These times are strange; so strange that even Gail Collins has gone awry, teaming with Bret Stephens (of all the columnists)!
We couldn't care less whom Bret votes for and we are not about to take guidance from him on voting our conscience. Perhaps, Gail would like to go Bret's way and good luck.
When will our Opinion Columnists will get it. Just because you happen to be on NYT doesn't make you the right guys to follow when it comes to voting our conscience. Please keep to your writing skills and leave politics to us.
5
Who knew Times columnists had a sense of humor?
3
Ctrl + F "Sanders"
No results? Huh...
Wow, people talking about Klobuchar and Booty-geg? And even BLOOMBERG?
What a time to be alive.
Glad to see Bret still working hard on forming well-educated, brilliant political opinions! /s
2
Little friends, good. You have already downloaded all your underbelly. No... everything that lives in his sub brain and his pituitary. Then it is time to put on your red baseball caps, take your chains and clubs and go out to club those who suspect you belong to the middle and poor classes and also have the audacity to say that they will vote for a candidate of the Democratic cover, as I will vote for Uncle Joe. Maybe then they can continue writing the scripts of Nunes.
2
Moronic Fox News-spouting 83-year-olds are just who Biden should be shouting at. It will encourage all the other fair minded people to finally tell these loud mouths to shut up.
7
No mention of Bernie Sanders. Typical of The NY Times.
12
Biden has lost too many family members to tragedies to have the strength to have given his stupid son the big fat kick in the back end that he deserves. It's a shame, but he's too nice to be president in our present environment.
But this crowded field is beyond irritating.
5
trump won by pounding away at voters FEARS i.e. you will lose your job,mexicans and blacks will rule neighborhoods,no churchs,rampant abortions,underclass will have everything and workers have nothing and army can't defend against isis,iran,north korea. trump knows how to make money and u will know how to make money and will have money if u partner with him.he loves uneducated. Now look at his friends pedophile Epstein,andrew price his cabinet people who prob wouldn't be able to get entry level jobs whoa they r in charge of running this country.
3
The answer is NO.
With his Hitler-like rhetoric, calling Democrats unpatriotic even un-American, the manner with which he mocks, demeans and crushes any and all opposition, with 60 million devotees and a pusillanimous GOP Congress, genuflecting him...Democrats do not have a chance.
3
Stay in your lane.
Brett, NO! Bill weld isn't a viable salve. Trump is in the Oval in large part because over 35,000 Wisconsin voters chose to write in Bernie (thinking Hillary would win anyway). Trump won the state by 30,000. Vote for Weld and you help to re-elect the short-fingered vulgarian. Just suck it up, friend; even a schnauzer would be a better choice than DJT.
6
oh please...you two are so full of yourselves...
6
This is the wrong question. The question should be can the democrats save themselves? It is, after all, up to the people to suck it up, grow up and stop re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
3
It's great for the Times to want to be chatty and with it, but this exchange doesn't merit space on your op ed pace. More cute than smart.
4
Your comments belie the real story, all the Democrats are terrible and you know it, impeachment was a stupid move. Your excuse for Hunter Biden that it is not illegal is why Trump won and will again, Biden and the Dems are all part of the elites and Americans know it.
4
In response to the article’s title, “No!”.......
1
Bret - you're a typical selfish boomer - the heck with democracy, I only care about my wallet!
3
Thank God! What EVER would we do without our Daily Dose of Democrats In Disarray, courtesy of the Gray Lady and her employees?!? How reassuring - thanks, New York Times!!
1
Nothing to read here!
1
So the TImes has lowered itself so far into the "Moderation or Death" cult that it's come down to this--a supposed liberal/conservative give and take about which moderate is the Big Moderate? You are beginning to live inside an echo chamber of your own making.
2
Yes, Michelle Obama!
2
Unbelieveable. Sanders doesn't even get a mention?? It's 2016 deja vu all over again, NYT.
7
Don't you mean "beat Pence"?
1
Nor a word about Sanders. Not a word about the disreputable political perverts on the GOP. Just hit jobs on Dems. Expect more pushback Gail with this disaster Capitalist Stephens
5
Vet offers Bernie his flight jacket months after threatening suicide
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/12/10/1904716/-Vet-offers-Bernie-his-flight-jacket-months-after-threatening-suicide
3
No.
1
Bernie. Bernie. Bernie. Why is there NO MENTION of the candidate with the most donors, real support and a great ground team?
NYT: Your bias is showing. Again.
7
Silly column. If the Times wants to blatantly insult the President then they should put it in the entertainment section, not the Op Ed’s.
3
In a word, "no".
1
Please stop pretending that this "conversation" is bringing America an enlightened balance of views. It's an irritating format, aimed at consumers who don't want to read, and who would be much more interested in video. Just put your "chats" on YouTube and leave it off the NY Times; reading these thoughtless snippets of chat it just an annoyance.
5
Warren and Sanders will be considered as "rightist" in our country ! The USA is due to make a little realignment of its social policy...some of your citizens are currently using cat insuline; wake up!
2
Ok Mr. Stephens, let me get this straight: you would rather throw your vote away on a 3rd party candidate and essentially give that vote to Trump in order to “save your wallet” and your “conscience?” So, your conscience is OK with another 4 years of Trump as long as it’s not Warren instead? Sounds to me like your conscience only goes as deep as your own wallet. You try to sound high minded, but you are selfish to the core.
3
joe pa for POTUS, pledging a one term limit with rumors he will resign within a year or two, handing the reigns to his VP gal- likely comely Kamala Harris or Amy Kobuchar. Last of the guy world, with Kamala or Amy presiding for 6 to 10 years in the gal world which is surely coming.
1
No wonder the world’s so vexed, these days...
A quarter century of glorious American governance awaits us, just around the bend – and no one’s seeing it...
Two terms of Joe, a followed by a pair for some harmless Busch scion – and back to Hunter...
With whom we’ll party like it’s 2039...
Because it will be, by then...
I concur, discontinue this vacuous, snarky banter. Offer it to the NY Post's page six, where it belongs.
2
My principal objection to Bloomberg is his apparent support of Israel's myriad policies of abuse of Palestinians. whose supposed rights and land in their supposed democracy they persist in usurping.
Fun to read. Yet it ends with a gut punch.
Bret would not vote for Elizabeth Warren if she wins the nomination, not even to save us from Trump. Voting for a third party candidate with zero chance of winning is the coward’s way out. Whatever her politics, whatever “socialist” fear and loathing you may possess, Warren would never destroy American institutions and values as Trump is doing, nor destroy our NATO alliances, nor continue the torture of separating immigrant families and watching caged children die of the flu unattended as we did last week, nor continue stacking the judiciary with horrible, extremist unqualified judges, nor suck up to brutal dictators, nor demean the free press.
Trump is the single greatest threat to American democracy, and if he survives impeachment and wins a second term he will be emboldened and answer to no one. Republicans are creating a turbocharged monster, and anyone who doesn’t vote for the Democrat is contributing to this phenomenon. The man has announced that he can do whatever he wants, and conservative people who love their country’s ethic that no man is above the law must wince and take a deep breath and vote for the other side. Other democracies that have teetered on the edge of the abyss but pulled back were saved by patriots willing to vote against their own party when it lost its way.
Bret: are you a patriot?
8
Bernie can.
3
The democrats are very unimpressive.
2
This was utterly obnoxious.
3
"It's the economy, Stupid"
1
Gail. Ted Yoho is leaving Congress. Your thoughts.
So, once again Bernie Sanders the only candidate to have a chance against Trump is given the blackout treatment. Please NYTimes just stop it. You did this in 2016. Stop it!!
3
538 has Bden ahead in something like 20 of the first 35 primaries. in some of those places, he is light years ahead.
meanwhile, Sait Pete has fallen into single digits nationally.
the media needs to grasp that the rest of the country do not care ay all about Iowa and NH. Not a bit.
Klobuchar and Booker - a team of intelligent, thoughtful moderates who could attract a lot of different voters and help to pull together a fractured nation.
5
If Brett Stephens is willing to vote for a 3rd party candidate to "save his wallet" he deserves Trump being re-elected.
3
"Biden’s political brand is built around his authenticity and working-class affect, so why should he smooth-talk his way around a baldfaced insult from a voter about his fitness or his son?"
My thoughts exactly, and I suspect it plays well in Pennsylvania.
2
As for Mayor Pete. I have some good news and some bad news, and, surprise, both are the same: Mayor Pete is Al Gore. While both men impress the intelligencia with their Harvard diction and demeanor, neither will strike Iowa farmers as populists. Neither generates much passionate support, and their campaigns would die quick deaths if they relied on small donors. Both served in the military—not as grunts nor as fevered patriots—but as gestures of nobles oblige and, if you’re cynical, as politically calculated moves that would pay immediate (Gore) or future (Gore and Mayor Pete) dividends for politically ambitious young men. Both also have the sheen of Wall Street and the new economy with Mayor Pete’s stint at McKinsey and Al Gore being part of the self-anointed “Atari Democrats” who loves technology. Both are also supremely comfortable in couching their liberal vision in their faith: Al Gore spent time at Vanderbilt Theological School and Mayor Pete has been strident in trying to wrestle away Christianity from right-wing conservatives. Well, we all know what happened to Al Gore in 2000 and so some may think that this comparison isn’t flattering, but after 4 years of profane and indecent Donald Trump, I for one think that a gay Al Gore is exactly what the country needs. Go Mayor Pete!
2
Gail Collins has had something against Sanders for a long time. Too cranky. Too angry. Too cranky. Most others see him as a little too serious but appreciate his sense of humor. He must remind her of a high school guidance counselor. I've never read one mention by her of anything related to Sanders' policy proposals. She has zero appreciation for the political risk a sitting US Senator takes when espousing such anti-corporatist policies.
Bret Stephens is difficult to peg. Sorta like chimerical David Brooks, except Stephens does so much less research and absolutely no original thinking that his written pieces make me feel like I'm reading USA Today.
4
As much as I appreciate Gail Collins... I am doubly disappointed that she fails to mention Bernie Sanders. Bernie has diverse support and is at the top of the polls. Not only that, he has ardent supporters who will show up at the polls!
Gail and NYT staff and editorial board - time to stop ignoring Bernie! People reading this article - stop right now and go read the editorial by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor.
4
Those terrible far left Democrats!
They want universal healthcare like all the other first world countries.
They want trade school or the first two years of college provided which would be great for the economy.
They want to fight global warming.
Shades of Karl Marx!
We pay around $11,000 per capita for healthcare compared to the $5,500 the other first world countries pay.
They get universal coverage and we have parts of the US with infant mortality rates of Botswana.
And maybe more with more education we would get more people working and paying taxes instead of paying for prison and police and courts.
We have the highest incarceration rate in the world.
I can't believe how far left these new Democrats want to take us.
What would the Founding Fathers be saying today.
In the meantime, Republicans just increased the deficit.
Again.
The deficit is increasing from $600 Billion to $1 Trillion.
Deficits went up under Reagan, HW Bush and W Bush. Deficits went down under Clinton and Obama.
Actually, way up under W Bush. He took the balanced budget from Clinton and gave Obama a whopping $1.4 Trillion deficit and the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Obama cut that by almost 2/3 and got 11.5 Million jobs compared to W Bush 3 Million jobs. And 20 Million people got healthcare.
9
If Mr. Stephens is afraid of Elizabeth Warren, he must be making more than I thought!
4
Meanwhile the GOP thinks all is well in Trumplandia. Conservatives need to be worried about the destruction. carnage and havoc Trump is doing to their conservative brand.
1
I was an initial supporter of Joe Biden, but he really does need to address the issue of his son. Many people have a real problem with this kind of "light" corruption, kind of like many found the Clinton Foundation, Global Initiative, etc. in questionable taste. It needs to be addressed.
3
What inane banter about nothings when the issue is of such importance that neighbor Tom Friedman is throwing his support to rid of the current occupant.
Answer to the question has to be an honest NO. None of the current crop of Democrats can save the Party or the nation.
It would be so so so very nice to have a correct alternative to Trump. For we need to acknowledge the Repubs don't have on offer a suitable, qualified, capable option.
Drives a guy to drink, I tell you.
1
Stop playing which Democrat can beat Trump. This is no election to be picky.
Regardless of our likes and dislikes on the menu of Democratic candidates, we must each sign a pledge to vote for whomever the Democratic candidate is, because no one--absolutely no one--would be a worse president than Trump.
This really is about saving our country from corruption and dictatorship and for democracy.
Plus, casting that vote for a Democrat is even more important for those who live in swing states.
All day long I have been hearing Republicans on the radio saying "the people voted for Trump in 2016" and this impeachment sham is the only way the Democrats can get Trump out of office.
No reporter corrected these dis-informing GOP politicians and said, "Actually the American people voted for Hillary Clinton in the last election, and Hillary received 3 million more votes than Trump."
Why are the Democrats held to such a high bar, while the Republicans literally get away with murder and mayhem?
Maybe this will make it easier. On November 3, 2020: Remember who yanked small children from their parents and them cages; who betrayed our allies the Kurds to curry favor with Erdogan; who reversed our environmental policy to increase the devastating effects of climate change; and whose default mode is lying rather than telling the truth; and who truly does not care for anyone but himself?
4
Bret Stephens, if you don't vote for the Democratic nominee, you are voting to re-elect the Russian carrot-top. So assuming you have a conscience, use it to guide your actions.
7
Bret: The mere fact that you could say "Please, Democrats, don’t make me wind up voting for Bill Weld just to salve my conscience and save my wallet. Nominate a moderate!" demonstrates that you have no conscience.
4
If I read Bret's last statement currently, sounds like he thinks he is a billionaire and thus afraid of losing some money to a Warren presidency.
Good for you Bret. Didn't think NYT paid that well.
3
"And Pete Buttigieg still hasn’t figured out how to win over black voters."
Can we stop with this? Seriously.
5
"Don Jr. and Eric may announce they’ve sold the rights to a Trump hotel to a wealthy war criminal." Well they have sold it to a gambling tycoon, Tillman Fertitta.
1
Let's let the Republicans frame the argument, and then play straw man. I expected better from the Times
1
Biden beats Trump by 10.2
Sanders beats Trump by 7.9
Warren beats Trump by 7.3
Harris (out of the race) beats Trump by 5.3
Buttigieg beats Trump by 4.5
Yeah....fold up the tents...there is no way a Democrat can beat Trump.
@Magan Does this polling information factor the electoral college? I sure hope so.
4
I hear so many apoplectic people hear lament and decry the next Trump re-election. Someone here even said "people would die." Imagine that. And I feel your pain. It is truly existential. Anyway, for those Dems who are so concerned, the way to win this election is quite easy. All you have to do (this is a great plan) is stop complaining and whining from NY and CA where we know the Dems will win by millions, and move to Pa, or Wi, or Mi, or Ohio. Really, stop complaining and put your convictions where your fears are and move. You guys probably have all these FacePage contacts and plenty of online knowledge. Get 200K or more people or so (there must be that many diehards out there) and move to those different states. And you/we ( I am Dem but am not that concerned by all this) will take back the WH. You can put your lives on hold for a year or so- after all you say it is really important. You can probably come back later to NY CA at a later time. We'll accept you back like real warriors. So get to it. But, you guys won't. Because, although you/we like to complain we really are not that worried when it comes down to having to make a major life change. We prefer to simply complain. And there is nothing existential about that.
1
Save your wallet, Brett? You're in better shape than most of us and does democracy mean so little to you in your meritocratic bubble that you'd forsake it for your wallet?
Where's Bernie in all of this chit-chat? He's the one who represents all of us and always has.
1
If Warren and Sanders stop YELLING, either might stand a chance.
3
I loved Biden's response. Fight!
1
What exactly is the Dem candidate going to run on? Open borders for all? Free college and health care for all? Confiscate all guns? Ban pronouns? Reverse the tax cut?
Tell us, Bret and Gail, how the Dems will take back middle class voters by vowing to increase their taxes and give more goodies to "others"? Huh?
8
"Please, Democrats, don’t make me wind up voting for Bill Weld"
Pretty much the same as voting for Spanky, wouldn't you say? He'd be unaffected, and the Dem nominee would receive one less vote, but Stephens wouldn't violate his vow of purity.
2
If you ever find yourself saying, "I'm sure some of your best friends are billionaires", consider that you might be the problem.
This opinion piece illustrates some of what is wrong in our society. Can any op ed writers save the country from buzzkill?
Not one word about Bernie Sanders—again.
Why are you so afraid to acknowledge his poll numbers?
7
Save the party from itself? None of the Democratic candidates will if the Times has anything to say about it. Job one is making sure the Democrats aren’t allowed to go too far left.
3
I continue to love it when you guys talk. So quiet. So moderate. Well-informed. Articulate. My goodness, Bret and Gail, you almost reminded me of Mr. Donald J. Trump himself--
--NOT! NOT! NOT! NOT!
He is none of those things. Right? Right.
"A Trump victory in 2020." Never SAY such a thing. Never even THINK it--
--though I remember the French reaction to the disastrous battle of Sedan in 1870.
N'en parlez jamais--pensez y toujours.
"Never speak of it--think of it always."
SPEAKING OF THE FRENCH--
--I have read that, during the opening weeks of World War I, the French invited the embattled Belgians to FALL BACK--
--and make a common battle line with their French allies.
But they didn't.
And (of course) the Germans gobbled them up piecemeal. Who knows? They might have anyways.
My point is--
--DEMOCRATS!
You have an enemy. American democracy has an enemy. We all have an enemy.
MAKE COMMON CAUSE WITH EACH OTHER.
Do stuff so that you win.
Not lose.
Please.
We're counting on you.
I'M counting on you.
We all are.
3
I would really love to never read a headline like that again. It's not the least bit helpful.
3
"Can Any of the Democratic Candidates Save the Party From Itself?"
No. And, good riddance
2
"Please, Democrats, don’t make me wind up voting for Bill Weld just to salve my conscience and save my wallet. Nominate a moderate!"
Bret, why don't the Republicans nomiate a "moderate" for a change?
4
@EmDee
Republicans nominated John McCain (now a saint to many Dems) and he was smeared by the Obama forces.
Republicans nominated Mitt Romney (now the voice of reason in the Senate say Dems) and smeared him for daring to have a non-government job in which he made oodles of money, and saying "binders of women".
Please save us from this phony "nominate a moderate" from Dems who would never vote for a Republican and proved it with Romney and McCain
2
Biden and Sanders can get down in the mud and fight nose-to-nose with Trump to beat him at his own game. I appreciated Biden's response to the ignorant jerk who accused him of wrongdoing because he "seen it on the tv." Faux News, obviously.
6
No one is saving the GOP. That should be a topic here.
3
The problem is Biden cannot say “he had nothing to do with it.” The only reason Hunter got the job was because of who his father was. Plain and simple.
5
But did Jack Kennedy or F. Roosevelt make their money? They inherited it and spent most of their adult lives in public office. Washington got his money from his wife. So none fit the bill of an entrepreneur/businessman like Bloomberg or Steyer.
3
No, of course not. Dems are controlled by the far left who will not allow a moderate to be nominated.
3
The debate should be: how to get money out of politics. Imagine if a vote was actually worth something like a real, democratic choice. Bloomberg is not in for the good of anything, except his narrow agenda - maintaining the status quo.
1
Trump-haters are so exquisitely concerned about even the slightest hint of maybe a questionable business deal here or there sometime in the last 40 years with Trump. Meanwhile the Clintons simply rake in hundreds of millions to their "foundation" slush fund while Hillary is handing out favors as Sec of State. Any outrage? Of course not.
4
@Ted George: It's hard to be outraged at wild conspiracy theories. Some of us want this thing called evidence.
6
The Clintons are currently irrelevant. Get a new bogeyman.
2
Gail and Bret's omission of Warren and Sanders is conspicuous. It's either intentional (dishonest), or it's unintentional and they're bad analysts.
3
If you are going to hold your nose and vote Democratic, then hold your nose and vote for Bernie Sanders. "Moderate" is the label that cause all this trouble in the first place. The Democratic Party, as far as I can tell, is intent on destroying itself. That's how I read the DCCC's blacklisting of consultants who'll work to unseat incumbents. I mean, identity politics is a core value for them, right? Yet they are so afraid of progressives they're willing to show themselves as sexist and racist. They are right to panic. The neoliberal dispensation has been a complete failure.
P.S.: Whenever you read that the economy is "booming," ask yourself who it's booming for. It isn't the 44% of Americans who can't lay hands on $400 for an emergency, that's for sure.
8
Elizabeth Warren should drop out about one week before the Iowa Caucus and point to Bernie and say, this is our guy. If he wins great, if not she has a clear shot at the nomination in 2024. Either way she is a hero to the party and progressives.
3
We can only hope that someday we will get to a place close to that espoused by Sanders and Warren. We are all well aware of the success and the unusual high levels of happiness, health and well being in places like Finland, Sweden and Norway. It is in fact impossible not to consider how the USA might incorporate some of their tried and true practices that help achieve such an outcome. For now it seems we must continue with this current pathetic facade of the USA being number one in everything. To those who still think that, consider the deteriorating financial and health conditions of most American and think again.
8
Sorry Bret, but I think you are mistaken about George Washington being extraordinarily wealthy. At least according to Colin Calloway who wrote "The Indian World of George Washington." A good read, and very illuminating in understanding "our founding father."
1
He wasn’t so wealthy at first, but after marrying Martha he was one of the richest men of his time and place.
3
Without rose colored glasses almost impossible envisioning Trump not defeating Trump. A low forties approval rating with a booming economy historic jobs numbers. His trifecta razor thin electoral win in 2016 came versus the most flawed Democrat ever. The ever relates to Comey raining all over her and two Benghazi hearings plus Bill on the tarmac meeting too much to overcome.
The Dems are right on most issues. Trump favors repeal without any healthcare replacement, climate denial, building walls as immigration policy; big deficits, showering tax gifts on the wealthy and corporations. His tax bill rates near his approval rating with the public. Running his campaign on fear and loathing, hoaxes and witch hunts, deep state nonsense failed in 2016, limited returns in 2018 and 2020 could mirror those results.
Cheer up Warren or Bernie need a Senate sweep to pass any of their policies. McConnell guards the gates.
2
Ah yes, the same media sages that dismissed Trump's rise through the GOP primary ranks and then thought Hillary would run away with the general are offering their advice on whom the Dems ought to nominate.
5
Can we have this conversation article with Bret and Gail daily? Charming, enlightening, and educational. Each morning, please.
2
I enjoyed this conversation. It appeals to low-information voters like me.
2
Bret Stephens shows the utter moral failure of both himself and "the party switching voters", like himself, whose primary concern in life is to "save his wallet".
So Trump is morally reprehensible and a threat to the Constitution and Democracy but Bret Stephens won't vote for someone who may effect "his wallet".
Conservative philosophy in a nutshell. Never a more apt analogy.
11
@JMC: My thoughts exactly. It is astounding that anyone could take the position that saving one's wallet, and one that's highly unlikely to be injured to begin with from some long overdue tax increases, is more important than saving the republic.
9
I'm another independent who will go for any of the Democrats over another term of Trump.
9
"Class warfare is a bad look."
Said every rich (and wannabe) person ever.
The working poor? Not so much...
5
@Bret Stephens: If you had as much concern for the country as you say you do (and I actually believe you do) then "salving your conscience and saving your wallet" would be the last two things you'd be worrying about when it comes to the upcoming presidential election.
No president ever comes close to getting everything they've campaigned on, and Elizabeth Warren would be no exception.
