I love Bernie. Democrats should blame Trump for increasing the risk of accidental nuclear war, for accelerating global warming, for turning trickle down into Niagara up, for his trade wars with every country, for making hate popular, for wasting money on wars and weapons, for cutting funds for education and science, for attacking Obamacare, for mistreating migrants, and for fostering fear and hatred of China in the public. Democrats should be out of breath blaming Trump before criticizing other Democrats. Listen Harris.
28
I am a monthly contributor to Bernie’s campaign.
I trust him to be a pragmatist who will fight for the average man and not be manipulated by the .01%.
Unfortunately, the DNC, Wall Street, the wealthy and especially the mainstream corporate media are all determined to destroy Sanders’ candidacy.
The neoliberal establishment would rather watch the country go down in flames under 4 more years of Trump than run the risk of actually addressing the concerns of the average American.
Neoliberalism has decimated America over the last 40 years. This is why we have a president Trump, but the sanctimonious elites won’t question their assumptions until the system collapses.
Unfortunately we are probably heading towards collapse, but at least Bernie tried to warn everyone.
36
I was going to vote for Bernie in the 2016 primary until he started to trash Hillary. The Bernie Bros felt aggrieved and did much to elect Trump in strategic states. I will never vote for Bernie because I think he helped Trump to win
37
What you are asking for from Bernie, Elizabeth Warren has already done. Her plans reveal that she is not the socialist of many conservative’s nightmares, but instead deeply dedicated to the principles of capitalism. Fox News Anchor Tucker Carlson has said he would consider voting for Warren in the next presidential election. After reading a selection from one of her plans on his show he remarked “Was there a single word that seemed wrong to you?”. “Probably not.” Here’s a quote from an extremely favorable article in William Kristol’s Bulwark Newsletter:
“Until 1996, she was a registered Republican “because I thought those were the people who best supported markets.” She decamped upon concluding that the interests who dictated the GOP’s economic nostrums were subverting how a truly free market should work. By her own account, she’s a “capitalist in her bones” who would liberate the marketplace from the suffocating dominance of quasi-monopolists; break the corrupt nexus between government and special interests; restore a vibrant middle-class; and broaden economic opportunity. In short, where Sanders seeks to steer capitalism toward socialism, Warren is bent on saving capitalism for all—and from itself.”
If this is not the Elizabeth Warren you knew, then you don’t know her very well.
25
Poor Ross. What will he do if he doesn't have a socialist to kick around?
His feeble attempts to "help" Bernie are transparently Trump-serving.
11
It's frustrating to me that Bernie is so willing to wear the hair shirt of "socialist" when he is clearly not a socialist. He's not a democratic socialist either and neither was FDR. "Social democrat" is really what Bernie is and he should clarify and come to grips with that definition.
And I am sick and tired of hearing about Scandinavia. In an opinion piece in this paper (I think) a Swede talks about precisely that. Sweden is a capitalist society, and if Bernie wants to emulate Sweden, then he is a capitalist too. Being in favor of national healthcare, free college, and a livable wage is not what makes you a socialist. If that were the case, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Canada, would all be socialist countries and very clearly they are not.
Why are we throwing around these labels that are inaccurate and work against us, giving Fox and Friends, I. e. Trump and his minions, this free ammunition?
And why can't Sanders not bring himself to take a break from his stump speech and look around and realize he is being greatly mischaracterized, in large part because he is attaching a label to himself that doesn't even fit?
Is he so much in love with the revolutionary image of himself that he'd rather maintain the inaccuracy? In that case he is just playing games and not really in it to win it.
15
Please share with us Mr. Sanders legislative accomplishments as a Senator in your next column, Mr. Douthat. I can't imagine the effort will take more than 10 or 20 words....He's not even a Democrat and has been viewed as an Odd Duck by both sides.
His love for all things Communist will be his undoing, if he is nominated. Enough said about Comrade Bernie.
PS Just finished "Chernobyl." There's a object lesson in socialist futility for one and all.
16
There is no compromise, nor middle-ground, between functioning democracy and cancerous EMPIRE.
4
Last I heard, Ross, you were stuck on 'Trump won fair and square' and 'No collusion! Complete exoneration.'
How about you stop instructing Bernie or Democrats on how to win and tighten the loose bolts on the GOP's own fundamental principles of democracy? They clearly are out of alignment with any principles an actual patriot would recognize.
19
I’m so sick of the specious argument that Sanders (or any politician) must possess detailed plans for executing their ideas.
I want a president with vision and Big Ideas, not a technocrat. When it comes time to deliver, that’s what smart staff is for.
17
Hum, what to think when Ross is giving Bernie pointers, the democratic socialists ?
I would like every economist and pundits to describe the socialism of corporations how us taxpayers bail them out when they fail, our elected politicians give them loopholes, favorable tax status and yearly subsidies to many multimillion and billion dollar corporation and tax lowering after lowering to the tune of trillions.
This needs to be said daily to the public every time Trump tweets about socialism. Why isn’t it?
14
I am a liberal Democrat and share many of the goals of Bernie and Ocasio-Cortez but am put off by many his supporters and the four progressive congresswomen who are feuding with Nancy Pelosi. I think they understand policy better than they understand the politics of getting an agenda implemented. Many of the voters needed to elect Democrats are fearful of the radical change that many of us think is necessary. For policy makers and readers of the NYT a major disruption of health care, for example, is manageable, but for those who struggling to get by a disruption in health care coverage is a huge potential risk. Furthermore, compromise with those who don't share you goals is absolutely necessary. If by insisting on ideological purity and an agenda that many Democrats don't share, they actually delay the change that many of us want. As much as I might like to see their agenda implemented, it will only happen by by being pragmatic.
8
Sanders is obviously pragmatic-- his plans make sense. Single payer, for example, is pragmatic in that the taxes which will support it will replace premiums, copays and deductibles. The replaced premiums will include employer premiums, which should increase wages. And everybody will be fully insured.
Compare this with Hillary's a bit for this group a bit for that one so-called pragmatism.
In the end, Bernie, Kamala and Liz will have to work out their differences and stand together. Whoever of these three is the nominee, will be influenced by Bernie if it is not he. NB: Together these three progressives are polling 40-45%--much more than Biden. And they are all winners against Trump, but Bernie the most so.
18
I worked very hard for Bernie in the last presidential primary. I have donated to his present campaign. However, I’m disappointed that his current stump speeches seem to consist of the same yelled phrases he used last time. Yes, they still remain true, but require more explanation of why they are true and how they came to be true. Additionally, he’s constantly being accused of having been a do nothing legislator during his years in the House and Senate, even though he’s been very influential. That needs to be consistently corrected. Finally, he needs to emphasize that his ideas are essentially patriotic, that the U.S. will be great again and can compete on the global stage only if it’s people are well educated and healthy and that his policies will promote that. He needs better speech writers to help him clarify his ideas this time around!
13
Mr. Douthat makes some excellent points. An additional question to ask ourselves is who would best take on Trump in a general season debate (assuming he agrees to debate at all)? Bernie is certainly a top choice with his - at times - thundering voice and relentless commitment.
But Bernie dos seem to always return to his same old talking points and tends to over generalize. If he manages to shake it up and assume a more pragmatic approach to his campaign he might well bring on a real revolution.
7
Trump cares about winning elections, not about being a successful President. I do not think that it has ever occurred to him what makes a successful President. I think he sees election to be the entirety of it. I think that is because never in his life has he ever worked through a difficult problem on his own. There have always been others to work through all the details and to serve up choices for him to make. In addition, he has never had to do anything because he was forced to do so. It makes him careless and complacent unless he’s enthusiastic. But he knows his audiences and how to wow them and win their loyalty.
3
Gillebrand, Warren, and O’Rourke are developing loyal political supporters by campaigning for Democratic candidates. That’s how Nixon was able to run in 1968, and why was elected. Biden has already developed a deep and broad support after all his years in Washington and running with Obama successfully, twice. Sanders is not doing this, and it shows a lack of political awareness. He’s not playing to win.
6
He’s playing to keep his base at all costs and help trump get re-elected.
Maybe he’ll win in 2024?
6
I still smile that in this country it is enough to propose to raise the minimal wage or extending Medicare to be considered "socialist".
But there also lies my main problem with Sanders. He calls those modest proposal a "Revolution" and frankly such calls would be understandable in an enthusiastic teenager ... but from a 77 years old man?
4
Yes, the Bernie rants. We've been listening to them for years here in Vermont, the state with almost no corporations. Wonder why he never joined the Democratic Party? He won't say. Still he ran in the Democratic primary, won, then declined to run as a Democrat. Wonder why? He won't say.
He's basically an ideologue without any sense of humor. In 2016 he was a novelty, in 2020 voters would get as tired of his rants as Vermonters are.
31
Given that Douthat basically supports the plutocracy/kleptocracy (especially as they try to overturn Roe v. Wade), one has to be suspicious about any advice he gives to a Democratic candidate. Could he be pushing for people he believes can be beaten? My hunch is yes. Remember, if you look at his columns over the years, clarity and transparency are never his strong suits.
8
I think Douthat is actually a social conservative and a liberal economically.
As are many, many Liberal Catholics.
I am one.
Not for restrictionist social policies but for a live and let live laissez-faire sort of social policy, in which people grouped by sexual preference do not feel a need to organize for political power not available to those of us whose biology aligns with our bodies.
Let’s legislate economic matters, create economic justice- and leave folks personal lives, personal.
9
True confession: Intolerance is present on both sides. For example, I can't even picture reading an article about Bernie Sanders written by an ideological conservative like Douthat. As Howard Roark said in The Fountainhead, at Kiki Holcombe's party: "I don't know, I've never been broad-minded."
5
He and Biden are both too old. I'm 87 and say that in good conscience. Their presences are tiring. They do not reassure. They do not touch the heart. That's what gets people to the polls. We've yet to see how the younger candidates do this. Harris is a bit too sharklike lately. At this point, Warren comes closest, listening more, holding ideas above personal attack.
11
No, I'm sorry, but we are in too much trouble to vote for someone who we accept because we assume that he doesn't really mean what he says. I don't like having tough looking men looking for work pounding on my windshield in parking lots. I've watched my public schools go downhill while my children attended, under a deluge of illegal alien students for whom we were not prepared, and did not have the resources. Don't believe me? Check the Hispanic graduation rate in Arizona and California; we did well by the surge from Mexico in the early 1920's; we are not doing well by the later 1990's migrants. A populist president just has to mean what they say, and open the border, and American middle class society is done for; literally all of Central America quite understandably wants to head north. Angela Merkel, anyone? One onslaught, and Germany is well on its way to losing its identity as a Western nation. I don't want to see us lose our identity as a diverse, middle class, solvent nation because we opened our borders, even just once, to numbers we simply can't absorb.
14
@Mary I haven't heard any candidate for President argue for "open borders."
6
But Reagan wasn't insane, he was only dim-witted. And genial. Bernie is insane and not genial.
end of that story...
12
Reagan overthrew democracies and decimated the middle class. He engaged in politics that destabalized entire continents. Bernie wants to give people healthcare. I assure you he is the more sane one
23
Reagan wasn’t insane, but he did have Alzheimers.
6
I like RD. He is a true conservative, a clear thinker, and a good communicator. But when will conservatives begin to own Trump? Where were their clear voices when the talk radio crowd were spewing propaganda against Obama? Where were they when downright racism was thrown at Obama? Did they think that the propaganda was okay, because it would get votes for the conservative agenda? It must be made clear that conservatives did not make the sale for conservative principles, but appealed to the base by red meat gone wild. Is that what leadership is now for conservatives? Raw power means right power? Unless and until we all own Trump and the monster rage he has unleashed, it is only going to get worse for all of us. We need leaders who can lead from principles, principles honed through great effort, not just ideological tropes. Trump's base is now for whatever big government program that will protect their interests. What a mess!
5
Ross, the right wing spokesman, would love for Bernie to make another run. If he wins the nomination, the right wing media that made him into the previous election's injured martyr, will trash him like no one can imagine. If he loses the nomination, he will once again become the injured martyr and his followers will pout and stay home on election day like they did last time. Either way, Trump wins.
5
Things to keep in mind are that liberal democracy respects diverse individual preferences, attitudes, and interests while it requires mutual trust to assure that majority vote decision making are fulfilled without creating rifts which make the whole system moribund. Compromise has always been required to sustain liberal democracies.
No matter how passionate and true to their ideas, young people are inexperienced and ignorant of what to expect from their acts. Older people know what to expect based upon seeing what has happened to their youthful ideals when they met practical reality.
Sanders is an old idealist who was not a very effective Senator over his career in achieving a lot of big changes as a legislator. He represented his constituents and he has very passionately felt ideals which attract a lot of people tired of the status quo. But he has not shown the ability to actually make changes. In addition, I do not think that he sees this as an indication that perhaps he’s not up to the job.
7
Every American has a voice. If you can't build a coalition of people with differing ideals, your party will lose. If you can't pick a coalition to side with then your vote won't count, two-party system or otherwise.
2
More like the Independent needs to make a case that he can be a Democrat...
For clarity - almost doesn't count...
1
Sanders needs to make a case that he's competent to accomplish anything other than to make noises. I've reviewed his Senate career and it appears that he has done nothing except sponsor a couple of bills naming Vermont post offices. Just another old fool running his mouth and trying to hijack the Democratic Party for personal use just as Trump hijacked the Republican Party for personal use.
8
Multi-millionaire telling everyone else to love bread lines-no one love a hypocrite.
4
Nearly all of the comments I have read so far are arguments for and against Sanders in the campaign for the nomination and the Presidency. So far none have addressed Mr. Douthat's contention that Sanders was much more of a team player in Vermont and in the Congress and that he has a history of working with those who do not agree with him to advance his goals and aims. Douthat doesn't mention his continuing work on veterans' affairs in the Senate, which is unfortunate.
6
I have the idea as others may have that the Sanders as a second choice pick to Biden is just a preference for a male, sad but true.
4
Why can't Democrats (Bernie being a prime offender, but I mean you, too, Gang of Four, and Nancy Pelosi as well) follow Reagan's 11th Commandment and never speak ill of a fellow party-member? You can criticize policy all you want, but never make it personal.
2
Bernie Sanders isn't "a fellow party member." He's not a Democrat; he's an outsider trying to hijack the Democratic Party just as Trump hijacked the Republican Party for personal use.
10
All the democrats running have to debunk Trumps anti-immigrant stance and expose it for what it is: the meanness to immigrants is a distraction from the real cause of the difficulties of low and middle-income workers, namely corporate power and high profits, the dominance of the financial sector and the absurdly wealthy plutocrats (it's unclear whether Trump is one of them).
Sanders and Warren are both right about this, but they need also to discredit the story that unifies Trump's base. As for Biden, however attractive he is to moderates, I am concerned that he may not be able to successfully counter Trump's lies and underhanded tactics (recall Trump lurking & circling behind Clinton in the debates -- Warren and Sanders would tell him to go sit in his place).
10
Good ideas, but...there is not going to a November “uprising”. Not here, not anywhere. Nobody needs this red flag waving call to arms.
4
Bernie needs to finalise his FEC filings from his 2016 campaign. Yeah, that stalwart champion of campaign finance accountability refused, and still refuses, to do so.
Then the mendacious hypocrite needs to disappear. And take his violent, abusive cult following with him.
8
Bernie Sanders is as much of a hypocrite as any Republican.
7
Senator Sanders is a great advocate for economically struggling Americans, and his determination to address the urgency of climate change and income inequality brought these issues front and center. We owe him thanks for his energy and focus on these major domestic issues and for his leadership regarding the war in Yemen- a catastrophe that has retreated from the front pages.He fell short in the 2016 Democratic primaries, and his individualism and independence demonstrate his inability to function as a team player - these are major drawbacks as he seeks the presidency, especially at his advanced age. The priority for all Democrats, Independents, and (if any remain) moderate Republicans is to remove Trump and cleanse the White House of his Augean Stable stench. Since Ms. Pelosi remains supine regarding impeachment and Mr. Mueller refuses to sully himself with politics, the country’s only hope is for any of the decent, humane Democrats running to win the presidency and for The Dems to win seats in the Senate and the House. It is doubtful that Senator Sanders can unify the country sufficiently and defeat Trump, unfortunately, since Trump will lie, attack, distort, bully, and cheat. It is still early, but the party must energize the youthful progressive energy while holding on to its faithful base. Can the nation bear four more years of criminal grift in the White House?
3
I'm a life-long Democrat and I don't want a revolution.
In the past two years we have experienced a revolution against the truth, against immigrants, against sound fiscal policy, against decades-old allies and long-standing treaties. We've revolted against civility in our discourse and against those of a different color. We've revolted against sound objectives and strategies while tweets and tactics of the moment gained favor. Enough!
I want a candidate who can think, speak clearly, plan, demonstrate a command of common sense, add and subtract and who will tell me the truth. I'm tired of the revolution and yearn for evolution. Rome wasn't built in day but we seem hell-bent on destroying Washington in fewer than four years.
6
Wasn't it evolution that have us Trump? Rome was not build in one day, but it was built through numerous battles, not because Romans waited for their opponents to come around.
1
If someone is Joe first and Bernie second, what do they see in common between them? Two white hetero men. You can bet that most of these voters are themselves white hetero men. We'll just have to move beyond them.
2
No, you don’t get the problem. Until you have lived many years, you will not understand what to expect from human society under like circumstances and when circumstances are truly unique enough to make that kind of odds making useless. Youth is blind to many things simply due to inexperience, so they see opportunities without any appreciation of undesirable consequences.
Pelosi is a rational player, she plays according to the odds. Sanders is an emotional player, he presses for what he sees to be the perfect resolutions to problems, not what he can achieve with all the constraints that reality presents.
3
I am not a Bernie fan. I thought his performance in the first debate was awful -- most of the time, when speaking or not speaking -- he looked like a grumpy old man. On the issue of Medicare for All, he was asked directly two times (by Lester Holt) how it would be funded. He refused both times to answer the actual question, even though the answer is posted on his website. That is utter cowardice.
11
I don't love Bernie. I feel he has not been honest or realistic about his ability to keep his campaign promises nor is he someone who has the capacity or demeanor to cooperate and negotiate in shepherding our country. His oblivious selfishness in the last campaign certainly contributed to the defeat of Hillary Clinton. My mental image of Bernie is of a wild haired grumpy zealot shouting out his proposals at the prow of a boat and unaware and uncaring that it is sinking slowly into the bay.
12
Hillary lost because she was flawed candidate, and felt entitled for the support from the left no matter how she bent to the right. Seems the wide tent of Dems is wide-open for the right- wing, but no so for the left. No surprise the left feel no loyalty to Dems. Why should they?
7
Like many I am torn between Bernie, for whom I have been a fan and follower since the 1960s, and Elizabeth.
She doesn't identify as a socialist but she has some excellent plans that would bring a true new deal for the common man to this country that is sliding into oligarchy and outright fascism (fascism is the take over of the government / state by Corporations and banks, with an authoritarian leader who rules a police state with a massive phony populist propaganda machine).
Also, Elizabeth is a woman and in this moment, we need a woman for many reasons, practical, political, social, and justice.
One thing I can tell you, is that many of us in my wing of the party will NOT vote for Biden or any other right wing democrat that the rotting old leadership of the party pushes out there.
We did not succumb to the 'we must vote for another corporate / wall street democrat because we can't have that horrible, horrible man in there!! Please! What will the children think! (remember Hillary's commercial, 'the children are watching?').
You push another Clinton / Biden / Obama conservative on us again, you will lose again.
The people want bold progressive ideas. If Stacy Abrams and Andy Gillum could come within a hair of winning the governerships of two red states last year, it tells you where you need to go.
To hell with Republican suburban women. They fall in line for their own in the end.
Mobilize the 50% of eligible voters who do not vote!
14
We can analyze and talk about Sanders cause why he is struggling, but it comes back always to one factor that he doesn’t look presidential enough to be a president. That s why Biden is leading and maybe will make it as a candidate for the presidency.
5
He'll never be President. And I suspect everyone that is not a true believer knows it.
He could, however, cause some real damage on the way to losing the nomination (as, IMO, he did last time.)
Look, a lot (though not all) of running for (arguably) the most powerful public office in the world reduces to money. And right now Trump is raising money at a phenomenal rate. Both candidates in the general election will need in excess of a billion dollars - and Trump is likely - at the current rate - to raise much more.
Gotta be realistic here folks. It is in the Democrats' best interest to coalesce around a candidate as soon as possible. If they need to spend resources and attention battling each other after Super Tuesday (early March) or - god forbid - have a contested convention (mid July), the ultimate candidate will enter the general election with a SIGNIFICANT disadvantage.
I think the vast majority of the general electorate doesn't want a "revolution". This is the largest economy, and military, on the planet. It is insane to think you can steer a supertanker as though its a speedboat.
I'm an independent (many Americans are BTW.) I want to see Trump go up against a strong, relatively undamaged Democrat. I want to see vigorous debates. I want to see two candidates that test each other.
Bernie can't win (America isn't going to elect someone that screams at them, and appears to be on the verge of a stroke), but he can cause a serious distraction. Worrisome.
14
In short order the strength of the Sanders campaign and grassroots core support will surface. Why? Other candidates will reveal who they are in their campaigns. He will grow in strength in the polls. Why? Voters want someone who can actually defeat Trump. The last time the pollsters said it was 85% Clinton 15% Trump. In our hearts we know Bernie has worked both sides of the aisle , has a plan and can get things done. He will win. WHY? America needs a President to take charge for the interests of the PEOPLE of America. We KNOW who Bernie Sanders is. He can beat Trump.
6
Wow. Spoken like a true believer...we know....and yet you still do not understand his negatives. The teason he lost the nomonation was not the DNC, it was more folks did not, and do not, want him.
6
@Marty Milner
Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but his support has already surfaced. It is what it is. And he hasn't changed at all.
He's still saying the same things he said in 2016, and is pretty much supported by the same folks that supported him ... except a couple of other candidates are starting to strip some of them away (e.g., there's people starting to believe that Warren has a better chance of actually implementing some of Bernie's ideas than Bernie himself does.)
He has his core base of support. There are a lot of indications, however, that he's having a good deal of trouble expanding his base.
There's going to be no huge surge of previously unknown Bernie supporters that suddenly appear.
Both Biden and Bernie are well known quantities. They aren't going to have a "Harris moment" where a relative unknown makes a big splash. In fact, they likely have nowhere to go but down. As they both did (pretty dramatically in the case of Bernie) after the first debate. Bernie was second, but is now tied for third, or even fourth in most polls.
2016 was Bernie's big shot. 2020 is not.
