The last candidate standing will be Bloomberg.
23
Former Democrat, now independent and the answer to your question, "If your preferred candidate doesn’t win the nomination, will you still do everything you can to deny Trump a second term?"
Yes, I will.
21
This column is an echo things I said, over and over, in 2016. They didn't matter to the people who needed to hear them; people who said things like "the lesser of two evils is still evil," and "vote your conscience; that's all that matters." Those people gave us Trump.
And yet, here I am, feeling the same way. I've only voted for Democrats since I could vote, but I'm not pulling the lever for Bernie. I did my duty in 2016; let's see if Bernie really can come up with a "political revolution" to replace me and all of the other moderates he's repelling.
15
If someone has already posted a version of the following, I apologize: Republicans will vote FOR a candidate they dislike because of one issue (abortion and Supreme Court nominees being the biggies). Democrats will vote AGAINST a candidate because of one issue, one characteristic, or even one vote from twenty years ago. This is the quest for @GWE's unicorn and it's truly frightening.
6
I will vote for any democrat except Bloomberg. If Bloomberg is the nominee, I will vote third party.
3
The best explanation of Social Democracy I have seen came from Fintan O'Toole, and can be found on You Tube. Bernie believes in a free capitalist society balanced by social democracy and rules for those who would destroy our civilized society for their own personal gain at the cost of everyone else. The fascists moved in when we failed to address the people left behind. Bernie is trying to address their needs and lift their fears so we can have a balanced society again.
7
Someone has to somehow make sure the 18 - 30 year olds vote. They will bear the brunt of the horrible man in the White House and the treasonous members of the Senate who are selling their futures down the river. Nothing matters more than their vote. If they vote, they save themselves and their children. If they don’t vote their lives will be very adversely affected. The ads need to be directed to them showing their lives in 5 - 10 years with 4 more years of t. The ads need to be on their social media devices. They need to know and they need to be afraid. Get to work DNC!
19
I'll vote a straight Democratic ticket as I have in every election since I was old enough to vote. I'm afraid the upcoming election will be the last, that the dictator who has seized our poor country by the throat will never let go.
Seeing people like Tlaib booing a loyal Democrat and seeing a non-Democrat using the Democratic Party again to advance his own vicious cult is horrible. The other candidates seem determined to hand what's left of the country to Trump. Weaklings. Lewzers.
The only hope is Bloomberg. He will do what needs to be done.
12
My fellow Americans,
1. Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the very American Experiment itself.
2. We must end Trumpism, and we must end the current G.O.P. that supports him blindly, like Jim Jones' kool-aid drinkers in Guyana.
3. This is not your father's Republican Party. This is a doomsday cult. And it must end. Now.
Vote blue. No matter who.
November 3.
23
Dear Democrats,
A half a loaf is better than no loaf.
And anything is better than four more years of Donald Trump.
Vote your conscience in the primary.
And then vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
21
I will vote straight ticket Blue no matter who.
12
Thank you, Mr Leonhardt. We all need to remind one another of this truth over and over: our Republic can endure nearly anything, but it will not endure the re-election of Donald John Trump.
13
The progressive voters fail to see that the big, bold ideas of their candidates stand zero chance of being enacted if the Republicans and McConnell control the Senate. They fail to see that the majority of the electoral college doesn't support the ideas their candidate espouses. They fail to see independent (not Democrat) Bernie's shouting at people about inequalities alienates those that disagree with him. Progressives need to listen to James Carville.. "Eighteen percent of the country elects more than half of our senators. That’s the deal, fair or not. So long as [Mitch] McConnell runs the Senate, it’s game over. There’s no chance we’ll change the courts, and nothing will happen. The purpose of a political party is to acquire power. All right? Without power, nothing matters."
13
I’m 65 and a life long Democratic. There is no way that Bernie Sanders will beat Trump. While I admire the young people who support Bernie, this election is not the time for his proposals. The majority of people my age that I know will not support him and we vote in far larger numbers then the younger people.
I couldn’t support him because of his stand on allowing felons in prison to vote and Medicare for all. I recently went on Medicare and my co-pay for one of my drugs went from $25 to $60. My premiums went from $98 to $144.
Perhaps in the near future his message will resonate but as long as he can be labeled a “socialist “ he will fail this year.
15
I would have a very hard time voting for Joe Biden. I honestly feel he is no longer able to handle the position of POTUS. His campaign appearances confirm that for me. If push came to shove, I would vote for him. If I'm forced to do that, I hope he has an excellent running mate so I don't feel quite so disheartened by my vote.
5
February 10, 2020
Yes the is great: get the best Democratic to win the election.
And as well with for all in the party to use their brilliance and purpose that lessons learned are the best remedy to staying the course for accomplishment and earning the victory for all times. So it is not about Trump as a person but those in national character that enjoys the historic Democratic achievements now and forever.
3
I don't think fixation on finding a "perfect" candidate is the issue. What is detrimental is the lack of diligence in fact-finding, as demonstrated by some factions on the left. It is exhausting to have to correct the misinformation posted in NY Times comment section. Indeed,the fact is that Pete accepts *only* individual contributions, each capped at $2,800. It doesn't bother me that Bernie is supported by dark money, has a network of wealthy donors (see vtdigger.org), got flagged by FEC for illegal and excess contributions in 639 pages in 2016. It doesn't bother me that Warren got $175,000 from a wealthy doctor to purchase database from DNC, and while she doesn't do private fundraisers, her campaign treasurer and close allies do it for her. But for someone who cares and is ready to lash out accusation at a candidate, please do due diligence. And while most commenters here advocate "vote blue no matter who," some party leaders act the opposite - they are leading the misinformation campaign to tear the party apart. For example, Pramila Jayapal, who is a surrogate of Bernie, tweeted a news article dated a year ago, ignoring the fact that Pete's campaign provide healthcare and officially acknowledge union of campaign workers. It doesn't bother me that some factions intend to win by any means, at all cost. But spare me the grand-standing and the talk of compassion for fellow citizens.
9
My sister likes Bernie. I like Amy. We both voted for Hilary in 2016 and will vote for the Democratic nominee in this election.
10
When you get down to it, moderates and progressives want to wind up in exactly the same place. Universal health care, equal treatment for people of all colors, nationalities, and gender, and the ability to support yourself and your family with a wage that doesn't have to rely on SNAP or welfare.
Among other things.
The difference is how you get there: by a process of gradual change through compromise when necessary in the right direction or an immediate revolution with change right now.
6
America is blocked from needed, long-delayed progress by our system of wealthy mega donors legally allowed to dominate our campaigns, setting the standards of what's 'centrist' or 'radical left wing'.
Any politician who disagreed with them too strongly would not get funding to run. They fell in line. But now some candidates are using small donations from voters---that's progress.
The big story the news media neglects ---now most voters and many politicians want to reverse Citizens United, and use more public funding for elections. This will help restore citizen influence on law making, that's been muffled by mega donors. Is that a radical idea?
The far reaching effects of public funding---in amounts set aside in advance for both parties ideally -- could restore an operating democracy, and prevent another Trump type swamp creature from rising up to take power.
See Feb 1-- NYT editorial written on 10th Anniversary of Citizens United.
"More Money, More Problems for Democracy.
Countering private campaign funding with public campaign funding is the most viable way to limit the political influence of the wealthy."
Any comment, David? Boring topic, compared to Dems fighting among themselves?
4
What we need is a true Left party concerned exclusively with economic issues, including rigorously enforced regulation to stop ongoing discrimination against women and minorities in employment, housing, access to credit, and other benefits. But no policies on other issues, including the environment, gun control, abortion, or ‘lifestyle issues’.
I’d vote for my cat if I thought it’d get DJT out of office. He’s a very nice cat, btw. Very friendly. I’m sure he could run a great campaign.
18
I’d vote for your cat, too, if he’d beat Trump! I like him better already.
9
You're never going to get a candidate whose priorities will match yours 100%. I'd like to have the policies of E. Warren as our national priorities starting next January. But any of the Dem candidates would be an improvement, and if you don't vote because you didn't get your first choice, or as a way to punish the DNC, then you're being petulant and enabling another 4 years of Trump.
13
The question Joe Biden needs to ask himself is:
"What will I say at the next debate when they ask me why I got Victor Shokin fired when he was investigating corruption at Hunter's company? That's gonna be a doozy - better have a prepared answer. I wonder who will ask it: Pete?"
2
@99percent - That's been answered, oh at least a hundred times. Nice try though - thanks for playing as they say.
5
To those who say they can’t stand Trump but will refuse to vote for Bernie: Please dear God, you must vote against Trump even if you have to hold your nose.
18
@Hortencia
Absolutely!
In 2016, I voted for Bernie in the primary. And then I stood in line for two hours in November to vote for Hillary Clinton.
I will proudly support and vote for ANY of the Democratic nominees in November. And I believe most Democrats, including Bernie supporters, will do the same. (And I may not even vote for Bernie in the primary this year, but I still like what he has to say.)
If Bernie is the Democratic nominee, you better get your rear end to the poll and vote for him. Just like you would do with any other Democratic nominee.
Vote blue, no matter who.
8
How about, no.
3
Vote BLUE no matter who!
7
Why can't we have anti-Tump/pro Democracy rallies? Have a few politicians from the state educate the people on what all we have lost, and what is now on the chopping block. Democrats have been derelict in communicating with their constituents. Did you know that Medicare no longer supports home visits for housebound elderly patients? Did you know Social Security is on the chopping block to replace the money taken from the military budget to build the wall? the average person does not take the time to search for this information. Let's excite our base like Trump excites his base. No more boring Town Halls, lets call them Celebrations. The Democrats need to wake up and change. They need to get off of their butts. This isn't just about who is running, it is about who the candidate is running against and that should be the message.
8
@Teddi Right now they are having rallies every single day in New Hampshire. This is primary season. There will be plenty of rallies when we finally have a nominee in June.
There is no more important election than the 2020 election. Period. The Trump administration has perverted every aspect of the US Government in the last 3 years. Scan NYT articles from just this week and you'll find news that the current administration has drafted an Executive Order that all new government buildings should be built in the classical style; and also decided to punish NY residents for state government decisions by banning them from Global Entry programs. You'll learn that the Attorney General will now decide which presidential candidates can be investigated; and that he's established a backchannel with a private citizen to review information from foreign influences about one of those candidates. If we don't get these people out in November, what will the headlines in 2024 read?
125
A friend and I kicked around a revolutionary idea, after agreeing that, of course, the only intelligent course for the general election would be to vote to oust Trump:
Impressed, overall, by the intelligence on display during the New Hampshire debate, we thought, Whoever gets the nomination and then (we hope) wins, why not invite the others (along with Chris Christie, a brilliant mind) to become a regular, if informal, Brain Trust during the new president's first term in office?
That may sound crazy, and it may be impracticable, but if we are constrained to vote for just one president, I wouldn't mind if that president took advice regularly from a range of others of somewhat like mind--or even (in the case of Christie) of differing mind.
The Cabinet doesn't function as this sort of Brain Trust. (In the current administration, what substitutes for it is the echo chamber of Trumps.)
Could my friend's and my suggestion produce anything as bad or worse? We think not.
1
OF COURSE, most of us will vote for ANY Dem against Trump! But let's admit that Trump's worst effect is to make even a mediocre Dem look like an absolute saint who will save us.
Instead this column should discuss how the progressive agenda we badly need could be financed. Use advanced countries as role models that work---explain tax rates on citizens of various income levels and what they get for it.
America lags other capitalist democracies, that generations ago started universal health care. And low college tuition. That's what this column neglects.
Our legalized campaign subsidies by corporate donors have blocked progressive policies that are centist in other democracies---also capitalist. Their govts have more respect for their citizens, with HC as a right, while US voters are exploited and manipulated.
Many countries ban the paid campaign ads on media that inundate Americans. These are our biggest expense, needing big donors or self funding billionaires to pay for. Money calls the shots. We lose out.
In 2020 we finally get some progressive proposals, but opposed by some Dems. But I can't imagine any Dem or Independent voters being SO turned off by health care for all that they'd go and vote for Trump.
Will we stay 'moderate' and stuck, then wait for 2024 or 28, to again push for the Representation for our Taxation that we deserve?
Please educate voters on policy choices. We need better than 'just better than Trump'.
1
What you fail to mention is we need to tighten controls. Presently both parties pass Bill's to increase spending without discussing how things will be monitored so that bill in Congress are implemented in the most efficient way possible.
That is the primary difference between the public and private sector
@sbanicki .....most efficient way? Efficient for who and what?
We already have tremendous govt spending---for corporate welfare, for tax breaks and weak regulations---passed by politicians dependent on mega donors.
In effect the corporate donors monitor our govt, instead of the other way around.
We tax payers all pay for this, and get little in return in representation for our needs and interests. Excessive corporate profits accumulate---as does their influence on the govt we elect.
A democracy must monitor this, of course, in our interest.
1
If the battle is between Bernie and Bloomberg—which I think it will be—the Bernie Bros will throw a fit and relegate this nation to another four years of a president who will do damage to the nation and the world that is beyond our worst nightmares.
We need to stop battling over the small stuff—and everything except getting trump out of office is small stuff.
5
@Pkd Sanders is already crying that Bloomberg shouldn't be allowed to debate him and the other candidates. Most recent Quinnipiac poll has incredible (but not surprising) gains by Bloomberg. Bernie is already coming unglued about it. Bernie and his supporters need to face the reality that there are other candidates with much better ideas and a much more intelligent strategy for communicating those ideas to ordinary Americans in a way that resonates.
We need someone with actual accomplishments to help get our country back. Mike will get it done!
6
@Pkd
So what's your solution? Vote for Old Bernie because we wouldn't want the bros to "throw a fit?"
How is that different from the Republicans who were afraid to convict the Criminal-in-Chief because he might give them a nickname?
1
The remaining crop of Dem candidates is uninspiring to me. When Joe Biden is reduced to attacking Pete B. on his lack of experience, rather than focusing on what HE will do, we’re lost.
And it’s a shame, because we had all the momentum after the 2018 mid-terms. Those elections were issues-based, and the Dems simply out-competed the GOP.
All the candidates should return to issues Americans care about. That list doesn’t include Trump. And while they’re at it, put together a comprehensive plan to maintain control of the House and win back the Senate majority. Even if Trump wins, he’ll get nothing done until we get a Dem back in the WH.
