uranium ever left the United States (export of strategic metals is controlled by an entirely different set of laws).
And except for the fact that the Uranium-One sale needed eight other sign-offs besides the State department to actually go through... and none of those other agencies objected to the deal.
And except for the FOI lawsuit that was settled last month, revealing that at Trump's order, Jeff Sessions opened a new investigation of Hillary Clinton and Uranium-One... an investigation that was quietly ended a few months later, and which both Sessions and the White House have both been caught lying about even existing.
But aside from this, you're absolutely right.
1
"Democrats want to hold constant their support from women and minorities"
There is no such voter group as 'women an minorities'. 53% of white women voted for Trump. Over 90% of black women voted for Clinton. Almost a third of Latinos that voted, voted for Trump. And off course young voters are more focused on whining on social media than on actually voting. The Democrats need to focus on those groups who will actually vote the Democratic ticket. Cheap categorization of those groups as 'women and minorities' is both inaccurate and intellectually lazy,
2
Mr Blow mistakes complacency for faithfulness and open mindedness for “fickleness”. It is not a matter of virtuous loyalty to remain a knee jerk liberal, always to be counted on to vote for the democrat; rather it is laziness, stupidity or both. Much derision has been directed (by Mr Blow in particular) to those voters who are considered part of the conservative base; uneducated, xenophobic etc. I venture the same may be said of those liberal “faithful” as represented by Mr. Blow. I myself voted twice for Bush, twice for Obama and once for a candidate who was neither the Democratic nor Republican nominee. I do not consider myself unique but I am thoughtful. I only hope that the major parties present reasonable choices for thoughtful voters in 2020.
Thank you!as a liberal, elderly, “white” woman, I have no desire to settle for another staus quo establishment wimp!
Time for a real heir to FDR and a return to communitarian values.
My vote goes to the candidate whose policies will protect the earth and my granddaughter’s future
1
@sue RN
And that candidate would be Joe Biden!
Kingfish52 said it perfectly:
"You're right Charles. The Democratic Party shouldn't bend to the will of white, working class voters."
Totally agree.
I simply do not accept your premise that he is accepted by Democrats just because he is a white male. And, I don't discount someone simply because they are a white male. Come one, come all - and may the best candidate win!
1
Here’s why Charles Blow has a point: Americans will forgive anything, absolutely anything, except what they see as gutlessness.
It ain’t good, but it’s true.
And Joe isn’t gutless, not even a little, especially compared to Trump. His problem is, he’s up many on his own side who stayed home in 2016, and are now thumping their chests about what brave fellows they are.
And the fact is, even Obama would’ve done better to, on occasion, tell both McConnell and his own side’s voters to take a rolling jump.
1
Biden is my choice because he is connected to Barrack Obama. The chance of going back to those eight years of the Obama presidency is all I need to vote Biden.
2
Once again, Charles is looking at the world through the only lens he has, which is that of race (and victimization.)
That distorted lens fueled Trump's 2016 win and will do the same in 2020 if the Democrats don't wake up to the fact that the "basket of deplorables" is a smaller group than imagined and middle class, middle America whites are looking for a savior.
And no Charles, those folks are NOT racist.
As a grad student (mid 1980s), I spent a lot of time interacting with the American working class. I fell in love. I found them absolutely fantastic; generous, strong work ethic, strong values, strong community, patriotic, welcoming. I spent quite a bit of ten years studying what they did on factory floors and workshops. I was plain seduced by their contribution to the great nation.
Fast forward to 2016. The bottom fell off. The currency now is indifference, anger, hostility, conviction that someone is denying them what is rightfully theirs. They voted for Trump so he would hurt people like me.
Democrats are unusually drawn to sad sacks; they end up enabling and producing dependent constituencies. Even today, blacks routinely ask democratic candidates: 'what have you done for me lately?" Obama had to tell them to stop whining, because only he could.
Now democrats are obsessed with saving white working class Americans who are carrying around a lit fuse. They sought refuge in all the wrong things; drugs, dropping out, Trump.
To win them back, democrats must promise to get rid of all non-whites, and give free money to those who are currently wearing MAGA hats. Will they?
I get the lure of Biden. But the notion that he will bring back the white working class to vote democrat is a fantasy. No one can help people who are this filled with hate toward others. Least of all, democrats.
1
Re Aesop's tortoise and the hare -- the frontrunner doesn't always win the race. That Biden has an edge over Trump (who was never a front-runner) doesn't guarantee a Democratic victory next year. Tom Dewey was the front-runner against Truman in 1944 and 1948, wasn't he?
Wrestling with the Biden angel candidacy isn't like Trump wrestling with CNN. White working class voters aren't the voters who will elect our next president. Blacks, Hispanics, Millennials, people of colour will make whomever runs for the presidency our 46th president. Anger ("dissatisfaction, disappointment" - Charles Blow) will inform our next election. What's in this 2020 election for us, the people?
1
I don't see how any woman remembering Anita Hill can vote for Biden. I know I never would
1
Charles Blow is falling for the divide and conquer method being deployed by Republicans , Russo-Republicans, and actual Russians. Behold the great schism in the Democratic Party. Behold it, then reject it, if we’re to have any chance of getting Trump off the helm of this ship that’s headed for the shoals of defeat.
1
I'm totally in favor of "It's the only way", i.e. to get rid of Trump. And I'm not talking about making a pact with the devil either. Biden has decades of political experience, served as vice-president for 8 years and is honest and has integrity. I'm not upset about complaints made about him because of support for a crime bill - lots of people supported it - nor his conduct with respect to Anita Hill - both events occurring decades ago. This trash abut his "touchy-feely" personality is just banal journalism - designed to increase readership for advertisers, a shameful low for the media, including CNN and the NYT. He is far and away the best candidate out there and best able to defeat Trump. The Democrats are wasting vital energy with all of the others. Don't blow it, again.
1
“did not treat Anita Hill terribly well during her testimony at Clarence Thomas’s confirmation hearing “
He treated her terribly. Not as bad as Arlen Specter but terribly.
One wonders if Justice Thomas would be on the Supreme Court had he allowed corroboration and had he treated her with the respect she deserved.
2
Why should the Democrats pander to the extreme left. They own this vote. The reliable Democratic/Progressive vote is black - overwhelmingly - 90% of Blacks vote democratic. 44% of whites, 69% of Hispanics and 77% of Asians. Blacks never vote Republicans. Non Hispanic whites represent 63% of the population. Instead of Blow's view of the world, the Democratic field other than Biden pander to the base, Blacks, Hispanics, gays, liberal women. They have these votes. By pandering to these groups, they ignore the 63% of the population who vote in greater numbers and are turned off by identify politics. By virtue of demography, it is hardly surprising that Biden is in the lead. The quickest way for Democrats to lose to Trump is to continue their Sherman's march to the left
1
It's those voters in midwestern States where Trump won the election. Who cares if the Ds win by 5 minion in California if they can't win the EC with PA, WI, and MI? Do Democrats stand a chance winning them this time? If Mr Blow is right then it won't matter because the strategy to win white working class voters cost them their base. And so prove President Obama correct: the Democrats couldn't lead a one car funeral and make a fine circular firing squad.
What a strangely blinkered and unpersuasive column. Mr. Blow keeps stressing that Joe Biden's "chief attribute" is to "white, working-class swing voters". And polls do verify that among the herd of Democratic candidates, that's true. But polls also show that Biden leads among African-American and Hispanic voters, too. You would never guess that given that Mr. Blow keeps insisting that the party should nominate someone who especially appeals to blacks and other minorities. Perhaps Mr. Blow assigns special voting power to some undefined subset of minorities that share his strong opinions.
And Mr. Blow disparages the viewpoint that preventing Trump from winning a second term should be Democrats no. ! priority. Rather he claims minority constituencies will demand "What's in it for us, specifically?" Really? I think it's a certitude that ANY of the 20 Democratic candidates will be much more favorable to the interests of minorities than a Trump that wins reelection.
Mr. Blow concludes
1
What are "fickle white, working-class swing voters?" That phrase does not mean anything to me. Maybe that is me? But I don't like Joe yet. He has not said anything of substance.
As a corollary to your argument, I wonder why Democrats are giving any support to the non Democrat Bernie Sanders. You know the same Bernie with no coattails, no history of Democratic fund raising for OTHER Democrats, the same Bernie who attacked Hillary Clinton.
1
Then senator Joe Biden was like many African Americans on the Clarence Thomas’s replacement of Thurgood Marshall on the U. S. Supreme Court: It was better to have a politically flawed Thomas on the Court than no African American at all for years to come.
Unfortunately, such was the choice of Joe Biden and the normal Democratic “core” in 1991 because few could have predicted the election of Bill Clinton in 1992 who might have nominated an African American instead of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993 or Stephen Breyer in 1994.
1
Very poor sense of history throughout this essay and the comments. The Democrats were perpetual losers except for Cleveland and Wilson until FDR came along. FDR and Truman revolutionized the party by bringing the parents of your "angry white males" or "deplorables" into the fold. Democrats became the party of the union member and working man. In the face of job loss and urban decay, the Party diid nothing for it's base except get their children drafted to fight in Vietnam.
Reagan was correct. The Party left the blue collar voter behind in favor of "the intelligentsia", open borders, reparations, and transgender bathrooms instead real health care reform, affordable college, and home ownership. Instead of sending Goldman Sachs bankers to jail, your nominee took their money for private meetings, but couldn't find the time to visit three battleground states.
Op-Ed pieces like this will win votes in Cambridge, NYC, Berkley, Santa Monica, Ann Arbor, but unless the Party's appeal broadens, Blondie will win again.
1
Here we go again. Another clueless analysis of why Democrats lost and what their strategy needs to be. For the umpteenth time Mr. blow and Democrats, it is not the *white* working class voter Democrats lost and need to win back, it is *working class* voters. It's mind boggling how they just seem to look right past what their obvious problem is with voters. They consistently come so frustratingly close understanding the issue when they acknowledge that these so-called " misogynistic, racist" voters could vote for a black man with a Muslim name and then also vote for a guy like Trump.
It has very little to do with the whiteness of the voter and everything to do with the economic situation of that white voter and all working class and middle class voters find themselves in. Stop looking through the lens of identity politics and you will see clearly that the majority of people are hurting or worried in this country. People voted for the black man based on his progressive message that he failed to deliver on and abandoned. They switched and voted for, or more importantly just didn't vote at all dished up the Sofie's Choice they were given by the Democrats, a person despite his awfulness because he also gave them some hope that he would change the system. Biden is the definition of the establishment and after eight years of him and Obama pushing policies that gave 95% of the recovery wealth to the upper 5% stayed home on Election Day.
1
Feeling a little angry Mr Blow?
Anger clouds good judgement.
Your argument that voting for a white man will likely lead to voting for a white nationalist is a false equivalence.
I have voted democratic for nearly seven decades. I judge candidates by their position on issues that affect me and more importantly my country whether or not that candidate is black,white,male ,or female.
As fictional political reporter, Jack Burden muses about politics, "Process as process is neither morally good nor morally bad. We may judge results but not process. . . Maybe a man has to sell his soul to get the power to do good.”
--All the King's Men
--Robert Penn Warren
It has always been thus. Republicans fear their base. Democrats loathe theirs. This will not change until the neoliberal wing of the party is beaten soundly, starting with Uncle Joe being put out to pasture.
1
Sorry Charles
While Obama was a terrific candidate he was an ineffectual President.
1
@Tuco
And of course, you give no reason or proof of just why Obama was so "ineffectual" -- but seeing as you reside in FL, I could probably fill in the rest.
A minor quibble:
"... like many candidates, he [Biden] has pros and cons."
Like ALL of the candidates, Biden has pros and cons. All of our Democratic presidential candidates are human, with human flaws and human failings. That's how it should be. Personality cults are anathema to democracy.
1
@Robert
And: Selective lists--that is, biased lists, containing, for instance, half-truths, misleading hyperbole, or even conspiracy theories--of any of our candidate's shortcomings sans context or accomplishments are and will continue to be both dishonest and intellectually bankrupt.
2020 is going to be like 1776, less of a (s)election and more of an essential Second American “Political/economic and social Revolution Against Empire”.
Charles is absolutely correct, we the American people have not lived up to our founding goal of separating form and expunging Empire in favor of a people’s democracy.
We have fallen victim to the cold comfort of compromise, thinking that the appeals of “what’s in it for me” and the current Google ad scam of “I want it all and I want it now” satisfies of a real American Dream of leadership for true and united citizens of a functioning democracy.
Now this sickening disease, which our founders recognized as Democratic Republics decaying to Empire (and Emperors) is both obvious and ignored.
America, and the world, needs to understand and rebel in an essential people’s peaceful “Revolution Against Empire”, as Justin du Rivage writes in his deeply researched and definitive history of our first one against Empire’s false Royalism and Loyalism.
This renewal will require revolutionary leaders, not those weakly accommodating to some unacceptable accommodation, nor lust toward Global Empire over global democracy.
As Pat might have shouted if Thomas had taken the Paine to edit his ‘Rallying Cry’:
“Give us Liberty (over Empire) or Give us Death”
DUMP
EMPEROR
TRUMP
“We can’t be an EMPIRE”
1
To me it's all about the electoral math, it works against Democrats and favors the Republicans. The Dems get 3 million more votes than the Republicans and lose the election.
You want someone to win those swing States only because of the outdated electoral college, that's it. And apparently Biden is the front runner likely because of that.
If elections were done by the popular vote only, any nominated Democrat would win in 2020. Our fight unfortunately is with the stupid electoral voting system.
I'm sympathetic to the column's points but there are some problems with his analysis. First not all white working class voters are racist and sexist, and remember Clinton won the popular vote of those making less than $30K. Actually white middle class and small business owners are more conservative and the heart of the Republican Party -- and the real concern of centrist Democrats. Don't buy into all white working class men are nothing but a bunch of backward racist. That's a middle class bias founded on their own ignorance. Sanders understands this, and it's why he's a better candidate than Biden.
1
As a Non American this article seems rather bigoted. Ignore the needs and problems of white working class and concentrate on identity politics to the exclusion of all else. That is essentially what the Democrats have been doing for decades. Instead if concentrating on issues for the entire country this writer says just pay attention to my favorite group. It is both bigoted and potentially racist. Racism is colour blind and its active bias encourages the disunion and votes for cheap hucksters like Trump since if you are not one of a viable minority no one is standing up for you. If you demand for instance a black candidate you are pandering to less than 20% of the population so don't be surprised when the rest vote against you.
I hate to say this, but this opinion piece seems rascist to me.
That Biden’s qualifications are never mentioned. He is questionable because he is white and male.
It feels like the Times has lost its way on issues of race. Unable to find the right balance. Under covering the Latino community outside of immigration issues, and the Asian community generally. The Times seems to view the world through and antiquated 1960’s black/white lens that is sadly outdated.
Thank you Mr. Blow this is perhaps one of your best of the best columns. Since 1980 these working class voters have been told by charlatan Republicans to pull themselves up by their boot straps. When they realized that was not happening they started blaming those who didn't look like them.
The Democratic party has to stop coddling them. They are a small minority. They are the tail that wags the dog. And that has to stop. Biden takes us in the wrong direction with the myth that he only can change them.
1
Your argument is moot, Mr. Blow, as long as we have the Electoral College.
The best thing that Biden can do for his party is to fall on his sword after fighting a bare knuckle, no holds barred, knock down drag out, name calling hate fest against the most despicable phony to ever stain the Oval Office. If that entails insulting white nationalist hate mongers, than so be it. The same could be said for Sanders, their days have past. I doubt if their egos would allow them to perform that electrifying service. Winning is everything in the political realm which seems to be about personal victory rather than advancing the slow moving herd.
Democrats will make their judgement during the primaries, and we need to start now to make sure that whoever is nominated gets the full support of the party and its voters, and its independent allies.