2
No. It's the so called 'pragmatists' who need to make a case that they can represent the interests of average Americans by 21st Century standards of democracy.
Sanders revolutionary? Hardly. He simply aims to restore the principles of FDRs New Deal---regulated capitalism, that once saved America's people and its capitalist system---but that's become so unfashionable now, that many liberals are too timid to support it.
More and more we've seen the govt representing the interests of the elite wealthy and corporate power---the result of letting them finance our elections.
So the mega donors who muffle the 'free speech' of the citizen majority, are setting the norms and standards for our lawmaking--- in health care, taxes, jobs, regulations, etc.
They, in effect redefine what's 'pragmatic' ---in terms that don't detract from their wealth and outsized sway over our politics. Thus pragmantic is what they and their politiciians who are dependent on them will ALLOW to be done.
Thus in past elections, it was labeled, even by Dems, not 'pragmatic', doable or feasible to restore the generations-long bank regulations that had protected us from huge crashes like in 08. Not practical to ensure affordble health care for all, not dominated by insurance/pharma profits---as has been centrist policy in dozens of democracies for generations.
Now 'American principles' are defined by a 21st C version of moneyed aristocracy, calling the shots for nation. Enter Trump. Excuses fly.
10
Bernie's general stands on income inequality, the environment ant most Democratic core issues issues are sound, but without solid policies to address them he comes across at least to me as just an old man on a soap box. Elizabeth Warren and a few others say much the same things and have solid plans to address them. Bernie comes across as fierce but lacking teeth and that is not a comment about his age, but his lack of solid plans.
4
I think that Sanders popularity in 2016 was really that the ideas he put forward were popular but not so much Sanders himself. Now that those ideas are shared by many candidates Sanders personal popularity is starting to show as lesser. For me Sanders is like a musician who plays a song really well but then just keeps playing the same song over and over.
6
What prevents me from considering supporting Sanders in the Democratic primaries is his 4-year plan to transition to Medicare for All.
Telling 70 million households they must give up their existing private coverage, almost immediately, for an as-yet unwritten public plan would be politically toxic and would insure Trump wins the general election. Even if he somehow won running on that platform and was working with a Democratic Senate and House, such a plan would not pass Congress. Even if it somehow did pass Congress, such a rush job would present the potential, I'd say even the likelihood, of the biggest administrative boondoggle we've ever seen.
If Sanders would present Medicare for All as a long-term objective and map out a realistic, gradual transition to such a system I would be fully supportive. I don't understand why an apparently savvy politician like Sanders would box himself into an untenable position on the #1 domestic policy issue.
8
Forced Medicare for All is the only way we lose the healthcare issue to Trump, who is actively working to take away healthcare from millions. It’s an insane approach for this moment. Most countries with universal healthcare have a private insurance option. I wish the media would explore this in depth rather than the usual horse race coverage and bloviating punditry.
4
Mr. Sanders does not have the courage of his convictions. If he did he would run as the Independent he claims to be. Instead, he runs as a Democrat of convenience draining votes and resources from other candidates who are Democrats. He was a factor in Hillary Clinton's defeat in 2016, and could be a factor in the upcoming election if he continues his campaign. Mr. Sanders is in the "catbird" seat. He was just re-elected to the Senate, so he has little to lose by running again for President.
Your concern for Sanders seems just a tad disingenuous Mr. Douthat. A Biden-Sanders ticket? A sure win for the Republicans.
I do not understand why Republicans have such a disdain for the Scandinavian model of government. It is a combination of capitalism and socialism. Everyone benefits. Oh, everyone benefits, not just the very wealthy. Never mind.
6
Sanders stated on MSNBC the other night that the country's #1 national security priority was climate change. He's 110% correct.
His vision of America with regulating the private sector where it counts the most (i.e.- fossil fuels) is dead on. Everyone should have healthcare, and everyone (who IMO deserves it) should get a good education- even to the point of going to one of the best universities in the country. The problem is the country he's talking about is basically center-right. It's tough getting where you want to be in life, with too many obstacles in the way. Private industry is so lazy that they'll hire an Indian or an Asian for a top job in technology or doing the "profitability" math. Trying to shake loose money from people who already have more than they need is mission impossible in the most capitalistic country in history. But getting back to my main point, none of this matters if we don't put enormous effort into lowering greenhouse gas emissions, even to the point of burying C0-2 in the ground- an all-out assault by anyone/everyone who values living on this planet. But my well-meaning suggestion is to put Bernie in charge of the EPA. IMO, the White House needs a married person, someone the POTUS can turn to for support on a whole different level when the work-day is over. Some kids would be nice, too (if possible). And a Senate that MUST do what a clear and sustainable majority of the public wants, regardless of local politics.
2
Bernie has already won. The conversation around capitalism, greed, money-in-politics, and need for systemic change has momentum that was unthinkable in the neoliberal Dem Party of Clinton, Gore, and yes, Hillary, Pelosi, and Joe Biden.
10
Sanders as Democrats' candidate is sure way to reelect the Trump. He and the extreme left socialists beat Hillary and elected Trump precisely as Ralph Nader and his crew beat Al Gore and elected George Bush. Bernie is as much a national disaster as was Nader.
12
There is a feeling, among many, especially many African Americans, that only a straight, white, Christian male can appeal to enough white racists to defeat Donald Trump. That fear, rather than ideological conservatism, may explain why Bernie is the second choice of many Biden voters -- they may love Bernie and his policies, but fear the racists will never vote for a Jew.
1
I see that the Bernie supporters are already applying their secret-sauce ideological purity tests to Elizabeth Warren and finding her lacking. Quelle surprise. She has accomplished much more in the Senate, and articulated far more detailed policy proposals, than Bernie ever has. No wonder Bernie is in trouble.
9
Bernie Sanders just has two tracks: giveaways (that require raising taxes on the middle class) and revolution against the "establishment" (elected officials with experience).
He pontificates on these two tracks with ranting and fist-shaking in order to provide the entertainment factor.
Those can be overlooked, but what turned me off long ago was his willingness to go after Democratic rivals in underhanded ways. He's still doing it -- now by saying that Joe Biden is no different from Republicans.
The far left may not realize that the Democratic party (which does not even include Bernie Sanders) is made up of more moderates than progressives, especially with progressives trying to be more-left-than-thou. If they insist, like they did in 2016, that it all has to be their way or the highway, they AGAIN will hand Trump the White House in 2020. That's exactly why he's egging on the four House freshman who are criticizing Nancy Pelosi.
9
If it weren't so snarky, I'd say that a Democratic presidential hopeful taking advice from a conservative about how to position himself is like the hens taking advice from the fox. But let's assume Mr. Douthat is offering this in good faith, which it sounds like he is. Still, advising Bernie Sanders to tone down the revolution talk and accentuate his ability play well with others seems about as productive as telling Donald Trump to be nice and more presidential. Bernie is Bernie. Yes, he voted against his principles on some big issues in the Senate (Obamacare), but he's not running for the Senate now -- he wants to lead the country, and he wants revolutionary change. That's his brand. If he had actually achieved more in the Senate, I'd find this more plausible, but that just isn't who he wants to be.
2
Middle Americans of all political stripes say they value "hard work." When I listen to Bernie Sanders, what I hear is that he wants everyone who works hard to get ahead, not just work even harder, longer hours and more years to stay in place and keep what they have. He wants every hard-working American to have dependable, affordable health insurance because he knows that under the present healthcare system, one major illness or injury in a family can undo years of hard work financially. and that without good health, people can't work for their living. He wants every high school graduate to get the higher education and skills they need to work in today's economy. He also wants everyone who works to earn enough for a basic, decent standard of living. How are these ideas "radical" or "impractical" when they are all based on the American work ethic? None of his proposals are "handouts" to coddle people who don't want to work. Listen again to Bernie Sanders. He's all about work.
13
Bernie has had 30 years in Congress to demonstrate that he could develop legislation and get it passed. Well, he couldn't. There are no great Bernie Sanders Violence Against Women Act or Bernie Sanders Consumer protection laws of the quality that Biden and Warren have passed.
Bernie was on the wrong side of gun control for too long, relying on the NRA to help him get elected in the first place. As Barney Frank warned us, Bernie can't negotiate because he refuses to acknowledge other people's opinions.
His supporters sometimes chant how he was the amendment king, but that was over ten years ago and only if you looked at one type of amendment (there are others and he isn't that king.) Bernie should drop his ego and endorse Warren, if he really wants his type of progressive to be at the top of the ticket.
15
Hey Joe the Clinton’s could triangulate Obama could negotiate. End of the day working people got screwed the result Trump
2
I love Bernie Sanders to death, always have, and supported him wholeheartedly in 2016. But this time is different. Elizabeth Warren shares his progressive populist mindset and is a much better messenger for it to today's electorate. If Sanders is truly as woke as he claims, he should recognize that it's time for a woman president and endorse her. Sanders is a great senator and at this stage of his life should stay focused on that role.
12
"Bernie has an underrated appeal to a certain kind of culturally conservative, economically liberal voter who wouldn’t normally be drawn to a candidate of the extreme left."
Bernie will do well in Red State primaries, and that will be a strong signal about his electability. For example, he won the Kansas caucuses in 2016 (though alas became the first winner there in recent history to fall short in becoming the party's nominee). In 2018, campaigning in Wichita and Topeka with A.O.C. for a Democratic congressional candidate (who alas ...), he filled convention centers and wowed 'em.
When the primaries begin in earnest, Bernie will regain ground. Until then, the measure of success will be how well he holds his base. (If you couldn't tell, I'm a fan.)
My great fear in all of this is that there will be no clear winner going into the convention, and that the superdelegates will opt for Biden -- in which case, goodbye to some, maybe much, of the Democratic base (though not me).
3
@dwalker
Caucuses and crowds are the choirs a candidate preaches to. They are already liberal and likely to be in support of the candidate. They not a true measure of the general electorate. in 2016, Bernie won the caucuses and had huge crowds, but Hillary won the states. That's why he lost. I seriously doubt someone as liberal as Bernie could take the red states, especially when the Republicans start repeating the "socialist" label over and over.
4
Ah, yes, a conservative writer is so concerned that a liberal candidate might not win that he is offering advice. He says the revolutionary (i.e. Sanders) needs to make a case that he can be a pragmatist. Really? To whom must he make the case? To the American People? No, you mean he must convince the plutocrats, like Joe Biden did, that "nothing will change" if he's elected.
6
Gosh, Biden supporters who would bypass Warren's concrete plans for Sanders, who is even further from Biden than Warren is? What *possible* reason could there be?
3
If Bernie wins the nomination, he’ll tack to the center and talk pragmatic. But he may not really have to. Democrats will have no choice but to vote for him, their hatred of Trump is so deep. I think Sanders realizes this. Dems have nowhere to go but back their candidate, whomever he or she may be.
1
Our politics is dominated by graph#2 in this Econ Poli Institute study (Bit.ly/EPI-study)
From 1945 to 72 the GNP doubled & the median (meaning everyone’s) wages in lock step w/ it.
Since 72 GNP has gone up 150% but the median wage has been flat. Since some workers pay went up (Tech/Health) & some in good unions have floated (7%) we can surmise that the vast majority of workers have faced 47+ years of declining expectations while all the increase in wealth from productivity has gone to <1%.
Pre 72 was Demand-side era
Post 72 was Supply-side era
1972 then was one helleva inflection point.
If hope is a good thing, then demand side is a good thing. If America was ever once great it was pre 1973 (when we last went to the moon btw)
This trend is unsustainable w/out complicity of elites in both parties.
In 2016 Bernie was the only candidate advocating demand side econ. Pole after pole identified the public favored Bernie’s policy proposal between 70-80%. So he decided to put this to the test in a campaign. Workers identified Hillary as complicit w/ Big$Money. Hilbots still blame Bernie for her losing but all she had to do to win was give him the VP so his voters had a reason to show up in Nov.
The only credible demand side candidates are Warren, Sanders & DeBlasio. The rest r BigMoney candidates trying to use minority identity politics to win nomination. The problem w/ that is it triggers a majority identity politics reaction, who r still waiting for a raise, towards Trump.
13
You defined the problem I have with some Bernie supporters when you said Hillary should’ve named him her running mate to give his supporters “a reason to show up”. Beating Trump wasn’t reason enough? Electing a highly-qualified woman wasn’t reason enough? Supreme Court choices in the hands of a Democratic President wasn’t reason enough? Please.
6
I'm going to stick to the guy who brought me and that's Bernie. He has been consistent throughout his time in office serving everyday people and not the wealthy campaign donors. In fact, it's his consistency that appeals most to me. Warren would be my second and Biden way down the list. Neither will get my primary donations, as I remain loyal to the person who is truly willing to take on the big guys in defense of the rest. In the end (general election), it's anyone but Trump.
9
You have to realize Reagan was an actor....Sanders isn't.That's the problem in a nutshell.
11
Bernie and Comey greatly assisted Putin in installing what we now have. He said he signed up to run as a Democrat for the "free publicity." Known for trashing both parties from his position of holier than thou. The "free lunch" promises were very costly for the country and world. Being on the stage with the Democratic candidate elevated his status. Pointed his finger and screeched the gospel of the late 1960s Berkeley Barb (a pre-baby boomer, however). How one loses says everything about one's character. Sour face, even pushing Jane away so he could be in the center of the necessary "homage" at the Convention. Returned to his party-of-one after not having been handed the nomination. I suggest rereading his interview with "The New York Daily News" to see what the country "missed" in a leader, although nothing could be worse than the damage Bernie inflicted on the real Democrat. A senator from New York would be as associated with Wall St. as he is the gun manufacturers in Vermont. Maybe what is worse is the man how no concept of nuances. A black and white thinker.
9
@CB
All Hillary had to do to win was make Bernie her VP and secure the progressive vote. Apparently she rather lose to Trump than give progressives a seat at the table, even when that seat is the VP - a minster w/out portfolio.
Even Reagan knew he had to enlist his primary adversary on to his ticket to make sure that that wing of the party had reason to show up on Election Day to vote.
This is poli sci 101 - expanding the vote.
If she selects Bernie she picks up the progressive vote & the 100k votes she needs in the rust belt. This in turn would have also given her more wiggle room to campaign farther to the right in those districts where it makes sense.
Hillary’s VP choice represent stunning example of political malpractice. The immediate consequence has been 2 seats on the Supreme Court.
Prior to the campaign pole after pole showed that 70-80% of the people favored policy positions that Sanders advocated. So he put that to the test.
Finally I draw your attention to graph #2 at Bit.ly/EPI-study
Before 1973 the median (meaning everybody’s) wage went up in lock step with GNP. After 1972 GNP has gone up 150% while median wage has remained flat.
To working class, pre 73 was when America was great.
The working class is the majority. Candidates that don’t address this will not win. Period.
Trump sends clear dog whistles to this group (tariff wars). That’s their only hope unless a Dem speaks clearly and forcefully on these issues.
7
For those if not Biden, Sanders and if not Sanders, Biden , whomever as long as it's a man, ideally white.
5
@joan
Benjamin Netanyahu?
Vladimir Putin?
1
Nice try, Ross.
It's not gonna be Bernie. It'll never be Bernie.
But we see you.
6
How can anyone not like "Uncle Bernie"?
Sarcasm, I trust. Because if not, here's the answer..its easy.
2
When gangster capitalism and it's most serious consequence, climate change, destroys our technological based civilization and dooms our children's children and future generations to unimaginable suffering, those generations will condemn us as guilty of crimes against humanity Unfortunately, we won't be around to feel share their suffering.
Capitalism once included a social contract, but unrestrained greed has shattered it. We are a doomed species, we are bringing about our own extinction. We have no shame, we have buried our conscience and future generations will pay the price for our sins.
5
To me, Bernie, was always the troll under the bridge. God, that crooked finger flying out and pointing - not exactly Kennedy like. Then there's his personality: he doesn't play well with other people. Throw in the fact that he was a sore loser and inspired his followers to sit on their hands for HClinton. I'll pass on him. He had his shot. He blew it. Goodbye, Bernie... Goodbye.
16
Well bless my soul - Ross Douthat wrote this wonderful, generous, essay at just the moment it was needed.
Even he must see that we citizens of the world's first representative democracy are hanging on by our finger nails as it and our leadership in world diplomacy quivers and shakes.
I don't remember any candidate running on America stepping away from the global leadership won for us and all the world by our Greatest Generation. But somehow the imposter in the White House wants to do just that.
We don't need to "reach across the aisle" to the radicals and extremists so enthralled with absolute power and who have taken over what used to be our Republican Party.
We need to take back our country, and time is of the essence. The autocrats and dictators so admired by Steve Bannon's puppet are on the move and even getting new members.
DNC, listen up! You're our only hope. Stop the carnival bus and focus on our future.
1
I love Bernie. That is, I feel ideologically closer to him than to any other candidate, and I honor his consistency, hard work and loud voice. In 2016 I gave him money and canvassed for him.
But his campaign has disappointed me this time around, and I’m leaning toward Warren. I like her concrete proposals. Where are Bernie’s? And why does his insufferable campaign staff keep harassing me for money and appealing to me as though I’m a cultist?
Bernie’s still presenting his core arguments, but we need more now. How exactly to shepherd the revolution? In particular, how to pass the Green New Deal and what will it entail? Time is very, very short.
138
@Portia If you don't want to be asked for donations, unsubscribe. There should be an unsubscribe option at the bottom of each email you receive. If you receive texts, simply respond with an "Unsubscribe."
Bernie's campaign is not the only one asking repeatedly for $. It's the name of the game.
42
@Jude It’s not the ask I’m objecting to. It’s the rhetoric. It tries to appeal to me as a member of a blindly loyal mass. This is a dumb tactic and other politicians asking me for money don’t do it.
27
@Portia
If they're not dunning you often (and you haven't unsubscribed as Jude says), they're not doing their job. Remember, Bernie doesn't have the big donors, so it's up to We The People.
As for "concrete proposals," I'm comfortable with Bernie's general direction(s) and understand that the specifics depend on a Democratic Senate and House. That said, there will be serious tax reform, and Bernie has discussed that.
22
I have been in the working class my entire life, although I have a college education. I am a committed liberal and I believe the struggling people of this country need solutions to healthcare, livable wages and opportunities. But I am paying close attention to world issues like climate change and especially, especially international relations. Without diplomacy and the ability to work out compromise and even unsteady solutions, the world is doomed to annihilation and all the fixes within this country will not matter. I truly believe Sanders does not have the ability to guide us through the next four years and we need someone who has the intelligence, diplomacy and demeanor to repair the damage and build the connections to more peaceful solutions.
120
@Lee Del
I agree with you. That's why I like Governor Inslee. His major issue is global warming. But of course, the media says very little about him, so people don't understand it. Isn't it interesting that the top people in the race are the same ones the media adores. Big bucks for media. The elite Democratic party selected Hillary.
The media selected trump.
The people no longer select, they follow the media and the Democrats.
15
@Lee Del, remember Presidents don't work in a vacuum. The ability to pick intelligent, honest people to be part of one's cabinet is key, as is a strong VP.
14
@Lee Del The issue isn't who can or can't. The issue is who will even try. Sanders and maybe Warren are the only ones why would even try. Biden, Harris? No, they're Wall Street liberals, just like the Clintons. Nothing would change under them.
17
I have always viewed Sanders as being a major part of the reason Hillary lost. He drew focus, duvided party loyalties, did not step down until it was far too late. I was aghast at his return for another run. Ideologically, yeah, okay, I hear you, I get you ... strategically, it matters now more than ever that Sanders gets out of the way. The fact it took him so long to realize that the first time means his doomed candidacy now is just a waiting game. Please, someone point this man toward the nearest exit.
227
@Brian
you could equally say that had he been the Democratic nominee, he would be the president.
I think all Democrats have to get behind him, and start clarifying to people that what Sanders want is NOT socialism. There is a huge difference between socialism and social democracy.
For goodness sake, how can it be that the wealthiest, mightiest country in the world can not afford national health scheme, and good cheap or free education?
84
@Joe43
Kind of funny how you are saying that if he's nominated then the Democrats need to get behind him. Did Bernie "get behind" Clinton? Or did he:
o Publically root for her to be indicted by the FBI (as an explanation as to why he was still campaigning against her into July).
o Do nothing to stop his supporters from booing every speaker at the Democratic convention, and demanding a public reading of the roll call vote.
o Take the month of August off to write a book about how to oppose the Clinton presidency.
o Publically say in a radio interview that it wasn't HIS job to tell HIS supporters to vote for Clinton.
o Wait until late September to even begin campaigning for Clinton (after shaking down the DNC for a private jet to ferry him around).
Do not dictate what Democrats should or should not do for Sanders, since we remember clearly what Sanders did and did not do for Clinton.
63
@Joe43
he lost the primary by a huge margin because nearly 4 million more people came out and voted for Hillary. as much as you FEEL like Bernie would’ve won it all (if he hadn’t y’know, lost so bad), it’s a silly claim to make based on nothing more than your own personal bias.
40
Sanders' revolutionary rhetoric in '16 was to me proof that he was more gadfly than earnest candidate. That a host of other Democratic candidates have adopted the same language and positions will provide the means for the Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
4
Bernies actions over his lifetime show that he stands with the voters, not with wealthiest in this country that have bought our government. It is good to see that Bernies ideas from 2016 have turned to be used by many candidates in this election cycle, it is Bernie that has shown the action behind his words.
Elizabeth Warren seems to have caught some steam lately. But where were all her plans when she was a senator? Even when she was part of the Consumer Protection Bureau , no bankers went to jail - they just paid the cost of doing business - a parking fine to them. Warren is not even for true Medicare for All. She even has the blessing of Fortune Magazine - so they know she will keep them happy.
The rest of the top contenders in the race would just continue with incremental change bowing to Wall Street, when radical change is needed to address climate change and the takeover of our country by the richest.
155
@steve
Senator Sanders has not exactly put any Bankers in prison, made millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share of taxes, or given us Medicare for all in the 30 years he's been trying. In fact, it can be argued that Senator Warren has accomplished more in her short time in the Senate.
I commend Bernie and his supporters for using their platform in 2016 to make those issues essential to Democrats running today.
They demonstrated that such issue resonate with voters. But there should not be any resentment that the banner has been picked up by others, especially Warren who is the most ardent and committed to be matters of economic equality and making the rich less powerful.
At this point in time, I believe Warren is better able to rally support for these issues. As an example: her clear response to why the Hyde Amendment punishes the poor which left Biden scrambling and changing his position.
The debates will let us know who is best able to take the message to the general election. Isn't that what we all want?
27
@steve: If you wanted the banksters in prison, the fault for nickle and dimeing them instead rests with the AG and his pal, the POTUS who also loved the money and favours of plutocrats. Harris and Booker also fit the bill.