6
I just wish the old geezers who are trying very hard to win this nomination by attacking anyone who is having some success in the campaign would wake up (woke) and accept the fact that their time is past. Let the leadership of the party pass on to the next generation.
I sometimes get the feeling that these folks would rather lose to Trump than put up a candidate who might upset their 'apple cart'.
I am obviously of the older generation.
11
I hope and pray that a large enough majority of Americans, throughout this country, vote for whoever the Democratic candidate is. I will. The nightmare of a continuation of the current situation is unbearable. Whoever the candidate is, they must make sure that areas that Hillary disregarded are not disregarded this time around. Unfortunately, the Electoral College can't be disregarded. And while we're at it, hopefully the Democratic party can gain control over the Senate. I'd like to wave good-bye to Mitch McConnell as much as wave good-bye to Trump!
8
Bernie or bust! None of the neoliberal centrist candidates give a wooden nickel about me or my family and I refuse to vote for them. Going to vote on the props I like, write in Eugene Debs for president, and call it a day.
5
Spoken just like a Kremlin propagandist.
10
Then you might as well write in Donald Trump. Because - don’t kid yourself - that is what you are REALLY doing
14
Bust — just like G. McGovern.
5
Anyone who stays home or votes for a third party candidate this November is de facto voting for Trump, the GOP and an ongoing erosion of our constitutional democracy.
Warren was my candidate early but I see the energy and base firmly behind Sanders. Scorn the will of the base and pay the consequences, just like in 2016. For this reason I have donated to Sanders but will support any one of the candidates in the general election.
Voting for the democratic nominee, whoever they may be, is the only responsible, patriotic recourse we have.
10
@Wanawooski
Not true at alll!
It's quite safe to vote your conscience and it can send a message to the bought-and-sold DEM party.
2016
Primary
https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/primaries/california
General
https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/california
3
There are many candidates still in the race for the democratic nomination but the leaders fall into two groups. Sanders and Warren are the leading progressive leftists and Biden, Buttigieg, and Klobuchar are the leading neoliberal centrists. The candidate from each group who is most likely to be victorious will become clear after South Carolina and Nevada. The two leading candidates will then face-off with billionaire Mike "I-believe-I-can-buy-the-election" Bloomberg on Super Tuesday. Then, if the leading candidate after Super Tuesday is Sanders or Warren, Bloomberg will stay in the race just to try and knock them out. If Biden, Buttigieg, or Klobuchar are in the lead, Bloomberg will hang in the race just long enough to create doubt in the minds of the public that his only motive for entering the race was to scuttle a win by Sanders or Warren. Then, having set up his preferred candidate for a win, he'll go back to doing whatever else billionaire manipulators do.
4
Getting out the vote will do more to help depose Trump than bickering about the minutiae. The 2016 election was won by about 20,000 votes in Wisconsin. Call, write postcards, write letters, etc., to democrats in swing states to convince them that it is worth their time, money, and energy to vote and/or help alert them to the fact that they can vote by mail, as was recently instituted in Florida. There are websites available that allow you to send postcards to voters (just google that phrase) or give you a simple list of phone numbers to text or call (and if the latter, mostly you just leave voicemails for people because who even answers their phone anymore?)--all just reminding them to vote. Just getting people to show up at the polls is more important than all the efforts and details about changing policies, etc. Electoral politics is only one avenue for bringing about a better world. So let's do what we can in that realm to make the most impact for the least amount of energy, and let's not confuse feeling or saying things on social media for actual action. Then let's apply our energy to making real change in other ways.
2
So well said. I feel like many moderates and progressives would prefer to see Trump be reelected, than to have someone who agrees with 95% of their perspectives in office. It makes no sense to me, other than as reenforcement of the idea that America has succumbed to decadence and a sense of bloated entitlement. Trump gives his supporters license to hate -- but are Trump opponents really that different, when you get right down to it? If he is reelected, it will be because we are getting what we deserve -- the end of American democracy. "A democracy... if you can keep it." I'm not so sure we can.
2
I'm confident that essentially all Democrats will unify behind whomever wins the nomination. I certainly will. A first Trump term was horrendous, I have trouble imagining a second. But this is the moment for each of us to work for the candidate that we would prefer. I assume electability" is part of every Democrat's calculus. But a decent sense of humility should lead us to admit that absolutely no one knows who the most "electable" candidate is. That, in part, is why we have a primary process. For now, let's focus on choosing a candidate. When we have one then it will truly be time to put the primary process behind us and elect a President to replace the caricature now sitting in Pennsylvania Avenue.
1
Trump's past and future actions will give responsibility to the democratic voters responsible of which person will our next president. If you feel that corruption which comes from a system that rewards those who can raise vast amount of money to get elected, then your choices are Bernie or Elizabeth,or the progressive candidates. If believe it is not then your choices are others.
Since the current system benefits democrats who has the banking of millionaires and billionaires or corporate democrats, they have the resources to do whatever it takes to defeat these two. During this election cycle, depending on primary results, they will probably switch between different candidates to defeat the progressives.
Bernie made the progressive and inclusive America possible, Hillary made America realize that America can have a woman president, Warren's is the evolution of both thoughts. I believe the anti-progressive movement consisting of the GOP and corporate democrats know that she is more of a threat than Bernie because has put up viable policy position on every issue. Bernie has Sheppard the young while women should stand behind Warren, together this demographics can change America and even the world for the better.
I believe Warren is the better choice because she has demonstrated that she can compromise some of her ideas for greater good, while Bernie continue to show his stubbornness making political solutions more difficult.
4
If Democrats get there act together in bringing about options for public a right choice then there is a chance. Pete Buttigieg? Really.
If he ends up in top three and even not get nominated, the Democrats have shot themselves in a foot.
Even hard Democrat as myself will vote for Trump.
1
@Alpha It's HARD to see any Democrats voting for Trump. Sore losers and stubborn fools, sure.
3
Personally I find Buttigieg to be head and shoulders above Trump. But you would vote for Trump if it came to that. What is it about Buttigieg that provokes this reaction in you? We need to know. And we need to know how many of you are out there. Please don’t mince words or try to be politically correct. Is it that he is too young? Is it that he is inexperienced? Or is it because he is gay? Let’s have it straight.
4
With the Republican party gone and replaced by the Trump Cult Party, all of the former-Republican moderates are wandering over to the Democratic Party like political refugees. And now the Dems have to find a way to incorporate them. Like the Electoral College, it's time to do away with our catastrophically broken two-party system. The Dem party will ultimately need to become two separate parties that reflect the former, better-functioning system we had in the first half of the twentieth century - a Leftist party and a Centrist party. At least until we can fumigate the house and rid ourselves of the poisonous TCP.
2
Why would someone vote for a self-proclaimed socialist candidate when they think socialism is a disaster?
Why would someone vote for a candidate pandering on identity when they've grown sick of identity politics?
Why would someone happy with the economy vote for a candidate who could, quite literally, cause a recession with massive change?
These are some of the more obvious reasons why, Mr. Leonhardt, why democrats may not support the nominee?
4
@ "Identity politics" is a dog whistle by and for white men.
4
All I can say is, Amen, Right on, Mr Leonhardt. And I don't always agree with you. A friend of mine said at the beginning of this mess that we cannot afford to be purists of any ilk. As they say, "Vote Blue no matter who". Most of my Dem friends here in the Sierra foothills agree. We live in red counties, we do not want to live on a red country.
5
Yes, spot on!
Fight for your candidate of choice. However, in the end Trump must not win a 2nd term! Any of the Democratic candidates are 1000 times better than Trump.
Vote. Don't waste your vote. No excuses!
7
I've already voted for Buttigieg in early voting in Caliifornia. I also voted for every local bond measure that supported our schools and area community college. I'm a Boomer and I'm a progressive.
I'm a progressive that knows the only way we will win this election and avoid the possible end to our Democracy is to nominate a moderate that can win in the moderate states.
It is more than obvious that Sanders cannot win while promising to raise taxes on everyone...partially to supply free health care to anyone, including any illegal immigrant that waltzes across the border....because he basically advocates for open borders, too.
He's also saying that the Government should take over all the companies that supply us with electricity. That would horrify moderate voters and Trump would have a hey day pummeling him relentlessly over his goofy ideas.
Right now, Sander's opponents are basically going easy on him and not bringing up much about his history of being very friendly to left wing dictators. Trump and his allies will have no problem turning him into Daniel Ortega..the vicious left wing dictator of Nicaragua because Sanderson once was a devotee of Ortega.
I'm also a progressive that supported McGovern way back in 1972 when I was young and idealistic. We were all certain he would defeat Nixon. He won one State and even lost his own. Pete has great ideas, is very intelligent, and we need some fresh blood running this Country. Vote moderate. Any moderate.
2
I would vote for a random GS-12 over Donald Trump.
4
The Democratic party has lost a huge amount of momentum by not being the adults in a closed room and narrowing the field themselves to achieve focus early on. Instead we have a bit of a circus, with more rings than anyone can focus on and a clown show in Iowa. I'm pretty sure we will put forward a mistake, someone with zero chance of appealing to those who supported Trump in the last election. Personally, I think Bloomberg could make that appeal, but I will hold my nose and throw my vote away if push comes to shove.
We're doomed if Bernie Sanders moves into the White House and Mitch McConnell is still the Republican majority leader.
2
You do realize that the answer HAS to be “yes” for virtually every registered Democrat or, given the electoral map and the moment, we’ll have 4 more years of Trump?
5
In a word: No.
In more words: I will never vote for Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.
I'm in Ohio. I know what my vote -- of lack of vote -- means.
I will not participate in setting the USA up for worse than Trump in 2024.
Think things can't get worse? Remember when so many of us thought that W was the worst President in our lifetimes? Well, he was ... until we got Trump.
So it can get worse than Trump, and if we're going to try to shove a Sanders or a Warren down all Americans' throats, it will get worse in 2024 and I will not be a part of making that happen.
4
You make it sound that Trump is the devil himself. He is really not so bad.
Look at our economy. It has never been better. His approval rating is nearing 50% which means half the country is 100% with him. Evangelicals have it right we are blessed to have such a wonderful man leading this country, Even such past critics as Lindsey Graham have seen the light and now sing his praises,
Give it a little more time and you will be there too.
3
Ha! Trump got a bounce from the impeachment. That was to be expected. But where Clinton’s approval rose up into the 80s after his impeachment Trump can’t even break 50. Take a look at his latest budget. He is bankrupting the country while slashing aid to the poor, such as food stamps. Look what he is doing to social security! If you don’t think aid to the poor is important for your own lifestyle take a look at locations in the US, like California, where poor people have been forced out of their homes due to escalating real estate prices. It’s a mess. And it affects all of us on a daily basis.
Oh, and Trump is taking credit where no credit is due regarding the economy. A big reckoning is coming due, just like after GWB. It will probably be a Democrat who fixes it. It usually is. And when things finally start to come around we’ll have another Republican taking credit for it.
7
@Babel How about Vindman? Lying? Stealing charity meant for children with cancer? No, we will never be there.
4
I will vote for whoever is the nominee but I do notice a news media bias against Sanders for no good reason. Maybe because the owners are the 1% and don't want to pay taxes? Search for "Sanders is ahead in New Hampshire" and you get a load of articles about Mayor Pete. Is that google gaming the system or someone gaming google searches? Are republicans doing this? It's very annoying and not right.
5
Iowa and New Hampshire in sum have only 1.1% of the US population, they get 99% of the media attention. 98.9% of us don't want the 1.1% choosing our candidate for president. How can the Iowa - New Hampshire system be more undemocratic than it is?????
1
I'll commit to Bernie if Larry David commits to playing Bernie on Saturday Night Live.
5
I want Trump out but I will never vote for Bernie Sanders.
4
Three questions for the Dems. Why hasn't Mike Bloomberg purchased both the NY Mets & Knicks and hired me to coach both teams? Should Donald Trump gets free season tickets to both? - If yes, will DT be able to put up with the boos?
1
Let's recall the Republican primary of 1980. George H. W. Bush ran against Ronald Reagan for the nomination. Mr. Bush famously called Reagan's fiscal ideas "voodoo economics" -- a phrase* that has survived to this day.
Yet Mr. Reagan picked Bush as his running mate. And won the election.
Perhaps those on this comment board who are suggesting that the eventual nominee pick a running mate from the opposite wing of the Democratic Party are on to something.
===
* History has shown that Mr. Bush was correct. Trickle-down economics is indeed a fraud. And Mr. Bush was the last of the fiscally responsible Republicans. And he lost his re-election in 1992 in part due to this. "No new taxes. Read my lips."
6
Any sane adult, 2020.
8
Looks like the Dems will torpedo themselves, if they don't pull their act together. Infighting is unproductive and to continue spells disaster for developing a credible platform. Kids in a schoolyard.
3
There is a trump rally in New Hampshire tonight at 7pm (EST). You should tune in and compare the size of the crowds to the Democratic candidate of your liking. This comparison will give you the best overall picture of where the Democrats stand in 2020
4
They bus them in from neighboring states. And the rallies are a lot of fun. Like an old time revival meeting. Trump is a cult.
4
@RS Trump hasn't been able to get 50% of this country to approve of him in over 3 years. He is the least popular president in history. His rallies may fool you, but they aren't fooling anyone who reads and has been paying attention. Remember plaid shirt guy who got thrown out of the front row because he couldn't put on the "act" of being enthusiastic enough for the tv. Trump rallies are a ruse for the rubes.
3
Vote your conscience in the primary.
And then vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
7
Why is Pete Buttegieg such a front runner? It's an attack on the 2020 election. I have nothing against gays . . . but Buttegieg is Trump's dream opponent. Even Democrats who voted for Buttegieg in the Iowa Primary said if they'd known Buttegieg was gay they wouldn't have voted for him. (I know, it's unbelievable they didn't know.) What about Trumpers who are sitting on the fence? The fix is already in.
3
@ maureen Mc2
If Mayor Pete is going to lose votes due to homophobia then I imagine that will work its way out during the primary process and Buttigieg will not be the eventual nominee. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is putting way too much emphasis on the Iowa and New Hampshire results. It’s very, very early in the process.
4
Of course I will.
2
Can we win no matter what we do to you?
Will you vote for any abuse at all, as long as it is us?
