Trump guilty of Brook's described sins?-Nonsense. Trump has been under vicious and false attack by the Left and the Leftist Republicans like Brooks since before he took office. Where is the proof that the Trump regime collaborated with Russians? Where was it in even in the Mueller report with its biased attorneys and investigators? Who but idiots and partisans could take Trump's sarcasm (Let's ask the Russians if they can find the hacked DNC/Hillary documents) as evidence of collusion. Certainly no born New Yorker but Democrats. Calls for impeachment, before he even entered office. Collusion demonstrated by doing business in Russia as advocated by several previous president's of both parties.?
Treason-Treason-Treason calls by Democrats in senior committee positions before even taking office-based on a an unfounded and unverified report by a foreign agent using Russian sources. Leaked to the press. Compare Trump's idiot son's one hour meeting with a Russian lawyer to DNC effort through cutout law firm and investigatory firm to get dirt from Russians on Trump to influence the election (not even investigated). Did NYT or left call for investigation and prosecution of DNC?
Charlottesville-indication of bigotry and hate by Trump in trying to explain Charlottesville? Left had hate too. Antifa/armed militants without permit, disobeyed police and blocked the permit marchers.
Beau Biden on board of Ukraine firm after flight with pop and political threat? Trump gets impeachment.
19
It is simplistic to believe that Elizabeth Warren is a “leftist” and propose that a vote between Trump and her would be just awful. Warren is intelligent. She is holistic in thought. She is civil. And she would sit at the table with others in government to hash out solutions. This idea that either Bernie or Warren would bring in a socialist state is ridiculous. Both have served in government and none have been difficult to work with. Unlike the Republicans who in the last elections have been obstacles to the progress of the poor and the middle class, both Warren or Bernie would be able to work across the aisle with any government representative willing to do so. We need to stop this script by moderates that any ideas stemming from progressives are dangerous. They are not when the balance of power is respected—-something that both Warren and Bernie respect, and which the present real extremist does not. I am not crazy about the moderates running but any of them is preferable to bring the country back from hell.
121
Read Bloomberg news:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-18/novogratz-says-wealthy-worried-about-warren-should-lighten-up?srnd=premium-canada
.....and get a grip.
14
Risk management would favor EW over DT, the former has a solid record in government longer than DT and she is not prone to reach for her cell phone to engage in Twitter policy disclosures and raising Hell against his enemy of the week or the MSM.
I find Mr. Brooks article to be a false negative: he slams EW for the better part and then comes up in the end to endorse her.
Elizabeth Warren deserves to become the first woman president. Not becuse she is a woman. She happens to be the most qualified. Ms. Warren was the architect of the government regulatory agency - CFPB, and a respected congressional adviser that V.P. Joe Biden lauded during the last Dem Debate.
I think the other candidates for Dem cadidacy all have merits. But EW, Bernie and VP Biden have solid federal credentials. It is within these three candidates that EW leads in the poles for good reason: she has a balanced background in policy development, debate and agency leadership. Her gender has no bearing but adds a novel opportunity for men to show that we recognize leadership, expertise and experience as qulifications for president. Gender has NO bearing and is NOT a disqualification for the highest office.
I also like Tom Seyer's focus on climate change and a sense of duty - for a man who is one of the wealthiest candidates in U.S. presidential hisory. However, at this stage in world history, we need Elizabeth Warren in the Oval Office. If I could vote, I would vote for EW in a heart beat.
39
No, the election is about ridding the country of an insane, corrupt, racist con artist before he destroys our democracy.
74
This anti-Warren sentiment seems much like the anti-Hillary sentiment in 2016 which ended up with an incompetent, narcissist moron as POTUS. Is Mr. Brooks saying that Ms. Warren will be more disastrous to America and its economy that Trump? How can anyone be more corrupt and non-Presidential than Trump? Vote for Warren if the choice is so! Don't be idiotic enough to let Trump get away with your inaction and apathy for another terrible 4 years!
48
The only hard choice is if you are an idiot, cult member, and have no respect for the Constitution you vote for an imbecile without brains or heart, or if you are not, you vote for someone who is intelligent, caring and competent: that is Elizabeth Warren. Mr. Brooks, I somehow get the feeling you are always on the fence. I respect your perspicacity, but for once, call a spade a spade. Trump's a moron, who with a group of spineless sycophants has hijacked the Republican party (which was primed for hijacking by Steve Bannon and Ayn Rand loving, former congressman Paul Ryan). Please stop shilling for a party that has made a Mephistophelian deal for power with Trump!!!!
43
Re-elect Trump!
13
Warren is a God-awful candidate and would make a lousy president. Sanders is worse. Biden is a dork, always had been.
These clowns induce despair. And I'm voting for one of them.
21
Biden 2020
6
I would vote for a dead dog before Trump.
50
Not that hard, David. Have to go with the non-sociopath.
62
If Warren vs. Trump is a "hard choice" for you to make, then you really do live in some sort of bizarre, alternate reality.
Nothing you ever say from here on out can be taken seriously, as you clearly are not a serious man.
You're nothing but a dilettante masquerading as a pseudo intellectual.
Go get a job at AEI or some other conservative "think tank" and leave us alone.
58
God help us.
3
(Michelle) Obama/Buttigieg 2020 has a nice ring to it!!!
11
B is for Bernie!
5
David Brooks- go start your own political party instead of telling the Democrats how to kowtow to you and your kind. Or even better - start performing spine-ectomies on members of your own party.
31
If it's Warren - SANDERS, or SANDERS - Warren, 2020, you will be in $ame "boat" with Wall $treet + DNC....
and in either case "the people's" representative democratic process will win...
Neo cons revert to their old haunts and become Neo Lefties.
2
If you sit on the sidelines and do not vote Democrat, no matter who she is, then pack your bags and leave. We are in trouble here. Deep deep trouble. Grow up.
37
What the heck? If that’s the dichotomy you really have a hard time? This is a misogynist “electability” trope.
20
America is reaping what columnists like you, Mr. Brooks, have helped sow...
32
It is so sad to see how unmoored from reality even the most sensible conservatives are. David, get a grip.
18
Warren & then balance The Democratic ticket with any “B” just not Biden but preferably Buttigieg and it’s a win I think..., I hope!
To Dems & Independents who stayed home in 2016 b/c they irrationally “hated that woman”
as in Hillary : Thanks for the disaster you helped into the White House.
Bet you wish you could turn back the clock?
10
The absolute key is to get out the vote on 11/3/2020. Unless the economy craters, a massive turnout is likely the only way to dump the imbecile
13
Bloomberg!
7
Seeing the many values of a Warren presidency apparently requires more sophistication than Brooks can muster.....
David (the apologist) used to have a fine mind..... he has slipped considerably...
11
I know I'm not breaking any new ground here. But after millions of Americans voted for a man who confessed to be a serial genital-grabber and subsequently stand by him no matter how much damage he does to our democracy, I am convinced we are now dealing with something that is not really political at all.
Anyone who was around in the 70s and 80s will remember the names Jim Jones, David Koresh and the Rev. Sun Yung Moon.
These cultists were capable of making seemingly sane, ordinary Americans turn into blithering, blabbering idiots. Not unlike the religious, brain-dead fervor on display at the latest Trump rally.
While I don't know whatever became of the Moonies and their leader, I do know what became of Jim Jones and David Koresh.
21
You're kidding, right?
3
It took you 12 paragraphs to figure out whether you would vote for a mentally unstable, immoral criminal who has thrown our country to the Russians for God only knows what reason vs. vote for a woman with excellent experience and intellect? Unbelievable.
36
Then Trump pics 2 or 3 more originalists to be on the SCOTUS and MAGA lives on for 30 or more years.
5
Wow! Dave! You are brilliant. You figured out Warren is preferable to Trump. What an insight! So grateful!
17
Honestly, what universe does Brooks live in. Voters have NOT voted for a "pluralist" President for 3 elections cycles in a row now..
Voters want CHANGE... Trump won with the most idiotic of change ideas. What candidate will convince voters he or she stands for real change and change that is not as idiotic as Trumps. That candidate will beat Trump. Ask Hillary, Mott and McCain what voters think of Pluralists?
4
Exactly!
1
Et tu David? Elizabeth Warren? Wow.
2
Hi David, hey so listen man Hillary was a centrist. Leftists hated her. And yet Republicans voted for Trump anyway (just weeks after he said on tape he liked to grab women's genitals without permission!).
Democrats could nominate Michael Bloomberg and the right wing propaganda machine would say he has sex with pizzas or something and then by election night all the "moderate" Republicans would be saying "Well I can't vote for a pizza fornicator, if only Democrats had nominated someone sensible!"
12
Thank you, David Brooks!
2
Elizabeth Warren: Redux
Doesn’t like homesteads unless they’re one room
That can be swept clean using one broom;
No high end for her, no Malibu manses
Where higher end peeps pursue their romances
With maids and step-daughters, neighbors and friends
And when they’re found out, cold cash makes amends;
Still, it’s their life-styles – no mornings after-
No high ball martinis, or giggles thereafter;
Its wigwams, and peace pipes, tom-tom and hides,
Richy Rich doesn’t giggle; no more free rides;
Tax rates through the roof, the wealthy are pigs;
The left’s on the rise, tax wealth by the gigs:
Zuckerberg, first, he’s due for a tumble
Per Pocahontas, make him go humble,
A takedown of Facebook, its progeny, too –
Take a good look…., she’ll be gunning for you.
3
So Democrats are supposed to nominate a Republican since Republicans will nominate a dangerous maniac? Why don't they get their own candidate and stay off of ours?
15
I am so tired of David Brooks.
He's too critical of Democrats and not critical enough of Republicans.
18
If America cannot make an intelligent choice, than we deserve to die as a nation.
If American decides to pick a lying, grifting, xenophobic, wife cheating, mentally challenged man who believes that he is above the law, and that Putin is his Best Friend, then these people deserve him.
This is the Idiocracy in action. It may be time to move.
18
David Brooks is wrong about Elizabeth Warren. He is wrong about the economicy. He is wrong about the direction of our culture and I think his faith is silly and self righteous. I dont like David Brooks thought. But at least he thinks and actually cares about what happens to this country and the people in it. So I am on the same side as people who think like David Brooks until the tumor is removed.
2
Yes. What a difficult decision! On one hand, you have a progressive public servant with some iffy policy ideas and on the other, a malignant narcissist Russian asset battling dementia. Who to vote for? It's a real puzzler!
24
What a joke of a column!
The right-wing machine is all geared up to demonize another thoughtful, articulate, dedicated woman, so that they can have their treasonous buffoon for another 4 years. After which the capital of the USA will have moved to Moscow. Amazing how the white male patriarchy will do anything to cling to power.
22
the only parts of this column worth reading are the last three sentences.
4
Desperate fantasy about what Warren would actually do.
1
Warren-Bullock, or Biden-Bullock, but get Bullock on the ticket.
3
Bernie is more popular than both. Maybe you should stop pushing who lines your pockets best and actually care about people.
6
I share your pain. When in doubt, throw the bums out. Then in four years, throw out the new ones.
1
"If the general election campaign turns out to be Trump vs. Warren, what the heck are we supposed to do?"
Seriously David, if you have to think about that for more than two seconds you seriously need to have a discussion with yourself.
23
socialism poor dave warren is to far left why ? because she is denouncing the corporate socialism that brooke loves so much?
8
Why does David Brooks even have a column? What drivel. Warren has been working across the aisle for years and she excites the base and young voters... just as Bernie did. We put forth a moderate Democrat and with Russian help we got trounced. The country is in an economic crisis and the result was Trump. We cannot have this economic inequality that is killing the middle class. Warren has great plans. She just must explain how Medicare for all will work
10
to not vote, is a vote for Trump.
6
In Elizabeth Warren, the American People will genuinely and finally have their own LOBBYIST in the White House. You go, girl!
11
I find all your angst (and that of most of the posters) over your voting options to be quite ridiculous - unless you live in a “swing” state. Otherwise, thanks to our beloved EC, your vote is meaningless.
2
Brokered convention
On 11/3/2020, I will vote for the Democratic candidate, whomever they may be. The survival of our Republic depends on it. This country will not survive another 4-year unmitigated disaster. His administration has been a whirlwind of stupidity, chaos, indecision, greed, crime, and lies. Given the way he treats the military and its leaders, he should not be surprised if a coup actually were to happen. I want him to know what loss is, and what an absolute loser he will always be. He will never admit a loss, I know that. No matter...It still won't deter my glee to see him leave the White House for the last time.
12
...then vote for Warren.
2
Let me get this straight. We have no American Workforce trained to do High Tech jobs. Factory jobs are being automated. Everyone is mad immigrants for taking low paying jobs. And we're still whining about making sure that every American is as smart and well-educated as people who still read newspapers? Wow, America. Your Cognitive Dissonance never ceases to amaze.
3
There’s no way Warren could actually enact her more lefty policies. For one thing, she’ll be too busy saving the republic from the current president. (For the hopelessly naive, I’m referring to Putin.)
5
Mr. Brooks you and your ilk had a chance with Hillary Clinton.
She lost.
You want to know why?
Wages have been flat for 47+ years even as GNP has gone up 150%.
(see graph #2 at: bit.ly/EPI-study)
Working class, the majority, then have had 47+ years of declining expectations.
Before 1972, wages went in lock step with productivity. The minimum wage peaked the same year we landed on the moon. Presumably that was when America was great.
You and your ilk are responsible for the policies of flat wages, and the reaction to that after 47 years has been Trump.
Hillary was representative of the bi-partisan policy elite that have held wages flat. Thus she was repugnant to many in the working class.
Still Hillary could have won - if only she had picked Bernie as her VP - thus giving more progressives a reason to show up at the polls and vote.
Apparently Hillary and her Neolib backers would rather lose to Trump than give progressives a seat at the table - even if that seat is a big nothing burger like the V.P. - truly stunning case of self immolation.
So, Mr Brooks the Centrist & Neoliberals had their chance and the blew it.
But fear not. I'm sure Warren or Bernie won't be as stupid as Clinton and the Centrist/Neolibs were, and so offer the V.P. to one of your fellow travelers. I'm sure any of the B's will do just fine to get you to show up and vote for Bernie and the emancipation of the working class.
5
What is so radical about providing health care for all citizens, without going through the insurance mafia? What is so radical about regulation when the world is being destroyed by corporate pollution? Why do you think Warren is in the lead? She appeals to common sense and the survival instinct. Get with the program, Brooks.
17
People like David Brooks facilitated the rise of Trumpism in their own party by willfully ignoring the festering rot at its core. Now he’s decided it’s he’s the person to tell people in the other party who to vote for? How about some humility?
10
If the choice is between "horrible" or "worse," I choose "horrible.'
2
Integrity over the same old same old on the Dem side.
Integrity , intelligence and the willingness to curb the fleecing of the American people who have been removed from the equation when it comes to decisions made about laws and governing?
Integrity over the most dangerous fascist wanna be we have ever seen in the White House?
No brainer on all three counts.
Time for the people to get their money and their government back.
EW has a plan. Not perfect but a well thought out and aggressive plan that puts the best interest of the people first and keeps out Capitalist based Democracy where it should be. Back at the forefront of freedom in the world.
Time for change.
5
“If the general election campaign turns out to be Trump vs. Warren, what the heck are we supposed to do?”
Stay home and not vote.
1
Wondering if any columnists are going to write about the realpolitik that the policies actually don't matter at all in 2020. None of what any of the Democratic candidates advocate will pass through a presumably still Republican-controlled Senate. The judiciary isn't going anywhere either.
Once policy is off the table, all that's left is to truly to choose between the proverbial ham sandwich and the sorry excuse for a human being that's currently in office. How could anyone (aside from the depraved deplorables) defend not picking the sandwich?
4
Well, wrong on at least of 3 of your points, but what else is new. The only thing you're right about is implicit, not explicit. That is: we're just not sure if Warren can round up enough socially conservative, economically progressive working class votes to get elected and if elected, if she will deliver for them. Warren is a definitively middle class candidate, and really the best one since Adlai Stevenson.
But as for the rest of your bilge, 1) we don't want your vote, Brooks 2) Warren needs a bigger, less wonky program that symbolizes her candidacy without having to spell everything out every day 3) That most of the Democrats you mention are way less electable than Warren. (Bernie, on a good day, is actually more electable than Warren, though she is stronger among Democratic primary voters.)The exception being Biden, whose hold on social, let alone political, discourse appears to be dangling by a thread.
The problem with you Brooks is that you are a man without a Party. Just be patient. When Trump is defeated by the Left and the Republican Party is left a smoking ruin, inhabited solely by white nationalists and assault weapons enthusiasts, you can get together with Hillary and the New Dems, along with your old Neo-con buddies and Wall Street friends and form a new Party: The Plutocrats!
You can probably get a reality TV show to boot. Don't laugh, politically speaking, it obviously helps
4
Probably wouldn't vote. They are equally distasteful, though in completely different ways.
1
Extremely sane vs extremely insane -- tough call!
8
No one who voted for Trump in 2016 ever thought he would burn up the Constitution and the Republican Party. Those who voted for change didn't realize that Trump * COULD OR WOULD* blow up the entire system of government.
To Seniors under Trump and McConnell you will lose your Social Security and Medicare. Trump said that he would do it in his second term.
4
A malignant, unfit, corrupt, not-too-bright, not-too-stable, opposite-of-genius who uses the country for personal gain, has sunk the US in the world’s eyes, made us less secure and fulfilled Putin’s wish list ... or a well-meaning, brilliant, bold, wonkish lefty who wants — BUT WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO PASS — Medicare for All, who would reduce the deficit, restore regulations that keep us safe, who would restore honor to Americans — and that’s a dilemma for you?
11
David--I sort of agree with you, but let's see you try selling that one to Flyover Guy.
1
Brooks wringing his hands as ever. Pretending to be the moral compass of the nation. Patting himself on the back for tepidly saying he might not vote a certified madman.
What courage!
12
What on earth is so difficult in recognizing that the best candidate, by a drive and a three-wood, is Buttigieg?? Why the gnashing? You heard it here first: he’s coming in second in Iowa, second in NH, then (with accrued momentum) second in SC which will tee it up for him on Super Tuesday. And I’ve now run out of golf metaphors.
5
If the incompetent Mr. Disaster himself (Trump) hasn't managed to destroy the economy already, what makes you so sure an atually competent politician would?
1
Who the heck are Bennet and Bullock? Maybe it’s time for me to throw my hat into the ring – – I probably have better name recognition. And I’m definitely far more qualified than the sitting president.
4
A hard choice between saving the country and voting for a Democrat. Tell me what part of this choice is hard. Mr. Brooks have you no shame?
5
I'm fine if you & other never-Trump Republicans don't vote. And the country will be, too.
#Warren2020
3
Elizabeth Warren taps Michael Bloomberg for VP - home free.
3
Right on David Brooks. Finally a Republican addressing the "huge" crisis our government is in. If it's the local dog catcher versus Trump, we better vote for the dog catcher.
1
You don't get to any place in history in one feel swoop. Trump is the worst case example of problems that are the result of decades of bad choices by David Brooks and the members of his party which Ronald Reagan would not recognize today and whose nominee he would not vote for. This is not a close call. Please stop pretending it is.
2
For many of us, Elizabeth Warren represents the first real chance in our lifetime to vote for a truly progressive candidate. We have had more than enough of the business as usual crowd holding (and running for) office. This, ultimately, has lead us to where we are today, with the outrage that is Donald Trump, occupying the Oval Office. Compare her to Trump for a minute. Warren is smart and well spoken. Trump is neither. Warren is honorable and not corrupt. Trump has no honor and reeks of corruption. Warren is not a crazed, narcissist. He is. She knows how to analyze a problem and apply reason to try to solve it. These are qualities that Trump clearly lacks. If Warren wins the nomination and is elected, will all of Warren's plans make it into law? Of course not, especially if Mitch McConnell remains the majority leader. That does not mean her Presidency would be doomed.Her election would, at the very least, change the tenor and tone of the country for the better. For well meaning people like you, there really should be no question that Warren represents at her worst the far lesser of two evils, when compared to Trump. Progressive are very used to having to vote for the lesser of two evils, rather than a candidate who holds and supports their views. Maybe it's time for others to face that choice for a change.
10
They irony of David's false equivalency is that milktoast moderates got us Trump in the first place. We need bold, progressive, democratic actions to prevent it from happening again.
2
As FDR once said, we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
And, IMO, fearing how Trump would act should he get a second term is something to be greatly feared.
Voting for Warren against Trump is like the old New England saying of being between a rock and a hard place. And yet, voting for Warren if one really cares for this country seems to be the only choice for those who know that a 2nd term for Trump would destroy all that he hasn't destroyed presently.
4
I like Warren. I think she’d be a decent president and get some things done. I think she’s capable of running a good campaign.
But I don’t think she has a chance of winning against Trump.
He’s going to relentlessly demonize her in every way, from ‘socialist’ to ‘communist’ to ‘looney lady’. He’s going to beat the Pocahontas drum until it’s all anybody can think about when they hear her name. He will spare no epithet, exaggerate everything, make stuff up, weave a nonsense web of lies. Most of all, he will do his best to frighten people that she will destroy the economy, and he will succeed because some of the things she’s said easily lend themselves to scare mongering to people who don’t think things though.
And the voters who don’t like him much but like the economy and don’t really care about Kurds, Ukraine, whatever happens between now and then, or face it, the Constitution- the voters who will decide this election- those people will not need a lot of persuading by him and they will NEVER vote for Warren. They are at base fearful voters who do not really want to rock the boat.
Those voters need a solid, stable guy- unfortunately it in all likelihood needs to be a guy- who can be a comforting contrast to
Trump, someone who can say there, there, I’ve got the helm, and I’ll steer this ship safely away from the craziness we don’t like and keep everything else dry and warm.
I don’t know who that person is, yet. But I think the dems won’t try to find them.
2
Two things, Mr. Brooks.
First: "The Squad" is a misogynist bogey girl that Trump is promulgating. They are just a few people in the House. You have nothing to fear from them any more than you have a fear a few hard right Republicans there. AOC couldn't even get her local NY choice elected for DA or whatever. She's a media darling but you're she's not dictating anything to the Democratic candidates. So as the acting chief of staff so thoughtfully put it yesterday--Get over it.
Second, the reason that Elizabeth Warren is surging is that a lot of moderate Democrats, myself included, discounted her as too far left until we heard her speak and realized how smart she is in every way, how energetic and how inspiring. She will only be able to enact her ideas that she can sell to the majority. And the Democrats have never been a lockstep group--for good and for ill.
Listen to Elizabeth Warren, really listen to her and you willl feel better if you have to vote for her to cut out the cancer that is Trump. And, permanently leave the Republican party as they've proven beyond a doubt that they put themselves before their country. And boy, are we all tired of that.
8
Thanks David. I got about halfway through and was protesting in my head that you need to go read so much history about how so many other democratic regimes have slipped away. But you already got there.
I can only fault you for burying the lede though. This is good, but in tone, still too tepid to make a difference.
It’s not just Trump, you know. It’s the entire Republican Party that enables him.
4
" Over the past few years, I’ve thought the progressive fears of incipient American fascism were vastly overblown. But, especially over the past month, Trump has worked overtime to validate those fears and to raise the horrifying specter of what he’ll be like if he is given a second term and is vindicated, unhinged and unwell."
A friendly editorial note: this is where your piece should start. You could work in your critique of Warren later along with telling people to get out there and vote for her.
4
Is it not obvious that our country is too big and unwieldy?...too economically, ideologically, and culturally divisive?
Meanwhile, I’m sick and tired of the partisan-instigated whiplash and sanctimonious bullying. If we can’t intelligently come together as a nation through compromise, then the country should split into regional autonomous entities.
Yeah, I’ve just about had it...and no doubt millions of others feel the same way.