14
@steve If you're going to cite specifics you should try to get them right. Elizabeth Warren was instrumental in getting the Consumer Protection Bureau established. She would probably have done a great job leading it but Republicans in the Senate blocked her nomination so she never did lead it. And, in fact, it's not the job of that agency to put such people in jail but rather to enact regulations to restrain their predatory proclivities.
As for her time as a senator, the Republicans had a majority in the House so there was basically no chance of getting any good legislation passed.
I wasn't aware that she isn't "for true Medicare for All". What does that mean anyway? You might want to give more specifics on that.
Are you claiming that Fortune Magazine has endorsed her? I would have thought I'd have heard about that.
I get that you really believe in Bernie but you appear to be getting into hero-worship territory. Never a good idea. And mounting false attacks on other Democrats is simply unacceptable. Tell us why Bernie's version of Medicare for All is better than hers and knock off the ad hominem stuff.
35
For me as a former Bernie supporter I now stand behind Elizabeth Warren. The difference is Warren has a plan, Sanders a concept.
10
In 2016, I was all-in for Bernie. I pounded the pavement for him. Then, he lost the nomination, and me, in one fell swoop. He became the angry grandpa railing at everyone else to get off his lawn. He began writing Trump's attack ads against Clinton for him. Went so far as to call her "unfit to be president."
Imo, we can blame Bernie at ;east as much as Gucifer2.0 for having to say, "President Trump" today.
Certainly, on the off chance he wins the nomination, I will vote for him because to do otherwise would be tantamount to suicide. But after his tantrum of 2016, that is the only way he will receive my vote.
231
@two crows Provide a source for “unfit to be president.”
11
@two crows
Did you disavow Pres. O. when he ran the attack ad aired during the 2008 Democratic Primaries stated that Hillary Clinton will "say anything and do nothing"?!
Sanders comment came after Clinton got shutout in Wisconsin. Her surrogates and media then went into overdrive in attempting to discrediting Sanders in the media.
During an April 6 rally at Temple University in Philadelphia, Sanders contended that in the wake of Clinton's loss in Wisconsin, she is getting a little nervous. "And she has been saying lately that she thinks that I am, 'not qualified to be president,’ " he told the crowd.
"I don't believe that she is qualified if she is, through her super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in special interest funds. I don't think that you are qualified if you get $15 million from Wall Street through your Super PAC. I don't think you are qualified if you have voted for the disastrous war in Iraq. I don't think you are qualified if you've supported virtually every disastrous trade agreement, which has cost us millions of decent-paying jobs."
Somehow you think this is "writing Trump attack ads"?
As if Trump's campaign of flying monkeys couldn't and didn't come up with the same facts?
C'mon man.
I've got to seriously question your "pounding the pavement" and being "all in" if that simple campaign rhetoric suddenly became too much and somehow you think it's on the scale of the Russian kerfuffle.
Really?
Again... come on man! Get serious.
Thicker skin too.
45
@two crows Thank you. He is the individual I hold responsible more than any other for clearing the way to a Trump presidency.
29
I'm about as far left as you can get on social issues, but when it comes to fiscal matters, I'm in the middle. Which means I can agree with Bernie on healthcare, education, and other social issues. But Bernie has yet been able to specify/quantify those issues in financial terms, i.e. tax reform or other means.
Elizabeth Warren does so every day, and she will get my vote for that. Joe Biden is running to date on his record, and it's a good one, but he too will sink if he can't take positions, be clear, and state how they will be enacted.
All that said, Bernie Sanders should be congratulated for bring the Democrats further left, it's where they need to be, it's their place in this country. Left of middle.
300
@cherrylog754, you have concisely identified the positions of these three candidates. The problem is that other than Trump and the erstwhile GOP politicians and now Trumplicans, anything left of the Tea Party is socialist.
I wonder what will happen if a true socialist got more than 10% of a national election vote. There will be fear and loathing all around, even with the current Democratic Establishment who are as far to the right without actually registering for the Republican Party.
17
@cherrylog754
Warren quantifies her plans, but they are still unworkable. She's paying for all of them with the same $. Perhaps she assumes that only one of her schemes would get passed (or none of them).
8
@cherrylog754: With all due respect, many folks keep asking the same questions over and over, for some reason the candidates don’t want to answer them; the biggest of course is how do we pay for single payer healthcare and the answer isn’t rocket science: #1 1/3 or more will be saved by eliminating the paper pushers and their overpaid bosses at insurance companies and yes taxes may increase somewhat, but so what would you rather give money to the government who is giving you something in return or pay exorbitant premiums to insurance companies who spend every waking moment figuring out ways to increase those premiums and decrease your coverage. Yes you may pay a bit more in taxes for better education, but would you rather give it to the private prison system? You get the kind of country and Democracy you’re willing to pay for. It does no good to play the faux liberal wanting open borders, healthcare for immigrants etc. etc. when you’re not even willing to pay more in taxes for things that are desperately needed to bring America into the twenty first century and compete with other first world nations.
14
I was out canvassing for Bernie today here in the midwest. I think Ross's advice is good. Bernie and those of us who support him need to remember where the election was decided last time (WI, MI, OH, PA) and bring those people into the fold -- and there are many of them. They are those who are struggling economically and who are usually ignored if not derided by the punditry and many on the coasts. Bernie's strength has been in realizing that we need a revolution in PARTICIPATION in the political process, and in communicating civaly with one another to come together to assert the dignity, values and rights of everyone who does not want to live under an oligarchy. I like many of Elizabeth Warren's ideas and her fighting spirit, but Bernie has been the most trustworthy and he was fighting for all of us in 2016 when no one else did. I think those qualities will resonate with many who did not vote or did not vote for HRC in the last election because they intuited the truth: Hillary Clinton did not care for them or their concerns any more than Donald Trump did. Bernie did very well with those in the midwest to whom he was able to get his message. I want to help him with that work this time, so I will be out there, knocking on doors, giving it the best try I can.
189
@Parapraxis Thank you for what you're doing! You make a compelling and thoughtful case for Sen Sanders.
23
@Parapraxis Bernie Sanders Claus, is the greatest gift giver the world has ever seen but he not presidential and the GOP will destroy him easier than they did Hillary - he'd do great in Norway or Denmark but doesn't have a clue about the GOP killing machine. So vote for Trump and at least know your vote wasn't wasted on Sanders. Warren is the answer because she knows how to get things done in DC that need doing. Bernie's track record in Washington is a disaster. Don't feel bad about Bernie because the GOP will do the same to Mayor Pete who is out of his league but I wish him luck in 20 years when he might make a great president.
18
@Parapraxis I have to respectfully disagree, and although I don’t expect to change your mind about HRC and wish you well in your campaigning, I hope you will enthusiastically support whichever Democratic candidate is nominated. I am not a Bernie supporter, but I will be all in for him if he wins the nomination.
9
I really wanted to see the Sanders vs. trump matchup in 2016, I suspect Sanders could have won then. Sadly, middling voters who thought trump was safe to vote for then (not me) got burned, as did all of us. Now I think its too late for Bernie, we need a younger candidate to lead the Democratic Party and the nation, just not sure who that is yet. Full disclosure: I'm old.
5
Interesting article and comes out 2 days after the NYT readers slammed them for always being anti-Bernie. I guess we do make a difference with our comments! Go Bernie 2020!
1
Looks like typical MSM bias against Senator Sanders, who, BTW, is running as a Democrat (not "socialist" of a Scandinavian or any other ilk) but has long been registered as an Independent. As for his alleged attack on Warren your piece falsely describes, you are just nutz. The American People known darn well that you and the rest of the Corporate Establishment Media earn your keep by protecting the Wall Street and Big Bank status quo, which is threatened by Senators Sanders and Warren. Your false narrative is transparent to those of us who use our eyes to see the truth. Go Bernie and Elizabeth!
1
Sanders and Warren and Harris will all take the Dem party down the drain in a replay of Nixon v. McGovern.
Trump wins
3
I have been an admirer of Bernie Sanders. I was quite disappointed when Hillary Clinton didn't pick him as her running mate; he probably would have accepted. Her campaign was intoxicated with irrational exuberance, and didn't think strategically.
But now he's not eliciting much enthusiasm. He will be 79 next year. Elizabeth Warren kind of stole most of his voters. He has very little chance to be elected. Trump's reelection will almost be certain if Bernie Sanders is the nominee.
For the sake of the country, and his legacy, he should drop out, preferably before the next debate, or at least before Iowas Caucus.
12
@A.G.
Apparently Clinton &/or her retainees (Big$Money doners) would rather Trump win than give progressives a seat @ the table. Even if that seat meant a nothing burger like the VP (minister w/out portfolio).
Not picking Bernie as her running mate sealed her fate. It’s hard to believe her campaign could be so stupid. Even Reagan knew enough to select his primary opposition as his running mate to make sure his backers had a reason to show up & vote on Election Day.
This is poli sci 101 - expanding the base.
If she had selected Sanders’ she easily picks up another 100k voters she needed in the rust belt. Sanders expands her base to include progressives on the left, giving her even more wiggle room to campaign on the right in certain quarters where it made sense.
Hillary-bots still blame Sanders, but Sanders was the only carrot that could attract white working class voters who had not seen a raise in over 47+ years from hearing Trumps siren call of protectionism.
That’s 2 Supreme Court picks she threw away right there. Hilbots are claiming moral superiority but my guess is history won’t be kind to them or her.
Those white working class voters are still being wooed by Trump with tariff threats and empty promises. I would argue they are still up for grabs. And I believe they will still vote for Bernie. Unfortunately the progressive vote is now divided between him & Liz. Liz deferred to Hill last time out, I’d argu wrong candidate to defer to.
3
@Tim Kane
I don't think they were aversive to progressives.
They thought progressives were not electable.
The Clintons were progressives themselves, I believe. They chose the middle path as a strategy.
Bill Clinton was a campaign staff for George McGovern in 1972.
They though they just didn't NEED Bernie, a fatal calculation!
4
As the primary goes on and becomes less of a honeymoon for Warren, Biden, Harris and Buttigieg, I believe Bernie will solidify more support. None of those other cats have been really taken to task yet by the press while Sanders was getting a daily bludgeoning from WaPo and Co. Not to mention the dishonest framing of questions from that ridiculous CNN town hall or the weirdly worded questions from the MSNBC debate. None of the other leading candidates have been tested like that. For crying out loud the MSM tried to shove Beto down our throats. How dumb does that look now? They tried to make Bernie’s millions seem incongruent and hypocritical with his desire to make wealthier individuals pay more into the system (a completely disingenuous thoughtless argument).
He’s got a foreign policy platform that’s so far been largely overlooked. One that actually does what Buttigieg espouses in one of his unfortunately empty non committal platitudes. It actually attempts to apply our values abroad by not buddying up with any totalitarian regimes. Pretty sure Warren doesn’t have a plan for that, unfortunately.
I guess we will see. I want to like all of them but he’s just genuine. In then Aristotle sense (what kind of person am I if I do this) he’s the best by a lot.
3
Unfortunately, we are living the Reagan legacy, right now. I hope we can survive it, but never forget the lessons that should have been learned about extreme right, cultish Christian-oriented politics.
5
He comes across as the cranky monomaniacal (socialism will cure all ills, or a flat tax will cure all ills---the Republican version) uncle or great-uncle you have to put up with every Thanksgiving (and are glad it isn't more often).
6
The reality is that with the economy humming along, and in spite of an appalling DJT, it is simply unsafe to vote for any Democrat at this time.
3
This Trump supporter thought he was electrifying in 2016. When I saw him at the last debate, I shuddered as he started doing that condescending thing with his hands that old people do which so enrages young people.
2
Nice analysis of Bernie's situation.
Bernie is fine by me and I will work hard for him if nominated, but I fear the socialist label may make him un-electable in the end. Yes, Republican liars will shout this no matter who the candidate is, but Warren can and has been strongly confronting it, while Bernie has actually been a socialist for a half-century. The charge will be laughable against Biden and the rest of the field. If the economy was weak this would actually help Sanders, but at this point we must assume this election will take place with strong economic indicators. Only if the economy collapses between now and January would Bernie be the best choice.
Senator Prosecutor Harris is already running as the pro-War with Russia candidate. The Democrats do not understand that the voters will prefer even President Honest Don to World War Three . . . Meanwhile, Senator Warren has declared that her temporary disavowal of big money and corporate contributors is just that--temporary, and will end as soon as she secures the Democratic nomination for President. You can expect her positions to change to the right at that point. Either of these corporate candidates will be Hillary 2.0 & will be crushed by Trump. . . . If so called progressive Democrats prefer either one of these opportunist politicians, who have only temporarily adopted Senator Sander's program, to the man himself, with his life long record of commitment to racial equality and social justice, they will betray their principles only to be defeated. In the long run, only Socialism can defeat Trumpian Fascism.
Very interesting that there are many voters for whom Bernie and Biden are first or second choices (more so than Bernie vs Warren). The description of that demographic -- socially a bit conservative, turned off by identity politics, economically quite liberal -- is right on. A fair number of voters who went for Bernie in the primary voted for Trump in the general. Part of that was dislike for Hillary, of course, but the economic policy similarities esp w/respect to trade had to appeal to many working class Dems. A cautionary note to the eventual nominee: demonize Trump, and especially Trump voters, at your peril. They are not monolithic. Call them deplorables again, and you risk having them reelect the devil.
4
@PL Good points. On that note, a lot of Dems make a point of demonizing Bernie supporters as well. That, combined with labeling Trump supporters as deplorables
will lead to a repeat of 2016.
Electoral college dictates that the swing states will determine the President. The only 2 candidates that will do well in those swing states are Bernie and Biden.
Yet another hit piece on Bernie in NYT. Not surprising since Bernie is seen as an existential threat by multiple very powerful lobbies. Whether Bernie wins or not, what he has started will only get stronger with time. We already saw that in 2016. He single-handedly changed the narrative on healthcare and other important issues.
The next time I see a Bernie hit piece on NYT, I am cancelling my subscription and increase my regular donation amount to him.
3
Of course Douthat favors Bernie. He’s the only one one of the front-running Democrats routinely beaten by Trump in hypothetical match-ups.
3
While all of this makes quite good sense to me, Mr. Douthat, aren't you somehow glossing over the orange elephant in the room, the ultimate opponent, and which of the 20+ candidates still in the running can unquestionably and legitimately defeat him?
Everything else is just noise.
1
I must admit that I'm a bit surprised about Biden's popularity. It tells me that America is not yet ready for a dramatic shift to the left. "Watch what they do, not what they say!"
Four more years of Trump would do the trick. That is, if we still exist as a democracy!
1
"...Sanders ….mission should be to peel off Biden voters by reassuring them on the third count — telling them that he’s more than just a radical, that he isn’t allergic to compromise, that he can actually make deals and work the inside game."
YUP! He can start by saying he is open to consider compromising over Medicare for all and existing health care coverage and free college for all as opposed free for those who qualify by meet certain qualifications for entry, such as perhaps finishing high school.
It really is a nice day today. I am encouraged to see so many commenters supporting Sanders.
3
The Democratic debates should probably include only the lesser known long shots, as the currently well-known "leaders" are not gonna go the distance.
I'm reading newspapers this Sunday morning and struck by the conservative columnists of both The New York Times and The Washington Post (George F. Will's "Why the Democrats should pick Bennet") promoting 2020 Democratic candidates. I'm always wary of the opinions and advice of columnists, whatever their party affiliation. Hopefully the most electable candidate will emerge once people start voting in the primaries.
1
When it comes to tax plans for ending Wealth Inequality we are told voters are scared. Medicare for All. Once again we are told voters are terrified. Massive Military spending, Banning Abortion, locking up Asylum seekers, Tax Cuts for Billionaires, Polluting the environment, Climate Change which could kill millions of people. Nothing very scary there. Business as usual.
1
Bernie the socialist, who loved Cuba, the old Soviet Union and the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, we knew about. Bernie the millionaire, who knew?
Actually, why is anyone surprised that Bernie is now part of the 1%? He owns three homes, including one on the "Vermont Riviera," the shore of Lake Champlain, that cost a bundle.
Clearly Bernie has become accustomed to the upscale lifestyle he has long made a career of eschewing and excoriating. Now that he is in a higher tax bracket he is surely getting schooled on tax avoidance and sheltering income, lessons that plutocrats learn at their fathers' knees. And I wonder how much of his income he is willing to redistribute. And his wife does their taxes? Right.
I guess Bernie will have to stop ranting and raving against millionaires and spend more time explaining to voters 1) why he is not a hypocrite and 2) how socialism will benefit them while he is taking advantage of good old capitalism. As Margaret Thatcher so aptly put it, "The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money."
As for policies, Sanders' espousal of free everything for everyone, not to mention allowing felons to vote from prison, can only guarantee Trump's re-election if Bernie is the Democratic candidate in 2020.
4
Bernie is many things (most of them good) but someone who's interested in conciliation and compromise? In a word- no. He can't even stop identifying as a Socialist (okay, a "Democratic Socialist") despite the fact that he isn't one and despite the fact that more Americans would prefer a fascist in the White House than someone who'd read "Das Kapital" as anything but a classroom assignment. He's both a radical and a maverick. We need people like him in government but not necessarily in the Oval Office.
5
Sanders will have a very hard time with Democrats who recall his tepid support in the 2016 election that gave us the current administration.
4
and he IS a pragmatist...exhibit 1 is he has run as a democrat for prez in '16 and '20. He cd have run as a outsider 3rd party ala Green or Nader. And by so running, he was vetted by the establishment to make sure he'd tow the line. Exhibit 2 is his long record in congress to get things done . he cd easily have been a far outlier with idealist beliefs of the form ' my way only or the hiway', but he didnt. recent example: it is no secreT he is for m4a since forever, and disagreed w/ obama's aca, but he worked with it and tried to get the most out of it for the public interest by including provisions for community health centers.
Bernie Sanders can save himself by ending his campaign. He's yesterday's news. He's too old, his ideas are stale and unworkable. Time to give it up and let the younger generation have a chance. Time for new blood.
3
Sanders will be next president due to his qualifications and integrity to justice.
1
because we have always gone for these qualities in the past?????
"Reagan’s path to power in 1979 and 1980 didn’t just involve selling voters on Goldwaterite conservatism; it also involved selling Reagan as a pragmatist as well as an ideologue, a plausible president and not just the leader of a movement." This flys in the face of Reagan's pandering to the worst instincts of white southerners with his Philadelphia, Mississippi speech in August of 1980. What Reagan implicitly said with this speech was not "I'm a pragmatist," it was "I sympathize with you folks who defied the federal government when it came time for racial integration." Philadelphia was notorious because it was where Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner had been killed.
Democrats are going to regret for a very long time that they didn’t nominate Bernie to run against Trump because he would have won. Voters knew that capitalism wasn’t working for them anymore and Bernie was the guy to fix that. White nationalism would have been nipped in the bud but now it is here to stay. Trump will win in 2020 and another white nationalist will take over in 2024.
Although many admire Bernie for his spunk and youthful ideals, octo seniors like me suffer aches and pains every day. The future needs a younger candidate in the oval office.
3
You mean Bernie and AOC need to sit down and figure out that it is going to take more than rigid liberal left ideology to win?
2
Excessive passion in a new leader is expected. AOC is a powerful and welcome new voice. She will need to find the right balance over time. Sanders is almost 80, and had shown that he simply can't learn to listen or compromise, probably explaining why he had accomplished so little in his many years in the Senate.
1
Sanders, Biden and Trump are old men. Warren and Sanders promise everything-universal health care, free tuition to public institutions and paying off all student debt. Who pays for it-Wall Street. Norway, Sweden and Canada have high taxes to pay for these programs. Are Americans willing to pay much higher taxes to support these programs?
Americans can't define socialism but they have been"brainwashed" that it is dangerous.
Higher taxes and socialism play into Trump's campaign.
4
What Sanders needs is Tulsi Gabbard's understanding of why we're in the trouble we're in; why those domestic issues he proposes cannot be afforded; why it's all pie in the sky until we stop the endless regime change wars.
America's confrontational policies have ruined us economically, politically, and our entire reputation in the world.
1
We tried two New Yorkers as the major party nominees in 2016; that didn't work out so well.
2
Bernie is doing fine for himself with being a millionaire and a home for every season. No democrat in their right mind will take Berinie seriously for the primary. 2020 is not the same as 2016. Save Bernie for what?
3
Bernie the socialist and the lover of Cuba, the old Soviet Union and the Nicaraguan Sandinistas we have long known about. Bernie the millionaire, who knew?
Actually, why is anyone surprised that Bernie is part of the 1%? He owns three homes, including one on the "Vermont Riviera," the shore of Lake Champlain, that cost a bundle.
Clearly he has become accustomed to the upscale lifestyle he has long eschewed and excoriated. Now that he is in a higher tax bracket he is surely getting schooled on tax avoidance and sheltering income, lessons that plutocrats learn at their fathers' knees. And I wonder how much of his income he is willing to redistribute. And his wife does their taxes? Right.
I guess Bernie will have to stop ranting and raving against millionaires and spend more time explaining to voters 1) why he is not a hypocrite and 2) how socialism will benefit them while he is taking advantage of good old capitalism. As Margaret Thatcher so aptly put it, "The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money."
As for policies, Sanders' espousal of free everything for everyone, not to mention allowing felons to vote from prison, can only guarantee Trump's re-election.
1
Bernie is an ok guy but his base are far-left extremists. Liberal Democrats, as opposed as to so-called "progressives," fear Bernie for the same reason they fear another four years of Trump; radical extremists destroying society and committing acts of violence , especially when they don't get their way.
5
As a Senator he was in hibernation for years, he is too old and he does not have a coherent plan. He needs to go and pick thimble berries.
2
Bernie campaign folks, if you're listening... big Bernie supporter here, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but Ross Douthat makes some very good points.
3
Choosing between Biden and Bernie. Ross, they are both MEN.
Many males, even some Democrats, would never, ever Vote for a Woman. It’s that simple, and obvious. A mind is a terrible thing to remain closed off and doctrinaire.
Just saying.
4
"...someone who seems to be on their side against the plutocrats" Doesn't sound like Biden's appeal to me, since Biden is the most plutocratic of the Democratic candidates.
" who seems to prefer economic fights to cultural ones," Sounds like Elizabeth Warren.
The claims that Bernie is an impractical dreamer are coming from people who have never examined his record. His work hammering out deals has won him praise and respect from the likes of John McCain, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul.
Sanders mentions this record when the question of bipartisanship comes up. Those who want to see Sanders lose the presidential primary make sure to pretend to ignore it.