No. No.
4
You think impeachment was a partisan hoax, so I presume you’ll be voting for Trump in any case.
1
Reprint this article every day between now and the election! VOTE!
7
We can all make a difference. Be sure to mark your calendar for November 4, 2020 and charge with enthusiasm to you nearest polling location and cast the vote that will be heard across America!!!
@RS You mean Tuesday, November 3rd.
2
Any Functioning Adult 2020
3
I will vote blue no matter who.
2
Yes, yes and yes!
3
I'll vote for ANYONE other than Trump! A two-headed spitting cobra would be better than what we've got now.
7
YES.
3
Yes.
3
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still hope it can be Warren. I'd love to see her mop up the floor with the moron during debates.
4
"Will you do everything you can to deny Trump a
second term ?"
Yes, absolutely ! I am so sick of the clashing egos and the so called "revolutionaries" along with the PC folk.
If they don't quit this garbage -it is going to be 4 more years of Evil deeds by the mentally defective fool in Washington. He will reap so much destruction upon this nation and the world in those 4 years -and beyond. So you better wake up, suck it up - whoever the nominee. NONE of them are worth much, but any - yes ANY are better than what we've got. Please stop the fighting and aim it at the Target.
4
No. I'm volunteering for and donating to one of them right now. I will vote for any of them in the general, but there is only one candidate whom I'm willing to volunteer time and money for.
1
Good column. I'm getting pretty tired of hearing people like Chris Matthews and James Carville rant about how awful Bernie Sanders would be (at the same time that they denounce Sanders supporters for their lack of enthusiasm for Biden or Buttigieg). Recently Amy Klobuchar said she'd have a problem with a socialist at the head of the ticker. Get over it - I will, if one of my less preferred candidates is nominated.
This column is a useful reminder that compared with the modern GOP, all of the Democrats are moderate and sensible and propose policies that would be far better for future generations than those espoused by the nihilists in the Republican Party. Trump and the GOP must be defeated.
7
We need to find a candidate who can also ensure that we ALSO take back the Senate and keep the House. I'm having doubts on whether Sanders/Warren can do this in critical swing states. Democrats, do we really want #MoscowMitch to be at the helm in 2021?
4
Winston Churchill famously said that, "Americans will always do the right thing-- after exhausting all the alternatives."
Let's prove him right.
- Trump was the 'alternative' in 2016.
- Now is the time to do the right thing.
Vote your conscience in the primary.
And then vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
11
How about a "co-presidency" for the strongest coalition against Trump? Say, Biden or Buttigieg as President in charge of national security and foreign policy, and Warren as VP in charge of the domestic and legislative agenda.
3
Donald Trump has never even attempted to be the president for all Americans. To the contrary, he has actively expressed contempt for over half of the American people.
Each and every potential Democratic nominee for president seeks to be the president for all Americans. To work for a better future for all of us.
What unites us is far greater than what divides us. Mr. Trump will never understand that.
Vote your conscience in the primary.
And then vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
6
Yes, I will vote for whomever wins the Democratic nomination. And prior to the election, I will do whatever I can to ensure that Trump is not re-elected. The future of my grandsons depends on this.
5
The 3600 and counting comments on this opinion piece demonstrate that the Democrats are united going in to the November 3 election.
Vote your conscience in the primary.
And then vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
Thank you, Mr. Leonhardt.
- "A house divided against itself cannot stand." - Lincoln
- The American people shall demonstrate on November 3 that we are a house united -- for the Constitution, for the Rule of Law, for the American Experiment itself. We shall vote to reject Mr. Trump, and to support our nation, with a better future for all Americans.
5
Will I do everything in my power to deny Trump a second term? You BET I will. Yes, of course I have a preferred candidate. but as Leonhardt rightly notes, ANY Democrat is infinitely better on all the things that really matter, from civil rights to education to the environment--the things that mean the survival of our small-d democratic society in the long run. I will vote for whomever is the ultimate Democratic nominee, when it comes to that, although I will vote for the person whose specific ideas I like best in the primary. If everyone were to do the same, the strawman of electability would be toppled from its throne.
5
I agree that beating Trump is the most important thing. That's why I think we have to vote for Bernie Sanders. Although none of us has a crystal ball, there are very strong reasons why this is so. First of all he is strong in head to head polls against Trump. For example, in todays Quinnipiac poll he beats Trump by 8 points, and beats Trump in almost every head to head poll this election cycle. Also he is seen favorably by more people than any other candidate, probably because of his reputation for authenticity, the consistency of his views and the clarity of his proposals. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, because of experience and political skill, he is viewed as very tough and able to bring the fight to Trump with confidence. In an election where we can expect the kitchen sink to be thrown at whichever democrat is chosen, Bernie thrives in such circumstances, as his performances at Liberty U. and the Fox town hall demonstrated. With all of the candidates having their strengths and weakness from an electability perspective, these strengths put Bernie substantially above his rivals.
3
@Claude
The Republican oppo researchers are salivating at the prospect of being unleashed once Old Bernie gets the Democratic nomination.
Every Democrat I know celebrates the diversity of the United States of America. We understand it to be one of our nation's essential strengths, an eternally renewable source of energy and ideas.
Sometimes when we talk about our party, however, we tell ourselves that our problem is that we have too many good people with too many good ideas and too much energy; that what we really need is a lockdown on ideas and the kind of fearful, mindless unity that Mitch McConnell is able to impose on his caucus.
Regarding our platforms and our policies in the run-up to the election, the paradox here is that any insistence on absolute unity will be sure to divide us and conquer us. As far as I can tell, it's Donald Trump's only possible pathway to victory.
We are in the majority, people: We, the People. This election is, once again, ours to lose.
Diversity has been, is and always will be our strength. Let's not forget it, good people.
3
At the risk of oversimplifying, Bernie and Trump are two sides of the same coin.
It is well known that the financial recovery was not even across the US. It is well known that us so-called "coastal elites" were blindsided by the depth of the anger a lot of the country felt that led to Trump. But it led to Bernie too, just with a different target.
Trump's supporters see where they are at as the fault of the "other," usually immigrants, people of color, or the government itself. They think Trump is finally standing up for them. On the other hand, Bernie's supporters are just as angry and disillusioned, but they direct this at billionaires, Wall Street, and capitalism itself (far less empathetic targets, sure). But they are just as isolating with their rhetoric. Bernie tapped into the same vein of anger Trump did, but directed it somewhere else.
I am not sure how we fix a fractured system with the left going the same way the right went four years ago. Honestly, Bernie is just as isolating and inflammatory to half the country as Trump is to us. Can't we stop with the nonsense and get behind someone who wants to unite the country? I only hope Bernie supporters will not do what they did 4 years ago and refuse to vote for Hillary should a different candidate secure the nomination.
6
@Katie The 1 percent really hate Bernie. Glad they are a minority in this country.
3
David, whether we support democratic candidates other than Bernie, by far the best candidate or Elizabeth, an excellent candidate will depend on how the democratic party behaves. If both Bernie and Elizabeth lose because of the democratic party playing fast and dirty with the rules, then no I, nor my wife are sure we would vote for the democratic candidate. If we the people choose someone other than Bernie or Elizabeth and Bernie and Elizabeth lose in a fair election than absolutely we will support the democratic candidate.
3
Chris Matthews once said, regarding political candidates, "Democrats fall in love. Republicans fall in line."
Ronald Reagan said that the 11th commandment is, "Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican."
2020 is the year that we Democrats need to finally learn this lesson. The American Experiment itself depends upon this.
Vote your conscience in the primary.
And then vote blue, no matter who, on November 3.
11
@MidtownATL
Quoting Matthews and Reagan is not exactly inspiring. Old Chris seems to be deteriorating mentally. He's gotten very forgetful lately and has trouble speaking. Poor Reagan was deteriorated mentally even before taking office.
Time to get someone younger to replace Matthews. Ali Belcher?
1
For better or worse, we do not live in a democracy. We live in a constitutional republic. That is why we have an electoral college. (Toqueville way back in 1837 in "Democracy in America" warned about the 'tyranny of the majority.')
Thus, perhaps only 10-15% of readers here actually have any effect on who is elected or not. That is simply a fact. If you are in Wisconsin, Pa, Michigan, Colorado, Va, etc. this is your race to decide. The rest of us who live in states that are 'predetermined' are just cheerleaders. If New Yorkers or Californians want to influence this race, then we can move ourselves to the states that matter and vote there. But we won't do that- because although we scream and whine about the horrors of DT, we are comfortable to stay at home and thrash our teeth instead. It's what makes us feel 'enlightened.'
2
Yes, but you can always send money. Send contributions to the DNC in battleground states. Send contributions to Democrats running for the house and for the senate in battleground states and in red states. Send money to Democrats running for governor. It doesn’t have to be a lot. $5, $15, gives a psychological boost that would be much appreciated.
4
For sure, my vote is straight Democratic -- for the rest of my life. I understand the need.
My fear, though, is that the Senate has given Trump the go-ahead to practice every form of malfeasance to ensure he wins. You can be certain more "perfect" calls are happening regularly. And AG Barr has already created the memo and cover story that will allow him to prevent the investigation of Democratic complaints.
Is there a Democratic counter-strategy? Or even an awareness of this certain threat?
7
At this point the candidates are trying their best to stand out from the field but once someone is nominated they will all come to the center, whether that be with their choice for Vice President or plain old common sense. Yes, even Senator Sanders. VOTE is the only thing anyone of us needs to remember come November 3rd.
1
The real question is "who are the Independents going to support? Let's assume all Dems vote Dem, and all MAGA Republican's go for Trump, the middle 30% will decide the election. Unless Dems nominate a far left candidate like Bernie, this middle group is theirs for the taking.
1
@Steve All polls show Bernie with the most Independent votes. Bernie beats Trump.
5
@kay I wonder if that is left-leaning Independents, because there are many moderates and disaffected Republicans that will not vote for a self-identified Socialist.
@Steve Doesn't really matter, cause like I said, most Independents support Bernie over Trump.
I can't IMAGINE the Democratic base NOT rising to the need to vote, regardless of what hapless savior we nominate. Blue, no matter who, is more than a slogan, it's a call to survival of our democracy and our planet.
3
Whomever we select to run against Trump should immediately pick a running mate that provides a counterpoint to their style and leanings. Maybe a Klobuchar/Abrams or a Warren/Buttigieg ticket would do the trick?
2
Warren/Buttigieg sounds perfect to me, but what do I know? Well, I do know that the Bernie Bros won’t accept it. They’re the problem. I think they deserve Trump just as much as his supporters do.
1
Abrams is a brilliant choice, and a brilliant woman. She would bring immediate legitimacy to any ticket. And she’s not a million years old!
3
@Bena Bernie supporter here and I resent that remark, because I would not only vote for whoever wins the nominee but will volunteer my money and time to get them over the finish line. Trump is a threat to our democracy and freedoms and I see his defeat as essential to saving our republic from a corrupt autocracy. Any Bernie supporter missing that deserves to go live in a fake repressive democracy like Russia's. Same for the moderates bashing the progressives. We should all be on the same team and let the best man/woman win with the most votes.
4
The solution may be simpler than we think: if a progressive is nominated, he chooses a moderate as Veep; a moderate chooses a progressive.
We find the two best people in the party as it may take a Sanders-Buttigieg or a Biden-Warren ticket to win. (No more non-entities like Pence or Quayle.)
Have the candidates yet been asked in these debates whether they'll support the eventual nominee if they themselves are not selected?
It is time for people to stop voting against their economic interests and being diverted by wedge issues. It is time for the majority of this country to determine our nation's course.
4
At this point the DNC plan couldn’t be more clear. They haven’t been able to cultivate one credible conservadem and sell them to the electorate, so in lieu of one stepping forth to take the lead, they will do everything they can to keep all of them in until at least Super Tuesday. This will keep the vote divided, and possibly keep Sanders from getting the 2000 or so votes he’ll need to secure the nomination before the convention.
Get ready for the brokered convention. One that just may see Hilary rise like a golem and lead the party into oblivion.
6
I’ve been having this debate with some very emotionally charged (some would say vitriolic) Bernie supporters who consider any other candidate virtually as bad as trump. I think the solution is for either side to choose a running mate from the other. If Biden wins the primaries then he chooses Sanders or Warren to run with. And if Sanders wins then he chooses Buttigeig or Klobuchar. Essentially, build a coalition that is representative of the party, diverse and inclusive.
2
@Alice I've told my vitriolic Bernie-supporting friends and family that my support depends on the behavior of the candidates. If they win by uniting Democrats, then I'll support them. If they win by dividing Democrats, then I won't.
So, tolerance for threats of violence, turning a blind eye to the constant berating, demonizing of other Democrats in general - all things we saw from Bernie in the last election - these things will cause me to stay home in November.
I have positive opinions of each of the possible Democratic presidential nominees. I would be delighted to have any of them as our next president. And I will work tirelessly for whomever is the eventual nominee.
Personally, I have donated some money to Pete Buttigieg this election season. In 2016, I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary, and stood in line for two hours to vote for Hillary Clinton in November. I have also given Bernie a little money this year as well.
The progressive-moderate split is a false choice.
I doubt I am the only person reading this column who likes both Mayor Pete and Bernie.
- Or any other pair of candidates from the so-called opposite camps of the Democratic Party.
I also have very high opinions of Mike Bloomberg, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar. I agree with many of the positions of Joe BIden, Tom Steyer, and Andrew Yang.
I will vote blue, no matter who.
Will you?
14
Nope, I will not and cannot vote for Bernie. I think he would be a disaster for our economy and to my flimsy financial security that relies on a secure pension. The only question is whether I would just stay home or hold my nose and actually vote for Trump.
9
Paul Krugman has a recent NYT column in which he concludes that the net legislative difference of a Bernie or Biden win would be negligible. Congress has a way of moderating and sometimes stifling big change. So... I’d support Bernie but his actual presidency wouldn’t be that remarkable.
7
You live in Idaho...
@Jim Just be aware that you'd be voting for a corrupt dictatorship then and be prepared for your social security and medicare benefits to be slashed and for prices of everything to keep rising.
6
I have been a Democrat my whole life, even through my party's poisonous service to the wealthy. I've dealt with it and dealt with it and dealt with it, even while listening to my party in the 2016 election continually sing in chorus that people like me--progressives--are not really Democrats, and that the candidates that represent the values of people like me are not "center" enough to really be either Democratic or reasonable or electable.