1
I'm so tired of these so called "homeless Republicans" claiming if the only the Democrats would nominate a Republican we could vote out Trump. It is people like you David Brooks who voted Republican while Nixon implemented the Southern strategy, while GHW Bush hired people like Lee Atwater who continued tearing this country apart, while W made Dick Chaney his VP all along these were steps leading to Trump's election after election. And I forget Newt Gingrich as Speaker.
Your party of choice and policy put the country on the line no one else. Now you want to Democrats to act like Republicans and continue down the failed line of open markets and corporate welfare and no corporate responsibility.
The only thing that is going to bring this country back is building a successful middle-class again. Yes that will take your favorite people, the wealthy, paying more in wages to their employees, paying more in taxes and possibly reduced stock market values which are artificially inflated due their abusive/monopolistic actions.
To accomplish this the country needs major changes and Warren and Sanders are the only candidates willing to say it and be credible. All the others you favor have pandered to the Corporations while trying to act like Democrats. They have no credibility, just like Hillary.
It's time to move forward in a new direction.
5
Nothing hard about the choice at all, unless you're in the 1%!
(and really not even then, I would think...)
2
I think you have drunk the Trumpian Kool-Aid. Take the most recent fiascos - Ukraine and Turkey invading the Kurds. I cannot even imagine the evils Trump would wreak upon the world if he were given a second term. He would be completely unchecked. Warren is offering what we in Canada already have - universal health care and a tax on the rich. Neither one has devastated our economy. In fact, of the OECD nations, we have the highest growth rate in the current year.
Your social security is a socialist program which recognizes all have a right to a certain standard of living. All other OECD countries recognize health care as a human right. Your country is the wealthiest in the world and yet you behave as if the poor are trying to deprive you of all your riches if you throw them a bone. Greed has overtaken all the Christian values your country purports to uphold. The fact that people can identify both as Trumpians and Evangelicals or Born-Again shows the dystopia your society has become. The fact that you can advocate Trump over Warren and your influence as a columnist may partly explain that.
6
In 2016 I did not vote for trump, but there is no way this moderate republican and a combat vet will support any socialist.
2
David Brooks is the conservative voice of a liberal, sane, left-leaning, whatever-you-want-to-call-it media. Despite whether you agree with him he is playing the middle ground always (and perhaps to a fault). There are many people in this country who perceive themselves in the middle despite the polarizing atmosphere that gets propagated. I for one don't want drama from Washington, just do your job and keep your head down. If you vehemently disagree with him then he's not writing for you. He's trying to craft the message for the potential Trump voters. We need more of Brooks measured opinion.
2
This is an easy choice. My only real fear in this election is that (a) there will be a ridiculous but damaging 3rd party liberal candidate, a la Jill Stein in 2016, or that (b) supporters of Bernie Sanders will take their zeal to suicidal lengths and refuse to go to the polls when Bernie doesn’t get the nomination. And he won’t. Not just because of the heart attack, but because all liberals realize that he will have to spend 50% of his time explaining socialism to our astonishingly fearful, dumbed-down electorate. I say this as someone who supported Bernie in 2016 with more donations than I have ever given to any candidate previously.
2
Our republic, as we know it, may not survive Trump for 8 years. Whether you agree with her or not, Warren is intelligent, moral, and not a Russian asset. Those are essential qualities in a president that we don’t have today. You are very confused on this subject.
I’ll at least remind you that abstention is a choice at the ballot box. You can vote for no one, instead of Trump or Warren, and let your head rest easy that night on your pillow, because God forbid you swallow a hard choice and take a stand against something so obviously destructive as the Trump administration.
3
To compare Warren to Trump, to think of them as even arguably offering of the same the level of detriment to the country, is absurd. Brooks does his best to throw a last slush ball in the dying snowball fight of "centrism vs. sanity". Again, there is no argument against Warren or her policies, simply that she is an "extremist". More paper grist for the aging establishment mill. Let its roof collapse under its own weight.
2
Neither Warren nor Sanders can win, and Biden is marginal. Trump will destroy any of the three with unfounded rumor and innuendo, just as he did with Hillary. He may be the worst president in history, but he is far and away the best politician since LBJ.
It will take a Harris, Booker, or Klobuchar to have a chance to defeat the tyrant at the polls.
2
If it's Trump vs. anyone? Then anyone.
This ain't rocket science.
2
Worse than Warren would be Joe Biden and his sunsetting campaign. It's easy to watch Joe's enthusiasm fade as the demands of a presidential campaign increase and threaten to exceed Joe's ability to keep pace with his opponents. It even gets worse should Joe have to face Donald. You remember Donald, he's the Republican that ate Hillary's much and dinner in 2016. Donald will have fired off 6 rapid fire insults before Joe responded to the first. Slow Joe just can't keep up with a 2020 Presidential campaign. Joe loses and we get 4 more years of the Trump Disaster. No Joe in 2020!
1
If it is Warren vs. the so-called president, or anyone against the so-called president, the choice is easy, vote for whomever his opponent is. To sit this next election out, or to vote for the so-called president, is treason.
1
Yeah, Warrens policies remind me of FDR’s, and boy that FDR sure ruined the country.
For people who are really worried about the budget, much better to vote for Donald Trillion-a-year Trump.
3
Not really a 'hard choice", Mr. Brooks.
If Donald Trump's opponent in 2020 is a ham and cheese sandwich, I would have no trouble voting for the sandwich. That's despite the fact I'm vegetarian.
6
The GOP has only one prime directive: the ever greater concentration of wealth and power on behalf of the wealthy and powerful.
They've succeeded.
The middle class has collapsed below 50% and the working class has seen 47+ years of declining expectations. Since 1972 GNP has gone up 150% but the median wage has been flat (see graph #2 at: bit.ly/EPI-study)
With the middle class collapsing and the working class starving, the only way the GOP can get enough voters to win elections is to nominate rogues and carnival barkers like Trump.
Trump is not an anomaly. He is the future of the GOP.
He is the result of Mr. Brooks policy preferences succeeding.
Where else did you think the concentration of wealth and power would take us?
The only other choice, the only reasonable choice is to reverse the last 50 years of ever greater concentration of wealth and power.
For the life of me, I cannot see how any reasonably inelegant person cannot see the virtue in Bernie and Warren's positions?
If Warren's version of universal health care is too expensive, the existing system which cost double the rest of the worlds and covers less than everyone is even more expensive.
Face it: taxes will go up a nickle but what you pay for health care will go down a dime, saving you a nickle, not costing you a nickle.
For that nickle savings you will get assurance that you & all you love and care for will be covered from cradle to grave come what may. The opposition to this seems incoherent.
4
That's why I want to vote for Biden.
I don't know why some people think this is Armageddon. It's not.
That's nothing wrong with Biden. He is a great choice. He is the man. For goodness sake, why is this so complicated to so many? Vote for Biden, get rid of the aberration in the White House.
2
Dear Mr. Brooks....I suggest you get into your way-back machine and listen again to Elizabeth Warren. Heard of Franklin Delano Roosevelt? Remember the New Deal? If you have forgotten, I suggest that you listen again to his speeches and his hopes for America....national health care, jobs, education etc. Elizabeth Warren is a New Deal democrat...she is not a socialist, certainly not a communist (see dictionary) or anything but a democrat.
How are we to get anyone under 40 to vote for a small thinking, don't try to do anything that the American people need...just more of the same candidate? Why do you think Bernie Sanders is so abidingly popular? Because he has been saying the same thing for years and years...we believe him, we believe Elizabeth Warren. Sure, we may not get everything we deserve, we can can certainly try to start somewhere. What do candidates forget? It is OUR money...we need to get healthcare with OUR money, we need to educate all our kids with OUR money, we need affordable childcare with OUR money. American voters need to take charge of our elections and stop electing this aristocracy...acting like it is not OUR money.
4
Really? This is a hard decision?
A choice between a conscientious, hard working, ethical policy wonk and a deranged narcisist?
Is your fear of liberalism so paranoid that you really think this is a close call?
I'm glad you make the right choice in the end. But your putting this out as a close call choice betweeen the lesser of two evils just serves to make Trump's re-=election that much easier.
1
I'm one of those Bernie or Bust voters. If Bernie doesn't get the nomination I won't be voting in the general election. You may see it as suicidal. I see it as ripping the bandaid off quicker.
86
@Lynn Then you will have voted for Trump. There is no such thing as not voting. Non-action is also action.
446
@Lynn
Maybe ask yourself why you support Bernie. Is it specifically policies? If so, are there other candidates who hold similar or overlapping positions on any of those policies? And would it make sense to vote for those candidates if Bernie weren't an option in the general? Doesn't Sanders espouse very similar ideas?
Of course, the Bernie support may be for the person, not the political positions and ideas. If you support a person and they're not in the running, then I can see why you'd abstain. I vote for policy, though, so I'm happy to vote for any progressive, even if they don't go as far as I'd prefer.
127
@Lynn I rather think that you might be writing from St. Petersburg. I also think that people should be more careful about their desire to shake the system. Societies are fragile and when they collapse, which they can do faster than most people understand, the consequences are chaos, misery and violence. Dealing with the aftermath and repairing the damage can take decades. Only spoiled brats in the west who have never experienced a destabilized society vote for Trump, or insist on not voting if their own firebrand is not selected to challenge him.
335
Presidential candidates are opening themselves up to voters by being aspirational. They say - here is my world view and my ideals. But unlike the DT who is the moral equivalence of a devil, “normal” candidates understand that they seek your vote for the executive power. And they understand that they would become president for all and must govern by compromise. And they know that they are bound by the constitutional power.
So anybody who claims the slightest shred of morality is zillion times better than DT. I actually like EW’s policy prescriptions but for all those who may see her views as too left, I have this message: “She will not destroy the USA’s social fabric as the incumbent does; she will begin the healing process.”
12
Warren is smart, capable and articulate. The problem is that the dems need the widest appeal, the broadest base, the most rational...and that is moderation. Why make such a profound inevitable conclusion? If the debates were not so foolishly constructed, we might know more about those we need to know more about. I am not happy with Warren, and will vote democrat, because I believe our liberty is at stake. However, there is enough time to get to know more about other candidates if only the media would stop polling!!!!!
5
Absolutely spot on. Even if you would consider a Trump v. Warren election a "lesser of two evils," less evil is always prefereable to more evil! In this scenario it is no contest for the reasons David Brooks mentions. I too would prefer Klobuchar or Biden or another moderate be the candidate, but voting for Trump or not voting is simply not an option. In this case Warren would be an easy choice.
9
Brooks has the right viewpoint. Trump endangers society; Warren does not. Trump eviscerates morality; Warren embodies it. We can’t abide such a bad human being any longer. I would be happy to vote for any Democrat other than Trump. It’s no good to focus on a single personality and say you won’t vote if they don’t receive the nomination. We’re fighting for the soul of our country in this election and every vote counts.
11
"But right now, Elizabeth Warren has the momentum, and so those of us who feel politically homeless may face a stark choice."
The #NeverTrump Republicans could be doing more to help make that choice less stark. They could register as a Democrat and vote in their state's primary or caucus. They could donate money to the candidate of your choice. The #NeverTrump Republicans need to quit the Republican Party and join the Democratic Party, at least temporarily.
Let's make the Democratic party a centrist party that unites the country, wins the public's trust, and works for the common good.
7
David Brooks, you are the voter many of us Dems worry most over. We know that Warren and Sanders are too far left to draw in former Trump voters. We also know we need those of you out there on the Trump fence.
But Biden, while he would probably be ok for you; is the John McCain in this election. He is seasoned yes, but boring as milk toast. Actually, McCain was probably a poor analogy (boring he was not) I might have voted for him.
So I offer you this glimmer of hope; it’s a year away. As an example Booker is polling exactly where Obama was during his first race. Please don’t be so quick to dismiss Klobuchar, either. It’s early yet and we need you all.
3
Here’s what independents and Republicans who hate Trump can do: register as a Democrat (if your state requires it) in the Democratic primary and help Democrats nominate a moderate like the B’s and the K. After the nightmare has ended, go back to voting as you did before - if the Republican party is still standing.
3
Folks may not like all of Warren’s policies, but it’s not like she’s just going to get to implement them if she were elected, especially if the senate doesn’t get flipped. She seems like someone who is able to work with others and come up with a compromise, unlike Trump. Plus she’s not crazy.
13
This is easy. If Warren is elected, the Democrats in Congress can practice “respectful restraint”. This is something Republicans have given up in the past 30 years. Be respectful of either your party’s President or the other’s, but vote your opinions and your conscience. So she can’t pass her Healthcare plan? Doesn’t matter she can still be a lot more successful and acceptable than Trump.
8
Trump or Warren, Then Emigration.
Given the toxic political landscape in the US these days, I have little hope for change until there is a sweeping change in Congress that bring long overdue reforms in the House and the Senate.
1
Really? I could say the same thing about Trump's election in 2016. Stop sipping the right wing cool-aid and stop the fear mongering. The vast majority of the Democrat party members are to the right of Sen. Warren. Chances are any of her policy proposals will be very watered down if passed. Also, I would like to point out to Mr. Brooks that Americans agree with more of the Democrats point of view on issues than the Republican party's. Democrats do not need to bend over backwards to please 35% of the country who will never agree with them anyway (even though they will benefit personally - ie, social security, medicare, worker's comp, Pell grants, subsidized tuition, etc).
9
Not excited by Warren, but any democrat would be a better choice than Trump. Personally, I like Mayor Pete, we need a generational change and a calm intelligent problem solver is the antitheses to Trump.
11
Warren reminds me of RFK. Brilliant; fearless; great connection to everyday Americans. She would bring in qualified advisors and staff up our depleted government. Our country needs the smartest person in the room who will listen to all sides and make well considered decisions.
16
The moral equivalence drawn between Warren and Trump here is stunning. Perhaps a reminder should be made about Warren's involvement in government, policymaking, law and other areas of institutional making that is a testament to her experience in representing the people. There simply is no equal here.
23
"If our reach doesn't exceed our grasp, then what are the heavens for?"
Warren has conviction, vision and a real empathy for struggling Americans. Does she know she can't accomplish her vision alone? I think she does.
17
I think those like Mr Brooks, certainly most GOP operatives underestimate Ms Warren at their peril. And so does the inflexible leadership of the Democratic Party. Moderates? Centrists? Incrementalists? Grovelers? I sense in Ms Warren possibly one of those leaders that has risen to the challenge when America most needed such a leader. I'm not saying she's a savior or anything like that. I think she's wily, smart, aware, strong, flexible, but strongly rooted in her principles making capitalism work for everyone. I hardly see her as a bad option.
13
If it's a choice between four more years of Trump and Warren's total takeover of the country, then the choice is easy: Trump. Hands down. He will pass but Warren's taxes will be there forever. If he was doing a bad job that would be one thing; but things are great in California, people are working and housing prices/real estate values are going up, so why risk prosperity on a neophyte who has never run a business in her life. That's insane.
5
Things are good in CA because it’s a BLUE state, and because our legislators are fighting the Trump agenda every day.
4
Thank you David Brooks. I wish people had thought about this in the last election, when the choice between Hillary and Donald was equally a problem for some. Of course we NEVER thought Donald would win. So now, we must remember, only the democrat, whomever she or he is MUST win. So thank you for saying it is really the only choice. Even if you wish it was someone else.
8
@CLee
Well, Brooks suggested no such thing in 2016
Well David, it seems like you need to sit this one out and let the voters decide between a criminal and a decent nominee who would take us to a more humane, more egalitarian, more climate conscious, and more objective US than we've seen in a long time, if ever. Warren has my vote, so does Sanders. It is the revolt of the truly decent and we should all be for it. Too bad you and some others insist on not seeing it.
11
I support Amy Klobuchar for just the reasons Brooks rightly points up in his column. She would bring in the moderates and independents. She is Elizabeth 'off steroids', having many of the same values, but a more reasonable approach.
9
This is a a firm lobbying effort to elect Pete B as the rep from the Dems. He is the only candidate with a logical healthcare plan - which as he says (opt in) is still radical. He is the only candidate equipped to debate DT and make him sound like the smarmy snake oil salesman he is. We need youth now - generational change.
5
David, during the Obama administration you generally drove me up the wall. During the Trump administration I've become a sort of fan. I'm a progressive, but I no longer see "principled conservative" as an oxymoron. I dearly hope there are principled conservatives among your readership who understand that the points in this column are not hyperbolic. That even a President whose political and/or social vision is the diametric opposite of your own, but whose personal ethics more or less align with yours, and who honors our Constitution, must be supported at a moment when our basic freedoms (which are neither conservative nor liberal but human) are threatened as never before since the Civil War. I'll make you all a deal: if this ever comes up the other way, I will vote for a principled conservative without hesitation. Thank you, David.
6
Let's cut through the noise.
Neither Warren nor Bernie will go out her or his way to harm the U.S. or cede American hegemony to Russia.
Trump proves each and every day he is not only willing to do, but already has.
It's rather strange to read as the normally placid Brooks entertains visions of societal progress as a perfect equivalence to the backwardness of modern day conservatism, which is now a destructive force.
6
It seems to me that nothing that progressive passes and survives anymore, so what is the huge concern on the Right? Warren gets elected and stops the "bleeding" to our Foreign Policy, on our borders, and most importantly with the environment. Forget all of the talk about Medicare for all, it won't happen. Howe about if she can just manage to lead enough to shore up the ACA from all of the foolish undermining from the Trump Administration.
Sadly, because of the economic cycle and inevitable hangover from Trump's policies and irresponsible tax cuts, the economy will likely sag and it will be blamed on socialism and anything else that the amnesiac Right can tar with that brush.
Anyone with any objectivity should be able to recognize that Trump is clearly out of his depth, and this Country will be better off with ANYONE who respects the Rule of Law, understands America's place in the world and how to got there, believes in and surrounds themselves with expertise, and appreciates the environment will be a welcome change.
It's not really that complicated, David.
4
Thank you, David, for acknowledging (and I'm paraphrasing here) that in the presidency character and competence are vastly more important than partisanship.
Unlike Trump a competent president with character would be surrounded by aides, cabinet members, and other political appointees who are also likely to be competent and of good character.
Trump chose to surround himself with partisans. Many have shown themselves to be incompetent or of poor character. Some little part of Trump seems to have just enough self-awareness to recognize those around him that have some measure of good character or competence and to drive them away so they don't damage his carefully constructed and delusional world view.
3
I am beginning to wonder if the readership of the NYT and its columnists are living in their own echo chambers. There is so much evidence out there that our political and economic systems are in dire need of structural change. Watch the fabulous NYT FX/Hulu series The Weekly, particularly the episode "The End of the Line" or even the Netflix doc "American Factory" or read last Sunday's Opinion Pieoce "In the Land of Self-Defeat" and you begin to understand that America's political divide has everything to do with our inability to accept and embrace the need for radical solution to seemingly intractable problems. The last thing we need is a centrist/status quo maintaining Democrat unwilling to tackle the nation's ills with more radical solutions. Why shouldn't EWarren tack progressive left while fully understanding that better solutions will materialize once in office once the full machinery of Congress and enlisted public policy experts settle on an affordable and workable solution. Let's acknowledge that we need Universal Health Care and figure out how to get there rather than trashing candidates for stating the obvious without yet knowing how to pay for it. Let's get positive about the things we need and elect someone who is willing to push things forward. Are we that frightened of significant change? Let's get real America and reject the fear and propaganda that seems to predominate our political discourse!
11
I dislike Donald Trump immensely (my mother taught me not to say I hate someone). But if Warren or Sanders are the Dem. nominee, I might hold my nose and pull the Republican lever. I make good money, but when you combine my Federal, State, City, Sales, Property and Transportation tolls taxes (and miscellaneous communications fees) about 57% of my income goes to some government entity. That's socialism my friends. It makes it hard for me, in the upper middle class, to sustain my family.
7
Joe or Bernie has the best shot at beating Trump. Bernie was the only one who would have beat him last time. Bernie may be crotchety but he's tough. Liz is smart but she's too soft. I'm not convinced if the Cuban Missile Crisis happened today she'd be willing and able to make the tough calls like JFK did. Or the same for any other potential conflict in world. And no, you can't always negotiate. Sometimes the stick is the only way. She'd be far better off in the role of VP or Sec. of State.
If Pete can make it as a gov or senator for at least 4 years I'd be willing to consider him then, but not now. The rest are just chaff who need to end their dead in the water campaigns right now.
1
Sounds like you just want a guy in charge. Unlike Bernie Warren is a happy and healthy warrior. Unlike Biden she can put a sentence together. Unlike Mayor Pete she has experience. What’s not to like except maybe her gender?
1
You want to know why Warren would lose to Trump?... Her refusal to deal with illegal immigration.
There are a LOT of independent voters for whom this is THE crucial issue.
13
"This election is about whether we can hold together as a functioning nation, across our economic, racial, geographic and ideological divides. In such circumstances, a bad option is better than a suicidal one."
David Brooks forgot to mention to vote every Republican out of the Senate as well, after all they're all part of the suicide pact.
9
I really disagree with the way you claim Trump is more of a threat to the "values and norms" in the U.S. You even stated in this article about how Warren and her progressives would make sure only their culture or faith is the accepted one.
4
@Noah Have I missed some kind of Elizabeth Warren news, has she promised to put religious Americans in concentration camps? I haven't heard her "plan for that" but have seen photos of hundreds of Catholics in cages and anti-Jewish marches under Trump.
Mr Brooks you have just proven again that you’re a Republican.. Mickey Mouse would make a better president. Having no president at all would be better than Trump. You can’t hide from the indefensible actions, the crudeness, the hate, the stupidity. I wish you would just say what you really believe..
2
The points you make about Warren seem to assume that she is an inflexible ideologue. I think she presents us with reasonable and moral frameworks that serve as a starting point for a better future for everyone.
It's obvious she lives in the world of reason, honesty, and love of our basic ideals and principles. And even if her ideas and plans cause pause for some, you have to ask yourself: between Warren and Trump, who is likely as president to compromise for the common good?
10
@David Seemann How is all this “obvious”?
Extremism is vice, moderation is virtue.
The actual reason I disliked our tragic Vietnam
war is that it seemingly was tearing our nation apart, and now I perceive it’s happening by Trump defenders versus anti Trumps.
Warren’s candidacy turnoffs the David Brookses.
And that is excruciatingly sad, because apparently:
There is no such human being as a risk-less generic Democrat, but I’ll and hopefully David/most of y’all would vote for whoever gets nominated.
Let us determine that is too important to vote
for another Nader or Stein or foolishly ignore
what is bleeding and nastily obvious if not an inevitable tragedy of four more regressive/ perilous years.
3
The price tag you quoted appears to be fresh off the talking points sheet put out by my fellow Republicans.
Curious if you can supply a credible source to elaborate on the source and cost elements used? Also, where is the figure for the total currently being spent, as we need to know how the estimate you quote compares?
4
Very much agree, David B. Meantime I'm pulling for the lucid, seemingly unaffected, Mr. Buttigieg. He might be the one with presidential timber. Solid.
9
"They reject the democratic rules of the game, the unwritten norms we rely upon to make the political system work. They deny the legitimacy of their political opponents, using extreme language to deny them standing as co-citizens. They tolerate or even encourage violence, threatening to take legal action against critics in rival parties." Levitsky & Ziblatt
Are they talking only about trump, or about all republicans?
5
@Jules Friedman Mad Maxine? Schiff? Nadler?
1
Dear Mr. Brooks, here is another way to go - convince your fellow conservatives to impeach and remove Trump from office. Then, you can choose between Pence and Warren and not be politically homeless.
9
I hope this isn't a preview of "moderates" publishing their opinions about the 2020 election.
Let's be frank. If it weren't for people like David Brooks, well, Donald Trump would still be a failed reality tv program guy with several bankrupt businesses.
15
Wow, that comment posted pretty quickly.