I am tired of "pragmatic" politicians. Pragmatic in this sense means opportunistic. FDR was a pragmatic politician, and had no systematic view of world politics. He thought he could make deals with Uncle Joe, just like Trump thinks he can make deals with Kim Jim-Un, Putin, and Xi.
Bernie Sanders has a systematic view of the world. He is the only politician in a long time, whom you can believe will keep his word. He is the only politician who is distrustful of the authoritarian and dishonest government of Israel.
He would make such a refreshing president, which is probably why he won't be elected. In the 1880s, Lord Bryce, a percipient British observer, wrote an article: Why great men will not be elected president. If he were alive today, I am sure he would have Bernie in mind.
40
@Diogenes So rather than making deals with Stalin what should FDR have done? Start WWIII?
But why am I wasting my time on someone who doesn't haver a clue about the greatest 20th century president?
7
@Jack Toner
Absolutely! Diogenes didn't even mention Teddy Roosevelt.
3
@Diogenes
Right, all FDR did was save the free world. By the way, you should ask Bernie about his opinion of FDR. Hint: it's not yours.
6
Sanders has a number of negatives, including, for starters, the continuing resentment of Clinton supporters who believe his attacks on her "Wall Street speeches" and only grudging support were large factors in her loss.
He's also too old, despite the fact his democratic-socialist ideas are have gone mainstream in today's Democratic party.
Democrats should remember, Trump is desperate to avoid prosecution with a second term; he will do and say anything to win.
It's going to be extremely ugly. Trump has already lined up conspiracy theorists to aid in messaging. He will hurl the word "socialist" as if a filthy word, and continue to lie about Democratic support for open borders, and infanticide (his most sordid lie yet).
He has loudest voice in the country. Sanders makes too good a foil and would melt like a snowflake in July. That leaves Harris, Biden, and Warren. If the AOC-Pelosi battle continues, Dems are going to lose this race, and lose big, unless they can put aside their squabbling and unite against one candidate, early.
The only way to beat the GOP is to toughen up and fight like them, but Sanders isn't the guy.
56
@ACM Nothing Sanders said about Clinton was untrue. Clinton supporters cannot seem to admit that she ran an awful campaign, and that she paid no real attention to the electoral college map. Nor can they admit that she was disdainful of blue=collar America, preferring to try and convince Republican women to vote for her because Trump is such a misogynist. Clinton supporters thought she could overcome her high negatives, but she did not, losing to someone who was essentially a joke whom just about any other sound candidate should have been able to beat going away. Sanders did not cost her the election. She lost it on her own dubious merits.
4
While I do think Bernie Sanders helped to change some of what we are talking about in a positive direction. I quickly lost the "bern" after watching some of his mad professor rants. To me, while nowhere near the same as Trump, Bernie has some of his own ego issues to deal with. HRC's lion-share of the blame for Trump wining aside, Bernie's choices to fan the flames didn't help.
I believe it's time for him to pivot, recognize that his legacy doesn't need the White House to be actualized, and figure out how to help a fresh face WIN in 2020 and end the scourge of Trump.
59
@Aleutian Low
"mad professor rants" -- Kind of sad that you and many others can't appreciate that Sanders speaks in complete sentences and coherent paragraphs, and that, given the subject matter, he doesn't find much to smile about.
Then there's the matter of his just plain being right.
5
@dwalker
I think you misunderstood what I meant by "mad professor" which is easy to do in the limited context of a NYT comment. What I'm referring to is his ability to regulate himself or "stay calm" when presenting ideas he is passionate about. I interpreted some of what I refered to as "rants" as slightly unhinged, which I found troubling and would by anyone is any professional context. As a person who has spent decades in the human behavior realm, the way he did this raised a few red flags for me.
That said, your comment raises another issue for me, SOME (NOT all) of Bernie's supporters share a similar thread to Trump supporters that I find equally troubling. Specifically, "if you question my guy, I'm going to personally attack you with words or deeds." In your response, you seek to belittle me and others who don't really care for Bernie. You also use the word "sad" a hallmark term to one of the most vile humans to ever be in public life in the history of the United States.
Trust me, I do appreciate "complete sentences and coherent paragraphs" from politicians (or anyone for that matter), but I also expect someone running for the highest office in the land to be able to manage themselves at a very high standard.
17
@Aleutian Low
Point taken, and I can see from your cogent comments that you do in fact appreciate Bernie's linguistic acumen if not his mode of delivery.
Once the primaries get going, the semantics of what plays with the voters are going to be fascinating to watch. I think Bernie will fare well. As for the election, it will be a case study in reason and decency versus an onslaught of lies and ugliness.
3
For a long ignored radical who spent his honeymoon in Moscow, Mr. Bernie Sanders loves the running for president- and he can't give it up. it's the biggest high he had all his life. He will be back running again and gain. He loves his crowds, media spotlight, presidential debates, slamming the rich, campaign money, book contacts, embassy parties, all the trappings of American politics, while denouncing all of that at the same time. But he will not give any of that up. All this hypocrisy comes hand in hand with years of having been isolated in the most eccentric state in the country which is the least diverse and most removed from American realities. And besides, running for president has been good for his ego and for his bank account. It made him a millionaire. And he himself became a member of the 1% and the Martha's Vineyard crowd, although all of that is exactly what he is running against.
5
The novelty of the uber-progressive Bernie Sanders has worn off. This time Sanders is four years older and he's facing a much more crowded Democratic field which includes other progressives such as Elizabeth Warren. I don't see why he even bothers to run--Sanders has always cherished his independent status. Bernie Sanders simply changes from "I" to "D" whenever he wants to run for president. Sanders is a cynical opportunist and a first rate hypocrite.
3
Bernie needs to go away. Too old, too past his prime, ideas that don't work. Time for new blood.
3
@AMM "ideas that don't work" in the USA you mean right? They don't work because our politicians are the most corrupt in the world and because we've legalized political bribery perhaps?
2
Pragmatist? That's what you're looking for!
Yikes: Climate crisis upon us; nuclear weapons growing and growing; overpopulation continuing; horrid disparity in wealth in US; millions living paycheck to paycheck in US and wages stagnant for decades. Millions without health care and many who go bankrupt with inefficient and expensive health care in US. White persons death rate increasing and drug abuse rampant. Middle class destroyed in the last few decades. Just to name a few.
And you want a pragmatist!
Joe Biden, he is a multi-millionaire (4.5 million last year) and in the top 1% of income. He is part of the corporatist crowd who get big "donations" from his wealthy friends; he and Pelosi work it that way. They are corrupt people and go with the money; take the money and pay little attention to the working class.
A vote for Joe is a vote for the 1%. He is attempting to fool us all and it won't work. He is currently lying about Medicare for All as proposed by Bernie Sanders and that will kill him also. He makes one mistake after the other. I will work hard against Joe Biden as any working class person should and hundreds of my friends will also. He cannot win this election and should not win it.
5
Word association.
Sanders Socialist
Why do you think Trump is President? Americans love capitalist businessmen even when they are corrupt to the bone.
It is who we are and will never change.
USA USA USA
@Babel really? How about an African American with a Muslim name who was labeled a"socialist" since the first day he was running for office? How did THAT happen?
1
Sanders' problem is with the mainstream media. MSNBC, CNN, WaPo, NY Times, have done their best to present him negatively. How many anti-Bernie pieces will WaPo allow Jennifer Rubin in one cycle? MSNBC hires commentators from a list of ex-Hillary campaign surrogates, all of whom badly need grudge therapy.
Sanders does poorly with over 50's. He polls at 3% with that group, but does very well with young people. Over 50's are the big audience for cable news, and for established news org's like NY Times, WaPo. It's no great leap the constant bashing by those entities has taken its toll, and thus Sanders is doing poorly with the MSM over 50 audience. As the candidate list trims, that bashing will become increasingly obvious. I predict the MSM will have to dial it back to avoid criticism.
Sanders' strength is his grass roots operation. Bernie often mentions change from the ground up, he's not kidding. Nor was he kidding when he talks of 1 million volunteers. That much enthusiastic manpower cannot be underestimated. Face-to-face voter contact may well counteract MSM bashing that's hurting with the over 50 crowd.
As for the debates, no argument, Bernie was lackluster. However, that may have been strategic. He's got funds to go the distance. He can let others attack each other & stay out of the fray. It's debate rope-a-dope. Biden hurt, Swalwell ko'd, Harris maybe hurt, maybe helped. And Bernie's stays in place waiting to fire his engines.
Don't underestimate Bernie Sanders.
11
Bernie the socialist and the lover of Cuba, the old Soviet Union and the Nicaraguan Sandinistas we have long known about. Bernie the millionaire, who knew?
Actually, why is anyone surprised that Bernie is part of the 1%? He owns three homes, including one on the "Vermont Riviera," the shore of Lake Champlain, that cost a bundle.
Clearly he has become accustomed to the upscale lifestyle he has long eschewed and excoriated. Now that he is in a higher tax bracket he is surely getting schooled on tax avoidance and sheltering income, lessons that plutocrats learn at their fathers' knees. And I wonder how much of his income he is willing to redistribute. And his wife does their taxes? Right.
I guess Bernie will have to stop ranting and raving against millionaires and spend more time explaining to voters 1) why he is not a hypocrite and 2) how socialism will benefit them while he is taking advantage of good old capitalism. As Margaret Thatcher so aptly put it, "The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money."
As for policies, Sanders' espousal of free everything for everyone, not to mention allowing felons to vote from prison, can only guarantee Trump's re-election
2
I think you missed the point Ross. Reagan sold his vision of the world in a positive and forward looking way. Remember Reagan saying "It's morning in America".
Bernie is not Reaganese. He is an angry old man that edges on pedantic.
This foundational difference negates you thesis.
2
@skinny and happy: The corporate Democrats like Biden, Buttigieg, O'Rourke, Harris, etc., purport to offer us a reassuring "middle ground" against the "extremism" of Trump or Sanders. This is a polished PR lie that offers neoliberal business as usual with different branding and ensures disaster for the planet. At a time when neoliberalism is all but dead, Democrats and the mainstream media are pushing neoliberal candidates with a track record of supporting corporations and financial interests above the people’s interests. Is Sanders a man who’s backed by PACs? Is he Biden whose small-bore response to the climate crisis amounts to mass genocide for people and the species we share the planet with?
3
Senator Sanders is the most consistent, big-picture intelligent candidate (Although Liz Warren has become woke in recent years and is my second choice to become president in 2020), and has his integrity in tact (only a handful in congress of 500 can say this) after almost 40 years in politics. He is the most popular far Left Democratic Socialist since Eugen V. Debbs who was the last popular Socialist - also with rich integrity and convictions (spent time in jail for his stance against WWI) that ran for president several times in the early 20th century. Mr Sanders received 13 million votes in the 2016 primaries - and may have won the nomination if not for super delegates and the Clinton machine working the DNC behind the scenes. Many swing voters have said they would have voted for Sanders and not Trump had he been on the ticket. Also many voted (7%) for the Green party's Jill Stein and many did not vote in protest to the DNC. People like Mr. Sanders only come around once every 100 years or so - and we need a left president. Centrists like Mr. Biden are a luxury our country and the planet itself can no longer afford. We are at critical juncture as far as Global Warming goes - what happens in the next 10 years will determine whether our future is decent or a nightmare. The switching over to clean energies/infrastructure will require a special strong leader with rich rare integrity like Mr Sanders to make it happen. Please donate to help make #Sanders2020 a reality! God Bless!
7
I will always remember Bernie types in the ‘60’s – 70’s. So sure of revolution, such pure judgement about the rest of us, they knew Leftism was The Answer before time ran out! While their heads were in the air, we were having trouble keeping our feet on the ground during those troubled years. Now Trump has flipped the political North South poles. Loons are GOPs! This moderate hopes Democrats can find somebody with the effectiveness & smarts Obama had.
1
@Jim: "effectiveness & smarts Obama had" Tell that to the Libyan & Syrian people.
2
We progressive Democrats are supposed to listen to a guy like you who even thinks the Pope is to liberal. There is no way you would actually vote for any Democrat running for president--sure you will probably not vote for Trump but for every other Republican conservative down the ticket. Please we don't need you advice. Instead of talking about Sanders how about taking on the person even worse and more powerful than Trump and that is your buddy Mitch who would never compromise on anything and stole the supreme court seats for two guys you think are great. You advise anyone on Bernie Sanders. Come on.
7
"Instead they want someone who seems to be on their side against the plutocrats, who seems to prefer economic fights to cultural ones, and who can be trusted to beat Trump and not to be a fool or fanatic once in office."
Mr. Douthat, I think you have hit upon the real reason why Senator Sanders stays relevant even in a crowded field.
3
My number one criteria in voting for President is if the person runs on small donations and not on corporate money (Number one donor to Pelosi is Facebook, Number one donor to Schumer is Goldman Sachs).
Mr. Sanders fits this criteria. Ms. Warren I still have to find out. Mr. Biden does not.
The Democratic Party needs to liberate itself from corporate money. It can not represent average Americans as long as it is financed by Facebook, Google, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup
https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary/nancy-pelosi?cid=N00007360&cycle=2018&type=I
https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary/charles-schumer?cid=N00001093&cycle=CAREER&type=I
5
"That it’s safe to vote for him, in other words, if you like the man but aren’t sure about the revolution."
But what if you don't--that is, you don't particularly like the man, and you certainly aren't ready for a revolution?
From what I see, the broad swath of American voters don't want radical change. Every person wants some change--for many, it's access to healthcare that won't be snatched away by the greedy GOP, or, for others, maybe an end to stupid wars. You might want more conservative cultural stances, but be fine with a more equitable sharing of national wealth.
For me, Sanders problem is in his delivery. The man is the message, and let's face it, it's one angry-sounding message. He rarely laughs, never smiles, and gets so worked up during stock speeches, you fear he'll have a stroke.
Anger isn't optimism. OK, Trump is angry too, and look where that has gotten us. But Dems need to be for something, not just against the current president.
There's a petulence to Sanders ("I coined "Medicare for All," he whines) that's off-turning. Remember Reagan--he kept it sunny, even when he was picking your pocket.
3
I've been saying this since 2015, as have others, but it falls on the one pair of deaf ears that needs to hear it: Bernie's. Democratic socialist! Really? FDR Democrat on a radical day; Social Democrat on most days. Pragmatic, willing to listen to constituents and respect their choices on issues not central to his economic argument (e.g., he's not opposed to gun rights as one would expect of a Senator from Vermont but not of a socialist). Ross, you're wasting your time. He enjoys the juvenile pleasure of passing himself off as a radical leader of the revolution. As those wise old men John Lennon and Paul McCartney once said: "You say you'll change the constitution, Well, you know, We all want to change your head; You tell me it's the institution, Well, you know, You better free your mind instead; But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow..." And there's Chairman Bernie, red-faced, angry, "Millionaires and Billionaires" while Elizabeth Warren eats his lunch as she delivers the same "rigged game" argument in that polite Oklahoma accent and with that sincere smile all the folks in Oklahoma wear which makes you want to take them home with you.
1
no thanks, not now. too divisive! time to drop out Bernie.
1
Sanders can't beat "trump". He should gracefully bow out and come home.
1
@Droid05680 really? How about taxing the rich, giving everyone free healthcare, a college education, an end to the wars & you get to keep your guns too? Sounds better than whatever Trump is promising.
1
@Michael Sorensen On the gun issue, Bernie said he would represent the wishes of his constituency. Here in Vermont, that mostly means hands off the second amendment. After being elected to the house, Bernie had a crisis of conscience and was no longer a staunch supporter. He understands that unseating an incumbent is harder than winning the first term.
Insuring a victory against "trump" means not chasing away moderates and disaffected conservatives. Sanders will do that.
Sanders isn't a Democrat. If he wants to run, he should do so as an independent.
You are correct. He will tax the rich, the middle class, text messages, and toilet paper by the sheet. Anything that is untaxed or undertaxed will take a hit.
He needs to quit siphoning off campaign contributions from candidates that have a real chance of winning. I'm thinking Warren.
1
If I were a GOP supporter who wanted to be sure Trump would be re-elected this is the column I'd write. And old Jewish guy who alienates other Jews by being obviously embarrassed by his behavior and who calls himself a socialist (even though the only way to argue that his policy positions are socialist is to redefine socialism) is a sure formula for re-electing Donald J. Trump.
I do think a woman is less likely to win over marginal or GOP votes than a non-white American Protestant moderate man, like Cory Booker. Every one of these candidates has issues, though.
1
It seems to me Reagan won by promising the impossible, cutting taxes, balancing the budget, and increasing military spending. His 8 years in office proved how impossible that was. As is now plainly obvious from the last election conservatives are a gullible bunch who don't care at all if the promises of the Republican candidates make any sense or not. I don't think Sanders is in this position. He needs to make sense to get votes. Once in office Reagan said trees pollute. A Democrat simply can't get away with spouting such garbage. Trump of course has now created a completely fictional world for the voters who could cares less if what he says has anything to do with reality or not. Sanders is really a left wing movement builder who happens to be in government. It is always about the movement for Sanders. Win or lose he will be happy if he feels that he has made some contribution to moving the Democratic Party and the country to the left pushing it toward the Scandinavian dream.
1
Ross continues the canonization Of Reagan. We must live in an alternate universe. Reagan was the beginning of the end, for the USA. His reign led us directly down the slippery trash chute to Trump. And NO coincidence that they were both third rate actors and not exactly mentally sharp. But that’s not a disqualification, for white males. Ain’t politics grand.
4
Americans have proven time and again that they won’t vote for revolution. There is too much at stake, and most votes are personal not ideological. I may like this revolutionary speaker with interestingly radical ideas, but when I vote I have a job, a mortgage, kids in school, I want to buy a new car, to take a nice vacation, etc. On the other side that is also why a majority despises Trump as a loathsome human being, proven day after day, but is comfortable with the outcome. Most Americans are not fans of illegal immigration, socialised medicine to the extreme (more so than in Sweden, if we get rid of private insurance), etc.
Had Sanders been the Dem candidate in 2016 he would have lost to Trump by a wider margin than Clinton. In 2019-20 he is 4 years older, looks his age (like Biden by the way, but not like Warren), and his radical-view followers now have other interesting choices. He is finished as a genuine winning candidate. Biden is still at the top not because he is an old white male, but because he is a moderate with proven political experience and people are not going to be surprised by what they get with him. Like Clinton 4 years ago, only that she was arrogant, lacklustre, conceited, and with an unsavoury past.
@Sam T Americans won't vote for "revolution"? How about an African American with a Muslim name? How about a loud-mouthed bigot, sexist, racist TV game show host? Americans are waiting desperately to vote for a revolution that never seems to materialize.
1
Ross - It's great that you want to help Democrats defeat Trump to such a degree that you're offering advice to Bernie Sanders. Kudos! But I suspect that your support is like kryptonite to Democratic progressives who will reject whatever you embrace. Maybe that's your game (better than iocane powder).
So let's make it a two-fer. Start lobbying now for Bernie to name the Gang of 4 as VP and cabinet secretaries (AOC as VP pick, Ilhan Omar as Secretary of State...) should he win the nomination.
All this forecasting about the primary is getting tiresome. Is Sanders out? Is Biden out? Is Buttigieg DOA? Please, enough!
Each candidate has participated in one debate. We are about half a year from the Iowa caucuses. Who knows what will transpire between then and now? Let’s keep hearing from the candidates and then give voters the chance to decide who’s in.
Sanders staffers, shape this strategy for Bernie!
1
This whole piece is premised on a practical Bernie. But as a Senator he has a pretty minimal record.
3
My image of Sanders is hunched over, mouth wide open, bellowing, can't see his eyes 'cause they are squinted shut. Does he ever stand up straight, calm down, open his eyes, and chat like what I regard as a normal guy?
2
@Heckler
Your image of Sanders is an abject caricature. Do you talk the same way about Biden who is about 2 years younger and arguably in worse shape?
Sanders is the choice of more people under 35 than any other candidate and will remain so whoever wins the primary. He's also the choice of the working people of this country exemplified by his raising money from more people (with the lowest average donation) than any other candidate with virtually zero support from the corporate upper-management/executive class.
7
@Heckler Sanders seems like a happy warrior to me.
@D W
"Your image of Sanders is an abject caricature," True, DW, but the abject caricature is generated by Sanders, himself.
1
I don't believe a word in this encomium for Bernie.
So tired of the cliche editorials with the Fox buzz words "left and "socialist." Sanders addresses climate change, income inequality and health care for three big starters. Do we care if our children and grand children have a planet to live on? Is this expansion of the working poor under Trump so great? Does it matter if my neighbor's child who needs insulin suffers and dies if ACA is halted and there really is no good GOP plan? Cut the jargon and get to the real life issues! Sure is a hot day here. Must be the hot air Trump brought to Milwaukee!
5
Too late. Image is Reality.
1
Anyone who believes that this country would elect as president a nearly 80-year-old Jewish socialist (or social Democrat as he calls himself), who still can't identify as a Democrat but rather as an Independent, who's from the whitest state in the union, a state with only 600,000 people, and whose presentation is that of an angry old man gesticulating wildly to make the same points over and over again, would probably also believe that a 37-year-old gay married man could win in a country where he could be fired in 29 states simply because he's gay. Why not go for broke? Sanders/Buttigieg 2020
5
Yes, Reagan was a "history making" president." A history many of us would like to forget, but dare not, in case we are tempted to elected another person like him. Bernie is a whole different kettle of fish. HE is an altruist who cares about his country and its people, ALL its people, while Reagan was a Democrat turned Republicrook, wacko, bigot, liar, sneaky invader of sovereign countries, with a meddling wife who believed in astrology, was completely "out to lunch," liked buying new china, and lecturing people to "just say no." Lovely people, if not exactly stable geniuses.
8
Sanders will not be the nominee and will never be the President. The problem is simple. If you do not love him you hate him.
2
Why would a confirmed conservative be pushing the candidacy of a democratic socialist for the presidency of the United States?
Because he KNOWS that Trump can beat him.
Please Mr. Douthat, spend your columns explaining how a racist, sex addict is such a Christian role model.
7
Save Bernie Sanders?
From his own rhetorical nonsense or does this mean preserve his body like Walt Disney, in a deep freeze until medical science finds a cure?
@MDCooks8
Sanders is the choice of more people under 35 than any other candidate and will remain so whoever wins the primary. He's also the choice of the working people of this country exemplified by his raising money from more people (with the lowest average donation) than any other candidate with virtually zero support from the corporate upper-management/executive class.
@MDCooks8
Hee hee.