If you're willing to cast a throw-away protest vote when the stakes are so high then don't have the temerity to bemoan a second Trump term.
The following was written in 2016, by a commenter who calls himself Ferguson Foont, regarding petulant Bernie Sanders supporters and that election: "If the next President of the United States is NOT Hillary Clinton, the next President of the United States WILL BE Donald Trump. That is the way it truly is in the real world, and if you do not believe it, then your mind dwells somewhere else, and I have no respect for you or your political views." Substitute the nominee of the Democrats for the 2020 election and it applies, again.
5
to answer the question of the title of this piece:
we "liberals", owing to our willingness to tolerate diversity of opinion within our rans, will always lose out to the lock-step true believing conservatives. witness the GOP's total and willing subjugation of its principles to authoritarian control.
3
Say what you want about Mike Bloomberg. When he was a three (3) term Mayor of Gotham, the trains ran on time, crime was down, and life was good. For those of us old enough to remember the old adage, "Being Mayor of New York is the second toughest job in America", to me there is no better preparation for becoming POTUS.
Age and lack of charisma aside, I do remember after the debacle of the Beame Mayoralty of years past, the late Ed Koch ran (and won) on a slogan of this kind; "After the clubhouse, let's try competence." In a single sentence, this is what Mike Bloomberg brings to the table.
6
When I heard that Bloomberg was actually running this time, it broke a low grade depression that had set in over the Democratic choices. Both Trump and Bloomberg are natural Alpha males, which is more than just policy or wealth.
Bloomberg, plans to actually self finance his election, which was the one thing that impressed when Trump had promised to do exactly the same thing as this would free him from being beholden to contributors. He confided that he had bought many politicians so he knew how the game was played.
His slowly forgetting this promise, saying it was only for the nomination (which he didn't even follow) confirmed what he was to illustrate about his lack of character in hundreds of ways. Bloomberg, needs no braggadocio, as his life-- business, political and personal tell his story. I also love his non-religion, being a non-practicing Jew who will not pander to any religious group as Trump has so obnoxiously done.
And yes, he was insensitive to the effect of stop and frisk, but his explanation that most of the victims were minorities has some validity. His relationship with his female companion seems solid, as does his friendship with his ex-wife.
He did not make his fortune by destroying others who were weaker, but by actually conceiving of and then marketing a product that captured advanced technology.
He's my man, and I'm still upbeat about his candidacy.
4
Trump lives in a political protective bubble. The immediate question is when that bubble will burst. If it remains intact, only an inspired/inspiring candidate such as Bernie is capable of defeating him toe-to-toe. Should the protective shield go down, any democrat will see him out of the White House. The few moderately minded voters (such as Bret) will never amount to much versus the many idealistic young people and disaffected anti-establishment older ones that will vote for Bernie should he carry the democrat banner...
4
If the country doesn't elect a president who has climate change mitigation at the top of the to-do list and a detailed, robust plan ready to go, as Bernie Sanders does, it doesn't matter who gets elected as president, including Trump.
4
Why does everyone, including Gail Collins, say that Hunter Biden had no qualifications to be on the Burisma Board? He is a graduate of the Yale Law School, practiced law with a prestigious law firm, was on the board of Amtrak and has been a lobbyist (not that everyone loves lobbyists). That seems to me to be a respectable resume to be on the board of directors of a profit-making company. Who his father is certainly was a significant factor in his getting the high paying position, but it isn't like he has no qualifications.
7
Pete Buttigieg has my support. Intelligent, calm, reasonably progressive with excellent policy positions - and unlikely to yell at 80 year old retired farmers.
5
"They use energy-efficient light bulbs on tanning beds now?"
Now that we've heard from Trump's former housekeeper, we know that the orange color comes from makeup, which he insisted be constantly supplied in two full plus one half-full containers in his bedroom.
One less mystery in the world now.
5
I have a simple plan for choosing the Democratic nominee: Pick the person with the smallest target on their back. The plan eliminates Sanders (he has a big "S" on his back and it doesn't mean "Superman"); it eliminates Buttigieg (he has a letter that doesn't mean much to young people ... you know, the ones that don't often vote ... but is very telling to the old); Biden has a letter but it's written in old English font that few people understand any longer; Warren has a tomahawk in her back right in the middle of her lowercase "S".
My theory led me to support O'Malley in 2016 and to support Amy Klobuchar this year. I like her calm demeanor and sense of humor. I think she will do well in one-on-one debate with Trump.
I recall in 2016 the head of CBS said, "I don't know if Donald Trump is good for the country but he sure is good for CBS." So TV networks and newspapers focus on Donald Trump and subscriptions increase, their ad revenues increase and they make money. All the air is sucked out of the room and what chance does a reasonable person have to even be noticed?
Strike a reasonable candidate ... perhaps we need to copy Ukraine and have a comedian run for the Presidency; Colbert or Stewart might be a little too left-wing; Seth Meyers seems about right to me. No political record to attack, ready with a quip and hasa good camera presence.
The dream ticket ... Meyers-Klobuchar?
Unless Oprah is available. She'd do well in S. Carolina.
2
Unemployment at 3.5% means little or nothing outside the Beltway. Many people are earning low wages that have stagnated over a period of years. Also, there are a not-inconsiderable number of people in the 50+ age bracket who simply were never able to rejoin the job market post-2008. They work sporadically at gig work and are not counted as unemployed.
Citing unemployment to prove everything is rosy economically is like cheering the GDP--neither indicator has much impact on the life of the average voter.
14
Anyone who prefers Trump to Warren is not paying attention.
Trump's economy is actually an overheated Obama economy, and the bust that is to come will make 1929 look reasonable by comparison.
Hatred is way up.
Democracy is not a team sport, and when 100% of one party (Rs) is willing to lie, cheat, and steal to win an election, including buddying up to Russia, the Saudis, and every dictator on the planet, there is something the matter with us.
The planet is real, and no amount of denying reality - climate change/global warming - changes anytning. Mr. Stephens follows Roger Pielke Jr. and Lomborg who say it's not serious. That is not working out: the evidence is piling up. Let's all get rich and fix it later is nonsense. And the "not rich" number billions.
About billionaires; some of them are quite decent, but living wages at the bottom are flatlining, benefits are being removed, and huge money trickles to the top. Zuckerberg won't even give up the smaller part of his income that funds political ads, and has been buddying up to Trump and right-leaning Republicans because he thinks his billions should not be touched in the name of "freedom".
How much "freedom" does a working stiff making less than a living wage have, as their health care and retirement are under attack to fund more tax cuts for the wealthy.
Amazon and FedEx paid $0 in taxes last year. R's won't lift a pinky about that. They just want to "win".
Anyone who supports that is denying reality.
10
@Brett Stephens: Using current Department of Labor unemployment figures, as calculated, to predict voters' 2020 Presidential choices is specious at best. The number of Americans holding full time, stable, well paying jobs with excellent benefits is at a 35 year low. Check out the facts on the state of American workers in this August, 2019 FactTank report from the Pew Research Center : https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/29/facts-about-american-workers/
129
Absolutely true, and shockingly little mention in the press.
20
@Shelley Dreyer-Green. The numbers on unemployment are calculated the same way as under Obama and will be calculated the same way under a new D President. Easy to check. So stop laying the ground work for Trump to say we Ds are seeking or want a recession in 2020 so we can win. Better to say economy is good and we are the best leaders to keep it very positive or even better for more folks. People vote for whoever they think will keep bring them good or better economic outcomes.
2
@Shelley Dreyer-Green
But the simple 3.5% unemployment is the only number given and it’s blasted out by the media, NYT included.
If you try to explain the real facts, Trump and Fox will just call it fake news and sour grapes. Never overestimate the intelligence of the American voter.
15
Our criteria for choosing should be: who's most likely to bring the democrats the senate majority.
I like many of the Sanders/Warren "ideas" but NONE of them have any chance to pass an even best case scenario democratic senate in the next 8 years.
Red state democrat senators will not vote for MFA , wealth taxes, free college, etc while fighting the blow back from the GOP propaganda machine. They'll risk their seats and those positions they need so badly to hold for the longer term good.
The GOP is aging out and without Trump and Trumpian antics/outside interference would have been a party incapable of winning another election. Team blue is growing and that's why the right is going "no holds barred" to stay in power, it's always their last shot.
We're not going to go from "this" to Sanders/Warren policies in one or 2 cycles, it's just not possible.
Things need to be considered with a longer term view.
The "It's time for a (fill in the blank) attitude" isn't going to help anyone right now, except the GOP.
3
IQ < 100 describes half the population in the U.S. and our education system has been set up to perpetrate this. This might be a good part of the problem
5
Bret, go ahead and vote for Bill Weldt, in NY that vote is effectively a vote for the democrat. (or at least a half a vote for the D.) If you live in NY you can sit home because the D will win no matter who you vote for.
3
I'm so sick of all the concerned hand-wringing about "spooky scary socialism" from conservative pundits. Since their party has become an unmitigated dumpster fire, they are trying to hijack the Democratic primary instead. Stephen, please kindly attend to the beam in your own eye before coming after our splinter.
As anyone should, I will vote in the primary for the candidate that I want to represent me. I'm not particularly concerned with what anyone else in other states might theoretically want according to the various pundits. After all, the experts and polling did such a swell job of predicting the outcome of 2016, right?
10
Gail, it is not an attack on president Trump to point out he did not come from humble beginnings, nor capably run a business, nor do any public service, nor give any money to good causes. That's just the way it is.
7
How can a party that calls itself the Democratic party save itself when it does not believe in allowing democratically elected President function and does not care about serving average working class American thinks or does?
If beating Trump in the 2020 election or impeaching him no matter how little it helps the Democratic party is the one point agenda and no other reasonable ideas to govern or help average Americans then the Democratic party is in a state of lethargy, low energy and malaise.
Trump did not want to be president so that he could sit around and spend time complaining about how bad things are. He came with ideas and once he was in the white house he has stayed busy trying to execute his ideas while being continuously harassed and challenged. Not a dull moment for Trump unlike the Democrats. The results of the Trump presidency have been reasonably good when compared to other presidents.
8
Climate change denying Bret's concern trolling is getting a little old. We don't need his vote - since all he cares about in the end is keeping his benjamins as he states - we need to get the majority of sane American voters out, many of whose ability to vote has been suppressed by the pre-Trump Republican Party for which Bret was a fanboy. The centrist candidates - the hope and change boys with no actual concrete policies to improve our nation - will still be attacked as socialist liberal California values types and Bret will basically argue they are not Republican enough for him to vote for. So spare me your concern Bret - you always have worked for the 0.1 percent; you just think Trump is too reactionary too fast awash in obvious corruption.
4
Mayor Pete has class and is a politically viable candidate. More so than Bloomberg. More so than Warren. Bloomberg has zero shot. Biden has zero shot. Warren has a shot, but mayor Pete is the better candidate.
2
Michael Bloomberg, Stacey Abrams, this ticket would cover a lot of areas. Right now the Democrats are spinning their wheels, they need a push.
1
Better still (and I’ve been saying this since we saw him in SC) is Buttigieg / Stacy Abrams!
1
Bret's just calling our bluff. He just wants the most conservative candidate he can get, so the agenda can be pushed even further to the right once that person becomes president. Rs are so used to be the squeaky wheels - personally I'm sick of their demands and lack of vision.
6
Reading some of the most recommended Readers Picks, you'd think it was Bret Stephens who was running for the Democratic nomination for President.
1
Let's keep in mind that it's not 2016 anymore and the supremely divisive Hilary Clinton is not the candidate. After 3 years of a part-time wanna-be mob boss and full-time creep in office I think every Democrat voter understands this simple truth: anyone but Trump.
3
@Chris Hunter Get ready for 4 more years...far left hate is no way to win an election.
1
Why does Bret Stephens keep using the phrase "bad look?"
I really, really, really hate to think what Trump is going to be like once the Senate declares him a saint. I have no doubt that he will think that he has been totally vindicated and is now completely free to do whatever heinous thing he wants to do, and it is going to be bad. Very, very bad.
6
Nice job corporate hacks- you managed to mention candiates children, ones that have dropped out, and made it to the end without mentioning Bernie Sanders, who absolutly has a path to victory !
3
Stop bashing Elizabeth Warren. She would make a excellent president.
4
"Please, Democrats, don’t make me wind up voting for Bill Weld just to salve my conscience and save my wallet. Nominate a moderate!"
When well off smart folks -like Bret - Vote to save their wallets and choose to elect trump over a smart caring women like Warren:
"my conscience" becomes an oxymoron.
5
... uh, no. But that doesn’t mean it’s over.
This conversation is ludicrous. Bernie Sanders, the candidate polling best against Trump, is not even mentioned once. And anyone who wouldn't vote Warren vs. Trump if she were the nominee needs to re-evaluate their priorities. She would be a fantastic and unifying president.
202
@Brendon
Bernard still refuses to join the Democratic party yet he wants to be our nominee.
The latest Monmouth poll shows his unfavorables as even greater than Trump but a bit less than Bloomberg.
He and Warren, the protector of Dow Chem in its fight against the environmentalists in the 90s, are going nowhere....fast.
Pete has my vote.
14
@Simon Sez Mayor Pete is just Hillary Clinton without the decades of relevant government experience. You think Warren is pro-corporate? Pete will prove to be even more so. He is just another status-quo candidate with nice big broad platitudes with nothing behind them. I'd rather vote for an empty suit.
11
@Brendon,
Nope, I am with Bret. Cannot vote for Warren nor Sanders.
10
Bret, re: "Class warfare is a bad look" -- class warfare can only go in one direction. Was it class warfare for slaves to rebel? Is it class warfare for lower castes in India to demand deconstruction of the caste system? 100s of millions of Americans toil away to serve basically 10,000 super rich people. It's not "warfare" when passengers on a plane wrestle a hijacker to the ground. It's taking what's yours and controlling your own destiny despite the sinister plotting of an incredibly tiny minority. It's not even warfare when there are 300,000,000 of us and 10,000 of them. Billionaires shouldn't exist and there are 100,000,000 people who have worked "harder" than Bloomberg. The only way to become a billionaire is to be lucky either in life or in birth.
3
Oh, Bret and Gail. Like every other pundit writing about this disaster, the only thing you can talk about is a) unemployment or b)stock market. There is so much more going on, and while those should be a part of the conversation about Trump and his presidency, there needs to be discussion on taking women's health/autonomy back to pre-suffrage, the damage being done to the environment, climate change, immigration, wealth inequality, education costs, infrastructure, transportation, racism, guns, just to mention a very few. These are certainly getting short shrift from both parties but primarily from the Republican side of the aisle who have eagerly lined up behind the most incompetent administration with "all the best people" and who have absolutely no courage to hold him accountable. Please - bring up some of these other issues, even in your light-hearted repartee between each other.
4
This proves just how pointless punditry is. I know there's an intended lighthearted tone to this editorial format, but given the subjects its kind of like the band playing on the Titanic on its way down after the kiss with the iceberg. As cynicism and nihilism paralyzes the richest country on Earth facing down crises on many fronts and threatens the health of our democracy at least we are entertained!
3
Mr. Stephens should analyze a few of the major decisions of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and show why they were bad for consumers and market integrity (that quality that Trump has absolutely no use for or understanding of). If scammers are discouraged from coming up with new scams or reviving old ones, this would seem to be a good thing except to people who view everything as a scam or think classifying things as scams is a subjective value judgment.
Granting credit like crazy, crashing the economy, and getting Uncle Sam to use his credit to bail you out seems to be both a successful business strategy and a giant scam.
2
The only candidate that got my interest and support was Steve Bullock, who presented substantive positions on a range of topics that seemed to me to be able to bridge the divide between the opposite ends of the political spectrum. He was what many see the need for - a rational, experienced and capable moderate. He never caught the attention of "the media" and his decision to suspend his campaign struck me as a major loss for the Democratic party.
2
Bloomberg can and will beat Donald Trump if left wing Democrats put country and the planet over party and rigid ideology. Everyone else will lose to Trump. It’s sad to say but true.
Look at where Bloomberg stands on issues like gun violence, climate change, and public health for starters. Then consider that he did a pretty darn good job in New York City for many years. He wasn’t perfect but no one is. Add to this the fact that he can spend billions, yes billions, on his campaign. Thanks to Citizens United nobody else can match Trump’s money in 2020. Furthermore, Bloomberg can exceed Trump’s war chest by billions if he so desires or needs to.
Bloomberg has many billions to spend because he’s smart, competent , and worked very hard to earn his money honestly- when he came from nothing. If you analyze his philanthropy you will see that he’s a doer not a talker. And finally look at what he did to help Democrats in the midterms in 2018. He’s responsible for a lot of the Democrats success in recent elections. The fact that he is also capable of behaving in a non-partisan manner is a breath of fresh air which will have huge appeal to independents like me in the general election.
It’s called “six swing states” and Bloomberg is the guy who can get it done when no one else will.
9
I am bemused that readers who _advocate_ Warren for president immediately add the caveat that the Senate would block most of her proposed legislation anyway. How profoundly has uniquely American ideological fear of redistributive justice blinded us to the good she can do? Warren proposes ending the patent system whereby corporations can sit on medicines--and jack up the prices--for years, compelling copy-cat "research" because the pharmaceutical industry can treat federally funded research as if it is a trade secret. Warren could undo that system on her own as president, thereby at one stroke enabling cheaper drugs and ending massive misappropriation of research funds. Vote for Warren because she _will_ actually do something!
5
Ending the patent system and breaking up amazon/google are for the domain of undergraduate daydreaming, not grown up policy making . Elizabeth Warren, however decent she may be as a human or an academic, has even less business in a national election than Trotskyite Corbyn does.
I may have missed it, but on first reading I didn't see any mention of Bernie. All of a sudden he looks like the sleeper that will prove the punditry wrong
15:45 EST, 12/10
5
The Democrats simply don’t care about building a winning coalition to unify the country and relieve it from the grip of the reactionary, religious, and plutocratic policies made into popular ones by Reagan. Instead, they are going to pursue he same policies as the socialist reformers sought over one hundred years, ago, without using the wisdom of hindsight.
1
The great progress of America has been built on socialism. Most people don't realize that much of what is good in our country and now taken for granted comes out of socialist platforms of the late 19th and early 20th century.
1. The 40-hour work week.
2. The end to child labor.
3. Food and drug safety.
4. The 8-hour work day.
5. Social security.
6. Collective bargaining.
7. The direct election of U.S. Senators by the people. That's right! Until the Constitution was amended in 1913, state legislatures were the ones who chose Senators!
8. Universal suffrage, including for women and blacks.
9. Public utilities.
10. Expansion of public education.
11. The referendum, the recall, and the initiative.
12. Campaign finance laws, especially curbing corporate power.
13. Unemployment insurance.
14. Public works projects.
15. Decrying governmental spying and invasions of privacy.
Remember, too, that mainstream Democrats and Republicans embraced such policies and used language akin to those of Sanders and Warren. It was Teddy Roosevelt and FDR who decried the "malefactors of great wealth" and got us the New Deal. It was Teddy R. who was the trust buster and brought us national parks and public spaces. It was Lincoln who spoke eloquently of the primacy of Labor over Capital.
Read your history...
Socialism is as American as apple pie.
Read your history...
The only real change comes with mass movements.
10
@Marsha Pembroke
Like the conservatives who want to privatize Social Security, you fail to see such programs as citizens choosing to share risks and to cooperate to achieve what they cannot alone. You attribute not to individuals deciding according to what they perceive is best for themselves but reformers seizing control of the government to impose reforms upon all in defiance of some ruling elite.
@Marsha Pembroke
All of the progressive legislation had to be sold to the public so that their representatives would enact the laws that allowed their implementation. Today's self named Progressives are going to impose their solutions and show the rest of the people how to solve our common concerns. Feels exciting but if you do not get people's support first, you are going to have to force them to comply.
Not a single mention of Bernie? Come on, guys - this is practically self-parody on the mainstream media’s blackout on the Senator’s principled, consistent, and compassionate campaign. That’s a bad look.
12
As much as I hate saying this, from where I’m standing Trump gets a second term. I’m not sure any that any democrat has the ability to fight dirty like he does and I don’t see impeachment making it out of the senate.
58
Trump appeals to fear and worry and resentment. Every truly popular President appealed to what makes people feel good about themselves.
13
The real goal for me is winning back the senate big time and improving the Dems majority in the house. Then they can impeach Trump again and again and again. Whatever it takes. It’s not a one time deal. He is sure to do more and more outrageous things and eventually something is going to stick.
I also think that we should stop running down and bad mouthing the Democratic candidates. I am convinced that most of this has been initiated by Russian trolls and by now we should know better than to fall into their traps. Sorry, Gail, I usually love your stuff but you are in danger of becoming a Putin enabler.
28
@Dundeemundee
Spot on, and well-said, too.
8
I am a Democrat. I have also not made up my mind which potential candidate to support. There are no good choices. I like Bernie, Elizabeth is ok and Biden is probably a good guy too. But what do they really stand for and how will they defeat Trump? And if one of them does what becomes of the American middle class, jobs, education, taxes, the trade war with China, the new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada and host of other things? And don't forget the national debt too.
The truth is that we're not just going to have to deal with defeating Trump but if he is defeated we have to deal with aftermath. I don't believe that radical progressive idealism and ideology are going to meet the needs of the great majority of Americans. Donald Trump will wage a campaign that will leave total devastation in its path. His attack on American institutions over the last 3 years have wreaked total destruction on American politics, institutions, organizations, the states, and the rule of law. How will the Democrats rebuild America after Donald Trump without causing further alienation and even more destruction?
I don't believe that the Democrats can save themselves least of all save our nation. The next election will begin with pealing back the scars of the upcoming impeachment and Donald, win or lose that battle, will cast his shadow over upcoming battles.
Democrats need to stand down, stop battling each other and ask Americans, "What do you want us to do to put America back together?
2
Make up your mind?
Don’t waste your time or energy.
Just vow to yourself to support the Democratic candidate whoever it may be.
Having a favorite now will inevitably lessen your support if that favorite does not get the nod.
4
Brett,
Progressives welcome billionaires into the race...
...as long as they understand that the job they're applying for is to serve the median while protecting and enabling the marginal. And, of course, they shouldn't bring their bankroll along. "Play fair".
A billionaire who calls for Eisenhower's tax rates to be applied to all income regardless of source sounds like a billionaire I'd consider voting for.
5
Bret and Gail, the takeaway is clear: Somehoe convince your colleagues at The Times to give Klobuchar more ink.
5
I think that the Constitution with it’s limits upon official power and the need to gain the agreement of Congress and of the courts, as well as the electorate just jams up the habits of a life time for billionaire business people. In the end their skills just do not match the challenges.
2
This feature needs to go away.
It has the snarky, arch, and self-satisfied tone of two college grads who are well set up enough that they know that whatever happens, they will be taken care of. They won't suffer. Neither speaks with any real urgency, or as if they have any real skin in the game. They seem only to be trying to demonstrate how clever they are, rather than say anything of real importance.
20
@Cassandra I agree. The tone and patter does not match the current state of the world. A climate crisis is upon us, our leaders seek only to enrich themselves, and billions are threatened by war, famine, fires and drought. Yet this feature lumbers on.
11
I agree. I usually love Gail’s pieces but I think we need to focus on Democratic unity rather than pitting the candidate against one another in this sly, destructive way. And enough with the hand wringing! I’d take any of them in a heartbeat against Trump. Doesn’t matter if it is a billionaire or Bernie. Whoever it is has my vote!