I'm watching right now as the DNC and its corporate news megaphones tell us that our nominees MUST be "centrists" (read: big money apologists and friends of Wall Street). Surprise. Oh, yes--and while Bloomberg can switch his party and keep enriching his own bank account and those of his cronies, Bernie is "not a Democrat" and, thus, cannot be supported.
I have never wasted my vote in the way that Democrats like to decry--never voted for Nadar or Stein or any other candidate than who the party has put forward. You have no right to demand that I continue unrepresented, which only helps the DNC keep arguing that progressives "aren't electable" into the future.
The DNC is broken. The only way to fix it is to let it fall if it insists on continuing to provide a second party for the rich while training the country to hate working and rural people.
So, no. I will NOT, and most emphatically NOT, vote for another big money, self-promoting, status quo Republican packaged as a Democrat.
4
So you’re a possible Trump supporter... ?
3
You have a right to vote for whoever you want in the primary: that is where you register your desire for more progressive policies from the Democratic Party. And, for what it’s worth, I agree with you. However, in the general election we are now faced with a crisis which threatens to wipe out even the possibility of our Progressivism EVER becoming reality in this country. Please remember that, and please do #VoteBlueNoMatterWho.
3
@MWI That being the case, enjoy another four years of Donald Trump. That'll give you plenty of opportunity to complain about his expected appointments to the Supreme Court and the lower courts of the federal judiciary.
2
The biggest difference between Trump and the many Democratic presidential candidate is that Trump only seems to see black and white in his political color wheel. He is so extreme in his philosophies, his temperament, his emotions, his extreme intolerance in many areas. He is precisely what America never was in the past - full of anger, hate, bitterness, revenge.
Not one of the Democratic candidates are even in the same political hemisphere as Trump. They care and love this country and have compassion and empathy.
While I see how each Democratic candidate has some shortcomings, even the total sum of their shortcomings are far, far ahead of the ballgame than what we presently have.
I don't ever recall a president who was as hateful, vindictive nor hurtful as Trump. Those negative qualities alone would keep me from voting for him.
We've already seen the damage he has incurred. I shudder to think what the next four years could bring if he were elected a second term.
13
No. I vote for the person I believe would be best for the world as a whole not just the USA nor just myself. If a major party candidate; not the best choice; I naturally would vote for another “minor” party choice regardless who is the “current” president.
2
It would be great if party unity stated with the candidates. It would be great if at the conclusion of every debate, every candidate voiced respect to all the others, and declared unshakable support for whoever wins the primaries, in the interest of defeating Trump. Warren shaking hands with Sanders, Biden with Buttigieg, an open invitation to Bloomberg, all in a showing of respect and unity in sharpest contrast to the pettiness and shameless disgrace of Trump.
Might send a message, you see, that a Democratic victory is credible, even in the face of a media machine that means to crown Trump as the victor before the voting has even started. Should also push the Democrats to the loftier but crucial goal - reclaim the Senate as well as hold on the House. It's not just Trump who's wrecking the country - Mitch McConnell must go as well, along with all the other shameless carpet-bagging self-promoting scalawags who kneel before him and the threat of Trump's Tweets, putting their careers ahead of any dignity or duty to the country they swore to serve.
3
Any rational person watching the Democrats repeatedly shoot themselves in both feet has to accept a 2nd Trump term is a distinct possibility. I'm okay with what the Democrats did with impeachment even though it gave Trump a boost in the polls. It had to be done. But Iowa was a complete debacle, and the infighting between the centrist and progressive wings could destroy our chances. Yesterday, a couple of Democratic pollsters came to our door. One of them started lecturing our son about Bernie, saying she wouldn't vote for him in the general if he is the candidate because he's antisemitic. Uh, last time I checked, Bernie was Jewish. Oh, never mind. Meanwhile, our son is telling us he's doubtful Bernie supporters will vote for the Democratic candidate in the general unless it's Bernie. This is no way to win the most important election of my lifetime, folks. We must hang together or surely we will all hang separately. If we continue this infighting, Trump won't need the Russians to hack the next election because the Democrats will do it for him.
5
@wildwest, I would rather have Democrats and Progressives shooting themselves in their feet than 4 more years of Trump. Or haven't you actually been paying attention to the severe damage he has inflicted upon our country, along with destroying our international reputation as a democracy?
2
What's troubling is that many of the comments posted here don't attempt to answer the question posed in the title. If your candidate doesn't win, will you support whoever the nominee is against Trump? The fact that so many of you can't or won't answer this question concerns me.
4
@Noel IF ALL Democrats participate in the Primaries, then we will vote BLUE, no matter who.
That's the only approach to beat El Trumpo.
In 2016, Democratic supporters of other candidates besides Hillary voted for their dog, or wrote in Bernie's name in 'protest'. If we do that this time, we will Trump ourselves.
And it won't be enough to 'just barely win' because Trump will invalidate the 2020 election. He still claims the 2016 election that he won was rigged and he got shorted millions of votes. We cannot give him that opportunity.
Anything short of a blue wave will fail.
4
@Noel, those people are GUARANTEEING that Trump will cheat his way to a second term while they sit and mope at home because THEIR candidate didn't make the grade, boo hoo hoo! That puts them in the same boat to me as Trump - traitors to the Constitution and to the idea of a representative American democratic republic.
1
@Noel IT troubles ME that your main concern is in forcing dissenters in your party to capitulate to big money's continued hold on power in this country.
2
Maybe it would be better for the Democrats to lose 2020. There most likely will be an extreme Recession coming in the near future. Better for the Republicans to fumble it and get trashed in 2024 than the same old story of the Democrats cleaning up the mess. Oh, did I forget about the resulting misery? The misery of the MAGA cult or the 44% who didn’t vote? No, I didn’t forget.
1
@C. Neville, Cannot risk another 4 years of Trump. Carbon emissions are going up under his policies and they are trying to cement an autocratic gov't with rigged election. This is our last chance to save our democracy and have any chance of combatting climate change. It can't wait.
2
My answer is "yes." Or, to paraphrase Molly Bloom: "I would say yes [...] and yes I said and yes I will yes."
3
How ironic that's the moderate/centrist Democrat who may be in this dilemma come the general election. Progressives have been told FOREVER to wait their turn, now's not the time, pick the lesser of e=two evils, compromise your values so that he worst doesn't happen. I'm a Bernie supporter who will enthusiastically support the Democrat nominee whoever they may be. This is usually my reality at the polls: I'm used to not seeing someone directly represent my values that I can vote for. I wonder if my moderate friends, for once put in this uncomfortable position, will be willing to do the same, and vote for the lesser of two evils? Is Sanders worse than Trump? This will be a very telling process ... let's see who you are.
4
@Noel I prefer Bloomberg, but I will vote for Bernie if he gets the nomination.
4
I’ve never seen a candidate actually represent me and my values in any election either. Welcome to the club. And I hate Bernie.
2
@Noel
Actually 12yrs. ago Hillary's PUMA's defected in the tens of millions; some 25% of her primary voters couldn't vote for black progressive. (Who turned out to be a self declared Reagan Democrat.)
Pretty Ironic that the same faction now rails against the smaller % who also defected. However the studies show over half of those 12% Sanders to Trump voters were Republican and Red Indy's to begin with. They were never going over to HRC.
But yeah, it is interesting to watch the teeth gnashing and poutrage of them having to come to grips that it might be their turn to compromise.
3
The only issue is beating Trump, holding the House, turning the Senate and stopping authoritarianism. It's silly to worry about Sanders v. Bloomberg. Either of them will be infinitely superior to Trump in terms of whatever policies they can implement in the real world of Congressional politics. Either of them would nominate jurists who will start to return the balance of the courts to democratic (not Democratic) and Constitutional values.
Any of us who say we will will vote for Trump instead of the Democratic nominee is a Quisling. Any of us who say we will stay home if we can't vote for their preferred candidate is equally noxious.
Vote like your life and the lives of your children and their children depend on it. They do. Vote like this is the last election that counts. If we lose, it will be.
3
The question is not whether any of the Dems can beat Trump: they can't. Dems are terrible at dirty tricks, and there is absolutely no way that they can beat this republican dirty tricks machine, with which they own the system, right on up to the chief justice of the supreme court! Trump is an incumbent, none of these dem candidates inspire, and the dirty tricks machine has just gotten the blessing of the Congress and chief justice. It's clear that this administration will not be held accountable, for anything, ever, and will stoop to any depth to stay in power. He's a two termer. Anyone who says different is just trying to sell papers.
No, the question in this purely symbolic primary is: will the dems torpedo Bernie again, rendering themselves permanently, utterly insignificant, and creating a new party (the Berniecrats) all at once? Or will they pull their heads out of the sand, and represent the people?
The narrative in which Bernie voters are at fault for Hillary's loss is sour grapes from the aristocracy. Boo-hoo-hoo! The dems are setting it up as their excuse for their failures in this election, too. Boo-hoo-hoo!
Given that no one can beat Trump, the dems have a chance to do the right thing, with no risk. The question, David, is: will they?
2
@Count DeMoney Really? So how did the dems win 40 congressional seats, many of them in deep red trump country, in 2018?
1
The right thing is beating Trump. There is no other.
1
All the DEM contenders are competent and faithful to the Constitution. Their bias is for the voter balanced against corporate America, not the Present GOP sale of the gov/your tax dollars benefits to the highest bidder. Dems want solutions, not sending you into bankruptcy from medical bills or just outright letting you die whether from polluted water/air or unaffordable drugs.
So vote Blue and work for the outcome.
4
"But both can help avoid the outcome they fear most — Trump’s re-election."
I keep hearing this yet all the Democrats keep running around espousing policy goals that make Trump look like the lesser evil to anyone to the right of the NY Times editorial board.
2
@I want another option
Because they are in denial about how unpopular the progressive candidates' policies are and about how popular Trump's economy is.
Voting for Sanders or Warren is like shooting oneself in the economic foot. Most Americans aren't that foolish.
2
Do Republicans have to listen to this incessant harping when their candidates have bona fide policy differences that should be presented to the electorate so that the people can decide who they want for a candidate in the general election? All this unity talk is great if you plan on forcing others to back YOUR candidate. Just shut up and let people vote for God's sake!
2
I am convinced that of all the Democratic candidates for President, Buttigieg is the absolute worse choice.
Outside Sanders they are all Corporatists but this guy takes it to a different level.
Buttigieg is not just a bad choice, he is a dangerous choice. He has no Policy. He speaks and says nothing. He obfuscates every time he opens his mouth. He goes away to meet his handlers and comes back saying exactly what they direct him to say.
He is the candidate of the deep state. He is more then just owned by big money interests. He is absolutely subservient to them.
8
Sure you do. You are a Bernie only kind of guy. So of course Pete is your biggest threat. It’s easy to be self-righteous and refuse to vote for anyone but Bernie when you live in Germany and don’t have to live with the results of your poor choices.
1
Do you have solid proof for any of this, or are you just repeating some vague talking points you heard “somewhere?” The “deep state” label reeks of Trumpism. This kind of sniping is tiresome. I just don’t see what or where the smear campaign against Pete B. gets us. I’m a progressive who supported Bernie in 2016, btw, and I still support him - or anyone who runs against DJT.
3
@Lupito
Thanks. That’s hilariously witty.
In that vein: in my Buttigieg-ment, I’ll pass on this corporate shill.
2
In the end we will come together to defeat trump because, and I can't stress this enough, trump has united the people against him more than anyone could have thought possible. And those are not just my words, this was the opinions on every Sunday morning show yesterday. Trump is his own worst nightmare.
3
Dear Mr. Leonhardt,
Just why should any voter, vote for someone they don't agree with just because the 'herd' of frenzied rabid people are crazed by President Trump?
Has he led us into Nuclear war or any war for that matter?
Has he caused a major economic Depression?
Has Western civilization collapsed?
You and your like are making the same mistake HRC made in 2016 with her 'Deplorables' comment by constantly 24/7 for the last 4+ years going off the deep end over DJT!
So what happens is akin to the boy who cried 'Wolf'!
5
@Dennis
Mr. Leonhardt describes Trump and his supporters in caricatures. What we know -- and he doesn't -- is how wrong he is.
They still have no clue why Americans support Trump. That's not a bad thing if you consider one has to understand one's opponent to beat him.
3
@Dennis Carbon emissions have gone up under Trump. His adminstration is fighting in court to kill the ACA and kill protections for those with pre-existing conditions. Trump and the GOP are forming an autocracy and trying to cheat in elections to keep power. If you can't see the stakes, you must be blind.
Corporate America and the donors for which it stands are not stupid. They’ve purposely flooded (stacked the democrat “candidate field” in order to drown out populist Bernie’s (and to some extent Warren’s) voice/message.
They hope that Bernie will be perceived as a marginal candidate with eccentric, “non-centrist” views in relation to the other “voices” in the packed field.
Leave it to corporate America to cough up another phony corporate shill.
The D party establishment has been anxiously looking for a backup to Joe Biden as Biden predictably self-destructs. Buttigieg the opportunist knows that establishment Dems need someone, anyone, who can mouth Dem. establishment talking points without sounding decrepit or half-senile.
The DNC continues to “out” themselves in their hatred for Sanders and Gabbard as their actions to cheat and smear them while elevating the current favorite mayor Pete, and, if he fails, Bloomberg.
When are these so called Dems going to just own up to it and declare themselves Republicans?
Too many progressives will hold their noses and support Demos no matter what.
Too many are putting trust in this nominating process.
Now one of two things (or both) is true:
The d-party is rigging this primary process to kneecap Bernie.
The d-party is so moderate, progressives don’t have the votes to ultimately win.
In neither case are progressive interests served.
In which case, only breaking with the D-party will elevate progressive priorities in the public sphere.
5
@chris in Berlin: In 2016, Putin supported Bernie heavily. Most of the Russian propaganda in support of Sanders was devoted to making his supporters resent Clinton, the DNC, and moderate Democrats, thereby splitting the Democratic vote. Given your language, your fervent support of Bernie, your denigration of the DNC and moderate Democrats, your dismissal of Russian election interference, your denunciation of Ukraine, and your foreign location...I hope it’s not too cold in St. Petersburg this time of year! I point this out to both progressives and moderates so they know what they are dealing with.