I think at this point, Ross, even the confused Democrats have figured out that "socialism" is a loser---They will not hand Trump that tool to hammer away at. Bernie's mistake, even in the last election cycle, was not reframing his narrative from soak the rich to Warren's message---here is how we do it.
He is who and what he is. Move on.
4
@Tom
He has my vote and Biden would have to work very hard for mine. Sanders is the choice of more people under 35 than any other candidate and will remain so whoever wins the primary. He's also the choice of the working people of this country exemplified by his raising money from more people (with the lowest average donation) than any other candidate with virtually zero support from the corporate upper-management/executive class.
Bernie and Joe are so often 1st and 2nd options for their voters because they are white men.
1
@Shannon R
I doubt that's true. Southern Democrats haven't been educated enough in Biden's record to understand he isn't their friend. The more people learn about corporate Democrats the more they will towards progressives.
Sanders "has an underrated appeal" to "culturally conservative, economically liberal voters". The problem is Sanders thought he formed a large grassroots movement within the Democratic Party in 2016 on economic issues. In reality, Corbin Trent and Saikat Chakrabarti, who met while working for Sanders' 2016 campaign, formed their Justice Democrats in opposition to Sanders' beliefs.
Sanders seeks economic equality, not social warfare. In contrast, The Justice Democrats are social anarchists modeled on The Cultural Revolution.
Waleed Shahid, the group's spokesman, stated that the Justice Democrats were fomenting a war within the Democratic Party. Working class whites and blacks supporting Sanders are not part of it.
Sanders has been called a factional candidate for opposing the negative influence of multi-national corporations yet had no problem working with Democrats his entire life. In contrast, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley never intended to work with these same Democrats. They label any who disagree with them, whether Nancy Pelosi, or the Congressional Black Caucus, as enemies and racists they intend to crush.
Their goal is to eradicate current Democrats. Ensuring Trump's reelection in the process is a secondary concern as theirs is a movement of pure believers and evil heretics. It isn't what Sanders believes, but it means the movement he thought he'd established was never his, and advocates the opposite of what he believes.
7
Don't expect Bernie to mellow-down his policies of social change. He spoke little during the debate because the other candidates were all repeating them, half-heartedly to be sure, without recognition of their source (Bernie Sanders), to be sure. When the field narrows down, as it did in '16, Bernie will step up to the plate, and with his tested and true logic, will convince voters who is their best choice, the clearest choice to see that campaign promises are kept.
10
I subscribe to the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. I enjoy the Times more because of the mix of opinions. Though I will admit that the occasional single mindedness of the Time's liberal writers leaves me feeling unsatisfied, writers like Douthat, Stephens and Brooks slake my moderate/conservative cravings.
Way to go!
8
Ross,
It’s simple:
When your enemy is making a fool of himself
Stay out of his way.
2
@hs
Can you provide an example of Bernie making a fool of himself?
Biden meanwhile is a gaffe-machine that fewer than 20% of people under 35 will vote for. His position is deceptively weak.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2019/06/20/daily-202-joe-biden-s-gaffe-on-segregationist-senators-shows-why-aides-are-keeping-him-away-from-reporters/5d0a658ca7a0a47d87c56d5c/?utm_term=.c8c96139d71e
You can carry CA by 20 million;
But ‘I am a socialist’ will not play in
MI, PA or Wi.
“Reagan’s path to power in 1979 and 1980 didn’t just involve selling voters on Goldwaterite conservatism”
Yeah, it also involved kicking off his campaign in Philadelphia, MS and claiming ardor for states rights, the kind f coded messages that Trump took to the bullhorn of twitter to proclaim 36 years later.
It also nvolved making a backroom deal with Iran’s mullahs to keep the American hostages until Reagan’s inauguration day, and then selling weapons to them.
Yep, Reagan had an historic presidency alright. His minions sold weapons to Iran and then used the proceeds to fund right wing death squads in Central America notorious for killing priests and raping nuns. And the long term damage is STILL being felt in the humanitarian crisis there that impels those people to seek asylum here in the present.
11
Were I you, Ross, I’d address this here to the Pope.
Or are you just voting the straight Hannity ticket at this point?
5
I fear that neither Bernie nor Warren will receive the nomination/support they deserve, because there are millions of dumb Americans who lack the capacity to listen and understand. These are basically selfish people who prefer their candidates to have short, snappy slogans, promise to kick ethnic/racial groups they perceive as threats and wrap themselves in the flag.
10
Bernie is tiresome and grating. His candidacy is doomed.
4
Bernie didn't talk about women's issues once in the first debate, I wasn't surprised. When he was asked why he didn't address the sexual harassment of his female volunteers during the campaign (they told him about it) he said "I was kind of busy."
That did it for me, talk about tone deaf.
12 percent of Bernie primary voters switched to Trump in the general in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. I can't imagine they really thought Trump was the better candidate, but I do know their votes handed Trump the electoral votes in those states. Result? An idiot President and a right-wing Supreme Court with justices who will be around for decades.
I hope Sanders goes down in flames.
2
Regarding Sanders-as-second-choice-for-Biden-supporters: it could also very well be that many Democrat voters would choose any old white man first.
1
Sanders/Warren OR Warren/Sanders in 2020.!!!
8
Warren/Inslee
Go away Bernie Bro. The Peace and Freedom Party beckons.
" Vermont socialist’s', did you intentionally leave out the adjective Democratic as in Democratic Socialist or was that just ignorance on your part? You like all Republicans need instruction on the difference between Socialism and social programs in an economic system of Capitalism.
3
Senator Sanders is not a Democrat.
He should therefore not be allowed to participate in any further Democratic Party debates - on TV or elsewhere.
It’s a very stupid Party “leader” who allows his participation. Very very stupid.
@Ronn Robinson I'd be bored to tears without Bernie in the debate. He is solely responsible for the progressive movement, however small, in the Democratic Party and he keeps the rest of the candidates on their toes.
I fully understand why the establishment hates Bernie Sanders. But I can't understand the animosity and hostility toward Bernie by tens of millions in the bottom 90%. The policies he promotes are what any decent, civilized society would aspire toward. And what most have already achieved.
Can you imagine FDR running today? I don't think he would have made the cutoff for the first debate.
Could some college please hire Bernie so he can retire and and preach his socialist views to innocent young souls? To Bernie the rich and corporations are evil so it better be a public college that is not dependent on high tuition from rich parents or endowments. Bernie and AOC's office manager could even start a new version of the SDS to protest renegades in the Democratic party who dare to cooperate with the GOP racist regime that dares to deport illegals of Brown skin. And someone please explain to me what accomplishments Bernie can claim for all his years in Congress?
5
@LVG
Bernie was the Amendment King for over a decade in the house with more of his amendments voted into confirmed bills than any other lawmaker. He worked w McCain to overhaul and fund the VA, Bernie saw the limits of the ACA (after all it was Romney’s corporate health care program) so when Bernie couldn’t get the Dems to use their majority to fight for single payer, he pushed hard and got funding for community medical clinics which 9 million people get their health care from today. And just as importantly,it’s what Bernie has voted No on which so many Dems and Republicans have not: the Iraq war, NAFTA, tax cuts for the rich, expanding FISA, funding fossil fuel and industry farm companies w tax payer subsidies. Bernie is funded by the people unlike these other politicians so his loyalties are divided. His ph isn’t ringing w calls from big money donors wanting their interests voted on like everyone else in both parties.
1
@Vinky
Great then Bernie should be running on his record and not his anti=rich and anti corporation shtick
Bernie and Biden are both too old. Pete is Gay. Liz is wonderfully wonkie but that's all. Kamala is a sheep in wolfs clothing. The only one who actually feels like a president and might well be a very good one is Michael Bennet.
1
Or, in the words of Karl Lueger, the Mayor of Vienna before World War I and the inspiration for Hitler:
"There is no policy; only deals."
@WOIDI thought "Handsome Karl's" most famous saying was "I say who the Jews are".
1
@Hector 1803 That could probably apply as well...
I believe Sanders basic appeal is his message has universal appeal, and does not pander to identity politics that will ultimately be the democrats undoing once again.
However, Bernie has the proverbial "snowball's chance in hell" to receive the democratic nomination.
4
I was for Bernie in 2016 because he was the only one telling the truth that you won't get anything done until you get big money out of the beltway. These politicians prattle on and on about this fix and that fix and it is superfluous as long as big money is controlling everything. What is going to be fixed if it is already "fixed?" So Bernie was going to be the fixer in that sense and I was for him. However, he now sounds like my old man when he began to descend into dementia. Not when he had dementia but foreshadowing of it. He would tell the same stories over and over again and when I listen to Bernie I hear the same thing over and over and over again. There's no creativity going on in that man's brain. No flexibility. It's sort of sad. He and old Joe should hang 'em up. Then one of the women should have the testicular fortitude to say, "I am for a great re-distribution of income from the top to the middle, down, it may get me killed off but I am standing tall and re-balancing this society because if it doesn't re-balance we are headed for a classic society, as in the old days, where the few control the many and it will last for many, many generations."
@David Only this could come from California. Absurd
How can Sanders possibly have a shot when "progressives" like Maureen Dowd are shaking in their Manolos and moving beyond the center to the right of center. If Dowd, Friedman, Kristoff et al have their way, we'll give Hillary another shot at it. Please stop.
3
Bernie Sanders should be run out of the country for his role in defeating Hillary Clinton's candidacy which left us with a criminal in the White House.
He practiced continual hate speech and vilification of her in an effort to brain wash his cult members who refused to vote for her.
He is an independent who stole time and space away from real Democrats and he is trying to do the same exact thing now.
I do not want to see or hear another word about this pathetic loser of a human being. He is an individual out for number one who has systematically conned a lot of people into believing his socialist stuff. He is a party of one.
2
I would maintain that choosing the Democratic candidate who runs against Trump is still a crap shoot. The first debate was not in the least conclusive but had one thing in common: proposals were terribly expensive - free health care, free education . . .
A point I find no answer to is who would be impressive enough to steal voters from Trump. Who would that be? I do not see Bernie as strong enough to accomplish such a feat. In fact, I am still looking for such a candidate among those running.
As important will be taking back the Senate and ridding he world of McConnell.
Face it, the Democrats have a huge task before them a truly strong candidate has yet to emerge.
2
My sense is that for most Biden supporters electability is most important. Makes sense then that Sanders would be their #2 choice.
1
That or... We could conclude that Sanders and Warren are splitting the far left vote and their combined numbers are actually the true representation of the strength of their positions. They are in a primary of two. Whoever lags after Super Tuesday should dropout and endorse the other candidate. The combined platform can overwhelm moderates and moderate progressives both.
That or... they botch the rollout and hand Biden the nomination. Welcome to 4 more years of Trump.
3
I see it coming down to Biden, Sanders, Warren, and Harris. I'm sorry to see Amy Klobuchar struggling to stay in the race. For efficiency, the others are dismissed. When the debating gets really intense, I think Biden will just be gone for one reason or another and the question will be who is going to be Sanders' President as he takes the VP post.
1
I would add to this well written commentary that Bernie should also focus on his past, and more importantly, present day ability to beat Trump. This sets him apart from the majority of the democratic candidates.
2
I respect and admire Sanders. In the last presidential primaries, I donated to his campaign. This time around, I am looking to other candidates. Why?
First, I've heard the message countless times and understand his basic premise that a revolution is required to eliminate social injustice and economic inequality. That premise is, of course, based on a foundation of quicksand. We, as a nation, haven't done a revolution since the struggle for our independence.
Second, I really don't know where Sanders stands on foreign policy, and its evil twin, the use of US military might in an increasingly dangerous world. The impression I get is a sort of "we'll get to that when we get to that."
As an independent, like Bernie, I am uncomfortable with his symbiotic-parasitic attachment to the Democratic Party. He emerges every 4 years like a cicada, loudly chirping his presidential mating call, then buries himself once again underground, waiting rather than legislating.
His message has been heard and it resonates. But now, it is time for a new generation of leaders to seize the levers of power within the Democratic Party, or flee its decaying grip and begin anew in a different venue.
12
Thanks, Mr. Douthat. Pretty sure that’s the most helpful advice Bernie’s campaign could receive.
Some of our candidates want to be president do something, others to be something. We have some who want to be president to fight for the American people. Others who want to pick fights with each other in order to be president.
5
The long missing ingredient in our country’s political analysis is psychological analysis. This is most apparent when observing political pundits opining on Donald Trump. How many “experts” of all political persuasions told us that candidate Trump would “pivot” from his outrageous behavior once he became president? It should have been obvious to anyone with a basic understanding of human psychology that Trump’s emotional construction would never allow him to change – it’s his condition.
Ross Douthat’s failure to perceive the subtleties and nuances of human psychology caused his misapplied comparison between Reagan ’76-’80 and Sanders ’16-’20. While both candidates introduced further-right and further-left ideas to the mainstream, respectively, Reagan’s psychological makeup was one of warmth, amiability, and connectivity. Sanders has done this country an enormous service (as Bernie would say, “in my view”) by demanding Democratic-Socialist ideas be debated. But a perceptive reading of his psychology would indicate there is no room for growth and flexibility. This should have been obvious to any astute observer of human wiring back in 2016. Had Mr. Douthat held such understandings, he wouldn’t have fallen prey to the faulty thesis he describes here.
Goldwater rule or not, today’s political pundits need better education in human psychology. Attempts to analyze the political landscape without said skills is like explicating Beethoven without understanding melody.
15
The US was pushed so far to the right under Bush-Cheney, Americans voted for Obama's leftward campaign to turn the country towards progressive change for people. But Obama-Biden couldn't get much done, Now Trump-Spence are pushing the US much further to the right.
It's clear only Bernie Sanders has the policies, programs, and experience to take on the right wing forces and move the US slightly back to the left.
16
@Lawrence Chanin
Nonsense.
Trump is essentially a middle of the road NY Democrat and always has been.
It is the Democrat Party that has gone full Left such that an icon like JFK would be rejected today, let alone a patriotic leftist like George McGovern.
3
I don't believe I have read a positive column in the NYT about Bernie...yet! It is so frustrating to read yet another take-down of the political genius who has engineered a whole revolution in America and beyond, which has caught fire with the the mass of people who have been underserved by their government for at least half a century. I grew up during the Roosevelt years, and all I can say is that Bernie is the closest we have ever come to regaining the equanimity of government with its people since that time. Senator Bernie Sanders is a man of purpose, of creed, and of undying love for America and its people, and the energy to expound on his vision of a real democracy for all. God Bless Him!
59
@Stephanie Rivera Very well said. Only Sanders has done the hard work of advocating change for the working class these last 50 years. Now when Americans have finally awakened to the crying need for leftist change, his commitment to government for the people and his candidacy are being co-opted by "progressives" without the plans, the experience, or the strength to take on the rich and powerful.
Beating Trump is the easy part. But only Sanders has the wherewithal to roll back Trump's changes and make the leftist New Deal changes FDR always wanted to do.
16
The demographics of the US is only comprised of about 25% liberals. Conservatives make up about 35%, and moderates are about 40%.
That means the FAR Left Progressives (within the 25% liberals) are not going to win the Presidency.
The Far Left Progressives typically run in safe districts. Therefore they have the freedom to shift dramatically left.
The people who hold the key to Democratic control of the House are moderates.
To illustrate: In 2018, which was a big victory for Democrats in the House, Bernie Sander's progressive congressional groups endorsed 58 general election candidates. But only 9 won -- and all in safe districts. They also primaried establishment Democratic candidates in New York and Kansas, but lost those seats in the General Election. AOC primaried as a Democrat in a very safe district.
The DCCC supported Dems in 93 contested districts and won 43, and the centrist New Dem Pac supported 71 candidates and did even better. They flipped 33 Republican seats, 4 held contested Democrats' seats. Only 5 were wins in safe districts.
So while all the noise and attention is being focused on the Left Wing Progressives, they added no new seats to the new House Democratic Majority.
It was the moderate Democrats who delivered a decisive victory in 2018.
So until the FAR Left Progressives can turn their energy into votes in the larger election, the moderates should be who we look to -- "if" we have ANY hope of winning the Presidential election next term.
17
@Pat, due to voter base and Electoral College quirks of the US system, the election calculuses for House, Senate, and Presidency are very, very different.
The House districts are the most local, the presidential elections have an equally local root, but that is thrown over by the Electoral College. Senators are elected "at large" in each state and to become a senator in Wyoming, Idaho, or Vermont requires a tiny fraction of the votes necessary to become a senator from California, Texas, or New York.
All in all, and even in the House, the problem with our gov't is that it is not responsive to the electorate in ways that make for a modern society. We are being outstripped by Canada, New Zealand, and Western Europe in many ways because of this. The US remains a very innovative and economically robust society, but the downhill slide is clearly visible.
3
@Pat What you miss here is the role news media play in keeping that moderate majority in their place. Many voters see the Times, NPR, PBS news as the respectable, liberal standard and make their decisions based on what they see and hear there. Again these news organizations are busy nixing Sanders and 40% of Democrats who like what he’s saying are wary, maybe thinking Biden is our safest bet. Playing it safe gets us more of the same, which could well mean more Trump.
4
For Ms. Warren's plans to work, she has to pull off a real coup, as far as funding is concerned.
She has to get states, some of which are already in a fiscal bind, to agree to match funding with the federal government (part of her plan), on a huge scale (on the order of at least $500 billion over 10 years...and ongoing).
She has to convince Congress to agree to a wealth tax plan, generating $2.75 trillion over 10 years. Wow! Our U.S. GDP is only about $19.4 trillion, annually.
Warren's plans may be backed by spreadsheets, but the funding column, thus far, is blank.
6
"...who seems to prefer economic fights to cultural ones..."
Bingo. This is what I'm looking for in a candidate. Conservatives have hired some of the best propagandists in the business to give them bumper sticker slogans and build outrage over every silly thing said or done by anyone even slightly to the left of Attila the Hun. And most of the culture war issues are largely symbolic, and don't make any difference to the quality of life of most people. I'll give you an example. I've lived in GA since 1996, when the army stationed me here for my last active duty assignment. When I got here I was mildly shocked to see the state flag still had the Confederate battle flag on it. I thought that was an anachronism that had already been discarded, but I was apparently wrong. Roy Barnes, the last Democratic governor of this state, committed political suicide to get the flag changed. He was successful, but he was beaten in the next election by Sonny Perdue, who ran on a platform of bringing back the Confederacy. (He didn't quite. The current flag doesn't have the Confederate battle flag on it, but is essentially a modified version of another slightly less well known Confederate era flag. It was sufficient to appease the Southern heritage types, and not obvious enough to panic the Chamber of Commerce.) But it accelerated the defection of the last Blue Dogs to the GOP, and I don't think there's been a Democrat in statewide public office for over a decade.
10
Thanks Ross. This column is great advice for Bernie. Let’s hope he takes it although the path to nomination seems to be more towards the progressive than the compromising.
2
@me
Really? One president with darker skin and your democratic bonafides are out the window? There are not only white people in the working class. But what exactly do you see happening that is pushing them out other than them having a racially diverse field and discussing problems and complexities that occur in a multitude of communities? Are the only problems Facing Democratic constituents the problems facing the white ones? And where exactly do you see a home for these newly transgressed white populations?
I ask all of these questions honestly because they make no sense to me.
1
If Bernie is a revolutionary then FDR must have been the American version of Fidel Castro. And of course neither is true. So why the inflammatory headline?
After 30 years in congress Bernie has proven his ability to be pragmatic. There are numerous votes that demonstrate this. Some, such as his approval for the F-35 fighter show that he even compromised on some of his core principles simply to get jobs from one of the parts factories in Vermont.
But what Douthat is really arguing for is a scale back on Bernie's vision. Medicare for all is too bold. Erasing student debt, too costly.
On these issues Bernie should not scale back. The process of pushing these measures through congress will require some compromises. It always does. But if you start with little, you'll end up with even less.
If anything needs to be scaled back it's Trump's disastrous tax law, nor Bernie's vision for social justice.
19
Bernie has not problems with people. They believe him. He got 24 millions in small donations recently, more than any other candidate in history. The problem for Sanders is the Democratic committee...the party do not want to upset its billionaire donors.... Four years ago they used the super delegates in order to stop Bernie. I am wandering whet they will use in this 2020 election to get ride of him
19
Ross, Bernie has had the courage to speak about the issue you choose to ignore. We have been marching toward oligarchy and we are nearly there. Wealthy donors have succeeded in buying Congress and many state legislatures. They own the media outlets. They hire and fire the journalists who influence political debate. The Supreme Court has a greater commitment to supporting the power of wealthy donors than supporting the power of pro-lifers.
When you say, "culturally conservative, economically liberal voter", you are missing the point. The wealthy donor class is most interested in keeping the electorate focused on the culture wars and distracting the voters from the march toward oligarchy. They are not culturally conservative, they just want to focus on this one issue, the one that really matters.
34
I honestly believe that the Dems are misguided to put so much attention into the glamour race for POTUS when it's the SENATE that's doing the country the most damage at this time. Winning back the Senate in 2020 will be an uphill climb (most of the Senate seats are in deeply red states). Still, the effort is important - maybe vital to the future of our increasingly diverse nation.
Mitch McConnell's overwhelming power as a second Chief Executive needs to be blunted or it won't matter who wins the presidency. McConnell's ability to cripple the Obama Administration and muscle the Supreme Court to the right while loading the federal courts with conservative judges at a breakneck pace makes that clear.
A retrograde administration can be managed by a vigorous and united Legislature, and a fair and temperate Judiciary. If Dems don't keep this goal in mind, Trump is almost certain to be re-elected, the Senate could be lost for good, there is a very real chance that a 2018 - 2020 backlash could put the House back in GOP hands, and our democracy will suffer historical, maybe irreparable damage.
I don't see Bernie Sanders elevating the Senate in this manner while helping to retain the House (these and not the presidency are the real People's Voice in our government). He barely functioned as a legislator except as an opposition voice, beloved to his base but not beyond.
There are other candidates who might help with this goal. Only time and testing will reveal the right one.
17
Bernie is no longer new! America is a CONSUMER society and consumers are trained to chase the new! Voters are consumers first and citizens second. The American consumer is tired of that fancy computer they bought that keeps crashing and skeptical of that whole genre of computers. She's gotta have a computer but she's buying a whole new operating system. Bernie is an "old brand," Elizabeth is selling the same brand as Bernie but her brand is "newer on the shelf." Bernie's box has the same stuff inside but there is dust on the outside. The consumer will buy the newer box almost every time. So we choose our leaders the same way we choose our soap and somehow survive. Politicians understand that, none better than Trump.
7
"This spring I prophesied that Bernie Sanders had a chance of imitating Ronald Reagan’s leap between 1976 and 1980 — in which a former insurgent dismissed as too old and too ideological became a nominee and then a history-making president."