2
Media repeating their failure in ‘16 - constant stream of dem bashing instead of pointing out that ANY of those dems are more qualified and better suited than that thing in the WH.
12
Why do people like Bret Stephens never call it “class warfare” when the GOP cuts food stamps and then gives billionaires a huge tax cut?
21
Glad to see the Times starting to notice Amy Klobuchar, the only candidate who has won statewide general elections in a competitive state. The other candidates can claim they could win the general in midwestern swing states; she has proven she can. Plus, her sense of humor would be devastating to Trump.
Before anyone claims she's not progressive enough, read her list of goals for the first 100 days: https://medium.com/@AmyforAmerica/amys-first-100-days-b7adf9f91262
Amy: She Can Win Where it Counts!
10
@Baxter Jones Thanks, I find her very perceptive of the USA requirements following Trump's disaster!
4
The only candidate that appears to be honest and tell it like it is regards” Gun Safety and Climate Change” is Michael Bloomberg whom Trump appears to be most concerned about! Plus he, Bloomberg, did a magnificent job bringing New York City back from the ashes and despair of post “911!” as we recall! He has our vote...
6
The only candidate?
OMW!
You've forgotten Sanders and Warren. Plus, neither of them spearheaded vicious racial profiling and systematic police violence.
1
I'd like our next president to turn us into another Finland, but with better weather....
4
Prime example of how moderates would prefer Trump over a progressive. They, the liberals, will sell everyone out just to save a dime. This is why moderate candidates can't be trusted, because they are beholden to right-leaning people who prefer proto-fascist ideology to progressive or left-leaning ideology. If the DNC blocks Bernie again we should get ready for Trump round two.
4
Not this moderate!
Nor any of my moderate friends.
Trump needs to go. Plain and simple.
Sure Sanders and Warren are not the candidates I would prefer. But it’s not because they lean left or have “socialist” tendencies. I just wish they had a better grasp of economics. Regardless of all that, if either one is nominated I will wholeheartedly support them.
6
Not even a mention of the Senator from Vermont who may very well win the nomination? The bias, not to mention the flippancy, from you both is exhausting. I wish you both were just as knowledgeable and insightful as you seem to think that you are, but something about the air at the NYT keeps you securely, wrongly, in your bubble.
14
Trump and the GOP are installing a crypto-fascist state in America.
That's the bad news.
The Democrats are our best hope!
That's the other bad news.
There is no good news.
6
No mention of Bernie Sanders in an article about the candidates? A mention of Amy but not of Bernie?
What are you trying to do NY Times?
9
This headline seems to be the definition of begging the question, no?
2
"Trump is to political scandal what “Typhoid Mary” Mallon was to typhoid fever: He spreads it widely but is somehow immune to it himself. "
Immune? He THRIVES on it
3
I have to chuckle. When does 1+1 equal less than two?
.
You guys are two of my favorites alone, but your schtick needs some snap.
.
Not to worry about your headline, though. Hillary's on the way to the rescue. The Dems will be back on top before you can say "Russia!"
1
Please, Gail, stop enabling a right-wing Republican writer to hijack your otherwise funny take on politics. You're giving Bret cover. Let him, Brooks and Douthat struggle mightily to defend their treasonous party and its corrupt leader. Now that's some funny stuff.
7
Heck yeah! Al Franken! Oh, wait....
The Dems are especially good at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
3
At this point I'd vote for a rotten roll of wet toilet paper over trump. Too bad there's no rolls of toilet paper on the ballot except for whoever the Koch brother is peddling these days.
3
Is there some reason black voters would stay home if it comes down to Pete vs. Donald?
1
Lots of minorities stayed home when it was Clinton vs. Trump! And, she had been Obama's Secretary of State and her bus and was quite popular in low-income and minority communities.
Maybe--religion. Would black churches endorse a gay candidate?
The media:
2008: Obama is unelectable!
2016: Trump is unelectable!
2020: No one can beat Trump!
8
Daniel, that litany also sounds like most NY Times commenters!
Bret - you live in NYC. Your presidential vote doesn't count, so no need to court you.
3
This is the topic of conversation? How to save Democrats from themselves?
This is a time in which Republicans have embraced Trump, a dictator, a credibly accused rapist, a person who called neo-Nazis and White Supremacists "very fine people," who is colluding with Russia to subvert our elections. But it's the Democrats who need to be saved from themselves?
Sort of indicates how out of touch The Times really is.
10
"Please, Democrats, don’t make me wind up voting for Bill Weld just to salve my conscience and save my wallet."
If you vote for anyone other than Democrat X in the next election it will cost you your very soul, homeboy.
8
We need a list of a couple of hundred powerful people whose relatives have benefitted from their money and other sorts of clout. These people would come from all places on the political spectrum. Some of them would have been helped by their powerful relatives, and some would have been hindered (as Jimmy tried, and sometimes failed, to restrain brother Billy).
If such things should not be, we should figure out how to move against them. If we are not going to move effectively against them, we should not bother. Throwing Joe and Hunter under the bus is not an effective way to cut down on such arrangements; it will not scare others away from making their own arrangements because they know Hunter and Joe are being targeted by the other political party due to what Joe is doing. The dishonesty here is blatant; if Biden were to leave the race, Hunter and his oversize paycheck would be noticed as little as all the other nepotism we ignore.
Ms. Collins has a sense of humor and an agile mind. I suggest that she abandon all pre-conceived notions and start over. Nothing before matters nearly as much as what happens next. It is best to erase the past and judge all based solely upon what they do now that the primaries are upon us. The going will be tough. We need to look for the toughest candidate who gets going from here on in. I call this going Rip Van Winkle. There is no past. Only future. And Ms. Collins has what it takes to run with that.
You failed to mention Bernie Sanders. He is the one authentic candidate of all of them. And he's running for the people. Go Bernie!
4
Amy K gets legislation passed. How about a Joe B and Amy K ticket? Moderate but achievers abroad and at home ! Temperate, pleasant, and good listeners.
3
Give it up, Gail. Stephens just pretends to be a reasonable centrist. He has shown over and over again that when push comes to shove, he’s an intractable fanatic. I’m with Bloomberg. I don’t care if he doesn’t know what it’s like to be working class as long as he makes sure other men are not laid off like my dad was. But I’ll vote for Warren if the only other choice is Trump, and I know you’ll vote for Bloomberg in a heartbeat over Trump, so we can only hope there are enough other truly reasonable people to help end this madness.
4
@Mirjam "Anything" but Trump...
Good luck thinking any moderate will defeat Trump. Think of Trump’s attacks on Biden as “rope-a-dope”. Biden is the opponent he wants. Biden couldn’t handle the 83 year old Iowa farmer and he most certainly can’t handle Trump.
You guys dismiss Bernie at the planet’s peril. Bernie represents the opposite side of the Trumpian coin. He (and Warren) are the only Democrats that seem to understand and speak to the frustrations which led to Trump’s “victory”.
There is a reason the Forest Service fights fire with fire. If you are serious about putting out this Trumpster fire, you better get behind Bernie. Neither Sleepy Joe nor the other moderates are going to get the job done.
3
I'm offended at the notion that someone needs to save the Democratic Party from itself. The Democratic Party represents a wide range of voices, unlike the Republican Party, which represents Donald Trump.
The Democrats stand in support of American ideals including the rule of law, and the Republicans stand in support of authoritarianism.
4
Vote Blue No matter who.
The integrity of the United States political system is at stake.
The congress will slow down any far out ideas.
We need to revitalize our governmental processes and
stabilize our nation.
We need to ramp up our commitment to fighting climate change.
We need to reverse Trump's ruination of all our systems.
Then we can argue about how to make health care affordable for all. Then we can argue about how to make American primary and secondary education the best in the world. Then we can argue about how to make college education affordable.
We need to argue and negotiate and come to a reasonable position on a host of problems.
We will never do that with Trump in office. And we will never do that with Republicans in control. Democrats love to argue and wrestle with problems but Republicans just follow ALEC right down the line.
3
No mention of the candidate with the largest grassroots movement in history, enthusiastic multiracial young voter support, and a lifelong dedication to working class people of this country.
Bret says he would rather sabotage the election—and potentially set the stage for the continued erosion of American democracy under DJT 2.0—in support of his personal financial interests than vote for a leftie like Sanders.
Remember what MLK JR. said about the white moderate. He was talking about Bret.
3
"Class warfare is a bad look."
the rich are already winning the class war, meanwhile people like bret are trying to convince the rest of us that it's not actually happening.
"Democrats, don’t make me wind up voting for Bill Weld"
if stephens prefers trump over warren (which is what a vote for weld would mean), then (a) he's not a "reasonable party-switching voter" and (b) he should apologize to his kids for putting "his conscience and his wallet" above their chance to have a habitable earth.
6
Buttigieg worked for McKinsey. That company specialized in helping large companies reshape the work staff, i.e. many layoffs and poor treatment of those people laid off. McKinsey is the worst of capitalism. Buttigieg worked for McKinsey. Me, I am a liberal. I would never work for McKinsey. Buttigieg is getting a free ride here. His McKinsey employment and his anti-Israel stance disqualifies him from my vote.
1
Dear Bret,
Your wallet is not more important than our democracy. Thanks.
4
The Democrats should appeal to labor with a health care minimum wage. American workers need a party that will provide the ultimate safety net — Medicare for all who work.
3
If the Democratic Party wants to win, they need a different way of selecting their candidate. The current crop, save Bloomberg have no chance.
2
A Klobuchar/Buttegeig ticket and its problem solved. Watching Trump stalk a second woman around the debate stage will surely motivate moderate Republican women to vote against him, they will have appeal in those states that will actually determine the electoral college outcome (and where progressives barely exist), and as an added bonus sharing a stage with Buttegeig must be amongst Pence’s worst nightmares.
4
@JFB
Except Buttigieg is not qualified and brings zero to the table but a presumptuous identity politics giant ego. Tip: DC and American politics is filled with guys like him. He's also way too Catholic/fake Episcopalian.
@JFB A good ticket, but I think Klobuchar/Booker would be better.
1
For every extreme leftist who views xirself as so ideologically pure that xe wouldn't vote for a centrist democrat if only to evict trump, there are a hundred centrist marginals who would happily vote for anybody other than trump if only they could be assured that their pension fund will remain reasonably secure.
That's really how easy victory for the democrats is. The path to a certain win, and the removal of trump from office, goes through the center with all its hallmarks: stable wealth creation, responsible government, no sudden moves. The "black lives matter professors" and other ideological dreamers who lie with numbers to push fairy tales about the viability of extremist candidates to the point where they claim that calling oneself a "socialist' is a path to the oval office are utterly delusional.
the battle for the sunny uplands of socialist utopia is best left for another election. get trump out now. seize the electoral middle - in places like pennsylvania and michigan - and the path to victory is clear and easy.
5
The Dems need a complete reboot since the desire to be pitied vs to be admired often forms the greater part of Democrat's confidence. Dems have to keep in mind a little wit with good sense bores less in the long run than much wit with ill nature.
A lot of the talk about the Democratic candidates is missing a very basic point. If, God willing, Trump is defeated in the 2020 election, the country will need time to heal from all the wounds he has inflicted on it. It will, metaphorically, be like war-ravaged Germany in 1946 -- our institutions in ruins, our alliances frayed, the population at each other's throats, public discourse debased, the list could go on. For this reason, I am leaning toward Joe Biden. He is a gentle man, though not spineless; certainly not a Messiah, but "a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief." He would be able to speak to the nation, the whole nation, not just one party, without vitriol and venom, quieting fears and encouraging hope. I see him, given his age, as possibly a one-term president presiding over a transition, back toward a more civil society. Then all the other "issues" can be dealt with.
3
I despise the term "class warfare".
It is used to keep us from even questioning why some have so, so, so much more than they need while so many more in our society don't have nearly enough to get by, even when working.
8
True. And in fact the richest Americans have been waging class warfare against everyone else over the last 40 years. And now they’re offended that people have noticed and want to reclaim some dignity.
3
Why do we keep assuming the Democrats need to be saved from themselves? The Democratic Party’s leadership needs to get some better PR people who can effectively communicate the fact that their lack of a single dominate, authoritarian, dogmatic voice — the fact that no one “right policy” is emerging from the field — is an asset in the age of Trump. I have my favorites but I’d honestly be OK with *any* of these candidates (except maybe Putin-favorite Tulsi Gabbard) over Trump. I *like* that they can have honest debates about things and that none of their cute nicknames for each other sticks. I *like* that none of them are truly able to dominate when sharing the stage with the others. This gives me hope that they are still capable of compromise.
If I want a dictator, I’ll move to Moscow, because the Russians do that style of leadership better than we do.
4
Not a single word about Bernie in this discussion about who can save the Democratic party. Bernie can save the Democratic party from itself by bringing its platform back to FDR’s advocacy of a government that serves the people, not just the 1%. This discussion of billionaires is irrelevant to saving the Democratic party. How about a discussion of the implementation and behind the scene enforcement of the near total Bernie news blackout by the 1% owned media?
6
@Mark Sloan
Actually, I was a bit surprised by that. I'm certainly no fan of Bernie, but his name seemed glaringly absent from this piece. How do you talk about all the front runners, and even a second tier candidate (and another second tier candidate that has actually dropped out) and not even mention Bernie?
5
Not sure what the purpose of this "conversation"is..
Bret's definition of capitalism, and secondarily, the function of a society, reads like a label defined as capitalism which has little to do with reality in the US ,nor of a well functioning society.
Purely from macro-economic view point, the changes in the US system over the past 30 years are not sustainable just based on budgetary and resource distribution issues. You can't have $1T+ budget deficit every year in a growing economy, a $22T debt that is way passed the tipping point of 77% of the GDP, and have healthcare cost at 18% of GDP, before the economy falls off a cliff. The infant mortality rate is equal to Madagascar's and life expectancy across all age groups are falling...
so you need smart and dedicated people from all sides to figure out long-term solutions that will correct the course and allow the US to give its citizens an equal opportunity to live fruitful lives.
1
Well. I'm old and will vote for any Democrat. I think this whole standard of beating Trump is wrong. That's what oddsmakers, bet takers, and statisticians do. That doesn't make them good for the country.
We'll elect someone who will be good for the country, and not just the uber-rich. I'm still searching for a favorite and am currently taking a look at Andrew Yang. He's very close to being on the stage on the 19th.
He's bright, well-educated, hard-working, articulate, cute in looks and sense of humor (self-deprecating), and he's got a grip on the big picture.
The reason I'm so attracted to him is that he can see where work is heading. His vision is for us to work together to design the future we really want. How much do we want to work, what jobs will there be, how much education will it take and what are we going to do about that, how do we protect our "worker bees" so that they can retire, have vacations, health care, educations and child care. Not everyone will be able to code. How do we shape our future to account for these changes?
There's a long interview with him: episode 359 of the Axe Files podcast.
Micheal Bloomberg can -
I’ve watched him for three terms as mayor here in NYC.
Excellent individual and an expert in global finance, technology and the environment.
A straight shooter with outstanding moral values and true concern for the success and quality of live for all Americans, regardless of race, nationality or religion.
A Conservative / progressive and exactly what our country needs to move pass this trump and sorry hard left liberal mess we’re in. Vote my friends!
Micheal Bloomberg 2020!
4
You could not be more wrong! White working classes have fled the Democratic Party because of 40 years of pro free trade, economically pro-business and culturally liberal politics. Do you really believe these switch voters will come back for more of the same? I don’t. They are the one getting paid below poverty line wage, not you I suppose. They are the one that are one bad illness away from personal bankruptcy.
So yes Bloomberg will poll better among Wall Street democrats but in this day and age and with our electoral college system, these voters count for nothing.
1st choice: Bloomberg/Harris.
I think we need a billionaire vs. billionaire.
Trump supporters seems to respect them.
Harris is not threatening to Republicans.
Bloomberg is serious enough about Climate Change that he attended COP25 in Madrid.
Harris should motivate the African American vote and complement Bloomberg.
2nd choice: Bloomberg/Klobuchar
Redundant as far as attracting independents.
Loose African American vote.
Doubtful she could actually pull Midwestern Trump supporters away from him.
3rd choice: Bloomberg/Booker
Similar to Harris but quite a bit more negative. Odd couple. Too intense for role of VP.
1
Why not a contest between Trump and one of the two billionaires: Michael Bloomberg or Tom Steyer? Bloomberg and Steyer both represent progressive philosophies; both seem personally above corruption; both are committed to restoring and revitalizing our ailing democracy; both are in favor of a forward policy on climate change; both are deeply dedicated to healthy civic causes as seen through their words as well as charitable activities. Both look thoroughly clean and smell clean vs. the fake billionaire in the White House now-- " a fraud and a failure" as Tom Steyer rightly calls him in his TV ads.
Both are highly educated and speak not only passionately but in good , even elegant English vs. the semi-literate, grammatically challenged Trump. Both made their money the old-fashioned way: with hard work and through lawful means. There are a whole lot of other virtues that both come with. Either one will make mincemeat of Trump in any debate. And either one will mightily help rectify the lost honor of America on the global stage.
The word billionaire by itself is not a dirty word and shouldn't be made to sound like one, especially when the soul of the nation is at stake.
2
I really don't think the Democrats need Bret Stephens, at least I hope not. And if Bloomberg wanted to help out he should have spent his money running against Trump in the Republican primary.
3
Bret, as you've been told ad nauseam, if you don't vote for the Democrat, you're voting for Trump. It doesn't seem to be sinking in.
To be fair it probably doesn't make any difference in your state of residence ... New York? It makes a lot of difference in my state, North Carolina, and I'm voting for the Democrat!
If we can finally abolish the electoral college, then we restore presidential-level suffrage to you. :-)
8
Brett Stephens: I would help elect Trump to “save my wallet.”
That pretty much says everything.
7
Yeah, Warren is never going to look good to me, either. The Dems do have some credible candidates, and Klobuchar is one of them. But Warren will lose to Trump, but as long as the lefty base feels enthused and better than the rest of us for having supported her, I guess that is all that is important.
Trump is not only a pathological liar, but he has managed to surround himself with others who have no shame--or principles--and are happy to lie as blatantly as he does. The deliberate misrepresentation of the IG report by the despicable Barr, McCarthy, and rightwing media, from the editorial pages of the WSJ to the talking morons on Fox, demonstrates that the truth simply doesn't matter anymore.
The gaslighting has reached critical mass, and too many in the country enjoy being conned and love believing in conspiracy theories. Trump gets that, and having no conscience, repeatedly uses it to his advantage. The Dems still do not realize what they are up against, and I fear Mr. Stephens' fear of a 2020 Trump victory is well founded.
6
Amy Klobuchar is able to work with both sides. Just because Sanders or Warren became President, does not mean we would have a socialist government. The purpose of Congress in general, is to represent the states, which all vary in opinion.
We should choose the best candidate. Remember, whoever is elected is not a dictator; their policies may tend toward socialism, but Congress and the Judicial must weigh in here. We must simply choose the best candidate as President. Who can cooperate with both sides, work out differences with opponents, represent our country well, work for saving the world and our climate? That is the candidate we must choose.
7
@K.M and if the Democrats do not win the Senate, not much can change. People seem to forget that.
2
What if the candidates who seem to have a "clear path" to win elections in the eyes of chinstrokers like Stephens and Collins actually aren't strong candidates in the real world populated by people without cushy NYT gigs promoting center-right Conventional Wisdom as carefully considered opinions?
3
Simple answer, NO
There's a joke among my friends that I am fiscally responsible (I own four houses free and clear, my only debt is for the 2-year lease on an Italian sports car that I wanted to own once in my life so to cross that bucket list item) and socially irresponsible (go to heavy metal dive bars, fetish parties) but I also donate time and money to pro-bono causes.
There's no party for me. None. I can't stand the republican't party at all. Bunch of liars, cowards, nosy spineless boot lickers; I can't stand the dumbocrats either, bunch of baseless ideas, half-baked proposals and holier-than-thou attitudes.
It is time for a third party, a mix of what republicans used to be (fiscally responsible, valued hard work) and democrats used to be (socially conscious, humanitarian, idealistic)
9
How can anyone argue that the voters in 2020 will vote for a Republican candidate, especially Trump, when they didn’t vote for him in 2016 and the Rs only won in areas that been gerrymandered for them and voter suppressed? Remember Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million.
Did Trump get more popular since then? No, he has shown himself as the worst President in American history unable to work with Congress to produce anything more than a tax giveaway for corporations and the super rich, sucking up to dictators, turning his back on allies of the last 70 years, and showing that he is a vindictive, low vocabulary, incoherent venal leader who is selling the nation out to the Russians to who he owes his “wealth.”
Republicans support him because they too are enamored of political power and enabling capital to suck the nation’s wealth while disempowering any law to rein in their excesses. The Christian Right don’t actually love him but they expect him to deliver the Second Coming or at least patriarchal, Biblical law.
The fear of the loss of any or all of these is palpable in the 100% “die for you, my leader” attitude shown by every Republican drinking the Trump Kool-Aid. What else can explain the inability of Republican legislators to see reality that is in front of their noses? What else can explain something like Stephens or Brooks?
2
How does gerrymandering influence presidential elections (or senatorial for that matter)?
No to both questions.
Two points concerning Stephens' last two sentences -- which illustrate quite nicely why his "advice" should be summarily rejected . . . First, the fact that he would vote to save his wallet rather than save democracy says everything one needs to know about the grotesquely self-interested subset of our population who created the space for Trump in the first instance. Second, he and other purported "party-switching voters" did not vote for Obama in either 2008 or 2012 -- yet Republican nominees that were much more popular/less vulnerable than Trump were defeated. What is urgently needed is a bigger voter turnout in about 5 crucial states . . . not a candidate who appeals to Bret Stephens and his amoral, "wallet-first" ilk.
5
If Bret is still worried about his wallet he needs to examine his priorities.
3
Why in God's name are you not asking this question of Republicans, who are the real radicals? (Ask that "radical" Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute about that one. He has been concerned about the GOP being off the rails for some time.)
For shame, Gail Collins.
6
Andrew Yang polls highest among former Trump voters for democratic nominees. Give the man a chance! #YangGang
4
I like Amy.
I hope she stay in the Race as an alternative
to Rich Democrats.
I still don't understand why the Democrats don't
grasp that Trump is the backlash against
Identity Politics and Coastal Elites presuming
they and they alone must run the country and
rest of us Country Bumpkins must be silent and
do what they say.
9
Can Any of the Democratic Candidates beat Trump?
Every one of them.
In 2018 and 2019, states that Trump won by 30 points were won by Democrats.
Though it has been said numerous times, Trump is an illegitimate president. He lost the popular vote by 3 million votes and only won the Electoral College through the foreign targeting of 72,000 votes in swing states.
The key lesson from 2016 is that the Electoral College is the Achilles heel of American democracy.
But Democrats can legally use the same tactics - without support from a foreign government's statecraft - to ensure the Electoral College reflects the popular vote.
AI techniques can be used to ensure states reflect the popular vote to a statistical confidence levels by effectively and efficiently targeting independent and Democratic voters in purple and red states, and ensuring turnout.
Florida is a key state in 2020, particularly fighting the poll tax placed on voting rights restored overwhelmingly by the public. Texas could be a game changer for generations.
By neutralizing the power of the Electoral College to change the popular vote, it will encourage its Constitutional elimination and strengthen one person-one vote democracy.