My primary concern is that Donald Trump will again win in the Electoral College. And, more importantly, that this will be possible because intelligent and moderate people will continue to highlight their minor concerns with the Democratic candidate, while ignoring the complete incompetence of the incumbent Donald Trump.
It happened in 2016. I believe it will happen again.
12
I agree that if a far left nominee wins, it will alienate a huge majority of independents and working class voters that don't want socialism. Welcome to another 4 years of Trumpism and even more conservative supreme court.
3
For my part, I am hoping some never-Trump Republicans register and vote in the Democratic primary. Trump needs to go, and we need a broader spectrum of the public to pick his successor.
8
As I'm sure many others will have commented, Warren is likely to be practical in the end. She's talking to the progressive base because that wins primaries, but I think her policies will eventually be more centrist, and I'm pretty sure she would govern from a more centrist position (which is why many of Sanders supporters won't support her). For instance medicare for all will undoubtedly transition to guaranteed government health insurance with a co-existing scheme of private insurance. Mr. Brooks I think in the end you would find far more to like in a Warren administration then a Trump administration, it really shouldn't be that difficult of a decision.
10
@ChinaDoubter, based on history, the Democratic candidate will be villified for, well, anything.
The Republican candidate WILL win, because of, well, the Electoral College.
Sickening.
I know Elizabeth Warren. I was one of her students. She is smart and fair and honest. There is no comparison between Elizabeth Warren and Trump.
31
@E. Rich I worked closely with the CFPB during its early days and have no use for Sen. Warren. Poorly thought out, arrogant, punitive, don’t get me going. I think her policies are idiotic and economically suicidal. I’m not that much younger than she and probably as successful and I can’t stand her. Self righteous opportunistic scold. I’d hold my my whole head and vote for DJT.
1
Draft Mike Bloomberg with Ed Rendell as chief advisor to whoever is chosen as VP.
It's not that I don't like EW--she has many excellent ideals (as do a lot of people), but implementing them in what will be a step-by-step pragmatic process is not her strong suit.
3
We're seeing a very strong reaction from moderates (of which I consider myself one) to Warren as a far-left candidate. Certainly she has espoused some policies that, at least in this country (as opposed to, say, Europe) seem quite dramatic. That said, she is trying to win the Democratic primary. I would expect all the candidates (with the possible exception of Sanders) to hew leftward at this stage before moving back toward the center in the general election.
Warren is on the left, but I don't think she's a true believer in the Sanders vein. If anything, one word that I tend to associate with her to at least some degree is "pragmatist." She has big ideas, but by and large she seems to have reasonable policy recommendations to achieve her desired outcomes.
Finally, as the Republican party is currently constructed, no Democratic president is going to have much success working with a Senate with McConnell as the majority leader. Obama was a remarkably centrist president when all is said and done, and he got literally no cooperation or buy-in at any point from "moderate" Republicans (I'll admit, I wonder if this is actually still a thing). He encountered immediate and entrenched partisan warfare. I would expect that to happen again whether we have a President Warren or a President Klobuchar.
8
Biden/Warren wins.
Warren at the top of the ticket will lose.
It's called putting together a balanced ticket -- and we had better start piecing one together!
4
Sorry but the time for a NeoLib/Centrists at the top and a Progressive on the bottom is over.
Sorry. You guys lost the last election.
You would not have lost that election if you would have put Bernie as your V.P. That would have expanded Hillary’s base, given progressives more of a reason to come out and vote for her, and maybe have given her more wiggle room to campaign harder to the right in places it might have helped.
But you guys did not do that.
Apparently you thought it was better that Trump win than give progressives a seat at the table when that seat was a nothing-burger like the V.P.
You guys lost. You always lose. The only way you win is if you campaign from the left with vague promises - like Obama did, then he governed from the right - which is why progressives will no longer vote for your losers anymore.
You are at the point the GOP was when Ford lost in 1976 and then Bush lost in the primaries in 1980 to the radical right wing Reagan. At least he was smart enough to put the opposing guard on his ticket. Reagan won. Hillary lost. For the same reasons.
So you guys lost, and you are losers. How many times do you need to lose to realize this?
But don’t worry. Either Warren or Bernie will put a centrist on the VP spot to make sure you show up to vote.
Like FDR, I welcome your hate.
2
Every silver lining has an associated cloud. Independents who support Mr. Brooks' proposition may well take the view that the Senate should remain in Republican hands as a counter balance.
2
"It’s a memo to those of us who could never support Donald Trump but think the Bernie-Squad-Warren Democratic Party is sprinting too far left."
How far to the right has the Republican Party sprinted David? Republicans get to go as far right as they want but according to you, Democrats have to stay in the middle.
16
"...the inevitable trade-off between economic growth and high spending, high taxes and high regulation."
I very much disagree: the US Federal Government has an ENORMOUS capacity to pump dollars back into the economy. There is so much that the GOP couldn't get done in two years--INFRASTRUCTURE!!! and now they can't, because they cut themselves off at the pockets. There are so many areas that could be funded by the government that would create jobs, and help the poorest of the poor. This is accomplished by taxing the richest of the rich.
I agree with much of Mr. Brooks analysis, but he'll always be a republican when it comes to the economy.
2
His fears are not based on actual facts about what Warren proposes. So it is encouraging that he would vote for even some far-leftist bogeyman of his rightwing imagination, rather than to continue this criminal and existential threat to our nation of a second Trump term.
If successful, she'll merely return us to ethical public service, a pretty long tradition, and the tax rates of the 1950s, when not just the rich, but anyone could get a university degree, it was free. And finally, with responsible, science-based party back in the administration and assuming we get a Democratic Senate, we can make the switch to a renewable economy to keep a survivable planet, not just for 20 billionaires for their lifetime, but for human civilization for centuries.
11
This is kind of an is there a Santa Claus comment in the hopes that I'll get a Yes, Virginia, there is. I'm 79. Why should, for the first time, I vote? I recall Mr. Brooks on the News Hour saying last year: "The Republicans know how to win elections but they don't know how to govern."
I left the DNC after the way they treated Bernie. No way would I vote for Trump BUT between gerrymandering, foreign hacking, voter suppression, no guarantee that absentee votes are really counted and the outdated electoral college, somebody tell me why I should take the time to vote.
3
@Portia Miles Smith, hmm.
Vote against Trump, just so your vote is counted.
Even better if your state's Electoral College votes actually matter. My state's Electoral College votes don't count; yet I still vote.
2
You should take the time to vote in order to be one of the many voices needed to fix the problems you list. Given the state of our politics, to vote is to fight, in a civilized way, to correct a world of many wrongs amidst much promise.
3
Because it’s not that hard and a good thing for democracy.
1
Since it’s everyone’s first primary (apparently), let me help: politicians start out farther from center in the primaries to appeal to their base, then pivot center during the general election to have more broad appeal on a national level. Warren will do the same. Then, all the candidates ideas have to go through tour system before they become realized (how is that border wall coming along?).
4
She lost me when she started her campaign in her kitchen by opening a bottle of beer and taking a swig. Since then she has irritated me with her policies and her animosity toward big tech. Hasn't she read her history. Our government attacked IBM for years, then they went after Microsoft, trying to break it up. Both companies are still in business and doing well for the economy. Our government broke up AT&T, with the loss of the Bell Laboratories, which was a breeding ground for Nobel Laureates. The baby Bells merged again, but without their former greatness. It is an easy choice not to vote for her, but I couldn't cast a ballot for Trump. I am still hoping someone worthy will come along.
7
Great comment about Bell Labs.
2
@S.L. so, why do you think that Donald Trump is qualified to be president?
1
Consider this:
Bit.ly/EPI-study
Ahh David, I couldn't agree with you more. However, we socially conscience /fiscal conservatives are in short supply. I do fear that Warren could lose to Trump-indeed I suspect that I am putting my retirement nest egg on the line if I were to vote for Warren. I would be willing to do it but I would bet most in my shoes would not. I have personal and moral grievances with Trump and indeed admire Warren's intellect and moral courage but I fear Warren's stubbornness and myopic views will turn off a critical number of voters. Just as an example, think of the Union people who fought hard and worked long for their lifetime healthcare benefits--this core group of democratic voters would think twice before voting away their benefits. I fear a "left v. right" match-up. Would much prefer a moderate like Amy K., although I could do without her corny sense of humor- it would be a small price to pay for sustaining our Democracy.
4
@Joe B I doubt very much your retirement nest egg is on the line with Warren. That is fear mongering. She is a capitalist. She just knows that without a thriving middle class, we are all in serious trouble.
And she has successfully worked across the aisle on many many bills. You are falling for a false narrative. Amy K. will just be the same old same old which is how we got Trump in the first place.
I completely agree with this piece. I am personally committed to putting heart and soul into whomever is the democratic candidate regardless, should it come to that. However, think of all those republicans who despise Trump but won't veer from the party unless they can justify it in some way. I don't think that will happen with these voters and other moderates whose votes are so critical and essential in this election. Our one chance to restore our democracy is completely in our hands. Moderation will have the best shot.
6
@BarbaraNYC Trumpies will NEVER vote for anyone but Trump. THey are a lost cause. What we want is our young people out to vote and they are excited by progressives
1
We have four major issues that have to be confronted by the next President: Income Inequality (Encompassing healthcare costs, college debt and fair pay), Global Warming, Rebuilding relationships with allies, and stopping election interference. Warren has the gusto and intellectual capacity to get this done. We can't go back to the way things were done before Trump. That's what got us Trump in the first place.
9
I can think of myriad of worse choices than voting for Warren, even for the most conservative voters. Positions and plans are one thing; getting enough people to agree on a specific plan is something else. Warren knows this.
Admit it, Republicans, a rug is a better choice than Trump, and Warren is a smart, educated women who is generally objective, even when she shoots for the moon.
5
David, he ain't gonna run. He would certainly be defeated if he does and with him a number of Republicans in lesser offices. It will be between Pence and Romney. Trump's overriding fear is going to be a Democratic president's administration indicting him. That would likely mean prison. He will need to resign before a Democrat assumes the office in 2021 to enable Pence to pardon him. Romney will not.
5
I will never support Trump under any circumstances and can support most of the Democratic Party candidates. However, if it's Trump versus Elizabeth Warren (or Bernie Sanders), I'm probably voting "none of the above", while likely means third-party.
6
@Louis, is it ok with you if voting third-party means another four years of Donald Trump as president?
If so, you don't want to know what I think about that. Hint: it's horrific.
2
@Louis, why is that?
Do you really want 'lil DJ Trump to have a completely unhinged, off-the-rails, second term?
For once I agree with David. Warrens health care position is going to hand us over to trump for another 4 years. Or maybe he never leaves.
6
I share some of the concerns raised by David Brooks, but would definitely vote for either Warren or Sanders. My main concern is that neither will have the necessary coattails (or train in the case of Warren) to result in a straight-ticket vote that assures a democratic majority in the Senate- assuming they retain their house majority. A lack of control over both chambers would revert to what many regarded as presidential overreach, like Trump's, to implement even some minor parts of their more palatable policies. Forget about implementing their more liberal plans, it will continue the polarization we see today.
1
So it's to be Trump vs. Warren, is it? A man of many, many limitations versus a woman of high competence. In other words, a re-run of 2016. What could go wrong?
OK, boys and girls, it's time to take your unpalatable medicine, which is that the vast American electorate is not yet mature enough to swallow the accomplished Ms. Warren at the top of the ticket. So it's time to roll out the barrels of Bernie Beer. A president Bernie will loosen a bit the constricting grip of Capital and create a waiting room for Warren, who can then put all those plans into action when Bernie reaches retirement age for politicians, which is eighty-something.
It's a dream team, gang: Bernie and Lizzie in 2020. And it's a song that almost writes itself. Let's all sing it together!
2
@Lawrence Rogers wrote: "OK, boys and girls, it's time to take your unpalatable medicine, which is that the vast American electorate is not yet mature enough to swallow the accomplished Ms. Warren at the top of the ticket."
This condescending attitude that anyone who disagrees with Warren is sexist, uneducated, immature, or any number of other ad-hominem attacks is going to cost her the election, or for that matter the nomination, quicker than her policies.
Few familiar with Warren's background deny that she is very accomplished. However, some people (including myself) have reservations about some of her policies.
Glad to see David Brooks mention Steve Bullock. I’m sorry to see he didn’t qualify for the debate, which is a real shame and a disservice to the voters. He’s a reasonable pol who has worked successfully with a Republican legislature in Montana, and when I say “Republican” I’m not talking about Mitt Romney or Jeb Bush republicans, I’m talking about the kind of republicans who fear black helicopters. The crazy ones. Bullock not only was able to smoothe their rough edges, but he brought many of them over to his moderate, slightly-left-of-center viewpoint, including Medicare expansion which many of us thought was an impossibility. And he’s also an unruffled, no-drama guy, kind of like the last president.
13
I'm glad Mr. Brooks allowed reason to win over his odium for a candidate who's a "purist". Methinks thou dost protest too much. Clutch your pearls if you must, Mr. Brooks, just vote for the sane one. But whatever you do, voters, for God's sake, DO NOT STAY HOME rather than not vote for Trump. If you do, you're voting for Trump.
14
Sure Warren is too far left for the likes of David Brooks and other Conservatives. But she is a morally upstanding Senator who has been twice elected to her Senate seat by the voters of Massachusetts. Her platform is perhaps an idealist's view of how America should be. But she is not deluded about her choices. If nominated by the Democrats at their convention she will be a stark contrast to Trump. Voters will have to decide if they want Warren's ideal America or Trump's corrupt failing America. Warren may be hard to swallow for some but Trump will be fatal poison for all, including those who vote for him again, out of spite.
14
David Brooks misses the point. Elizabeth Warren stands for a correction of the rightward swing since Clinton's 3rd Way neoliberal revolution, which fundamentally muddled the categories. Brooks calling for a more centrist candidate obscures how/that the center has shifted so far right that what's considered left now was center a generation ago. An endorsement of the center is endorsement of the right, not particularly surprising for Mr. Brooks.
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are in fact so rightward of any genuine socialist or Marxist revolutionary stance, that the tolerances of wealth inequality built in to even their most radical proposals probably make them look like fascist reactionaries by any earlier generations' standards.
7
I don't pretend to understand you, David Brooks. You just got over bringing up all of Trump's major failings including his betrayal of the Kurds and yet you cannot bring yourself to vote for Warren, if she is the nominee.
Your argument on the cost of Healthcare for all is a false one. We already spend over 3.5 Trillion a year. Hers and Bernie's cost around the same or less. How are we paying for it today? and without covering everyone which theirs will.
I could go on and on but why bother if you keep bringing up fake choices?
11
If it's Trump vs. Warren, then what?
Warren wins, that's what.
Meh.
7
My German family learned this lesson the hard way. In an election between a NAZI and Anyone, you vote for Anyone.
27
In 2020 Presidential election I have a simple criteria. I will vote for the saner candidate. Yes the bar has moved so low.
7
I won't be voting for Warren, as she does sound very unrealistic with her grandiose promises. But, the president, despite what Trump seems to think, is not a dictator. Warren realizes that she will need to work with both sides of the isle to accomplish anything.
I can vote for Warren if necessary because she is smart, energetic and I have no doubt that she understands that the only way to get anything done is through compromise.
8
Brooks is right, but his point would have been more compelling had he not led with criticisms of Warren's policy ideas. The point is a simple one. This election isn't about policy. It's about our continued existence as the nation the Founders contemplated. Voting for any Democrat, whether or Warren or someone else, preserves that existence. Voting for Trump ends it. Put bluntly, it's a Democrat or it's disaster, folks, so it hardly matters whether you like or dislike Warren.
20
Brooks is out of his freaking mind. Calling Warren a "bad option" is absurd. If you took every single thing about her and transferred it to a man, he'd be signing her praises. Brooks is a myopic sexist.
17
This 2020 campaign reminds me of 1972. All the liberals were soooo excited and in love with McGovern, so he won the nomination. He was a disaster. And we got Nixon. I fear that that is exactly what will happen if Warren is the democratic nominee. Especially after the craziness of Trump, we desperately need a calm, smart candidate -- who has the proven experience -- to get us back on track -- Fast. Someone who knows the difference between reality and pie-in-the-sky plans. Someone who won't be learning on the job. And someone tough enough to defeat Trump -- someone who has won big in every election and in the places Trump won big, also won big. This is a description of Amy Klobuchar. She is what we need Now. And she will -- will -- beat Trump.
10
I find myself precisely in the predicament Mr. Brooks describes. I cannot vote for Warren. She is a socialist. I know this is not how she describes herself, but this is what she is. Her dehumanizing rhetoric toward the “wealthy” is repulsive. What if race was substituted for class in every statement she makes? Would you still applaud her? Just a reminder that the worst genocides of the last century were conducted on the basis of class, not race. Then you have her policies. I am in favor of a universal healthcare because I know how it works in Europe. Warren’s proposal to abolish all private insurance, even alternative or supplementary one, has no parallel anywhere except maybe Venezuela. Finally I know that my taxes are going to be raised for no good cause and the resulting money will be wasted. All this said, Trump has lost me with his repulsive abandonment of Kurds. He has no idea what he is doing, setting the world on fire. What am to do? We’ll see. Meanwhile I’m contributing to Mayor Pete.
9
in europe there are private health insurers, but they are mostly nonprofit. A lot of people including Warren, would be ok with that in addition to a comprehensive public option. She is against for profit insurance as she should be.
5
@Mor,
I agree with you.
I can support most of the current crop of Democratic Party president candidates, though some I prefer some more than others.
However, I cannot support Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, for similar reasons though my biggest one is student loan forgiveness.
While the cost of college is a travesty, forgiving everyone's student loans feels like a slap in the face. I, like many others, had to work hard in some less than desirable jobs and make sacrifices to pay them off.
Extending the income threshold to over $100,000 a year is even more insulting and David Brooks is completely correct when he calls it "a handout to the upper middle-class."
4
@ Mor You state as an objection to Warren “Finally I know my taxes are going to be raised for no good cause and the resulting money will be wasted.”
Now you know how we middle income folks feel since our taxes have been raised by trump and the republicans for the purpose of further enriching corporations and the already ultra wealthy.
2
Even if Democrats nominate a goat to run against the current occupant of the White House, the goat gets my vote.
As Mr Brooks rightly said, the very soul of this country is at stake with this current president.
16
The place I live has mountain goats. They live in little herds and are quite social and take care of each other. Surely a better choice that the incumbent - way better.
3
Goat 2020!
1
Then everyone should vote for the person who is not a criminal.
10
@Frank M
Are you implying that there are some in political office who are not criminals?
1
"There is no universe where I will ever vote for Donald Trump, and there is no universe where I could ever vote for Elizabeth Warren."
Let me suggest a revision of this sentence:
There is not universe where I will ever vote for Donald Trump, and there is no universe where I could ever vote for Biden, Buttigieg, Booker, Bennet, Bullock or Klobuchar.
What should one do if Warren runs against Trump? Simple enough, Mr. Brooks: help Pocahontas make the election Custer's last stand.
All of the centrist politicians you have supported over the years have led us to the brink of disaster. Letting corporations run the world is destroying the world, Mr. Brooks. Awake and abandon your centrist adorations before their timid policies that follow from the idea that it's best to be selfish make our world uninhabitable.
Expand your imagination, Mr. Brooks. Don't be stuck in your old ways in this dysfunctional world.
14
This is the democratic primary. Stop trying to run a republican in our primary. Get your own primary...oh wait, I forgot. Your president is eliminating republican primaries along with the rest of democracy.
20
Whoa, whoa wait a minute! Warren will destroy the economy? Rich words considering the working class hasn't had a raise since 1978. Step up to the plate Americans Trump is ignorant, and downright insane. Look at Warren's record: she is smart, plays nicely with others and thoroughly sane. Reality check people.
19
I've always respected you, David, and your voice of reason. But you had to throw this line in: "If given executive power, some progressives may use it to cancel any culture or faith other than their own."
Just stop with the religious-persecution nonsense. Faith is an idea, a concept. You are the only person who can cancel your own faith.
And cultures? What culture would liberals seek to cancel? We are the party of inclusion, not exclusion. Or are you talking about racist/sexist/homophobic cultures that denigrate and suppress others? And if so, why you you want to protect and preserve them?
25
Extremely well stated.
1
jeez louise people. It's just ONE election cycle. We'll almost certainly have divided gov't no matter who wins the presidency.
Don't be such drama kings and queens.
Next November, vote for the candidate that IS NOT a malignant narcissist.
10
Agreed. To sum up, Trump is amoral; Warren is a lefty.
3
@Barry Phillips ...and David Brooks never heard of Bill Weld.
'In their book “How Democracies Die,” Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt argue that authoritarians undermine democracy in several ways.'
An interesting and instructive read. But even better is "The Death of Democracy," not a polemic, but rather an historical account of the replacement of the Weimar Republic by Hitler's dictatorship. The author draws no explicit parallels between those circumstances and ours ... but he doesn't need to.
4
I'm for a Pete Buttegieg/Sherrod Brown ticket.
5
Why man, why?
A divided government will halt Warren--who respects the rule of law and the Constitution. It will not stop Trump the Lawless Liar. I am an Independent who will vote Blue No Matter Who in 2019 and 2020 because of all the damage and destruction wrought by the Rs in my country and state. Enough!
6
The reason, above all, to vote for any Democrat and not Trump is that it is dangerous to have as president someone so unstable with his finger on the nuclear button.
6
David... our republic and democracy need Trump to be gone whoever is running against him... also since when does a president get to totally create programs and laws... have you not forgotten that it is the congress that actually passes legislation.....Because Warren wants free college or medicare for all doesn't make it happen unless the American people will it to be so ...in who they elect to represent them. Get a grip!
6
I genuinely fail to understand how Trump vs Warren is a difficult choice. Forget about the democratic field for a minute. If you had to rank every single eligible American against Trump for the presidency, where would Trump fall? Top half? I doubt it. I would literally prefer most strangers on the street to our president, and, honestly, wouldn't you? And here you are, cherry-picking Warren's campaign platform, twisting it into some sort of dystopian nightmare, why?
8
This piece is right on. I observe Warren using polarizing language, proposing plans that many Democrates eschew as misdirected (medicare for all, and free tuition for all) and implausibly viable financially. Given the polarizing nature of her vision, she won't be gathering people together in solidarity and may well alienate Democratic voters as well as not offering Republicans an alternative to Trump. I would love a woman president, and I think Klobuchar actually offers choices and the kind of vision that would gather in disparate Democratic voters and provide a way for Republicans to vote for an alternative to Trump/the Republican regime. I also see Klobuchar being able to command a stage with Trump on it. For those who insist on a more radical approach, I respond that the President needs to be President of the whole country - at least to offer the possibility - not just part of it. I don't think either Warren or Bernie offer that possibility.
3
Sorry David, but not a peep from you as the Republican party moved to the extreme right over the past few decades, so you calling something "too far left" is meaningless.
13
Without bothering to read this piece, I’ll answer the titular question. Then what? Simple...vote for Warren because a vote for trump is a vote for continued chaos and dysfunction, and the possibility of the end of our great republican (not Republican) experiment.
In a recent interview Harry Reid spoke highly of Elizabeth Warren, praising her intelligence, work ethic, and, most importantly, her flexibility and ability to work toward applicable solutions. She is not the wild-eyed demon as some like to brand her. She believes in a different course for our country, but she is at heart someone who wants the best for our citizens.
6
My wife and I became Democratic voters over a half century ago when we voted for John F. Kennedy and we have never looked back. I was a newly commissioned Navy officer serving on my first ship and we had hopes for a peaceful world and a rising standard of living for our family.
The U.S. decision to support the French in Viet-Nam and my later personal involvement in that conflict changed our lives and opened my eyes to the importance of our international relations and the alternatives for pursuing a better life for humankind.