So much for Douthat's political acumen.
8
What is your plan for rolling out your monumental healthcare plan, Senator Sanders?
Tens of millions of people will rise up and demand it.
Nope, not a project plan, sir. It sounds more like a Dilbert cartoon.
13
Bernie has no follow up. He has his speech but when pressed to elaborate on any issue he just reverts back to the speech. Its clear he hasn't thought this through. Warren has depth with her thought out proposals and plans. But I think Harris will be the one to eviscerate Trump in a debate. She can take him down.
14
@weniwidiwici
Sure, Harris will play the prosecutor with Trump, but her record of prosecutorial misconduct in CA -- the kind that destroys lives -- should be disqualifying:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/kamala-harris-criminal-justice.html
2
Bernie's pretty much wrapped up in the establishment. He could not even name names on how he was gonna get the money to pay for any of his programs ( MIC, Religious Invasions, Never ending Wars, Welfare Cuts, etc etc). The list is long for where to get the money. He could not name ONE even!
Of course none of his ideas are free. But the money IS available, with minimal increase in taxation. Bernie however is part of the problem, not the solution
10
For months, the Times's conservative columnists have offered unsolicited advice to the Democratic Party. Now, Ross Douthat offers campaign strategy to the most progressive candidate in the race!
I found Sen. Sanders's closing statement in the first debate a bit flat, but it made the right point: the Democratic Party's centrism over the past 40 years has not been good for working people, for the party, or for the country. If voters want more of the same mediocrity and steadily worsening inequality, they can elect any of the 20-some Democrats running for president. If voters actually want real change and more economic fairness, Sanders and Warren are the only candidates who offer it.
32
Bernie is the real deal. He is honest and has inspired many young and old to work for a better world. Without a mass movement that demands justice and compassion in America, no one can make a difference.
41
Maybe part of Bernie's appeal to Biden supporters concerns distrust that a woman candidate, notably Warren, could take out Trump.
9
Bernie's strategy for 30 years has been to chase windmills. He has never caught one. Execution is not Bernie's hallmark. The best predictions of the future come from looking at the past. Bernie is not the future. Neither is Joe. Not a criticism of either. Just the realization that neither is really equipped for the needs and challenges of the 21st Century. Bernie has no record of accomplishment and Joe finds his time consumed by defending his past this or that.
28
@dennob Bernie has accomplished a great deal during his time in Congress despite having just one vote in a sea of politicians paid to serve the moneyed interests against the interests of their constituents.
16
@dennob Biden has accomplished nothing positive himself. His only claim to anything is constantly getting re-elected
2
Get real. Sanders is utopian on the far left. During the last election he was pretty much the only candidate in the Democratic primaries that fitted that description. In this season of primaries there are a whole bunch of them drawing from the same well and some of them are much more coherent than Sanders who is to some extent a nihilist. Bernie is done. The notion that Biden first choice voters would switch to Sanders is completely whacky. They are much more likely to opt for someone like Harris.
14
Bernie's zeal appeals to me; as does his outrage at the oligarchy we are building. Much of what Sanders says, resonates.
But he has never offered a viable solution. Oh, sure, he talked of infrastructure, but we cannot build ourselves back in to a middle class democracy with old fashioned progressive ideas. We need new-fashioned progressive ideas.
Because we are no longer a high wage manufacturing nation; we are no longer either a post war economy or an emerging high tech economy. We are no longer the primary provider of goods nor are we the only market. The world has grown big, strong and competitive.
All of that means that recovering from the pillage of the corporatized, automated, wealth-mining economy which directs wealth into ever smaller groups of consolidated manufacturers, retailers, and money manipulators (think of Bezos and the Walton family, and Wall Street moguls) will take new ideas, and a new approach.
Warren has more ideas and less crowd appeal; Harris comes off as pure politician. Sanders just seems old school.
I like President Obama, because he seemed to actually understand our reality and tried to get the nation to see our future, and change. But he could not drag Republicans out of their general contempt for the good of the electorate.
I don't see anyone who can compete with President Obama. I'm looking for the candidate who can capture Sanders' zeal; pick up Warren's policy; but appeal to our minds and souls as Obama did. Good luck with that.
13
@Cathy
Cathy, unlike his ‘16 vague, two-word, sound-bite, overly simplistic campaign-slogan of just “Political Revolution” — against what, Bernie? — in the real people’s 2020 Revolution, Bernie will fire a loud, public, sustained, ‘in the streets’, but totally non-violent “SHOUT (not shot) heard round the world” to ignite our (not his) Second American people’s peaceful “Political/economic & social Revolution Against EMPIRE”!
2020, like 1776, will be not so much an election, but a “Revolution Against Empire”!
1
@Cathy
Obama--the guy who fell all over himself trying to be liked by the Republicans and had nothing but contempt for the Democratic base? Who did nothing to advance the party, presiding over losses in Congress? Who negotiated against himself and a public option in the ACA? Honey, many of us see Obama as a big nothing.
1
@Cathy
And how did that hopey-changey Obama panacea work out? Massive bailouts to Wall Street, increased whistle blower persecution, more drone attacks, no public option for health care, expansion of America's longest most fruitless war and best of all the Orwellian surveillance state which is spreading like a virulent cancer. Sanders, Warren or Gabbard all have some warts but if they do a 1/4 of what they propose then they make Obama's "legacy" even more pathetic.
2
My thought on Bernie from the start was that a second act, where he is not the lone opponent to the establishment democrats, would play poorly. It seems Warren in particular plays better with many of these former Bernie voters, coming across as newer, more polished and less scary.
Absent Sanders coming up with some new, radical RX for America and a slogan to match, I can't see him doing much more than being an also-ran in primary after primary. Here's a thought: steal Andrew Yang's monthly income guarantee, supercharge it to $5,000 a month and coin it "American Prosperity for American Workers". Warren and Harris can't touch it and Sanders can build off of that.
I don't think Bernie could win the Presidency, but it's not b/c he's not a pragmatist. Actually, Sanders is the candidate who comes closest to telling America what's going on. His words are clear and direct, and he avoids petty dramas. The changes he suggests are what is genuinely needed to pull America out of the nostalgic, self-indulgent spiral that is taking us down. His ideas may not seem "practical" to Ross Douthat, but that says more about Douthat than Sanders.
27
I have never been much for labels. Maybe that is why I find Bernie Sanders to be the most attractive candidate once again. Much of what he says is just common sense. Peace in the world cannot exist with the massive disparity in wealth. It is only a matter of time before the 99% realizes that there are more of us than them. It is only a matter of time before conservatives and liberals teetering on the brink of bankruptcy recognize that they don't deserve the poverty they share. Health care should be a right, not a privilege; if they work 40 hours a week, they should not live in poverty; the perpetual wars we fight have little to do with patriotism and a great deal to do with profiteering; kids need and deserve the best education; corporate-owned politicians pledge their allegiance to those who pay for them to go to Washington.
The platitudes uttered by others ring hollow. If the Democrats who now parrot Sanders, indeed share his beliefs and passions, why didn't they support him two years ago? Did they suddenly "see the light?" or, are they merely opportunists hoping that by speaking his words they will get elected?
Bernie Sanders needs to stick with his convictions, repeat his 40+ year rhetoric and keep showing his passion for working women and men of all colors and, not sell out the political establishment which has bankrupted our country and pushed for the status quo for to protect their own interests.
35
The column provoked really serious comments. I contributed to Bernie twice. Only politician ever. While he is forceful in setting the nations moral compass, it’s easy to dismiss the ideal as unrealistic or unaffordable.
It’s time to demonstrate the pragmatism necessary to achieve serious progress on lofty goals. As Ross pointed out, he’s done it as Burlington’s mayor. He’s done it in the senate. I have no doubt that he’s capable of demonstrating reasonable approach to funding, without so alarming industrial interests that they take up arms against him.
21
The Ralph Nader of 2016: did enough damage to guarantee a GOP victory while doing nothing to further progressive ideals. And now he's passé.
51
@halito27 Your comment is wrong on two levels. First, in 2016, Sanders worked hard after the election for Clinton. Additionally, far fewer of his primary voters defected in the general election than did Clinton primary voters in 2008.
Second, Sanders' willingness to champion progressive policies in 2016 that the mainstream Democrats patronizingly considered beyond the pale has successfully moved the entire political discussion to the Left, a necessary—if not sufficient in and of itself—condition for getting some real change.
11
@Hank Hoffman
Worked hard to help elect Clinton? Seriously?
Did doing nothing to stop his supporters booing every speaker at the Democratic convention count as "working hard"?
Did taking the entire month of August off to write his book on how to oppose a Clinton presidency (which made him a millionaire by-the-way) count as "working hard"?
Did waiting until late September before even beginning to do any campaigning for Clinton (and required a personal call from President Obama and a promise of a chartered jet from the DNC before he'd even consider it) count as "working hard"?
Does saying publically "it's not MY job to convince MY supporters to vote for Clinton", while giving a radio interview count as "working hard"?
If so then you have a very low standard for what you consider hard work.
7
It's early days and things will change, but Bernie's reiterating the message all over the country and it's catching on. I say if it's not broke, don't fix it.
Elizabeth Warren has experts fleshing out Bernie's message with real practical plans. And if she pulls ahead and wins the nomination, that's a fine outcome.
But it can't be said too often that they are free of ties to fossil fuel interests, the miitary/industrial behemoth, big tech and big pharma.
15
@betty durso
Elizabeth Warren is beginning to look a lot like Hillary.
Men and rural areas will not vote for her.
11
@esp
Because she is.... female?
The challenge for Sanders is that he has opened the path for an array of other candidates who have staked out positions, and even personal styles, that are arguably more appealing than Bernie's.
Just as Barry Goldwater crystallized the conservative movement bu failed to achieve his goal of winning the presidency, it's altogether conceivable that Bernie Sanders has done the same. It is said that Goldwater paved the way for candidates like Reagan, GWB, and even Trump.
The current array of decidedly left-leaning presidential candidates might not have been possible without Bernie's illuminating the path for others who might come across as less threatening to Americans who didn't like the hot feel of "the Bern."
It has long been said that elections are won in the middle. Whether that remains to be true is debatable, as there is evidence that the middle has eroded to point of relative insignificance. So, too, has the bi-partisan comity that once characterized our political system.
Time may not be on Sanders' side. The novelty of fresh faces has long been a compelling motivator for many voters, particularly when they learn the lessons of Sanders' and even Clinton's failed candidacies of 2016. Whether he can be "saved" may be as much a question of whether a fickle electorate has determined that there is a better, and safer, representative of progressive views.
In the end, feeling the "Bern" may not be enough for an electorate that may yearn to simply feel a warm embrace.
6
@Quoth The Raven
This is one of the best comments I've read in this thread today. Thanks for your many well made points.
Mr. Douthat is kinda sorta poking at something that I've been thinking about for a while now.
Most of what we hear from Democratic candidates is What They Intend To Do if they're elected President. Unsurprisingly, we hear a lot of proposals that are more or less outlandish, as they're all vying for our jaded attention.
But, so what? It's as if the moment whoever become President, what they wanted is what we got. But that's not how the real world works, where ideas and desires and good intentions are dumped into the maw of the Congressional sausage-machine, and something or other not necessarily related comes out the other end.
This suggests that the questions we really should be asking the Democratic candidates are not "What do you propose to do?", but more like "What would you find acceptable?" and "What range of options would you consider to represent a useful step forward?" Like, if you prefer single payer health care, fine; but would you support a solution that included private insurers in some capacity? And if so, in what capacity?
Answers to questions like these let me know whether I'd be voting for an ideologue or a pragmatic progressive or whatever… and give me a much better notion of how a candidate would respond in the Real World.
21
@GH, excellent proposals for these upcoming "debates". It would be so much easier if there were only 3 running, of course.
Senator Sanders is an Independent who caucuses with The Democrats in The Senate. Senator Sanders needs to run as an Independent Third Party candidate because that's who he is. Should Senator Sanders broaden his scope and talk up other senatorial accomplishments, perhaps he would be taken more seriously as well and not seen as a two issue (single payer and free college) candidate.
5
I have always thought that Bernie Sanders, if elected president, would be open to compromise and would govern accordingly. My reservation about Sanders has all to do with getting elected. I'm one of those Democrats who wants to support whoever has the best chance of defeating Donald Trump. That's job one! I don't think Sanders is that person. I can already hear the drum beat of socialist, socialist, socialist from the Trump campaign, and I think that Trump would be successful enough in his trash and burn strategy to defeat Sanders handily.
8
@RF
So you think that drumbeat won't happen with any Dem?
Seems to me that there are so many Dems running that even if only TWO run independently from the Democrat candidate, Trump can still run away with it by capturing a minority of the vote and with gerimandering advantage and doctoring of those results, it could easly be a win, win for the Republicans.
As for Bernie, he is a very decent man with morals and dedication - problem is: others are less so.
4
excellent article. i still believe he's the man for the job we simply have to get behind him. age should not be a factor here.
7
@hally
Sorry, age IS a factor. He's too old. Biden is too old. Americans at this stage are more conservative than they've been since LBJ was in power. The free school and single pay healthcare rhetoric isn't going to fly with today's conservative voter. Americans love their expensive war machine and endless wars. Guns or peace dividend. Take your pick. You cannot have both. I despise Trump but expect to see him get four more years. Bigly sad.
6
@h king You write, "Americans at this stage are more conservative than they've been since LBJ was in power."
Not true. As writer Eric Levitz noted recently in New York magazine, "According to political scientist James Stimson’s 'Public Policy Mood estimate' — a widely respected tool for measuring shifts in ideological opinion across time — the U.S. electorate is more sympathetic to left-wing economic policy today than at anytime in the past 68 years (which is as far back as Stimson’s data goes)."
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/americas-political-mood-is-now-most-liberal-ever-recorded.html
1
He should focus on his promise to provide long term health care (nursing home) and home care.
4
@John Booke, absolutely.
This is a very complicated race for DEMs. First I , like most DEMs at this point, will vote for whomever is the person running against trump. My second goal is to make the Senate work again by getting rid of McConnell. For the first these debates and news cycles are great fun but the outcome must be someone who can get the non DEM vote and beat trump. I don't believe Bernie can do that nor Warren so well see how things progress. As for Mitch, I can only pray!!!
7
Bernie cannot run on his record because, after a generation in office, he does not have one....unless naming post offices is presidential. Bernie was never interested in compromise or work because he is interested in only his revolution, which apparently he believes, he and only he can deliver. That's why he'll end up as an asterisk in history. We Vermonters did not get a chance to decide on whether Bernie should be president because he lied about it when he ran for re-election to the Senate.
21
I'm a Trump supporter whose second choice is Bernie. Why? Because Bernie has the same objective as Trump: help for the working class who have been harmed by both Democrat and Republican governments who support globalism.
Bernie also has an admirable and appealing passion and authenticity. I think Bernie could do what Trump can't. He could finish Trump's job so to speak.
Therefore, Bernie should go after Trump voters.
6
@Michael Dowd
In addition, Bernie is not a crook.
2
Sanders' problems have nothing to do with Sanders.
The problem is the Democratic electorate which has been whipped into a frenzy by identity politics and whose idea of a good rally is hearing a lot of brash women shout "You go girl."
For example, I never liked Joe Biden that much, but I was incensed at the way so many of my fellow democrats were overjoyed that Kamala Harris saw fit to attack him. If Kamala Harris is the nominee, I am ready to bet very good money that Donald will destroy her in the fall.
35
@David Gottfried
I don't know that Donald Trump can "destroy" Kamala Harris, at least not on a debate stage. Dem viewers of the last debate see in her someone who can make hamburger of him in that arena. But Harris has some serious drawbacks. They will become more visible as the debates and the general campaign unfold.
7
To a large part of the electorate, it doesn't matter who becomes the Democratic nominee.
A certain percentage will vote for Mr. Trump, regardless of who he's running against. A certain percentage will vote for his Democratic opponent, no matter who s/he is. Whatever it takes to convince the remainder, it probably won't be any of a variety of diverse advice, like this column, that all reduces to "gotta act more centrist".
Reality hasn't restrained the GOP and its phrasemakers during any recent election. Nor is Mr. Trump likely to spearhead a drive to ensure total truth during the 2020 race. Whatever they'll say about the next Democratic nominee isn't likely to be any more accurate than their projection that Pres. Obama was a Kenyan revolutionary.
9
Words matter to me and, I continue to assume, they also matter to journalists. So in the interest of precision, it's time to stop calling Joe Biden a "moderate." He has been a liberal for his entire career. Today's split in the Democratic Party, which has concerened me for several years, is between "liberals" and "progressives." I believe this started -- at least in a reasonably clear manner-- with Clinton and Sanders. The two wings of the Party share core values, but their disagreements have implosive potential.
5
@lhc Biden has been in favor of mass incarceration, the Iraq War, has been in the pocket of the financial and credit card industry, and partnered with segregationists to attack busing. A centrist, not a liberal.
I am grateful to Bernie Sanders for fighting the good fight, for running the race, for setting the terms of the public conversation. It's not all about winning. It's about influencing the discussion and there can be no doubt that he has succeeded at that.
I don't remember Bernie throwing 'a temper tantrum' when he lost last time. The polls were saying he had a better edge over Trump; THAT'S why he stayed in the game as long as he could. If the Dem's Clinton machine had been fair to him in the first place, he would have gotten the nomination and defeated Trump, and we wouldn't be in the miss we're in now.
It may be too late for him to win now, but I am glad he is running because he continues to raise important issues. I do admit, though, that he would fare better if he talked about reducing college loans instead of wiping them out. (What about all the people who've struggled to pay them off and what about all of the people who don't want to go to college in the first place?) He would also appeal to more people if he didn't come across as wanting to wipe out private health insurance. The point should be to make sure everyone has a decent form of health insurance. This doesn't mean we have to wipe out the private segment. In Germany there are both private and public forms and it works.
28
Polling at this stage is essentially worthless. Most of the 2020 primary electorate are not even paying attention to the race, much less choosing candidates. As the media puffs up one candidate this week and another the next it will nibble away at the polling numbers for the two candidates with the most name recognition. Bernie is doing what he should: raising money from more donors than any other candidate, getting his ideas out there and building his campaign infrastructure. He may win or he may not, but whichever it is will have little to do with what the polls said in July 2019.
13
When his answer to what’s your plan for healthcare is that we all rise up and demand it, I decided there is no way I could vote for him. Pragmatic solutions will make progress, not idealistic ones.
18
@Jude Parker Stevens
He's not wrong. If America rose up and demanded it, it would happen.
By the by, Sanders M4A is legislation. It can be voted upon, amended and priced by the CBO.
In this link, note at the bottom are links to the Medicare for All Act.
For a summary of the Medicare for All Act.
For the summary by title of the Medicare for All Act.
For a white paper on financing Medicare for All.
https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-14-senators-introduce-medicare-for-all
Knock your self out studying the pragmatic solutions that work in every OECD country around the globe. Instead of our current Profit Uber Alles Healthcare system; which isn't idealistic, it is idiotic and anything but pragmatic. But certain individuals prefer to pay double and get worse results, while bankrupting some 600,000 'merican's ea. yr., and allowing another 45,000 to die needlessly from lack of care, and tens of millions more to poor to use or afraid to access said HC.
Best to be not to be idealistic.
Lets just try for incremental, partial, maybe someday... nah, it's too hard... Don't aim for the best. Just accept good enough (for some, sorry, not, about the rest).
Just tell them to be pragmatic and die ok?!
2
Count me as someone pleased with the fact that Bernie has struck gold with the publication & success of his book. The difference between today & times past is that this kind of fortune doesn't require despoiling the environment, taking from the needy or using labor to feather one's own nest.
I think Bernie is typical of the average man of good will in that he'll gladly accept relative wealth as a positive, but won't step on someone to get it.
That said, he's about as American as one could get. And he'd make a fine & pragmatic president capable of compromise & agreement. But woe unto the unreconstructed plutocrat.
17
@Apple Jack
That about says it!
2
Since I among other things am an older male who has lived 60+ years of his life in the USA and 25+ in Sweden and Finland, I do not see Bernie Sanders at all as a revolutionary.
I do see him as a pragmatist and if I knew more about his history in Burlington Vermont I could very likely give many examples. Here is one that I think is true and a second that is not only true but well documented.
First: I believe he fought against letting Walmart set up a megastore in Burlington VT with no restrictions. In the end Walmart was set up in nearby Williston in a giant shopping mall that has a few green areas scattered through it.
Second: As a professor emeritus of Earth and Environmental Science I have followed the history of energy development in the USA very carefully from 1975 on. I know that in 1952 the Times had an article proclaiming that heat pump systems were the wave of the future and would sweep through New England replacing fossil fuel. The Times never wrote about that subject again.
But Bernie Sanders, way up there in very cold Burlington (my home away from home) learned everything possible about heat pumps and in 1983 held an all-day symposium in Burlington at which the EPA was represented-subject heat-pump technology as the wave of the future.
That was pragmatism at its best. I wish he would talk more about that and if Warren becomes the candidate I hope he will teach her about renewable energy.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
55
@Larry Lundgren If by sell-out and useful idiot, you mean pragmatist, then, yes, Bernie Sanders is your man:
When Bernie Sanders Thought Castro And The Sandinistas Could Teach America A Lesson
Michael Moynihan The Daily Beast http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/28/when-bernie-sanders-thought-castro-and-the-sandinistas-could-teach-america-a-lesson.html
- Bernie Sanders Loves This $1 Trillion War Machine
The socialist trumpets his antiwar record. But he doesn’t mind expensive war machines—if they’re based in his home state.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/09/bernie-sanders-loves-this-1-trillion-war-machine.html
- Bernie Sanders must deliver more than platitudes about abortion’ - Jessica Valenti, The Guardian http://gu.com/p/4g29q/sbl
@Larry Lundgren-Some ground-source geothermal heat pumps deserving of a New York Times renewable energy article:
Vermont
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rest stop on I-89
Champlain College - Admissions office, dormitories
Vermont State Office, Bennington,
Saint Michael's College, Colchester, Dion Center (display there not mentioned in their website tour)
Maine
Amtrak Station Saco
New York
Bloomberg Building, Roosevelt Island
Ground-source installations are invisible - the bore holes on the campus green at Saint Michael's a good example
2
@Linda - Once I moved to Sweden I knew little about Bernie Sanders but since I visit Vermont every summer I learned that he is a knowledgeable supporter of using heat pumps instead of natural gas, and that is a pragmatic action that no one else in the Congress even knows about.
Larry L.