Trump's national popularity has not ticked up from its lows and he in is the middle of being Impeached.
While Trump is popular with people who call themselves Republicans, it is an objective fact that Republican voter rolls are declining while Democratic voter rolls are increasing.
3
It is interesting that Bret Stephens is concerned about his wallet after helping push the U.S. into Afghanistan and Iraq. These 5-6 TRILLION dollar wars ( plus interest ) and they’re still continuing, somehow were OK? Even though many warned against both ( see latest on financial waste/propaganda in Times and WAPO ), Somehow, trillions for the healthcare, education, family leave, good day care and infrastructure for Americans is Socialism......or whatever the alleged conservatives are calling raising taxes this year.
Yes, many democrats voted for these wars, but zero voted for republican Tax Cuts. It is always Guns vs Butter........and in the U.S, Guns always win.
It is time for major changes through whoever can inspire us to propose much better priorities.
We know that is Not the republicans or their expected nominee.......unfortunately not Bill Weld!
3
I certainly hope that Mr. Stephens is wrong about Trump winning in 2020. That said, my 32 year old son has 10 friends who have left the US because of Trump and because they see the future in health care, wages, housing, climate change, even infrastructure as being a done deal where we, as a country fall into second world status. These are professionals, on the upward arcs of their careers and they are disgusted with what we've become. There's nothing funny about it anymore. A second term for Trump will mean the end of the middle class and possibly the end of our democracy. If Trump wins, there will be a much higher rate of emigration than we've seen in decades.
7
One thing about billionaires running: They may be less indebted to wealthy donors and thus more independent that candidates who must rely on donors.
3
The 2020 election is about what kind of country and values we want as a nation. If you can't decide after all you've witnessed in the past 3 years then you should sit this race out and let those have a point of view and real interest in our country decide things. To not have a point of view or perspective enough to cast a ballot one way or the other is an abdication of responsibility and citizenship.
6
Dear NYT,
For once just once come out and tell the truth simply and plainly; The Dems take the same bribes as the Reeps do and that is why we are doomed. Fyi they are NO "good" billionaires for the simple reason to become a billionaire you have to somewhere along they cheat millions out of money.
1
The tipping point for global warming approaches. The whole world cannot stand another four years of the most ignorant president and party in American history.
A vote for Bill Weld is a vote for the death of millions, perhaps billions from drought, starvation, and war. There must be a president who recognizes the deadly danger and acts to regain American world leadership in the battle.
4
Trump will not save your wallet, he will ruin all of us utterly. Sooner or later his kind of mendacious, malevolent, stupidity will create a real crisis, and then make it MUCH worse. OMG Warren wanted to raise my taxes is going to go on a lot of tombstones. Right under "but her emails".
3
The Bernie media blackout is real.
9
I hate to misattribute a quote, but didn’t Warren Buffett say, the class war is over and we won?
“We” meaning the rich.
So when Bret calls some of the current Democratic nominees class warriors, I guffaw a little.
Bret is, I think, one of many Republicans who think Trump is corrupt, repugnant, and perhaps even a traitor.
And many of these Republicans are so upset that they are even willing to vote for a Democrat... well, only a Democrat they approve of.
Free public university and decent healthcare for all Americans (known in Republican circles as “class warfare,” I believe) is a bridge too far, only a half step away from Stalinism.
It’s a comparison understandable only in the hysterical and weird world that Republicans now inhabit.
So, if Democrats should nominate a lunatic left winger (Che, where are you now?), Bret will be forced, FORCED I say, not to vote for her or him. He’ll vote third party or write in someone instead.
A bit craven, but should be enough to give Democrats the win.
1
@Objectively Subjective
People need to quit having babies they cannot afford to feed, clothe, shelter and educate.
Any single person and any couple can navigate life and the job sector if they can just not breed till they are financially and emotionally able to support themselves and an expensive bottomless pit depreciating asset for 18 years.
Bret Stephens just played his trump card (pun intended) with his closing statement. A “Never Trumper” will vote for whomever the Dems nominate for the General Election. A vote for Bill Weld is a vote for “Typhoid Mary”.
1
Music,, "I want somebody to love."
Just so you know,, I don't give a hoot or holler about Dems or Reps. I adore competence. I voted for Ford, I voted for McCain, I voted for Obama, I voted for Gore. Do not saddle me with any label,, it would be libelous.
The Republicans have no one. A bunch of sheep following Drumph. McCain's daughter might make a very good alternate to the bunch of Trump emasculated wimps. Where is a McCain or Hatch right when we need one? The few that would make a good Republican Pres,, are being cowards not challenging this autocratic boob.
Hillary Clinton could beat that sorry excuse for a man. (Trump)
And I think she would make a fine moderate.
Biden is very much a moderate,, but he engenders not a lot of excitement (shrug),, MAYBE I'd like that lack of excitement. Get some business done, some trade deals finalized,, I like boring.
So perhaps we get AOC to be his Vice? Fun mix.
But one who could storm the gates of the castle,, is Pelosi. Have you heard her speak? She refused to launch an Impeachment anything,, until Trump tipped over the apple cart and used US funding to bribe someone. That violation of the US Constitution was too much for her. (and me)
Pelosi would make a fine and trustworthy,, and I think a bit boring President. Just exactly my kind of President. (Maybe we will talk AOC into being her Vice too.
3
No mention of Bernie Sanders in an op-ed titled "Can any of the Democratic Candidates Save the Party from Itself?".
Does the NYT edit these things? I know this is an op-ed, but including all the leading candidates when answering the question above isn't an opinion, its basic due diligence. At the very least demand that your opinion writers make a full-faith attempt to answer the question they are posing.
5
Oh, please stop, you guys. Every one of the Democratic candidates is infinitely better than the re-electing the spiteful, demented and incompetent person currently occupying the office. And you both know it. So please stop with the phony "the Democrats are so uninspiring" mantra that you seem to love to espouse. It's not helpful, nor is it even particularly amusing.
5
And its all about saving your wallet, isn't it, Bret?
1
Always enjoy reading you, Gail.
America's great Democratic majority needs to put on its big-boy or big-girl pants, rise up and stop this ridiculous minority rule by a party of spineless anti-American hypocrites. To be a Republican today is to be a wilfully, even aggressively ignorant enemy of democracy.
So - no more Mr Nice Guy.
If the Democrats don't drop the gloves soon and get serious about mounting a vicious, bloodthirsty, no-holds-barred attack on the mendacious, lazy narcissist occupying the White House, Trump will lose the popular vote again, yet become President again.
Only in America....
1
Funnier than usual. Bret had me until his last “Trump over Warren“ comment. Anybody believes that is a fool.
2
Best shot for the Dems is to draft Nancy Pelosi at the convention. She can beat Trump, where others cannot. And (almost) the entire party would support her, given the alternative.
183
@GCM You must be joking. She has an almost identical caché to Hillary Clinton: loved by centrists, but utterly reviled by both the left and the right. If you want Bernie supporters to sit out again and lose an easily winnable election, Pelosi would be the ideal choice.
22
@GCM
A person that now says she knew Bush the Lesser was lying and chose to continue that lie for 20 yrs?
NO~!!!
11
@GCM
As a strong Trump support I fully endorse this strategy.
6
I am curious what a Ranked Choice Voting for caucuses would yield.
2
@James Siegel
Someone even more radical than Bernie...
The Dem's really don't need any "kind of reasonable (well, semi-reasonable) party-switching voter" to win. What they need is a candidate who brings people to the polls. Half this country doesn't vote, and it's not because the candidates aren't moderate enough, but because they are too boring. Trump was an exciting candidate to Republicans, he was loud and different. He created a core base that is excited to show up on election day. Sanders has this too, but the Dems are undermining him. What this country really needs is mandatory voting. Only when we have mandatory voting will reasonable people win. Right now it's about who has the most rock star status and is radical enough.
1
Economy??? The U.S. government's public debt is now more than $22 trillion — the highest it has ever been. The new debt level reflects a rise of more than $2 trillion from the day President Trump took office in 2017.
So how long will this charade of greed and facade of the good life hold up? How much more can we violate the planet and pretend there are no consequences?
Let's see what unfolds in 2010. I wager a major unraveling of the global financial markets.....It is all hanging by a very thin thread!
Dominos anyone?
2
There is only one valid question about billionaire Bloomberg: can he beat Trump?
1
Better Bill Weld than Trump any day. No, Brett, the Democrats don't have to chose a Republican-lite to make Republicans happy. If you don't like your guy, go ahead and vote for Weld.
2
The party needs to draft Gina Raimondo, the governor of our neighboring state to the south. She has earned high marks for her pragmatic leadership and ability to work with Republicans and the business community to get things done for her state. And Rhode Island is a good deal bigger than Bret's NYC neighborhood.
Ah, the fantasy world of NY Times columnists! I can play this game too. Any candidate the Democrats nominate will win, because GOP Senators will re-read their oath of office, experience a "surprising conversion," convict Trump, and remove him from office. There are approximately 200 million people in the US, over the age of 18, and any one of them would be a better President than Trump.
2
Well, Bret . . . somehow, we'll get along without your vote.
3
I believe that if the Dem leadership is truly interested in protecting democracy, rather than clinging to their own power, they should take steps to diversify the political spectrum away from the current duopoly. Some ways to do this is to set a federal minimum voting standard, that all states must meet or exceed and adhere to, or suffer severe penalties. While some may call this radical, I think we are at the point of 'desperate times call for desperate measures' stage. My basic structure calls for the following:
1.) Mail-in ballots are standard in all elections. Postage is pre-paid.
2.) Ranked Choice Voting is the standard in all federal elections.
3.) Election Day and the preceding weekend should be a federal holiday. Employers must provide one paid day off for employees to vote during this window.
4.) Voting machines should have an analog paper trail, separate from a digital record. These are then compared by hand in random batches in order to verify accuracy and minimize potential tampering.
5.) If the filibuster remains, place a limit on the number per congressman per session, and the person must speak on the floor on the subject at hand.
The effect of all of this would to hopefully limit extreme groups being the most effective at winning elections by diluting the parties into their separate factions. This in turn would force these groups to negotiate with each other, and not be able to so easily railroad a minority group if there is a majority.
Trump will not win the election in terms of the popular vote. He hasn't expanded his base at all, and has lost some support there. The problem is the GOP primary shutdown that is going on in the states, followed by the gerrymandered electoral college. If he is reelected, there will be a lot of civil unrest. Either way, it's going to be extremely unpleasant and potentially disastrous for all of us. Putin will be the only real winner.
1
If a Trump reelection looks plausible, we need to really focus on flipping the Senate. Even if he is acquitted in this Senate, he can be retried and removed in the next one. Double jeopardy does not apply.
2
I don't why anybody has a problem with billionaires "buying" elections. Didn't the Supreme Court (in the Citizen's United decision) make it pretty clear that -- at least as they see the Constitution -- that billionaires are supposed to be able to buy elections?
It would sure explain a lot.
2
The problem is that the US political system is rotten from top to bottom.
Both parties are fully paid members of the corporate state. Whereas the Republicans are intent on turning the biosphere into a sizzling greenhouse gas chamber as quickly as possible, the Democrats are content to sit by and do little to stop it.
By now the empirical evidence for anthropogenic climate change is absolutely clear. The prognosis is grim no matter what we do now after 40 years of procrastination as a result of political impotence and intense corporate lobbying and interference.
Too bad the Democrats would rather lose with Biden than win with Sanders.
One of the Democrats' heroes, Obama, recently said not that he would campaign against Trump, but that he would campaign against Sanders if he became the presumptive nominee.
Isn't that something?
1
Just a quick suggestion for your next dialogue (after the impeachment and before the trial): The impeachment is the judgement, and when DJT is impeached, he will have lost. Period. The trial in the Senate is not about the facts, and it will not change the fact that DJT abused his power, it is solely about whether or not he gets to keep his job.
Any reporter who uses words like vindicated, exonerated, or acquittal will be misleading the public. If the GOP keeps their warlord in the white house, all that can be said is: DJT keeps his job, after being found to be a criminal.
1
Although he didnt know it, Bret exonerated Trump.
"Hunter Biden’s job was a bad idea and an even worse look."
And with that statement, Trump had every right to ask Zelensky to look into it. Trump wasnt asking Zelensky to "dig up dirt". It was out there in plain sight.
"But it was not an unlawful deed ..."
Could be. But No investigative authority has every looked into it. So when the media prefaces every story about Burisma with "no wrongdoing has ever been found", its because it was never investigated.
"...and the former vice president had nothing to do with it."
Yeah, um, you have a bit of a problem with that one - nobody believes that.
Hunter himself admitted he probably wouldnt have gotten that job if his last name wasnt Biden, and his Dad wasnt VP of the US. The big problem is, Joe Biden strong arming the Ukranians by holding back that 1 billion (see quid pro quo) to protect his son from the Burisma investigations, of which there were many against Burisma's owner.
We were about to hand over 400 million. Hunter was making 83k per month, not 50k. Thats a cool 1 million per year for a job he showed up twice a year for, and never stepped foot in Ukraine. Joe Biden threatened the Ukranians to fire that prosecutor only after he raided the home of Burismas owner, and subsequently Hunter made a call to the State Dept..
You mean to tell us that our current POTUS doesnt have the right to ask about such obvious corruption?
And you want to remove him for even asking??
4
I was waiting for it Bret .. and you delivered with flying colors. Namely, if it came down to Warren vs Trump, and your wallet, you'd vote your wallet. And, I guess that means Weld (Trump) ... sad!
3
I liked the analogy to Typroid Mary.
Typhoid Trump.....has a nice ring to it.
2
If Buttigieg or Warren is the nominee, probably 40% of black men and 20% of black women will vote for Trump. That will put the nail in the Dem's coffin.
@Jonathan
No, they won't vote for Trump. They will just stay home.
2
Please Colin Powell or Condollezza Rice, switch party affiliations, or something, and help save the Dems from themselves.
1
Bret, we know you PREFER a moderate, but seriously, don't you think Che Guevara would make a better president than CurrentOccupant?
2
". . . don’t make me wind up voting for Bill Weld just to salve my conscience and save my wallet. Nominate a moderate!"
Bret, if you are not going to be honest with your readers than at least be honest with yourself.
As vocal as you are in your apparent pretend opposition to Donald Trump, a vote for Bill Weld is not a salve for your conscience and you know it.
A vote for Bill Weld by someone like yourself is a de facto vote for Donald Trump and an empty, meaningless form of self-expression and protest.
A vote for Bill Weld by someone like yourself is a vote for your wallet and that is it.
2
Normally, I would criticize NY Times' op-eds for gilding ideas that are hardly worth your readers' attention. Here you've gone in the opposite direction, and taken the lazy way of addressing an important topic. I am not going to read a conversation like this about the Democratic Party. Cable news is already full of talking heads.
2
Of COURSE Bret's main consideration is his wallet.
1
Every Democratic candidate so far is going to lose to Trump money campaign.
Only Bernie Sanders has a shot at defeating Trump in 2020.
There were Trump signs in the farthest reaches of the Upper Peninsula along the highways. The local elections do not have that much signage.
Most of the people in the U.P. could care less about Trump, somehow the invaders explained that he was honest and would make Washington "safe" for them. They were lied to and believed every last lie.
Bloomberg and Steyer could easily blow away Trump financing all by themselves if they wait until election.
2
More punditry than I can take in one piece!
The Democratic nominee will be the candidate with the most most delegates won through the Democratic primaries. That is almost a fact.
(There are 3,836 pledged delegates from the primary elections who can vote on the first round. 1,919 wins. The next and subsequent rounds will also include 758 automatic/appointed delegates. 2298 wins.)
The Democratic ticket will be the nominee with his or her choice of a running mate as VP which will likely balance the ticket to expand appeal to the big tent Democratic constituency. An older white man, Biden or Bernie, for example might run with a younger black woman, Stacey Abrams, Susan Rice or Kamala Harris.
If the Democratic nominee wants to even broaden the appeal of the ticket even wider, and to mitigate the age issue even further, Biden or Bernie could announce a few cabinet choices before the election. For example Susan Rice as Secretary of State, Andrew Yang for Commerce, Corey Booker or Kamala Harris as AG, Mayor Pete as Secretary of Defense, and Elizabeth Warren as Secretary of Treasury (if she would accept it.)
The idea that we need to choose one and only one candidate leads to inane columns like this one. The truth is that we should offer a team for governing the country and that the broadened appeal of such a team can achieve the big win in 2020 we need to bury trumpism forever, or for at least several years.
1
Must be Bernie Sanders dropped out? I didn't even see him mentioned which I thought was kind of weird since he places between first and third in all of the polls I have seen.
2
I can't recall who said it but it seems to have come true: Under American democracy, one day the morons will elect a President who is a moron, and worse yet, reelect him(?).
Michelle Obama-PLEASE RUN!!!!!!!!!
Really? You think we need even .more. obscene levels of income inequality? Gosh, I’ll have to respectfully disagree.
2
This columnist is assumed to have many personal friends who are billionaires? Who assumes that!
WT Heck?
And he is afraid of Elizabeth?
Hmmm, that speaks well of EW.
It isn't only wealthy politicians who are out of touch.
It's true. Democrats are not looking good. After 3 years of bitching & agonizing about Trump..the Dems can't find a clear winner. T---
-Look at what the Dems did in 2016..they blew it.
..-- And none of their current crop is any better than Hillary.. --The excitement from Dems is lacking. And Impeachment has already become a bit tiresome..
--Trump is actually looking stronger through all this (with the help fo the economy)..
7
What I find incredible is in a nation where we have certainly experienced "conservative" governing - and all that has brought with it including "trickle down" Voodoo economics, nearly the complete decimation of retirement with dignity, a declining standard of living and less ability to change one's financial stature, we continue to denigrate true progressive democracy - even though the country really hasn't ever experienced anything like this (with the possible exception of the New Deal). There is continued efforts to equate progressivism with communism (or nationalism), which it is not. While it is great to see progressive ideas finally being discussed as real alternatives to our current (lack of) governance, its sad to see that the purveyors are all old, white men - rather than representatives from the segments of our society that have been disenfranchised - such as women & minorities.
1
You'd find better candidates by looking under any overpass in LA.
1
Neolibs/Cons: Socialism never works!
Progressives: It works in Norway and Finland.
Neolibs/Cons: No, those are capitalist countries.
Progressives: Well, then let's emulate them.
Neolibs/Cons: No, that's socialism!
3
Its not up for any candidate to save the Democratic Party. Its up to voters to save the party by voting in and giving candidates the power they need to pass laws and ensure their enforcement.
No one is coming to save our country except voters. The Republican Party certainly isn't. The Supreme Court isn't. The Senate isn't. The toady we have as Attorney General sure isn't.
If you value the rule of law and the separation of powers, fight for your preferred candidate through the primaries but vote Trump out in November 2020 no matter who wins, be it Bernie, Warren, Biden, Buttigieg, or Santa Claus.
That and only that will save anything. Anything else is just weakness and lack of resolve. The greatest evil this country has seen in 100 years is happening now. Any Democratic candidate will do in order to stop the hemorrhaging and get these thugs out of power. What will voters be willing to sacrifice for our democracy?
At least 75% of voters will be disappointed that their candidate didn't win the primary. Please get over it and vote out trump, period.
1
Regardless that Mr Stephens chooses to write as an "Opinion Columnist", his remark "Hunter Biden’s job was a bad idea and an even worse look. But it was not an unlawful deed and the former vice president had nothing to do with it." is completely reckless and irresponsible. The Biden's actions must be examined by the proper channels, and resolved in that manner, and not adjudicated in a NYT Opinion column.
6
In 2016 a xenophobic, race-bating, conspiracy promoting, insult spewing candidate who bragged on tape that being a star allowed him to grab and/or assault women at will won 63,000,000 votes. How can a Democrat possibly compete against such a superb candidate?
1
Nope, clearly not, especially if you believe the latest polling that shows support for Hillary. The Democrats are incompetent nincompoops and they are going to insure another four years of Trump, they should be ashamed, but they are all too busy virtue signalling.
3
Relax, Pete Buttegieg rubbing with Stacey Abrams will do the magic.
@Vasu Srinivasan
Stacey Abrams is too smart to attach herself with Pete Buttigieg.
He'll by the early primary darling in Iowa and New Hamphshire, after that it's all uphill for him. If he can't make a respectable showing on Super Tuesday he'll be toast.
@Vasu Srinivasan
Neither is qualified.
Both have potential + giant egos.
Both need to win a STATE election, senator or governor.
Both have only had one elected job, he in a tiny Democrat Indiana town, she in a tiny Democrat all-black corner district of Democrat city of Atlanta.
Ctrl + F
"Bernie"
Search results: 0/0
"Sanders"
Search results: 0/0
Oh.
2
Can any of the Dem candidates herd cats?
2
@gratis
Trust me, herding cats is best done with catnip. There are few cats that can resist it.
The only political catnip any of the Democratic candidates have is beating Donald Trump.
Unfortunately, we have some voters what would rather actually vote for Trump if their favored candidate doesn't win, some may vote third party and some that will stay home.
"Can Any of the Democratic Candidates Save the Party From Itself?"
In all honesty. A headline like that. As a Democrat I did not want to read on. Nevertheless I peristed, however. I like this section of the paper too much.
Yep, it depends on the billionaire, and how bad their billionaire blinders are. Bloomberg is however a legitimate candidate. He was probably the best mayor that New York has ever had. And, yep, we should all be very leery of charisma. In any case, the skill set of making oodles of money is certainly better than the skill set of inheriting half a billion and then going bankrupt six times. Just sayin. Yep, Klobuchar is underrated. Yep, Biden's son was a Harvard or Yale law grad, forget which--a degree which opens big doors for folks like Biden and Kavanaugh. Yep, a vote for Weld would be one-half of an outright vote for Trump. Don't do it, Bret!
3
I just for the life of me cannot understand how any time the Biden thing comes up, there's this immediate follow up of, "But they didn't break the law." REALLY? How do we know?
3
Bernie, Tulsi and Biden will stand a half decent shot against Trump but anyone else will get steamrolled. Presidential Elections are far more about the rhetoric and the bombast than they are about the susbtance
1
I would be absolutely thrilled to read one article about the Democratic candidates that doesn’t claim Buttigieg has problems with black voters. These kinds of comments could make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. You KNOW you like Buttigieg, so why not praise him instead? You say the Democratic candidates snipe at each other too much, but they can’t compare to the carping by mainstream media columnists.
5
In promoting female candidates (Klobuchar) and dissing on Buttigieg by perpetuating the false narrative that he’s the only candidate “with a Black support problem” Gayle is ignoring the fact that in the last Quinnipiac poll Klobuchar was at 1%, Pete at 4% and Warren at a whopping 5% of African Americans. ALL candidates not named Biden have a lack of substantial Black support at this point, even Bernie who is at just 11% in the same poll.
4
You guys are a riot! Not one mention of Bernie Sanders. Not ONE! it is obvious to me at this point Democrats just want a brokered convention. No one wins on a first ballot. That will open the nomination up to just about anyone. So who will be the saviour? Not Hillary. She will Never live down losing to Trump. Look for Michelle Obama to emerge from the mist to lead the Democrats back to The White House. (Of course she's saying she is not running but when they hand you the nomination on a silver platter...)
4
How on earth would voting for Bill Weld salve your conscience, bret Stephens? Is it not the same as voting for Trump? Don't even think it!
1
“Progressive” Democrats are Trump’s best friends. Answer to the headline: No. not with this lot.