It's hard, though, not to observe that the reason it is perceived that Trump voters might like Biden is that Biden is more like Trump than many of the other potential candidates.
1
Elizabeth’s solutions transcend demographics, even parties. The problems she is devising solutions for are problems affecting Democrats as well as a Republicans. And if you need votes from the other side, finding a common denominator and providing a solution is the right approach to winning.
1
I am an older white male (aged 68) who believes that it is time to elect the younger generation, male and/or female, who have a vision for their future in the 21st century. However, IF, after all of the debates and primaries, an older white male is nominated by the Democratic Party to be the next president of the U. S. I will vote for him. Trump in 2020 (if he is still the president) is simply unacceptable.
2
The thing about the democrats is, excepting the Sanders supporters, they will undoubtedly vote for whoever becomes the nominee. So it's wise to look at which nominees may have "crossover appeal".
Many trump voters are disgusted with him at this point, and Biden is the likeliest to work for them. Anecdotally, I've heard quite a few republicans say they respect Biden and would vote for him if the choice were between Biden and trump.
Biden also enjoys the benefit of having been the pick of Obama for VP, and as such, does well with many African Americans.
I am by no means someone who would prefer Biden over some of the other candidates, and I'll support others before him, but if we want to look at likeliest trump beater, I'm afraid Biden is it.
Let us not forget that on the last day of the Clinton Administration Joe Biden voted to end Spiegel- Glass on a voice vote and out the door. He like all the others didn't have the guts to put his name on the bill.
i can think of a lot of reasons for supporting other candidates, not least, the diversity we see on the line.
There is no one I'd rather have to explain the grieving process after a tragic loss, and that includes some mighty profound religious leaders.
But if we are waiting Joe to apologize for something he doesn't consider wrong, we won't be satisfied.
Nevertheless, Joe before Donald. Amen.
1
I found this piece very interesting. I just have a couple of thoughts to add. First, in this case, I have the sense that there are far more disaffected republicans and independents who will not vote for Trump this time around than there was in the last election. Their votes matter, and many of them are far more comfortable with Biden than what they see as a wild swing to the left. This fact doesn't negate the point that the author makes, but it makes the case for the democrats coming up with a pair of candidates who cover as much ground within the party as possible.
My second point is that lumping together Biden and Sanders is a mistake. They are quite different people with wildly different policy positions. I am surprised by the perception of some that Bernie isn't concerned enough about racial equality. This is a man who marched alongside Martin Luther King. He is also a champion of the working class and in favor of a much broader social safety net. If his vision can be accomplished we will make great strides in catching up with our allies in Europe and Canada. Since African Americans are disproportionately affected by the ravages of poverty, this means his policies would have a substantial beneficial effect for the African American community. I think Vermont's disproportionate whiteness holds Bernie back, but that is a product of history. The majority of Vermonters are very progressive and very supportive of equal rights, equal opportunity and equal respect for all.
The statistical breakdown of white working class voters here doesn’t have any percentages about their proportion in the few swing states that actually determine our election. Even then, who are the swing voters in those swing states? I have to imagine that easy cut is ignored on purpose.
We’ll have Trump until 2024 unless he dies of a heart attack first - all because dems can’t stomach a white guy being their best shot.
I don't get this reasoning on behalf of the Democratic party at all.
Trump barely won, by 77,000 votes across three states. How hard can it be to win back those votes, given his performance in the job?
Put another way, we know some people swung from Obama to Trump in 2016. But do you honestly think there is even one soul who voted for Hillary and — after watching the last two years unfold — thinks, hey you know what, I'm gonna vote for Trump! He's knocking it out of the park!
And, tangentially, another thing I don't get: to every person I hear say Hillary should never run again (lost twice, voted for the Iraq war, centrist Democrat, corporate Democrat) I give you Joe Biden. If she shouldn't run, he surely shouldn't either.
I'd like to see Biden take is road show on to Fox and see how he survives in a hostile environment that Bernie showed he could own. Biden would be eaten alive by his record of what he has stood for and voted for.
As a white working class voter since 1972, who has never ever supported a GOP candidate or the anti-life anti-working class GOP platform, I find it difficult to comprehend how so many people can be voting against their best interests. Certainly these people are not ignorant. What they are, is subjected to the daily diatribe of the lies perpetrated by the alt right radio liars such as Limbaugh, to and from work, and dosed at home by the addition of Faux "News" propaganda perpetuated by the likes of hot air Hannity, etal. Other than CNN, who doesn't lie, the democratic beliefs are not supported with their own propaganda machines as the GOP is. Until this disparity is addressed, I'm afraid it will be a continual uphill battle for the minds of the working class whites.
The man who pumped my gas the other day was railing against the immigrants and whites on "welfare" (paid for by "his" taxes) completely oblivious to the 60 huge corporations paying no taxes, led by Amazon's $11.2 BILLION record profits for 2018. How many million working class whites cover for Amazon's failure to pay their fair share?
2
"What does it say that the Democrats lust after disaffection rather than rewarding devotion?" So whose devotion would that be? Black people who didn't show up at the polls in 2016 because their guy wasn't the candidate (or, to a remarkable degree, because they felt that their guy failed to change anything for them)? The devotion of Bernie brats who also didn't vote?
Joe would do well to go into this already paired up with a VP (I would prefer Stacey Abrams but Amy Klobuchar would do).
1
“obsession about courting those [white]voters, about their worries and anxieties, about their propensity to angrily storm off if they don’t feel properly exalted and centered.” This applies to all races and religious people who have their “sacred entities” and supremacists too. You can see the tantrums of the trump base, Bret Stephen’s tantrum on a religiously insensitive cartoon wholly missing the point and calling it anti-Semitic for caricaturing truths he has no case to make against, and current generations of non-slave slave descendants demanding compensation from the current society that has nothing to do with what happened long ago. Indeed, we offend each other by demanding the ridiculous.
I agree that we can and should ignore the 40% of Americans as lost in the black hole that is the trump cult - a wasted effort that should be concentrated more on the faithful to actually get out and vote in spite of all the obstacles, foreign and domestic, placed in front of them.
Those who sit at home and do not have their voice counted are the threat to another loss to trump. Indeed, a 10% margin of victory may still result in a loss given the enemy we are up against.
Charles Blow is playing, and deluding himself, with statistics. Actually, white people make up 72-3% of voters. That means Trump need only secure two thirds of the whites, plus 25% of Hispanics and Asians (he consistently gets more in polls) and he romps to victory. It's not just about "working class whites." Many of the winnable white Republicans are far from working class. And let's please, please remember that huge numbers of these white voters in the upper midwest who voted for Trump ARE Democrats who had voted for Obama and before that Clinton -- motivated in large part by Trump's "populist" lies, not racism or "hostility to women and minorities." It's foolishness to think Democrats can guarantee victory without winning a chunk of these white voters back. Now, whether Biden can appeal to them better than, say, Booker or Harris or Klobuchar or Beto is another matter, but that doesn't seem to be the argument Blow is making.
When Charles warns not to focus too much on "Fickle white working class swing voters", but rather on the party faithful, is he aware of the racism and divisiveness of his statement? Sure he wants the Democratic Party to be one of African-
Americans, Latinos, LGBTQ, Youth, etc. 'identity groups' that exclude what he identifies as the "Fickle white working class", but go try and win an election without that part of America. It simply won't happen, and Obama was smart enough to know it, as was Carter, Reagan, both Bushes, Clinton and Trump. Hillary demonized and disparaged her 'basket of deplorables' aka white working class people and she blew up her own campaign built on identity group victimhood and 'our time is now'. Let's not make that same mistake in 2020.
1
Minority voters stayed home in disproportionate numbers for Hilary, after their strong support for Obama. Strong left voters supported Jill Stein in stead of Hiliary. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren only begrudingly gave Hilary their tepid support. All those events led to Trump just as much as the loss of the white working class.
Yet working class whites are the only "fickle" voters that Blow doesn't thing are worth coddling?
The fact is there are no hard core locks on any voting group, except perhaps the evangelicals, whose support for Trump seems to show they would vote for Satan himself if he ran as a Republican. The Democrats need to focus on every group they can.
1
After watching the "United Shades of America" episode on churches last night, I realized I wanted to gather with the black preacher for social justice ... that is where my heart is.
My heart also likes Joe because he is patently compassionate and loving.
Yes, he's old and white and male.
For my penchants, probably Kamela Harris.
For my endgame, whoever can defeat Trump. WE ARE IN CRISIS, not preference mode.
1
Is Not winning the white vote the same as not getting more white votes that the votes of Blacks and Latinos? At this stage who knows who will emerge as the person to oust Trump, the only thing that matters, and help push out Republicans from the Senate, House and statehouses.
If making college and healthcare accessible, strengthening unions l, and improving wages doesn’t appeal to the so-called ‘white working class,’ then I don’t know what will.
Is it because black people, Muslims, feminists, and gays would benefit, too?
2
Bidden is speaking in Pittsburgh tonight. Attempting to be bipartisan, I recall you speaking at one of Pennsylvania's elite institutions--University of Pennsylvania, after you were given voice to speak about the inequality addressing blue states regardless of color.
I think I am concerned about our aging population and income inequality. It would be nice if you would speak about the policy issues for the next presidential election under the terminology "social control." What are we going to do to address a systemic problem? How will we fix the trust problem within our communities? Do our youth have hope?
It's rather ironic that Mercyhurst University gave Barack Obama a platform as a presidential candidate. Jamie Dimon got his wish--there are breweries galure in Western Pennsylvania. I'm all for promoting responsibility but without an income that meets that demand--education, I'm not sure where the democrats heads are at.
The fantastic news is that with so many talented people in the race, a LOT of punches will be thrown at Trump, and some will land.
No poll numbers please, its far too early. We got burnt by poll numbers in the run up to 2016, remember?
I am a long-standing, 67 year old, business owner progressive in a flyover state. It has always baffled me why normal people vote Republican. What do Republicans offer them? On the other hand it’s hard for me to get excited about Biden. We need dramatic change in this country. We don’t need someone who represents the status quo. We need someone that will stand up to the bankers, the 1%er’s, and the large corporations.
We need a new new deal. Someone who will protect social security and work towards healthcare and affordable education for all.
We also need someone who will lead the charge for legislation that deals with climate change and inequality.
I have been, for the most part, disappointed in the Democratic Party, but who else can I vote for? I believe if the Democrats held firm to their stated principles, showed some consistent backbone, and represented the 99% they would be extremely difficult to beat.
At this point my choice is Elizabeth Warren. She has a record of speaking truth to power. Is she electable? Well, sometimes you need to stand up for your principles and let the chips fall where they may.
2
I know who Joe Biden is better than most of the other candidates warts and all. At this moment in American history, the less that all those of good will and compassion don't know about our next president, the better. Biden has been there, done that and has racked up many successes. And he and Obama are soul mates.
For now, I'm for Joe.
3
I agree. There is a sense with the Biden candidacy, that he is the white-knight riding to the rescue. He's the swaggering cowboy who walks into town and tells the ladies not to fret and that getting rid of Trump is man's work, and that they should go back to their fainting couches and wait till he's cleaned up the mess. As far as I'm concerned, the ones putting forth the most ideas and the best ideas are women like Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris. It's time for a new wave and a younger wave to take over the Democratic party and allow us to finally come into the 21st century.
1
"What's in it for us, specifically?" The defeat of Donald Trump and the removal of his administration is the paramount goal. To allow the President 4 more years to do more damage is not acceptable. The choice of voters in the Democratic primary must have that ability hitting the ground as soon as the convention is over (better yet before). Elixir? Try a double shot of Trump and you'll wake up with a debilitating hangover in 2024.
2
To argue that African American or Hispanic voters are somehow a reliable base is to ignore their horrible voting history. Same is true of young voters. The only reliable thing is that few will actually vote
Additionally white viters are a much greater factor in the flyover states critical to winning the presidency, and they better represent the core issues facing the country
The Democratic Party is clearly the welfare party whose only message is that we have to give people more welfare. More free stuff. Free college. Free childcare. Free lunch and dinner. Free free free. Their followers reflect this focus.
Republicans promise a ribust economy with lits of jobs and the ability, in fact the asoiration of self sufficiency.
Two compelling visions. Voters line up in accordance. Hard to imagine white wirking class outside of Appalachia having any interest in the Democratic Party.
So Democrats will remain bound to the coasts where diversity is high and be largely irrelevant nationally. Their strategy insures it.
@John Mortonp
HOLD ON. I suggest you first take into consider the horrific extenuating circumstances involving blatant attempts to prevent Blacks from voting before making such an egregious statement like that.
Especially now, when Republicans are apparently bent on repealing the Voting Rights Act and several southern states show themselves more than willing to go back to the days of Jim Crow laws.
3
Biden's place on the ticket with Obama didn't merely help "grease the skids among a certain section of white working-class voters" in 2008 and 2012. They were essential to carry states he needed to win, as were African-American voters in some states. So why did many flip to Trump in 2016? Because Hillary Clinton had little or nothing to say to them, dismissing them for her strategy to win GOP suburban women. Trump lied to them, as we hope they now know. They are there to be won. The Democrats won't win with a strategy that works only in the Northeast, the West Coast and a few scattered states here and there. And they have to call out the Greens for handing the election to W in 2000 and DT in 2016.
2
It's all about the Electoral College. You can cite national voter percentages all you want, but that's not how our broken system currently works. It's not WHO the voters are, it's WHERE they are!
I am terrified of another four years under Trump.
3
And what are Joe’s policies for low to middle class working families? No childcare policy? In my area, it is the number one problem keeping many from entering the work force. Grandmothers are stepping in to provide cover for many of the families. Elizabeth Warren understands these problems and they are the problems facing many Republicans as well as Democrats.
2
With regard to working class voters, Democrats should note they favor higher minimum wages, rules to protect against losing overtime benefits, no support for anti-union judges, fair NLRB union elections, enforcement of workplace safety, keeping health care, affordable college - all areas where Trump is vulnerable. If that is not good enough for those because they only care about making abortion illegal, unlimited gun rights, or resent non-whites, so be it, there is nothing that can be done to get their vote.
Biden can make this kind of appeal but so could all the others.
3
I'm in my seventh decade of life and have voted Democratic in all primary and general elections (but one) in my life. But I'm growing tired of a Democratic party that is timid, not bold and where the message is often absent, vague or not sold well. I grew up knowing that Democrats stood strong for working people. When neither President Obama nor Joe Biden came to visit the Wisconsin workers occupying the state house, I lost faith. When my party doesn't stand up for workers or for justice (slow-walking impeachment, saying they haven't heard enough from the public), I wonder where my party has gone.
1
I strongly agree with you. I too have voted Democratic all my life. But what to do when the Democrats are terminally wishy-washy and the Republicans are fascist? A third party vote goes no where, so I continue to support the Democrats and wish they would grow spines.
Don't ever forget it was Obama who gave us Trump. How many times have we heard about the Obama voter who switched to Trump. While Blow can be all high and mighty about denigrating a vote for Biden because he is the only candidate that can beat Trump, do we really want another four years of Trump. Better Biden in the White House, with all his faults, than Trump.
4
Dems have an “old hat” problem. Their old policies didn’t work and any candidate tied to those policies won’t work, either. But I’m not sure the higher-ups or the media understand this?
4
As an older, white, mid-westerner, I agree. We need the kind of excitement Pres Obama engendered. The young white and non-white need to vote. I have a very dim view of any older white voters who pulled the lever for Trump. They are not really good people. They knew what they voted for. I do not trust them.
5
What does "experience" mean? It means you have had time to make mistakes and learn from them. That is what being human is about. Identity politics driven by political correctness leads its tribe to believe they can produce a god candidate by just checking off his/her/its purity boxes. If the Democrats get their savior they will pit a naive ideologist against a pit viper. If this ideologist somehow wins the presidency she will be thrown into a world of pit vipers with more effective venom. Suddenly, the only hope for our survival will become evident: Experience.