1
@Bena
Do you accuse everyone you disagree with politically to be a Russian agent or only people to the left of you?
1
@Bena
I’m in the US right now, purely for the better weather.
What is not working for the Democratic voters is that it appears as if the Democratic candidate for President is already almost chosen in Iowa, New Hampshire, before 95% of the Democratic voters get a chance to even vote in their primaries in their own States. So how can David Leonhardt expect Democratic loyalty to a candidate chosen in such an undemocratic way????
1
I have not read all 3548 comments so this may be a repeat!
This piece is what is needed and it needs to be banged into the heads of anyone that is a Democrat, would be a Democrat, isn't close to being a Democrat but wants to ensure the survival of our Republic and put some normalcy back into the office of President.
Every candidate now in the race must sweat to a pact, that if they don't become the nominee they will do all in their power to make sure there is 100% backing from every voter that didn't get their first choice, to vote for the nominee.
You are just shooting yourself if you say that's not my choice so I ain't a votin' or worse I'll vote for the one already there!!
3
I, for one, will NOT vote for Bernie Sanders!
Beware of Jeremy Corbyn...
5
@Publius Where is the unity we need, with this statement? If you would rather have trump than Bernie, you have not been paying attention.
2
@Sue M. I despise Trump and want him to dissolve as soon as possible.
However, I cannot vote for Sanders - he is equally divisive and not representative for a LOT of people. Sanders will cause a Jeremy Corbyn result - sad but true.
Seriously, are you kidding?
I'd vote for my cat instead of Donald Trump.
3
Should push come to shove, moderates will be more inclined to support Sanders than Sanders supporters will be inclined to support a moderate. Brooks recently made a convincing argument that Sanders supporters handed us our National Imbecile in 2016.
1
Short answer. No. Longer answer. The question is demeaning. If you don't get your first choice then will then hold your nose and do everything you can to deny Trump. . .sigh. . .
2
I hate to be the one to point to the elephant in the room but the reason the candidates are not polling well is that they are not as good as Trump. Not as cunning, not as smart, not as original, not as truthful and not as polite. I'm sure I will get some nasty feedback but sometimes the truth hurts.
3
Polite? This must be sarcasm. Not even Trump supporters could believe that. Right?
2
Absolutely!
3
I vow to vote for any sane person with a pulse.
4
Vote against trump. He is the present danger, as is every Republican that has rolled over for him. I guess that leaves Romney as the only one with a spine.
Throw the bums out!
4
Why couldn't we just get another George W Bush to run? I miss the southern charm of a Moderate. The Democrats lost me when they tried to out woke each other, quite pathetic really.
1
Amen and amen!
1
As a proud NY Times subscriber, I am wondering why several of my recent comments have not been accepted...am I doing something wrong?...I feel like Joe Btfsplk....ummm...that would be an Al Capp character....
Sometimes it just takes a while for them to vet all the comments. I doubt yours have been declined. They are probably just waiting in a queue. I for one appreciate that this comments section is carefully monitored. Its a lot of work. Kudos to the NYT for doing it!
2
I would love to see a left wing, female, non-white, gay President (although no candidate fulfills all of that). But if anyone thinks that I should vote for them based on any of those attributes, they've lost me. Obama has to be the model, because he won in spite of his race and name. He got out the black vote without talking about race, and a woman get out the female vote without talking about gender. A candidate isn't going to sway anyone on race, gender, or by hating or supporting the rich. They WILL sway a lot of voters with hope, charm, and class. We could even win back some of the beleaguered white middle America who are tired of the moron we have. Obama is the model, or we lose.
Please repeat posting this article every Monday, now through November 2.
1
I agree. The fascist Republican party and its white supremacist dear leader must be defeated at the polls in November.
2
If it's all -- and only about Trump -- don't count on beating him. The passion to defeat him only goes so far. Many people need a reason beyond animus. That reason has to outweigh all the things he's doing with which most agree, such as on the economy and the border.
2
The Democratic presidential candidates are in the process of cannibalizing one another, effectively doing Trump's work for him. If their presidential candidates are so self-interested that they can't see they are undermining one another, how can the Democratic party expect the electorate to unify around their nominee? Sad.
2
@James
"The Democratic presidential candidates are in the process of cannibalizing one another"
No, they are not.
This is one of the most collegial and mutually respectful primary races I can remember, from either party.
6
@James
There's a reason the NYT nominated two individuals. They "add up" to an ideal candidate. Talent and ideal traits are too scattered among them.
1
@AACNY
"[The collective Democratic president field] 'add up' to an ideal candidate."
Touche.
But Donald Trump adds up to a negative candidate, all by himself.
Good luck with that.
Nobody likes him.
4
Thank you for this excellent column, Mr. Leonhardt.
I have been saying the same thing to everyone who will listen, but not as eloquently as you.
I will vote blue, no matter who.
Will you?
I have positive things to say about each of the possible Democratic nominees. They all share the same positive vision of a better future for all Americans. They only differ on the details of how to get there.
And I would be delighted to have any of them as our next president - a president for all Americans - rather than the current occupant of the oval office.
4
@Jackson We already are a democratic socialist country, Jackson. See Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, public funded education, public parks, etc. What we don't want is to privatize all of it for the 1% at the expense of all of us. What we don't want is a corrupt autocracy with rigged elections like they have in Russia. We want a real democracy "for the people by the people."
2
@jackson: The biggest socialist program in world history is the US military. Do you like them?
3
@Jackson
"So you’re a fan of socialism?"
1. I am at a loss for how you pulled that irrelevant response out of my original comment.
2. If you mean the type of government that we see in every other developed nation (U.K., Germany, Canada, Australia, NZ, France, Scandinavian nations, Japan, S. Korea, etc.), then sure, call me a 'socialist.'
3. If you are against 'socialism', then give up your Social Security and Medicare. And write a check back to the U.S. Treasury.
1
Sanders is the Democrat the Democrats used to be, thirty years ago or more when companies used to split half their profits with investing in workers instead of ninety-eight percent going to shareholders and overpaid CEO’s. Sanders is running a campaign fueled solely on grassroots donors. Sanders is increasing small ‘d’ democracy, not continuing the tend of increasing oligarchy. The Democrats should be proud to promote Sanders, the only true Democrat.
5
Thank you for this. I have never been for mealy-mouthed compromise, and I found Secretary Clinton's focus-group-tested centrism uninspiring in the last election. But man oh man, did I ever vote for her in the general.
I hope enough people in my party can be adults this time around. Back your own horse in the primary, for sure. But then line up. That's what Republicans did last time, behind--of all human beings--Donald J. Trump.
5
@Opinionated Pedant
" I have never been for mealy-mouthed compromise, and I found Secretary Clinton's focus-group-tested centrism uninspiring in the last election."
On social issues, she was more progressive than her 2016 primary opponent who put most of his focus on economic progressivism and was, in terms of social progressivism, a centrist.
2
I have heard no one in the more moderate segment of the Democratic Party say they would not vote for the Party's nominee. Unfortunately, the radicals calling themselves progressives make it clear daily that they would prefer the reelection of Donald Trump over voting for a Democratic candidate other than who they prefer. Many of them did that very thing last election. You are only half right.
4
Actually you are wrong. Plenty of people said they would never vote for Bernie Sanders. I am not a Sanders fan but I will vote for him in a heartbeat if he is the Democratic nominee.
2
The only Democrat I don't what to associate with is a Democrat who won't support the eventual nominee, whoever that may be. Sanders and Biden should both step up now and commit to support the other if nominated.
3
@TonyD They already did that in the debates. They all announced they will get behind whoever wins the primary.
1
In a word, YES! I will rally around whoever is the Democratic nominee. I hope that the nominee picks a running mate to counterbalance them (if Hillary had picked Bernie in 2016 (and he had accepted), we would not be having this conversation today)), and gives them a real portfolio of work to do in the administration. The candidates themselves could and should help set the tone for pulling the party together.
7
The problem, of course, is not getting votes, but getting them in the 4 or so states that really matter. It matters not at all if the Dem wins by 10 million votes, if they are not in the right places.
So it is not the most appealing candidate, but the most appealing candidate in the right states.
7
None of the candidates are first rate . . . As the perceptive John Gardner observed many years ago: "At the time this nation was formed, our population stood at around 3 million. And we produced out of that 3 million people perhaps six leaders of world class -- Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, and Hamilton. Today, our population stands at 245 million, so we might expect at least 80 times as many world-class leaders -- 480 Jeffersons, Madisons, Adams', Washingtons, Hamiltons, and Franklins. Where are they?"
4
Maybe it’s just a case of nostalgia. Those leaders weren’t as great as we thought they were.
3
Maybe you confirm the observation by Huxley “That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.” Aldous Huxley
A bunch of old rich white dudes who didn’t like paying taxes and thought slavery was okay. Maybe we do have a leader who fits those qualities. Trump himself.
2
In the political fundraising email onslaught the week before Iowa, two emails stood out in my inbox. Two of the major candidates sent me emails that were joint 50-50 fund raisers for themselves and the DNC. They both first said that it was imperitave to support the party's nominee to beat Trump, and then in a second paragraph went on to their own platforms. I decided then that I could support either of them comfortably.
They were Buttigieg and Sanders. The Democratic Party is OK. Those two candidates more or less (we'll never know for sure...) tied for the lead in Iowa and are looking good in New Hampshire. "Follow the money." None of the others made this joint fundraising plea with the DNC, and now they're dropping by the wayside. Good!
3
It was Bernie or Bust in 2016 with Hillary and it will be Bernie or Bust in 2020 for me.
My vote will be against the establishment and I will be sending a clear message to the Democratic Party especially if they rob Bernie of the nomination like they did previously.
I'd prefer 4 more years of Trump than to see another establishment Democrat in the White House.
5
@Mr Robert the problem is you're not sending a clear message to the establishment. What do you think you're accomplishing? You're just helping elect Trump. I'm a Bernie supporter, too, but I'll vote for the nominee if it's not him. Think about it the other way around: moderate voters need to be convinced that it's ok to support Bernie if he's the nominee. How can you ask them to do that, when you're not willing to do the same?
9
Thanks a lot, comrade. I hate Bernie and his hardcore supporters but I’ll still vote for Bernie if I have to. Voting for Trump is not just voting for Trump. It is voting for more right wing judges with lifetime appointments, likely including the Supreme Court. It is voting for four more years of environmental deregulation and damage. It is voting for rising deficits and bad trade practices. it is voting for tax cuts for the rich. It is voting for increasing executive power and moving our country further away from democracy. If you claim to support Bernie but are willing to vote for all of those things, you never cared about anything but winning in the first place.
9
@Mr Robert
At this point doing that is the same as voting for Trump. Obviously by now you know that. Ⲧhe only message you'd be is that you like what Trump is up to. Oh and the Democratic party didn't "rob Bernie" in 2016. He lost in the primary, by millions of votes. Let's all, why don't we, pledge not to foist conspiracy theories on other Democrats.
4
As someone who held her nose and spent months ardently volunteering for Hillary Clinton - I got an earful. How many reasons reliable voters (according to state data) had for sitting on their hands. Let me count the ways.
Has anything changed?
It was Trump then. It is Trump now. And it's still we don't want Trump but ...
Electability is all about Americans keeping their eyes on the prize and voting. Republicans will. The opposition? Not so much.
Go ahead. Surprise me. Please.
6
Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat. He is an old Socialist warhorse who has thrust himself into the Democratic Party. It is quite probable that he will do as he did in 2016. Despite the writing on the wall that Hilary would get the nomination he continued as a spoiler. A truly patriotic person would do that. He needs to be called out on this.
3
Sanders is the Democrat the Democrats used to be, thirty years ago or more when companies used to split half their profits with investing in workers instead of ninety-eight percent going to shareholders and overpaid CEO’s. Sanders is running a campaign fueled solely on grassroots donors. Sanders is increasing small ‘d’ democracy, not continuing the tend of increasing oligarchy. The Democrats should be proud to promote Sanders, the only true Democrat.
5
I believe Sanders or Warren could do a lot for healthy change in our government, but I also believe that all the candidates have the same principals in varying degrees and would be a force in stopping the destructive agenda that Trump has created. Whomever the Democratic Nominee is, I will support him or her. Our Democracy and the environmental health of the world is counting on us to stop Trump.
8
After the exporting of American jobs through NAFTA, the full surveillance of every call and text we make, the Defense Authorization Act article 1021 authorizing the military to serve as domestic police with the authority to detain citizens indefinitely without charge, to the recent give away of the largest military budget, the toothless impeachment trial, and the granting of numerous conservative federal judges for lifetime appointments, do we really need any more help from the Democrats?
The party should pick their candidate. The party not the voters. They would be less likely to make a terrible mistake and are best positioned to know how to win. The public voters are not capable.
3
You will never come up with a candidate or even a platform of ideas or proposed programs that will satisfy the extreme right and the extreme left or even most of the Democratic voters.
It ultimately boils down to the level of maturity of the voters and the perception of the degree of danger that another 4 years of Trump presidency represents. The country will be moving in an extreme conservative trajectory from which you may not be able to recover in your lifetime.
If we understand that we must vote for whoever is nominated even if the candidate is not your favorite. If you cannot do that 4 more years of Trump is guaranteed.
Also hold the house and try to take the senate.
9
The media is preoccupied with the presidential race to the near exclusion of the congressional outlook. Democratic prospects for retaking the Senate are likely better - and arguably far more important - than they are for the presidency.
Absent a corrupt, sycophantic GOP Senate, Trump would not have been able to inflict such enormous damage on America's democratic institutions nor breach the public trust with such impunity.
If Democrats retake the Senate, it is much less important whether Trump is re-elected to a second term.
10
Yes we will.
3
YES. If I have to hold my nose to pull the lever I will as there is nothing more important for the future of this country than getting rid of the current occupant of the White House AND the Senate Majority Leader.
13
@Martha - if it's Bernie or Warren, too many in the middle will hold their noses and vote for Trump.
1
How many lessons must we have that attacking and trying to remove Trump is NOT the way to go? There's been at least a dozen....