2
What is it with the opinion columnists incessantly going after the democratic candidates, and raving about saving the party from itself?
When you have the foul GOP destroying itself in every conceivable way and taking the country down with it, why on earth do you pick on the democrats?
They are a pretty benign group, all smarter than all the GOP put together, more or less attractive, and some of them even have nice, winning, personalities besides being well spoken and doubtless know lots of big words instead of malaprops.
None of which trump or any of the visible republicans have.
The proverbial ham sandwich should win against trump. But then there's the electoral college election rigging, voter suppression, gerrymandering, the Russkies, lies, propaganda, and the scourge of democratic socialism to throw in the way of voters.
I always forget that part.
1
It would seem the democrats are out to prove that lightening can strike twice and get an imbecile elected again, first by putting up a candidate (Clinton) that was even more loathsome than Trump, and this time by putting up a socialist or near socialist against him. Even though I know full well that if Warren or Sanders did win, none of their policies would make it through congress or, even if they did, they would be quickly reversed by the next republican President, why waste the time and effort. Let's hope that common sense prevails and that we have a real choice.
1
The ticket with the best chance to win is - Klobuchar for President, Bloomberg for Vice Preisident.
Bloomberg gives you the best chance to win Florida but the progressives won't support him at the top of the ticket. Amy appeals to all parts of the party and can help win enough rurl votes in PA, MI, and WI. Plus, Amy and Michael can win In AZ.
1
Not sure any of the current bunch of hopefuls can do that.
Just to show my point, the Democrats and Liberals kept chanting they needed a diversity, inclusivity, minority, female president. Yet all those keep crashing and never got over 2.5% in polls. Instead the night mare of the Democrats, the scrooge of Liberals and boogie men for the left, white old rich Washington lifers, are on the lead.
Maybe you should not have pandered to the left all this time? Maybe those 2.5% of the people did not represent the other majority in the Democratic party?
But it seems late now to change course from ‘we’re better than you’ to ‘please vote for us’.
Start working on 2024, get rid of the Squad and you might have a chance by then.
1
His name is Andrew Yang. He polls higher among trump voters and independents than any other dem candidate. His major platform is non partisan.The rest of the field, and DC in general have no clue about how to solve problems for the 21st century. Yang does. Hes the only one talking about the 4th industrial revolution. That unemployment number is based on how many are looking ro work. Our actual employment participation is around 60% which is less than Brazil. He is the antidote to trump and will crush him in the debates.
#yangang
2
@Anthony
Get back to me when starts polling above 5%. Right now, he's a dead candidate walking.
How about someone who makes sense most of the time? Obviously, Pete B.
Everyone saying things like "he’ll be acquitted in the Senate, possibly without a single Republican voting in favor of conviction" assumes that the Senate vote will be public. This could change if they use a secret ballot in the impeachment trial. Juleanne Glover's article suggests that this might be possible (https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/11/12/path-to-removing-donald-trump-from-office-229911) but many more leaders in the media will need to discuss the possibility for it to have a chance of happening!
It is not just about your wallet Bret. It is about all of our moral consciences. You need to expand your outlook beyond the Almighty dollar. You are a smart guy, you can do it.
1
News to me that it's not the Republicans who must be saved from themselves.
1
"Can Any of the Democratic Candidates Save the Party From Itself? (Not to mention beat Trump)"
C'mon now....you both know the answer to this question.
NO!
3
What sells more papers and on-line subscriptions? - Trump as President or Joe Biden? More people I know are regularly reading the NYT then ever before.
1
Bernie Sanders is the front-runner in several key states. Bernie Sanders! Bernie Sanders!! The Times refuses to cover his campaign. It refuses to acknowledge his popularity and the popularity of his positions on key issues. But as polls showed in 2016 and as they show now, he is the only Democratic candidate who can beat Trump.
2
Preach! Millennials, Independents and Progressives are the largest voting block in the country and we only trust Bernie to have our backs and we know how to fight for him, which is to fight for ourselves. Finally. Bernie2020
1
Buttigieg is as lucky as he is clever. He knows Biden will yell at one too many farmers, cuss ostentatiously to one too many assemblies of reporters, forget not to forget how not to forget the train of thought he thought he thought, and will settle for a book deal on how he let his son lay a trap for him the size of Melania Trump's allowance. This leaves us, faute de mieux, with a vessel of ambition straight off the glassmaker's pipe at Lalique.
I'm tired of this notion that Pete Buttigieg has failed to win over African Americans. I think their failure to gravitate to him says more about them than it does about him.
3
My answer to the Hunter Biden "job he wasn't qualified for, just because his father..." is: Oh, you mean the Trump children/inlaws?
1
Unfortunately, the Democratic candidates are now limited to old, rich white men. Can’t the Democratic Party do better ?
1
They only need to be more Republican right B&B?
The Democratic Party is replete with the “poor me persecution complex”. Always a victim of one thing or another.
3
The one (and only) interview done with Goebbels' private secretary revealed that Goebbels kept up his suntan, even in the Berlin winter. There was no mention of an orange tint, though-- early equipment, I suppose. Useful to recall that Goebbels was more than just the media specialist; he was the public front for the Nazi regime and the regime's key orator.
German good manners tend to dissipate in an overseas gene pool. The interview reveals how the secretary's first sight of Goebbels onstage was startling; she had never seen him in the role, "grotesque, ranting, crude, unruly." All of which means that J. Goebbels was more compartmentalized and rational than his eventual acolyte, Donald J. Trump.
I always find Gail and Bret’s column entertaining, but I have to say Bret’s casual, unexamined (and I would guess unconscious) misogyny is too much to take. This is not the first column in which he has touted pretty boy Buttigieg and maligned Senator Warren because he doesn’t “like” her.
3
I really don’t understand someone posing as a so-called moderate while blatantly using misogynistic themes all the while voting only based on the interest of his wallet?
What happened to community and social compact? Despise the republicans all you want but they actually manage to really just talk in term of values and principles. I wish democratic candidates would be less ashamed of democratic ideals and borrow from the Trump’s playbook of appealing to values.
1
Wallet over Country.
Not a good "look" Bret.
3
The title of your bantering between each other should be called bizarrely right, versus bizarrely light.
2
I’m warming up to you Bret every time I read you. You have even become a bit humorous, I’m chuckling at your lines too. Gail has that effect on people doesn’t she?
Q: (NYT) "Can Any of the Democratic Candidates Save the Party From Itself?"
A: No. 2020 will be a rerun of 2016, same cast and players, handlers and DNC clandestine operators.
So, what could possibly go wrong, er, right?
2
When did Bernie drop out of the race?
2
Sleepy Joe and Little Mike can easily beat Trump.
Probs go with low and slow Joe!
Nice try, but not even Gail Collins can make climate change denier Bret Stevens palatable.
1
A comedian once said he felt sorry for children because were such bad liars. As adults we get much better but most of us use it sparingly. It's simple you don't want a reputation of a liar no one will ever believe you.
Bill "How do you define sex?" Clinton could lie to you, you would know he was lying to you, he knew that you knew he was lying to you but for whatever reason you would go along with it and he knew it. Trump's cut from the same cloth.
Those sitting on the hearings weren't good liars. The only truth? It was being held because the Democrats didn't have anyone they thought could beat Trump. And I doubt the guy saying it believed it.
Odd, the NY Times has one opinion piece on how Bernie can win the upcoming election and yet I'm having trouble finding any mentioned of him at all in this article.
2
Shallow drivel. Gale needs to complete the paperwork and take the pension. Past her best-by date, by a long way.
3
I like the Typhoid Mary analogy but I have always thought of him as a Mafia Don who never directly orders anything done but everyone knows what he wants. Or the English King who asks who will rid me of this dreadful priest and they do.
1
What's wrong with Bill Weld?
Please take our elections more seriously. People are going to die as a result of this next one (and usually as a result of any presidential election). People *have* died to make this happen. At least give them some respect by taking the election seriously.
170
@Andrew
M.A.S.H, Catch-22, and Dr. Strangelove all took the military very seriously. Taking our elections seriously must include mocking things like gerrymandering, voter suppression, dirty campaign ads, red scares, untrustworthy voting machines, chads, and so on.
8
I really think Bret should relax about Liz. I don't like her either, but there is no chance whatsoever that most of her economic ideas will ever get through congress. So your wallet and mine are both safe!
1
HRC was a moderate, yet you found ways to hate her; so please stop talking about how only a moderate can beat Trump. The real problem is that this is actually going to be a close election. That there are enough people who have seen Trump in action and want more of it. Even if a Dem wins, and I pray to god they will, there are still going to be 60m+ people who vote for Trump.
1
There are two types of billionaires--those that made it themselves and those that inherited it.
Those that inherited wealth are unsuitable as leaders because they have no understanding of how most citizens live. It's as alien to them as living under water. They fear nothing more than having to live like regular people. That fear is the primary motivating force in their lives.
Not to over generalize, of course.
We owe a lot to those billionaires that made it themselves. Most have made it by contributing something useful to our lives. Most also understand how regular people live--having lived that way themselves.
But you don't get to be a billionaire without being extraordinarily obsessive and extraordinarily greedy. You must forsake family and friends in your restless pursuit of wealth.
While these people may be better leaders than those that inherited wealth, most suffer from lack of the emotional development we might hope for in our leaders.
It's better to select our leaders from the cadre of people that have devoted themselves to public service.
1
Glad to see Bret Stephens primary voting priority is his wallet. If the rest of us make our decisions on the same basis Warren / Sanders seem like a slam dunk. I probably ought to be careful criticizing him or he might email my boss to show his dissatisfaction.
1
The Democratic Party is doing quite well for itself. Democrats will always have a wide range of opinions, running from very left to somewhat right. That is the strength of the party.
The opinions of self-identified Democrats are diverse, for the simple reason that the backgrounds of Democrats are diverse. The Democratic Party looks like America, because it is America.
Once upon a time, the Republican Party tolerated and encouraged differences of opinion within its ranks. Those were halcyon years for our country and for our Democracy (the Democrats’ preferred designation for our system) and for our Republic (the word Republicans use for the same system).
Yes, Gail Collins and Bret Stephens, we Democrats would be foolish to nominate someone from the left edge of the Democratic Party, and we would be foolish not to include a woman on the ticket.
Donald Trump can and will be defeated soundly. It is ironic that a mean-spirited man of limited ability gained the White House by sowing division in our nation, and now he has united most of us in our determination to get rid of him.
SDW, oh how I wish what you said was true. Sadly I used to believe that a diversity of opinions mattered to my Democratic Party. It does not and has not for a long time. I don’t think that a woman should be on the ticket just to claim that we have a woman on the ticket. Identity politics is what’s hurting us. I believe that taking of life, regardless of age, is wrong. I’ve been told that I’m not welcomed because of these beliefs. I’m a middle-aged, middle-class white man living in the Midwest. Trust me when I say that I’m not welcomed in the Democratic Party any more.
1
@M Kelly
Sorry, but I just don’t buy what you say in your comment. You write that the Democratic Party is “hurting” because of identity politics. You then proceed to identify yourself, M Kelly, as “a middle-aged, middle-class white man living in the Midwest.” For what it’s worth, I am an old, upper middle-class white man living just a couple hundred miles east of where the Midwest begins.
You suggest, M Kelly, that you are against capital punishment and abortion and that because of your beliefs (the anti-abortion part, I guess) you are not welcomed by the Democratic Party.
I attend a number of events sponsored by the Democratic Party and have many long discussions with other Democrats.
Frankly, to use a term which has a renewed popularity, M Kelly, your claim of exclusion is malarkey.
Mr. Stevens,
We have just lived through 3+ years of discord, devaluation, and delusion by the foulest person ever elected or selected to the presidency. He would not be in office if people of decent intelligence but overactive "consciences" had chosen the good of our country over their own self esteem. Please, try to convince yourself not to do it again.
1
The Clinton/Obama strategy of winning by winning the moderate middle is dead. So yes we still have “moderate middle” voters such as Bret Stephens but they overwhelmingly tend to be located in solidly democratic states anyway.
The much larger reservoir of “Obama to Trump” voters is of a completely different kind: working class, culturally conservative and economically pro-tax the rich and pro-healthcare for all. Voters that in their own view have been thoroughly despised by and suffered from 40 years of pro-free trade democratic policies. Another Op-Ed writer, Ross Douthat, has it exactly right that a populist Democrat such as Sanders or Warren has much better odds of winning back some of these voters by turning right on cultural issues.
1
What irrelevant banter.
The Democratic Party is doing just fine. It is the first election in my lifetime that there are issues discussed because there are truly different ideas and people representing them on stage (and off stage). The only way the average American will learn anything about the political process and content as opposed to fluff that comes in sound bites is through what we are going through now. Maybe you can drop your masks and join the crowd of pupils out there listening to and learning substance from Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and what the vacuous American rhetoric is from Pete Buttigieg.
I learn absolutely nothing from anything Bret Stephens has ever written in the Times. Gail is fun but this is serious stuff so please get into your serious journalist mode.
3
Bernie beats Trump. Independents, Millennials and Progressives are the largest voting block. We will vote for Bernie.
4
Biden verbal attacks at a man at an Iowa rally last week tells the Democrats everything they need to know about Biden's third run at the Presidency, he is unstable and unfit to be President.
In fact, all of the Hunter Biden's jobs and boards seats have been created by his father; including his job at MBNA in his father's district, then as their lobbyist. Hunter used to ride with his father on AirForce 2 for his business meetings with his father's connections. Biden's response is deattached from reality.
Bloomberg will never resonate anywhere in this country, but on the Coasts. His comment about Booker being, "well-spoken" seems like a racial swipe, to me. Not acceptable.
I'm sticking with Warren. She will end the wars, rebuild the middle class and the infrastructure and raise up the working poor.
Her other proposed policies will find a more moderate ground.
The media and her fellow Democrats have done a good job at trashing her, but I am unwavering in my support.
Warren 2020
3
@Gus Respectfully, as a California voter, your unwavering support for Warren is irrelevant. While I am no Biden fan, compared to Trump a chipmunk is a fitter president so disparaging Joe for the sins of his kid seems mean spirited—especially since there is no evidence Joe himself ever did anything or would do anything wrong himself.
1
If Biden is the nominee Trump has won. The polls vastly underestimate the ability of negative ads to bring down turn out in Election Day for the voters Biden needs.
Black Americans? Easy: remind people of Biden’s role in crafting harsh and discriminatory crime bills.
Single parent? Easy: attack Biden lobby in favor of credit card companies and tell then he is the reason why alimony is secondary to card debt in personal bankruptcy.
The ethically minded one? Hunter Biden.
Most would not vote Trump. Does not matter. Trump just need to bring democratic turn out down.
That strategy will be much harder to pull off against any other democratic nominee.
1
Why are so many in thrall of the low unemployment numbers when it actually represents many working 2-3 jobs and STILL not making ends meet? I for one will never understand the lack of pushback on this supposed wonderful statistic.
3
Two observations about the Democratic primary:
1. The reason it is so messy is because Democrats are the only engine of political ideas in America today. They have to fight themselves because Trump has exploded conservative values and policies to the extent that the only thing the GOP seems to stand for is keeping power, greed, cruelty. The debates the Dems are having are important and a sign of intellectual dynamism within the party, not weakness.
2. Why does all coverage and criticism of candidates and the constituencies they are weak with ignore the fact that most candidates can solve that problem with a smart VP pick? Obama picked Biden for the coalitions he brought to the table and the next Democratic nominee will similarly address the weaknesses of their own candidacy. So why do the pundits never acknowledge this inevitability and instead paint candidates as unelectable? It is frustrating to watch otherwise good candidates be dragged down for issues that will be solved later.
1
I’m so tired of hearing about how good the economy is. The indicators we’ve used are out of date.
While gross employment may be historically low, so are wages. Most Americans have to work two jobs and even then ends don’t meet. Health care costs keep rising, taking an even bigger bite out of take home pay. Lack of belief that the future will be better is high. White Americans are experiencing decreasing life expectancies.
Look at the whole picture folks. Americans are hurting.
4
@Beth Cox Thank you, yes. Even my ivy-league friends, who have tried daily to get hired again since losing jobs in 2008, now live in unheated attics of their elderly parents and can’t afford ObamaCare. No metrics identify how widespread this is. Enough. Bernie2020
I'm not sure it's accurate to describe George Washington as "exceptionally" wealthy. He struggled with debt a good portion of his life. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read several biographies of him (it's been a while), and I seem to recall that finances were a consistent struggle for him.
1
Tulsi Gabbard would win.
Progressive Agenda but appeals to Republicans (and former Trump supporters) for her anti-interventionist, anti-corruption stance, beef with the Clinton Machine, and seeming disdain from within her own party.
Appeals to Sanders supporters for having similar policies and standing up for him against the Clinton Machine. And *should* appeal to women & other minority voters, being a young woman of color and varied religious background (Hindu & Christian).
3
I am glad to see that not everybody demonizes billionaires. It has become the rallying cry for the far left no different than the rallying cry that Trump uses against immigrants. What is interesting is that both segments (billionaires and immigrants) are cornerstones that have kept our economy vibrant. Self made persons that took risks and worked hard pursuing their objectives are to be admired. The same goes for immigrants as some of them risk their lives to come here. I recognize that not all billionaires contribute well to our economy just the same I recognize that not all immigrants are good......but enough of using these groups to unite and get people riled up. I happen to believe that Michael Bloomberg would make a formidable adversary to our wannabe dictator Trump. There are many Republicans here in the Midwest that tired of Trump and would vote for a centrist like Bloomberg. Lets get rid of Trump!!
3
Bret Stephens ought to explain why Elizabeth Warren is an anathema to him. She looks good to me. What doesn't he like? But then, there is no one I wouldn't vote for against Trump.
1
It's great to read to well paid wage earners whose employment won't be imperiled by the outcome of the election. They are so far removed from the challenges middle class folks face it's ridiculous.
This dialogue is so banal. It fails to illuminate, educate or inform. As entertainment, it falls flat.
Perhaps have your next conversation in a bar and include a few working class people in the conversation. It might not illuminate, educate, or inform, but it would be most entertaining.
4
@Andy
– A decent suggestion, but both Collins & Stephens would have to speak to, even feign a moment of respect for, those below their preferred socioeconomic cohort - never gonna happen on NYTimes pay stubs.
1
Sorry to say Brett, but the Democrats path to victory is NOT to convince you to vote for their nominee. The path is to motivate young and minority voters to come to the polls through offering a compelling alternative not just to the President's style but also to his policies. A "moderate" is not likely to accomplish that. Democrats can run center-left and win this election handily with the right messenger.
4
Mayor Pete has the "gift of gab" but his experience is extraordinarily light to be Commander of Chief. Mayor of a small town with a problematic record. People of color are not against Pete; his national polls voters of all colors numbers are consistently in the single digits. Biden needs a younger very capable VP as a backstop and assistant. That is doable.
1
This column is a good example of what the average Democratic voter needs to read, but the Democratic leaders would like to avoid. Good Luck Dems!!
2
The 2020 election will ultimately be fought for the future of America and it will be between two institutions, one human and one, an idea. The "Oligarchy vs, democracy". There is no more proof of this when someone like Michael Bloomberg can freely walk into the middle of an important democratic process and because of his wealth, circumvent it all without repercussions just because he can. These are the same types that want nothing more than to maintain and build their wealth while the "status quo" is their ultimate goal, they really have no other interests to do anything else.
I would only hope that finally this time around, despite Americans strange habit of voting for do-nothing politicians whose only desire is to serve the interest of their corporate donors at the expense of everyone else, they see how their vote will forever change the future of America.
A vote for Trump and IF he is re-elected, the Oligarchs win and democracy in America is dead on arrival.
1
In Simon Sinek's new book, "Leaders Eat Last," his research reveals that leadership is not about numbers, but about taking care of people. In our increasingly informed and integrated world, even booming economic numbers can't hide the reality that the emperor just doesn't like us. Without the signs of an affection for humanity, the election will likely bend toward justice, and a political return to our better angels. Let's do that.
1
"Well, it was good that he didn’t just tell the reporter: “Screw you, buddy.” Guess our standards are beginning to dip a bit."
There is a time and a place for that. It is great in its proper time and place. Screaming at an elderly farmer is not the time or place, but there is one.
Trump has taken us there. Bernie actually calls him on a lot of that.
3
In addition to the obvious benefit of being the incumbent Trump's has several additional advantages as we approach the 2020 election.
Advantage 1: Trump is absolutely certain of who will vote for him, what he must say, and what he will say regardless of how racist, to make his fans turn out to vote for him.
Advantage 2: Trump is absolutely certain of who will not vote for him and he will deliberately instigate attacks on him thereby further driving pro Trump voters to the polls.
When we further factor in likely Russian or other pro Trump interference, the skewed nature of the electoral college, and lots of money in the Republican re- election pot we realize that eventual Democratic candidate will have his or her work cut out for them. But all is not lost Trump will be defeated if there is a massive turnout of Democrats on Election day in 2020. There is time and it can be accomplished, but it is by no means a slam dunk.
4
We don't want a moderate. We've been electing moderates since Carter, and we still haven't litigated abortion laws in congress, we still treat minorities and immigrants as second-class citizens, black Americans are still waiting and fighting for reparations, our infrastructure is crumbling, our prison population is the highest in the world, and wealth disparity is still growing. Moderates haven't done anything but twiddle their thumbs and skim off the top since 1977. They've been lowering taxes on the wealthy, increasing them on the middle class, destroying labor protections, and ignoring inequality. We need real change, not a tax break.
10
Moderates have a pretty poor track record in winning general elections against more ideological candidates. When was the last time the more centrist candidate prevailed?
Obama, Clinton, Reagan and Carter all voiced notably more ideological visions than the opponents they defeated, and while W. Bush and Al Gore were both roughly equidistant from the center, W. was less apologetic about his stances.
You have to go back to McGovern and Goldwater to find campaigns where a moderates beat opponents with clearly more aggressive positions and that was a different era.
1
@A2Sparty
"Moderates have a pretty poor track record in winning general elections against more ideological candidates. When was the last time the more centrist candidate prevailed?"
Ummmm, Bill Clinton (twice) , Barack Obama (twice)
@GMooG Though a New Democrat, Clinton ran on policies that were strongly progressive, moreso than his opponents were conservative. In 2008, Hillary was the centrist who was beat by a more liberal Obama, while McCain was one of the more centrist GOP senators. Romney was hardly a fire-breathing conservative, while by 2012 Obama's record of the ACA and bailouts had him firmly cemented well left of center.
Republicans mainly rejoice in the idea that they are united in support of Trump, seeing it as a sign of certainty and rectitude, even as they exploit ideological divisions within the Democratc party and personality differences among the candidates. I'm concerned the dialogues between Stephens and Collins contribute to that political dissonance and corrosion.
1
Vegas Oddsmakers say Trump will beat any of the Democratic contenders. Wish this was not true but Vegas bookies make money by accurately seeing the world versus a poliltical bias that so many voters are encumbered by....
1
@Jon
Wow, the future of America is in the hands of a gambler, REALLY?
1
I think I'll start keeping count.
Another NYT article about people running for President in 2020 without one mention of Bernie Sanders, who seems to be consistently among top 3 in polls.
8
@Judy left out Tulsi and Yang too... as usual.
1
@Judy - NYT still beholden to same financiers who purchased same burial of Bernie Sanders c. 2016.
Fun fact: If non-billionaires in America were running for the Democratic nomination at the same rate as billionaires are, we’d have more than 1.5 million candidates.