3
Any Presidential candidate must bring to light and emphasize two things: One, Trump's misuse of executive power and obstruction of justice, and two, Trump's poor policies.
If the candidate only mentions misuse of power, he won't get traction as people might not mind misuse if it leads to good policy. However, with the second point, the candidate will have the voter's attention, as misuse of power leading to bad policy is inexcusable.
1
Democrats need to run on policies that help voters...period. What helps a white voter helps a Hispanic, black, gay whatever voter: things like better trade agreements, better workplace protections, a living wage, a Sunday election date and on and on. Any focus on identity politics takes us in the wrong direction.
By the way, that's why we should be embracing the Green New Deal...it just plain helps humans.
2
Mr. Blow, I often agree with you.
I'm not sure I agree with you here. Some quick, rather chaotic thoughts. Two of them dealing with Mr. Trump:
(1) His views--on pretty much everything--are appalling. I would refrain from describing him as a "white supremacist"--but he has certainly tolerated white supremacists and welcomed their support.
(A bunch of people I loathe and detest.)
(2) He is unfit for the job. I don't mean just his VIEWS (dreadful as they are). I mean his work habits--or ABSENCE of work habits. His inability to think anything through--to evolve anything like a long term strategy--to plan ahead--to take the long view. His inability to read or comprehend written material.
And so--
--many of us DO examine this crop of Democratic candidates. Looking for a young (or a not so young David) walking out to sling the pebble--topple our scowling Goliath.
And besides that--
--oh, Mr. Blow. Someone who KNOWS about government. Someone with experience. Someone besides this horde of right wing AMATEURS who (like someone else we know) "know more than the generals." Someone who knows the score--knows "what it's all about."
I don't love Joe Biden. But I guess I'm willing to cut him some slack. And then--
--anyone--
--I do mean ANYONE--
--is better than the guy we've got.
4
Sorry, but African Americans can be counted on to make it to the polls when an African American is a candidate for President. Obama all but begged African Americans to get to the polls for HRC to save HIS legacy and turnout was mediocre. It won’t be any better for Bernie or Biden.
And the election is going to hinge on people that won the Democrats the House - middle class suburbanites of every color. Democrats peel off just 1,000,000 Trump voters, Democrats win.
3
Ask yourself whether you've been trolled by a Russian agent next time you get too peeved at a potential Trump opponent or worse want to withhold your vote in the general election.
1
People voted for Trump because Obama let them down. Obama promised “hope and change” and “yes we can” but as soon as he took office he became a cautious bureaucrat trying to achieve compromise where there was no compromise to be had, was scared to offend big business and totally gave up on the “hopey changey thing”.
We need to be bold and daring as we close in on a Democratic presidential candidate for 2020. Candidates like Kamala Harris, Amy Klobocha and Pete Buttigieg fit that description. America needs more than a warm blanket from Joe Biden. We need a new course and new ideas. Let us be revolutionary!
2
#Patrick: with respect, sir, Ms Clinton did not call white working class voters “deplorables”, she used this term for those who were racists and bigoted in general. As is often the case, Republicans managed to “misinterpret” her statement and people who may not have warranted that epithet proudly wore t shirts advertising that they were “deplorables”.
3
After Trump's election I switched party registration from Republican to Democrat.
However, if the Dems nominate Biden I shall vote for Trump in 2020.
Biden and Trump are good cop / bad cop for the same privileged establishment. At least with Trump we recognize the danger; while Biden lulls us into apathy as a wolf in sheep's clothing.
1
Let's be crystal clear *any* vote that is not for the Democratic nominee whoever it might be is a vote for trump. No ifs, ands wait a minutes or buts. Don't fool yourself *anyone* who votes for a protest candidate is helping trump get re-elected. I actually told people that in 2016, I hope they get it now.
2
I like Mr. Blow’s columns but I have a suggestion for him - tell the faithful to vote in larger numbers - in 2016 THEY DID NOT and guess who won.
6
It will be difficult for me to vote for Biden.
I would vote for Biden the same way I voted for Clinton; hold my nose and vote thinking about what could have been with other candidates.
Kamala Harris or Mayor Pete or Amy Klobuchar, and a few others are all more exciting and present a starker contrast to our current Divider-in-Chief; it seems we Americans really like to elect the opposite of what is in the White House.
Finally, Biden has too many skeletons in his closet--FB, Twitter, and whatever other social media networks our enemies will co-opt to disenfranchise democracy and increase partisan politics will have a field day with Biden's handsiness, Anita Hill, Crime Bill, etc, ... Our electorate is not savvy enough for Biden to survive against Trump and his (Russian) trolls and hackers.
1
Trump is prez because too many people lost their jobs and when they sought other work found that they had been replaced by immigrants, legal or not. Too many were thrown out of work by H1B workers.
So when this wild man says build a wall it sounded good.
The ACA got a bunch of people fired.
The Dems have a habit of insulting voters and proposing schemes that will decimate the middle class with taxes.
1
I’ll go Charles one better. Dems seem to behave as though the intrinsic value of one white voter is worth than that of a non- white voter.
1
The myth is that Republicans, or men, or white men are hostile to the interests of women or of minorities.
1
It seems like Democrats deserve answers on who Senator Biden took money from. There isn’t a country that didn’t donate when he was head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
1
In two of the past 5 Presidential elections, the Democrats won the vote, but lost the Presidency because of the electoral college count.
Democrats would be well advised to concentrate on getting their base registered to vote. But to do that they must overcome the Republican efforts at the state level to criminalize voter registration efforts by good government groups.
3
Nice column, Mr. Blow. I agree that trying to claw back white 'dems' who voted for the T is not a way forward. I will not vote for any candidate who 'Trumpets' bigotry and fear as policy issues. Forget those people. Hillary was correct; they are not worth the campaign fuel. Those people never used to vote. They stayed in their churches and huddled around their weapons caches. It's time to shun the deplorables and shame them back into their self-imposed exiles.
Biden is NOT a favorite of the the working class. This is only pretend. He couldn't even bring Scranton for Hillary. His rally there was embarrassing. The working class favor Trump and Bernie. The establishment avoids this reality like the plague. The party faithful, however, buy this nonsense; just like they bought into the idea that Hillary is a progressive... but those who suffer under the establishment are the wiser.
1
@carl bumba Well, yeah, mostly. Hopefully the working class will realize that DT lied to them. But you are right that Bernie was popular with the working class and still is. And so is Biden. What's interesting in this article is that he leads (at the moment) among millennials.
1
@Harvey Green
Thanks.
"... and so is Biden"? This is not really true. That whole Amtrack stunt (with Biden 'carrying his own bags') when the administrations changed was embarrassing in a different way from his Scranton rally. He is NOT popular with the working class in America. Trump and Bernie are, period - the rest is pretend. Biden is popular with centrist, middle class Democrats. The working poor have little interest in establishment politicians of either party - and Biden IS the establishment (though he plays a little rough around the edges).
1
We are not sacred. Indeed, our power and influence as a voting bloc is diminishing rapidly. Don't coddle us. Do what's right by all the people.
That said, if Joe Biden secures the nomination, I will vote for him. He has his share of problems from years past, but is a decent man and would make a good leader. Look at what we have right now. We can't weather another four years of that.
Good writing yet again, Charles.
Some say the issues are what matters. Alas, for 2020 the #1 issue is to get Donald Trump out of office - preferably in jail, but at least out of office.
As for Bernie's policies/issues - he has helped the Democratic party to get on board with many of his Progressive ideas. But the thing to remember about all promises of candidates is this: they are still dependent on Congress to vote on their ideas.
Whoever wins the Democratic nomination I will definitely vote for him/her - no other options considered.
2
I couldn´t agree more with Mr. Blow. And here´s a thought -- what if we were to pressure older, white voters who went with Trump in 2016 to vote in 2020 to provide a sustainable, non fossil-fuel based economy that actually offers younger Americans a future, single-payer "Medicare for All" (like what older Americans now get, only better and cheaper) and other progressive policies being put forward by Warren, Sanders and most of the other Democratic candidates. Why on earth are so many Biden enthusiasts asking young people and people of color to sacrifice their urgent needs, in order to placate voters who won´t be around to deal with the consequences of climate change and who already benefit from a "socialist" Medicare program? That´s no way to win an election.
4
Thank you Mr. Blow for putting some energy back into my pen.
Mr. Biden has a long record of distinguished public service, and the media wants to draw attention to two moments in that record.
In my profession, I have witnessed choices made by "selection committees" to choose management that had no public record over candidates with long records of accomplishment with the slightest perceived blemishes. We ended up promoting inept and incompetent staffers to leadership roles. (Check the status of college administration.)
Joe Biden has been in public service since 1973. He has 46 years of public service and record. What critiques comes up most often? An event that occurred 28 years ago (Clarence Thomas hearing) and a vote that occurred 25 years ago (1994 Crime Bill).
First the 1994 vote. The US Senate controlled by Democrats, voted 95-4-1. Street crime in America was deeply troubling. Americans demanded action from the Democratic controlled government. Only 2 Senate Democrats voted against the bill. It had compromises that included a ban on assault weapons. It was signed by a Democratic President. Mass incarcerations, AND a steady drop in violent crime followed. Did Senator Biden have a crystal ball that could sort these results?
Second the 1991 hearing. Please read the Mueller report and watch the Thomas hearings. Do not depend on the media to provide you a false "chicken v. fish" wedding dinner decision like they did in 2016. There is no comparison.
1
You nailed it. With perfect timing. You clearly expose the problem of the Democrat establishment courting a fickle voting bloc by backing a flawed candidate that ‘looks’ right.
As an example, me and my hubby, a middle-age white couple, just yesterday had a kitchen table argument on this topic even though we generally agree on politics. One hates identity politics, but me, a woman, was aligned with with the ‘appeal to many, but especially the faithful voter’ approach. My hubby on the side ‘we gotta be centrist to get the old and suburban Ohio/Pennsylvania voters.’ When asked to define centrist its ‘male and white’. Nothing to do with policies ‘because no one listens to policies anymore.’ Ugh. Even in my own home.
We may live in a world where some whites are still reluctant to let go of limited ideas of who should be in power. But that shouldn’t stop us democrats from selecting the best nominee available — rather than the one that simply caters to white reluctance.
4
Spot on Mr. Blow. The focus for the Democratic Party must be engaging people so they will vote in November 2020 -- including the thousands of people who have never registered to vote. And that means, heavy duty registration drives, community events about politics and the importance of voting (for President and down ballot candidates), canvassing in underserved neighborhoods. I don't really care who wins the primaries as long as the DNC makes sure that getting out the vote is its main mission.
4
This is a false choice. A winning candidate will propose policies, ideas and themes that will have some appeal to all of the above. Obama managed to do that; Clinton did not.
5
John Kerry was supposed to be electable against George Bush in 2004. It did not work. The most "electable" candidate lost. Go for the candidate with the best ideas.
4
Democrats can't win by trying to read the minds of "swing voters" to guess who can beat Trump. That's not a winning strategy. In 2016 the Democratic party leadership thought Hillary Clinton could beat Trump, and she couldn't. The swing voters and new voters wanted Bernie Sanders and when they couldn't get him they went with Trump, Stein or didn't vote at all. In 2004 they thought John Kerry could beat Bush and he couldn't. Romney couldn't beat Obama in 2012. It's hard to beat an incumbent. Bland and safe doesn't do it, and swing voters aren't all centrists. Joe Biden will be 86 in 2028, the oldest President ever, too old. His positions are outdated and his time is past.
4
I am not writing in favor of Joe Biden. I am still watching the race to see what happens. And I always read Mr. Blow's articles and I usually don't comment because I am in agreement with the points he makes.
The only point I want to make about the Democrats right now is that they may also have an altruistic goal for trying to appeal to white voters which is to heal the divide in this nation. Ignoring white voters or dismissing them almost drives a deeper wedge between Americans who are already being used by a cynical Republican Party. The GOP has pumped up the umbrage about imagine racial differences.
I don't want this fraught moment in our history to deliver us up to a second civil war, which I sometimes feel could easily result.
Still I don't think Democrats should bend over backwards to try to break the spell of long term propaganda which has already made the divide wide and deep. Better to come up with some brilliant strategies to stop the GOP and Trump from destroying our nation.
1
To begin with, there's no such thing as a "perfect candidate" so I don't understand why so many people are expecting to find one.
And it's true that social and racial identity has taken precedence over the more important issues at hand -- But much of that also has to do with the way the two parties present themselves to voters, and it's also why there are substantially fewer Blacks and Latinos in the G.O.P. than whites.
Granted there's good reason why Democrats continue to hold onto that base, while poor/working-class whites tend to favor Republicans.
And it certainly hasn't helped matters that we now have a president willing to take advantage of this racial divide at every given opportunity.
In fact, that chasm has never seemed to loom larger than now.
So yes, it's true Democrats have to take it to the very people who revile them now, but with more than just empty promises about making America great again.
They need a plan.
And we need it too.
1
Just saw a news item on MSNBC- firefighters union endorsing Biden. Uh, just read today’s NYTimes article on New York unions- opposing state campaign finance reform legislation. They were all for it as long as Republicans blocked any real reform, but now?!
For me, the central question for 2020 is getting big money out of our political system. Which trickles down to so many other issues; net neutrality, privatization, actual antitrust enforcement, infrastructure (ie, who gets the contracts) - and on and on.
VP Biden seems a good and decent man. But compromise, money, avoiding big but necessary changes in so many areas, has outpaced him, I think. It’s not, for me, his age, color, sex - its his approach, his going along to get along. He, like his Party, surely saw where that got us in 2016. Shifting with winds, no. My vote will go to someone who stands in the face of windstorms. And stays steady.
1
If the Democrats want to give Trump a second term, they'll give the voters Warren or Sanders. End of story.
That leaves Biden and about a dozen other people, all untested, most or all of whom are bad bets. Remains to be seen, but that's not a low-risk strategy. Meanwhile, Joe will never set the world on fire, and maybe that's a good thing. Keeping in mind the probable alternative outcomes is also a good thing.
As for the identitarian nonsense in which this column is couched, the less said the better.
3
White working class voters get lots of superficial love from both parties. The real targets of wooing are white suburban "meritocrats". The top 20%. Republicans woo them with soft bigotry and tax cuts. Dems with fiscal responsibility and cosmetic reforms that ease their consciences. Neither party really promotes policies that favor the interests of working class voters of any sort.
4
The problem is that it's pretty easy to answer the question: 'What's in it for us?' when the possibility of Trump being re-elected exists. Considering that, any of the declared Democratic candidates are a better choice.
2
I’ll take the fickle who vote over the faithful that don’t. Obama convinced those blue collar rust belt voters to vote for him, twice. Hillary didn’t, and it cost us an election. I’ve been hearing about the Young Wave since 1972 ( when I was young). That election did not turn out so well, either.
3
The difference is that older white lower middle class guys can switch to Biden from Trump, but will not switch to Warren or Bernie. Are Black and Brown males and college educated women going to chose Trump or Biden? If Democrats want to win, which they do more than ever, Biden paired with Kamala Harris or equivalent has the best shot at winning.
Any Democrat is better than Trump. Going with the Democrat with the best chance is smart politics.
Biden will sign a higher minimum wage, a single payer health plan with a transition from the present system, assure Nato, fight Russian meddling, rejoin the Paris climate accord, etc. Biden & Harris in 2020!
9
@Michael
You may be right that working class males won't vote for Warren; you are dead wrong that they won't vote for Bernie. West Virginia would be a real test case for this category of voters, right? Well, Bernie won 55 out of 55 districts in the West Virginia primary 2016. He also walked away with Michigan.