4
@carl bumba
Look, Impeachment was inevitable with a clueless guy like Trump. His aides and the many many people who cycled out of his cabinet- (what NO permanent cabinet after 3 years??) constantly have to tell Dope Donald what is illegal. He doesn't know. Even Steve Bannon predicted impeachment years ago. It aint the Democrats- it is the ignorant rageaholic at the wheel- give him credit for his own mess.
3
I think this is jumping the gun; however it's an interesting subject and column. Except for 1996 when I voted for Nader, every presidential election I've been eligible to vote in as a Canadian-American has been a choice between a conservative and a far-right-winger. Thus I voted conservative: Dukakis, Clinton, then the progressive Nader, Gore, Kerry, Obama, Obama, Clinton.
It gets old, especially since the country is now so far to the right that I expect to see slavery re-introduced. For once (except Nader), we have actual progressives in Sanders and Warren as serious contenders-they may even be able to drag the 'deplorables' (I prefer 'mindless primitives', but only because their hatred of me has made me ever so fond of them) towards the thousand points of civilised Scandinavian lights.
Are Americans too barbaric for that? At least 62 million of them are. Will the threat of right-wing dictatorship, global warming, and the destruction of what's left of the social safety net motivate centrists and progressives to get to voting centres and overcome the enemy through sheer numbers? I wish I knew. I hope so. I pray it's Sanders or Warren and not the 'reach across the aisle/thank you sir may I have another?' crowd of DINOs.
11
Most Americans do not realize how conservative all the past dems are compared to actual progressive policies.
Thanks for pointing out to these “ fake liberals” dems from the past. Their supporters easily would be NIMBY or any issue confronting them when it comes down on them.
2
One thing NYT could do to stop encouraging party division is stop infusing their own bias. The best strategy to beating Trump is to nominate the most inspiring, well-liked candidate. The best way to do that is publish useful, accurate information about the candidates. The top two individual donor recipients are Sanders and Warren. Their ideas have majority support (universal healthcare, stricter gun laws, fair corporate taxation,..). Thus they are in fact more mainstream, or "centrist." Why then, does NYT always refer to them as something more extreme or radical, where the corporate-backed candidates are toned down as "moderates" and "centrists?"
7
Besides making sure Trump is not re-elected, the corrupt Senate -- more corrupt than Romes -- must be flipped, otherwise whomever the Democrats install in the White House will have an impossible time addressing the domestic and foreign problems confronting us. Unfortunately, there seems to be too much focus on moderate vs progressive and not enough on the other Elephant in the room.
5
I was really trying to read this article and be objective, until I read this, "Today the Republican Party has become so radicalized..." Um hello? Which party has become radicalized? A quick glance at the debate stage and you can see the most radical group of Democrats that I have seen in my lifetime. None of these people have a ghost of a chance against Trump. He is at the end of the first term and we are still alive. No new wars. Economy is good and Democrats are still so upset that he won, they are daily brewing up new charges to try to get him removed. The public is used to Trump. The failed prosecutions have only given him legitimacy and garnered sympathy from people across the board. There are Democrats that won't vote for a socialist or a centrist. They will stay home. The devil you know. Ya know?
4
@Mark
Trump plus communist Mr. Putin is a no-go. Sorry.
3
@Mark The "prosecution" (if that's what you want to call it) failed because, unlike in Nixon's time, there are no longer any Republicans left who have the spine to stand up and do the right thing; because this crop of Republicans knows but DOES NOT CARE (or is too afraid to say that they care) that the President attempted to extort a foreign power into interfering in a U.S. presidential election to the president's benefit by threatening to withhold Congressionally-appropriated funding (itself a violation of law).
2
When you feel your candidate is losing support, you attack. This seems to currently apply to Biden but mostly to Bernie Sander supporters. Instead of explaining their support for their candidate, they are name calling other candidates and vowing to write in Bernie Sanders. This feels like the hand cutting of the food for a mosquito bite. Their fervor for Sanders includes letting Trump win. Sander supporters seem to be narrowly focused and don't understand why older voters especially people of color doesn't trust Sanders. His evocation of money as the only difference between the .1% and the rest of us doesn't account for the working class voters (specifically white) who voted for Trump. It's not the money but the loss of white privilege that has converted this voters from Democrat to Trump (not GOP). They see a Savior in the false prophet. The goal is to defeat Trump not elevate Sanders. When Sanders' progressive agenda scream FREE everything to Trump voters, they turn off and turn on to Trump. Yes everyone wants healthcare to be not the main cost of why we work, we want to be educated but not riddled with debt and we want opportunities open to anyone and everyone. However, revolution often only means destruction and civil war. Start revolutions in your own city, town or state and make the changes that can be models for the country. Sanders is not a leader, he is an opportunist. His failures in working with others is because of his rigid stance.
5
@Melanio Flaneur exactly! I lived more than half my life in Western Europe and am also a dual EU citizen, so I appreciate and want all the benefits I enjoyed there right here in the US. The problem for me is Sanders - it's HIM, not his policies. It's the use of the word Revolution that frightens me. Revolution = violence and it's nothing I'm looking forward to. If that's not Sander's intention, then change the language, change the attitude.
4
YES! I will do everything on my power to stop Trump from having a second term. This republic is seriously in question, democracy is in question with this authoritarian in the oval office. For people of conscience, religion/faith or any decent moral standards, is money (the economy) that important for us to sell our souls to the devil?
4
I am afraid Bernie is too petty and reckless to care more about getting rid of Trump than nursing his own ego. That's what he did with the 2016 election, too wounded by Hilary's defeat to bring his supporters to her side. He doesn't look the part, but the guy is loaded with enough ego to sink the democrat's chance to win the next election. The guy terrifies me!
5
Short version: "Democrat voters: Our party has neither a vision nor a viable candidate who can win on merit or ideas, so please vote for anyone we nominate and maybe - maybe - we can beat Trump."
Thus will begin four years of what we've just seen: an Iowa Caucus-level of expertise guiding the nation. Onward!
2
Well said. It boggles my mind that supporters of any of these candidates wouldn't wholeheartedly back whichever of them wins the nomination and bears the responsibility for defeating Trump.
9
Reviewing the history of Progressive politics it seems only an economic disaster, a Great Depression/Recession, can get people to understand the argument of this article. The “if I don’t win I’m taking my marbles and going home” attitude only fails when there are no marbles to pick up and no home to go to.
4
Could Romney run as the Republican anti Trump and win?
4
@Patrick McGowan The republicans cancelled a lot of primaries and won't allow anyone to compete with Trump except in blue states. So, Trump will be there nominee whether they like it or not.
1
The Democratic Party elites, donors, politicos, et al have already signaled that their main goal is to stop Bernie Sanders, not to stop Donald Trump. As reported by the New York Times in 2019, the issue of "what to do about Bernie" has donors like Bernard Schwartz hosting "stop Sanders" meetings with Pelosi, Schumer, Pete Buttigieg, et al. An Obama insider has “leaked” the information that Obama is prepared to speak up in order to stop Sanders. Hillary Clinton has shifted blame and has lied in order to stop Sanders. MSNBC and CNN exhibit a clear bias against Sanders, as exhibited by MSNBC’s host Chris Matthews’ recent implication that if Bernie Sanders is elected, there will be “executions in Central Park.” Bernie Sanders was Mayor of Burlington, Vermont, from 1981 to 1989; I don’t recall any reports of any persecutions and purges, yet Matthews’ unhinged rant goes unchecked. The Democratic Party's goal isn't to defeat the status-quo-sustainer Donald Trump, it's to defeat Bernie Sanders, the biggest threat to political graft and politico grift since FDR.
If one believes that any Democrat is better than Trump, one should vote for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Primary. To best Trump and his base, Dems must have a candidate with a base that is motivated by hope, not fear; that candidate is Bernie Sanders.
12
Egad.
I am afraid your post had an effect on me that you did not intend. Reading it, I get the feeling that Sandersism is just as much of a paranoid, delusional, conspiracy theory driven cult as Trumpism, but without the merch and the entertainment value. I’ll vote for Sanders if he is the nominee. But given the nature of his base, I doubt that he will have enough mainstream Democratic support to win the nomination. Then will come the very predictable accusations that he was robbed and cheated by the DNC and by whoever the actual nominee turns out to be. As far as Sandersist and Trumpists go, a pox on both your houses.
2
Both Bernie and Biden irritate me, but if one of them gets the nomination, I'll take a deep breath and still vote Democrat. Our nation's wellbeing is beyond each candidate's ego and individual platform.
I've had enough of Trump and his suck-up Republican Party. 2018 was good for "House" cleaning; time to recycle some Senate seats in 2020.
10
The Democratic candidates reflect their party - philosophically diverse (at least), of many opinions and with differing proposals on what the country needs. So, what's wrong with letting them duke it out through the spring and see who is able to break free from the pack?
And if they don't, we have a multi-ballot convention, finally pick a candidate and (and this is Mr. Leonhardt's main point!) we all get to work to elect that candidate.
The notion that the non-incumbent party should have its candidate picked in February, after Iowa and New Hampshire, is ridiculous. Whether you like the primaries scattered throughout the winter, spring and early summer or not, its the system we have. Let it play out and see who has staying power and real traction with voters as diverse as our nation really is.
Every single one of them is being more realistic than the GOP. Every single one is looking at the nation as a whole, not simply looking out for their supposed "base." They don't agree on things - so what? Let's listen to how they each adjust to being successful or unsuccessful in each primary as it comes along. New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada - pretty wide-ranging.
As the parents always yelled at my kids' soccer games - let them play! This is what this process is for. The people who can handle this will show themselves, and they will not be blindsided by Mr. Trump in the fall. His tricks are out of the hat.
The Democrats are in better shape than most people think.
6
Will I vote for whomever is the Democratic Nominee? YES. And I everybody I talk to agrees, Trump must go down. The mainstream media is scared to death of Bernie, maybe because they have tried to stunt his political growth for many reasons. They have more to fear from their readers, like me that see the NYT and WP put their thumb on the scale for a "moderate" whomever that is while none of them, even Bloomberg or Buttagieg have a prayer to win against Trump.
5
The tone and content of this article provides ample lessons illustrating how journalists have inflamed differences within the Party and with those outside the Party. As an example, quoting from the article: “Today the Republican Party has become so radicalized that it opposes almost any government action to solve problems.” Republicans and independents are not radicalized. Rather they have not joined progressives in the belief that government can solve most problems. This is not a new or extreme belief. The use of the word ‘radicalized’ is used to agitate adverse reaction and hate. Journalists need only look themselves in the mirror to explain uncivil discourse.
1
@DEN You have to admit that supporting a proven lying criminal for the top office in the land is not normal. You may not want it labeled "radical" but it is not normal. Is insane a better word?
1
Leonhardt avoids confronting the one entirely possible scenario that would very likely shatter the unity he calls for: a contested convention that undemocratically gave Bloomberg the nomination.
As Leonhardt's NYT colleague, Michelle Goldberg sketched this widely recognized danger:
"[I]f Sanders emerges from the primaries with a plurality of votes, denying him the nomination would be not just unfair but potentially suicidal....[A] candidate foisted on the party over the furious remonstrances of a disempowered base would almost certainly fare worse, while permanently alienating the young people who should be the Democratic Party’s future."
[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/opinion/democratic-primary-2020-election.html]
5
Democrats, grind out whatever flavor of sausage floats your boat.
I'll vote for it.
7
Yes, yes, YES!
3
It's between Scylla and Charybdis anyway.
1
Dear NYT:
Democrats, including the columnist, are so consumed by the desire to rid ourselves of Trump that they cannot see the obvious. We have a very weak field. Call for "unity" are silly rah rah wishful thinking.
The most important quality in a candidate, and a party, is the ability to articulate an inspiring -- winning -- vision for our country given a realistic appraisal of where we are today and where we can reasonably hope to go, i.e., the best way forward after we rid ourselves of Trump.
Bernie's angry rants about stripping "billionaires" and corporations of their wealth and giving it to us, is a recipe for economic disaster. Bernie is a dinosaur, not a leader. He sounds like just the graying New Left boomers who live on my street in Berkeley, not show a way forward, only a revolution nobody wants.
Warren? Bernie in a pants suit. And her misappropriation of a Native American heritage is disqualifying.
Biden is smarmy, corrupt and losing it mentally. His peevishness is annoying not inspiring.
Klobuchar is ok but too snarky. Like a jello salad with some weird spice in it.
Steyer? Bloomberg? I can see the bumper stickers now: "Our billionaire can beat your billionaire." Inspiring.
My pick: Mayor Pete. He is articulate, brave, and represents generational change. The first gay president? Why not?
9
@Jorge Mayor Pete is not sincere.
My pick is Andrew Yang. Humanity First.
@Jorge
Good analysis. Why not? Agree.
@ john w
Why do you say Buttigieg is insincere? Vague claims like these are divisive and unhelpful. If you have concrete examples let us hear them. If you are turned off because he is gay that is something we need to know.
1
Unfortunately, if you are a Bernie supporter we already know your answer: Bernie or Bust just like in 2016. Bernie supporters in 2016 are why we have to suffer with Trump and his corrupt buddies.
5
@karma
Eight years of zero "Hope and Change" under Obama/Biden...followed by the DNC anointing another corporate Democrat in Hillary Clinton....is what delivered Donald Trump the presidency.
"Blaming Others For Your Own Failures" should be the new slogan of the Democrat party.
2
@John Great post! It seems like the Democrats are ignoring the true root cause of trump winning. Exactly what you said is why we have a conman in the WH.
1
Please, Democrats, remember, ..... this good economy does NOT belong to Trump....he inherited it from the Obama administration. Remember when he took office at the 2008 recession (thanks, Bush!) Obama put together an economic team which included Reich....and they said, it will take 10 years for us to climb out and recover from the losses....and they were right. It is not due to Trump, it is due to Obama's team!
11
@Carol If it was truly Obamas economy then how come the day after Trump won the DJIA shot through the roof? If it was truly Obamas economy it could have happened 48 hours earlier, but it didn't. This is the same old brainwashing liberals do every time they try to explain their economic failures. Laughable isn't?
1
@RS The stock market is not the economy. And if you were an investor, you'd know that stocks have been going up since 2010. We're in a 10 year bull market. Trump just fools you with nonsense.
1
The 2020 election poses a unique conundrum for Democrats: What is the most effective way to run against a Fascist? Be radical? Moderate? Milquetoast? All surviving candidates need to decide on a game plan, and do so posthaste. Otherwise it's four more years of Trump, or more if his threats are to be taken to heart. God help us.