Warren's critique on billionaires running is not their wealth, it's that their wealth gives them an outsize say in our gov't. Including to use their own wealth to run for President and get publicity for their ideas.
A benevolent billionaire still has outsize influence.
As for voting for Weld, Bret, I would say Trump has your number - "you have to vote for me; you have no choice. You’re not going to vote for Pocahontas, I can tell you that. (Laughter and applause.) You’re not going to vote for the wealth tax. “Yeah, let’s take 100 percent of your wealth away.” No, no. Even if you don’t like me; some of you don’t. Some of you I don’t like at all, actually."
It is going to take a bipartisan effort to get rid of Trump. We need Republicans with a conscience to stand up against him and acknowledge that Trump has found a home in the Republican party because of the party's decades long attack on good gov't.
2
"Class warfare is a bad look."
Why? Why is defending ourselves against the predations of the uberwealthy a "bad look"? Or is that the message the predator class wants us to hear? That "class warfare" is we common folk unfairly attacking them.
6
Only Bernie. Only Progressives...can save the "Democratic Party," by taking us back to its principles of decades ago, before they began taking BIG money from the same donors as wretched Republicrooks, before they began enjoying the benefits of gigantic tax cuts for the rich, and the mega wealth gap that straps at least 60% of American citizens, people who can't afford a $400 emergency, or send their children to college, or save for their retirement. ONLY BERNIE SANDERS, and PROGRESSIVES. (Oh, and btw, an impeachment trial in January will keep Bernie in DC, just as the corrupt Corporate Dems want, to derail his campaign. It's Pelosi's plan. She's trying to get rid of Sanders, not tRump.)
2
Can Any of the Democratic Candidates Save the Party From Itself?
No.
Between a party that refuses to stage manage its own presidential campaign, resorting to "Let's put on a show!" l'aissez faire passivity just when its needed least, and a crop of same old, same old among the unwieldy pile of candidates, there is no there there.
Now they've blown both Kavanaugh and Impeachment, making themselves look foolish at best, hysterical, and incompetent, there's little reason to expect voters to show confidence in whatever sorry soul wins the nod.
Its so bad I expect to see Old Waffling Susan riding triumphantly back to the capital, Liberty and Victory tattooed boldly upon her mighty arm.
Great - a coupe of rich Boomer establishments shills complaining that Democrats might actually nominate a candidate who will pursue the corruption that infects the entire establishment, make them & their friends actually pay their fair share of taxes and possibly, maybe, give working class people a seat at the table.
Can't have that, now, can we?
4
We do indeed need to be saved but from your philosophy. Government for and by the people would be nice.
2
Enjoyed this honest discussion, as there was no hidden agenda; all in the open. In that vein, your first point of contention: billionaires as political candidates; a bad idea, in spite of, or perhaps because of, their charity giving and philanthropy...actions that would not be necessary if plutocrats wouldn't support a status quo that squeezes labor for profit, creating poverty out of it's odious inequality. Insofar Hunter Biden is concerned, what he did is not illegal...but should be if we pass a law that says any relative of those in power must think twice for 'inviting' undeserving access to power. About Trump, a vulgar bully that has abused his power ever since his hysteric "Birtherism"...and fully supported by republican hypocrisy. He must be impeached to prevent him to re-assault the presidency with foreign asssistance.
So Bret you will oppose a Warren presidency to “save your wallet”? Now I clearly understand your priorities. Electing a President who will address the gross disparities in income among its population is not one of them.
2
Please, stop bashing the Democratic candidates and party! We need to get behind the platform and the candidates - yes, all of them. We have one goal only - beat Trump. The country will not survive another 4 years of his corrupt presidency.
1
The Dem candidate -- even Elizabeth Warren -- won't need Bret's vote. She'll need *new* votes. There are more eligible voters that don't vote than there are fence-sitting "Brets."
Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in each of the three swing states that took Trump over-the-top of the Electoral College.
Dems 2020: "Forget Bret. Get the Rest!"
2
Let's face it: the two-party system of democracy in America is irretrievably broken. The GOP will stoop to any depravity in order to keep their tenuous hold on their elected positions in the face of a changing demographic. The Dems are well-intentioned but hopelessly unfocused, disorganized, are terrible at messaging and have no backbone.
The Dems' - and America's - only hope is for no clear candidate and a brokered convention; after several rounds of inconclusive politicking and voting, all of the delegates unanimously coalesce around Nancy Pelosi, the one politician in America with the brains, guts, charisma, fortitude and governmental experience to vanquish Trump and restore civility and the rule of law. She is auditioning now and doing a darn good job.
Pelosi 2020!
Americans know there is something desperately wrong, in spite of the present strong economic numbers. Will the Democrats nominate a candidate who talks sense and inspiration at the same time? Candidates like that do not grow on trees! But Buttigieg may be the one, as Brett says.
Didn’t find the humor this week in this article, and that scares me.
3
We tried nominating a moderate in 2016 and look how that turned out. The "moderate" vote is not some monolithic bloc of people that will all of a sudden flock to anyone with middle of the road policies. If you want an answer to your question "Can Any of the Democratic Candidates Save the Party From Itself?" I have an idea. Look at the next article in the NYT Opinion pages and you might find your answer. There are a bunch of Bernie ----> Trump voters out there waiting for someone who stands up to the "establishment".
1
Really, Trump is sui generis and it is just about impossible to identify anyone on the national scene who is shameless enough to match Trump's obscene demeanor. What we can hope is that that very repulsive characteristic is sufficient to turn growing numbers of voters against his stain on America. After all, he lost the popular vote by a wide margin last time and that was when many voters thought he had better angels which would surface after his "victory". They didn't and he has not aged well. There is hope that the electorate has his number.
1
Going Far Left eventually becomes as myopic as being Far Right. The GOP doesn't eat themselves like Dem candidates like to do to each other. Taking the high road has got the Dem Party absolutely nowhere (Franken shouldn't have resigned, he should have gone kicking and screaming...that would be the GOP approach).
1
"Hunter Biden’s job was a bad idea and an even worse look. But it was not an unlawful deed and the former vice president had nothing to do with it."
First part: true.
Second part: not proven nor disproven, but taken on faith by the faithful.
1
People are starving for a leader who when he disagrees with someone does not accuse them of treason or being a radical. People want someone who does not hang out watching tv, painting himself orange, and tweeting nonsense.
People need FOX News and Sinclaire Broadcasting to implode so that the green screen can come down and they can see feel liberated to see what is actually happening around them.
People need to know that it's okay to vote against the chaos that they see.
This is what I advised to people who don't 'like' Jeremy Corbin: Hold your nose and think of the alternative. I think Bret Stephens and all those other 'principled' conservatives should take the same advice.
1
Deadlocked convention nominated Lincoln.
Love Bret's turn of phrase (Typhoid Mary) and poetry (Bold, Scold). Let's also not give up on the Democratic field yet. Primaries are messy. But voting for a third party candidate is a vote for Donald Trump. Let's not let Bret Stephens get away with that excuse.
Oh please. Bret Stephens opining on whether any of the Democratic candidates can "save the party from itself"? Just go away.
2
Can they save the Party from itself? Are you kidding? I'm more concerned about saving the party from THEM.
If every committed Democratic voter made it their mission to get two or three nonvoters in the age group of 18-25 registered and actually vote for the Democratic candidate, it could be transformational. Trump's approval rating in Texas is only +3. (He's actually DOWN one percent in Montana.)
Moreover, it's a strategy that I don't think would work so well for the other side. Why is no one on the Democratic side thinking strategically?
3
Bret Stephens is absolutely correct about the Dems nominating a moderate. I keep reliving the 1972 campaign in my nightmares...
5
"And I’m the kind of reasonable (well, semi-reasonable) party-switching voter the Democratic nominee, whoever it ends up being, is going to need to attract in order to beat Trump."
No, Bret is not. Any "Democrat" who can attract Bret will lose a lot of real Democrats, who just won't come out to vote, like they did not for Hillary.
A Democrat can't win by convincing marginal Republicans. The win comes from Independents and a truly motivated Democratic base.
4
"Before the election, we may very well get to see the Trump taxes."
If Congressional committees have legitimate needs to see tax returns that are otherwise extremely private, then they will be required to keep them private.
If the courts come to believe that the real reason the returns are sought is to release them for political uses, then they won't get the returns at all. Or they'll lie, and get in a lot of criminal trouble with the Federal judges who allow that.
That is called a pretext, and abuse of process. It is criminal, and the courts themselves are among the victims with power to take action.
@Mark Thomason
Neither the courts nor the executive branch have any reason to claim that the House can only ask for "legitimate reasons". That's not in the law.
"Upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives ... the [Treasury] Secretary SHALL furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request, except that any return or return information which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer shall be furnished to such committee only when sitting in closed executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure."
There is nothing criminal here. Courts have no business attempting to second guess Congress here, any more than they did with Trump's ban on entry from certain countries. Courts don't get to say what "legitimate reasons" Congress must demonstrate. Not their business. The law is clear.
@Lilo -- Congress passed conflicting laws, establishing some very absolute confidentiality, and another giving themselves an exception.
Then the Constitutional challenge to returns violating the 5th Amendment against self incrimination was a "trust us" law that it would remain confidential. The courts allowed the system based on trusting that.
Now the courts can in fact resolve the conflict in laws, and can keep in mind the "trust us" doctrine of confidentiality essential to the constitutionality of the entire system requiring returns.
So sure, Congress can get returns. It cannot then make them public and use them for political purposes. If its efforts are mere pretext for such partisan behavior, it won't get them at all.
Many evidently relish a partisan abuse that would make our tax system unconstitutional. They can have fun with those demands, but it is not going to work that way.
"I have a foreboding that Trump is going to win." -- Agree. The Times' own reporting on how the president's poll numbers are holding firm in the swing states is very dispiriting.
That being said, I am beginning to believe that Senator Klobuchar has a kind of anti-charisma charisma that could be a real magic bullet come next fall.
1
@redman214
Amy Klobuchar has absolutely no momentum. She is polling poorly in both Iowa and New Hampshire, two states where she should be a top three contender. It's even worse in South Carolina. She will be out of the race after Super Tuesday.
@Carl
You're basing that on polls; Klobuchar is running a steady stealth campaign with enough $$ to stay the course. Judging by commenters here and elsewhere, she is being appreciated for her real strengths and, yes, her "anti-charisma". At the least she belongs on every front runners' VP shortlist.
1
At this point, Elmer Fudd could beat Trump.
However, none of this matters, for Trump will have been removed from office long before next November's election.
1
@Ken : It would be a small miracle if your state of Missouri votes against Trump.
Ten and a half months from now we are going to have an election. That's for sure on the calendar. Everything you two schmoozed about is conjecture. Pelosi has just announced two articles of impeachment, focussed on l'affaire Ukraine. There will be a vote in the House and if the articles pass, there will be a trial in the Senate...and there are three possible outcomes: Trump will receive fewer than 51 votes for acquittal, or 51 or more, or fewer than 33 votes. Those are the only alternatives, and no one should bet his or her life on which ONE will occur.
I am certainly in the minority, but I think that there might be enough Senators who have a conscience to convict and remove Trump. Remember, 30 of them are NOT up for re-election in 2020.
You got this atheist praying!
Bottom line - we don't have a charismatic Barack Obama who inspired us and united us. So I am going to vote for the Democratic candidate and hope for the best.
I agree with you Gail, the impeachment inquiry was a mistake and when Trump is acquitted in the Senate, it will be fodder for his campaign and invigorate his base and the Republicans. This was a foregone conclusion before the inquiry began. Never has a President more rightly deserved to be impeached and removed than Trump, but removal is not going to happen.
Thanks for the banter. It did make me laugh and I appreciated that. We need a little cheer now.
Loved the "Typhoid Mary" remark. I agree - Trump like she, always escapes and somehow evades the law, inoculated against the consequences of his acts.
2020 looms large and I am afraid of what the future holds for this country.
1
Outside of war declarations and other emergencies, how many major policy proposals have past presidents been able to get Congress to make law? We aren’t living in the era of FDR—or even LBJ—and besides, we are electing an executive, not a legislator! So like usual after the necessary and important display of divergent views on the future of America, the Democrats will finally nominate the candidate whom they perceive to be the most electable—partly, but not even mainly, based on policy ideas—and this is how it should be. And it will be, in our telegenic era, based as much if not more on intangible personal qualities as on “stances”. My feeling, for example, is that there is one candidate, Mr. Buttigieg, who possesses those qualities as demonstrated in his rise from nowhere to a fan favorite...AND in his conscious decision not to let his candidacy get sunk by policy minutiae. If he does get nominated, all the labels will fall away and like it or not the race will be won or lost primarily on the power of charisma. In the meantime everyone should relax and let all the manifold voices of the candidates be heard, until it’s time for the voters to be heard.
3
"In the meantime, I have a foreboding that Trump is going to win."
It could happen. We need to face that squarely, not hide from it.
It does not have to happen. That is up to Democrats.
Trump did not so much win as be there when his opponent lost. That is how it could happen again.
6
Trump would have been tough to beat without impeachment, but the Dems odds will decrease significantly after his acquittal by the Senate. Bret is right: Trump is almost certain to win, so I suggest the Dems accept that and get creative.
Dispense with the primaries and announce right now that Mike Bloomberg will be the Democratic nominee for 2020 with Tom Steyer as his running mate. The Democratic National Committee should make it clear to the Presidential nominees that this is an opportunity for them to put their money where their mouths are and so they need to fund their own campaign. I don’t think that they’ll be willing to match Trump’s spending – his war chest is more than $2 billion – but hey, it’s their choice.
It is a long shot and maybe they’ll even but it doesn’t really matter if they don’t.
Not spending DNC money on the White House campaign will free up funding for the much more important House and Senate races. Democratic control of Congress will allow them to do to Trump what the GOP did to Obama – stop everything they don’t like.
This is the Dems shot to make things a win-win-win situation: Trump will be allowed to complete his destruction of the GOP (rendering the party irrelevant for at least the next decade), McConnel will no longer call the shots in the Congress (so we’ll finally get some beneficial legislation enacted) and Americans will finally be able to get the good night’s sleep we all deserve.
1
Let's see here. pretty boy trump (as he see,s himself) shackes up with a porn star, drops his pants for a spanking by her, whilst his third wife is home raising his 7 month old child, AND..... AND....has his frickin' picture taken with her!!!!! (probably for later bragging). Bad stuff? Yeah, but not bad enough to make Bret vote for any Democrat that runs against him.
3
"In the meantime, unemployment is at 3.5 percent and may go even lower."
*****
along with the low unemployment is the undeniable fact that many of those jobs are not paying enough to live even somewhat comfortably. Those employed often have no medical insurance, work less than 40 hours a week, are called "contracters" instead of "employee" so the company can hire and fire easily and not have to provide benefits.
People who work for Amazon in their warehouses are suffering under bad working conditions, but, what the heck, having the 3.5 unemployment is the only thing that matters.
If we wind up with Trump again and the economy is the only reason some feel he is worth voting for, then the chaos and divisiveness and torrents of lies and dishonestly will be doubled as he will consider it his right.
America needs to have a voice in the world, one that is respected, listened to, and seen as a country that, with all its faults, tries to do better.
Trump has made us into a country that doesn't know what is going on, where it stands in the world, and is considered by dictators as its strong friend while its allies have been told that they count only if they understand America comes first in all things and their needs and requirements are valueless.
7
@Sajwert
The low unemployment rate is really an illusion in that we really do not know what type of jobs are included in these numbers. We do know that anyone that happens to be working any number of hours for any rate of pay are included which means a part-time worker at Walmart or any service industry making not more than minimum wage is living under the poverty level and we can be assured there are countless examples of this.
I would submit when America still has the worst poverty levels of any industrialized nation, the highest number of people sitting in jails and HALF of the population is living paycheck to paycheck and couldn't come up with the $500 to pay for an unexpected emergency, what is the point of these numbers? Forget it, if any healthcare emergency arises as well. To them they mean nothing, it should to the rest of America. You are being conned.
3
People won't vote for P. Buttegieg. Party regulars and far-right working to undermine him as we speak. Baby-boomers (Clinton, Bush/Cheney, Trump, Biden) have brought the country to its knees w/self-aggrandizing and lobbyist-driven philosophies and policies of general fiscal irresponsibility, addiction to debt, warmongering, support of the military industrial complex and status quo. No one can beat Trump. Bloomberg is just more of the same. People see through him and his strategy/ies; Deval Patrick should also announce that he's getting out. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren may not be nominated, but the die has been cast. If the country and its form of governing as a democratic republic is to be saved it will be left to a younger generation of Americans who simply have nothing to lose … no car, no kids, no mortgage, no jobs.
3
"we New Yorkers have a recent history of electing unlovable people"
NYC's Al Smith never made it either, although he was the 1928 candidate, and he helped create the coalition that took FDR into office.
He then opposed FDR and his New Deal, on behalf of big money. Perhaps that is where the problem lies, along with the appeal to Bret.
2
This is the democrats' election to lose. So far, they are doing a very good job of losing. Maybe they have to keep losing and hit rock bottom before they can figure out how to win elections again. And impeachment isn't helping. Although it's the right thing to do, it will hurt the democrats and lead to Trump's reelection.
2
The fix is in. The Pentagon picked Don Trump because he is dangerous and spent his formative years in the New York Military School. He's a Billionaire, so is Bloomberg running on the Democrat side. He wants to disarm the nation and once called the NYPD "My Private Army" around the time of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. Both men are aligned with the Television industry that has enslaved us. The fix is in that a Billionaire Television man will win to protect them.
1
@PATRICK
What? The Pentagon HATES Trump. And why would they care about him attending some private faux-military "academy" for poorly-behaved rich kids?
Most of the people commenting here are clearly inside of their little bubble and are so far away from any of the people who actually matter. One fella here says “it’s about jobs” and it is: the powers that be do so much to screw up the country, gutting social services and the like such that they can make jobs in the evil sectors that they want because it’ll make them the best profits and no one has the opportunity to “fight back” by really being able to choose a good job. Ideally this is a job that will protect them from the forces of capital that will constantly threaten them: so, a union job!
It was made very clear in 2016 that the voters who are most vulnerable (and make up most of the country) want something DIFFERENT that actually speaks to their class interests. Not elitist NYT moderates, but someone who actually speaks to them. The only ones we have are vulgar Trump (from Latin, simply meaning common) who made fun of the elites, and Bernie Sanders, who wants to protect the working class from the elites.
Bernie is the only candidate who would actually win because he is the only candidate that would
help the working class (THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS) with literally any decency, principles, clarity, or responsibility.
It makes my head spin to think anyone would consider any other Democrat.
4
Bret, you know very well that if Warren became the nominee a vote for Bill Weld is a vote for Trump. You would really rather Trump be President than Elizabeth Warren? If that's true, so many of your anti-Trump sentiments over these last few years right very hollow.
9
Oh, now Gail Collins adds her voice to conservative Bret Stephens to disparage the Left. But it is the Left alone that has the correct answer for America.
What better opportunity to slip a true liberal into the White House? Choose, America - a raging Christian fascist, or a humanitarian answer for humanity. What do you want? More Christian wars, jail stuffing, and poor bashing as we sink every deeper into the swamp of inequality?
Choose America. Greed is good and war is good- as the Christians vote, OR science, wisdom, intelligence and enlightened compassion.
These Republicans are NOT OK. What we have is a spiritual disease in America because Christianity now sucks. It stinks. Wars, jailing, guns, and inequality is what the Christians have wrought upon America.
2
@Tracy Rupp - I'm not a Christian but have to disagree with your comment that Christianity now sucks. Hillary Clinton is a Christian. So is Joe Biden, Warren, Mayor Pete, Yang, Booker, and Klobuchar.
So, unless the Dems go with either Gabbard, Bernie, or Bloomberg, your next president will be Christian.
"Class warfare is a bad look." For centuries, the wealthy have been waging class warfare on the working class and that's perfectly fine, don't say a word, it is the unspeakable truth. As soon as the working people lift up their heads and shout "stop pissing on us," clutch your pearls and cry how this will divide and ruin the world. It's always about, I have mine and screw the rest. Progressives are not just talking about putting the rich on a diet, they are talking about making the pie bigger and dividing it evenly. No wealthy person earned their wealth honestly or through hard work. If hard work made you rich, there would be millions of people who are busting their backs working 60, 70 and 80 hours a week who would be millionaires, but instead they can barely pay for the essentials, let alone afford luxuries like health insurance, life insurance or a retirement account. We have Trump because people are desperate for real change and too many bought into his con. Nominate another moderate and expect low turnout and another four years of disaster. Give us someone who will at least fight for change, even though they are going to be held back and tempered by Congress.
5
When Bret scolds Warren as not a moderate he misses her essence.
She is exactly the same thing as Hillary, a well-informed and decent Republican.
Bret's problem is that taking your principles seriously can't be done by ploughing straight down some arbitrary middle -- for any principles whatsoever, least of all moderate ones.
2
the biggest problem in politics is an infantile belief in purity, for dems this is mostly a problem of the coasts, people on the coasts live in bubbles just as much as any conservative, they sit around feeling super self righteous just in a different way, in the conservative bubble it’s purity for guns and god, for liberals it’s purity for social justice, it’s not a fluke or an accident that only southern and midwestern liberals have won the presidency, that includes the senator from illinois Barack Obama, it’s because the coastal liberal candidates political skills are very very limited, they only talk to people who agree with them so they don’t develop the ability to talk to or persuade those who don’t already agree with them, it really is that simple.. and not a single one of these billionaires will ever be president
2
So no mention of Bernie? And why is that?
3
So Bret is content with a throw away vote. It tells me a lot about his character.
7
Trump a ‘billionaire’
Laughable
Might be the only individual in history loss a few billion through mass incompetence
3
Hey Bret, did you not read “Finland Is Our Capitalist Paradise” in Sunday’s Times? This is the kind of society and government Sanders and Warren are talking about, and it’s nowhere near as radical as you seem to think it is. Just try to imagine a government and politicians not owned by wealthy interests. Feels kind of good, doesn’t it?
610
@Tom R
And besides, is Brett that wealthy that he will be hit with a high marginal tax rate, or his estate will not all go to his beneficiaries? What's this with his fear that Elizabeth Warren will empty his wallet? [And if his income is really that enormous, then he should be happy that he is so rich, and he should be glad to share some of his wealth. What does he think is so precious about being fantastically wealthy that it trumps Trump destroying our democracy?]
46
@sjw51
Actually, Finland does not have an oil fund, and is not a member of NATO. That would be Norway on both accounts.
74
@Tom R - Yes, and sounds like Stephens wrote the headline for this article, completely ignoring the whipping GOP'ers got in 2018's midterms, all around the country.
Dems are doing fine by staying focused - and yes, the Billionaires-R-Us crowd on the Forbes 400 List of Shame should be worried. Instead of supporting policies to reward Jane/Joe Sixpack for bailing out capitalism in 2009, the Billionaire crowd went on a 'job creators strike', per John Boehner's bragging to the Economic Club of Washington in Sept. 2011, as Billionaires tried to extort tax cuts for themselves:
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/us/politics/jobs-speech-by-house-speaker-john-boehner.html
Democrats remember.