5
@Michael
Well, I understand how you see it, but I’m not sure you understand the voter. I believe they can switch to Warren or Bernie, but they won’t dare switch back to the remnants of what caused their demise in the first place.
Great article. I'm reminded of that moment, when Elizabeth Warren was asked at #SheThePeople presidential candidates forum if only a white man could win. Warren answered it brilliantly, are we going to vote for someone we don't really align with, out of fear of losing, or are we going to vote out of strength? I am voting out of strength. Women of color, LGBTQ people, Latinx people, etc will decide this election in key states like NC, PA, FL, NV and AZ.
With all due respect, Mr. Blow, don't try to interpret the desires of working-class white men - you're not one.
"But, these are the same people who in the next breath — or next election — could reverse course and vote for a flagrant white supremacist.
These people are not experiencing conversion, they are being coddled."
It's not conversion that compels working-class white men, it's a mix of aversion to change and disappointment with the status quo.
Biden helped the Obama ticket because it gave a sliver of confidence that working-class white men were not about to elect a socialist in order to show displeasure over the financial crisis. They voted for Trump because he promised a halt to changes real and imagined; Trump's two major opponents either promised nothing or a massive progressive agenda neither of which were appealing.
The more column inches are devoted to convincing Democrats to eschew moderates, the worse our politics become. This is a two-party system, one of those two must represent a middle ground. If they do so, they win. If not, we volley between white supremacists and "in the long run we die" socialists (a reference to JM Keynes).
P.S. "Prodigal" means one who spends money wastefully. Prodigal only means wayward tangentially by popular misuse in the context of the parable of the prodigal son - a character who ran away from home after wasting all his father's money. "Prodigal children" being "brought home" is a non sequitur.
1
Your advice for the democratic party is right on. However, to invigorate the untapped voters, to excite them to participate the DFL would have to consistently support the liberal wing of the party. They will not do this because many DFL political operatives and politicians are really conservatives. They don't want to work for the people and they like their rich friends. The overt racism and fear mongering of the GOP is only one way they defeat the DFL. They have fake liberals implanted in the DFL to undermine the DFLs ability to elect progressives and pursue progressive policies.
Obama had two years in which to get good healthcare for americans but instead we got the ACA which was the GOP plan. The reason we got that was because of democrats who are not really for the people and more like republicans. In fact they are republicans.
Uncle Joe makes the fake liberals happy.
Absolutely on target! It is indeed time to focus on inspiring and mobilizing new voters and the traditional Democratic base. Speaking as a 71 year old white male, I feel very strongly that it’s way past time for my generation to get out of the way and let people with new ideas and vision take their turn at leadership: they are more than capable. In my experience, even those of us oldsters who style ourselves as “progressives” are out of touch with the worldview and convictions of younger generations. Biden and Bernie disappoint me... they should recognize the need to let what is new flourish in our political life.
3
Mr. Blow of course is right. As for Joe Biden, if he had the sort of judgment that would make him a good president, he'd understand that he shouldn't run for the Democratic nomination for 2020. The fact that he's running shows that he lacks the judgment that he needs to have. As Mr. Blow says, the Democrats need a candidate who will energize them and turn their vote out. Joe Biden isn't that candidate. Joe Biden would be a candidate that Democrats would spend a lot of time apologizing to themselves for, based on his record. And his failure to apologize properly to Anita Hill proves definitively that he has to be evaluated on that record, and not on some myth that he's "evolved". People can evolve. Joe Biden has proved that he hasn't; not far enough, anyway.
It is so sad that this country is still fixated with this racial issue that has been exacerbated by this racist administration.
The democratic party should unify on an inclusive program to make healthcare , education,jobs, housing, environment, climate change , electoral justice etc , their target to move this Great Country in the right moral direction that has been recently lost.
I lean Beto but I think Biden may be the answer to the pernicious Trump spectacle, Mr. Blow’s analysis is weak and doesn’t display any kind of real pragmatism to win back the White House.
Democrats need to focus on all the 99% and get past the focus on race. Republicans have been winning for decades by splitting on race, appealing to racism. Just taking the non-white side is not a winning political strategy. Basing the campaign on economics is how to put racists into the small minority.
2
Blow is allowing himself to be riven by divisive rhetoric and identity hierarchies that might serve up a victory to the wrong side at the wrong time in history. This is how bad stuff happens.
3
Well Charles, one of the things driving the "white male" thing is the fact that there is deep misogyny in the Black and Brown communities which contributed to the lack of votes from them in 2016. Until we admit that having a woman, white or otherwise, hurt turnout and led to switching in those communities, we can't have an honest conversation.
5
Blow is typically astute.
The calculation is surprisingly simple. What is greater? The number of white working class voters who can be drawn from possible Trump support, or the increased support from women, folks of color and young voters that would accompany the nomination of . . . well, any among the more progressive and diverse candidates?
The answer is clear on principle. Why contort values to woo people who might even consider voting for an unfit abomination like Trump. To do so is an ethical capitulation.
The answer is also clear strategically. The increase in support from women, folks of color and young voters has much greater potential than the pandering to white folks.
Retire into well deserved senior statesman status, Joe, and leave the future in the hands of those who will live it.
1
Mr. Blow makes a tremendous point. Essentially, why can't the Democrats stand for something good? Why can't the Democrats openly stand for diversity and inclusion in contrast to the GOP message of hate?
With the possible exception of Hillary Clinton front runners rarely get the nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate.
The Democratic party, particularly it's leadership, is doing everything possible to re-elect Trump.
No, Mr. Blow, you're wrong again. NOT "like many candidates there are pros and cons". What I would have said was "like ALL candidates there are pros and cons" but with regard to the eventual nominee for the Democrats, there is ONE - only one - overriding concern for THIS voter, and that is defeating Trump. I know that people have become tired of hearing this same refrain but I repeat it again because I'm exhausted watching the Democrats eat their own as they search for "perfection" which, alas, doesn't exist. So while Mr. Blow and others tear down perfectly good people who would serve the country well, I resign myself to it because the best people NEVER seem to get elected in American politics. No, the cream doesn't rise to the top in this country and while there IS no cream in the Republican fold, the Democrats have many fine options but they'll find a way to tear them down just like they did with Hillary Clinton when people like Susan Sarandon and her ilk had the effrontery to say things like "maybe it's good if Trump wins to shake things up." Uh, maybe NOT!
3
“Anything to defeat Trump” is also not a soothing elixir. At some point, the loyal constituencies will demand to know: “What’s in it for us, specifically?”
The swing votes are the uneducated whites - those who voted for Obama in 2012 and Trump in 2016.
So if the Dems don't get them to vote for the Democratic candidate, there will be another four years of Trump.
THAT'S what's "in it for" the loyal constituencies! What good is it to lose the presidency despite being a loyal constituent?
Wake up.
I'm one of those 'homeless' political Americans - you know one without a political affiliation so neither party cares about you. Oddly enough the dems solicit funds from me daily. My problem with your article Charles is you constantly only think in terms of the left and Black Americans. Where does that leave the majority of Americans - out in the cold without any party. So who should they vote for? By your hostile attitude you are sending them over to the other side. This constant attack on whites has to stop. The center is what is going to win the election not the left. The left is going to lose it. The center is what won the House of Representatives. So yes, a few very left wing reps got in, but that doesn't mean the whole party should lean left. The party is abandoning the center which is most Americans. Most Americans care about healthcare, most Americans care about their job security, most Americans care about education, most Americans care about infrastructure, most Americans care about climate change, most Americans care! Stop dividing us; start uniting us by our issues. We want people to stop infringing on our civil liberties. We want people to respect the separation of church and state. We want everyone to pay their fair share of taxes. We want a reasonable immigration plan - not a giveway, but one that takes into account that climate change is going to have enormous impact on migration. We want representation again!
2
Kathryn -
No offense, but given the list of issues you care about it’s shocking to imagine you could ever vote Republican! But you say Democrats need to stop attacking whites? Huh? Advocating for minorities is NOT an attack on whites. Based on policy you are on the left, not the middle! Apparently your white fragility and unconscious racism makes you a potential Trump voter - sad to see. I am a white male, by the way.
Kathryn -
No offense, but given the list of issues you care about it’s shocking to imagine you could ever vote Republican! By today’s standards you are nowhere near the middle and are quite far left. But you say Democrats need to stop their “relentless attack on whites.” I’m a white man and feel in no way attacked! I hate to call you out like this but your post seems to be a reminder that white fragility is a massive problem. Despite all the issues on which you agree with Democrats, you might be driven to vote for Trump if the dems don’t sufficiently coddle you as a white person? Sorry but I simply do not get it.
Could we please have all commentary on the Democrats be about how they can win back WI, MI, and PA? Because doing that would be enough to unseat Trump. We don't need to worry about CA, NY, MA, etc., and probably not MN or CO. Red states will stay red, blue states blue. This is about swing states, electoral votes.
1
The only thing Charles ever focuses on is race and identity politics. If the Democrats go down that path again, the results of the 2020 election will be much like 2016.
4
People who are swing voters, just like hold outs in real estate and other deals, always get more attention (or money) than others. What's in it for Blacks and women and all people seeking justice is that bringing working voters along restores sanity to our government and the goals/policies of Dr. King and not those of Robert E. Lee. Carefully drafted policies that help the white working class should also help Blacks and women. It shouldn't have to be this way, and someday hopefully it won't be, but winning elections and making laws has always been ugly.
Mr Blow, I am almost always in agreement with you.
I hear all the valid arguments.
However...
“Anything to defeat Trump” is also not a soothing elixir.
- I have to say, at this point in time, it is!
At some point, the loyal constituencies will demand to know: “What’s in it for us, specifically?”
- Yes, the question will come but in 2024. For now, please just get this embarrassment sitting in the WH off his vulgar throne before he does any further damage.
3
Since close elections are won by winning over the fickle while retaining the faithful, that is what Biden must do. Or anybody else
Excellent piece. I’m one 70+ Year old woman who remembers the Hill hearings and Biden’s refusal to apologize until now — and even now does not get it. He needs to retire. We have seen and heard enough pandering to white guys, especially to insecure white working class males. They are insecure and the last to catch up. Enough. If Dems go with Biden, they will not get my vote or my suppirt. I’ll do everything I can to make sure this dude does not get to the WH. In the end, I’ll write in a more suitable candidate who is smart, has a history of understanding and fighting Wall St, did not grow up with millions, hears us and cares about us. Warren 2020.
1
Can you not see that you are essentially voting for Trump?
Joe? Say it ain't so.
His record is filled with misogyny, devotion to Wall Street, dismissal of the common man, love of war, and all of the other rot we see every day in DC. I will stay home if he's the candidate, even if Trump is completely unhinged in 2020.
In the end, in spite of all of the false post-mortems of 2016 (it was all about white “worker class anxiety”—wrong, it was white grievance and a poor Dem. candidate), 2020 will be a referendum on whether or not this nation will choose to imagine a progressive and morally enlightened future or a further retreat into self-justifying and retrograde regionalism. For Trump is not a nationalist, he is a regional agitator, and the greatest irony about his term thus far is that the regions he despises the most are gaining the most economically from his policies. If Biden has a smart staff, you will be hearing him say that soon.
To frame support for Biden in terms of Black Vs white or majority vs minority is wrong. It’s as wrong as saying that Obama got majority of Black votes because he was black. If we evaluate every candidate in terms of his or her race, religion or Gender then we are reinforcing the very stereotypes we say we want to get rid of. Majority of the same white people who voted for Obama will vote this time too. To say that they voted for Obama because they saw a white guy, Biden running as his teammate is not only insulting to those folks but is also insulting to Obama.
1
Isn't the correct name the "Democrat" party? Or we can go with the "Republic" party just to make a mess of the whole thing.
Mr. Blow, I love your columns. I don't disagree with anything you say.
But where I am now, two plus years into the Trump Administration, is this:
Proportionality. Any of these Dems--no matter what is said about them--would be a hundred times better than a second Trump term. So I am focused on one thing: Who has the best chance of beating him.
In normal times, I would be terribly concerned that one candidate is somehow more comforting to racists, that bigots are being coddled. But these times?
Who has the best chance of defeating Trump? Forgive me, but that is all I care about.
2
What's left out here is that Biden was called “the senator from MBNA”. Articles told how how he cozied up to credit card companies and made filing for bankruptcy harder for families in debt, many for medical expenses. That's a big election issue and quite a contrast to Warren who fought to support not undermine families in debt.
See 25 April article in Intercept: “ Biden launches Presidential bid with fundraiser filled with corporate lobbyists and GOP donors."
"...David Cohen, Comcast executive who oversees the telecom giant’s lobbying operation, has cut big checks to Republican candidates while pushing to advance his company’s regulatory agenda.
Cohen will open his home to kick off Biden's bid for 2020. In 2016 he donated to Clinton. This year over 90% of Cohen’s political spending has gone to GOP groups,
Biden has depicted himself as the party’s standard bearer. But he’s planning to roll out his campaign at an event filled with others like Cohen, namely GOP donors and corporate lobbyists."
Nothing on this on cable TV news. It's time for NYT columnists to expand the discussion and tackle who is funding candidates and what the donors expect for their investment.
Our press must inform voters on who the candidates will likely be working for if elected. The citizen majority, or the elites?
Else why have a democracy?
1
Hey Charles, here's the deal. The Democratic nominee needs to win in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, three states carried twice by Obama in 2008 and 2012 that flipped to Trump in 2016. Also, these are not the most diverse places on the planet. If Biden is the person who can beat Trump in these states so be it. Also, in these states it has been demonstrated time and time again that the people who voted for Obama in two elections then voted for Trump. It had little to do with race/racism as you are erroneously asserting. We need a candidate that can beat Trump not a conglomeration of your identity politics that is running the Democratic Party into the ground.
1
More of the same identity politics from the far left. When will they ever learn?
1
"At some point, the loyal constituencies will demand to know: 'What’s in it for us, specifically?' And I don’t blame them."
In other words, they are "fickle". Issuing veiled threats to please our constituency or we walk is exactly what you are accusing the "fickle white, working-class swing voters" of. Both groups, not just Charles Blow's favorites, believe they are the loyal Democratic base.
Numbers don't lie, Mr. Blow. 69.8% are white voters, then you might want to not work so hard to try to kick them out of the Democratic Party, because if you succeed, you may have the purity of race, gender and ethnicity you seek, but you will have less than the number of votes needed to win.
Polling data, perhaps even polling data that you have on occasion cited, shows the Democratic Party becoming more "diverse". Since the party is also hemorrhaging membership, the only way that can be happening is if white voters, males in particular, because "diverse" these days includes any woman but only certain men.
If enough leave the party will not win an election in 2020.
Promote diverse candidates and diverse candidacy. Those are good things, and there are many skilled candidates in the field right now. But bait race at your peril, Mr. Blow. White voters are not as stupid as you think them to be. They can tell when you're agenda is "anybody but white male" and if you insult enough white males pushing it, you should be accountable when Trump wins re-election.
Joe Biden, the latest in a long-line of Democratic establishment candidates (think Mondale, Gore, Kerry, and Hillary Clinton), is certainly flawed. But, with the very viability of our democracy on the line in 2020 against the autocracy of Donald Trump and the Republican Party, as the saying goes, "Winning is not everything, it's the only thing." So far, Biden is the only candidate refusing to hide behind a blizzard of policy proposals, but taking on Trump's palpable threat head-on by attacking his support of the alt-right, white supremacists (aka "nationalists") marching in Charlottesville to defend the Statue of Confederate General, defender of slavery, and traitor, Robert E. Lee, while chanting "Jews will not replace us" and mowing down and killing a young woman, Heather Heyer. But, can he claim the moral high ground, as you note, with his refusal to apologize and atone for his own serious moral failings with respect to Anita Hill and others (see today's Opinion by Lucy Flores)? Democrats cannot afford a repeat of 2016 where a centrist, establishment, Wall Street candidate was unable (because of husband Bill and her attacks on his female accusers) to address Trump's immoral character. If Biden cannot, as he seems unable to so far, deal with the character issue, he may prove to just the latest failed Democratic white knight with not armor.