3
"his support drops further when you screen for the most likely Democratic voters"
When you do that, your are screening out the Bernie voters. They are the voters who will stay home if they don't like either candidate. They are the ones who wouldn't vote for Hillary, no matter what. Democrats thought they could steamroller that. They didn't.
5
@Mark Thomason
And what did they get by staying home?
@Mark Thomason
What "steamroller"?
Bernie lost by 3.9 MILLION votes, 289 state delegates, and 550+ superdelegates. Bernie couldn't win any of the Southern states, couldn't win the large states, and couldn't even win caucuses that weren't lily-white (ie- Nevada).
Bernie lost the primary by every single metric that you can possibly measure a primary... and he lost by a huge margin.
Of course his supporters saw this as "proof" that he was somehow cheated (willingly egged on by Russian propaganda to that effect), and tossed the election to an orange turnip who has been cheerfully destroying EVERY SINGLE THING that you Bernie supporters claim to value ever since.
Nice going.
1
Bernie Sanders was always a pragmatist.
That is how he got things done as a party-of-one using the method of the "Amendment King."
That is how he won his Senate seat repeatedly, in a state that for example respects gun rights.
When you write that Bernie needs to become a pragmatist, you are misleading, extremely misleading. He's always been that.
If Bernie is vulnerable today, it is because others not so pragmatic want more, want it now, don't want to hear that. Go ask Pelosi about that.
Bernie needs to reach out to those far less pragmatic than he, in order to bring them on board.
22
Ross Douthat please, please do not patronize Bernie Sanders. That is an insult of the first order. Bernie Sanders doesn't need any help whatsoever to save himself. He knows full well that his primary role is clearly to help unify the Democratic Party. He will stand with the candidate who proves beyond a doubt that they are the front runner. He knows that the first priority is to develop a Democratic Party leader that can resoundingly defeat Donald Trump and hep carry the Senate.
15
If so he is doing a bd job at it. What he knows and what he Cheever’s are different things.
@JefflzNot sure he's there to help the Democratic party and unify it. To him, his agenda is more important. He will again help Trump win because it's doubtful he'll win the nomination so he'll tear down the others.
Sanders also lacks Reagan's sunny disposition. I think this is the bigger problem than politics.
14
@Michael Livingston’s
He also lacks Reagan's senility.
@Michael Livingston’s
Being lectured by a grumpy old man is not pleasant, the wagging finger doesn't help.
2
@Michael Livingston’s -- Reagan was deceptive. Reagan was an actor. His sunny disposition was an act. He essentially lied to the American people, or willfully ignored all that was desperately wrong with the country, just as he ignored the AIDS crisis when it hit, when thousands -- millions -- of lives could have been saved. Sanders realizes the dire straits most Americans are in, and his demeanor matches the grim situation. He isnt sugar coating anything.
Interesting. Bernie seems to have very good head-to-head poll numbers against Trump. This was also true in 2016, though the Democrats ignored this. Hopefully they don't ignore him, or whoever it is who becomes the best match-up, this time around.
18
@David
Bernie had good poll numbers against Trump because the RNC, GOP superPACs, conservative media, Russian active-measures programs, and Trump himself were all propping him up in order to hurt Clinton.
It's not hard to look popular when the guys you are supposed to be trying to beat are all singing your praises (and have Russian internet bots/trolls skewing online polls).
1
Reagan ran against Carter, the only reason he won.
15
Three words: Iran Hostage Crisis
1
@marcos
Trump ran against Clinton, the only reason he won.
And as a sitting senator, as Vox’s Matthew Yglesias pointed out, he “talked about his blue-sky political ideals as something he believed in passionately, but he separated that idealism from his practical legislative work, which was grounded in vote counts.”
Sander's legislative accomplishments all these many years he's served first as a congressman and then as a senator are either illusory or a very well kept secret.
14
@Leigh
I think there are four, three of which are renaming post offices.
1
His age is hurting him. Don't get me wrong, a lot of the candidates of advanced age, but he's among the oldest and he looks it.
I have legit concern he would die in office. This isn't disqualifying but it does mean he needs a bang up vice president and not just a vice president who is around to make him look better.
Until I know who that will be, I have reservations even though I really like the guy.
8
@Lesley Ragsdale
It seems that the smarter option would be just to skip Bernie altogether and vote for whomever his supposed VP might be.
10
@Lesley Ragsdale
I can give you numerous examples of Jewish men who get to 90+ with body and mind going strong. And who knows what's keeping our obese, nonsleeping, nonexercising President going.
1
Bernie got a lot of traction in 2016 as he was the only alternative to Hillary Clinton.
This year he faces many alternatives, some of whom have co-opted his message. He is clearly getting squeezed by Elizabeth Warren for example.
5
I always felt Bernie rode the wave from the Occupy movement when young people took over small pieces of land and demanded change in the economic system. Bernie seemed to turn that energy for change into his campaign. It has led to "the squad" in the House and an organized effort to oust centrist Democrats in primaries. The battle over control of the Democratic Party is on in large part thanks to Sanders. It is hard to see Sanders having a pathway to the Democratic nomination given the opponents he is facing. He isn't saying anything new which means his message is so stale that voters are paying much more attention to other candidates who are providing new ideas. He may hang in there for a awhile but I wouldn't be surprised if his candidacy ended after Super Tuesday.
4
@Bob
Given his demonstrated stubbornness and ego in 2016, I suspect that only thing that will make Bernie quit is when he runs out of money.
This year is probably his last hurrah so he's likely to stay in the race as long as possible. Then he'll blame the media (and the DCCC), saying that they gave more airtime/space to other candidates than they did to him, which will gin up his supporters and inspire them to again attempt to disrupt the party convention.
13
@Lisa
The facts back up that supposition.
As do the reasons for the un-democratic convention.
tyndallreport.com/yearinreview2016/
https://harpers.org/archive/2016/11/swat-team-2/
https://fair.org/home/washington-post-ran-16-negative-stories-on-bernie-sanders-in-16-hours/
2
It's pretty simple Ross.
Hillary Clinton made Sanders look good. Remember? He was the only other Democratic option in 2016.
Now faced with far more competition, multiple interesting candidates who have way less baggage than Hillary, Sanders is struggling.
This was easy to predict.
8
@Pono
And some of the candidates have way less baggage than Sanders himself.
6
Bernie worked with Republicans in the Burlington City government? C’mon, Ross! Do a little research. There are and were no Republicans with any power in the Burlington City government when Bernie was mayor. And, as to his effectiveness as a congressman and as a senator, it’s not there. He has been one of — if not the least — effective elected representatives/senators in Washington. Counting votes? For whom? He has originated very little in the way of successful bills that have been actually passed and signed into law.
20
@Mike
Yet you provide nothing to back up YOUR comment; and accuse Ross of not doing research.
Look up Antonio Pomerleau, a wealthy Republican developer who stated to Sanders that "you might be mayor, be I run Burlington".
Pomerleau opposed Sanders in his campaign for mayor of Burlington in 1980; Sanders made a point during the campaign of blaming Pomerleau for police problems and pledging to oust him from his chairmanship.
Instead, after Sanders won, Pomerleau reversed direction and became one of the first establishment figures to support the newly elected mayor.
https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2018/02/09/antonio-pomerleau-vermont-developer-and-philanthropist-dies-100/322621002/
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/26/us/politics/as-mayor-bernie-sanders-was-more-pragmatic-than-socialist.html
Seems the constituents of the longest running Independent politician would disagree with you about Sanders success, and effectiveness.
There is more to being a public servant than bills and legislation.
http://occasionalplanet.org/2016/03/04/a-list-of-bernie-sanders-accomplishments/
As one of the most respected, trusted and liked active politicians in America today, his few bills only seem to bother some of you.
12
He's known for renaming one or two post offices, I believe.
@CB
He's also recognized and awarded for his 11,000 Community Health Clinics serving urban and rural communities. An $11 billion dollar piece of legislature that serves annually some 28 million Americans who wouldn't have access to HealthCare without it and him.
He's also known for his bipartisan Veterans Bill of 2014. A massive $16 billion dollar piece of negotiated HealthCare that Sanders was again given recognition from vets and awarded for his service.
He's also known for his assistance in the Fight for $15. Writing punitive legislation and constantly using his bully pulpit on behalf of American workers who were suffering under low stagnate min. wage. With Sanders help these corp., that employ more POC, women and American workers in general, than any other business, won a doubling of wages.
But yes, he did name two post offices too.
Lets ignore the some 50+ million Americans who's life Sanders has made demonstrably better bringing Healthcare and monies into their pockets in the places most needed.
1
The widespread love for Sanders is evident in our willingness to support him even in the face of our deadly fear of Trump, and the disqualifying meme of "socialist". He is so deeply and authentically an honest supporter of working people. I wish we could bottle him.
57
There was an interesting article in Politico yesterday (July 12)
Sanders and Warren voters have astonishingly little in common
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/12/sanders-warren-voters-2020-1408548
The gist of it:
- Sanders attracts younger, less educated, less well off and/or male supporters
- Warren attracts older, better educated, better off, and/or female supporters.
- Sanders supporters prefer Biden as a second choice
- Warren supporters prefer Harris as a second choice
Finally, the article concludes that Warren is likely to be able to grow her base (particularly among black women) whereas Sanders' base is pretty well case in concrete and unlikely to increase.
19
@GrumpyOldePhart
Warren had her chance in 2016 to support her beliefs and she chose silence, then to act like Hillary embodied those beliefs. This Sanders voter now prefers Inslee as a second choice.
5
@GrumpyOldePhart
LOL...
Hmm...Sanders beats (ties one 12%-13%) Warren handily in the age groups from 18to64yr olds, but loses one...65yr. old and up.
Sanders has Black voters @ 19%, Warren @ 9%.
Sanders has men @ 22%, Warren @ 11%.
Sanders has women @ 18%, Warren @ 14%.
But Politico quotes Warren fans, and concludes that the numbers they posted from the studies don't matter, and Warren might increase her numbers.
Can you please point to the quote that states Sanders numbers/base is pretty well case (sic) in concrete and unlikely to increase.?!
Couldn't find that conclusion anywhere.
Good old Politico.
They seem to love to kneecap Sanders when ever possible. From anti-Semitic covers, to false Russian troll stories.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/6/4/1862600/-Bernie-Calls-Politico-Article-Calling-Him-Cheap-an-anti-Semitic-article
https://corporatenewsreviews.blogspot.com/2018/02/politico-promotes-another-false-anti.html
4
@GrumpyOldePhart Subaru's vs F150's.
Ross,
I think that the left lacks a source of ideas and critical review that the right has in NR and other outfits. As a result politicians like AOC and Sanders need to do both the street political fighting, policy generators as well as idea generators for the left broadly speaking. This is why sometimes someone who is a Never Trump conservative feels the need to step in to fulfill the later goal.
My twin daughters were in the middle of college ten years ago in the big recession. My business training corporate IT staff was cut in half and flattened out down there. I sold whatever assets I had to make tuition for the twins so they wouldn't have to run up so much debt.
I'm a Bernie guy. When he jumps on a bandwagon that bails other families out of their debts when I sold all I had to avoid them, he loses me.
10
@Billy
I too sacrificed retirement funds to give my child a great education. But I don't resent others' not having to do the same.
9
@RAC it seems to be the american reflex, why should i have to "pay" for my neighbour. we simply can't get our heads around this in europe. somehow the notion that it could be anyone, it could happen to you, just doesn't ring at all.
5
@Billy And what would your opinion be if you didn't have those assets to sell in the first place?
1
Love the man, but he is forever entwined with an election that will go down in history as an historic loss for decency, democracy and democrats. When I think of Biden I think of Obama, when I think of Bernie a part of me, involuntarily, flinches. I in no way hold him responsible but I can see why people might be gun shy about pulling for a guy who participated in the last gunfight. The one where Trump was the last one standing.
35
Democratic socialism has been part of Quebec government since the quiet revolution when Rene Levesque helped us make our electric utilities a single public enterprise and also make our all purpose government financial system which sells insurance and equities the best run financial institution in North America.
Some of us remember ultra conservative Quebec and the low taxes , the bad schools (there were some good schools that kept the system going). I remember the corruption, the church run health, education and welfare and the generational privilege of the pillars of Quebec society.
It is 2019 and we are freer, our economy is robust, we are a leader in business start-ups, we are short workers, we have full employment and we enjoy an exceptional standard of living and an optimism you will not find elsewhere in North America.
Mr Douthat would no doubt draw attention to the fact that our churches are empty, 70% of new doctors are females and our strictly meritocratic universities are overwhelmingly female but some of us think this is not a bad thing.
My wife and I receive cheques each month because our government ran a 4.4 billion dollar surplus and decided we seniors should receive a dividend because our liberal democracy is run by our best and brightest.
I understand peace order and good governance is not everyone's cup of tea but we understand democratic socialism to be a fundamental part of good governance.
360
@Montreal Moe: Thank you Moe for describing how a real Democracy, as opposed to our plutocracy, works. Too bad Canada doesn’t have open borders, I’m sure many Americans, myself included, would be there in a week, fleeing rapidly increasing inequality and violence in search of a better life.
98
@Ted
Canada believes in liberal democracy but each province has its own Social Contract and each province has its own unique set of ethics and values and sets of ethics and values it shares with the other territories and province.
Universal healthcare and guaranteed access to broadband are basic human rights because of our social contract. Our laws and our constitution serve our social contract.
I am not optimistic for the USA because your legal sophists have convinced you the social contract serves the constitution. I don't know how you cure such madness.
73
Don’t forget to mention the tens of billions of dollars that Quebec has had transferred to it over the past several decades from the other provinces.
5
My big problem with Bernie is that he was completely unable to explain how he would implement "Medicare for All." The moderator repeated the question to make sure he understood what he was being asked and he was completely unable to explain how he planned to achieve his stated goal. He just reiterated why we need universal healthcare. He lost me right there.
Bernie is a big picture guy. He does not appear to have a plan to deal with Republicans or the Senate in general and Elizabeth Warren has essentially the same domestic policy goals but she has a plan for everything.
Joe Biden has more incremental and probably pragmatic goals. We need to get back on track before we can go very far forward. I don't know if Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren would be best at this point, but Bernie can only articulate what he wants, not how how can get what he wants. This does not bode well for him.
46
@Alison
I think we all, no matter the protestations from various quarters know that a single payer system is absolutely the best way to go. Knowing that Sen. Sanders would lead that charge is the most important thing in getting it accomplished.
One of the big problems, now, is not their positions on healthcare. It is immigration. With Sen. Warren's new plan, and I've only seen a bit of it, I'm afraid she has done herself significant damage with democrats and independents. Sen. Sanders has stated on several occasions that we need to keep our borders tight and I and many other democrats I know feel that way. So, I am giving him another look even though I have, for years, wanted Elizabeth Warren to be President and I have praised her often.
Our immigration laws need to be tightened yesterday and the 2014 decision by the BIA court which expanded social groups to include domestic and gang violence needs to be reversed. This is the biggest lure for Central Americans. That young man with his child who drowned in the river was no casualty of metering at the border but, instead, was invited by our absurd immigration laws which are now, with all the media attention, luring people from all over the world. It is insane and Sen. Warren's position of making it a civil penalty instead of criminal will do nothing to make people think twice before starting a dangerous journey.
5
Sanders needs to be careful about alienating the voters that he brought to his campaign in 2016. The recent declaration that those in prison should be allowed to vote is unrealistic, would be a logistical nightmare and alienates voters. Having persons who completed their sentences be given the right to vote perhaps makes sense. The free college for all…., seems a bit much, and really we should be directing young people to alternatives such as technical training in fields of construction, welding , plumbing. Having not attended college should not be some badge of shame. The community colleges could be a means toward less expensive college and spring board toward further college if they show the aptitude and desire to continue. He needs to flesh out the ideas he has already articulated to show how they can become a reality. I hope he is laying low and using this time to bring more life to his campaign while the field narrows. He has already brought the party to the left. Now he needs to maintain the voters he attracted and save his voice for the Primary campaign debates. I think the DNC is still disdainful of Sanders and that could be tough, but at least there is hope it will not be as biased. Was nice to see a piece in the NYT that was not slighting Sanders and was an insightful critique of the candidate and campaign.
1
Mr. Douthat, please note that if Mr. Sanders were a pragmatist, he would would not be running.
24
I maxed out my donation to Bernie in 2016, but I've realized since then that he's more of a prophet than a practitioner. I also resent that he's given birth to this belligerent, self-absorbed Squad, who are likely to drive away any moderate republicans and independents, while fracturing any democratic alliance.
This time, I'm voting for Biden, with Warren as a backup. I hope Bernie is not the nominee, though I'll vote for him if he is, of course.
12
Bernie can't change the image he's built for so many decades. As for pragmatic, Liz Warren is stealing his progressive platform by explaining clearly and simply how to make it work. As Joe Biden and Bernie are both proving, once you've established an image and platform, it's hard to change it. It's also easy for accomplished challengers to chip away at and undermine that image and platform.
Bernie had the great advantage of having Hillary Clinton for a foil in 2016. Now, both Liz Warren and Kamala Harris are finding him a useful foil for their own campaigns. Bernie would have had it much easier had this race been between him and Joe Biden; now he's besieged on three sides at the very least. It will be very hard for him to add a new element to his ethos, especially since Liz and Kamala have so much room to develop their own. And then there's Joe; he won't be going away any time soon.
9
@Eric Caine
"Liz" and Kamala will sell you out. Bernie won't.
I remember Reagan. I don't remember anything pragmatic about him. I don't know where Mr. Douthat is coming up with this. Reagan was a hard-core ideologue who spewed vacuous platitudes like morning in America drivel and turning its people against their government and vilifying it, something the Soviet Union could only have dreamed of doing. He basically initiated the oligarchy we currently have.
Meanwhile, Sanders is addressing real systemic issues that need fixing, especially our corrupt, inefficient healthcare system that leaves millions uninsured and the rest praying they don't get stuck having to rely on it. He is also confronting the gross income inequality in this country that results in 40% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck and unable to afford a $400 emergency.
Sanders has been consistent and talks about issues that are popular with voters. These polls that have Biden out in front are probably from the same pollsters that had JEB! out in front too. The establishment and Wall Street are terrified that their days are numbered. Systemic change is coming their way whether they like it or not. That's pragmatism.
260
@FXQ
Reagan in USA like thatcher in Britain broke the link between the 10% and 90% income rises. Until they came to power the incomes of all rose at the same percentage rate. After them the rate for the 90% became roughly 0% but the 10% maintained their income rise. In Britain this changed the ratios with the rich going from 40 times the rest to well over 200 times. In USA the ratio is much higher.
25
@irdac
Exactly.
8
@FXQ
The thing I remember is that Reagan "spewed vacuous platitudes like morning in America drivel and turning its people against their government and vilifying it."
The main difference between him and Trumps are as follows:
1. He spewed drivel in correct English via non-Twitter media.
2. He vilified government (interestingly he did little to fix the very institution he railed against and was heading) whereas Trump vilifies media as FAKE news.
In spite of these differences their goals were the same: tax cuts for the uber rich, sell arms to shady governments, and malign minorities.
23
This history of compromise may be his strong point but his public persona as a presidential candidate is anything but. He's pushing for a revolution of millions of people against Wall St. I can't see him turning a new leaf in the debate and arguing he's a pragmatist and ready to work across the aisle. His base would abandon him. It is this radical image he cultivated that gave him his following.
6
You're late to the party Ross. Bernie has been making this pitch since he went up against the DNC-anointed nominee Hilary. Had the DNC not placed their heavy thumb on the scales and ensured that Sanders wouldn't be the nominee, we would have a Sanders Presidency, not a Trump one.
Plenty of the voters who went for Trump would've voted instead for Sanders. And many of these will vote for him if he's the nominee against Trump. He has a long, proven track record of fighting for the "little guy/gal" of ALL demographics, and can be counted on to do that if elected, unlike Trump who merely gave lip service to these ideas, and who has proven himself to be just another rich guy looking to get richer.
That said, Bernie has his hands full because Warren has proposed a similar platform, and has been espousing it for years. She's also a woman, and doesn't wear the dreaded "socialist" label. Harris also speaks of restoring economic equality, is also a woman, and is black, and also declines to wear the "socialist" tag. Frankly, I would be happy with any of them as the nominee, but I still prefer Bernie as my first choice.
We'll have to see how things shake out, but I could envision a ticket of Sanders/Harris being an extremely strong one. What I'm hoping for is that the scrum be quickly pared down to about 5-6 candidates so we can better focus on their strengths and weaknesses. Right now there's too much noise and not enough information.
61
@Kingfish52 --- Quite right, many voters who went for Trump would have voted for Sanders. In fact, they did vote for Sanders -- in the Democratic primary. They would vote for Sanders again if he got the nomination. An untapped source of voters the Democratic party would be well not to dismiss.
16
@Kingfish52, look up Harris as a DA and AG of California before you decide. Her harms to prisoners, immigrants, and minorities were many, as she was the darling of the "law and order" bunch. There's a reason she's showing childhood pictures at a Presidential debate instead of her achievements as a powerful adult. And blaming Biden falsely and personally; any one of many things she not only espoused, but enacted, would end Biden at once. But people don't even look her up. The picture is enough.
5
@Kingfish52 I refer you to the following article:
https://truthout.org/articles/kamala-harris-has-a-distinguished-career-of-serving-injustice/
4
He IS a pragmatist. If he weren't, his vote would not have been in favor of the ACA. It wasn't Bernie who held it up; it was the blue dogs. Ask Harry Reid about that one.
Stop sliming Bernie or at least bother to find out what you talking about first.
74
Bernie Sanders still hasn't managed to learn the lessons from 2016-- whether it's getting beyond his own hand-picked demographic, changing his campaign rhetoric to attract new voters, or recognizing when he's taking on water and needs to bail in order to keep the boat afloat.
Like him or not, the reality remains that Sanders wouldn't stand a chance in winning the Democratic nomination, and much less of a chance in defeating Trump.
Besides. He isn't even a Democrat.
32
@N. Smith
It has taken Quebec over 50 years to go from an ultra conservative theocracy/plutocracy to a very successful liberal democracy. It has taken America over fifty years since the Civil Rights Act and Goldwater's Civil Rights Act speech that advocated extremism for its destruction to develop today's Kakistocracy.
I suspect for America there is no turning back much like here in Quebec the Camel's nose of theocracy is so unwelcome that religion is seen as an enemy of the people. I suspect you are correct that Bernie has as much of a chance at being president as America has of again becoming an evolving liberal democracy.
Sadly when Solon saved Athens from the bankers and the hedge fund managers there was no printing press or written record to tell tell us how to wrest control from the masters of the universe without a revolution.