As the U..S. has evolved, the opportunities for personal education including access to shelves of books in free libraries and improvement in job opportunities in an economy that adapts to innovation and inventions has convinced me that we have a foundation system which may be capable of making significant improvements in the well-being of all humankind. The U.S. has an opportunity to build a multi-cultural. multi-ethnic society that can govern itself and commit our society to fairness in global markets and collectively be stewards of the World's water, food supply, and the Earth's commons and energy sources. Our newly forming society can create a World with a role for this Nation and for all humankind as it adapts to the environmental regimes required for civilization to increase in happiness and sense of purpose.
We have not yet decided which candidate to support but believe that the primaries will select a candidate who shares our values.
1
Elizabeth Warren used to be a Republican. She knows how it all can work to benefit everyone. Why are people so afraid of that?
6
@ dubcu Why, you ask? Here are 2 reasons, unbelievable to me, but stated in 2 comments above:
1. Because my taxes will go up ( I guess it was ok for trump and republicans to raise my taxes to benefit corporations and the already ultra wealthy);
2. Because I had to struggle to pay my student loan so no one else should get a break (Really? A toddler’s rationalization if ever there was one).
1
So what? Werner von Braun was a Nazi engineer who designed the V-2 rocket. Then he designed most of the American aeronautics after the war!
"Tech Companies Are Destroying Democracy and the Free Press" By Matt Stoller only got 191 comments total. This 'no brainer' column gets 3,042 comments and counting.
But David Brooks still doesn't get that Trump is merely a symptom. The very dysfunctional Republican Party leadership of the past 40 years is the disease! Their level of mendacity has exceeded any safe norm for a democratic, republican form of government.
The libertarian agenda is a suicide agenda for any modern 21st century economy, society, and polity. The idea that a U.S. government starved down to the 1/6th of its current size (or even down to 1/6th of the size that it should actually be) would, or even could possibly, still be able to manage, or even cope with, a 21st century economy, society, and polity buffeted by all the twists and turns of a globalized world economy with all its military and diplomatic conflicts is absolutely ludicrous!
David Brooks just refuses to even think (let alone write) about the absurdity and, more importantly, the national toxicity of the semi-covert Republican, libertarian, small government agenda, that really only helps the very rich in the short-to-mid-term.
Of course in the long-run we're all dead. And maybe that's all they, and David Brooks, care about.
(One sixth is an actual extreme goal mentioned in one Tea Party libertarian's book. But almost all of the 19 or so other wealthy nations have governments larger than the U.S. government relative to their economy's size.)
3
@Ben Andrews
All of the 19 or so other wealthy nations have certain benefits as a result of having governments that are more right-sized than ours. This is because they realize that the most important capital in capitalism is human capital! And they spend accordingly. The governments of the US and the other rich nations all spend about the same % on their elderly population (SS and medicare type benefits). But we spend a lot less %-wise on those aged 23 to 55. Soc Security indirectly helps develop human capital in the younger population where it really counts, because it frees up young adults to concentrate on their education and moving to wherever the good jobs are without having to worry about their parents. But there is so much more we could do to help the young and the working populations develop their human capital.
We don't have things like government supported enhanced child day-care, universal early education, paid maternity (parental) leave, and universal healthcare. Our public universities are not free (or even low-cost). We don't have subsidized apprenticeship programs. We don't have public sickness (wage-loss) insurance or even adequate unemployment insurance for the healthy in all states.
This spending deficit on young human capital results in greater inequality, more poverty, shorter life expectancy, more corruption (public and private), less happiness, and ironically bigger budget deficits.
The most important capital in capitalism is human capital!!!!
2
There will be one very easy Choice if Trump runs -- Warren.
4
How about those that can't bring themselves to vote Democrat just stay home? Also, I am so tired of GOPers telling Dems who they should nominate so they can feel OK voting for them. You gave us Trump, proof that you can't manage your own political affairs, please don't tell us how to manage ours.
9
Billionaires have controlled both parties for decades. It’s time to get a traditional, New Deal Democrat back in the White House. Tax “big fortunes,” decommission some aircraft carriers and invest in the middle class. Warren 2020!
4
It doesn't really matter what Warren's policies are now; she would have to get them through Congress, which is guaranteed to water them down to the point of nonrecognition. Warren's ideas should be considered aspirational. The real obstacle to moving forward on things that moderates and progressives can agree on is the Senate under McConnell's leadership, not a president Elizabeth Warren.
6
She won’t be an inspiration if she loses the election. And Brooks is right, she would lose. It is one of the few times I agree with his analysis.we need a moderate to get us back to normal.
2
For all the people who think Warren can’t win, who would have ever thought that Trump could have won. Vote your conscience— or for the one who will do the less damage.
2
Note that David Brooks, a moderate Republican, is terrified at the prospect of Elizabeth Warren (or Sanders), but would vote for the Democrat only to be rid of Trump. Imagine what the reaction will be of only slightly less moderate Republicans, those who aren't horrified by Trump, to a Warren as the Democratic nominee. They would vote for Trump in droves. Isn't B or a K or a Y a safer choice?
2
We should stop the lunacy of thinking that by electing Warren (or anyone else for that matter) that everything she advocates will happen in the manner she proposes. Congress has its role to play in tempering ideas. I would like to think of selecting the president as moving the compass in the direction you want the nation to go. I'm voting for a president that understands the role of that office, will represent the needs of all Americans, and will serve with grace and dignity.
3
I am quite disappointed in many of the comments posted for this highly useful column, for all voters, especially for Independents & Warren/Sanders supporters. They are plain irrational in that they will only raise the chances for another Trump term, a horror. I feel the debate skill of Elizabeth Warren, diminishes the chances for winnable candidates to rise.
Furthermore, there's a mean streak in Warren, which showed up on several occasions. She refused to thank Joe Biden when he said he tried hard to help pass her bill. Her claim of Native American in an application can, not necessarily an Albatross for her.
3
To some, this may seem like a choice between the Devil and deep blue sea but that is only if you view any Democrat as having the same rabid authoritarian bent as Trump albeit with progressive ideas. That is simply not evident.
We have a Democratic majority in the House because the GOP majority was ripping away more and more of the safety net. People didn't vote Democrats in because of an abstract fear that health care costs are 18% of the GDP and likely to increase. It was to stem the tide against the real possibility of losing their health insurance and have their life savings decimated, house foreclosed, or bankrupted from a medical emergency.
People like me didn't vote a Democrat in because of an abstract notion of income inequality but the reality that we currently pay nearly $30,000 a year for a basic health care policy from Blue Cross/ Blue Shield with a honkin' deductible to boot. And that is for two healthy adults with no history of chronic conditions or disease. And that money goes to underwrite millionaire CEO pay packages who pay a fraction of the taxes the rest of us do.
People may bristle at the idea of socialist policies but you truly would not recognize America without Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Veteran's Administration, SNAP, farm subsidies, etc. Thank God someone had the vision, temerity, and passion to make those a reality. My vote will go to someone who inspires hope and solutions, not endless tirades and egregious behavior.
6
Two healthy adults pay $30k a year with a large deductible??
1
Legislatively, a President Warren would have problems passing her most extreme positions. Similarly, Trump is having problems with his initiatives.
The difference is that Warren would find a more middle ground to make some progress. Trump, on the other hand, doubles down, re-purposes money, throws a hissy-fit to try to get his own way; the end result is stalemates and nothing getting done.
Add in that Warren is a civil person where Trump is not. Warren is a responsible person where Trump has proven that he is not.
Trusting the Congress to rein in whoever is president, the decision becomes more of who we want to lead, to represent America to the world, to set the tone for our country. That's a no-brainer.
We cannot have four more years of Trump. We've already lost a decade or two of progress on so many important initiatives that we cannot afford to lose more under this uninformed, unprepared chief executive that we have now.
All my life I have heard that we need a president who would run the country like a business. Well, if Trump were CEO of any public business, the board would have booted him out two years ago. America's stockholders -- all of us -- need to do the same and show him the door. (He's already created his own golden parachute.)
3
Every President has trouble passing their initiatives. That’s how the framers wanted it. The exceptions would be the springs of 1933 and 2009
1
For all those bashing the prospect of a moderate candidate... In my younger days I might have agreed with the Sanders/Warren uber progressive 'let's make a change' folks. But in the 13 presidential elections since 1968 only four times did my candidate win the general election for president. That's 52 years with a whopping 69% chance of your candidate losing the election to Trump. Get the nomination, lose the election. This country gains nothing if governance isn't restored to political common purpose among different points of view. You won't find that on the ideological fringe of either side.
1
If it is Trump vs Warren and Trump is re-elected, what does that say about the Democrat party that it cannot put forward a candidate who resonates with the American public like Trump has and does?
4
Well it would certainly day a lot about the American public.
6
This is nothing but a cheap psychological game by David Brooks to present Elizabeth Warren and Donald Trump as 2 sides of the same coin. Against all evidence Brooks has attempted over the past 1,001 days to deny the obvious moral and intellectual shortcomings of Trump until even he could no longer perform the mental gymnastics. Which says a lot about how awful Trump is and but more so how hypocritical so called conservatives have become about almost everything.
Ms. Warren is head and shoulder above the morose Trump but what they really fear is that she may be able to pull the scales off the eyes of the majority of Americans. They may become aware just how much the the corporate and political elite take advantage of them through manipulating the markets and the political mechanism. For all Trump's faults, the one thing he has made clear is just how corrupt our politics are and while he just boldly takes advantage of the obvious loopholes. Many in the corporate and political class have been exploited these loopholes for their own self enrichment for decades.
Liz Warren is dangerous because she points out the exploitation, the loopholes and actually is willing to put a stop to them. They are not worried about her MFA or free tuition proposals. They are worried that she may overturn the trough at which they have been feasting at the expense of the majority.
7
You haven’t been reading his columns. He has been very critical of Trump
Has Mr Brooks completely forgotten about the adage that goes something like this, "in the primary, run to the left, be very progressive. In the general election, run towards the center."
Relax David, the country will be in very good hands with Warren in the white house. Just be happy she was a republican for many years.
5
I'm a Canadian who has been living in the US and paying taxes here for 20 years. I'm now a US citizen. And I still can't get all the fear that universal health care and a better break for students is supposed to "ruin the country". It's the fear that's ruining this country. The more polarized a country, the more energy is wasted on useless arguing. The less polarized, the more they are able to get things done. This is the real secret why extreme left countries like Sweden crush it so hard, not the specifics of their policies.
I like Warren's policies, but it's true. Americans don't want to live in a country where they are all taken care of, and everyone supports each other. Sadly, it's a culture of exclusion and me first, and one has to accept that. However, to say that best candidate shouldn't be pushing policies that are polarizing isn't such a simple answer. Obama did an amazing job of trying to find the center, but even his legacy been twisted by the right into some kind of apocalyptical disaster.
Really, the problem of all this polarization lies with the way we communicate, the forms of our social media, which seem designed to polarize. And so, in the end, that is the game we play. This is the chickens coming home to roost, and I hate to say it, we gotta go all in. Go Warren.
5
Really fine Brooks column. I’d still like the slate to be wiped clean and a dark horse to enter the race, though I know it’s a long shot. I’m hoping that by next summer’s convention, which is a ways off, Biden and Warren have deadlocked. (I’m assuming that neither has been knocked out in the primaries, that Warren has absorbed Sanders’s forces, and that she wouldn’t accept the VP slot. Also assuming that Trump hasn't by then been put away.) At that point, in my pipe dream, the smoke-filled rooms of long ago come to the rescue and draft Susan Rice or Gavin Newsom, maybe the two as running mates. Now there’s a moderate and pragmatic duo that would stand a serious chance of prevailing. Otherwise we're counting on Trump's unpopularity outweighing the fear of radical change, which is problematic given the disproportionate clout of red states in the Electoral College.
1
The Bernie voters who stayed home in 2016 may have lost the election to Trump. Let us Democrats not do that again. We need to pull together and support who ever wins out. I strongly suspect that a lot of the strategies and plans that are proposed now will fade with a new presidency. High minded ideas will turn to legislative sausage. Remember how hard it was to pass Obamacare? Don't get riled.
Support the person who becomes the Democratic nominee. Think about Trump and vote.
3
I have always said “when in doubt vote left because the US would never let the country drift too far but would allow the right too”. Hence I agree. Warren would be ineffective as President but I am not sure our country can sustain another four years. I too never thought our countries institutions would ever be at risk but they are. Post 2020 I can be friends with anyone that votes Trump but not anyone who opposes Trump but does not vote.
While Warren might not be my first pick, she is smart, experienced, and able to modify her aspirations to fit reality. More importantly, she has integrity, ethics, and compassion--traits that Donald Trump has none of. He is destroying the fabric of this nation and must be stopped.
3
A second-term Trump would be a frightening journey. America, as we admire it, would be disemboweled. His arrogance, already epic, would reach openly toxic proportions.
No...we can't endure it.
Warren's nomination would make Trump's second term more likely.
With all the brains and experience in the Democratic Party, it's disheartening to consider that they may make Trump 2 more likely.
4
Just a reminder from October 2016:
DAVID BROOKS: Yes, I do think there is an acceptance, I don’t know if in Donald Trump’s brain, but certainly in the Republican Party, about the fact that he’s going to lose, or the likelihood that he’s going to lose.
3
Brooks supported the Iraq War. Warren stated the other night that she thinks we should get out of the Middle East. See what is motivating his hyperbole here? It’s not her economic policies.
1
What gets lost in the whole discussion about Warren (or Bernie for that matter) is that there is no way that a pure Medicare for All plan, as well as some of the other staunchly progressive ideas, would get passed the congress and be sustained. Trump's chaos administration has turned the swamp into a cesspool, the extrapolation of one very sick person's point of view. Given that the Democratic party is uniquely able to shoot themselves in the foot (or some other part of the anatomy), we can be assured that they will provide plenty of space for the carcass of the Republican party, with the aid of the truly fake news media, with the help of right wing trolls, social media and Putin's minions, to rise from the ashes. The way back from forty years of burgeoning plutocracy will be painful for us all.
1
Those defending their poor voting choice for Bernie or Warren are the pure reflection of the "me first" culture that got us here in the first place. Wanting to have your say with a wasted vote is pure arrogance and their own form of narcissism. Just because you feel as if you left wing enlightened, does make your cause just.
A unification of pragmatism is the only way out of the current situation. Do we care if Biden is only a 4 year placeholder that rights the ship back to even? That is the best we can aspire for, so get on board and quit wasting your vote on another pipe dream. That is how we got here in the first place.
2
Mr. Brooks, I would vote for a pig with lipstick if it would get rid of the current dumpster fire of a president and administration that we are currently suffering under. My sincere question to you is which of the current twelve top-of the-field Democrats currently running for office do you honestly believe is lacking in temperament, skill sets, smarts and desire to uphold the ideals of our country? Has your party really done so much better for us average Americans over the decades?
There’s really no choice at all in next year’s election for president, given what we now know of its current occupant. None at all. Be part of the problem, or part of the solution. It’s that simple. Quit your handwringing and make up your mind to save our country.
7
Has EW answered the tax question? Joking. Of course not. Slippery.
Cory Booker suddenly stood out as a very appealing candidate in the last debate, because he seemed most opposite to Trump. He talked about human decency. empathy. and civility.
1
Heaven forbid Warren wins and we have higher taxes on the rich, expanded healthcare and educational opportunity, student loan forgiveness, more generous family leave, presidential credibility, corporate accountability, allies that work with us, elections that are protected from foreign involvement, and Supreme Court justices that don't think everyone should have an assault rifle.
Instead of course we could have Trump again for at least 4 years, in which case our Republic remains at risk, our allies don't trust us, our deficit continues to explode, corruption expands even further, 20 million people lose their health insurance as nearly happened in 2017, and we continue rudderless with no national agenda.
6
Mr. Brooks see graph #2 at:
bit.ly/EPI-study
It shows that from 1945 to 72 GNP went up about 100% &
the median (meaning everyone's) in lock step w/ it.
Since 72 GNP went up another 150% but the median wage remained flat.
As some wages have gone up (health/tech), some have floated (7% in unions) the majority of working class Americans (ie. the majority of Americans) have spent the last 47+ years w/ declining expectations in an economy that has grown 150%.
This is not possible w/out complicity from policy elites from both parties. After WWII the State department controlled trade policy. They exchanged American hegemony for access to U.S. markets. After 1965 this increasingly meant working class jobs that provided for a middle class existence.
The median wage should be 150% higher than it is now. Or perhaps better yet 100% higher & a 4 day work week. Instead of 150 million Americans making 150% more than they do now, they work multiple jobs to try to raise family income. Meanwhile healthcare & higher education are 1000% more expensive. Nearly all of the benefits of the 150% GNP increase went to the <1%; perhaps only 9,000 or less American families.
You, Mr. Brooks, and your kind are responsible for this.
That working class folks vote for Trump is their shoving their 47+ year sufferance out into the public forum.
Voting for Warren, better yet Bernie, is the only way to fix the working class, then America, then the world. & you & your ilk still don't see this the obvious.
3
This argument does more than anything else to demonstrate the total inadequacy of our debate "rules." The candidates mentioned here as the most electable and the best choices to get us back on track are dismissed for no other reason than being the least known, and the debate setup has done nothing to help the electorate. The "front runners" are simply the candidates who are well-known. In this last debate people actually discovered Amy Klobuchar. And Michael Bennett had already been "disqualified." This is just too little too late. Are we as voters to allow this inept setup to force our choices because the electorate has not had the opportunity to get to know all the candidates? Why on earth have they not cut the size of the debates in half and have six candidates debate, and simply have more debates? Or does that make too much sense? I guess the real question is: How do we expect to defeat Trump when we have excellent candidates who are being side-lined, forcing us to choose the lesser of two evils?
“Politics is downstream from morality and culture. Warren represents a policy wrong turn, in my view, but policies can be argued about and reversed.” Amen
What America needs more than anything else right now is to take a deep breath, calm down, and get a grip on itself. We need a president with the temperament to help that happen. The Democratic candidate who best fits that mold is Amy Klobuchar. I keep hoping for her to pull a surprise showing in Iowa and give herself the bounce she needs to start getting taken seriously. I truly believe she is the one to win this election and start getting the country back on the right track.
4
First of all, we already had a pluralist. His name is Pres. Barak Obama. How well did that go for the Democrats? America's Radical Reactionary Party (nee Republican) fought him tooth and nail and are still trying to undo every little bit of good that he managed to accomplish. Do you think Pres. Biden, Pres. Buttigeg, or Pres. Kobuchar will have better luck getting us healthcare and affordable meds because they happen to be white? Maybe, but I think America's hating class will fight them just as hard and just as bitterly as they fought Pres. Obama on general principles if they can't find anything better. Pres. Warren and Pres. Sanders will get even less accomplished because they be even more committed to obstructing them.
In my imagination, Pres. Harris might actually get more accomplished because she appears to have some fight in her. People criticised her for ducking issues with disengenuous answers in previous debates, but I think she could also be keeping her powder dry so she doesn't telegraph her moves to those who will be trying to stymie her before she can even get out of the gate. But that's just my imagination. I don't know any of that for a fact, and she's polling way too low now.
So unless there's a breakout (who knows, a lot can happen), it looks like it will be down to Biden and Warren. Whoever wins will have his/her work cut out for them. The hatred and obstructionism will not stop when Trump leaves. It might even get worse.
1
@Larry Check out Klobuchar's website List of the things she knows she can get done in her first 100 days. She has gotten more legislation passed than any other Senator because she's smart, knowledgeable, knows how our government works, and she is liked and respected by Republicans as well as Democrats and has proven she can work across the aisle. (She has also won every election she's been in, by big margins, even in places where TRump won by big margins.) And she is tough. She'll defeat Trump and he'll wonder what happened.
I think Warren is just as dangerous as Trump. Once her brand of policies take hold, they will be very hard to undo. Just the damage she could do on taxes are unthinkable. Like '16, I will be voting third party in '20, unless in the off chance someone like Klobuchar gets nominated. Klobucher is well to the left of me, but at least she speaks in moderate tones, so I could probably hold my nose and vote for her.
If many like me vote third party and Trump wins, as awful as he is I could live with that if Warren is the alternative.
2
Fortunately, you live in New York where your wasted third-party vote doesn’t matter.
She's a woman, and I bet Brooks just can't stomach that, in spite of all his claims about policies.
4
Agreed.
2
Climate. There, I've made your decision for you.
3
hear! hear!
Another Republican arguing for a conservative Democrat to run because the Republican candidate is nuts. Snooze.
9
Liz will lose to Trump. FOR SURE
3
"If given executive power, some progressives may use it to cancel any culture or faith other than their own." Mr. Brooks, among the patently false things you've said in your columns, this strikes me as the most egregious, baseless charge I've yet read. I will not waste my time reading your nonsense again.
12
If this is a Sophie’s choice for you, then there’s something wrong with you.
11
You try my patience, David. There isn't a single democratic candidate "moderate" enough for you, which is hardly a surprise, for given the utter abasement of your beloved Republican party, you still refuse to act as though there is another political party that has ideas and programs that will be beneficial to the country. Spoiler alert, David, there is one, but your outdated, Jeffersonian view of the world forbids you to realize it. Please spare us your rambling apologia, finally coming to a begrudging conclusion that you have no other choice. I can't wait, post-Trump, for you to suddenly discover that those good Republicans have come to their senses, and is a party you can comfortably feel secure in again. Give me a break.
7
Warren:
She'll use the right pronouns.
She won't use nasty words like illegal.
The NYT op-ed writers will have a party.
The left coast and the right coast will jump up and down with approval.
The country will go into a recession with or without her.
Rightly or wrongly, she'll be blamed for the recession.
The Republican Senate won't give her an inch.
The Democrats will have an uphill battle in the midterms and in the 2024 Election.
Maybe just maybe, things will get righted in 2024.
4
Mr. Brooks, it is quite understandable why you see Warren as a threat to your party of plutocrats, Your GOP created a political system where only those who can access millions if not billions can get elected. Controlling the flow of money means controlling the current political system. The outliers like Warren who refuses to be bought are always, a threat to your plutocracy.
Warren’s correctly points out that unless we first, mitigate the power of money in politics, we can NEVER solve any problems which benefits ordinary citizens. Her other proposals are secondary to this. Mr. Brooks the system which made you millions as a paid operative of our plutocracy is under mortal threat with Warren, hence your vitriol trolling of her.
Reducing the power and influence of health, financial, pharmaceutical, telecommunication, energy, as well as all of our monopolies and oligopolies that your GOP gladly concubine for is a threat to your existence! When your main objective is to continue to fester our American plutocracy, who cares if you have a treasonous, fascist fraud buffoon as your leader, as long as he continues enrich your masters.
Under normal conditions, she would never have a chance because the power of money in our politics is too great, however the next election will NOT be about policy but systemic corruption of our political system made obvious by your buffoonish GOP president. Warren is our best chance since FDR to mitigate the power of your plutocratic masters.
5
Was it so hard to say?
1
Warren should pick Romney as VP
3
@Joe
Actually a pretty good idea.
2
How about Bozo the Clown and Santa Claus? Totally dumb idea.
Duh. If the dems nominated a roll of toilet paper it would get my vote over Trump.
7
Won’t be Joe, Bernie or Liz. Too old, lefty, biz-as-usual; swamp. Want it done? Then it’s either Amy, Pete or possibly Kamala. If Trump’s history for the 2020 election and a “kinder, gentler, apologetic and make-it-up-to-ya” R candidate somehow emerges from the GOP ashes, they can win it, yes. D’s still too scary, obsessed, sorry to say. Tick-tock.
Ahh David Brooks, always on the side of corporations.