While I get "it", please stop it America. Politicians should honestly express their ideas and people should vote on them, up or down, and not by the wavelength of the photons that scatter off from their faces.
1
As usual, Blow offers well reasoned arguments. What's missing, IMHO, is that the country overall isn't that different from my home state of Colorado which is split about 1/3 Dems, 1/3 GOP and 1/3 independents. I.e. - you can't win any election without winning independents (and getting your own loyalists to actually vote, at least as much as the other party's loyalists).
So why has Colorado had only 1 GOP Governor since 1974? I believe its the quality of the candidates - the GOP has consistently put up people who aren't the same quality of thinker/problem solver, often diminished by the right-wing-nuttiness of their party in recent years. And partly that the Dems have had extraordinary candidates with business backgrounds, including Gov. Polis today (and Hickenlooper and Romer before him) who know how to be pragmatic and get things done.
Aren't those the same qualities that the US electorate is looking for? Somehow Obama and Kennedy before him managed to win an the "executive" position of president from just being Senators, not actually government executives e.g. Governors (FDR, Carter, Clinton, W. Bush). People fell for the idea that Trump's CEO experience would translate well to govt and it didn't, but he felt like an executive to many voting fools.
Biden echoes, to me, Nixon running in 1960 after 8 yrs as VP, narrowly losing, not seeming like an executive in the process, but then coming back in '68 against all odds as people wanted...calm? (see Will's column).
1
the reasons that democrats are moving tepidly on impeachment is that the will from the population is not there, nor is there a current chance of removing the president from office that way.
there are principals involved, but they can not be used as an excuse to waste energy and support for something with no chance of success. Like it or not, we are the party of reason, and that gives us a responsibility to be as inclusive as possible even to those who might profess conservative leanings but are afraid of the path the republican party has taken. A large majority is more valuable in the long run than a slightly more progressive slim majority, who's work can be easily overturned by the next election. Big picture here guys!
1
The question is really this: which candidate can take the argument about Trump's incompetence and destructiveness the most effectively to the American people - first to the Democrats and then to the independents - so that the strongest possible case against the current regime can be made? Whoever can prosecute that argument deserves our vote. If it is Biden thenmore power to him.
Whichever Democrat can make that case, along with solid and progressive policy positions, deserves the nomination and stands a great chance of winning.
This raises some useful points but seems to imply that only young candidates will put America back on the progressive path we all wish to be on. Joe Biden embraces those values (yes, he has made mistakes over a decades-long career) AND has demonstrated he can deliver.
1
When? Biden has never even won a primary. It's not like he's nationally tested.
The only way we win in 2020 is if we can get approximately 100,000 people to move from California to Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Hurry up, times a wasting.
1
@Mary Whitehouse
I can put a couple to work on our farm.... but they might start to see things differently.
The disconnect is real!
“Democrats treat the working-class, white voters as if they are white buffaloes — sacred entities.”
Hillary never even visited the key states that barely gave Trump the presidency. She never mentioned them. Her campaign was headquarters was in Brooklyn... enough said?
The old line that republicans couldn’t do third grade math because their policies so clearly didn’t add up, is now applying to the left.
Winning with more of the white vote is easy. Without them the math gets a whole lot trickier. Now column after column tries to justify this policy because it fits their coastal worldview. It seems you can never say it enough - Obama was elected twice by the same people that elected trump - let’s climb out of the silo and embrace these people as misinformed- welcome them back and rebuild.
2
I would be happy to tell you why Democrats
need the white working class male voters;
because Hillary Clinton would be in the
White House now if she had won their votes.
enough said,Mr.Blow.that would be more
than enough for most thinking people,
except for those who make race the
be all and end all of everything.
4
This is sounding a great deal like another "not either/or" but "both/and." That will of course not address the anxieties of many Democrats and independents (for the present forget Republicans) whose understandable priority is defeat of arguably the most despicably corrupt and narcissistic President in my lifetime. It will likely be a close election in which what turned out to be an illegitimate president's fervent base will turn out in droves. Defeating him will require losing nobody who can overcome the systematic voter suppression, Russian disinformation, and a campaign of all-out lying to get to the polls and vote against what has happened to the national fabric.
Mr. Blow apparently thinks that white, working class Americans are bad for minorities and women. He doesn't want the Democratic leadership to work on figuring out why they had voted for Trump or how to get them back. In fact, he says fear of offending them is holding back impeachment. They are, apparently, the enemy.
I say, start a working class war at your own peril.
The GOP and Donald Trump are expert at finding enemies. They've been making every bit of the Democratic party into somebody's enemy - splitting the party apart. Mr. Blow would accelerate that by consciously ignoring genuine problems of his fellow Americans who happen to be struggling, white workers.
What needs to be done is to work for solutions that find common ground. Day care and family leave come to mind. Infrastructure means jobs that pay a living wage. Who hates that?
And the nation - not just whites - doesn't want impeachment. Yet. 37% support is a huge minority. But it is the minority on an issue which affects every man, woman and child.
Support must be built by legitimate inquiry. If Mr. Trump makes it a war, so be it. The battle is for public opinion. It is the battle the Democratic party cannot afford to lose.
Mr. Blow's impatience is understandable. I believe it is also dangerous. Helter-skelter/emotional is the game Trump likes to play.
1
Healing is not crawling back under the covers and settling nothing. The anger and disillusionment with the status quo that was tapped by both Trump and Sanders, and which kept Clinton from beating a spectacularly unqualified and unpopular candidate like Trump, is not going away. Major parts of the electorate, from progressives and millennials to Black anti-racists to working class people of all races, are going to turn out and vote simply to restore the pre-Trump status quo dominated by do-nothing centrists and corporate donors. The Supreme Court is already lost. That issue can no longer be used to bully voters into voting against their interests. Democrats have to do a lot better than Biden if they want to win.
Maybe the so called "white working class" voted for Trump because they like trade tariffs, and curbing illegal immigration, not because they're racists. Rightly or wrongly, many in the industrial Midwest believe that tariffs will bring back manufacturing jobs to the US, and reducing illegal immigration will raise wages for the working class. These are traditional Democratic positions...
A Democratic candidate that addresses these concerns seriously without race-bating will win many of these voters back.
1
Not involved in politics, but tired of watching my town fall into despair, I went to my second caucus in 2008, at the age of 46, and stood for Joe. We couldn’t make him viable. We (actually, they, as I was a newbie) finally stole an extra Hillary supporter to get him on the board. That year, approximately seventy to eighty percent of the people were standing for the new guy, Barack. I’d never heard of him, but given how his newness, and then seeing the unheard of Bernie give Hillary a run for her money in 2016, I would surmise Democrats have a problem with old hats? My money is on Elizabeth, (only heard of since 2016) first, and Bernie, second, in 2020. My dream ticket would be both of them, together.
1
Mr. Blow, I generally agree with most of your opinions, but on this one I must raise an objection. There is a fundamental flaw in your argument this time: the voting blocs that you contend might be getting short shrift by Democrats are not dependable voters on Election Day. Hillary Clinton lost in 2016 in large part because African-Americans in Philadelphia and Milwaukee stayed home. So maybe Democrats need white voters a little more than you seem to think.
1
Voters have been too faithful.
Take for example the 50 years of avoidance of the disastrous income/wealth gap. Whose kidding who?
Those of us who do something about climate change and pollution have also been too faithful.
2
I am a white social security voter who was once an educated white working class voter who chose not to go into finance. To me every working class voter whether white, black or hispanic should vote Democratic, especially and critically now. I think Mr. Blow you totally forget the Electoral College and it's impact on presidential elections. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote as did Al Gore, neither of whom ended up where Trump is, the White House. Where voters live is important until the Electoral College is a distant memory. So ignore white working class voters at your peril and this countries peril. Why did President Obama loose the Senate in 2012 and upend his chances for passage of his more liberal agenda and importantly Mitch McConnell would not have been able to block Merit Garland for the Supreme Court? Why? Young people, black people and hispanics did not vote in significant numbers to stop it from happening. Right now the most important consideration is to get rid of Trump and take back the Senate so the country doesn't have to worry about the next horror to come our way and can do something that benefits all working class people with progressive policies. I now live in the South and have pretty much given up hope for progressive change. Only voting numbers will crack this nut. Hillary should have been in Wisconsin courting all those white folk instead of the lost cause in Georgia. We can not afford to let this happen again.
2
Correct! Electoral College math is in play here. Ignoring the impact of working class voters in the middle of our country (many of whom are white) = Electoral College disaster = Trump 2020 = THE END of our Democratic Republic as we have known it!
As an old (71) white woman I’m not enthusiastic about Biden. I’m tired of old white men ruling our country and making a mess of things. Trump is just the latest and spectacularly the worst and hopefully the last old white man running this country. I’d like to see the next president restore all the good things that Obama did for our country and that Trump has destroyed just because Obama, a black man!, did it. We need younger and more diverse leadership. And we need the energy and hard work ethics of new immigrants.
I will support Biden if he is the nominee but not with enthusiasm. I would prefer Elizabeth Warren because she has clearly stated policy goals and they are exactly what this country needs. I like all the other Democratic candidates but they haven’t clearly articulated their positions. Also, Elizabeth Warren is enthusiastic and inspiring.
4
The "disappearing," aging white baby-boomer voter has been the nightmare of Democratic Party bosses and think tanks.
I agree, Mr. Blow, the party needs to stop thinking that this "disaffected" demographic will suddenly return to the fold and cast ballots for Joe Biden, the ancient white knight who is really from "the old neighborhood." Donald Trump never lived there; he just told them what they wanted to hear and has, since his inauguration, bent over backwards to hollow out their lives as he's made clear that he intends to do with the rest of ours.
Many in the party view the former vice-president as a savior, the only one, really, who can block Trump's punches in a debate and deliver some well-placed jabs. Your mention of Biden bringing some white working-class voters to the polls for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, only to gift the White House to white supremacist Trump one election cycle later, smacks of hypocrisy and expediency. We don't need Mr. Biden to play to the wings. He needs to play to the orchestra seats and the mezzanine.
The Bernie Sanders wing of the party will clang with dissonance with Biden's folks. What both camps ought to be doing is paying more attention to younger, non-white Democrats who are after something more than placating an older demographic who, it says here, will continue to support Trump because they're afraid and can see through Biden's ruse.
If Democrats want to re-claim the White House, they need to go young and progressive. Joe's done.
There is a phenomena in space that is associated with Black Holes and is known as the event horizon. Once an object passes the event horizon of a black hole that object is doomed to fall into the black hole, it's existence completely wiped out forever. Democratic presidential candidates suffer from a type of political "event horizon" where candidates move further and further away from base constituents concerns until they reach a point of no return, all the while demanding that core voters stay with them - the primary objective being to get rid of the other guy, and not to necessarily elect someone who actually stands for something. This move towards the political event horizon is, by the way, to the right. It is an excuse for Democrats to consistently fail to deliver on "promises" made to core voters. We can already see the move toward oblivion has started. Joe Biden has refused to apologise to Anita Hill and Democrats in general for his role in giving us all one of the worst supreme Court Justices in history, not to mention his boorish treatment of Ms. Hill. How about the question to Democratic candidates regarding voting rights of ex-felons? Kamala Harris responded by saying "I'm a former prosecutor!" Elizabeth Warren responded by saying "I'm not there yet." Perhaps they agree with what the Florida legislature is doing to thwart the will of the people in that state. Elizabeth Warren does have some good ideas. Defeating Trump isn't enough. We must avoid the Black Hole.
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Is voting against still democracy? I doubt it.
Mr. Blow, you have not discussed how the electoral college figures into your analysis. Have you forgotten what happened in 2016 or has there been a change of which I am unaware?
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Re "Indeed, I believe the entire reason that the Democratic leadership is proceeding so tepidly on the issue of impeachment is because they are afraid of the reaction of white, working-class voters."
You might have something here, but this Democratic voter is against impeachment because he's convinced that a sitting President Trump, given his first-term history, can be defeated in 2020, whereas a sitting President Pence? It's a simple case of "better the devil you know."
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I agree completely with this article. All the hand wringing about the Trump voters in the white working class has always been racist and unproductive. Those people are not coming around any time soon. They are the true believers and the reason that Trump’s average campaign contribution—in the post Citizen’s United world—is still an incredible $35.
However I’ll go one step farther. One reason this stuff is still around is that it’s a useful weapon for the left wing of the Democratic Party against the mainstream. “We’ve forsaken our brothers and they’ve left us.” Trump did not win by recognizing problems of forgotten people; he won with scapegoating and lies. This would have been a different world without George Bush and a different economy without a scorched-earth Republican Congress for 3/4 of Obama. Democrats need to stop the nonsense, unite the party, and win.
You don't get to govern unless you win. Winning is everything because if Trump wins, the Supreme Court will become dominated by conservatives for generations. If Biden wins, then we can replace some who have a done a great service but whose age also matters. I think some people should stop insisting we have minority candidates or pass some litmus test because those are not good reasons to have them. What we need are the best candidates who inspire us with their ideas and their passion. Who inspire us because of the content of their character and not because of the color of their skin, their sexual identity, or their creed. Biden is tough, experienced and imperfect. I welcome the coming debate and the chance to see who becomes the candidate for the job. Maybe Biden, maybe someone else. Maybe Harris or maybe Warren or someone else. But let's agree there are many candidates worth a look and then commit to supporting whoever wins so we can all win and return decency, integrity and a patriot to the White House. We either stand for our beliefs or lose our rights to the ignorant and the corrupt, and those who prefer the autocrats and authoritarians who lie to them but allow them the delusion of living in yesteryear. I think Biden may be the guy, and maybe for 1 term. I think I want a fighter as a runner up. Maybe a Harris, maybe someone else, but a fighter who will fight for us all. Winning is everything this time. Time to take our country back, for our children's sake.
I personally wouldn't care if Biden was the Purple People Eater if he could beat IQ45. It doesn't comfort me at all that he is a "paternal" white man. I would much prefer (at the age of 73) a more progressive candidate. Right now, he is my last choice. But we have a serious problem in this country - and the world. "it" needs to be addressed one way or the other.
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I seem to think constantly about blunting the Trump optics in debate situations. Much of his appeal in 2016 came from poking everyone onstage in the eye (metaphorically). This strategy worked. We had not seen such yahoo behavior before on national TV. He got away with it. I think Biden (others, too, to be sure) might have the demeanor to humiliate Trump on the national screen and expose his myriad faults to his "base". Debate under oath? Scrupulous and instant verification of factual statements? Why not? Raise the stakes! Trump could not survive, IMHO.
They say that 75,000 votes in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania turned the election in 2016. Racists are going to be racists and don't deserve to be coddled, but it is fair to assume that at least 100,000 Trump voters were protest voters who felt abandoned by the Democratic party. It seems key to win them back. Of course, that presumes that you want to win.
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Mr. Blow: As a "white buffalo," I am deeply offended by the bigotry repeatedly expressed in your column. The white working-class male voter is not, as you say, "fickle." That voter voted for Obama, not because of the presence of Biden on the ticket (wow: that's a slap at Obama), but because the voter bought Obama's message of reasoned change (it certainly wasn't particularly Biden's, whose only message is , and has always been, "elect me").
The problem for the Democrat Party is not, as you claim, the "fickle" white male voter. It is that the Democrats' ideas and policies are extreme and getting more extreme. Just as your column seems to be more and more hostile to anyone who is not a person of color.
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If Mr. Blow is right, the correct course of action is to simply deny to white voters the right to vote (in both the primary and in the general election).
That would eliminate racism in the electoral process.