5
While the Dems keep saying 'they'll all rally around together eventually', time has moved along. Bloomberg is the only one who can beat Trump, the rest are weakened by their own party's hatred of the moneyed class. President is a big grown up job, it needs a leader not an identity politics crowd pleaser. The Democrats act like the minority party. Bloomberg is great on clean energy, multi-racial inclusion, separation of church and state, private enterprise as a freedom, dangers of monopolies, Bloomberg is the good guy who knows how to lead. The rest are just politicians playing with big promises they never can keep.
@Bill Evans
We saw Michael Bloomberg's version of multi-racial inclusion during his tenure as mayor of New York City.
Sorry be many people are not buying it.
The biggest beneficiaries of his policies were the investor class.
2
This is a strange moment, but it's only a moment in the Presidential primary season, and nobody has voted yet. Also, news coverage has turned away from the campaigners, so I at least have no sense of how the campaigns are going, except that some candidates have left the building.
Bret and Gail don't really deal with the question; sensibly, they focus only on the moderates. And we are spared any mention of "civil war" within the Democratic Party.
The great strength of the party, and something approaching Unity, has been obvious -- even to some Republicans, though they would never admit it -- in the impeachment proceedings. And now, also, in completion of work on the North American trade agreement. Next, I guess, agreements on the budget and avoidance of a government shutdown.
As James Siegel notes - the voters are the problem. The sociologist Alfred Schutz fled Nazi Germany and found an intellectual home at the New School for Social Research in NYC; Shcutz composed an essay published in 1946: "The Well-Informed Citizen." He identified three "ideal types" - the expert, the man-in-the-street and the well-informed citizen.
As a sociologist I present Schutz's ideas as applicable to modern US society: the man-in-the street lacks critical thinking skills; they operate according to preconceived "recipes" for social action, including voting, that preclude any consideration of evidence, but rather rely on models of the social world derived from TV, social media, and authoritarian leaders.
The well-informed citizens are those who engage with the social world beyond dualistic levels. They seek facts and make decisions based on an assessment of multiple sources of knowledge. They accept ambiguity. This is not elitist, although it may sound that way. The well informed citizen does not necessarily rely on educational credentials - they are ordinary people, who read and think beyond their silos.
Voters who seek simple answers to complex problems are those who vote for Trump. They are Schutz's man-in-the-street.
3
My take on "saving the Democratic Party from itself?" It's that all the pundit class has written off anyone Dem voters like as unelectible because: too old, to progressive, too middle of the road, too white, too female, not female enough, too rich, not rich enough to fund a campaign. The party is written off for (see above). The voters like Joe (too middle of the road, too old, too white, too Hunter, whatever), Pete (too not liked by African Americans, too white, too young, mayor of too small of a city, not gay enough, whatever), and Bernie (too old, too grumpy, too progressive, too whatever). I guess we all should just crawl into the holes the pundits have dug for us, and wait out the next several years until a new voting cycle. This really, really is aggravating. It tells us nothing, except that you pundits don't trust the electorate.
3
Lovely dialogue between columnists who seem to respect each other and the Constitution. But neither in the colloquiy nor in the fine comments do I see mention of the Wall, the imprisoned migrants, the starved, unwashed adults, the ill and snatched children. Little enough is said about the ruined international relations, the decimated diplomats, the celebrated dictors, the deserted allies. Are these not the results of Trump and the GOP seizing power?
Fr snatching powers from Congress and the cre of defenders of the system is what 4 more Trump years would see, and no Dem, no matter how "thin" his resume or thick his aging hide or hers would do that. Let us be hones. All together, "We want America the Beautiful Back". "Now".
And let us go forward in solidarity with DACA, hungry immigrants without papers, even those struggling in Red states with the burdens of shameful voting barriers and slavery's detritus. It's all or nothing now. And to neglect. We must not enable Trump and his Gang. To block them, I'd even vote for Rin Tin Tin.
2
Is Gail being swayed by Bret? The country and the world need a clean break from the wishy-washy liberals that have been responsible for the emergence of "populists" like Trump. Beware the libertarian liberals who defend capitalism without control, they are like the Republicans who hate "regulations."
1
Bret Stephens, a pundit who lives in Manhattan, believes himself to be the kind of "swing voter" that needs to be won over in 2020. I too like to imagine myself as the only voter who needs to be appealed to, but it is a little delusional and self-absorbed.
3
Al Franken could have walked away with 2020.
8
Unbelievable that the candidate polling in 5th place, Andrew Yang, is not mentioned anywhere in this article. As an independent, Andrew Yang is the only Democrat that I will vote for.
1
Here we go again. If the snowflake can’t have his largely unpopular “one and only”, he wont vote for any of the Democrats. Despite third party delusions, we are a TWO party system. If you don’t vote for the Dem, you are in essence, voting for the GOP.
1
I always enjoy this exchange between Gail and Bret, but Bret reveals his true colors in this column. I’m thinking that he’ll be voting for Trump no matter who the Democrats nominate. He’s just another selfish Republican who cares nothing about the greater good.
5
Bret may vote for Bill Weld.
Bret lives in New York.
I don't care who Bret votes for.
Now, if he lived in PA, MI, or WI....
4
As long as the Dems are a party that Collins and Bedbug support, the answer is Rove's "permanent Republican majority".
@Happy.... I just don’t get it. I think Trump is so glaringly horrible by measure of every standard, that even Howdy Doody would be a better choice. Surely the least of the Democratic candidates is better than Howdy, isn’t he or she?
I am in that camp that thinks we are at a Republic/Constitutional crossroads. Four more years of Trump will irrevocably harm our country. I really, really care. I am so disappointed that so many don’t.
Never a mention of one of the consistent and gaining candidates.
Bernie. I'm afraid, like Trump, the NYT never saw what was coming again.
3
Not a single mention of Bernie Sanders in a piece w/ headline about 2020 Democratic Primary. I’m beginning to think The Times is akin to CBS News, ABC News, AT&T, and Comcast (i.e. NBC News). Of course, NYT fervently endorsed Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, in order to avoid a Bernie Sanders presidency at all costs. I sincerely think The Times prefers a Trump presidency to a Sanders presidency. Sanders is clearly the only one of the Top Four with a shot of beating Trump. He was polling 10 vs Trump in May16 head-to-head composite averages, while Hillary was 2 or 3 at the same juncture, per Real Clear Politics. If Sanders isn’t on the ticket (no matter the order), forget it, the activist wing will vote third party (or write in) & Trump will win.
1
Good God. If the “activist” wing doesn’t recognize that any of the announced candidates is a better choice than trump,, we are doomed.
1
@BBH And same for the "Moderation or Death" wing. In case that hasn't occurred to you.
We have had our dose of Trump and an inverse Rabi Kushner question is raised; Why do good things happen to extraordinarily evil, ignorant, amoral people? Will the people chose to stay with this damaged president because of this Alice in Wonderland economy that his buffoonery seems to cause? No Democrat can offer a 'better ' economy . Trump looks and acts like a drug dealer. not a President.
3
George W. Bush was made managing general partner of the Texas Rangers for what was chump change for his family. And he had no particular expertise in professional baseball.
Just sayin'
This was depressing.
... and Bernie Sanders? Not worthy of mention?
1
If a democrat would just embrace all Republican issues, then Bret would vote for them.
Bret, if you vote for Bill Weld and help re-elect Trump, that's on you. Not us. We Democrats get to decide. You Republicans blew it and let propaganda feed the fire that elected Trump because you thought it was worth the price to pay for lower taxes etc. Now you got what you paid for. That's not our fault. That's yours. We'll nominate who we please, thanks.
1
Sounds like the US is a lost cause.
Good for nothing.
Time to junk it.
1
Merry Christmas to all and a trump less future to us all!
I'll vote for anybody running against the Reputincan party standard-bearer.
4
@Roget..... I am wholeheartedly with you. I hope our inter party squabbles sooner rather than later coalesce around the FACT, that it is a choice between Trump and the Democratic nominee, whether that nominee be progressive, moderate, or a DINO.
It’s him or the other. Look suspiciously on third party candidates. They do nothing except enable trump.
Democratic Ideologues!!! Please!! Get off the soap boxes and lets come together. First order of business is to defeat Trump.
Those here who point to the middle of the country as the election battle ground are on the mark. If Trump wins we get nothing. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Worse than nothing - four more years of disaster at home and abroad. Please!! We need to get real.
(Today I'm for Amy and Pete.)
1
Absolutely amazing that Bernie isn't mentioned. Doesn't Collins and Stephens have any opinion about the candidate that raised the most amount of money from the most amount of people? Don't they have an opinion about the candidate who has raised money from more people than Trump? Don't they have an opinion about the candidate who consistently polls at the top including polling first in many states? It's shocking they have no opinion about Bernie, or is it exactly what we should expect from the NYT?
1
@mempko
Personally, I am waiting for Bernie to join the party (Democratic) that he seeks to lead. Why does he refuse to join the Democratic Party?
1
Nothing more risible than the Republicans complaining because no one will save them from the leader of their own party. More in order would be a retreat to review the last five years of your columns and see how they aided and abetted Trump's takeover of the party.
Though takeover is too strong a word. It's more like he simply cashed the check that written to him.
1
The concept that we keep hearing in the press that we need a moderate Democrat in order to win is odd. What passes as a moderate Democrat is pretty far right in the rest of the world. How will we ever catch up to the rest of the world (yes, we are behind no matter what we want to believe) with health and child care for everyone, reducing our impossibly high per capita carbon footprint, and doing our bit to save this planet by and taxing the billionaires in order to do it by electing a moderate? There is no time to lose.
"Roaring economy?" Not for the people who can barely break even, are working two jobs (no bennies) and know they're just one accident, one divorce, one downsizing, one health catastrophe (cancer, anyone?) away from homelessness.
A family friend, in his 30s, with a good degree from U WYO Laramie, can't get a job. He's worked a series of lousy retail jobs to pay back his college loans. Has a seizure disorder and can't drive. Told me that he's had up to 3 personal job interviews at times, aced them all, and never got the courtesy of "we hired someone else."
Just quit the latest retail job--handwriting on the wall. They were cutting staff, giving him more and more work that he couldn't handle, looking for an excuse to fire him.
So he's living w/his parents, and dreading the day he loses healthcare.
Why do people have to create heart rending stories to crowdfund their medical treatment? How demeaning. And our fearless leader has already cut Medicaid. What makes him so needlessly cruel to the weakest and most vulnerable among us? If he were really a Christian, he'd remember that Jesus commanded his disciples to care for the "least of these."
He'll be after Medicare next--but the boomers won't stand for it.
1
I hate to continuously rant about the obvious, but one of the bedrock planks of the Republican party is no taxation for social programs. It’s part of their DNA.
Why, oh why do people dependent on some sort of social assistance, like medicare or social security continue to vote for these guys? Honestly, the GOP is only pursuing exactly what they have always said they were going to do.
Wake up America. Accept the notion that “those others” might get food stamps. It is in YOUR best interests to vote Blue.
2
Well Bret, Well Gail as to your main question-In a word, No. The 2020 Presidential election seems to me shaping-up to be a replay of the 1972 election when the Democratic candidates lined up to take on a very beatable, corruption filled Nixon Administration (which was still burdened by a crumbling Vietnam War effort). 12- 18 months before the '72 election however, someone forgot to tell the Democrats to save their big guns and best ammunition for the coming battle against Nixon, and the Democrats instead spent the best part of 1970-71 bloodying and beating each other up.
So, no to your question: Do the Democrats have anyone currently who during peacetime can beat a President who has a roaring (deficit driven) economy, who is as well entrenched with his base, and has his own dedicated network of master media manipulators?
But there is, however, someone in the Democratic Party who has the grit, instant credibility, public trust and masterful media skills that could instantly put an end to all the Democratic squabbling; and more importantly, this person could bring back the public focus onto the rolling Clown Circus that is the Trump Administration- but she is reluctant to run. So, back to the future. 1972, here we come.
1
This is obviously Trump’s race to lose. The consumers are spending and the businesses are hiring.
Someone needs wake up Biden before he mangles another voter asking about Hunter’s foreign influence peddling, tons of money, or the baby.
1
The Democratic Party should recruit, nominate and finance George Clooney to be their presidential candidate in 2020. The party’s current candidates have destroyed each others’ chances to win any election.
George Clooney is an internationally renowned political, humanitarian and economic activist who already commands the respect of most world leaders.
He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Mr. Clooney supports LGBT rights and more stringent gun control. He should position himself as a moderate.
Above all, George Clooney would behave as a president should.
2
Collins and Stephens try humor, but we see democracy dissolving before our eyes and that is no laughing matter.
I was reflecting on the 2016 election and came across articles in the media at the time by Democrats which accused Hillary Clinton of stealing the Democratic nomination by funding a huge deficit in Democratic Party finances. Sanders didn't joint the accusations, of course. He seems to avoid the gutter.
Those allegations, from Donna Brazile no less, seemed to be based upon information gotten from the infamous Podesta emails hacked into by Russians and broadcast by Jullian Assange. Does it matter that the allegations may have been true? If so, was going after Trump for Russia's hacking into the emails is blaming the messenger for a true if unwelcome message that voters needed to make an informed decision.
I look at Julian Assange rotting away in a London prison and wonder if he isn't being unfairly blamed for sending on a message that might have saved Democrats from themselves.
Mistakes are occurring once again as we face 2020.
It is likely that impeachment will succeed, but conviction fail in the Senate setting the stage for another impeachment if Biden wins, based upon Hunter Biden's sins.
In a highly polarized political environment it is not the case that is right that always wins but the affinity group that is largest when votes are cast.
When party membership is everything truth becomes dispensable.
In 2016, the Democratic leadership, declaring that the people don't want big structural change, anointed a "moderate" establishment figure who turned out to have the appeal of a jar of jellied eels. Are they going to make the same mistake again?
Ok, well this piece didn't say much. Hey I'd like to take this opportunity to ask: Does anybody else really like Cory Booker? Not many are talking about him. I think he is an inspiring leader and a great candidate.
4
@Jake I like him. I'm surprised he doesn't have more traction. Thoughtful, diplomatic, charismatic, and possessor of a vision for America. A gifted speaker. Outstanding resume. As you said, inspiring.
Perhaps he's not seen as the brawler type supposedly needed to defeat Trump? Or, more ominously, perhaps he doesn't have enough MSM support. One has only to consider this column with Gail and Bret to see how our choices are influenced/guided by the media. I can understand no mention of Gabbard or Booker, but why the omission of a strongly polling Bernie? Is he being discounted, yet again?
1
The Democrats should be dominating the elections but Trump has driven them crazy. Each one tries to go farther to the left than everyone else. All my friends that are Democrats are normal people that don’t feel represented by any candidate.
1
I loved the Typhoid Mary analogy, but she was immune to typhoid fever, not typhus.
President Reagan is supposed to have said, "If I can get 80% of what I want, I'll take it." Even with a Democratic Congress, President Warren would be lucky to get half that much satisfaction for any of her Plans —but that portion will move this country closer to fairness and economic justice than !00% of anything a President Biden would seek.
Biden' slogan seems to be M A N A: Make America Normal Again. [A] We can't go back to 'normal' because Trump has broken so many parts of it, and [B] that 'normal' neglected and dismissed 80% of our citizens. Time for a change.
C'mon Bret, give Warren a chance to reform the modern Gilded Age. We DO need foundational changes in our government, as well as tweaks & adjustments to existing laws. Tax the rich, regulate the banks, build infrastructure, support widespread public education and health care, orient research around the Green New Deal to rescue the planet and build a new economic structure, encourage innovation by breaking up monopolies, re-connect with our allies... the list goes on, and all of it is extremely popular among the citizenry.
6
I will vote for whoever the democratic candidate is--even if it's a yellow dog. But a "moderate" will not save our democracy nor our planet. We are in a state of emergency on both. We need a total revolution to change our way of thinking and our way of life. Why doesn't the media see this? Are they mouthpieces for the corporations?
455
@Sharon Carson But at least a moderate won't take us backwards...if the progressives stay home if a more moderate candidate gets the nomination, a 2nd term of Trump will set the progressive movement back 50 years at least. A moderate will at least hold the line, nominate fair minded/open minded judges, and make a progressive future at least possible. If Trump gets another term to stack the courts, it won't matter who is in the White House because the conservatives will take every single piece of legislation to the courts to overturn. There are probably not enough progressives in the electorate to put one in the White House yet, so a moderate perhaps paired with a more progressive candidate is our best bet.
41
@Sharon Carson Have you ever stopped to think that your opinion may not necessarily the be "THE CORRECT SOLUTION? I haven't,in my 70 years, seen many extremists that have constructively changed the world. The only Revolution that I know of that actually changed the World was in 1776.
Revolutionists want quick and easy solutions that in the end don't really change things very much.
26
@Sharon Carson "Are they mouthpieces for the corporations?"
Sadly, the answer is yes. Both the NY Times and WaPo - albeit respectable journalism outlets - are run by a board consisting of shareholders. It is THEY that have final editorial sway.
23
Bret Stephens is wonderfully smart and hates Trump but he is always conditional. For me this is what this election will come down too will all the subversion and suppression add up to Trump winning. Which Stephens adds here is his greatest fear, yet he would possibly throw his vote away and not vote for Warren. This is the problem we have in this election, the prickly spine of those who cannot accept this country is profoundly unfair for the majority of its citizens. And the status quo that governs the soul of so many decent conservatives imprisons them. We may get more of Trump because of just that mindset of some never Trumpers and independents. That and the election will be fixed as it appears officials like Barr and others in the administration see a future where they cannot win a fair election.
1
For the more than 50 years I’ve been voting, I’ve never once seen Democrats stand for all people. If it comes down to Biden, I might get over the nausea to vote for him as I did for HRC. But I don’t like being given useless and outdated people to vote for.
1
@De Sordures
But you keep voting for them and therefore you will keep getting them.
In the long run Trump winning another term could be the best thing to a happen to America. It will make moderates realize that THERE IS NO MIDDLE ANYMORE.
Conservatives have no intention of "compromising" on issues like environmental regulation, voter suppression, restricting the rights of the LBGT community, discrimination against non-white immigrants, and letting corporations and the wealthy run roughshod over the rights of the American people.
They have shown that they will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. The reason that Trump has so such high approval ratings among Republicans is that he personifies everything they want to be.
Stop and think about that for a moment!
Wow, way to ignore both Sanders and Warren in this cozy back-and-forthing between Collins and Stephens. Fake Democrats aren't going to be able to fake their way to a win in 2020.
That means that the boutique neoliberalism of the Clinton Years is too shopworn to be viable, now. If that's not abundantly clear by HR Clinton's loss in 2016, John Kerry's loss in 2004, Al Gore's loss in 2000, etc., then the Democrats are finished.
While elite/corporate Democrats (aka, Democrats in Name Only, see also Republican Lite) think they can phone in a win in 2020, they're in for a rude awakening. Hence the foreboding of a Trump win. Go big or go home. Turnout is everything -- and the way to get people to the polls is to energize them with a proper, progressive vision. At least Sanders and Warren understand that.
1
Yes sir and yes my lady, there is one, Bernie. And he is so vilified, because he won't take the bribes from corporations and work for their best interests and not for the people. Most of the politicians in the country sell the rest of us out and get rich doing so. They flat out lie to us and spread corporate propaganda and do not give a fig about us. Bernie makes them look bad and so they must take him down. But so many people forget that our elected officials are supposed to work for us and have been so mistreated over the last 40 years they are suffering from the Stockholm syndrome. Not me.
2
Its up to voters, Do they want an entertainer or do they want a competent ethical President? Do they want to talk abortion, ,immigrants, gays etc, or health care, infrastructure, income inequality? WE voters are the source of our own problems. We can choose someone who will be a competent productive leader or go back into the cess pool with Trump.
Many Americans are unable to evaluate things and they can be led down the simple path of simplicity, Job loss? Immigrants fault, Build a wall ,keep them out. Taxes? cut the rich folks taxes and they will create wealth for you.Changing values? Its the dangerous liberals fault.
1
Who would be the best President in 2020? Jeb Bush. Instead of focusing on the “impossibility” of that happening, consider what if. The presidency would immediately shift from immoral and incompetent to moral and competent. The Republican Congress would now be forced to shift from blind Trumpism to some form of rationality. Partisanship should perceptibly diminish, and the possibility of some form of sanity should return.
I am a Democrat and my choice of candidates is Klobuchar. However, if any Democrat takes office, the craziness and partisanship will likely continue (and not just in the Republican Party). Of course, a continuing Trump presidency would be a disaster. So, the optimal solution is to figure how to get Jeb Bush (or Kasich or ?) into the presidency in 2020.
How about a little more coverage on the Republicans challenging He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?
Maybe if the NYT gave the Republican challengers some front page headlines, Op-eds, interviews or included them prominently in articles, the voters would start believing they have more options. Wouldn't it be historically hysterical if the Republicans gave President Cheeto the heave-ho?! We can do that! This is America and there's no reason not to pick a different person to represent the party.
I lived in NH during Bill Weld's MA governorship and he has my vote in the primary. Although he's another 70+ year old white guy, he's got a good head on his shoulders, isn't afraid to embrace social reform and can get things done because he's a civil guy willing to reach across the aisle.
1
The traditional party structure is kaput. Democrats lost the 2016 election, but the Republican Party was destroyed by it. There is no demagogue who will match President Trump huff for huff, puff for puff.
It would be best to look past parties to which movements (like white nationalism and Christian evangelicalism in 2016) will fuse to temporarily become kings of a quickly eroding hill.
The Republican Party is acting as enablers to a criminal president and your take is that the Democrats are in disarray. Trump is not some aberration. He is the product of a sustained Republican campaign to stay in power. The methods they have employed are well know. FOX, Limbaugh, Infowars, World Net Daily, Newsmax, National Review, Washington Examiner, Facebook, Twitter are full of the conspiracy that keep their voters in line. Trump is the logical end product of Republican venality.
1
May I recommend that the democrats stop demonizing wealth and start focusing on how greed is one of the seven deadly sins.
You can be rich and not greedy. You can make money and not be a demon.
Reading a bunch of the most recommended Readers Picks, you'd think it was Bret Stephens who was running for the Democratic nomination for President.
2
Brett's "Typhoid Mary" analogy for teflon Don is brilliant, the best I've seen.
1
The answer to the question is very simple. Absolutely not! They are shooting themselves in the foot on a daily basis. Nancy consistently proves that she truly "hates" President Trump.
1
@Donald I believe Speaker Pelosi's heartfelt words that she prays for the president. One can hate his policies, or his behavior, and not hate the man.
If your intent in posting these non sequitur statements - Dems shoot themselves in the foot AND Nancy hates Trump - is to rile others, I'm afraid you won't succeed with this crowd. Most NY Times readers expect logic and fact, and ignore obvious Fox News talking points.
3
Mr. Stephen’s last line is the 2020 mandate. Period. The rest is noise.
Mr. Stephens' reference to a "scold," is about as sexist as he has ever been. The "crime" of being a "scold" seems like something long ago in a land far away, but NJ had a case in my lifetime that was based on English common law. In using the term, Mr. Stephens reveals once again that only some women should speak - and only some of the time.
4
I think many people don't understand the long game here for the supposed "far-left" (actually center-left) candidates like Warren and Sanders.
When the ACA came together, Sanders was severely disappointed. Not necessarily with Obama. In fact he told Obama that in hindsight he should have worked harder making Medicare-For-All the starting point of negotiations in Congress. His reasoning was that by doing so, eventual negotiations would have settled on a half-way solution like a public option or Medicare buy-in for those who wanted it instead of the massive giveaway the ACA is to private insurance companies.