6
It’s a binary choice. Voters will have to choose between the insane grandpa determined to bring us all down with him with his full blown dementia on display or the sane Democrat. Doesn’t matter who that Democrat is, it really is a choice between keeping our democracy or devolving into a dictatorship helmed by insane grandpa. All the words printed and spoken about “oh my who do we choose” is wasted words. You have a binary choice and we are going to find out if love of country will win the day.
4
Warren, such a villain! She wants to get healthcare and education to Americans. Terrible!
I mean, are you kidding Brooks? Like this is a choice any sane person needs to mull over?
10
Mr Brooks, a blow-up doll is preferable to Trump—and unlike him, Ms Warren understands the checks and balances built into the constitution. I think your worries about Warren are groundless. And, it’s a long, long time until the Democratic convention.
I worry that Trump will be unseated and people like you will vote for our spineless and demonstrably unintelligent VP.
5
No worries...it’s Biden’s turn. Warren will be his VP. The DNC superdelegates get the final say in this.
Guys, aanyone, ANYONE, is better than this odious man, no? My Australian shepherd is probably more qualified to be President. he is certainly more intelligent and has better manners than Dorito Mussolini.
3
Abolishing slavery was 'hard left' in 1865.
6
I suggest you read your own paper for a view of how EW would handle the collision between her ideals and political reality. It is a real life audition for the presidency that few other candidates have had: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/21/us/politics/elizabeth-warren.html?searchResultPosition=17
115
@MG
To you all excited for a EW presidency to legislate Medicare for all. confident that she has a plan how to . desirable, but an unrealistic hope unless she can also count on a Democratic Senate. And even in that case a few red states democratic senators are unlikely to vote Medicare for all. Lets aim first for a sure bet a democratic POTUS, my favorite centrist ticket :Biden and Harris as VP..
6
@bruno M
I'm excited for a Warren presidency and realize that a blue senate would be required. In the end, you don't need to get EVERYTHING that a candidate promises to shoot for. That's why it's a political platform. It's simply laying out what the legislative agenda would be. There is always room for compromise. At least there used to be before the rise of the tea party. But we shouldn't stop fighting for what we want just because the GOP is going to throw tantrums like they did during the Obama years.
28
@Rob
Hi Rob I sympathize with your excitement for a EW presidency, but you already accept you will not get what promised.so what is the point? A EW versus Trump race in 2020 will surely alienate independents and many democratic centrists.. I can see the headline EW branded as a socialist...you can see the risk.
Incidentally I would also be excited about a Medicare for all in this country, I still hold a EC citizenship and travel to my country of birth( 80+ years ago!) to get a fast efficient free fix on local gov provided health system.
Biden+Harris to win the presidency, then the will of the people will drive what we get next
2
Thank you David. I support Elizabeth Warren, but your and my strong differences about Warren's policies pale beyond our fervent agreement that Trump is a mortal threat to the fiber of our republic, our democratic values and the world. I have been hoping to see conservative leaders who are eloquent about the horror of Trump speak as clearly as you have that it is a moral imperative for all of us to elect whomever the Democratic party nominates.
1
Thank you, David Brooks. I know it is hard for a lifelong Republican to admit that a president from the Republican Party is a danger to the continuing existence of the USA. But it's the truth, and you show great character to face that truth and do what's right--vote for the Democratic candidate to save our country, our Constitution, and the rule of law.
3
This is what happens when you identify as a “centrist”. You place yourself right between the two available opposite ends of the spectrum....even when one end is completely insane, inept and criminal, and the other is perfectly smart rational and humane.
5
Let us not seek the Democratic answer Let us not seek the Republican answer
Let us seek the right answer
Let us not seek to fix blame
Let us accept our responsibility for the future
John F. Kennedy
Let us accept our responsibility for the future even if we have a virulent ideology that has removed any ability to accept reality.
Some of the comments are so ideologically biased, it is sad
And what we could use is the 6th B
BLOOMBERG....please
The times they are a changing....
1
That's easy. Trump wins.
3
"If given executive power, some progressives may use it to cancel any culture or faith other than their own." What does this mean? What is this faith you speak of and what is the culture and faith that these boogyman progressives are going to "cancel." It seems that Brooks of late has succumbed to the hysterical paranoia of the radical right. Next, he will start decrying the inevitable Stalinist / Kamer Rouge death camps for conservatives.
2
Do another one where you say you'd also cry if you had to vote for Bernie
2
While I commend Mr. Brooks for supporting Warren over Trump, I wish he hadn't spent so much time discussing what he considers her flaws, especially hypothetical ones, e.g. she'd lose the election or fail as president. It seems that someone who really wants to stop Trump would not emphasize and exaggerate his opponent's alleged negatives.
1
I listened to a conversation on NPR two days ago that chilled me. Folks speaking of Trump - this current-day Trump - as their hero. They were cheering him on. This is how he won the election. We doubted the lack of sense in this country. We discounted those who felt silenced by other presidencies. Warren will be an obvious choice to those of us who consider ourselves Democratic types. We can't assume sense applies elsewhere.
3
It is abundantly clear-- the GOP wants to destroy a Biden candidacy. He not only can win, he can pull a Democratic ticket with him. That leaves Warren-- easy pickings for the GOP propaganda machine. They want Warren.
5
@Paul M. Troop
I agree. It's amazing how apparent it is that Trump is swiftboating Biden with the Ukraine propaganda so he can get Warren as his opponent (which is near ideal). The DNC is getting rolled over since they are stuck in their ideologic bubble without any real strategy.
2
"It’s a memo to those of us who could never support Donald Trump but think the Bernie-Squad-Warren Democratic Party is sprinting too far left."
Thanks for your input, Mr. Brooks. I remember you writing an article about how Trump couldn't possibly be that bad shortly after his election. You believed that 'cooler heads would prevail'. Suffice to say, where the Democratic party sprints is not, and should not be, up to you. You are not, and have never been, a Democrat. If you're concerned about 'radical leftists', I'd suggest you review U.S. corporate history from the 1920s, where our child labor laws originate from, or read an article about the current opioid epidemic.
Without policing, corporate America is, and has always been, detestable - and if you believe it is 'radical' or 'leftist' to hold American corporations responsible for the evil they've done, then you should try living in a truly free economy - perhaps replicate the conditions of life in Chile under the Pinochet regime.
4
There is no price too high for ousting trump. Period.
Bernie or Bust voters will share blame with the trumpites if trump is reelected. Is that what they want? I can't believe that.
First, get rid of trump with a democrat. Any democrat will do. Next, dems take control of the Senate and the House.
Then Bernie's backers can work to implement his policies.
Please.
3
Jeez, people, to say Warren is too high a price to pay ... what planet??? Warren has demonstrated deep respect for working within the system. Read her autobiography. She may have "radical" ideas (more like New Deal ideas, actually, which were good for saving capitalism from itself back in the day), but she works to get them through the system, not by working to overthrow the system. She may not be my favorite candidate (none of them is) but she has consistently fought for working people. This is why Wall Street is afraid of her: she might expose Wall Street's corruption, which she did when they had those hearings and she vociferously expressed her dismay that no criminal bankers were held accountable for the recession of 2008.
She is a force for good, peoples!
6
Funny that we are starting to see the same apologetic pieces we saw when they figured out that Hillary might not be as liked as they expected. If I remember correctly it went something like "she may be a flawed candidate but she will be better than Trump". So for Elizabeth it will be something like "you may hate her policies but she is still a better choice than Trump.". Sorry Mr Brokks but if she wins the Democrats will not say that it was because of dislike for Trump. If she wins the Democrats will cry from the top of the mountains that they have a mandate for reparations, open borders, Green New Deal and Medicare for All.
No thanks!!!!
1
The premise of this article is a joke - Trump was unqualified in 2016 and he has proven himself to be worse than even the most optimistic person could hope for. Warren on the other hand is a smart articulate leader who will enact policies to benefit the vast majority of Americans - Red State/Blue State, White Collar/Blue Collar, Religious/Atheist.
I'm frankly tired of decades of republican scam policies being treated seriously while progressive ideas that are mainstream in every developed country in the world are treated like radical ideas.
6
How is this a stark choice, let alone even a choice? The damage done even now will stain this country for decades. Please, just stay home.
1
Astounding waffling from a guy who so often makes ethics and morality the centerpieces of his columns! This shows David to be a "fence-sitter" again in 2020, revealing his willingness to face another four years of frank despotism, rather than beginning the hard work of restoring the rule of law and American respectability. I am aghast at this "anticipatory equivocation."
6
The fear of Warren is grossly misplaced. She advocates radical policies but she is no dummy, she is quite aware that not much can be done without Congressional support. Whatever happens when she becomes President will be the outcome of tough negotiations. She has compromised in the past and will do so in the future.
3
Mr. Brooks, in 2016 I voted for Hillary Clinton, a candidate I didn’t like, following exactly the line of reasoning explained in your article. Other people held their nose and voted for Trump, although they didn’t like him, thinking that whatever damage he will do is going to be minor compared to the status quo. It is obvious now that they were badly mistaken; Trump started as a clumsy and rather powerless clown, only to turn into powerful acid corroding the basic mechanisms of this country.
Now we’re asked to vote again on the hope that whatever damage Warren will do, it is still worth if it gets us rid of Trump. We will replace a right-wing populist with a left-wing one, and this swinging fall will end somewhere between Argentina and Liberia. I hope the Democrats will come up with a candidate for which I can vote, holding my nose but not having the outright feeling that I’m committing suicide.
1
Warren vs Trump? I'd vote for anybody other than "the donald", even David Brooks! It's about time Republicans and so called conservative started to stand up against the fool that now calls himself president.
4
"...Fourth, there is a wave of insular intolerance coursing through parts of the American left."
Yes, the intolerance on the Left is clearly a great danger to the country at this moment ;)
2
“Trump is an unprecedented threat to democratic institutions. Over the past few years, I’ve thought the progressive fears of incipient American fascism were vastly overblown. But, especially over the past month, Trump has worked overtime to validate those fears and to raise the horrifying specter of what he’ll be like if he is given a second term and is vindicated, unhinged and unwell.”
Buried the lead and given these words from your pen, isn’t it high time to start worrying about removing him from office rather than fiddling (as in Nero) about the democratic primary horse race process.
Raise your voice, our Rome is burning! If we can arrest the fire, the choices at the ballot box next year might be different.
2
Excuse me if I don't take the electoral advice of a supporter of Reagan and the two Bushes, Sarah Palin, the Iraq War, and the US plutocracy. The fact that Warren scares the wits out of David Brooks is one more reason to vote for her.
6
get over yourself, David. this- choosing to vote for the lesser of two evils-is what I've been doing for most of my life. and since even satan would be the lesser of two evils compared to trump, this is not a difficult decision or worth all the agonizing.
6
"Her campaign seems to not acknowledge the inevitable trade-off between economic growth and high spending, high taxes and high regulation." This is a trick common to many conservatives- using a throw-away line to make a statement that would really require a great deal of support. Instead of writing that Warren doesn't buy the argument that spending, taxes and regulation stifle growth, Brooks presents a conservative article of faith as if it were a universal truth like the law of gravity that we all acknowledge. I remember years ago a Republican senator in an interview saying, "If we have a deficit we can always just cut the capital gains tax to raise revenue, it always does." By offering this outrageous statement as a throwaway, he could avoid fact-checking like, "Name one time cutting the capital gains tax raised revenue." Here though, it's hard to see what Brooks's purpose is. Is it simply that he has to be snarky when endorsing a Democrat?
2
Wow. Just picked myself up off the floor after passing out.
David Brooks giving a round about, back door, backhanded endorsement of the Dem nominee, even a nominee as appalling in his eyes as Warren.
If that does not call out the full fledged 100 alarm fire facing our nation, otherwise known as the Trump misadministration and destruction of democracy in the US, well, then I am not sure that anything else can get anyone's attention.
Kudos David.
3
I'm a lifelong Democrat but I also view a Warren candidacy with alarm. I don't view her policies as practical. If elected, she would find it difficult, if not impossible, to get them enacted resulting in four years of gridlock.
I'm on Medicare and oppose "Medicare For All" because it would do great harm to the medical system. "Medicare for All' implies that the government would mandate what doctors and hospitals would be paid for their services. The low reimbursement rates would drive many doctors away from their practice and discourage students from applying to medical schools and the large debts they incur.
"Free College" also implies more government control and "Free Junior College" ignores the basic issue of how to staff these colleges for the influx of new (some woefully unprepared) students and how to recruit the added faculty to teach them.
I oppose "Open Borders" but favor a controlled and regulated immigration process that does allow for refugees from war torn, criminally controlled, and climate change stricken countries to enter.
I don't want our country whipsawed between strongly opposed political ideologies. A Warren presidency would likely fail to meet its promised and would be hard pressed to be reelected. We really need a rational transition from the recent history of Bush-to-Obama-to-Trump.
I expect the Putin propaganda apparatus to support Warren since it would further divide and distract our nation from its traditional international roles.
3
If having a single payer healthcare system “drives doctors from their practice” and discourages people from going to medical school, how is that every other first world economy manages to make it work, with better health outcomes and lower overall costs? I live in Toronto. We have one of the best children’s hospitals in the world with some of the most renowned specialists and researchers in children’s medicine. Why is it none of those doctors and surgeons are fleeing across the border to work in the U.S.? Americans need to wake up and realize that universal healthcare is not the communist plot/left wing boogeyman that the GOP tries to frame it as. Quality, accessible healthcare that is universally available is a foundation of a healthy society and economy - whether it’s single payer, or some other system that is a mix of private and public. No one should have to worry about going bankrupt when they have a catastrophic injury or illness. I’m afraid you’ve been conned by the insurance companies, who have the most to gain by maintaining the status quo of their predatory practices, and propagating this fear-mongering nonsense.
2
I remind friends who are afraid of the Democratic Left that the courts are now very conservative. They balance each other.
2
As a liberal I respect Mr. Brooks and listen to him because he has a true heart for people. I admire him and hope his voice will continue to be heard. We need more Republicans like him. We need Republicans to be better than they are right now.
E pluribus unum means realizing it takes the best in all of us to recognize the fact if we ran the world solely by our own means it would be a mess. We need those with whom we disagree to make us better.
1
The biggest problem with Warren is that even IF she is elected, it's likely that Democrats will still not have a majority in the Senate, making carrying any of her plans completely impossible. We'll have another 4 years of statement, albeit with a sane competent person in charge.
Democrats need to nominate a moderate candidate who can not only win the presidency, but win with a Congress that will implement their ideas. (My preference would be Klobuchar.)
Elizabeth Warren would be superb in any one of half a dozen cabinet posts.
2
@MBR
Yeah. Everyone knows campaigns are the courtship and honeymoon in a relationship.
A good campaign does not guarantee a good President.
I want humility in a candidate and someone who will not pretend they can rise above their level of of incompetence. There is NO one who is really qualified to be President before they get there. I want some to tell me the truth about that and approach the job with fear and trembling.
There is no "inevitable trade-off between economic growth and high spending, high taxes and high regulation." The economic stall that Republicans always predict from higher taxes and increased regulation never happens, just as their tax cuts never, ever pay for themselves.
8
Conservatives, free marketeers, please just take a deep breathe. Elizabeth Warren has lots of scary, progressive ideas, but she's not untethered to reality. She respects norms and processes. Universal health care can not be accomplished through executive order. Immigration reform requires Congressional action. At best, she will be able to undo some of the egregious errors of the Trump administration. Will the Republicans on the Hill obstruct at every turn? Of course they will, but what makes you think they wouldn't do the same to any of the B's?
6
I share your desire for the Bee's buzzing around Amy K. But if it's Warren or Sanders, above all they WILL respect the rule of law and the democratic norms and their own party of Democrats will keep them in bounds on what policies actually come to pass in Congress. I see Warren more flexible to negotiation than Bernie, and if she's smart - which I believe she is, she will take her time working out the kinks before rushing headlong into a policy that could take a disastrous turn. She will have advisers that know what they are doing, and she will take the time to LISTEN. Trump will be extremely dangerous and uncontrollable if re-elected.
5
"There is no universe where I could ever vote for Elizabeth Warren."
That's the disingenuous excuse my conservative buddies used to vote for Trump in 2016. "I don't really like the guy, but there's no way I can vote for Hillary." So they didn't vote for Trump, you understand, rather they voted against the unacceptable alternative, the greater of two evils. They thought such rationale would strike a liberal like me as reasonable. As one sheepishly confessed (and pantomimed): "I held my nose and voted for him."
And after all the chaos and lawlessness that's ensued, they'll vote for him again. This time, they'll say there's no way they can vote for a socialist like [fill in the blank]. Such is the strength of their party/racial identity. They think they have no choice.
2
If it's Trump vs. Warren, then what?
That is not hard.
The answer is Warren.
The question gets only more slightly complicated if it is a choice between Trump and a soccer ball.
But I still think the answer is the soccer ball.
8
Warren's policies are not extreme. They are moderate in a country in an extreme position. Her policies are the necessary extensions of the New Deal. They uphold the laws which solve the very serious problem of the "Commons" -- how do we pay for the things no one could make money at as a business but without which we cannot run our own business, much less function as a country. We used to think the problem of the "Commons" applied only to utilities like garbage, highways and sewers. But as society grows more complex, it turns out education, healthcare and forest health are also critical "Commons". And don't fool yourself into thinking the Republicans don't know this. They were all educated at the same colleges, with the same theories of science and economics. They are just bidding for time and power -- but we have run out of time. These policies can be negotiated or ratified as we go along. You can do that with someone capable of reasoning, who is scientifically literate and who respects the due process of law and the institutions of democracy.
2
I know a lot of people who, like myself, are business-minded people who also happen to be independent voters in swing states. Liberal leaning on many social issues, more conservative on economic and judicial matters.
We talk about this dilemma and don't much like Trump -- personally. But to a person, we agree we will separate the personal from the political and vote for Trump if the only viable alternative is Warren. And she will lose, perhaps badly, outside the coastal confines.
2
We're going to end up with Trump as president for four more years again if the Dems really think like this. Voting for any of the B's or the K would show that you learned nothing from the 2016 election, and if you remember the 2016 election we all got surprised when Hillary lost. None of the "business as usual" democrats are going to stand a chance against Trump.
7
I'd vote for Ed the talking horse before i'd vote for Trump.
8
Looks like the American public will be presented with a "no-brainer" in 2020.
2
Yeah. Like they had in 2016.
Mr. Brooks:
You only have yourself and your fellow enablers for allowing the GOP to produce Donald Trump, the worst threat to our democracy since...well, ever IMHO. Spare us the hand-wringing about the "dangers" of Elizabeth Warren, a woman of great intelligence, empathy, and common sense. It is an insult that you put her in any category anywhere within a million miles of the abomination in the White House now. Yes, of course you will vote for her, or any of the Dems who is fortunate enough to be nominated (fortunate because they will be the saviors of this great but damaged nation). What is your alternative? None. Boo hoo. But that is your own fault for excusing decades of increasingly bad behavior by the so-called conservative party (conservative only when it is convenient to claim so, not when it actually is empowered, when it then produces trillion dollar deficits).
By the way, so what if, in excusing the debt of millions of struggling college students and graduates, a few wealthier kids benefit also? First of all, the truly wealthy pay their tuition in full in cash, they don't take out crippling loans. Secondly, how long would it take for you and your ilk to claim "giveaway!" if a policy only benefited a particular economic class? Not long I am certain.
11
You forgot to mention Kamala who is a very balanced progressive.
3
David, this is all fine and good, but do you expect one of the B's, as you put them, to reverse the decades-long trend of income and wealth inequality, which only occurs because the 1 percent taxes are radically lower than they were in 1950?
2
Thank you, Mr. Brooks. You succeed in seeing the danger where your colleague, Bret Stephens, fails. This term, we have witnessed an uptick in cruelty and carelessness that I never thought possible in America. It seems that every effort is being made to consolidate power for the few, often using divisive, even evil, tactics.
I love my country very much, but do not recognize the actions and sentiments expressed lately as those of a healthy democracy. I can't let my children grow up in a place that endangers them. I would never have thought I would worry about that in the United States.
If Trump is re-elected, the "giant sucking sound" you will hear is from fearful professionals -- people of color, or those with with young daughters, for example -- who can and will hightail it out of this country before worse things come to pass.
2
With all due respect, sir, your article is entirely focused on the issues. And if 2016 taught us anything, it’s that voters care about everything BUT the issues
4
Admittedly, I did not read the article for I have some inkling what David Brooks most likely to think and encourage/give pass to the non-trump GOPs. I happen to believe that they lack the strength/integrity/sincerity in their belief of freedom, justice, equality.... all the principle of democracy. They quickly offer the “the Dems are socialists” as the reason to return to trump when the differences in policy can be negotiated and worked out while principle should not be neglected and overlooked.
@Olnpvx
Why don't you read the article.
#1 it's a great piece.
#2 it's a great piece.
#3 you're wrong.
Thank you for the clarity - just what I needed.
And BTW, Warren's background in bankruptcy law and remedies may provide vision that will be needed at the national level in the 2020's.
3
I just want to disagree with one point, the statement that Warren's "10-year, $34 trillion health care plan isn’t paid for."
Although Warren hasn't explicitly spelled it out this way, this health care plan would attempt to lower overall health care costs (insurance premiums, copays, and all out-of-pocket costs) through the economics of scale, governmental price-capping, and restructuring of the medical system's economics. The costs of healthcare would thus go way down to consumers, while taxes would go up. Overall, this would be a reduction of costs, as Warren keeps calling it.
The math is simple.
Add in her proposal to increase taxes to the very wealthy, and the cost to middle class and low-income citizens would be small-to-nothing.
6
We are way past the question of policy preference. This next election should only be about saving the Republic. I would literally vote for a randomly chosen person from the phone book before I would vote for Donald Trump. Most Americans are pretty decent, Donald Trump is not.
14
My Democrat favorites are Mike Bennet, Amy Klobuchar and Mayor Pete. I guess that makes me a moderate Democrat (although I lean slightly left). I wish Bennet got more press - he’s impressed me in the little I’ve been able to read about & listen to him.
I plan to vote for one of my favorites in the NY primary (I hope at least one will still be around). I love Bernie and am grateful to him for bringing his issues to the forefront. I think a lot his ideas would be great but he won’t win and he never get them enacted - same for Elizabeth. And I’m uncomfortable with AOC’s crowd - (again, moderate lean-left Democrat here).
Bottom line, I will vote for any Democrat (any person really) over Trump. As David says, he’s only gotten worse with time. Most presidents LEARN about the office and the issues involved as they spend more time in the White House; Trump hasn’t learned anything new in decades and he has become more unhinged and has purged the Administration of anyone who doesn’t slavishly followed the Trump-way. A second term would be a disaster!
6
HARD but necessary choice?
In any other developed nation in this world that you would flee to if and when Trump truly decides to become a dictator, David, Elizabeth Warren would be a center-right politician. Her health care plan would be a marked lurch to the right for any Tory politician in Great Britain.
Something needs to be done to arrest the massive destabilizing premeditated increase in wealth and income inequality in this nation. Warren is the farthest-right person even addressing this, the single biggest issue facing us in this new millennium.
And you find this a HARD choice?
I don't think you will be happy rereading the last three years' columns in about 20 years.
9
Since I live in a town controlled top-to-bottom by progressive leftists, let me acknowledge that the factors in play in "How Democracies Die" are fully operational in Portland. Reject democratic rules of the game--let me count the ways. Question the legitimacy of opponents. Check. Tolerate violence--we have a mayor who conspicuously refused to condemn the so-called "antifa" for shutting down the central city (on a shopping day, no less!). And now the cops are trying to sort out what looks like a political murder.
So--come to Portland! Just don't expect to have a say in how it's governed.
5
Mr. Brooks: You write, "And you can see why so many people have that reaction." And I say, "No, I can't."
Warren is intelligent, decent, well prepared, a scholar of current and future public needs.