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"Anything to defeat Donald Trump" is indeed no soothing elixir. And a candidate who only presents an anti-Trump platform will not defeat Trump. Joe Biden, with a steamer trunk full of bad decisions, bad votes, bad history has only this arrow in his quiver, and simply has no chance at all.
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It should be zero trouble to defeat Trump. Any of the Dems should sail to it easily. Much more than half of the electorate disapproves of him every day.
If it's not, perhaps we need to look at the real reason Trump won.
Surely I can't be the only person who thinks it's odd that he won the electoral college by such slim margins exactly where he needed to win...
Wake up and smell the coffee. This has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with winning. When one side of the aisle will take any heinous step and commit any crime to win, why is it such a stretch to imagine a stolen election?
I agree with Charles. The Democratic Party should not focus on white working class voters. The Democratic Party needs to focus on its base of African-American and Latino voters, and the white college-educated class of thought leaders. Anything less would be a disaster for Democrats. And, please, nobody who has skeletons in his or her closet; we cannot give the Trumpster more ammunition.
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There are better or worse Democratic candidates depending on the issues, BUT If you have been paying attention for the past two years, you will vote for a rock before you vote for Donald Trump... Or any Republican in the next election.
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Charles, your opinions are usually astute, but I must disagree with your posits in this piece. If the United States’ Presidential election were decided by the popular vote system, which is the case in just about every other country in the world, then your points are valid. However, 2020 election comes down to one, simple Calculus: Can the Democratic candidate win back Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. That’s it. People in CA, NY, MA, IL, and other liberal leaning states will come out in droves to vote due to their visceral hatred of the Donald regardless of the name of the Democratic candidate. We need a candidate that can move a small number of the White voters in the Rust Belt states to switch back, and Biden is the only current Democratic candidate that can make that dream a reality. I am not crazy about Biden, but for the love of god, we need to drive out the misogynistic racist orange egomaniac who is currently residing in the White House. That should be the unified goal for every Democrat and patriotic American.
On the brink of writing "I will not vote for Biden."
If the USA stays somewhere back in the early 20th century, why bother?
I have the choice, live my life out in one that is in the 21st century and visit one that cannot even provide a decent intercity bus for me to take from Logan to Albany. The train option is 19th century.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
I don’t think the appeal of his whiteness has much to do with appealing to that surprisingly low percentage of the population who are white working class. For heaven’s sake, we were told for hundreds of years that God was an old white man with a beard. So was Santa. So were the members of the House of Lords. While there may be better candidates amongst the 20, many of us want, more than anything else, the one that can beat Trump. At the moment, Bernie and Biden are the best known. This is a time when we want reassurance. Old white men have been the image of reassurance for centuries. This could all change as age and experience also bring baggage. But I wouldn’t think that their appeal to white working class voters is as nearly as important as their ancient representation of assurance. When in doubt, we retreat. The old white guy myth reasserts itself. “Tell us what to do, old white guy! Tell us you are knowledgeable. Tell us you know what you are doing and we are safe with you.” That’s all it is.
So here’s the deal. Either Democrats win Wis and Mich, or else Trump and Roberts will be looking at each other with a Bible between them in early 2021. Do whatever it takes.
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Agree 100% The tea leaves at the local level suggest that - minorities in particular are dead-set against Trump and will show up to vote him out. But if the Democratic opponent is perceived as "Trump-lite" who panders to the white populace to determine of minorities issues like wealth disparity, lack of affordable health care, limited opportunities in housing and education and systemic racism..... then minorities will stay home in droves. We need more HOPE and CHANGE, not less.
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Joe Biden is favored by many because he is considered the most electable of the Democratic field. He is certainly the safest choice, which is in itself a rather pathetic statement.
If Joe Biden actually wins he will probably continue in the manner of the mainstream corporate Democrats, which is the last thing we need. Even now Nancy Pelosi is trying to broker a deal with Trump for arbitration on drug prices, which will, of course, only favor the big drug companies. We will have the same old policies and be no better off and no progress made. Our lives will not be better.
Dissatisfaction will cause voters to swing in the other direction, and in four year's time, we will back to having another Republican president.
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Nobody has been more critical of Donald Trump than Charles Blow. I had the good fortune to hear him speak at a Planned Parenthood meeting last year. I agreed with everything he’s said about how despicable the Trump administration is, and how awful the President is and has been.
I strongly disagree with his op ed piece.
If you care about the environment, equal rights, workers rights, the rule of law, international diplomacy and putting an end to the spread white supremacy, we must vote Trump out of office. If Joe Biden emerges from the primaries as the front runner, we should all put our hearts and minds into getting him elected.
Rather than attack Joe Biden, which will only help re-elect a monster, Charles Blow should figure out how to support him or whoever emerges from the primary process.
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What’s in it for us - all of us - if a Democrat wins the White House next year?
Protected guaranteed healthcare, protected women’s rights, protected LBGT rights, protections for our one planet, protections for workers, an end to Trump’s indulging racism, an end to Trump’s misogyny, an end to Trump’s pathological lying, an end to Trump’s nepotism, an end to Trump’s coddling of the NRA, a return to diplomacy, a return to a respectable Cabinet, a return to fiscal responsibility, a return to respect for the media...
Charles, I think you need to look at the United States as a whole: a whole lot of disgusted Americans who are seeing Trump destroy our country. It goes beyond Black and Hispanic. The next vote will be aimed at repair first and then reconciliation.
If Biden were to be elected, and I will happily vote for him, his choice of running mate will be most important. If he were to be a one term president, a strong, progressive VP would be in place to continue the repair process.
This upcoming election may be one of the most important in American history.
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Joe Biden is not anyone's perfect candidate for President. But I would suggest that his appeal might be something Mr. Blow is not recognizing.
First, of all the 20 Democratic candidates running for office, how many kicked off their campaigns with a punch in the nose to Donald Trump? No one other than Biden. This scrappy old guy is willing to honestly and forthrightly put forward the main reason most Democrats, perhaps more than ever in recent history, want to defeat Donald Trump - he is the most indecent person to ever occupy the office. Frankly, all the rest of the candidates seem utterly petrified to even mention Trump's name or his hideous offenses, for fear they become the victim of a Twitter war or a less than flattering nickname. Biden will, as he has shown, stand toe to toe with the monster that is Trump and take him down. The rest of the candidates seem afraid to even acknowledge the elephant in the room.
Next, many believe at this perilous juncture in our history, with every branch of our government and military in complete disarray, with key positions vacant, with laws and regulations being trampled upon on a daily basis, with treaties shredded and allies maligned, that we need an experienced leader who can effectively "right the ship" and put us on a steady course as quickly as possible.
If nominated, Joe Biden should pick a promising, young Vice President, groom this person for four years and then step down, setting this person up to succeed him.
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@Rich D I've attended several different town hall events with Democratic hopefuls. Every last one of them, even people barely registering on the radar like Andrew Yang or John Hickenlooper, would be a vastly better president than Trump. However, I'm reserving my judgment until after the debates start. I want to see how they respond under fire, and how voters respond to them in turn.
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@Rich D
I was about to write a comment, when I happened to read yours. Well said. Bravo.
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@Rich D Perfectly said. And I am so sick of the isms being considered when people think you are going for a white male - all the isms - sexism, racism, etc. Maybe I like Joe because he is the best qualified and he can take down Trump - he knows how to handle him and his video was fantastic! and not because he is a white guy.
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As Blow points out, Barack Obama ran two brilliant campaigns for president. In fact, he is the only presidential candidate since 1988 to win a popular vote majority, and he did it twice. But how did he do it ? He did it by appealing across “identity lines,” including appealing to the white working class voters derided by Blow, and fashioning a winning coalition. To defeat Trump in 2020 requires winning back the electoral college votes of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Doing that requires rebuilding a broad coalition, not pitting false “identity groups” against one another. Pitting identity groups against each other is Trump’s strategy. That strategy won by a fluke in 2016 and will fail in 2020 if Democrats nominate a candidate with broad appeal.
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“that focuses too heavily on the fickle white, working-class swing voters and is not enough focused on the party’s faithful.“
This use of the term “white” has got to stop.
It’s pejorative at best and racist at worst.
The above quote also implies that the party faithful are non white, not white, or just not working class? Whatever happened to equal rights for ALL ?
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If Biden wins the Democratic primaries, he will pick a woman to be his Vice President. Then he will resign before his term is up and the woman will become President. I am voting for Biden.
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Any Democratic pollster, campaign worker, or friend who wants to know why I now register Green, need look no further than this election!
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How about we listen to the candidates and stop looking at them? The person with the best ideas and a vision for the country should prevail. Forget color, race, gender, age and sexual orientation. Just go for the candidate with the best plan for the future of our country.
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Mr. Blow, you let me and millions of other women down when you say that Joe Biden "did not treat Anita Hill terribly well." Given the miserable way he handled her testimony, he showed cowardice and ignorance. He let us all down when he closed down the hearings without calling on the other women who were ready to add their voices to Anita Hill's story. Why you are so dismissive is beyond me. This is a Senate with a horrible history of denigrating women of all backgrounds and I have had enough. If Biden doesn't admit he should have taken a stand and not just with his vote but with his voice and his position of leadership, I can't forgive him. All we need to do is see that the line between that hearing and Kavanaugh's is a straight one and we have now a Senate majority leader who is an unrepentant sexist. This might be the first time you've disappointed me, so I beg you to think about why I would bother to write when I agree with so much else that you have to say.
Thanks for this. I’m rather surprised to see it in the NYT editorial section. One has to ponder if the focus on the white working class is a result of the violent posture many of them have toward non-conservative leadership.
At some point, the loyal constituencies will demand to know: “What’s in it for us, specifically?” What's in it? Getting our democracy back.
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You are on to something here. When you compare the white votes in 2012 to 2016, there is little difference. 39% of whites voted for Obama in 2012 and 37% of whites voted for Clinton in 2016 - a 2% difference.
59% of whites voted for Romney in 2012 and 58% of whites voted for Trump - a 1% difference. It is interesting that whites overwhelmingly voted Republican both times in total, and by age, gender, education and income. That says A LOT.
It seems foolish for Dems to pursue an uninterested voting bloc and risk turning off their core voters but the Party excels at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It is probably better to focus on the EC, determine multiple paths to 270 and do whatever it takes to win those states. I am sure that is what Obama did both times. Trump appeared to do this as well.
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@Lynn in DC
Quoting nationwide statistics would be useful if the election were decided by a nationwide popular vote. As we are all painfully aware, that's not how the antiquated Electoral College works.
In order to win, the Democrats absolutely must keep their focus trained on the Rust Belt and Florida. And of all the candidates, I think Joe Biden has the best chance to win in these states.
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@Lynn in DC
I see your point. However, you are skewing the numbers a little bit when you talk about voters. The numbers are actually comparable without reference to turnout. "Voters" isn't always the same population. In fact, it's almost always changing.
Blow is guilty here two. He's lumping Hispanics into the same category as black Americans. Together the percentage overwhelms white working-class voters in the population. However, only 66% of Latinos voted for Clinton. A drop compared to Obama at 71%. This despite a one percent increase in overall voter turnout.
Don't ever trust a story teller not to make the facts fit the story better.
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@Lynn in DC they voted for trump because they had issues with HC or women.
At that time trump was still coning everyone on issues - gender, racism sexual orientation and gays in the military.
Within 6 months after his election he again changed his views and his manner.
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Even with a strong economy (for some), Trump's favorable ratings are at the same 30% range, never higher no matter what. By the very nature of Democrats, they represent more progressive values, ideals in matters of race and gender and the reality of a strong government that is ostensibly "ours." I"m not so much in favor of Biden as I am anyhone in the party who can knock out Trump. Look at the strong candidates who will have their own debate in June and then we can glean more. Bernie needs to move over, which he will not do. It ain't his party but he sure embraces it, selfishly. He believes obviously that he's the only one to represent progress. The cost of Clinton's loss is really deeply tragic. We can and must do better.
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I think you're overlooking the electoral college. Overall voting participation patterns miss the fact that working white voters dominate rural states. Trump occupies the White House because the electors from those states put him there, even though Clinton won the total vote by a sizable margin. The primary goal for 2020 has to be ousting the narcissistic pretender, and if Biden can swing some of those rural states in the midwest and south, there's no reason he can't pursue more progressive policies.
Biden and Buttigieg are probably the worst candidates running for president. Biden has a truly terrible record, and shoots himself in the foot on a regular basis. Buttigieg has zero qualifications.
Yet the democratic establishment loves them... because of the supposed "white working class" appeal.
The democratic establishment hasn't learned anything from Obama's strong victories.
Obama was young, black and progressive, and won by large margins. Then we ran a couple of old, white centrist candidates in 2016 and they lost. Predictably, the surge of young and minority voters who turned out for Obama did not turn out for Clinton.
The conclusion the establishment has made is to push for more old white centrists... Presumably so we can have a repeat of 2016.
All I can say is the establishment has to go. They are driving this party off a cliff.
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Great column. I'm already resenting democratic calls to court the rust belt. If the core of the next democratic candidate's message is an appeal to voters who were clueless enough to vote for a racist and morally depraved con man out of fear of adapting to new economic realities -- and might vote for him again! -- then God help us all.
One demographic problem we face is the Electoral College and the way it overvalues the votes of a rural, white minority over those of the more diverse majority. I’m not saying the Democratic party is right in its focus on those voters, but I understand the anxiety underlying it, given that the effective gerrymandering by the Electoral College has given us three presidents, all Republican, in this century who lost the popular vote.
That Mr. Biden is championing the working class, it is not to the exclusion of Hispanic and Black working class people. I do not accept Mr. Blow’s premise or argument.
Much of Trump's base is racist, and they will stay loyal as long as his race-baiting continues. So what is served by the thinly-veiled appeal to reverse racism this column suggests? The #1, overriding priority we Democrats face is electing our Presidential candidate. Insisting on "purity" or immediate appeals to previously marginalized segments is a recipe for failure. Biden has the experience, values and reputation needed; and he couldn't help being born White. Polls indicate he would beat Trump by a landslide if it were held today. His campaign is only five (5) days old. Accusations of pandering to White voters, or ignoring minority voters, are premature to say the least; November 2020 is 1 1/2 years away. Listen to the messages, separate the wheat from the chaff, and let the process take its course. Remember that "politics is the art of the possible", and let's avoid feeding the GOP sound bites by beating up on ourselves.
The D party should focus on JFKs principles. Low taxes, military strength and judging people by their character not color.
Democrats are so afraid of losing to trump they've divorced themselves from reality.
Trump's base gravitates from the low 40's to the high 30's and you never win elections with those numbers unless your opponents are acting like panic-stricken, indecisive weaklings which is what the entire Democratic establishment and Congressional leadership look like.
The Mueller report was a scathing rebuke to trump and his entire administration but trump is now embarking on an exoneration tour while the Democratic Party watches miserably from the sidelines.
They need to take the conversation back to where it belongs: impeachment now, defeat trump in 2020 and watch the Southern District of New York indict him in 2021.
Grow the kind of spine Elizabeth Warren is blessed with and attack Trump. There are 20 Democratic candidates who could give him a nickname that would stick and use it all the time - Lying trump, Crooked trump, Lawless trump, Russia-loving trump. The list is endless.
Democrats need to stand together now and put him on the run. He's the one who should be consumed with fear.
And don't worry about the white working class voters. The ones who came back in 2018 and gave us a House majority will stay with us in 2018 if Democrats are brave, policy driven and hold trump accountable for his grave misdeeds, criminal activities and lawlessness.
Impeach, defeat and indict and stop worrying about trump voters. They're the minority now & we need to keep them there by acting now.
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Democrats, instead of trying to build upon the re-taking of the House of Representatives in 2018, are still traumatized by the 2016 election and the victory of a totally unfit and unqualified man in the presidential contest.