It's clear he isn't making the same mistake this time. Neither is Warren. As a result we've already got a roster of moderate Dems talking public option, etc. BUT, that'll be Biden or Buttigieg's first offer going in. And like Obama and the ACA it'll immediately be negotiated away because that's how negotiating works. Same for many of the other programs Sanders and Warren are proposing.
You can't put your final offer on the table as your opening offer. You begin with a huge idea and then show the public you're willing to compromise to get them talking about something more reasonable -- which also happens to get you half-way to that big idea.
That's why centrists should be backing Sanders or Warren. Because in the end, you'll get far more of the campaign promises that Biden and Buttigieg are offering as solutions.
1
I prefer a couple of the Democratic candidates over others, but I suspect the ultimate question is whether Trump can avoid defeating himself.
1
According to conventional wisdom, the Dem candidate must be a minor deity to succeed while Trump can bluster along, illiterate, venal, and running an agenda created by his handlers. The double standard is outrageous, a word that's beginning to lose any meaning.
Joe Biden cannot respond with an understandable 'you're a damn liar, man', but Trump can call me, and other Democrats, 'human scum.' Pete Buttigieg is questioned for rightfully honoring a non disclosure agreement with a former employer, while Trump continues to lie about his taxes, and goes to court to withhold them from the American people.
I am tired of and disgusted with this circus. And I'm signing off. Worrying about Trump, and engaging in pushback, has wasted three years of my life. No more. I'll vote blue when the time comes. Meantime, I'll be in my garden, where 'every prospect pleases, and only man is vile.'
6
Celadon one of this countries largest trucking companies just declared bankruptcy and laid off 4000. Many left with no health insurance but health needs. Would Warren’s or Sander’s national health care plans be too liberal for them?
1
Why is it up to democrats to choose a candidate voters like Bret Stephens will support? Why don't voters like Bret Stephens put up a more moderate Republican?
Oh, the RNC won't allow it? Well then, put up an Independent.
5
@mm, well said!
"Well spoken" is a compliment. From one candidate to his rival it is a polite put-down: "You are a good speaker, but [unsaid] I am a better candidate, but we respect each other and will support whichever of us [if it's one of us] wins the nomination."
Nothing wrong with that. It's the attitude the party should want.
1
Bernie Sanders is the only candidate who can defeat trump. Sanders' supporters have a passion and purpose that is only shared by trump's supporters. Also, all the other Democratic candidates except for Sanders share the same corporate-inspired party line: corporate contributions and control good; promoting the interests of working Americans bad to irrelevant. Let's try a candidate who is actually interested in promoting the middle class and working Americans for a change. Otherwise, Trump wins a second term.
1
Democrats remain democratic, represent a wide range of views, and easily appear divided. If the democratic party is diminished, the US is no longer a republic or a democracy.
The GOP belongs to Trump alone. There are no other ideas or policy than Trump. Under the guise of nationalism Trump is the corrupt tool of the rich and has sealed the US into
plutocracy. The US middle class is gone. The US is a nation by and for the rich.
I will be voting for whoever wins the Democratic nomination. I hope those that simply can't because of their "conscience" can sleep well at night knowing that marginalized people are suffering under this administration.
3
@Taryn Brown You don't get it. Firstly, all the focused on social matters like "marginalized people" has allowed the Democratic Party establishment to get away with being fiscally conservative and socially liberal. Meaning that neither party serves the economic interests of the middle class and working class. Note that increasing GDP and low unemployment is worthless if your cost of living is rising while your wages aren't because you're underemployed and most of the gains are going to the already wealthy. We need to seriously address our economic problems.
Moreover, the talk of "marginalized people" itself is a massive turn off. Very very few people are that politically correct. Political correctness has gone too far. And most importantly, it's mostly white people virtual signaling without really doing anything to help "marginalized people".
Trump won because the working class were sick of well-to-do elites calling them racist and privileged while they were struggling to make ends meet.
Also, you are asserting in this post that because I am white I do not have the right to vote my conscience. I have to vote the way you want. That is racist and a denial of my constitutional rights. How dare you!
Either the democrats take their heads out of their rears and finally nominate someone fiscally progressive, or who at least cares about the working and middle classes. Or I don't care how bad you-know-who is, I'm not voting Democrat. I'm voting Republican.
is there a need or place for leaders in democracy? why do we need leaders? in democracy public is the leader and politicians are followers. in business you need leaders, who lead companies but in democracy you just have to follow what public wants.
Trump owns my time (Wisc voter registration) and my checkbook (same focus for now). With Warren now willing to go public option instead of Medicare for All, she is my strong preference. If she chooses Harris, Booker or Klobuchar now and starts running as a team, she can get the nomination and get elected. I am less concerned about winning over independents or moderate Republicans than I am about the Bernie fanatics who will stay home. Bernie will go down as the Nader of 2020; his supporters need to feel right, dead right. Everybody who voted for Hillary, and many more who were too complacent to vote in 2016, will vote for Warren. or Buttigieg or Biden.
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"Trump is to political scandal what “Typhoid Mary” Mallon was to typhus: He spreads it widely but is somehow immune to it himself." Great analogy, not funny but true. As a native New Yorker I have witnessed Teflon Don slither around the law for decades and never been convicted of so much as a misdemeanor in thousands of lawsuits. His ability to get away with so much is uncanny. It is becoming more and more evident that his perfect track record will not be broken this time either with the lucky support of a party that props him up along and an economy that soars. Lord help us all if he is reelected. Is it too late for the Democrats to find another candidate who can energize the party and get out the vote in masses?
1
It would be wonderful for once to have a real choice between two candidates, not just one a little less republican than the other. If Biden is the presidential candidate we are back to square one, neoliberal domestic and neocon foreign policies, same old establishment politics, no real distinction.
3
Every voter who is against Trump, right, moderate, or left needs to vote for the Dem party nominee whoever it is!
I am a moderate who like Stephens can't stand Warren but I will vote for her in a second over Trump.
The left didn't come out and support Clinton in 2016 and that's why we lost. Let's not repeat the mistake.
6
The question in the title of the column had me hoping against hope for a revelatory epiphany on the part of one of the writers. I was deeply disappointed.
There's only one candidate who's even attempting to bring Democrats back to the kind of policies with which the party built the strongest economy the world had ever seen - focused on health care, education, jobs with good wages, environmental stewardship and social justice - and the only one, according to a map published in this paper, leading in the number of individual donors (a more direct corollary to voter intention than polls) in virtually every state in the nation - especially in battleground states, like Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia and Pennsylvania. This candidate also has the highest number of individual (all very small) donations, the most money, the strongest volunteer support overall and a commanding lead among 18-to-35 year-olds, who are literally the future of the party, not to mention the nation and the world.
Yet this candidate isn't even mentioned in a discussion of who can "save the party"?
3
All this hand-wringing over the supposed instability and possibly radical nature of some Democratic nominees. Please give me a break. The Democratic party, in comparison to the GOP, is a bastion of integrity and decency. At least they still believe in democracy and the rule of law.
The Republican party is nothing but a collection of grifters, racists, misogynists, homophobes, conspiracy theorists, religious extremists, warmongers, and ignoramuses who have become lapdogs to a treasonous criminal. I'll take the Democratic party over that any day.
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This article I'd HILARIOUS, Gail. Your best ever! I don't know how you do it, but you and Bret sound positively FABULOUS as you tap dance down the column, ticking the box next every Democratic Presidential candidate with a giddy "Nope!" as you both ask the question, "Which candidate can save the Democratic Party?"
Let's keep it a secret, just between the three of us, okay? Let all of the readers have to guess the correct answer, am I right!?
Bernie Sanders. Of course!
3
I have a solution for Bret.
He should just vote for Trump again.
2
@Futbolistaviva
Yep and maybe that would save us from yet one more article like this!
No. The Democratic party cannot be saved from itself. It is terrible that they must have this socialist frolic as we face the abyss of fascism. But the Democrats need to get it out of their system and find out that a candidate that is or can be credibly labeled "socialist" will lose big in this country. So bring on the Bernie/Warren "unity" ticket and run off the cliff!
1
I'm almost - almost - ready to say I'll vote for anyone whom the Democrats nominate. But I'd rather not be forced to vote for Bernie or Elizabeth. Both Biden and Buttigieg make me nervous and several of the others leave me cold. I like what I see in Klobuchar but I'm afraid others don't see what I think I see.
Sadly, I'm about to put my dollars on the orange horse . . . but not my vote.
Why don't you conservatives nominate a moderate, Bret? Why is it always Democrats the ones that have to show moderation?
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If this is the light-hearted banter that passes for seriousness at the Paper of Record, then Trump truly will waltz to re-election. You know, the one thing that Trump definitely has done is, he's finally made me lose my sense of humor. I used to believe in the power of satire and the holy mission of comedians to bring the people to their senses. Then I witnessed a Golden Age of Political Satire with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, and what was the result? Humorless, stupid, enraged voters elected the worst (possibly) human being available in the entire country. Trump never laughs, except possibly when he is told about the torturing of children. Neither do his voters. And the news sources that support him don't laugh light-heartedly either. They bash the opposition (which explicitly includes the New York Times) 24/7/365. Until media opposed to Trump have something approaching that level of humorless, constant intensity, which in his case is completely warranted, there will continue to be a pro-Trump, anti-Democrat skew to our mediasphere, and decency will be trounced yet again. You want to know what happens in the second Trump term? Look up "Vossische Zeitung." Maybe he won't shut you down, but he will push you into an even more desperate impotent hilarity. OR...the New York Times could start to print an editorial every morning that demands his removal from office for high crimes and misdemeanors. Only that level of seriousness can possibly puncture the Trump fog.
2
Biden is the only sane choice for reducing polarization, gaining power over the house and senate and starting to rebuild our government, our discourse and our standing with the rest of the world. I don't care how many farmers he yells at or how many record players he has.
No. With this Impeachment process Democrats are indirectly helping Trump in his re-election bid. Its a trap and that is what Trump wanted. Now nobody can stop Trump, not even Biden.
3
Everybody in the Democratic Primary is ten times better than what we have in the White House....why the gloom and doom, the ONLY WAY #45 wins re-election is if he cheats, like he did in 2016 and if we have a low voter turn out, there's NO WAY that's going to happen, the majority wants this very corrupt, president out of the White House.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/18/young-voters-overwhelmingly-want-trump-impeached-removed-office-poll-finds/4228474002/
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Rather surprised that they didn't mention two important points about the candidates they discussed.
Bloomberg can't be bought by donors since he can personally fund his campaign, so he will be above having to pay back. Very important!!!
Buttigieg seems to have learned from his early employer that secrecy is a helpful skill and he will use it in politics. He has already started. He is secretive regarding fund raising (we've learned he let lawyers for Brett Kavanaugh and Bayer throw party for him).
1
"Save [your] wallet," Bret? It's a choice between tacitly supporting Trump, who has used the power of the Presidency for his own political gain, subverted the will of Congress, harmed our allies and uplifted our enemies, not to mention all of the harm he's done domestically and the debasement of the office - a choice between supporting the orange monstrosity for four more years, or perhaps paying a little more in taxes? REALLY??
1
Draft 2, please use instead.
Fellow commentators! You don't have to agree with Bret Stevens, but you do have to listen to his advice. His conservative views are closer to the views of the majority in the crucial swing states than the views of us progressives on either coast. We don't need more votes in New York or California, we need the six crucial swing states that gave Trump the electoral college. Wake up. Look at the polls. Every conservative in Connecticut I have interviewed, has said that they will not support or vote for Sanders or Warren. Either one of these fine progressives will crush Trump in the popular vote, but deliver to him the presidency, that is what people like Bret Stevens are trying to warn you to be aware of. We have to take the White House, to put the war on climate change on hyper drive and rebuild the middle class.
The sure way for Pete Buttigieg to win the support of the black community, is to support the candicacy of their favorite candidate, Joe Biden, and try to become his vice president.
(David blogs at InconvenientNews.net.)
@David Lindsay Jr.
"Every conservative in Connecticut I have interviewed, has said that they will not support or vote for Sanders or Warren. "
Your anecdotes are not data. I recall 2008, when a black guy couldn't possibly win in middle America.
All this breathless panicking about who the Dems nominate is pointless at this point. It's fun to speculate, but pointless.
But while I'm here ... the only way to beat Trump is to have a candidate who young and minority voters are excited about. Nobody was excited about Clinton outside of Deep Red states, so she lost.
Biden is just Clinton without the pantsuits.
1
Hey, folks, have you actually listened to Andrew Yang? Go to YouTube and listen to any of his town hall talks. He’s so smart and practical and comfortable and normal and creative, and his ideas and plans for a human-centered future are worth supporting. Really. Check him out.
2
@Barrie Grenell
He has not built a coalition that allows him to get past 15% in national polling. Sorry I can't take him seriously until he does so.
Get over it, Brett. Warren is a moderate. She's one of those former Republicans who lost it when Gingrich and co took over Congress.
And as for Buttigieg: He would have more experience had he run my New York City neighborhood. At least he'd understand how to speak and appeal to a broader audience.
The Typhoid Mary analogy is good, but I prefer to think of Trump as a malevolent Pig Pen (with apologies to George Schulz and the Peanuts gang). While we're watching the dirt storm around Trump, the rest of his gang is undoing all the institutions which have provided our world some semblance of order and undermining the very institutions of government and policy which make life in this country bearable -- from Medicare to the National Parks.
As a voter who started out pragmatic, thinking Biden the best choice, I worry about his lackluster performance. I'm now inclined to think that Sanders is the only one who can beat Trump. At least Sanders can match Trump emotionally and best him. Bernie is the only one I can see actually handing Trump a plunger and suggesting that he learn how to use it. It's all about showmanship this election.
"Biden’s political brand is built around his authenticity and working-class affect."
It's way past time for Biden to drop the working class lingo since his current net worth is about 9 million.
5
"Class warfare is a bad look?" Tell it to the rich, Bret. Maybe they'll stop making war on the rest of us.
4
And Brett, if you and others throw your vote away for Weld to make some kind of point the result will be the same as when you threw them away in 2016- Trump will be president. (How do you think your “wallet” will really look like after 4 more years of Trump trade antics?) Get real.
2
Trump can't win. He only pulled off an Electoral College edge in 2016 because of voters who expected Hillary to win but couldn't stomach voting for her. They will not stay home next year, nor will they be voting Green Party. They will crawl over broken glass to vote this traitorous criminal out of office, regardless of whom the Democrats nominate. With the help of some independents and non-Kool Aid-drinking Republicans, the 2020 election will repudiate Trumpism in a definitive way.
1
@Mark
I would not be so sure about voter turnout if I was you. The Democratic Party nominee more than anything else has to be able to build a coalition, among the moderate and progressive wings of the party.
The progressive wing of the party is tired of having moderate candidates crammed down their throats by the DNC. Another attempt to do this could prove fatal to any hopes of regaining the presidency.
Forgive me.... but you two are "too clever by half"! which is a phrase I don't even know the meaning of, but I'm pretty sure it applies. Surely it would be far more efficient to be less witty and more to the point?
1
I just want to say that Gail Collins remains the funniest columnist in America. I read her pieces with Stephens for entertainment, not edification.
Bret:
Regarding Hunter Biden's reported $50,000 per month income at Burisma:
"But it was not an unlawful deed and the former vice president had nothing to do with it."
Really?
6
Other than Gabbard or Yang, The answer is no.
Here is some free advice, Democrats: American voters don't want amnesty for 23+ million illegal aliens. They don't want to pay tax money for free healthcare for illegal aliens. They don't want felons to vote. They don't want to forgive 1.6 trillion in student debt. They don't want to open the borders to the world. And finally, they don't want to register their firearms in a national database, nor pay a fee to own one.
Maybe you can run Hillary one more time. Nate Silver will give her a 91% chance of beating Trump, again, and the NYT will run that in an active script on their homepage, just like in the fall of 2016.
I've read every comment here. The Democrats are lost in the wilderness, once again. I mean, deep wilderness. Democrats can't seem to learn from their horrific mistakes.
And, in closing, your impeachment of Trump is starting to backfire, in a horrific way, heading into general election season.
Follow the Independent voters. Follow what they think in polls. 45% of the American Electorate. Wake up Dems.
5
Two questions Bret:
1) How do we know for sure that Trump is a billionaire?
and
2) What's so "commendable" about Buttigieg not bonding with black voters?
Bret is about as "big picture" as an outdated FOREVER postage stamp.
1
The answer to the question is, it's doubtful. Just as importantly, the DNC and the Democrats in congress know it. From the day Trump took the oath, they have been trying to get him out of the White House. They counted on Mueller for almost two years but that was a bust. They brought Comey in to testify only to hear him say he found no evidence of collusion. The had the lawyer Cohen day and even the NYT reporter covering it called it sleaze. Now it is impeachment. The only reason for the hearings was to try and dig up dirt at our expense and have a bunch of Trump haters testify on TV. They knew day one they were going to impeach him. In the meantime, millions of jobs have been created. Last month 226,000. Unemployment is 3.2%, the lowest in fifty years. For minorities and women, the lowest ever. The NYT acknowledge the Trump defeated the ISIS Islamic State in Syria. The Democrats have Biden who almost daily gives another reason for not voting for him. The other candidates promise free everything in a socialistic society. But countries that are socialistic such as in Scandinavia are paying about 61% taxes to pay for all the free stuff. Trump will describe how the are trying to take away the election. He will talk about how he kept his promise to let it be the people’s power and the democrats want to take that power away from them. He will be hard to beat.
2
So Bret, you’d rather vote for Trump again than vote for Warren or any other Democrat who isn’t as bland as petroleum jelly?
This says a lot about how much you actually value democracy — not much. But some of us already knew that.
3
Bret: Typhoid Mary carried the bacteria Salmonella which causes typhoid fever. Typhus is a Rickettsial infection spread by lice and fleas. Two different diseases. Homework, Bret.
4
Naturally, neither of these Wall St. neoliberals mentioned Bernie, the one the rich are truly afraid of, despite his being ahead in CA and his having beaten Trump handily in all the 2016 exit polls in the Rust Belt, a fun fact that must never be aired in the corporate MSM. And if Bernie’s the nominee and blacks don’t come out for him as if he were the Second Coming of Barack, blacks will totally deserve the decades of Plessy vs. Ferguson courts Trump will reward them with. Up to them.
Time and again hand-wringing Democrats have shown that they suffer from too much timidity. Republicans fight dirty, whether with rampant lies, spreading Russian disinformation or simply ignoring facts like the leader of their personality cult. Dems had better do the same or we will continue to have Moscow on the Potomac.
2
I suggest, Pete and Bloomberg roll up their shirt sleeves and wade into rural America. Sit with folks and listen. Speak with them. Oh yeah and don’t wear stuffy suits. Go to schools, speak with teachers, go out and stop taxi drivers, sanitation workers, waiters in fast food places. In fact every place you can spread infectious diseases efficiently are excellent places to spread any message virally. It is time to make friends with all Americans. Stop going after the votes of only one group or another. Just concentrate of dripping niceness evenly. The votes will find their way home.
1
“Bret: I have a bad feeling that Trump is to political scandal what “Typhoid Mary” Mallon was to typhus: He spreads it widely but is somehow immune to it himself.”
Excellent insight by Bret as inspired by Gail and yet, perhaps this form of recreational math will accurately forecast why DT is about to lose his Superpowers from this here future-proof Kryptonite:
Let the Executive, Judicial & Legislative Branches = The Three Estates (as per habit)
Origins: 18th Century
Let American Analog Media = The Fourth Estate (as per habit)
Origins: 19th Century
Let Digital Media = The Fifth Estate (as per mild novelty)
Origins: 20th Century
Let The Singularity = The Sixth Estate (as per extreme novelty)
Origins: 22nd Century
Retrocausality and T-symmetry are the new Crystal Ball, pass it on...
Yada yadayada, which reminds me you haven't mentioned Bernie Sanders "who already enjoys a huge fundraising advantage." Come on guys, are you so wedded to big money that you can't at least respond to a man who has made European-style democratic socialism respectable, nay popular?
4
The Democratic nomonee will win the election no matter who it is. That's my prediction.
Regarding billionaires, I agree that being rich is pretty irrelevant unless a person behaved badly to get there or behaved badly after getting there. On one hand there's a good chance a wealthy person has had exposure to the inner workings of important institutions, but on the other had being wealthy makes it very difficult to have a realistic sense of what the lives of most people are like. Just showing that they care isn't enough, whether faked or genuine. They have to have a plan to make hard-working citizens' lives better.
Working people deserve to exprience the fruits of progress, and currently they aren't.
If the party is going to be a progressive party, this is the time to do it. There won't be a better time within the next decade. If it decides to go down the middle, I think there will be a low voter turnout and a strong likelyhood of a single-term president and a return to another Trump-like figure head.
1
My grandmother used to say "vote for a democrat even if they are a jackass". Grandma had a way with words. She had to endure in soup lines during The Great Depression. Most of my life I thought her view quaint, but ill-informed. Now I have to admit, I was wrong and grandma makes sense to me now.
2
I will vote for a cat Democrat
I will vote for a dog Democrat
I will support Blue Potato with a pulse
I will cheer Blue Banana working for us
Bernie, Liz, Pete or Amy
Andy, Joe, Mike or Cory
Forgot the names of the rest
Doesn't matter, they are all the best!
2
@Jay Tan But, will the Senate put country over party?
I preface every political conversation with, "Of course, Trump can win; he won in 2016 when everybody said it was impossible."
BUT, I worry when Democrats start thinking his re-election is inevitable. November is 11 months out and none of us has any idea what issues will be front and center by then. Plus, Trump is probably the most unpopular president ever. He is manifestly incompetent and uninterested in knowing anything. He is a dreadful human being, who is proud of his cruelty and indifference to human needs. He creates scandal everywhere he goes and has turned a once great political party into a cult with no legislative agenda whatsoever (except tax cuts for the rich).
It is far too early for Democrats, or anyone else, to throw in the towel. If we can't beat this guy, who can we beat? Come on.
2
This is all very amusing, but frankly, my cat would make a better president than Mr. Trump.
Please don’t say that Trump is going to win. I would rather eat glass.
1
"Nominate a moderate!"
Yes, please. I beg them.
1
Minor point, but typhus and typhoid are different diseases.
Bret: The Dems trie a greedy corporatist in the 2016 election. The result was we got stuck w/Trump.
Bret Stephens' statement that if Elizabeth Warren is the nominee for President, he will vote for Bill Weld "to salve my conscience" is just another conservative statement displaying misogyny. It's journalists like Stephens who brought us Trump.
6
Trump is a billionaire? No way.
2
The question is dishonest since the problem is the Press false portrayals that is the biggest problem the DEM faces.
Warren and Sanders are in the middle of the road. Everyone else is right wing. Start there.
1
I will , of course, vote for whoever is on the Democratic ticket. That said I don't think anyone running now has the ability to beat the Mandarin Menace. Not a happy thought.
1
All I got from this is that Bret Stephens is privileged enough to have a choice in the presidential election. Must be nice.
2
Hunter Biden’s job was a bad idea and an even worse look. But it was not an unlawful deed and the former vice president had nothing to do with it.
Does anyone actually believe that his father's position as VP had "nothing to do with it."?
6
Personally, I don’t really give a darn who Bret Stephens or David Brooks vote for. They are not Democrats and this idea that Dems need a candidate they can support falls flat to me. I’m sorry both of you are currently stateless but that is for you fellas to address not the Democratic Party.
3