It is incomprehensible that anyone should doubt what the choice before us would be in your scenario: the choice between idiocy and common sense.
12
Wrong. DEAD wrong on every level. Warren necessarily will swing the pendulum back to the center, since right now the pendulum has been anchored with Mitch McConnell chains to the extreme right via Donald 'chump' Trump.
8
Then the Dems will have squandered the one golden chance to get rid of Trump. I hate Trump but I won't vote for Warren. Dems better pick anyone else.
4
The best outcome would be impeachment of Trump followed by a Senate trial resulting in his removal from office. Will all Democratic Senators, including those up for reelection in 2020 from red/reddish states, vote to impeach? If so, there might be 20 Republican Senators who, once they know they can actually boot Trump out, will do so. Many Republicans in the Senate don't like Trump or the stain he is putting on the party.
At that point, Pence is likely to be the presumptive nominee (depending on how quickly the Democrats vote to impeach - if they do it very quickly, that would leave time for other Republicans to enter the race but if they delay it's almost certain it would be Pence).
Suddenly it's Pence v. Warren - and the GOP wins in a landslide. This would still be due to many, perhaps most, voters voting for the lesser of two evils - but one of the evils became much less evil.
Pence would dismiss his role in the Trump disaster by saying that he realized that Trump needed an adult in the room and he felt that he was suited for that and had restrained Trump, somewhat successfully, from making the most egregious of decisions.
Of course if it's Trump v. Warren, it's likely Trump wins and that will set the progressive wing of the Democratic party to the minor leagues for several presidential terms -- if a progressive can't beat Trump, progressives will be ignored by the party.
3
What about Y? Yang! He's polling higher than many of the Bs (and K!), and would bring the country together, just as his candidacy is supported by a broad spectrum of left, right, and center.
2
Trump’s threat is grave and immediate, but it can be reversed. Warren’s damage could be irreversible. She appears to have no understanding of global competitiveness.Trump is a single man who does not respect our norms and institutions; the left’s patent disrespect for free speech and it’s utter intolerance of all opposing views is a whole movement. I simply cannot vote for either of them.
4
@bill
You make an important and urgent point. Trump is a dangerous demagogue who appeals to people with high authority orientation and alienation.
But when we study history and look at societies that have endured facism vs. those that have endured Orwellian leftist regimes (and make no mistake the "Woke Left" of today is as Orwellian as it gets, or shall we say "post-Orwellian"), the former have had shorter duration and have bounced back quicker. Germany and Spain are doing pretty well. As is Chile. Russia and Cambodia, not so much.
Trump is for old-fashioned strongman oppression, cronyism, and nepotism. The Woke Left is for structural oppression. They even have the happy slogans.
2
@tew
Oh for heaven's sake. This is absurd. Warren is a capitalist. She was a Republican in her youth.
As for Orwellian have you listened to Trump lately?
PS the "woke left" is a minority of the Democratic Party. They drive us nuts too.
Warren will sashimi Trump in a debate, and make an excellent President. Period. We are choosing sanity over insanity.
21
Reading other comments is disheartening. Bernie or bust! Why not just vote for Trump because sitting out this election is just that. Check out what the Supreme Court is doing, which last decades. You won't recognize America after four more years. Brooks has it totally right. I don't agree with Warren but she is a far better choice and the Congress won't go for extremes. Wake up people, we have a dangerous corrupt crazy President. ANYONE BUT TRUMP.
7
Let’s back this up one step. Why is Brooks betting on Warren? Is Warren the best Democrat to bring down Trump? Almost surely not. So why is she doing so well in polling?
Consider a Washington Post study that revealed what anyone paying attention already knows. In a contest between politically similar candidates, women Democrats and women independents leaning Democrat will overwhelmingly support a woman against a man. The gap, the Post found, was 20%. Way more than any bent of male voters in the opposite direction. So Bernie, Mayor Pete, and Biden are up against overwhelming gender bias.
Gender bias of women is severely skewing the Democratic primary. Female sexism is helping to carry Warren beyond her competence and making it harder for viable male candidates to win.
Remove gender bias and Warren’s support is much thinner. Democrat womens’ sexism is a big obstacle for the men in the field. The Post study makes that clear. If we want to beat Trump, the sexism of Democratic women must go.
2
@michjas
That's because the men with gender bias vote Republican. Trump is the result.
3
@michjas I think you forgot the /s. You can't actually be complaining that men are about to become victims of sexism. Or maybe you can. These days, absolutely anything seems possible.
Trump v. Warren is a fairly smart but not assured bet for Trump. Anti-Trump fervor is the only thing that will elect Warren.
This is why you can't have a real democracy with only two political parties. Brooks should focus his writing on the need for a third party made up of moderate republicans and conservative democrats.
2
Too bad Mr. Brooks doesn't have reality on his side.
The only way he can make his internal 'debate' even seem reasonable is to contort Elizabeth Warren into his straw woman monster.
She isn't.
Take Brooks' claim about her policy prescriptions for health care. We've been spending too much on the military for most of Brooks' adult life, Obama even raised military spending to WWII levels, and Trump took it even higher. That has never been a worry to Brooks, yet he fears spending $3.4 trillion a year on health care, when the United States collectively already spends at least $3.3 trillion a year on health care will destroy the economy. I don't see how that extra $100 billion will be so devastating, when it will likely lead to many other savings (sickness and early death is more expensive than keeping people alive).
And when you get away from specifics, so what if someone isn't your perfect candidate? There is no perfect candidate, never was, never will be. Brooks is old enough to know that, yet he pretends otherwise. Brooks is wrong to blame Democrats for Warren; he should blame Republicans for Trump.
9
I do not agree with many things David Brooks said in his opinion piece.
I do agree with the main conclusion.
We would have to vote for Warren over Trump in order to save the country.
6
Powerful stuff Mr. Brooks. As a nation we are at an inflection point in American History. Who are we really, and what will we sacrifice for? Who will we choose to be? For me, an immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen, having moral clarity, ethics and an appreciation of the American life and its role in the world, will support the opposition candidate, no matter whom.
6
Only in America is someone like Warren considered to be far left. In just about every other major democracy she would be considered a centrist. Don't forget that Warren was a Republican till 1996.
10
The first presidential election that I remember well was the reelection of Dwight Eisenhower. I was eleven. We had just obtained a television. The most remarkable thing to me now was the behavior of the candidates and their supporters; they seemed civil, normal, and coherent. Pretty much like the current Democratic primary contest.
Over the years, I have seen many election cycles. I do not remember one in which there were not strong policy differences between the candidates. I do not remember one in which the cries did not come from both sides that the opposing candidate would harm the economy or infringe upon some cherished belief of the other side.
After each election, the newly elected president took office and to all appearances actually attempted to govern. Actually tried to work with the legislature. Actually tried to field a cabinet and administration of people of some competence to do the business of the nation. I never had the feeling nor developed the opinion that the president was bent upon destroying the government he was elected to lead. Until 2016.
What can I say about the Trump presidency? Subjectively, objectively and fantastically it is simply beyond belief to me that anyone would consider Warren a threat when compared to the never ending train wreck of the Trump presidency. Her policy proposals are just that, proposals. I trust her based on her word and record.
18
You could move to Canada. It’s a nice place. They’ve already implemented much of Warren’s policies.
635
@Xander Patterson Exactly! Which is why Canada has the most affluent middle class in the world and has a lower percentage of people living in poverty than the US. It's not perfect and Canadians struggle with issues of entrenched poverty in some communities and people living in Toronto and Vancouver are struggling with the price of housing but overall those policies have made Canada a wealthier nation and life for Canadian better.
80
@Xander Patterson Other civilized countries choose the greater good rather than greed. How could it be a hard choice it's either the greed of the Republican Party who got the largest tax break and still wants more or the greater good for the middle class and others who might be pulled out of poverty.
55
@Xander Patterson We have the same fights. The right here is different, but are wannabes...
10
"For many, supporting Warren is too high a price to pay, even for ousting Trump. "
Possibly no truer words written about this election.
132
It is shocking that someone would refuse to compromise to save our republic. No one is perfect. We must choose among those offered and the circumstances will Monique three extremes
46
@Marcia Berg "For many, [NOT] supporting Warren is too high a price to pay..."
71
@Marcia Berg If the way to defeat Trump was to vote for Warren's Golden Retriever Bailey for president, I would cast my vote for the canine.
141
Warren wins. We all win.
8
C'mon, David! Why, oh why, are you picking on Warren when Trump may end up running against her? He is an existential threat to our democracy, she is a progressive Democrat.
8
Come on David. You should know as well as anyone else that anything remotely plausible offered by ANY of the Democratic candidates, including the six you favor, will be immediately transmuted into the exact opposite and worse by el Trumpo's Republican/Conservative/Evangelical Axis supporters. ALL the Democratic candidates will do well to hold the majority of their cards close to their chest. They all need to convey just enough publicly to inform but not enough to make them an early target. Look what has been done to Biden and that's without much in the way of policy positions from him. Democrats have to be smart, cunning and strategic and that includes with what they share with the mainstream pundits and media. I am of the belief there is no Liberal media to speak of because almost all media channels are owned by R/C/E Axis members. However, ground game and social media game provide the ability to more directly and carefully speak to those in the nation who actually value this great nation of ours and are not just trying to extract every last cent they can at any cost. If you believe any of the candidates is better than Trump, start talking more evenly about them. Not too loud to attract the lizards and crocodiles lurking in the swamp, but enough to inform of your opinion. We will all much more greatly appreciate your input.
2
This is a good column. You understand well how us moderate middle ground feel.
One wants to ‘decriminalizing unauthorized border crossing’, or in English, she wants to open the border by making it legal to cross with no papers. Similar to how DeBlasio made drugs legal in NYC, he did not pass regulation making them lawful, he simply told the cops to stop arresting people for selling, trading and using drugs, and thus just now at lunch, one block from the NYT there is a guy selling pot in broad daylight and no one cares any more. Same, if it’s not illegal to hop the border with no papers, it is defacto legal, thus open border.
Then she wants to raise my taxes to pay for full medicare for those former illegals in the paragraph above. Past that she wants me to pay for the college for people who majored in Gender Studies and could not find a job in their field to repay the bill. The bill for all this is to be paid by ‘the rich’, which is a law that will never pass. Being held against the wall by the Liberals for her failure to gift them all the goodies she promised, she’ll raise taxes on all ‘to make medicare for all work like in Europe’, where my family pays 65% in income tax.
Given all that future mess against the current mess, sorry but many of us will not vote Warren.
3
@AutumnLeaf
My two cents: Stop referring to yourself as "middle ground". That term is a tool of oppression used by hyper-partisans to marginalize our most thoughtful and balanced citizens. The hyper-partisan extremists use this language to conquer (they have already divided).
1
Sorry, but the people who couldn't bring themselves to vote for Hilary got us into this mess. If it's Trump v Warren, please act like an adult and vote Warren.
13
@mcnerneym
Sanders was constantly obstructed by the Democratic machine and ignored by the manistream media. Most newspapers, the NYT included, potentiated Trump because, as the weakest Republican candidate, Hillary would surely make mincemeat of him. You saw the results. Is really choosing Warren as a candidate "acting like an adult"?
2
@S.G.
Great. This echoes the Russian propaganda.
Democratic primary VOTERS did not support Sanders.
No. It was Clintonism that destroyed the Democratic Party and that’s why we have Trump.
From his past weeks' comments, I have come to suspect that Brooks has only now concluded that there is not somewhere within Trump a truly good Trump.
141
@Kelley Trezise
I think he's known it for a long time. I can't remember anything Brooks has written (at least in the past couple years) indicating that he thinks there is some good core within Trump. Brooks is writing here about a balancing test for thinking people.
15
@Kelley Trezise That's right...there is no good Trump within Trump.
13
@Kelley Trezise There is no Republican left in Brooks.
3
It's still too early to tell. The winner could be Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Yang or O' Rourke.
I hope a centrist candidate will win the primary.
That said, if it comes down to Warren, I'm sure she'll wake up to realities once she wins the election.
In France and Germany, college education is free because the system eliminates those unqualified for college by making high school students pass the rigorous baccalauréat /Abitur respectively, hence the number of high school graduates is much smaller than that of the US (where any students who can read and write can go to college).
In a way, while I agree with Warren on her health care plan, I doubt that it's achievable. Obama lost the midterm election mainly due to his ACA, the cost of which is far less than Medicare for All.
6
I'll never understood how GOP policies that benefit the rich are received w/ less angst than the Dems' that actually benefit more Americans --- Health care for all? why not? student loan forgiveness? why not? We can siphon off money from the military budget. No?
I support Warren w/ zero reservations!
12
1984 called, Brooks, and it wants its talking points back, and i don't mean the book, i mean the year. When are conservatives going to get beyond a third grade reading of regulatory efforts? Sure, some are not good and ill thought out or rushed expediently, but very few. By and large, years of research goes into the average regulatory measure. For the most part, regulatory efforts tend to lead to innovation and job creation. By the way, democratic voters are tired of voting for republican light, as the last two democratic potus are the best republicans to hold office in the past forty years and the last real democrat who actually passed some leftist policy was hated so much that grandpa and grandma elected him four times. So please, if its manageable, stop begging the democrats to be republicans, because if that's what you want, elect them from your party, the rest of us actual democrats would like to go forward doing the same kind of things that made this country a modern superpower with an actual middle class, back when one could tell the difference between the republicans and the democrats, because the former was against most all of those measures and still are and the latter is trying to find its way back to them.
9
Thank you Mr Brooks for having the courage and strength
to write a column that must have been difficult to put on paper.
The survival of our country depends on people that understand that giving up a lesser value for a greater one is not loss but gain.
2
Find DB's analysis a bit misguided. Warren's ideas are thematic and subject to the realism of both economics and politics. She has a track record of supporting competitive business practices while at the same time creating some equity in society so the gulf between rich and poor does not rip the country apart. Much of the anti-Warren rhetoric is not really based on fact, but of the picture that republicans have been trying to paint for 10 years. She actually connects with meat and potato voters very well and is a thoughtful leader with a moral compass. DB is usually a bit deeper than this piece would indicate, but I think he will come around if Warren becomes the nominee and general election candidate. By Nov. 2020, she will be a compelling positive choice, not the better of two evils.
6
Brooks agonizes over making the obvious call because he writes as though a vote for Warren means that, Trump-like, she will find a way to enact policies he deems crazy without a democratic process of discussion, debate, and legislation; when it's really the latter that's at stake. It's not about Elizabeth Warren, or Trump. It's about one fallible party, the Democrats, with a vision that includes all of us; and another one that has, for twenty years, abandoned democratic principles whenever they're inconvenient. It's convenient for Brooks to believe the election is about Trump, since his party is responsible for him.
4
Wow, David Brooks has actually come around to common sense. Anyone But Trump.
Elizabeth Warren does have some very wise proposals and some very out there ones. However, let's remember:
1. Elizabeth Warren is not a tool in Putin's pocket
2. Elizabeth Warren won't put another Kavanaugh (or worse) on the Supreme Court when RBG retires
3. Elizabeth Warren can behave with dignity and diplomacy
4. Elizabeth Warren would listen to expert advice and consider it.
While Warren isn't my first choice (that would be Buttigieg at this point), she's light years better than Trump. Congress would tame her most radical proposals.
14
I think Mr. Brooks is on target here. I like Elizabeth Warren and think she would actually make a fine president. But my guess is this will be a very close election and she will alienate a sufficient number of undecided voters to give Trump a second term. Which would be, of course, a disaster.
4
ELIZABETH WARREN I think is more of a realist than David Brooks makes her out to be. In her interview with Betsy Devos, Elizabeth neatly dissected her vacuous skull, devoid of any familiarity with running large organizations, leave alone engaging in legislation. In that interchange, Warren was pragmatic, respectful and direct. Her power derived from her focus and her centeredness. What I believe is likely to happen is that Trump will be persuaded of making a hasty exit by resigning by invoking the 25th Amendment. That would spare him a long running spectacle and perhaps jail time after her returns to civilian life. Pence will be charge and resign. Leaving Nancy Pelosi as the first female President. That would make Nancy the "King" maker.
4
Brooks writes, "His letter to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reminds us yet again that we have a president whose professional competence is at kindergarten level."
I wish people would stop denigrating kindergarten-aged children. They know how to be kind.
14
Partisan propaganda and fears during a campaign never turn out the same as actual governance. Even with Trump and his mindless gaggle of Republican sycophants, the Republicans were unable to overturn Obamacare and have only passed one major bill in 3 years! As several comments here have noted, few expect all of Warren's many plans to fully take effect in the near term if at all. She still has to navigate Congress and the courts. She is more of a pragmatist anyway than she lets on now; we will see more of that in a general election campaign.
6
And those never-Trumpers today, many of whom either didn't vote in 2016 because they couldn't support Hillary or went ahead and voted for Trump, thinking his ignorance and lack of decorum and misogyny made him interesting? I submit Brooks could have voted for Hillary; I submit even Brooks' mentor, Wm. F. Buckley, Jr. could have voted for Hillary. But a female president was still a reach for some. But I think the column's angst over "far-left" Bernie or Warren is contrived. I think old-guard Republicans simply can't bring themselves to vote for a Democrat. They even voted for Herbert Hoover in '32 but at least he lost. But they atoned by voting for Thomas Dewey in '48, only to lose again. Would love to been in that group that cajoled Eisenhower to run as a Republican; he was sought by both parties because of his sterling war record and seeming lack of partisanship.
1
Don't confuse the primary with the general election.
The heart of the U.S. Left is weighed by universal healthcare (UH) policy that most Americans need and fear simultaneously.
Unpacking UH costs is the lightening rod that attracts fear-mongering GOP and Dems who seem to forget that most other developed nations (Others) do provide UH that is affordable. The difference between the U.S. and others, is the level of military expenditures.
The U.S. military budget is over-kill. The truth is that there are more guns and ammunition in the U.S. held by civilians that make an invasion of the U.S. an exercise in sucide. And if anyone thinks that the Chinese and Russians are going to launch nuclear weapons to take-over to force the U.S. to surrender or other neutralize her defences, should think again. The Chinese and Russian economies need U.S. technology and imports to grow their economies. Killing customers and supliers is not a viable option.
The answer to U.S. UH is to reduce military spending by squeezing-out over-charging (especially for aircraft) by suppliers and civilian service providers - operations and maintenance amount to ~ 40% or ~ $280 Billion of the 2019 DND budget of $693 Billion. How much of that money is over-charged? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_States#Federal_waste
As the U.S. starts to reduce its offshore military interventions, more cash will be available for UH.
If Canada can do it, so cal the U.S. The Sanders-Warren UH plans are worthy of consideration.
3
I'm voting against Trump.
If he were a Democrat, I'd be voting Republican.
5
Hi Mr. Brooks, did you predict that Donald Trump would win the Republican nomination in 2016? If you did, did you furthermore predict that he would win the general election? If not, why should anyone believe anything you say about the 2020 election?
1
I agree with Mr. Brooks that in the end, a vote for Trump is suicide.
And this insight is articulated by a Conservative Republican.
Elizabeth is honest and brilliant.
How refreshing that we could sleep again at night.
She has my vote.
7
I’m a life long democrat and I’d be more inclined to vote for Romney than any of the “top four” democrats.
3
A Warren presidency might be a disaster, but compared to Trump it's
"What a disaster, I burned the dinner roast" versus "What a disaster, I burned down the entire house".
4
They reject the democratic rules of the game, the unwritten norms we rely upon to make the political system work. They deny the legitimacy of their political opponents, using extreme language to deny them standing as co-citizens. They tolerate or even encourage violence, threatening to take legal action against critics in rival parties.
If you cannot see both sides extremely guilty of this, then you’re a partisan. Since he gave examples of the rights issues, I’ll highlight the left’s 1: resistance, 2: Russian collusion, etc. and 3: antifa and perpetual suits against executive action, respectively.
Our next election boils down to who has morals and integrity, and who does not. The choice will be obvious to anyone who loves our country and wants to see those qualities in our leaders. The current president has failed miserably on those counts, and to vote for him will be a vote to destroy the morality and integrity of our nation.
5
Warren is McGovern redux. There is more than a passing resemblance between Trump and Nixon personalities, cunning and insecurity mixed with political gifts of a high order.
Like it or not, Trump is the best choice for America.
1
@Jane
For Russia, of course.
A hard choice? You've got to be kidding. Trump could run against a piece of cardboard and it wouldn't be a hard choice.
5
Mr. Brooks, please read about Frances Perkins and how her history influenced Warren's campaign. There is a strong moral underpinning to Warren's policy choices.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/what-elizabeth-warren-learned-frances-perkins/600034/
2
What makes all these think tankers believe that Trump will even be around come November, 2020? He's going to implode under the sheer weight of the impeachment, factor in that the rats are leaving the ship, there will be no one left to keep his hubris intact. The veil is lifting.
5
That's easy, it's Warren, no question, anybody but Trump.
2
Warren is the "dreamer" that came up with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has clawed back 12 billion dollars of money that the taxpayers of this country were cheated out of. I can't think of any of the other candidates that have had such a significant positive impact on US citizens.
This isn't a "hard choice" it's an easy one.
10
Two questions:
How is it that Harris doesn’t even rank a mention in this article? She is polling far above Bennet and Bullock. How has she been forgotten?
And, why is the assumption from moderates that if a moderate is chosen there will be a progressive moderate coalition but if a progressive is chosen no such coalition can exist? And what does that say about moderates?
Final thought: Brooks’ fourth point lumps Warren and Sanders together and I think they have radically different cultures around their campaigns.
3
I've already made up my mind that I would like to see Elizabeth Warren become president. She has been the best choice to me for awhile. I hope that most of the country come to that realization also.
5
Look--if you are really serious about ousting Trump, you need to vote for the Democrat no matter what. Warren may be campaigning on these big leftist ideas but it's not like she's going to be able to make them happen, given the reality of Congressional politics. You really think the Senate would pass some of these proposals? Even if the unlikely scenario comes to pass where Republicans lose the Senate, many of those newly elected Democrats will be moderates who are not going to risk their necks to pass some of her more extreme policies. I'm a Warren supporter and I believe this to be true.
I truly don't understand anyone who says they want to oust Trump, but would actually stay home on Election Night. Just because a candidate has big dreams does NOT mean they will materialize in the exact form they are verbalized on the campaign trail. And I do not believe for one second that David Brooks is so naive as to think otherwise!
6
If Warren gets the nomination then Trump will get four more years in the White House. She will be an asset as VP to either Bernie or Biden, but not has the headliner.
2
"When your nation’s political system is in danger, staying home and not voting is not a responsible option." Brooks is correct; that's why I will vote to re-elect Donald J. Trump. Thank you.
1
@Southern Boy Oh, my... what do they say down South: "Well, bless his heart..."
I was going to post in response to the same quote. But here you are, teeing-up that same quote, in support of the Destroyer-in-Chief. I'm not worried about him, but I am worried about the 40% for whom "Donald J. Trump" represents their vision of America.
I'm a natural-born conservative. Give me any Republican who's fiscally conservative, reasonable about national defense, and understands that "under God" does not cancel out women's rights, and I'll vote for him/her/whatever. The country that survived the Civil War, the Great Depression and Vietnam cannot survive another 4 years of "Donald J. Trump."
5
@Southern Boy Tell us: what has Trump done for you? I'm truly curious. Thanks
1
@Southern Boy
Why, oh why didn't they let the South secede? The South, as ever dragging the country down to wreck and ruin.
The author and many posters, I gather, forget that the POTUS does not make the laws - if you are so panicked about preserving your own narrow interests, @DavidBrooks- which is why I HARDLY would read your column. Congress legislates and Potus signs or Vetoes. In as much as I LOVE Liz's policies, but I am pretty sure many of them would not see passage exactly the way she has envisioned them, nor can any politician get exactly what they promise on the campaign trail. Its their integrity, respect for the rule of law and wisdom that count for something.