2
@H. Clark Check out Fintan O'Toole's lecture on Social Democracy for the answer. You can find it on You Tube. Spoiler alert: Social democracy (a real one) is what beats fascism.
My vote will be cast against Trump. Bloomberg can beat Trump at his own game. I don't think any of the others can. Bloomberg and Stacey Abrams would be a winning combination.
7
@Charlie - Did Amy Klobuchar or Pete Buttigieg vanish? They are still viable, especially Klobuchar. I’m happily voting for her. I loathe Sanders and his cultists, but I know that Trump is far worse than Sanders (our worst candidate, and who won’t win if he’s the nominee), so if he the nominee, I’ll very reluctantly vote for him. I hope his supporters do the same if a moderate is the nominee.
Btw, to Mr. Leonhardt - Those Democrats who got us Social Security and the rest were moderate Democrats. The progressives now would undoubtedly label them “corporate,” even though they were very progressive. Today’s so-called progressives haven’t done much of substance; what they excel at is trying to disrupt and discredit the Democratic Party, hence our troubling situation now.
4
Socialism vs. Trump
"Where is the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? They have passed like rain on the mountain, like wind in the meadow. The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow. How did it come to this?"
1
@Russian Bot
We already live in a social democracy. What Trump's trying to do is turn it into fascism. Maybe looking up what social democracy is will help you.
1
For me this is a no brainer. I will vote for who ever is the Democratic Candidate is. This is a must we must work to repair and fix all the damage that the Clown car and all in it has done.
6
My takeaway here is that as dems we shouldnt care about voting for the "best candidate", we should vote only to defeat trump. Read that sentence a few times until the truth of it sinks in. Wouldn't the "best candidate" be the one who would have the best chance to defeat trump, because they are the "best candidate" overall. Putting up the candidate because they are the best choice to defeat trump means they probably arent the "best candidate". Which is a recipe for losing. But we have completely lost sight of this simple logic because we have so blinded ourselves with our trump hate.
1
Yes, and I did so in 2016 despite feeling less than thrilled with the DNC's chosen candidate. My hope is that the DNC and the corporate-media will give all the candidates the chance to present their case to the electorate and allow VOTERS to decide the outcome of the primaries, instead of some 'party elites'.
5
I don’t think Buttigieg and Bloomberg can win so I wouldn’t support them. But any other Democratic candidate I would strongly support.
1
The big question that I am not hearing anyone ask is...will this election be legit? Ivanka and Eric Trump both now own companies (bought from China and Russia!) that make voting machines which will be used in the 2020 elections. Does this not alarm anyone??
11
@Baruch
I hope that a NYT reporter will latch onto this story. One benefit to the reporter would be the likelihood of a major prize for journalism because the subject is so essential to America's future success as a nation.
Isn't the Trump children's ownership of voting machines a kind of conflict of interest? And the China/Russia connection makes the story even more significant.
Is anybody listening? Vote Blue No Matter Who--but will it matter at all if our voting machines are compromised?
4
Why are we running "let's compromise" articles so early in the race?
I'm betting on my two (yes, there are two candidaates that I like - a man and a woman) so why speculate the day before the New Hampshire primary.?
It would be nice to say "anyone but Trump" , but - frankly I'm not so wild about billionaaires buying the presidency or tech. millionaires throwing big money at Mayor Pete or or or...
5
I don't expect my candidate of choice to not win, Michael Bloomberg, but if for some crazy reason the democrats don't nominate him I am still anti-trump enough to vote for whoever is nominated even if I think they will lose to trump.
3
We cannot elect a socialist President because something like that doesn't exist.
A socialist President might coincide with Jesus return.
There is nobody so good and smart.
A socialism is an ideal - loving all the people around us more than the money.
It will not happen any time soon.
A socialist President would slash our benefits to protect the future generations by not saddling them up with our debt.
We are not the people good enough to elect a socialist!
2
So if the choice is one of two NYC billionaires ... how does one differentiate ?
One was a republican
One is a republican
Is that really a choice or just a oligarchy coup masquerading as an election.
3
@Wait Still
One is for the environment because sea rise is very real for NYC and the northeast coasts. Bloomberg is smart enough to understand that.
1
I wish all the folks carelessly 'slinging' the word 'Socialism' in reference to Sanders would realize a few basic things.
First, most of the things that make America 'Great' are because we have built solid institutions to protect us from corporate pollution, price-fixing, graft, corruption, unsafe workplaces, and infectious diseases, dirty air and water and more. These time-and-grief built institutions are under attack by Trump and the right. They want you to believe that because the FBI made a few mistakes, that means the entire FBI is 'crooked', and should not be trusted. They want you to distrust ALL US institutions, because they have flaws, and once that has been accomplished, we'll have the same protections as the average Russian - which is none.
Why do we get fanatical with words like 'Socialism' while we ignore the Russian bot stampede that surrounds us every day online? Because it's not clearly labeled or identified, we ignore the entire threat, which is massively more damaging than the 'threat' of free healthcare. There are thousands of Democrat and US institution-crushing 'memes' posted daily by the GRU in St. Petersburg, Russia to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Spend a few minutes with www.botsentinel.com and you'll see how these threats from Russia far outweigh ANY threat of 'Socialism'.
Wake up folks, 'socialism' is not a viable threat to the American way. BIG Medical profiteering and Russian attempts to degrade America are a much, much bigger threat.
7
I'm not in the least ashamed to say that I do not care which of the Democrat candidates gets the nomination. I will gladly vote for him or her. Not a one of them is morally twisted like Trump and his group.
I don't care if the candidates aren't exciting. We've had enough exciting these last four years. I don't care if a candidate is too moderate or too liberal. Their policies simply indicate their stance, not what would actually happen once put through the grinder of the system of bill passage if it ever goes back to being as it should. The main goal must be to defeat Trump and McConnell and try to return at least some modicum of honesty and respect to a body that never had much anyway. All I want is someone who is smarter than me and has true leadership qualities and is willing to learn. (And someone who won't make me sick every time I plug in to political news.) There is not a single Dem candidate that frightens me or disgusts me. We absolutely must stop splitting hairs and rally around the Dem nominee. These are not normal times and we don't have the luxury of intra-party squabbles.
4
Likely to be a brokered convention with the moderate candidates combining their delegates for a moderate nominee.
Hopefully, for the sake of the country, Bernie and his supporters won’t howl that it was rigged.
Bloomberg/Klobuchar can win.
1
It's the wrong question because it assumes the electorate sees any of the leading Democratic candidates as better than Trump. Unifying Democrats isn't enough. The party must nominate someone who won't lengthen Trump's coattails. The party must nominate someone whose primary policies are not advertised as a restructuring of capitalism in the middle of a long-term expansion with low unemployment. "Vote for our self-proclaimed socialist because he's not Trump" won't carry the Electoral College in a low-unemployment, growing, low-inflation economy.
The answer has to be yes for every single one of us. No exceptions. I want all the candidates to swear they will encourage their followers to back whichever democrat gets the nomination. To do otherwise would be unpatriotic and dangerous for the future of this country and the planet.
3
What does "electable" mean as long as we have the Electoral College? I would argue that Hillary Clinton was certainly "electable," given that she earned millions more votes than her Republican counterpart. Do Republicans worry over electability when they know the system will reward their loser president?
Without a doubt, Democrats must unify behind any chosen candidate, because the system is skewed against them and, in all likelihood, foreign governments are working with the president to malign them.
1
Sanders elected Trump in 2016 and, if nominated, will elect Trump again in 2020.
1
You got that right, but don't say Republicans have been radicalized. Being radical means having an actual ideology. Abject greed and corruption isn't radical, it's just criminal. And, yeah, I'm not only going to vote for whatever Democratic candidate wins the primary -- whether it be Bernie or Pete or Bloomberg or whoever -- I'm also going to campaign for them. I'm going to donate to them. I'm going to do everything I possibly can to get them elected. Because four more years of Trump is going to destroy us.
5
I would vote for Richard Nixon over Donald Trump.
So would I vote for Bernie Sanders, or Michael Bloomberg, or Liz Warren, or Pete Buttigieg, or Amy Klobuchar, over Trump? Of course. None of them are certifiable.
4
Democrats need to ask themselves which candidate can win the independent vote, as well as moderate “never Trump” Republicans. That’s how you win in November.
1
Answer: YES! I will vote for the Democratic candidate.
1
Flip the Senate. Hold the House.
Regaining a majority in the Senate and holding the gains in the House should be as high a priority as regaining the Oval Office.
Dems, if they are lucky enough to win, will have to deal with the wreckage brought upon us by Trump and the GOP. Trump got the hard times rolling with his impulsive ignorant approach to governance. It is going to be a mess to clean up.
Bad times, they are a'comin'. Dems need to be at the helm.
2
I'd vote for a potato against trump, but I'm hoping to be able to vote for Bloomberg.
2
Time for the NYT to push for Sanders to release his medical records. He is suppressing them for a reason. A “ modest heart attack” indicates significant damage to the heart and everyone needs to know how precarious his health is. I am not a supporter of his but this is so reckless.
1
I will vote blue no matter who.
But it would help if Bernie Sanders reads your essay, too. Because if he did, maybe he’d stop screaming that billionaires, and by extension Mike Bloomberg, are bad.
2
Anyone who does not support and vote for ANY Democratic candidate nominated is a TRUMP ENABLER, just like the Republicans. Become one at your own risk!
1
To Mr. Leonhardt’s question: I support Sanders, but I will vote for the Democratic candidate in November, no matter who it is. There’s a cancer in the White House by the name of Trump, and like any cancer, he must be defeated, whether by Sanders or another Democrat; the situation is simply too dire...
3
Real Question:
Are the Sanders supporters better off now than if Hillary had been elected.
Of course, they get another shot at the revolution.
1
I have a basic question. Right now we are only focused on one candidate - the 'winner' of the primary. But is there a reason why the current candidates cannot name their running mate and a few key positions now (e.g. Secretary of State, Treasury, etc.), in case they get the nomination? I think this could go a long way in broadening their base and highlighting how they will deliver (imagine Pete with Michelle Obama as his VP!)...hey..one can dream right? : )....
2
The Democrats, main stream media and NYT will talk about Trump nonstop as they did in 2016.
trump will win in a landslide in 2020. The Democrat numbers coming out to vote are low. the GOP has signed up 15 million new voters and if they come out and vote then 2020 will end up with Trump getting 400 electoral votes, increase the GOP senate to 55 - 57 seats and take back the house.
Even if Trump wins and holds the Senate and not the house Mitch and Trump will fill every vacancy left on the courts for until 2025. Trump will have 30% of the courts filled with his judicial nominations by January 2021. This is why the Democrats went crazy and had to do anything to stop Trump including the bogus impeachment.
1
Trump & Co want nothing more than to see us divided.
I will take a far left, dead center or far right DEMOCRAT over the total destruction of anything resembling the progressive gains of the last 100 years...which is what 4 more years of Trumps GOP will unleash.
2
I am going to answer David’s question directly. If Bernie is not the nominee, I could possibly vote for Warren. I will not vote for anybody else. You don’t get to lecture me on this and you don’t get to shame me about this.
Candidates have to earn my vote. Bernie has. Warren has. No one else has or will. They are not royalty that get to denigrate our needs and yet shame and demand our vote. They work for us, not the other way around; I am not a public servant. They are!
Lastly, journalists in the media and columnists do not get to shame us about this. If you do, you are trying to manufacture consent.
2
When asked if he was a progressive, Biden responded that he was a liberal. When Democrats dispense with labels, as Buttigieg said in the last debate, perhaps they can come together.
1
I would vote for any of the frontrunners except for Bloomberg.
Good points. The ugly sniping among the candidates during and since the last debate is a very bad turn in this primary campaign. Some of the candidates in particular don't get it. Steyer is increasingly taking on the role of spoiler. He was the one who first pushed the idea of impeachment, which resulted in nothing but Trump's popularity reaching an all-time high. And what is his signal advice for how to take on Trump in the general election? Attack him on the economy. Right -- tell the people who have found jobs in this time of historically low unemployment, whose wages are finally rising, whose retirement stock funds are giving them hope for the future, who are enjoying near zero inflation, that they don't realize how miserable they are. That'll work. Oh, and reparations. A real winning theme to rally white voters, who still make up the majority of voters in the general election. It might, however, just peel away enough black voters in the primary to cripple the party's front runner, Joe Biden. Meanwhile, Biden's other presumed constituency, the white working class, are being offered a discordant message: Biden hopes to win back Trump voters by talking unceasingly about how horrible Trump is.
"If your preferred candidate doesn’t win the nomination, will you still do everything you can to deny Trump a second term?"
Yes, full stop.
4
Much blame was heaped on Hillary because she lost (though let’s not forget she received more votes) but I don’t think it was her fault. Trump’s approval rating has gone up since the impeachment hearings because— he won? That’s my assumption. None of the facts have changed. Perhaps we are too concerned with winners and have too much scorn for those who loose. The media also kept beating the “ Hillary looser” drum.
1
This may be the beat article ever, but somehow it leaves me even more depressed than I was before.
1
I will vote for anyone but it doesn't matter with the electoral shim sham that exists. Why so much rests on a few states is unfair. one person one vote.
2
Yes - and Democrats need to focus on negative GOP policies like the budget released yesterday that cuts Medicare, Medicaid and other social safety net programs while spending billions more on border walls and the bloated military. Trump promised to lower drug prices and protect Medicare . He promised the tax cuts would pay for themselves with 4% growth as far as the eye could see. None of this is happening. Go to those "heartland" places and make your case. Make the case you are the party that protect People. The GOP is not the party of people - it is the party of corporations. Also stop the complete denigration of the wealthy - many wealthy people give millions to causes the Democrats support. That being said, the wealthy must pay their fair share. Highlight situations like Kansas where people are being jailed for unpaid medical debt - the scam is being run by an attorney who get's paid for what is collected. We do not have "debtors" prisons in the US. It has to be more than 'Trump is a Horrible Person".
2
No. It is looking more like Trump and Obama’s differences are not that prevalent. Unless I am provided an alternative from the hatred and destruction of the Republicans or the meek and pathetic acquiescence to that hatred and destruction of the Democrats, I will not donate money as I have. I will not make calls or texts or go out and knock doors as have. I will not vote as I have and instead I will retreat into my own life in an attempt to escape the two factions of the far right party currently running the country.