As the presidency of Donald Trump unfolded, it turned out to be far worse than anyone had expected. Democrats are now worried that in a crowded field of aspirants, no single candidate has emerged who seems to assure the defeat of Trump.
That is no reason to panic. Democrats have to recognize that any potential candidate with experience in government will have blemishes. Only someone brand new will be unblemished -- except, of course, for the blemish of inexperience.
In rallying around Joe Biden, Democrats are looking past his out-of-touch habit of touching women and, worse, his disgraceful handling of Anita Hill on the principle that absolutely any man or woman who can beat Donald Trump is acceptable. Democrats leaning towards Biden, however, are confusing name recognition with electability.
Charles M. Blow is correct that in flirting with Joe Biden and the other old white men mentioned as candidates, Democrats are chasing an unreliable sliver of the electorate -- white, working-class men who voted for Donald Trump. In wooing that demographic, Democrats are risking loss of a reliable and larger segment – black and non-white Hispanic voters.
It makes no sense for Democrats to make such a dumb deal.
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I am the faithful. I still worry about leaving the doors of power open to corporate America and the Plutocracy which has so miserably failed America for the last 3 decades. Biden is a dinosaur who has held those doors wide open for his entire career. He is Neoliberal. Neoliberal policies drove us into this ditch. He does not represent any future I've ever desired. Neoliberals embrace and encourage "corporate governance" Big Brother. He also abandoned any credibility as a multicultural healer with the war on crime and his abominable behavior toward Anita Hill. Biden is a war monger. I am not the fickle, I am the faithful. I've held my nose voting before many times and I'll do it again, but he is no healer and will not represent change. As one of those "old white voters" who smashes the mold of what that means today, I hope for better and do see it in numerous choices before me. Biden is not one of them.
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@Joseph
We must all be faithful. Indivisible has a pledge for all Democratic candidates that ask them to pledge not to personally attack their primary opponents and to support the eventual winner without rancor. Sanders was the first person to sign it. He strongly states that defeating Trump is job number one.
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There is no way progressive gains can be made with Trump in office. Charles, do you think there is anyone more capable of besting that man than Joe Biden? Dumping him as president is the one and only first step that will get our country back on track.
I've decided that I will only vote for a woman candidate, even if it has to be a 'write-in.' Since I'll be dong it from the comfort of France....I'm not sure this will have much of an affect. However, it's also possible that -any- decent candidate who truly cares about the country and its citizens will have the support of a majority of Americans and a 'dump Trump' or a 'Banish Don the Con' movement will succeed. Bonne chance!
That's great. Threaten to withhold your vote from the Democrats. If you don't know what's in it for you specifically, we're all doomed. It was simply this attitude that got Trumpy elected. There is some feeling that the Democrats are being forced to pander to some minorities and a few women. Finally, it's the fickle who need to be persuaded. It's likely that they support who ever speaks to them directly (even falsely). Only vanity would drive the Democrats in the House to impeach Trumpy without a path towards his removal from office.
Ahh, this is a beautifully written piece!
I don't say that lightly. Charles is right, 100%. The party "faithful" are taken for granted. Oh, they'll come along so as not to suffer DT more, right?
On top of the sick White anxiety Blow describes at play here, there's another status quo that is being pandered to = corporate America. We don't want to tax them fairly because they'll leave. We don't want to enforce rules on them because they'll leave. We bail them out lest they leave. Municipalities bend over hoping they don't leave. Democrats regulate them a little, enough to give the appearance of resistance, maybe, or they don't bother, then Republicans come in and rip out any barriers to corporate greed. Then the cycle begins anew.
Ok, so when do we call the corporate bluff? With Joe Biden? Nope. So, if corporations leave life stops? And where do they go? And where is their market? When will people remember that we, the people, hold the power? Does anybody remember how nervous the Zuccotti Park gatherings made Wall Street? That wasn't a blip. As Slavoj Zizek (yes, the Marxist) described (I loosely paraphrase), it may be more productive to gaze at the unvarnished face of Donald Trump than elect another false savior.
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The Democratic party isn't working to please to the white working class, it's catering to the donor classes, with "Senator Mastercard" being their obvious first choice. The second worst thing the party could do is run on feminist and minority issues, so as not to offend Wall Street with an substantive program to reduce inequality in this country.
Where was Charles Blow in 2016?
"What does it say that the Democrats lust after disaffection rather than rewarding devotion? "
It says the Dems have the stomach to ignore the most vocal in their party and employ a general election strategy that works nation wide, not just on the coasts. Unless minority voter participation accelerates drastically from 2016, any candidate needs some of the those white people to vote for them to win an election in this country, it's the current math of our electoral map not a theory. With that said, it doesn't have to be Biden or any other white person. Obama was capable of appealing to both white and minority voters but apparently Mr. Blow doesn't think any of the current candidates should even try. Hillary Clinton didn't and she missed the dunk. Just weeks before the election she wasted time padding her popular vote count in California instead of campaigning in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin where she held small leads in the polls and then lost. If the ideal alternative to Biden for the "Faithful" is a candidate who is constantly inserting identity politics into every single issue then I hope the Dems ignore the "Faithful." Trump is a road block to tackling justice reform, global warming, gun control, gender inequality, and healthcare. All of these issues are important to liberals of any stripe and Dems can't legislate from the sidelines. If that isn't enough to garner a persons support then they are not liberal, they are something much more vain and self centered.
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@Tom "Unless minority voter participation accelerates drastically" you mean "unless we stop voter suppression laws from going into effect"
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@Tom,
Minority participation yes, but also young voters. Over the weekend on 'Meet the Press', they showed a poll that broke down voter participation by age group in last years midterms. 39% of people under 30 voted last year, and that was considered amazingly high by historical standards! Meanwhile, half of people over 50 and 2/3 over 65 vote, and vote consistently year in year out.
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@Tom
Thank you!
This is exactly the crux of the matter. Have to look at the numbers (voting data, polling data, and the electoral college). They all say Biden is the proven quantity who is clearly is the best bet to knee-cap Trump. Then add someone like Kamala to the ticket, who appeals to the progressive side while also not scaring off the moderates.
6
Charles Blow asks why the parties coddle the "white vote" - that mythical vote of middle aged disgruntled white people - rather than focusing on expanding their base, bringing in new voters.
Charles, c'mon, you are are smarter than that. You know why. It is because we vote state by state, winner take all in the electoral college, allowing the disgruntled white vote from a few states to turn the election and overpower the voters in states like New York and California. It is because we don't elect by popular vote. WHERE we get the vote matters.
We know this because the Democrats won the vote and lost the election, twice now.
We don't need to expand the base. We need to expand the base in very specific territories, in swing states. Or we need to pull people away from trump there.
THAT'S the challenge the Democrats face. Hillary Clinton didn't see it, and lost. Don't advise the next candidate to follow in her footsteps.
1
The Dem party faithful vote for Dems like lemmings jump off cliffs. If they were nuanced enough to separate the man Trump from his policies, they would see that those policies, especially fiscal policies, will protect their interests far better than the Dems. But instead they swallow the Dems false promises hook, line and sinker. Dem leadership, Dem pundits and others know this; they know that the Dem faithful will never leave. So they neglect them and focus on the white moderates that can make the difference in PA and Michigan and Ohio, etc. it’s just good politics under the circumstances.
In politics, context: the details, the cash flow matters. The details of the new Democrats: they are after power and its moral and responsible public use--for generational projects in healthcare, education, fair pricing, peace, justice, housing.
From the Bronx to Orange County, they organize, decouple money from power, masters of grassroots funding raising; building a firewall of supporters; they want to increase the public share of oversight and spending. They like rules and jobs. They succeed: 19 black women are Louisiana mayors, including the energy cities of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport.
Successful primary campaigns will register at least 100,000 new voters, expanding democracy by increasing the vote!
2
If only we could have another Barack Obama, a decent family oriented person with an intelligent, supportive spouse.
A person who is not afraid to express his or her emotions, who can get up and sing Amazing Grace from a pulpit while offering condolences.
A person who places country over personal aggrandizement, a person with compassion for the downtrodden...
2
Prior to the 2018 election, the American electorate has been shown to has moved rightward, and this includes Democrats. Analysis of the 40 House seats flipped in 2018 shows that it was by moderate Dems with the more left-leaning "Democratic Socialists" only winning in already Democrat districts. This alone should tell Democrats, and Mr. Blow, that those "working class white males" who voted for Trump are an important target for the 2020 election. This does NOT minimize the importance of minorities, women, college educated, etc, but does place into focus the need to nominate a candidate who has broad appeal. I'm not sure if a candidate who clings to the left side of the political spectrum is the most desirable. However, if the Dems could be certain that such a candidate would dramatically increase the number of left leaning voters in the next election, in much the same way Trump did for right leaning voters in 2016, then maybe it makes sense to move left with a candidate. If Biden is the nominee, it will be imperative that he be paired with someone who can bring as many of these left voters to the polls, and I don't men a full geriatric ticket with Bernie! How about Stacey Abrams?
The Democratic party wins when its base is excited and enthusiastic. That's how Barack Obama won the presidency. When we nominate someone who is believed to be competent and appeals to the middle (Hilary Clinton), young and minority voters are less likely to turn out.
Can Joe Biden really excite younger voters and minority voters? Does he favor an expansion of Medicare? Does he have plans to make college affordable? What about helping young families pay for childcare? Anything?
We need to hear what policies Biden supports before throwing our support behind him. He's not the only candidate who can defeat Trump. And if he doesn't excite voters, Biden may not even do that.
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@Susan TL;DR: Status-quo-Joe is a creep, and I don't think young voters will come out in numbers to vote for him.
Just to add to your point about young voters, as younger voters, myself (25) and many of my compadres, Joe Biden is not going to excite us into voting for him. My admittedly narrow and anecdotal experience is that we see Biden as Status-Quo-Joe and we are sick of the status quo.
Furthermore, the whole issue of his touchy feely behavior with people is a huge issue. I think much of the nation has become more conscious of these issues, but especially younger people. There are videos of Biden touching people who are visibly uncomfortable; the way he brushes off this stuff is astounding and there is no excuse.
7
@Susan - Why does the Democratic 'base' have to be excited about who they vote for? That's like saying, 'I'm not excited about this medication that could cure my cancer, so I am not going to take it'. This is s a national emergency and in these times, you vote for the best way to end the emergency and then figure out the best way to recover. And besides, much of the Democratic base has not figured out that whining on social media is not the same as voting, so I am skeptical on their turnout either way.
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@Susan
Biden's policy is to be a decent, moral human being who happens to know how to govern for the whole nation. If that doesn't excite you, you haven't watched the news in the last two years. Meantime, check out Amy Klobuchar?
11
First of all, there is the one main reality, that this country is on the verge of, not only having to pay over $500 billion a year in interest on the $22 trillion debt, rising yearly deficits going forward of over $1 trillion a year, over generous entitlements, in relation to taxing enough to sustain them. Both parties, if one is older, and has been a participant for over 50 years in the political process, knows that, except for Bill Clinton, deficits, and debt have been rampant. Then, the fact that politics, not only in this country, but around the world, has become one of special interests, not unlike specialized medicine. When that happens, it is almost like we lose general practitioners, and that is what we need, to focus on the whole body, or in the case of politics, those that see the big picture. What do the voters want, the big picture, or their own, however much it is needed, special interest?
1
Women and minorities allow themselves to be taken for granted by the democratic party by overwhelmingly committing to one party.
The person who always says "yes" is usually the person who is ignored. The person who sometimes says "yes" and sometimes says "no" is given special treatment because the special treatment is likely to make a difference in the outcome.
The voters upon which you place so much faith in, i.e., women and minorities, were insufficient to push Hillary over the top. If minority voters had backed Clinton to the same degree that they had backed Obama, Trump would be a distant memory. But they stayed home, so here we are.
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@BNS The Democrats might not have to worry about the black vote crossing over to the GOP. However, if they stay home on election night next year, the Dems are in big trouble. As Bernie Sanders found out the hard way in 2015-16, without solid support of black voters in Democratic primaries in the South, you ain't getting the nomination, either. No longer can the Democratic Party take the black vote for granted.
8
@BNS - and besides, 53% of white women voted for Trump. Also, the phrase 'women and minorities' double counts minority women.
4
@C.M.
It was closer than that. It came down a few delegates in a few key, early states that the DNC (and media) delivered to Hillary. IMO. without this concerted effort by the establishment Bernie would have won (and then in November, too). A few more open or even semi-open primaries and Bernie would have won. THIS was Bernie's hard won lesson. Pandering to any voting block would be the wrong lesson from this. (But I think Bernie knows better,)
5
So many points. Charles don't forget that Hillary, an unsavory candidate, had nearly 3,000,000 more votes than the traitor. Her campaign ignored the Michigan type states and pursued "red" states in an attempt to make history (and she did very well in those "red" states). Charles, why would the "loyal constituencies" possibly think that the republicans would have anything to give them? Much in life is choosing the lesser of two evils, even I voted for Hillary in 2016 but there was no choice in the general election.
I'm a 62 year old white, liberal male. I'm not interested in
Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, or anyone else associated with big banks, corporations, Wall Street, or the center left. I'm not interested in anyone who isn't going all in for medicare for all, free or almost free college education, saving a woman's right to choose, or a living wage. I don't see anything in "it" for someone like me, a lower middle - middle class citizen if
Joe Biden becomes the next president. I do see something in it for me in from the likes of Bernie Sanders,
Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, Kirsten Gillibrand, and the young fresh faces of newly elected congress folk.
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@Magan
But what will you do should Biden be the nominee? Sitting out the election or voting for a third party candidate increases the likelihood of Trump winning a second term. Would you prefer that or a President Biden?
If you want someone else to be the nominee, great ... get involved and work hard for that person. But in the end it comes down to whoever is the Democrat nominee vs. Trump ... it is in reality a binary choice.
49
@Magan: Well, at 62, what about Social Security and Medicare, do those count as interesting? Conventional Democrats have done a lot for lower middle class citizens for getting close to a century now. We can't take any of that for granted: the mainstream Republicans have been trying to dismantle the New Deal all these years, and moderate Joe Biden Democrats have been pushing back. Obviously we need to ask for more: Warren has some great ideas. But to just "lose interest" if we don't end up with Warren would be a serious mistake.
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I agree with you completely. We need an expansion of Medicare and Medicare for All. Which Biden will not support. We need to raise the cap on Social Security to ensure its future. Biden prefers raising retirement age and cutting benefits.
22
The classic Democratic coalition that elected people like JFK, LBJ, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton (“the first Black President”) consisted of union members (most of them white working class), African American, Latinos and progressive white women. Biden is of the generation of that coalition? The desire for his candidacy (apart from his personal qualities and the parts of his record that remain impressive) is in part a desire to restore that coalition. Obsession over the white working class is indeed an error. But quietly appealing to them (as Obama did by picking Biden) is smart politics. If the 2016 election proved anything, it is that the Democrats have little margin for error, The loss of a few 100 working class white votes here or there could lead to four more years of Trump. Black, Latino, Asian, Jewish, Native American and other minority voters need to be appealed to. But so does the rest of the classic coalition. To date, nobody but Obama has been able to make and sell new Coke. Classic Coke is classic for a reason.
1
I’m increasingly fed up with the Democratic establishment. Ignoring the needs of the people is what brought us Trump in the first place. Here are again.
2
@Zejee Oh, stop it! I’m thoroughly tired of the “disaffected “ who say they would rather sulk in their tents and leave us with four more years of Trump and McConnell. Among other things, it’s a tactic used by Russian troll operations to divide us. If you won’t vote, I want nothing to do with you.