7
I'm a libertarian, who tends to vote GOP. If the choice is Trump or Warren, I'm voting for Warren.
I rationalize this very un-libertarian vote by assuming most of her policies will never get implemented since they are blatantly unconstitutional or would never pass Congress. However, we cannot have another 4 years of Trump.
6
I agree with Brooks's assertion that a vote for Warren is better than a vote for Trump. I also believe that Warren is unlikely to beat Trump for the reasons Brooks lists.
However, fear about her policies is over-heated. She won't have the votes in the Senate.
I also think Brooks's fear that "there is a wave of insular intolerance coursing through parts of the American left [and that] if given executive power, some progressives may use it to cancel any culture or faith other than their own" is ludicrous.
Some progressives? Who? How will "some" exert their will over the many?
Cancel any culture or faith? How would such cancellations occur?
What kinds of "culture"? A culture that allows bakers to refuse to prepare wedding cakes for gay couples? A culture that allows governments to fire transgender workers? A culture that allows possession of military grade weapons?
And these religion and culture-cancelling progressives would cancel ANY that were not their own? Really? Where do we see such extreme intolerance in Democratic elected officials?
Mr. Brooks needs to relax.
3
Warren understands basic economics - ie., Thomas Sowell's "There are no solutions, only trade offs." She picked that and other lessons up when she was involved with the Law and Economics program, which grew out of the University of Chicago. To my mind that makes her a different kind of liberal and one that I would gladly "trade-off" against Trump (who wouldn't recognize an economic principle if you dropped a copy of Adam Smith's Wealth and Nations in his lap...
8
I am a lifelong Democrat in my 50s and feel more and more politically homeless primarily because of the Left's relentlessly strident calls for abolishing borders, abolishing private insurance, and basically forcing all of us to surrender to their "woke" vision, where basically everyone gets the same participation medal regardless of whether they actually participated. I probably will strongly disagree with many of the eventual nominee's positions, but I will 100% support them in ousting Trump.
8
It absolutely boggles my mind that this is even a matter of debate in this country. Anyone running against Trump, and I do mean anyone, should win in a landslide of Reagan vs Carter or Mondale proportions no questions asked. How could anyone be willing to risk four more years of Trump by either voting for him or not voting at all - which by the way is the same as a vote for Trump. I’m sorry but what is wrong with people?
20
Donald Trump doesn’t listen, study or take anyone’s advice on anything. Warren has demonstrated the exact opposite. Sure she has a plan for everything. But I also get the sense that if she were presented with logical, pragmatic information that might alter her opinion, she’s open to that. Trump has no moral compass other than doing whatever is best for him. Warren is more focused on fairness. Is it really that hard of a choice?
14
If Warren gets the nomination many will say they will not vote for trump but will in secret.
Sanders & Warren are basically calling for a total redistribution of wealth, not just for the billionaires or the corporations.
There is nowhere else in the world where you can go and start your own private business without family or cultural ties, the United States is the only place you can do that.
So first would be the move for those with money to move to tax friendly states, and then to more offshoring of accounts to hide money.
3
You can do in many places, you can do it in Sweden without fear to lose your shirt, health and house like in the US, because of their safety net
@yulia
I meant actually go to another country where you are not a citizen and open a new business as a private citizen.
I like Warren and would happily vote for her, but I maintain that she would do much better in the Senate helping to write laws than as President. We need her smart ideas and outside-the-box thinking in Congress. I just don't see those skills translating to a wildly successful presidency.
The President's office is more about setting the tone of the country than figuring out policy minutiae. Think, Reagan's optimism and belief in American ideals. Obama's belief that every voice should count and tolerance should be the nation's highest value. FDR's commitment to protecting freedom around the world, no matter the cost. Kennedy's vision to land men on the moon. Even Trump does it, if in a horrible, un-American way. His vision is built around xenophobia and vindictiveness - and he projects it well.
Warren's problem is that she's too bogged down in the details to project much of any vision. She may have a plan to give every American healthcare and she may know exactly how it can be done, but she's bad at compelling us to believe that this is, beyond a doubt, an idea worth sacrificing for.
I think her vision is not less important than landing men on the moon. Her vision is of the country that provide opportunities for all, without fear that if your opportunity didn't work out you won't end up hungry in the city sewer. That is much more grand vision than men on the moon
2
David, It comes down to a simple calculation, there are more of us ( Democratic leaning ) than there are of the Republican leaning Trump supporters. Elizabeth is not Hillary Clinton, and the vast numbers of people opposed to Trumpudo will come out in astounding numbers to swamp Trump. All else being equal I prefer to vote for someone who is smarter than I am, Elizabeth Warren fills that ticket more than the self-aggrandizing Mr. Trump.
10
Trump vs. Warren? I would gladly vote for Elizabeth Warren but, to be honest, I'd vote for Mortimer Snerd against Trump. That said, I think Trump gets another 4 years. Trump has targeted Biden because he wants to run against Warren, and it seems to be working.
Donald will frame her as a socialist and label her "Pocahontas." I think Warren would win the popular vote, but we all know that is meaningless. I don't believe she can win the critical swing states and get 270 Electoral College votes, the only votes that count.
4
I agree with David Brooks probably for the first time. I think a Warren candidacy is a bad idea for Democrats. As a lifelong Democrat I would hold my nose and vote for her against Trump, but I sincerely hope one of the moderates is the nominee.
5
@Chris
We're sick to death of do nothing "moderates."
I’m tired of republicans telling me that I need to select a democratic nominee that they like. How about they elect a republican nominee that they like. It’s up to moderate republicans to fix their own party Now that would really help our democracy!
23
Standard "conservative" fear-mongering. The CBO says that 25% of healthcare spending in the US is bureaucratic waste. Healthcare companies deny life saving treatment to paying customers so their CEOs can receive eight figure salaries. We spend more than any other country on health care and have worse results. We have gone so far to the right that the government doing anything for the 99% is called extreme by the corporate media.
16
@Oscar
Good post, Oscar. Warren would be a center right candidate in Scandinavia.
5
David hit the nail on the head - it’s irresponsible not to vote in the upcoming election and a vote for Trump is a vote against honesty, national integrity and decency. Is Elizabeth my first choice, no, but I’m voting blue no matter who!
8
I have hope for many of the Democrats, including the six mentioned in the article. Should Warren win the nomination, however, I also have great hope for her - she will be open minded, flexible, smart, tolerant, kind - she will be all those things, and she will adapt and shape herself to be a president for all Americans. I believe that.
11
The latest column from Mr. Brooks has some merit but many of his premises, however, are standard claims from the right. To name, and therefore rebut, several of them.
If politics is about "building majority coalitions to get things done", where are you going to find a coalition partner when 80-90% of the GOP base is with Putin's Trump and almost all of the elected GOPers at the Federal level is quietly enabling Hump. President Obama tried that and Moscow Mitch's answer is to spend all this time to make sure "Obama is a one term president"?
If Warren's "10-year, $34 trillion health care plan isn’t paid for", how about the 2017 GOP Tax and Job bill, or any of the past GOP tax cut? Where was Mr. Brooks then?
As to "the inevitable trade-off between economic growth and high spending, high taxes and high regulation", how about the low revenue, high borrow and spending of the GOP tax policy?
"They deny the legitimacy of their political opponents, using extreme language to deny them standing as co-citizens. They tolerate or even encourage violence, threatening to take legal action against critics in rival parties." That is the GOP of late and Putin's Hump.
The only valid sentence from the column is the last one: "In such circumstances, a bad option is better than a suicidal one."
Go Warren and Vote Warren.
11
I can understand why you have qualms about Warren’s plans for health care and higher education and about “insular intolerance coursing through parts of the American left.” So do I.
But I need clarity from the never-Trump right on a number of questions. It’s OK with me if you want to make the best case for free and fair trade and insist that we get what we pay for with our taxes.
But I need to know whether you actually fully support a public option in health care and good cheap public universities.
Do you renounce Gingrich and McConnell and all their wicked political ways? I think I need ceremony and an oath along with the answer to that question.
Do you support higher taxes on wealthy people? Do you think we should go back to applying “trust but verify” to the tax code so that you get certain tax cuts and deductions only if you actually deliver investments that benefit society?
Do you fully support reinvigorating American ideas about well-regulated financial institutions and protecting free and fair competition?
We can’t conflate all that with free college and Medicare For All.
7
I'm so sick of people trying to tell me how "radical" Bernie and Warren are. After moving rightward for the last 40 years, now they say moving back is "radical". Well I say the US as it is right now is "radical", that is, radically rightist, and it's been killing us for nearly 40 years. Yeah sure, the 60s went overboard in some ways (for example, I think the auto unions got a bit too powerful) and we probably needed some adjustments, but now we can stand more than a little "leftward" movement.
14
It’s about time you came around, David, instead of constantly apologizing for Trump and triangulating the interests of Republicans. Better late than never. Now go a step further and support removing Trump from office. That’s the only way you can fully redeem yourself. I’ll overlook your propensity to support those who shovel our tax monies, our resources, and our borrowing power to the wealthiest 0.1 percent - for awhile.
5
@Dennis He's done no such thing as apologize for Trump. You just haven't been paying attention. The proper response is, "Thank you for putting aside well-founded reservations of Warren for the good of the country, David." Anything else than that and you're playing Trump's game.
1
@Dennis
If you watch PBS News Hour, you get the impression Mr. Brooks does support impeachment and removal before 2020.
1
Everyone criticizing David Brooks has a lot to learn. Substantively, he's right: Warren would make a poor president, but solely because of her policies. Trump is a bad president because of his poor character, among other fundamental reasons. If Warren is the nominee, Democrats are going to need ALL the help they can get to win, and the Bernie-Warren-Squad crowd are going to need to encourage the selfless patriotism that David Brooks is showing. After all, if they had shown the same maturity towards Clinton in 2016, we wouldn't be in this mess.
3
Warren will rally the base in a way Amy Klobuchar never could. And i like Amy... But
#Warren2020
1
The dem primary would be more exciting if vp Biden, who I appreciate, were to drop out. It could an opening for klobachar and Booker. But yes, give any one of the Dems for prez and put the rest in the cabinet. Great idea ferment. If fact, put david brooks in the admin as well.
1
"If given executive power, some progressives may use it to cancel any culture or faith other than their own."
What now?
4
Perhaps others who are younger don’t remember Mr. Brooks “reasoned” analysis in support of the invasion of Iraq. I do. His analysis of Warren’s record in Congress and her positions appears to be about as deep. I’ll personally look elsewhere to decide who to support.
As for his “analysis” of Trump, he admits to having failed to recognize Trump’s fascist profile, apparent even during his Presidential campaign and immediately upon taking office, until apparently recently. That tells you all you need to know.
6
Everyone i know who doesn't like Warren is white & male. It's misogyny - mostly unconscious - pure and simple.
1
The corruption, incompetence and malevolence of our President aside, are moderate Rs so wedded to economic policies that have hollowed out the white middle class that they want to double down on them? If they want to maintain economic and military internationalism, they had better be willing to meaningfully address income inequality and the hopelessness of former rust belt workers. That will form a winning coalition whomever the D candidate is.
1
This is perhaps the most disturbing of Mr. Brooks essays. He writes as if there is some moral equivalency between Warren and Trump. Yes Warren's ideas are progressive but she works within the framework of honesty and our laws, Trump is a criminal who is gifted at fraud. No matter what Warren were to present she would work with Congress and the result would be by compromise. Only part of a vote for President is for a policy, part is for the person and his, her ability to govern democratically.
7
Please, please, please ignore the horse race.
This column is too early by about eight months. Journalists need to feature the American people in their reporting, then apply the qualities of the (many) candidates to the people's needs.
2
Slow Mr. Brooks, it still another year away and most Americans are already jaded, why is that, over commercialization of the presidency may make u and the media a lot of money , for me it’s really boring .
Yet more inane wind from Mr. Brooks.
How does one "cancel" an entire "culture or faith"? If he's referring to so-called "cancel culture", i.e., complaining en-masse on Twitter--so what? This is already well underway, and it's basically meaningless for politics.
Does Brooks really think the alt-right trolls and 4-chan types who promote Q-anon and associated nonsense, and who thrill to DJT's endorsement of their dark, self-pitying, conspiratorial views will be swayed by his arguments here? Are they reading the Times for political guidance?
Any functioning adult will be a better choice in 2020 than Trump. That he has any measurable level of support in light of all he's said and done since November 2016, and particularly in the last few weeks, is truly puzzling. But here we are.
4
You appear to be a fearful old white man who does not trust the younger generation. The middle class has not gotten a raise in 40 years because of your safe policy choices. You are far removed from seeing the damage that has been done to children and poor people in this country. I am probably older than you, but facts are facts, and it is time to level the economic playing field, and regulate for the good of the people.
Despite never being political before, I will campaign for and continue my donations to Senator Warren because she has the will and the methodology to actually improve the average person's well-being.
4
People who wouldn't vote for Trump don't want change.
People who won't vote for Warren don't want change.
People who won't vote for Bernie don't want change.
The problem is millions of Americans want change, and that's why they're voting for 'crazy' candidates.
They are voting against YOU.
THANK YOU DAVID BROOKS.
This is the moment of moral clarity we've been seeking.
Warren is a patriotic American. She's not going to work to harm our country or our citizens or our economy.
Even if we don't like Senator Warren or some or all of her policies we'll survive.
With Trump, that's unlikely. The Republic is hanging by a thread. Our national security is threatened. Our allies are being massacred. Trump is OK with genocide and our prestige and honor are in the gutter. He just handed the Middle East to Putin and ISIS and Iran and Erdogan.
EVEN WORSE he ignores the law.
If we have a dictator in the White House, a hateful racist who is stirring violence, ignoring the law and inciting Civil War, why are we afraid of a Senator who wants to lower the cost of health care and protect consumers? This is a no-brainer.
On the one hand, the Republic dies. On the other hand, a President you don't like so much, working within a system of laws and checks and balances, who isn't trying to destroy the country.
People. Listen to David Brooks. This is the ballgame.
1
The difference is that Warren is not a fascist and has a record of legislative achievement. That means she understands that her ideas will be tested in the legislative marketplace and modified by the collective wisdom thereof. Trump and the Republicans who are financed by the ultra-wealthy and voted for by the misinformed and morally malformed believe that citizens are sheep who need to be herded by fear and Fox.
4
David seems to be addressing Republican voters that are having buyers’ remorse over Trump. They are few in number. Then there are the undecided and uninvolved, a larger group that probably will decide the election.
How it is possible to be in this group is a bit of a mystery. They have escaped the GOP brain washing deluge, Fox, and Tweets, and talk radio, and Murdoch/Spencer “news”. Perhaps don’t even know an election is coming, and certainly not that it will be a squeaker, possibly awarded by the 5-4 Supreme Court.
Hope they are persuaded by David, but how many of this group ever read the NYT or watch NPR??
2
Kindergarten competency? Mr Brooks, I would love to introduce you to my kindergartener. She’s infinitely more competent than our President.
4
As an honorably discharged veteran of the US armed forces, I'm going to weigh in on this thread in an unsubtle manner. After the abandonment of US allies in a combat zone, anyone who votes for Mr. Trump is encouraging and rewarding treason. And, no, I'm not using that word as lightly as Mr. Trump uses it. But to abandon one's battlefield allies, to literally feed them to an enemy army...well, that's just never been acceptable in any version of history.
It's probably just as well Mr. Trump got a deferment for bone spurs. I could so easily see him cutting and running as soon as a firefight got hot, leaving his mates in a foxhole to die. Our commander in chief - what a joke.
4
Democracies die when they rely upon democracy. The founders were wise to not do this, but progressives have pushed ever forward to get rid of liberty and equal protection in favor of tyranny of the majority, promising free things for a vote, a crime by any normal measure of corruption.
1
Senator Warren is not a hardened ideologue. She is reachable and understands that much of the public is suspicious of her 'plans' She will move toward the center and redesign her projects. Her career is full of examples of her willingness to re-consider her beliefs. Mr. Trump has no beliefs or ideas or plans beyond decades of bigoted and corrupt scams.
3
If it's Trump vs. someone who want's to explode the scope of the Federal Government and/or refuses to respect my Second Amendment rights (because once the Second has been gutted the First and Fourth won't be far behind). Then I will view Trump as the least bad option.
Suicidal is believing anyone from the government is actually here to help you.
If it is trump vs Warren then it might be a horse race.
Because of their prejudice and hate at the thought of a women in office, Americans voted for a vulgar offensive man because he said he'd make them great again.
I'm afraid Americans will not recover their wits and perspective in time for 2020 even though i'm hoping I'm wrong.
2
So, if you can't vote for Warren, then don't vote at all. This isn't a 'lesser of the evils' decision. We must decide how to get Trump out of the WH.
1
Being forgiven student loan debt is a handout? Utterly ridiculous. You can't make a living without at least a four year degree, so you're forced into debt before you can even begin. Then you spend the rest of your life paying off the 40k or however much you're stuck with. The entire system is broken and yet removing student debt and giving our kids a fair start is a called a handout. Call it what it is. A system designed to force young adults into lifelong debt so the loan holders can control a steady stream of wealth into their pockets is considered *normal*!
2
"there is a wave of insular intolerance coursing through parts of the American left. If given executive power, some progressives may use it to cancel any culture or faith other than their own."
This is ridiculous.
If anyone is trying to cancel someone else's "culture or faith" it is the right, with its white supremacists and theocratic evangelists.
Jeffress, Fallwell, Graham, are not progressives.
2
the hard fact: any Democratic nominee other than Joe Biden, and Trump gets 4 more years.
2
"If given executive power, some progressives may use it to cancel any culture or faith other than their own." That is a regressive, blatantly lame statement given Pence's and the religious right's aim to make America a "Handmaid's Tale". Democrats and unaligned liberals value freedom of choice in religion-or-not, diversity in culture and equal rights. Egregious case of pot calling kettle black, Mr. Brooks. And shame on you for encouraging people not to vote. Please do go to Canada and let the rest of us vote for a real President.
2
I love it when the myth of the "moderate" is busted, as when the voters' choice is between Goofus and Gallant, and the "moderates" think this is a torturous lose-lose proposition. If they can't bring themselves to vote for a Democrat except when the alternative is certain doom, they are no "moderates," they are right wing ideologues—but they are worse than the rabid kind because they cloak their fierce partisanship in a soft-spoken disguise they call "moderate" or "centrist." It's a kind of a lie.
4
Only hard for the those stuck in a retrogressive delusion of separation, special privilege, superiority, the disappearing con game of capitalism.
2
@Eric Caine is preaching to the choir here. Unfortunately, the part of the choir that led Trump to victory is not in the church. So here we are, in our American leftist illusional bubble believing that everyone else sees the light as clearly as we do. Although it took me a lifetime to truly understand the depth of human folly and egocentric stupidity, it took me another 20 years to truly see that my enlightenment, alas, did not translate equally to those around me or the general population for that matter. You can throw "the power of reason, science, and expert opinion, not to mention the rule of law" out the door. To beat Trump we will need a candidate that will preach centrist values but lean leftist once in office, a bit like we may see Chief Justice Roberts do over the next 20 years (from conservative to the center.)
I would not discount Buttigieg rising to the occasion. While I do not believe that most Democrats are ready to choose an older white man to lead them (sentientpolitics.com), I also do not believe that Warren will get us a victory as well. Sanders will drop out and throw his support behind Warren. Wobbly Biden will drop out as well. I am always hopeful, a pernicious audacity for sure, especially in these times; a black man in the White House in the first decade of the century, an aberration the next decade, a gay man the following decade.
1
This is what the federal government needs: "They practice the craft of politics, building majority coalitions to get things done." The art of politics. Yelling at your opponents on social media is not the art of politics. Refusing to ever compromise is not the art of politics. Lyndon Johnson understood the art of politics. So did Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, and Richard Nixon. Compromise is necessary.
I doubt that Mr. Trump is a fascist. But he does have little if any respect for law. Or for other people--whether they are on his side or not. These are fatal flaws.
I think that there is some Leninist or Jacobin in Elizabeth Warren. Certainly in her debate answers she doesn't show much respect for other viewpoints. Or ability to compromise. Pretty much anyone who opposes her policies is termed corrupt. Really, there is a little too much overlap between Mr. Trump and Ms. Warren in their demonizing of their opponents.
@Gordon Wiggerhaus
"I doubt that Mr. Trump is a fascist."
Authoritarian strongman/mob boss establishing one party rule kept under his control with heavy fallacious propaganda and threats of violence.
Yeah, he's a fascist.
2
I find myself in agreement with Mr Brooks on this one.
MY personal favorite - Mayor Buttigieg - is probably not a strong candidate for the general electorate. But then again, I had that same hesitation when I voted for Obama. Perhaps I'm under-estimating Middle America
Mr. Brooks, this is a well written column with many fine points, and I agree with much of what you said. However, I've got to call you out on this one...
"Her student debt cancellation plan is a handout to the upper middle class."
No. You're dead wrong on that one. Crushing student debt is not exclusive to the upper middle class. As someone who is living in poverty and also burdened with massive student debt, I have to strongly advise you to educate yourself more fully on this topic.
Otherwise, a very fine article with many excellent points.
1
As I heard a brilliant American scholar say this morning, in Germany (where this scholar lives), Bernie Sanders would be politically to the right of Angela Merkel, who is considered a conservative centrist. Paid family leave, health care, and paid vacations, among other things that here in America we consider "fringe benefits," are in Germany taken for granted, by both sides of the political spectrum, as being rights.
What David Brooks and others who worry about Elizabeth Warren's or Bernie Sanders's electability need is not a more moderate candidate—what they need is an imagination, one that requires the ability to see beyond the status quo to an America where, like Germany, Canada, and several other European countries, people view education, health care, and basic economic fairness as rights, not privileges or fringe benefits. There's nothing radical about that.
6
@Tim
We worry about electability because we know our electorate. Brooks is just being realistic. The antiquated electoral college favors 4-6 conservative states that view Warren and Sanders as too "radical". Those states determine the election, and while they might vote for a moderate Democrat, it's unlikely they'll vote for a progressive. You can America-splain to us about how we need to use our imagination and go against the status quo, but we don't have that luxury right now. We are in a constitutional crisis with an insane, rogue, racist, sociopath of a president who is extremely dangerous. Our number one priority is to get Trump out, and running a progressive could give us four more years. Brooks is right to be worried. We all are.
1
If Biden doesn’t take Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina, The Democrats are going to have to field another candidate. Warren wouldn’t be able to beat Trump in the general election. 8 years of Bush got us to Obama. 4 years of Trump should get us something better.
1
If trump re-elected, would a coup be our only means to re-establish a democracy?
This reminds me of the state of French politics in the 1930's, with a profoundly divided nation and the rise of fascism. Let's not forget that a significant minority in France actually supported an alliance with Nazi Germany while conventional politics couldn't choose between the right, left and center. Here in the United States today we seem to have a similar situation, where a significant minority favors a " new fascism" and the rest can't choose between the right, left and center. It would be best if we could make a "conventional" choice before it's too late.
o
1
From another opinion post:
"It was a day that ended with a rally where one of the warm-up acts, the Texas lieutenant governor, declared that liberals “are not our opponents, they are our enemy,” and the president called the speaker of the House “crazy,” a rival candidate “very dumb,” a House committee chairman a “fraud” and the governor of another state a “crackpot.”