9
@Montreal Moe
I daresay after two and a half years of Donald Trump, there's probably every reason to suspect America has a fairly good chance of becoming an evolving democracy again.
But it's too much to ask for the wide-spread acceptance of some of the more liberal ideas being put forth by the left leaning progressive voices -- and apparently Bernie Sanders hasn't figured that out yet.
4
@N. Smith -- Sanders would stand every chance of defeating Trump. First, many Democrats who voted for Sanders in the primary went on to vote for Trump in the general; they would come back if given the chance. Secondly, Sanders would capture all the lefty voters who typically stay home (or vote for a hopeless third party candidate like Stein or Nader) when a moderate Democrat is nominated. Third, moderate Democrats would vote for Sanders (or a ham sandwich) if he were the nominee, just because they want to defeat Trump. So Sanders would maximize the Democratic vote and add some persuadable Trump voters to the total. So much for unelectability. The charge that Sanders isnt a Democrat is specious: he caucuses with the Democrats and votes with them. If party registration is all you care about, I can recommend someone who was a Democrat most of his life: Donald Trump.
11
Bernie is the only candidate that can bring together coastal progressives and the working class.
He talks about issues and doesn't get lost in the identity politics morass.
Americans agree we need real change on economic issues.
Americans are divided on social issues.
He's our best hope to beat Trump.
136
@meowmix
There’s no question Bernie is our best hope but the Establishment of both parties and the press would rather us stay stuck with Trump than share the pie more fairly as Bernie would endeavor to do. We only get one shot - our vote- to try to start righting the wrongs, and mine, and that of many I know, is going to Bernie. Here’s hoping he goes the distance- the FDR for our times.
18
@Ellen "The FDR for our times" is a great saying. I like it, but will it play with the likes of AOC, Tlaib, Pressley, et al? I would hesitate to see the results of polling voters under 30 who know what FDR means.
@meowmix When you wake from your dream vote for Warren. There are only enough progressives to vote him mayor of Burlington Vermont.
5
In 2016 Sanders alone represented the insurgent elements within the Democratic Party & benefited as the Clinton campaign ground on to its inevitable nomination success while failing failed to ignite much enthusiasm. Would he (& Clinton for that matter) have had as much success if Warren, for example, had sought the 2016 nomination?
By contrast, Sanders is squeezed currently by several candidates, notably by Biden, Warren & Harris that address many of the themes & issues over which Sanders had the stage largely to himself in 2016. Like Clinton in 2016, Sanders currently gives off the aura of someone whose opportunity has passed.
/
1
There is a huge difference between Reagan and Bernie in personality type and world outlook.
Reagan was cheerful, optimistic, saw America as the city of the hill, an inspiration to the world.
Quite to the contrary, Bernie's world view is that America is conspiracy against the average American. Essentially a negative assessment of America.
It is not surprising at all that Bernie's poll numbers would sooner or later drift into the sunset because the spirit of America is much more upbeat than Bernie's philosophy.
The Democratic candidate that most nearly captures the optimistic spirit of America is Joe Biden.
That is his strength and the reason he is the one single Democratic who has a possibility of beating Trump, according to the polls.
10
@David
You must live at Disneyworld rather than the real world.
Sanders is realistic. Personally, I think that's a good quality in a politician.
1
I am a Bernie supporter, but if Liz Warren is lucky enough to get the nod then I say good. No matter what happens I want Bernie to stay out there through the primaries so that he can animate voters with his ideas.
46
To select their strongest candidate, the Democrats need to use ranked choice voting in their primaries. It has been used effectively in Maine where there were many candidates put forward for various offices. Do dems really want to require that their primary voters pick only their top choice among so many?
16
Different circumstances and times defined different candidates, Regan and Sanders. If during the Obama years, the economic recovery was labeled anemic, it really hasn’t improved under Trump. Yes, there are more temporary or part-time minimum wage jobs without benefits, but people have to work two jobs to barely make it through the month. In 2016, there was only Sanders addressing this gap, this election cycle you have many more candidates with heft. Weather you like her or not, Sen. Warren has fulsome ideas, complete with solutions which is attractive to many former Sanders supporters.
2
As a Sanders enthusiast, I would offer another factor in addition to Mr. Douthat's. His staff-driven, on-line (email) presence is very different this time than last. Even enthusiasts grow annoyed at 8 to 10 (or more!) emails a day-- most essentially asking for money in the guise of "offering information" about the candidate. It's irritating to have an email signal constantly pinging away. Enough to make me unsubscribe (which I did).
He is still my favorite candidate and I hope he prevails but he needs to rein in his staff.
Also, though I hate to say it, he is beginning to look worn out much of the time. It must be exhausting, campaigning. But when added to his age, it does not bode well and I know this.
I suspect that if I, a supporter, am feeling this then some others must be as well.
11
@AS
I agree there are too many emails and also a bit turned off by emails asking for support for hangers-on
1
A poster here said Sanders doesn't know how to compromise, and knows nothing of real life politics.
Who was marching with MLK back in the day? I think he has proven his understanding of politics over and over.
Check out the Scandinavian nations to see what "Democratic Socialism" looks like.
74
@RLiss If you have to reach back 50+ years to a march with MLK for an example of compromise, you have a problem. And thankfully, MLK wasn't about compromise. What compromises on civil rights or anything else has Sanders forged in the Senate? Maybe 1-2 pieces of legislation in several decades? So again, there's a problem.
Scandinavian parties are Social Democrats, btw.
8
@RLiss
Seawater Sanders stands strong for compromise in the Seanate, where he is known as the “Amendment King”.
1
My dream ticket is Sanders-Gabbard. Bernie has the moxie to fight for the forgotten middle class and Tulsi has the brains to keep us out of forever-wars.
45
Having been a Bernie supporter since living in Burlington in the 1970s, I have always been on board with him. He organized a wonderful coalition of people to put him over the top to to win as mayor, and did a great job being one. The staid business community came around to support his excellent initiatives for the town - the largest in Vermont. While a number of my friends are currently enamored with Elizabeth Warren, I see her as a Johnny- come- lately, imitating some of Bernie’s views and positions. I will stick with Bernie, and believe he will go the distance! Bernie 2020!
87
@Ellen I had a house south of Burlington on Lake Champlain when Bernie was mayor. Burlington is the perfect place for Bernie and he should retire there ASAP. My votes with Warren.
16
@Ellen I couldn’t agree more Ellen, Liz is an Ivory Tower liberal, she articulates her positions well but. I just don’t find her compelling, as for Kamala I have a hard time disassociating her from Willie Brown and the Range Rover she cruised around San Francisco in when I lived there, she’s enormously attractive and an eloquent speaker but to pretend that she’s a woman of the people and not another party hack version of Hillary, interested primarily in the big bucks, is to be naive. I’m with Bernie, he’s the real deal.
30
@Ted so well said. perfectly articulate and duplicating my thoughts EXACTLY!!!
5
For Ms. Warren's plans to work, she has to pull off a real coup, as far as funding is concerned.
She has to get states, some of which are already in a fiscal bind, to agree to match funding with the federal government (part of her plan), on a huge scale (on the order of $500 billion over 10 years, and ongoing).
She has to convince Congress to agree to a wealth tax plan, generating $2.75 trillion over 10 years. Wow! Our U.S. GDP is only about $19.4 trillion.
Warren's plans may be backed by spreadsheets, but the funding column, thus far, is blank (or filled in with imaginary numbers). This is a good reason to back a more moderate position.
7
Giving advice to democrats is one of the favorite pastimes of their adversaries Mr. Douthat and Mr. Brooks. It's odd. Coaching makes sense coming from one's own coach; coming from the opposing team's coach, it makes none. But it's not hard to see that the republicans still able to reason who have somehow not abandoned that party due to the paradox involved would not care to talk about their own problems. One is the fact that their president is more demented--no insult, I mean clinically--every single day, and that is going to be something we will all have to face, probably soon. Another is that once a cult is removed from reality to the extent that most of Trump's fans are, it stops growing. Those vulnerable to that extreme appeal are in, and those who were not are driven out. Even the NRA is failing due to crashing membership. Brooks and Douthat are hanging on by their fingernails to the daily-more-ragged idea that anything is left but madness. What, if anything, will be done about these fatal problems for the republicans is unclear indeed. It would be interesting to hear Douthat's thoughts on those issues. And not advice to the party he hopes will lose.
75
"But when you look at the polls of Democrats’ first and second choices, you see something interesting: While there are certainly Warren voters for whom Bernie is a second choice, there are actually more Biden voters who list Sanders as their second option (and vice versa)."
That should tell you something about the polls...
3
@Ms. Smith
Biden voters pick Sanders as a 2nd choice because they're choosing based on name recognition. Doesn't mean that share either Biden's or Sander's politics. Most people won't start paying close attention to the race for another year or so. I envy them.
9
Perhaps the Biden/Sanders are showing a preference for a male candidate whatever the policy specifics...
3
If Sanders was pragmatist he would not be a Socialist.
4
@mattjr:
check out the Scandinavian countries who are doing quite well with it.
15
@RLiss
It is a canard that Scandinavian countries are socialist. They are emphatically NOT. They are well regulated market economies with robust social safety nets.
10
@RLiss
You do know that the Scandinavian countries pay at least double the amount of taxes that we do here, don't you. It's the part that would be socialists conveniently fail to mention. We'd have riots in the streets.
1
Sanders will never be the Democratic candidate for president. First, he’s not a Democrat. Second, he’s a socialist. Third, he does not poll well with older voters or voters of color. Fourth, his base is eroding. When it was a choice between him or Clinton, younger voters could see the clear distinction. But when it’s a choice between Sanders or Warren, good luck in keeping that distinction. I use my two nephews, ages 18 and 21, as barometers for how younger voters feel. In 2016 they loved, love, loved Sanders. Now they have moved to Warren. They are impressed that she actually has plans for putting her proposals into action. As a Senator from Vermont, Sanders has a career. As a Presidential candidate, he’s toast - yesterday’s toast.
39
An interesting article in a peculiar sort of way, Mr. Douthat. If a truly certifiable person like Trump could be elected as POTUS, what could possibly be so scary about Sanders.
Sanders problem this time around is that he has more "diverse" competition, and I am not referring to ideological diversity. The basic divides in the Democratic Party are not merely between more or less economically progressive candidates, but fragmentation based on various "identities."
Rather than Reagan in 1980, a more telling comparison might be McGovern in 1972 and the fragmentation in the Democratic Party based factors other than who opposed the war more. When a serious, dedicated fighter for economic justice is dismissed, not because of the ideas he proposes, but because many Democrats consider him to be Pale and Male, if not Stale (they consider Biden to be all three) and Warren is pale, but neither male, nor stale. Harris, of course lacks all three strikes against her, but wait until her record is open to Republican "scrutiny."
1
I want the next Democratic president if she has to deal with a divided Congress to fight McConnell with every power that a president can wield. There will be no grand compromise.
On another matter, I see Bernie as a John the Baptist paving the way for a younger progressive president build on the ideas that Bernie articulated and that got a favorable response from the people.
Will Bernie go peacefully if he is not the nominee in a much fairer primary then four years ago and support the nominee? I truly hope so for his sake and the sake of the country.
7
@Emily Adah I voted for Bernie in the WI primary and would be very happy to vote for him in 2020. We had Bernie bumper sticker and it was the first time that people came up and said they liked our sticker. Bernie has competition on the left this year and I was just speculating about what Bernie might do if he did not get the nomination.
Grand visions need to be backed up with Excel spreadsheets showing how they will be funded. Warren has those; Sanders does not.
“Campaign in poetry, govern in prose” goes the old saw. Bernie does fine with the poetry, but the prosaic realities of government are, I fear, beyond his grasp.
16
@Charlie B
No. That's not what a president does. If she wants to write bills then she should do that NOW in her current position.
Presidents don't write bills. They sign them. We were ready to be present when Obama won. We could have made huge changes. We weren't asked to help. We need someone to lead and rally support. We need the president to encourage congress but not do their job for them.
5
From the article: “…his mission should be to peel off Biden voters by... telling them that he’s more than just a radical, that he isn’t allergic to compromise, that he can actually make deals and work the inside game. That it’s safe to vote for him, in other words, if you like the man but aren’t sure about the revolution.”
I agree that Sanders is more than a radical. But the problem for him is that he DOES seems allergic to compromise, and he’s never been one to make deals or work any inside game.
Considering what the stakes are, I’m really not sure that it IS safe to vote for him, especially since I do like the revolution, but not the man.
Fortunately for Democrats, there are a number of other candidates carrying the same or similar banner who don’t regard a seat in Washington as merely a place from which to carp about things.
My vote will be going to one of them.
9
@itsmecraig: OK, you don't like Bernie, but to say that a Democrat who can work with Mike Lee and Rand Paul is allergic to compromise, is a bit much.
1
when mr douthat starts telling democrats how they should think or why they should do something else, i am very suspicious. especially if the name reagan is brought up. call me old, but i remember the devastation let behind by reagan and bush 1. democrats came back in after them and put the country back on a reasonable path. democrats must be wise about whom they put forward to be our next president.
btw i didn't feel the bern the last time in 2015/2016 and i still don't. he's still I-VT, right?
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@Laurence
Reagan was one of the most popular presidents, ever, so many people don't agree with your assessment of his tenure. Bush was the less popular one.
Clinton followed after Bush, and he started the mass exodus of American industry out of the country, with NAFTA. I don't see how that is putting us on a "reasonable path".
7
@Raz, I think you're rewriting history. NAFTA was proposed by Ronald Reagan and negotiations started under Bush I. Wikipedia says that it wasn't ratified by all parties until 1993, so that was when Clinton was president. But ratification was held up by concerns of labor and environmental losses. Additional language around those issues was crafted in 1992, again according to Wikipedia.
Reagan may have been popular and won every state in his reelection bid except for Minnesota and Washington, DC. Reagan was a sloganeering cynic of the plutocratic right wing, telling America that gov't of, by, and for the People was "the problem, not the solution." Wow, and that was the standard-bearer of the party of Lincoln?!! How the mighty have fallen.
2
Sanders usually first points to the only 2% administrative costs of Medicare. There are various problems with Medicare-for-all. Medicare has been plagued by fraud. It was said that at times there was a shortage of cocaine in South Florida, as so many former drug dealers switched to the relatively safer and much more lucrative occupation of organized Medicare fraud. There is also the fact that Medicare provides less benefits than Medicaid. Medicaid’s lower payments to providers limits the number of options in terms of choosing doctors for many poor people. However, many of those now on Medicaid might not appreciate having a wide choice of doctors when they cannot afford the copays or deductibles that they would incur by going to.
The proposed status of current Medicare beneficiaries will be the key factor if a Medicare-for-all type system has a chance of being enacted. To put it bluntly, current Medicare beneficiaries will have to be bought-off. One fair way to garner the support of current Medicare beneficiaries would be to grant them a special deduction that could be applied to their adjusted gross income for Federal income tax purposes. The special deduction could be the total amount paid for Medicare tax by both themselves in all years that they were not receiving Medicare benefits. This would be above $100,000 for a typical couple. It might be capped at some amount so as not to benefit very high earners ...
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4111577
2
@Lance Brofman
A very high percentage of the cases on the show "Whistleblower" have been about Medicare and Medicaid fraud. I doubt this is a statistical anomaly.
On a related note, your post suggests yet another reason why Dems should forget the Sunshine state in 2020. There are far more realistic paths to 270 votes.
2
The advice Ross Gives here reminds me of when David Brooks still did mostly political commentary:
Good advice. Usually ignored.
Still, I hope Bernie listens.
2
Bernie is the most authentic, the most consistent and the most willing to fight. i still feel the Bern.
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@Doug There are four reasons why Bernie will never win a general election: age, the narrow scope and range of his set speech, he helped loose the 2016 election, and his very annoying debate style. And I like him. We have to win folks, so get off it.
25
@Doug Bernie has done well to move the party Left. But his unwillingness to fully embrace the Democratic Party has left me cold. In his 2016 run, he vowed to become a Democrat whether he won or lost. He lost, and is still an Independent. He hops in and out when it suits him.
21
@Doug
I’ve always “felt the Bern” and love being able to work for, and donate to, him. He is a national treasure- too bad ( but understandable) that the likes of the New York Times doesn’t feel the same- as the paper represents corporate America.
5
People are misunderstanding the political landscape. It isn't that Republicans so love Mr. Trump, it's that they fear Democrat leftist extremism. The leftists look like they want to reinvent the whole economy and political system if we would just give them the chance to do it. Well, a lot of sensible voters don't want to give them that chance. Democrats could win if they could just support a more moderate candidate, but their support seems to just shift from one extremist to another. Both left and right need to get more to the center; both parties seem afraid to do it. Believe it or not, at present, Republicans look more moderate than Democrats. The Democrat who could pull the party to the center is too young, too inexperienced, and carries other baggage Democrats fear. In the circumstances Mr. Trump still looks like the best bet--the nearest thing to a centrist!
8
@Ronald B. Duke
"Believe it or not, at present, Republicans look more moderate than Democrats. The Democrat who could pull the party to the center is too young, too inexperienced, and carries other baggage Democrats fear. In the circumstances Mr. Trump still looks like the best bet--the nearest thing to a centrist!"
Ronald, now show us the trick where you pull a rabbit out of your hat! Or wherever.
10
@Ronald B. Duke
"fear Democrat leftist extremism"
That should be 'Democratic leftist extremism'.
Or 'extreme leftist Democrats'.
Either way, it's always more credible to use the correct name--it's the 'Democratic' Party. 'Democrat' should be used only as a noun.
2
@Ronald B. Duke
Yes. The whole country has moved to the rightttttt.
In Europe, even the so-called liberal NYT would be a centre-right paper .
The Question is "What to do about it ? "
1
“...when a debate question comes up...”
Well. That is the key phrase in the recommendation portion of your piece, isn’t it? In 2016, when the man managed to get his word out, average Americans went for him in strikingly large numbers.
Keeping his clear, heart-felt, and pragmatic answers to “debate questions” away from them now..... is essential to the interests of both segments of our political elite.
14
And Sanders emphasizes class issues over abortion on demand and open borders. Like most independents, and most Democratic identifiers.
That's his strength.
76
I've been aware of Sanders since he ran for mayor of Burlington in 1980 and while I disagree with him about more now than I did then I admire his doggedness and am actually rather amazed how far he has managed to run with basically the same ideas. He's a clever politician.
8
Both Sanders and Biden are too old. Biden seemed to be having a hard time remembering his talking points during the initial debates, and Sanders seemed to be on autoplay.
Bernie Sanders' presidency was stolen by the DNC and the commentariat, which decided Sanders was "too hot to handle." That doesn't mean he should be the Democrats' standard-bearer during this election. There are many ways to win a revolution, and one is to get the next crop of candidates talking seriously about the things that had previously been considered "too hot to handle." Bernie has already accomplished that, to his eternal credit.
It does not surprise me to hear a conservative commentator offering advice to Democrats. What surprises me is that anyone would pay attention to him.
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@mitchtrachtenberg
Ross agreeing that Sanders is Pragmatic is a bad thing?
That he has often worked with Republicans, Democratic's and Indies on advancing ideas that help the 99% is something we shouldn't consider?
C'mon man.
By the by...autoplay isn't wrong if it's still right.
3
@mitchtrachtenberg
You are so right !
1
@mitchtrachtenberg
What makes you think anyone, especially at the Democratic Party, is paying attention to Douthat (or Brooks, Stephens or Dowd, either)?
6
Two comments: 1.) If Sanders continues to use the “S” word (Socialist) to self-identify and becomes the next Democratic presidential nominee, he qwill alienate a large swath of voters and scare them into supporting Trump; and 2.) If Douthat continues to analyze the prospects of Democratic candidates, he will avoid the central issue facing Donald Trump in 2020: Do middle and working class voters want to support a GOP of the 1% or a Democratic Party/candidate (Sanders, Warren, Biden, Harris, etc.) of the other 99%?
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@J. Grant
The probability of reversing the massive shift in the tax burden away from the rich is low as long as the Democrats continue to combine such tax proposals with plans to spend the proceeds on various social programs. However, a plan to raise taxes on those with assets above $50 million and/or incomes above $10 million and use all of the proceeds to reduce the taxes on everyone else might have a much higher probability of being enacted.
It is hard to envision the Democrats being politically savvy or ideologically flexible enough to embrace a policy of directly shifting the tax burden away from the middle class and onto the rich. The Democrats have generally been deluded in their belief that the current level of taxes on the middle class is politically sustainable. In Hillary Clinton's speech announcing her candidacy, she said that the middle class pays too much taxes. She never mentioned a middle class tax cut again. Presumably, due to pressure from Sanders, who pushed her to the left, which severely hurt her chances in the general election. Most Democrat politicians are not aware that by far the best thing government could do for most middle-class households would be to lower their taxes. Thus, in many cases, middle-class voters have been willing to grasp at any chance they think could lower their tax burden, and thus support candidates who promise them a tax cut, no matter how odious the candidates might be otherwise...."
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4267895
4
In my view the appeal of Sanders and Biden is that they might be able to speak to the concerns of the farm country and mid western voters who are captivated by Trump and present them with another alternative appealing to their better side rather than their worst side. Unfortunately though one of them needs to survive the suicidal circular firing squad that the newest Democratic candidates are using to promote their careers instead of the interests of their party.
21
The socialist wing of the Democratic Party understands that it can only prevail by rallying around one candidate; anything else will cede the nomination to Biden (or maybe Harris).
And it appears the furthest left have chosen Warren. Whether because of gender or age or policy prescriptions or perceived electability, she has the baton now.
7
@Meg Warren is being chosen by those with post graduate degrees and who make more than $200,000 a year. Instead of you all taking over and co-opting what WE started, why don’t you assume we (who work for a living and are more African American and younger) know what we’re doing and follow our lead?
2
A big difference between Reagan & Sanders and their respective political moments: Reagan had an enormous infrastructure of corporate & financial interests who were ready to hire him as their spokesmodel. His far right democracy-as-elitism / corruption-as-freedom message was being embraced & pushed by interests behind both political parties. The media had already redefined the Left to mean permissiveness & rebellion instead of workers & benefits. All RR had to do was read the slogans from his teleprompter--and he didn't even have to do that very well.
Sanders deserves enormous credit for injecting a bit of plain talk into a debate that’s been twisting itself into knots for a long time to avoid challenging the neo-liberal consensus of political & media money. But, unlike Reagan (or Trump), he has to make a practical case, take down the assumptions we’ve been fed for decades about what’s practical & what’s desirable, etc. And so far Warren is doing a much better job at that.
72
Agree
1