I am close to having had enough of this 'identity' focused Democratic politics. I am a 'brown' immigrant, have been and will continue to be a straight Democratic ticket voter, top to bottom. However, it is irritating to continue to see people writing opinion columns dissecting the electorate into white working class males, women of color, young Latino voters, etc. etc. Enought! The Democratic Party (not some identity focused sub-division) stands largely for labor (vs. Capital), for a liberal, progressive social, and economic agenda. That encompasses a whole bunch of common interests most of the people in this country have, and there's a SOLID majority to be had if we all were to pull together. It will not be close - even in the electoral college, I'm convinced.
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@PDX-traveler
You've called out an incredibly important issue. Well said.
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@PDX-traveler
The 95%+ white Republican Party which courts white supremacist racists is the party of identity politics. I’m tired of individuals wrongly accusing supporters of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing of identity politics when those progressives just want to redress the violations committed against marginalized groups through policy which will help us all.
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@PDX-traveler
Very well said.
12
It's too early to put much stock in electability polls. Biden is not my initial choice. Neither is Sanders. But when the time comes I will vote for Sanders, or Biden, or whoever wins the Democratic nomination.
Because "Anything to defeat Trump's IS the most important thing. It's more important than the specific proposals put forth by the various candidates or the differences between Democractic centrists and progressives.
Why? Because if Trump is reelected the Supreme Court will likely have a 7-2 very conservative majority. Federal courts will be seeded with more extreme right wing judges. It will take a generation to unwind that, even if the Democrats win in 2024, 2028, and so on.
This is more than just about Roe v. Wade or even Voting Rights. It's also about a restrictive, pre 1930s view, of the Commerce clause that will make many of the proposed Democratic policies on health care, climate change, and regulation of business unconstitutional.
"What’s in it for us, specifically?”
The ability to implement a more progressive economic, climate, and health care agenda vs. spending a generation watching current protections rolled back by the Courts.
Fight hard in the primaries. Then support the nominee like it was going to be the last chance you had for real progress for years. Because it is.
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@R. Law
"Because if Trump is reelected the Supreme Court will likely have a 7-2 very conservative majority. Federal courts will be seeded with more extreme right wing judges. It will take a generation to unwind that, even if the Democrats win in 2024, 2028, and so on."
You've got it. It's all about the courts.
The Electoral College, gerrymandering, voter suppression, FOX news, fear mongering and divide and conquer will only take them so far. That's all tactical.
The strategic "wonder weapon" that can defy demographics and protect the minority from the will of the majority is control of the judicial.
The GOP knows this (Mitch McConnell and his refusal to even entertain the idea of placing Merritt Garland, an Obama nominated candidate to the SCOTUS?) And it's already paid dividends. See "Bush vs Gore?"
The courts are the GOP's last ditch effort to protect the status quo and secure their agenda for decades.
Unless Trump is defeated in the next election, the GOP's plan will succeed. Regardless of the will of the majority and the outcome of future elections.
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@Pdxtran
Republicans have the Senate majority. Democrats can do NOTHING to stop Trump's appointments.
Absolutely nothing.
8
@LT Biden has the best chance to beat Trump. There will be push back from the leftist zealots who believe he is too old, too white to run. Great. Let's bring into the open the unapologetically racist, sexist, ageist so-called Democrats ( a small minority I believe) who are holding the party hostage. Why is the left so desperate? Why don't they want Biden to run? Why do they hate the fact he's running? Because he's going to drive progressive fav's like Booker, Harris, Sanders,& Warren out of the race. Pretty early too. Good, they never had a solid chance of winning. The primaries favor Biden. Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, & South Carolina. The other candidates will run out of time, money, & support long before the next primary which is Super Tuesday. He will have a commanding lead at this point. It's pretty obvious that progressives have been trying to steer the nominee process so as to eliminate all moderates from the competition? Even if they have to resort to a blatant smear campaign. Guess what it isn't going to work. The Progressive obsession with cheap shooting Biden a man with good intentions has compelled many people to question the value of their movement & to a greater degree the methods they are using as a blunt instrument. Is this how the left intends to unite the party? To win the nomination? This is just another situation where political correctness" has run amok. Progressives worship at this Altar. Voters despise this. Keep this up & we will lose in 2020.
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Charles, I usually agree with you, but not this morning. The working-class males were once a powerful voting bloc for the Dems. Unions could guarantee a certain number of votes that the Dems could count on. Having eschewed their unions in many cases these older white male still have a powerful punch—hence our current Trump predicament. The non-white vote cannot be counted on in this way, they may be registered Dems but for a variety of reasons they can’t be counted on to come out—some have to work too many jobs and can’t take off to vote; many live in GOP controlled red states where the governments are working to limit the number of non-white voters on the rolls with false claims of voter fraud. Where did Hillary lose? The very states that used to guarantee Dem elections. So, yes, the Dems do need to covert those voters while holding onto the women, the younger generations, and non-white voters. The Dems will need every vote they can get to beat Trump and they don’t need pot shots from their supporters as they strive toward that goal.
4
@MDR
Democrats lost the white union voters when the Republicans convinced those voters that collective action, through union organizing and representation, through tax-funded infrastructure projects, through tax supported Social Security, etc, etc, were a way for "those people"--the ones of other colors--to take advantage of the white guys who didn't like paying dues or taxes.
So what happened to the old union guys when they voted to castrate their own protectors? The protection died. Jobs went to Alabama and other southern states where the governments gave away union rights, leaving the white workers in the north no better off than they are now, when jobs get shipped to Mexico or China. Just another example of Republican efforts to shift money and power to the 1% and away from our once strong and enviable white working class.
The "Reagan Democrats" of Macomb County in Michigan from the late 70s never saw it coming. The Great Communicator was warming them up to stick the shiv up their backs with his policies. And...what a surprise...they are no better off in 2019 than they were in 1979. The Democrats would be better off to leave them alone. Hillary told coal country the truth 3 years ago--and they went nuts hating on her. You can't deal with people who don't see how the world works.
Biden would be a good choice as he is a uniter rather than a divider, but unity requires that we look beyond racism, gender bias and the details of a health care plan to win this election. We need someone who works well with others. I do not know as yet if Biden is that person, but that is what primaries are for.
Charles, I think I know where you are coming from. I have read 'White Fragility' as you probably have and as a white male I have tried to grasp pervasive racism in our society as well as the forces of gender inequality, but one thing is certain nothing will change on these things unless we have leadership that can recognize these things and take action. Does having a white skin or a particular gender preclude one from this societal change? I think not. Its more about open attitudes than anything else and this is what we should be exploring as a party especially when the GOP refuses to look at these things at all.
It will be very difficult for me to vote for Biden. For many reasons. I am disillusioned with the Democratic Party.
1
@Zejee
And the last 3 years of Republican "rule" haven't left you disillusioned? My disillusionment now is with America, not with the party that is out of power.
I disagree with Charles on this one. We need every vote we can get in 2020 to dislodge Republicans from the White House and the Senate. White working class males should NOT be ignored by Democrats. In fact, I will not support any candidate who writes them off. It's not acceptable that Trump and the GOP should win -- else democracy will not survive. It's that urgent and we don't have the luxury of writing off millions of potential voters. Charles, please rethink this one.
11
Charles Blow makes a convincing case for the Democratic Party to take a bold step to recognize and affirm its role as policy makers for a changing and dramatically changed America. I think he is correct and am pleased that he raises this challenge with clarity. The only thing that is 'counter' to this argument is the Electoral College and its over weighting of votes from rust-belt states with populations who are exactly the voters that Trump managed to peel off in 2016. That is a serious concern since I think any progressive or Democrat of any persuasion is massively concerned with sending a repudiating defeat to the current President and to the Republican party generally. Change is always fraught and the fractures within the Democratic Party are extremely fraught. The Democrats need a seriously unifying, up-building message that addresses the pressing economic and social concerns of the majority of non-Oligarchic Americans. Whether Biden can be the standard bearer of that change remains to be seen. I'd like to see a little more risk taken to support candidates who have strong platforms and are representative of America as it is today.
6
The logic of focusing on the white working class voter is simple:
1. they are disproportionately in the swing states that gave the last election to Trump;
2. they vote in large numbers - in that sense, they punch above their weight;
3. the risk of losing minority and far left voters is less severe than the risk of losing the white working class. Minorities and the far left won't go to Trump. There is a risk they sit at home, or go to a third party candidate. On the other hand, the white working class vote is seen as very likely going to Trump if the Democratic ticket seems too extreme.
8
@nub Mr. Blow understands the logic. We all do. His argument is that it's shortsighted and counterproductive to sacrifice your values and the vanguard of your party to appease a shrinking and selfish portion of it. It's disgusting that the GOP has sacrificed morally to win elections by appealing to the worst in this country. I don't want to be part of a political movement that also shapes its ideology based on a fringe voting block.
1
"I think that we need to question why the presence of the white male elder seems to ease anxiety among these white voters, and why the Democrats seem to be banking on that."
It's not because he's "white", it's because he can win.
Look at what the disaffected "Bernie Bros and Girls" did when they felt spurned by the nomination of Hillary. In a puerile exhibition of bite off your nose to spite your face foot stomping tantrums they refused to support Hillary and we all know what that resulted in.
I'm not in love with Biden, either, far from it. He made terrible errors in judgement with Anita Hill, and his general comportment in the Senate was at times imperious and "wind aided", to say the least. He's no perfect vessel.
But who is? If you want a perfect hero, read a book. If you want to beat Trump, Biden may be our best bet. He was extremely loyal and supportive to President Obama and has sincerely "evolved" on many issues. How many politicians can you honestly say that about?
We do know this about him, he won't shrink or back down from Trump's verbal fusillades, and in this upcoming election which will be like no other before it, that cannot and should not be ignored.
10
All maddeningly true. The whole election process courts the white working class to the exclusion of all others. But although they might be only 18 percent of white voters, they have disproportionate power due to the electoral college and even in the order in which states hold their primaries.
11
Remember, Joe Biden was brought into 2008 because the Clinton campaign attacked Obama on anemic foreign policy credentials in the primary. Obama had a resume gap. Biden's role as the great white icon was secondary and fits more appropriately into the general fear among Democrats that racism would sink Obama's presidential bid. If not racism, geography then. We were talking about a Hawaiian Senator from Illinois. Not a lot of rust belt appeal there.
When we think about the fickle white-working class though, it's best not to think of them in offensive terms. Democrats aren't trying to win their hearts and minds. Their role in the Democratic coalition is defensive in nature. "Winning" their vote isn't about changing their mind. We know they vote. Democrats want to prevent their from going to the opposition. Otherwise, they can win the popular vote but still lose.
Scholars will be studying Clinton's total and epic failure here for decades if not centuries. She ignored Michigan and Wisconsin. She alienated the hard left and millennials. She then picked Tim Kaine as VP for no one knows what reason. She had already spent the bulk of her campaign in the south. And then, she lost Pennsylvania too. That's before interference. What a disaster.
The fact is Democrats need young and minority voters of every stripe. However, they also need to peel off just enough white-working swing voters to make the whole thing work. Obama was able to thread this needle. Joe can't.
4
How about the Democrats vote in the primaries and let the winner emerge? The faithful - women and women of color specifically - will be coming out in force I hope for the primaries. If they do, they will in fact determine the candidate who speaks FOR them.
Look, it is disappointing to see the older white males jumping the line to the front in the polls and media. The coverage of the female candidates has already suffered with lack of curiousity.
The women and minorities of the Democratic Party are very capable of speaking up for themselves.
18
I am the antithesis of a Trump voter. Though white, I'm a feminist, working mother, liberal, atheist intellectual.
My heart is not with Joe Biden. Right now, I probably lean more towards Kamala Harris, but I need more information. I do have a set of litmus tests that I apply. Fortunately (I guess), I live in a state with a late primary, and so the field will have narrowed by then.
But there's one litmus test that I will be applying this year. I want someone who can beat Trump. I haven't decided how much I will weigh it against the other attributes I look for in a presidential candidate, but it will be there.
17
@HN My sediments precisely. I'm a white, feminist, former single parent, liberal, atheist intellectual, and Vietnam vet,old guy, first voting Democrat in 1970. I'm still looking, but looking for that person that can handily beat Trump, so it will be harder for Trump and his millions of minions say the vote was rigged.
1
@HN
I like Harris as a Biden VP and then President in 2024. Too many Americans do not trust a female president as Hilary demonstrated. Lets get a female VP first.
Back in 2007, Obama was making his first run for president. Here in New Hampshire, with the first primary, we get a great early view of things. I was living in Manchester - the epicenter of campaigns.
One night, at a popular bar next to my apt., I ran in to a couple black political operatives from Texas, who had traveled here to work for Obama.
I was thrilled at my good fortune of running into these smart, inside campaign workers. We had a few beers and talked away for a couple of hours.
At one point, the subject turned to who Obama should pick as a running mate, should he win the nomination. I was surprised at who the both said they hoped he would pick - Joe Biden.
As it turned out, they were on the money.
I mention this story simply because of Mr. Blow's claim that Biden is basically the magnet for older white voters. I'm not sure Biden is the right guy, I'm very impressed with Elizabeth Warren as being bright and a fearless fighter.
But if Biden is the nominee, I'm on board.
6
On the other hand, if we we’d like to be a bit more pragmatic, the question arises:
If 70% of the voters are white and non-Latino (and you cannot put all Latino voters in one basket, they also can be white and biased)
why should the democrats risk with a minority candidate ?
If one is white and white collar, this doesn’t automatically translates into a cote for a minority candidate.
1
If Dems were to nominate Biden to lure middle aged and older white centrists, they would simultaneously deflate enthusiasm among young people and woke (and semi-woke) women, of all races. Dems can’t win without these groups. Depressed turnout amongst these groups will hand the 2020 election to Trump, as depressed turnout among AA’s handed 2016 to Trump. With 20 candidates, choosing one who energizes the young, while not scaring the old, should not be difficult.
Biden is the flavor of the week. He’s run twice before, and not well. Obama discouraged him from running in 2016. I’ve heard him speak live, he’s rambling and unimpressive. Uncle Joe after a long Thanksgiving dinner. A far cry from the anti-Trump.
We should vote for who we want in the primary, guys, not for who we think others will back. That is the only way to get the candidate we can support wholeheartedly. That is how Obama beat establishment Hillary in 2008. Remember?
14
Democrats need to select a candidate that can win in Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Virginia. The calculus becomes appealing to the voters in those states, with the expectation that the Democrats in other states will still show up to vote. If Joe Biden is the candidate most likely to win those states then he will be on the ticket in 2020.
5
@Leonard
You didn't notice that the last time Democratic party elders made this kind of calculation, they lost?
Maybe, for once, it would be a good idea to actually stand for something other than the desire to win the election? Or, "vote for me, I'm not as bad as the other guy"?
Nominate another "moderate" mealy-mouthed corporate type, and the base may stay home. Then of course the party will blame Bernie Sanders or the Russians.
1
@Leonard I'm with you, and he should add Adam Schiff on the ticker as vice-president, a terrific pair. I don't believe in picking a running mate simply because of a perceived ability to capture a certain group of voters - John McCain made that mistake when he picked Sarah Palin to run with him. This time round, I don't care if younger voters are disillusioned with Biden - an older white guy. Job No. ! is to defeat Trump and Biden/Schiff can do it. And BTW - Biden (and alternatively Schiff) would make a very good president, to boot.
Charles, why can't the Democrats appeal to both the white working class and minorities? That's what it has to do, because that's the only way Democrats win. How does appealing to one cancel out appealing to the other? How can a party help minorities if it isn't in power? Demographic trends suggest that in the future, a Democratic devoid of white people might be able to win, but until then Bill Clinton's and Barack Obama's strategy of appealing to both is the only way to defeat Trump.
20
The author condemns any white candidate as unacceptable while acknowledging that 69 percent of voters are white. Democrats will not win a national election or many state wide elections without support by white voters. I am a white Democrat and I intend to vote for the Democratic nominee in 2020. The author's vicious condemnation for white candidates is offensive just as the condemnation of any candidate due to race, religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual identity is offensive.
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