And i Warren and the Democrats who are the problem?You hold us to different standards. I'm done. Done with my brother who hates the government but wants to be on disability. Done with my mom who is an immigrant but wants to build a wall and says immigrants need to stay in their country. Done with my dad who is a veteran and pays nothing for healthcare, yet gets mad when paying his property school taxes. And who takes all these MAGA loving people to appointments, grocery shopping, gives my brother my 5 year old car because he can't afford one and he needs one for work? yeah, it's me, the liberal teacher. My libertarian brother loves to send me pamphlets about how public education is the culprit of all our problems. Another brother (a priest no less!) also despises immigrants and Democrats. He's still mad about JFK "stealing" the election from Nixon back in 1960. The hypocrisy goes on and on. I banned them all from speaking politics with me. I still take care of them, because that's what decent people do. So do the decent thing, vote Warren, if she's the nominee. Care about the country, for once.
3
Biden, Buttigieg, Booker, Bullock, Klobuchar are all either bought already or for sale to corporate interests. Warren is ultimately evasive on this issue, so she too cannot be trusted no matter how much lefty rhetoric she uses.
We voters who are sick to death (literally, for those who can't afford life-saving health care) of this era of moneyed interests controlling our overnment have felt politically homeless and unheard for far too long.
Bernie is the only one who understands this, and he's got the credibility, record, and platform to demonstrate we can trust him, that he cares about voters and not one lick about protecting corporate profits. People like Mr. Brooks who think we need to continue with "moderate," "pragmatic" approaches will be judged by History as one of two things: a plutocrat benefiting from the status quo, or one of their shills.
1
For fascism to take over in this country, things would have to be a good deal worse than they now are. A depression such is being forecast could bring about the unemployment, poverty, and widespread voter alienation could be that condition. If Trump continues to run the economy into the ground with protectionism, then whoever is president in 2021 will have a proto-fascist situation to contend with. If that president is Trump, then we could well be looking at such a situation. A two-term limit is guaranteed by a constitutional amendment, but that law can be revoked, or simply ignored. Trump is old, thank God, but if his successor were another dictator-type, then watch out!
1
The photo accompanying this article is wonderful.
You and your likes are a huge part of the problem as you spew disinformation as much as Trump does. Of course, you put lipstick on it and semi sound like a patriotic decent human being.
Trickle down, privatization does not work and it has been obvious for decades. Stats prove that. Where are the great journalists who should be reporting these facts? They all have the facts at the tip of their fingers are digital recording keeping. Yes, republican politicians and billionaires tries to muddy the waters but journalists should not allow them to spew lies. However, these journalists are making huge salaries not to tell the truth, their bosses are the people profiting from monopolies, stock buy backs, and their billionaire friends spending advertising dollars to distort the facts.
Republican policies with the help of corporate democrats over the last 30 years have devastated the economy for millions of low paid workers.
We cannot fix this failing democracy with the likes of Amy, Corey, Pete . Status Quo is not what people wanted in 2016 and Trump lied his way into cleaning up the swamp and helping the average worker. People want change.
1
It would be a defeat for the Democrats of McGovern-like proportions.
3
David, what would you do if you lost your job at the NY Times and as a result lost your health insurance? Maybe you could be covered by your wife's employer. Maybe you could afford to pay for private health insurance through Obamacare. Let's say, however, that you are like millions of Americans who could not get affordable health insurance elsewhere. What would you do?
If we had Medicare For All - that is, universal, government-run insurance that covers every citizen from cradle to grave, regardless of your ability to pay, like every other advanced, civilized country - you wouldn't have to worry.You wouldn't lose your family's coverage.
That's what Sanders and Warren are for. What a crazy, evil, dangerous, extremist, socialist idea.
1
Wow! You’ve finally seen the light Mr. Brooks! Anyone who runs and beats the monster living in the White House will be a vast improvement no matter what their political persuasion. Our three year nightmare needs to end.
Hmmmm, Trump or Warren: David, Only you would call this decision a hard one.
2
I think Brooks is just afraid of any Democrat who might disturb the upper class even though after all their tax cuts they should be very happy they are still are afraid of any progress to the bottom Rung on the ladder they are afraid of anyone not in their tribe
1
Don’t get too precious throwing out worries about Warren’s spending plans when the current GOP has done nothing to flag something like Sondlands taxpayer funding of multiple 200k plus kitchen renovations. The GOP cannot continue to pretend to care about spending (how in the heck will elizabeth pay?) after this reckless administration has been so wasteful and frivolous with taxpayer money, and the GOP stands by, crickets. At least Warren’s spending has the upside of benefitting common Americans.
1
While I long ago lost respect for David Brooks, I can easily understand (but not share} a preference for Warren over Trump. But to believe "They (authoritarians) reject the democratic rules of the game, ...... deny the legitimacy of their opponents, using extreme language to deny them standing as co-citizens, ....tolerate or even encourage violence, threatening to take legal action against critics in rival parties." describes Trump more than today's leftists, including Warren, is little less than mental illness.
3
I was in Iowa for an early Bernie rally at a local high school last time around. It was way below zero with the wind chill, the place was packed, with people cheering like he was a rock star. People feel the same about Warren. If the Hillary mob at the DNC would have allowed Bernie to win the nomination, he’d be President now.
I am sooo tired of these “liberals” who want the same ole “moderate” Democrats, who are no different from the Republicans (Trump doesn’t count, he’s just crass and self-dealing).
A moderate Democrat has no chance of bringing out the young voters and the now cynical, post-bail-out-the-banks Obama. Obama gave us hope and then trashed it, Hillary let her husband pass NAFTA and de-regulate the banks. And, had her daughter on so many boards, making so much money, we can’t even count it except by looking at the real estate she buys.
The Squad should be sidelined (makes most people nauseous) and Warren will sashimi Trump at the debates and we’ll have a clean, highly knowledgeable person at the helm. Wall Street is terrrified of Warren, that should tell you everything you need to know. The pigs at the trough are afraid of her.
2
I am so tired of all this concern for the vote of some white-guy undecided voter in a diner in Ohio. Huge swaths of the American public typically DO NOT VOTE. Millions of these people will be induced to register and vote when there is a candidate who will clearly express something akin to their values and hopes. Go, Warren/Sanders wing of the Democratic Party!!
1
David must be living in an alternate universe. How is this a "hard" choice? On one hand you have Trump who treats the US as his personal fiefdom and feels free to do just about anything. The constitution? To Trump that's "just words."
Warren has actually done something for this country with the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, that's clawed back 12 billion that was cheated out of the little people by those that David just seems to love. You know the Wall Street types that destroyed the country.
It's a "hard choice" only if you have been on Mars the last couple of years and haven't bothered to read the news feeds or you are one of those that makes decision unencumbered by the thought process.
5
David, neither Warren or Bernie would be my pick but I would vote for either of them in a heartbeat if it comes to that and I believe you would also. The truth of the matter is that sanity tops everything. It is the only thing standing between us and certain destruction. The resident at 1600 PA Ave is severely mentally impaired, hollow, and corrupt to the hilt. A vote for him is indeed a vote for suicide.
1
In 2016, we had two bad choices. Too many voters chose Trump. Now, they all know what that choice gave us. So, in 2020, if it's Warren vs Trump, maybe a different result. Or, given Warren's issue baggage, as listed by Brooks, maybe, the same outcome as 2016, with Warren out-polling Hillary and still losing in the Electoral College. That's why I'm hoping for Biden/Klobuchar/Pete/or even Booker vs Trump.
1
Brooks and Stephens are dead on in their assertions, because they have an actual pulse on the voters that actually matter, independents and those in the midwest.
The post mortem on the 2020 election after Trump defeats Warren by 150+ electoral votes will again be on the Obama to Trump voters, as Warren has alienated both the Trump and Obama voting bloc.
As a voter in the swing state MI watching the media anointing/pushing down our throats Warren, I'm glad my vote actually matters as opposed to most of the voices on the comment board. There is complete detachment of reality if people think one can run on a platform of stripping private health insurance from 150 million people, increasing taxes, and opening borders will win in MI, WI, PA, and FL. Watch MN swing red also.
2
Warren will have to compromise if elected. No one ever asks how one would get more ambitious proposals thru congress even with control of Senate. That said, one needs to look at the quality of people candidates rely on to develop policy. We are not voting for a health care or green new deal program, we are voting for someone to rebuild government gutted by Trump and inspire confidence from the nation and world. Many of the candidates are capable given the chance. Warren can be an explainer in chief the way Clinton was, and an inspiration to a new generation of women and young citizens that have only known Trumps carnival.
1
Brooks represents the sort of values, humility and wisdom that is currently missing in political leadership on both sides of the Atlantic.
1
David this piece is dead on!
Perhaps another alternative for those of us out west is move to to secede from the union if Trump is re-elected.
Either that, or leave the non-United States and move elsewhere.
Good grief.
1
@Ronn Robinson
Empirically how difficult can it be to look at Red America and Blue America and see only New Mexico on the list of America's worst states in which to live and only North Dakota in the top ten.
Small government, low taxes, poor education, poor health and little security doesn't seem to work. I remember when all Americans had a higher standard of living than those of us North of the border.
We are healthier , wealthier, more democratic, more secure and better educated than our southern neighbours. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the difference between our country where even our conservatives are to the left of the American left.
I remember ultra conservative church run, low tax and small government Quebec and we were envious of American wealth and opportunity. Quelle domage.
Maybe instead of healthcare for all the motto for 2020 should be mental healthcare for all.
1
Iowa and New Hampshire haven't spoken. When they do we'll have a better idea as to the shape of the Democratic primary season despite the debates and talking heads.
Our Western heritage, bound up in the Bible and Homeric myth as it is, can be seen placing the U.S. between Scylla and Charybdis, a rock shoal and a whirlpool. Odysseus got through there, but he lost a few sailors in the process.
1
Glad to see you came around to the place that everyone should be - Trump is destroying American Democracy and needs to go. Senator Warrens policies are debatable, but she is honest and believes in democracy- so there is no questions as to who to vote for. This is not an election about the role of government spending.
Also- I think you are misreading what is happening in the primary- Senator Warren has started to unify the left , but VP Biden still leads in most state polls and still has the clearest route to 2000 delegates.
2
I think David is simply wrong when he says the Democratic Party is "sprinting" too far to the left. He is too savvy not to know that there is very little "sprinting" in American politics. We may finally have reached a critical decision point in this election cycle, but the momentum for some of the policies of the so-called radical left has been building for decades, especially on health care.
David claims to know how a President Warren would govern, as a purist and not a pragmatist., "deeply polarizing" and "probably unsuccessful." He cannot know this. Wasn't the same thing said about Ronald Reagan? If Warren has a health care plan that is not paid for (the claim is debatable), Reagan had tax cuts that were not paid for. But Reagan ultimately compromised and moderated. He fought with but then worked across the aisle with Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neill. With her Consumer Protection Bureau, Warren has already shown she can work across the aisle and get things done.
Would a President Warren "destroy" the economy? Hardly. In case, David has not noticed, the economy needs saving. Warren gets this. Why can't we have spending and taxes and regulation and growth all at the same time, no trade off needed? Besides, such a fear again simply ignores the built-in incremental nature of American politics, with its inter- and intra- party divisions and
our institutional system of checks and balances. A President Warren should be capable of leading a progressive-moderate coalition.
5
Warren wins, that’s what!
3
A terrible choice.
3
Warren's presidency wouldn't be any more successful than Trump's, from a policy perspective. The biggest difference would be judicial appointments, which gives a lot of us Republicans a compelling reason to prefer Trump over Warren, even if there are plenty of things about Trump to give us pause.
2
Good grief. YOu are off the rails with this one. Get more thoughtful GOP friends.
5
Potus Pete. Clear and Simple.
1
To whom?
Not hard AT ALL
1
Hats off to David Brooks, who keeps it real in this op ed. You, sir, have earned my respect.
Finally, David Brooks gets off the fence. Are our nearest planets still orbiting the sun?
If you don't believe David Brooks, you must read what Admiral McRaven writes today.
The obvious choice is Amy Klobuchar. She is a good campaigner, practical and recognizes the need for gradual progress toward the goal. She will attract moderates as well as republicans who can no longer stomach Trump. She has maturity, a sense of humor and will serve the country well.
4
@arogden
Klobuchar was shaking on stage the other night and looked like she was about to cry while speaking. She lacks the poise to be at the center of any leadership.
1
Your party voted for a guy who said he could kill someone in broad daylight and not be punished - and you're grousing over radically generous social programs?
Every one of your columns reads as if its the first thing you wrote after sleeping for 30 years.
5
I cannot believe we are comparing Warren to Trump. This can't be happening again???? this cannot be a "who is the lesser evil choice" situation when people were deciding Hillary vs Trump in 2016. This is absurd. Warren is a brilliant politician, who may too far left for some of us , but comparing her to Trump is beyond idiotic. Shocking that this is even in the NYT. If the media goes down this rabbit hole again, we are staring at another disastrous 4 years of Trump presidency, and as Pelosi recently said, the country will never recover from a second Trump term.
10
Elizabeth Warren is no Hillary Clinton
1
Warren is infinitely better.
That is the difference.
I am told that we have to hold our nose and vote for the democrat, who ever that might be.
David surprised - half way through. YES, it is about our Republic.
Thank you.
The question is quite simple and requires no hand-wringing: vote for the insane or sane candidate? I don't think Warren will come close to enacting her policies, but never for a moment would I think that she was selling out the United States to line her own pocket. Trump is a conniving, selfish, cruel, and small-minded man who is willing to drag all of us down with his ineptitude, as long as he gets his. When you look at these two people, there is no choice to make: it's Warren, or any other functioning adult the Democrats end up nominating.
To those who stay would stay home on Election Day, remember your choice when things get ever so much worse if trump wins re-election. Please vote for sanity.
2
“If given executive power, some progressives may use it to cancel any culture or faith other than their own.” Seriously David?
8
Yay! You finally did it! After years and years of false equivalencies and whataboutism, you actually decided to state the obvious: that even the "worst" Democrat (and in typical fashion, you're totally wrong about all that- but that's another story) is exponentially better than Trump.
The real test now is whether or not you mean it. If you do- work HARD to get the D elected. No matter who it is. Don't sit on the sidelines and think voting or writing a column is enough. You need to mobilize, donate, knock on doors- this is existential now. It's the very least you can do to offset at least some of the damage you've caused over the years by acting like "both sides" is a real thing.
But for now, a decent start after years and years of nonsense drivel. Welcome to the extremely fringe of the right side of history! But at least you're there.
2
Here's the message to "moderate" Republicans like Brooks who supported the Iraq War, Supply Side Economics, denied Climate Change, pursued The Southern Strategy of racist dog whistles, engaged in systemic voter suppression, and stood by while their party descended into Fascism - Trump is your fault. Your version of "moderation" has incrementally destroyed the politics of this country. Trump is the natural heir to your beliefs. You don't have a home politically because you cling to a failed ideology. Read up on Eisenhower to see what a "moderate" actually stands for.
6
"For many, supporting Warren is too high a price to pay, even for ousting Trump."
You are stark staring nuts.
Period.
7
Everyday i check the headline on-line page of fox news and discover an alternative universe!
Their only mission is to propagandize and distort and dissemble the facts and issues to contort them -to lie -and to function as a state tv for trumpism.
Never thought i'd live to see the day!
1
What is so far left about wanting a president to speak like an adult, not a snotty petty potty mouth?
Too far left because I have to turn down the tv ever day to prevent my grandchildren from hearing the “ Mouth that Roared “?
Too bad Donnie never had his mouth washed with soap for speaking like that.
Too far left because this country Is made up of immigrants of all walks of life and religious beliefs and for 243 years we have managed to make progress against poverty and ignorance?
Too far left to want my government to work for me and not some reality nutcase and his family business.
Too far left to demand we remove this imposter by the same standards you demanded of others. A wannabe monarch who is being propped up by the pay for play party you claim to represent.
Too far left to want campaign finance, the founding fathers never intended a company or corporation to vote, only a citizen can, no corporate office has a social security number but the far right that Mr. Brooks claims to speak for, pushed to over turn the court ruling by loading the courts.
Dump tRump and his acting department heads, vote for a change. Waiting for the perfect candidate is like waiting for the Donald to pivot and ack like a human being. Never see him smile unless he is on camera, never see anything other than lies coming out out of his mouth at over 12 a day.
Vote the clowns off the island by electing someone else, at this point anyone else, but the twitter in chief.
5
I pretty much agree with David Brooks. Donald Trump is a horrible (and totally corrupt) President. And he is very far to the right. Both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren condescending, impractical, and very far to the left.
Even though I am a long-time Republican, no way can I vote for Trump. The same goes for Warren and Sanders. If next November's election is between Trump and Warren, I will probably end up voting for the Libertarian party candidate as a protest vote. Living in California I can afford to do this, because California is a very blue state.
Carl Spring, West Los Angeles, CA
@Carl Spring
Well, there goes California in the general election!
1
I thought you were better than fear-mongering like this:
“Fourth, there is a wave of insular intolerance coursing through parts of the American left. If given executive power, some progressives may use it to cancel any culture or faith other than their own.”
Shame on you,
5
Not a hard choice at all. Good vs. Evil. Easy-peezy.
8
Yeah gee imagine the horror of voting for someone who is interested in implementing policies which are closer to those which have been implemented and used successfully for decades.
Or you can vote for the guy with a long history of defrauding his fellow citizens, breaks the law constantly, and damages American on a daily bases.
Gee....what a tough choice...
And this "“There is no universe where I will ever vote for Donald Trump, and there is no universe where I could ever vote for Elizabeth Warren,” Jennifer Horn, a former chairwoman of the New Hampshire G.O.P., told The Washington Examiner."
I mean...if you voted for George W Bush, and then voted for Donald Trump, you should really maybe...stop voting for awhile because you are really really really bad at it. So yes, please don't vote for either and just stay home.
ps As soon as she wins the primary she'll tack towards the center just like everyone else (except maybe Bernie) would do.
4
I thought this was a no brainer after the, "Syria is 7000 miles away" comment this past week. No matter how left Warren goes she still will have a congress to contend with and she surely will respect our constitutional norms. Republicans never trust democrats to do what it right! Why? Bill Clinton was a scoundrel, but he still attended to the people's business. Why are we debating this in the first place. Is what not going on enough? Have you all forgotten about September 11, 2001? In a contest, between Trump and the feral cat in my neighborhood, the cat gets my vote.
2
Any time anyone is compared to Trump it diminishes the comparator and elevates him. Why are you even fostering a discussion? Why are you giving a voice to a madman who is trying to destroy the country and everything it stands for?
2
Maybe you should make your case for Warren a little less doomsday. Maybe she will surprise you with her common sense, fair approach. and why are you so adverse to higher taxes? How did Republicans become so greedy? the party of morals? That one has always been backwards.
1
I read that Michael Bloomberg has told associates that if Biden drops out of the race, he'll jump in. That would be unequivocal doom for the current White House occupant.
Some of Warren's policies may be flawed but her intentions are noble. She means well for this country. I cannot say the same about Trump. I don't care who becomes the democrat nominee. I just want Trump and his dirty clan ousted.
Seeing Mr Brooks agonize over the obvious may amuse some. But the real pitch of the story is pretty clearly to move on from using Warren to bash Sanders to bashing Warren with teh gang of empty suits vying to take over Biden's role as he melts in teh sun..
3
Please get back to us David after Warren wins and has been President for a couple of years.
1
How is Warren disrespectful? Just because she disagrees on policy with Brooks and many others, doesn't make her disrespectful. Warren understands that the presidency is about public service. Some other reasons I support Warren: she has real expertise, she's well versed in policy and she has the work ethic and enthusiasm be an effective president.
Candidates like Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Booker have all been grasping for the hallowed "moderate" label, but haven't been able to articulate what they're actually about. That is deadly if you're going up against Trump. Warren has a vision. She may not be able to enact everything she wants as president, but there are real possibilities - like universal healthcare - that other Democratic candidates dismiss too easily. You wonder why Biden is even running. He's already lost the Democratic nomination twice, and he's as gaffe-prone as they come.
2
If Elizabeth Warren's policy ideas and plans are so bad, how do you explain that countries like Canada, Sweden, Norway and many others are doing so well?
3
I'm hoping there are lots more intelligent Republican voters,like David Brooks. These voters know Trump is toast. He's an international embarrassment, completely incompetent and lies constantly. Not to mention that he has no morality, inciting racism,sexism and anti immigrant hatred in the dumbest and sometimes dangerous citizens. I believe that good people with morals who happen to be Republican can't in good conscience vote for Trump.
1
Today David Brooks showed me a side of himself that I did not believe was there.
You are back in the running for the title of "patriot", David.
P.S. You didn't need to wait so long; next time don't be so coy.
1
Oh boy! So tacky and syrupy too.
1
There are conservatives who firmly recognize that the party of the right has left them far behind for crazyland. There are many more who still believe that a system that researches your favorite buzzwords and tracks your deepest thoughts to write talking points that tell you a story in just the way you want to hear has values that are, in anyway, "just like yours." When democracy was sold out to the highest bidder, there were no guarantees that highest bidder would have any of the interests of the United States at heart. All we can hope that there will be enough whose eyes are open to vote against madness and can see through the clever marketing by those who love power (here and abroad) about "that woman." The only vote worse than a vote for Trump is staying home on election day when you could have made a difference.
1
I wish Gail Collins would write a response to this piece.
2
You had me, right up until “... as the Republicans recede into old, white, rural obsolescence.”
Blacks will stay home.
Hispanics have no warmth for her.
Wall Street types will stay home.
Big business types will stay home.
Trump supporters will stand for hours in the rain.
He will win again.
6
Warren's senate record shows that she has been able to work across the aisle on many issues. https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2019/04/29/elizabeth-warren-republicans?fbclid=IwAR32MfJA4Jj87LGH2kUpAfZOALaFmFmAgjJoWmEg4pV0tcOtrbDj90aKJ9Q
1
You left Beto out of the B's!
To summarize Mr. Brooks’ argument: republicans like him can’t find their Mit Romney or Jeb Bush or Reagan in their party.
So, what do they do? They come over to the Democratic Party and tell it: “hey, get a Romney or Bush and we will vote for you.”
The answer should be: “No Thanks. We’ll stick a Roosevelt! Go sort your issues out!”
6
I hate to click on a David Brooks column, but here goes.
Why is the choice "hard"? Whether or not someone agrees with Senator Warren's views and policies--and she is certainly open about them--she also believes in the U.S. Constitution and our democracy. We know, or at least anyone with a brain knows, that republicans do not. This column is written in reverse: it's nice that Mr. Brooks is going to vote for the Democrat, but why does he think he's doing the world a favor? His column should run as follows:
1. Why he's voting for Warren.
2. Why the republican party cannot be trusted.
3. His apology for a quarter of a century of writing apologias for republicans and lies about Democrats that have helped bring about what he now decries.
8
Given choice of totalitarian rule likely to result in disastrous war and economy, or extreme liberalism very possibly disrupting the economy, I’ll take the radical leftist, please.
A Warren/Booker ticket could win in 2020. Another possibility is a Warren/Castro ticket.
Who is this fantasy “Elizabeth Warren” David Brooks has constructed in his mind? A women who identified as Republican into middle age somehow will be too doctrinaire to hear the other points of view? Her history is clearly one who has consistently followed evidence wherever it leads; perhaps David Brooks real fear is confronting the fact that the economic policies he pushed for his entire adult life have harmed his country.
5
There are dozens of uninspiring Democrats running for the party’s nomination in 2020, none of whom illicit any level of excitement, and a new poll suggests that if Michelle Obama were to enter the race she’d beat them all.
I'll tell you what you do if it's Warren vs Trump -- you vote Warren!! Are you kidding me -- you have to choose one of those two options how can this be a hard choice?
2
I hang on your every word, Mr. Brooks. And you’re right about this too.
2
Sadly, I think trump will eat Warren alive in an election rout. I just do not believe Warren has the killer instinct to so humiliate and counter trump as would be required for a win. I just do not see how she can prevail in our media Colosseum that caters to our most basest human instincts as an audience. It would be a fight that Warren would have to shower afterwards, and I just do not see her fighting as dirty as it will require to defeat trump.