It is imperative that Trump and his minions be defeated. They have forced their brand of entertainment down our throats for three years and it's three years too many. Anyone but Trump. Any group but his.
2
Trump’s base will not read his 2020 budget but maybe they should since he proposes to tighten eligibility to access “socialism” in the form of disability benefits. No soup for you!
3
Yes, to the question -- for everyone who is not a fraud or crazy. Those who are concerned about electability, struggling to determine who is the "most electable Democratic candidate" (MEDC) and to support that person versus their own preferred candidate, need to grapple with an understanding of just who are the potential voters they are concerned about. This MEDC is a crazy notion, hinging on two things: (1) Some liberal voters might not vote for the MEDC if s/he is not their preferred candidate; (2) there is a marginal group of voters who are not appalled by Trump and might vote for him if the MEDC is not the most centrist or right-leaning candidate. Everyone is trying to game-out this situation. Anyone in group (1) is a fraud or crazy. Anyone in group (2) is frightfully unaware of what is going on. Our democracy, hinging on pandering to these groups, is in very real danger. Those committed to Trump are irredeemable.
I will do my part by supporting my favorite candidate during the primaries and the Democratic candidate in the general election. But will the media (looking at you, NY Times) be able to resist running daily stories about the disarray in the Democratic Party, stories that quote anyone from the candidates themselves to the man in the street who will go on record criticizing another Democrat? How about stories that tell us over and over the polls say this or that candidate will be the winner, so no need to actually vote? Please report the facts, downplay the horse race, and trust the voters to decide.
1
A completely meaningless article when "democracy" is absolutely nonexistent in the Democrat party.
In Iowa, Sanders wins the first alignment by 6,000 votes and the final alignment by 2,500 votes. Buttigieg gets 564.3 state delegate equivalents to Sanders' 561.5 ( a .1% difference).
And what is the final result?
Buttigieg receives 17% more national delegates (14) than Bernie Sanders (12).
The Iowa Democrat Party claims: "caucus tally sheets could not be changed even if they contained mistakes, according to a lawyer for the party"
What a completely and utter joke.
Elections are completely meaningless in this country.
It is all an illusion...to enrich those who are already wealthy.
3
I vote against Trump first.
Second let’s represent our values. Health care, education, wealth realignment.
I support everyone except Biden. That’s the fools choice and the weak link.
1
It's not about Dems wanting to govern - it's about their hate of Trump. This article is just another example.
1
Yes is my answer, and I would go further and say, except for the possibility of a first time female POTUS, I don't really care which of the "Big Six plus Bloomberg" gets elected. Actual policy will be determined by combination of Congress and White House and will end up well short of reaches by more leftist candidates. The most important thing is to get rid of Trump and stop the movement in USA toward fascism. Then, get to work on saving the Earth and building an economy that works for the ordinary person as well as the 1%.
2
If the democrats rig the nomination process again then they deserve to lose to Trump again.
5
Bloomberg. Progressives need to get with the program and realize that none of the current candidates, good as they are, can bring the firepower to defeat Trump that Bloomberg can. Sanders looks like a wild-eyed old graveyard keeper, and FOX “news” will work that angle for all its worth. Warren and Buttigieg are strong, but will be more powerful inside a Democratic administration; let Warren go after the banks and Facebook and Mayor Pete can be a wonderful ambassador to the world, attempting to repair the profound damage to our allies that Trump and his henchman have inflicted. Bloomberg knows first hand what a grimy creep Trump is, and can fight fire with fire; he’s got the money and the guts to do it. Nothing — nothing — matters more for the sake of our country than beating Trump, and it’s time Democrats stopped bringing a feather duster to a gun fight.
1
When Leonhardt advocates "anyone but Trump", he acknowledges the end of the Democratic Party at the hands of Nancy Pelosi during Obama's first term.
The infamous "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." was the end of legitimate federal governance and the spiral into a tyranny that the people have responded to.
Question: If your preferred candidate doesn’t win the nomination, will you still do everything you can to deny Trump a second term?
Answer: An unequivocal, unabashed "Yes."
2
Trump came completely as advertised. I am amazed that people are surprised. At this stage of the rolling GOP train-wreck I would vote for a brown dog with D stencilled on the side. At least that candidate would do no harm. Any one of those on the stage could wipe the floor with Trump's venal and corrupt performance so far. There are no Obama's here, but a steady experienced candidate such as Klobuchar who is no shrinking violet could be just the ticket. While I would vote for the lefties, others would not – PLEASE don't go there, or the Dems will (again) snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
2
The Dems have to also remember that a significant number of folks are neither red nor blue. Not only do they have to show a solid front against POTUS, they have to work (hello, DNC) to make their candidate and message appealing to those who stayed at home in 2016. So far, I see the leadings candidates as too far left to get those folks to the polls, and they also have to crack the nut of the minority vote, which I don't see rallying around any of the candidates yet.
Here's one of those unsubstantiated claims made by some writers to justify an opinion:
"Progressives worry that Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bloomberg are uninspiring centrists who resemble recent presidential losers and wouldn’t solve America’s problems even if they won."
So, where are the polls and comments from "progressives" worried about Bloomberg and Klobuchar, the two most capable candidates? Sources please...
Please...
1
@HotGumption Klobuchar is not as well regarded in MN, and has proven to us time and again, that she really should be in the republican party. She'll never get our votes again, and others here know that she is just a sell out to corporate interests. She also has been found to have the worst environmental record of all the candidates, and was graded a "D". She continually supports issues against what the majority of her voters want, such as pushing copper sulfide mining in the BWCA, and she does not care. The only reason she won the last time, is because she had no viable competition. As I read the comment of another person, from MN the other day, I also agree that she likely will have a hard time winning the MN primary.
"Today the Republican Party has become so radicalized that it opposes almost any government action to solve problems. "
Strike the word 'almost' and you get it right.
2
As a former life long Republican I'd prefer not to vote for any Democrat, but---
I WILL VOTE FOR ANYBODY TO AVOID TRUMP!
1
To paraphrase a chilling remark from the Oscars last night: Voters of the Left, Unite! Good luck with this.
1
YES YES YES!!! i don't even have a preferred candidate because i am only interested in defeating Trump.
I least prefer Biden because i think unfortunately he would crumble in front of Trump on the debate stage.
I understand the desire for a very left candidate but the way i see it, once you get to the white house- just rolling back the Trump damage will already be a fight with the Repubs. So the "purity test" that the left has makes me kindof crazy.
"Any functioning Democratic adult" is my candidate of choice.
1
Yes. I will do everything possible through voting for the eventual Democratic nominee, whoever they are, and for all Democrats down-ticket because from everything I'm witnessing, another 4 years of the Trump/Republican regime would usher in a horrific form of fascism, American style - those who oppose or call out bad Republican policies will be the recipients of terrible, unending revenge. Inequality in all sectors will grow exponentially. It's probable that Trump would not leave office after another 4 years of unchecked, unfettered power. Republicans are absolutely drunk with power. All Republicans have to go in the next election. I know that I'm not alone in feeling this way.
1
Yes I will vote for the Democratic Party nominee.
1
Here is my list of top 100 priorities for the Democratic nominee:
1-99: Defeat Trump
100: Defeat Pence.
Sure, I prefer certain flavors of ice creme but I'm gonna eat whatever flavor is put in front of me in November.
1
Many Democrats, myself included, have taken an oath to vote for whoever gets elected as the Democratic Nominee.
2
Hatred of Trump and the goal of removing him is virtually all that moderate Democrats and the far left have in common. One will destroy the other! The irony is that moderates of both parties can see eye to eye on many issues. Should they form a new party????
How can this even be a serious question? Regardless of party affiliation, only the most ideologically illiterate or venally corrupt could possibly support the likely Republican nominee (Trump). At least there is a chance at future sanity if ANY of the democrats defeat him and his Neo-nothing base.
2
Flipping the Senate might be easier and it would deny Trump the rubber stamp he now enjoys.
1
Democrats, independents, and Republicans of conscience, you have a simple choice this year:
You can be part of the problem or part of the solution
1
Considering Iowa had a pathetic turnout, we've seen some Bernie supporters saying they will stay home again if he doesn't win, and our the most moderate and electable nominees are either struggling to win the nomination or in head to head polls. Let me be honest, I like Pete and feel like he has a strong future. But I can see his sexuality being a negative in the battleground states since they are older and more religious. Heck, a Pete voter who was clearly late middle-age lost it when she found out he was gay.
You have this backwards mentality and bigotry is going to haunt him. I know Trump is going to call everyone on the left a socialist, but it will likely stick to Bernie in the battleground states and hurt his chances. Joe Biden is running a poor campaign. Amy can't get gain any traction. And Andrew who has some good ideas and unique support can't get above 5%.
On my end after the gallop poll showing Trump at 49% and people not understanding impeachment, it's grim for the Democrats. Partially due to Trump's cult being about 40% of the nation and how we have many people not caring what is happening in DC, and partially due to the Democrats shooting themselves in the foot again starting with Iowa's disaster.
1
I have just about had it with Democrats who basically act like spoiled brats who will take their football and go home if they do not have their favorite pick become the Democratic nominee. I am especially ticked off on how for the second time in a row so many are terrified at the prospect of a Bernie Sanders nomination; and playing into the pathetic talking points of the pointy headed experts on cable T.V. repeating Trump talking points on why Sanders would be their favorite opponent. On FOX no less; they just had a group talk about how Trump fears both Bloomberg and Sanders most of all. The first for his $Billions which could match the G.O.P. money boys; and Sanders because he inspires more loyalty than any other Democrat and how he can play the populist game just as well (BETTER than) as Trump. Still Democrats want to repeat the failed policy of Hilary Clinton in ignoring the people who voted for Obama twice; and then voted for Trump having been ignored by the elitists in New York and California. They are the blind leading the blind. No Passion; NO CHANCE!
2
I might in a perfect world. But, if they steal this election from Bernie again then I will not support any dem candidate.
2
"If your preferred candidate doesn’t win the nomination, will you still do everything you can to deny Trump a second term?"
For every second since Tuesday, November 8, 2016, my answer has been "yes."
2
Political suicide to focus on attacking and removing Trump. How many lessons must we be given? Where is this trench warfare getting us? Many in the trenches are actually privileged/educated and doing it as political recreation.
2
Political suicide to focus on attacking and removing Trump. How many lessons must we be given? Where is this trench warfare getting us? Many in the trenches are actually privileged/educated and doing it as political recreation.
My preferred candidate is "Not Trump". Period. To me, both 2016 an 2020 are/were Trump vs Not Trump. That's really all it's about for me. As it is, I'll vote for any Democrat chosen. Absolutely any Democrat. I'll probably never vote for another GOP president. Senator either. They have so totally disgraced themselves fawning over this man-baby.
3
Bloomberg with a broad support? Spoken like a true centrist.
By the time of the election, NY police racist practices will be everywhere on digital media reminding black Americans that they should not support him. Does not matter if Trump is a white supremacist.
That, plus the rejection of Bloomberg by a large part of the Bernie and EW base and Bloomberg is done.
The best candidate is not the most centrist. It is the one who can rally the broad bases of the party, increase turn-out and without any trace of tainted race mismanagement that will be used to bring down black turn out.
I just don’t see who this elusive candidate might be. EW is the closest but let’s see.
Any supposed Democrat who would vote for Donald Trump needs to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are a Democrat at all.
2
@Michael Anthony
Great question. After being a life long democrat and witnessing the disgraceful media racism & blackout of Andrew Yang, I am no longer voting simply due top party affiliation. I am voting for the candidate that will move the country forward.
1
Will most Dems vote for any one on the Dem side of the ticket?
That question is a no brainer.
1
will everyone please stop saying drumbos poll numbers went up?
According to 538, he went up about a point. its statistically the same he's been all year. 43% approval.
Gallup is biased.
OBAMA was plus NINE points versus the Criminal at this point in their terms.
1
And remember, there is a difference between voting for your passionately preferred candidate or voting blue no matter who in order to beat Trump.
Vote your passion and loyalty during the selection process. Once we are in the general election being loyal to your (unelectable) candidate becomes cult membership. Dont be a cult follower. Be rational and Vote Blue no Matter Who!
1
Truer words were never spoken, Mr. Leonhardt, but Democrats seem to be also following "The Cult of Trump" philosophy which is put your "Party before your Country." This is a serious crisis! Put aside ideology and nominate the candidate that will appeal to moderates, Never Trump Republicans, college-educated women, minority voters, and sane Americans in general. You can't win without them. Then work like the devil to get out every single Dem voter to vote. Grow up or this will end up making Iowa look like a bright spot in your Party's history!!
"If your preferred candidate doesn't win the nomination, will you still do everything you can to deny Trump a second term?"
Yes of course I am not only willing; I am firmly committed to removing trump and his thugs.
The thing is that the question implies an understatement, because the situation that we are in as a country is extremely dire. America is so split that it feels as if we are headed into a civil war. Republicans as a party have shown that they condone lawlessness, defamation, brutality, and inequality. More than half of the country condemns those awful traits.
The disagreement really is that stark. Things have gotten very, very, ugly. The party of trump knows who they are, and they have shown that they will never relent in their quest for absolute dominance.
In comparison: non republicans are neither unified nor committed to the fight. The point is that if this is a war then there are not many sides. There are only two sides. One side disrespects everything and anything that defines the greatness of The United States. The other side will be defined according to what happens. I hope it turns out that the other (non republican) side is a massive majority that resoundingly rejects those who trample the laws, morals and ideals that America has always stood for.
Get out the vote and end the nightmare.
1
I support Buttigieg and am not a big fan of Bernie. But Trump is an existential threat to this country and the world. If re-elected, he will be a thousand times worse than he has been so far. If Bernie is the nominee, I will ABSOLUTELY vote for him over Trump.
ANYONE who hasn't yet been brainwashed into the Trump cult needs to do the same.
So much hand-wringing and self-doubt in the Democrats! Let's remember that the Republicans were in the same boat in 2016, with Never Trumps and people crying out for a better candidate. Now the Republicans are one hundred percent aligned with one of the most crooked, amoral, liars that has ever sat in the Oval Office.
While everyone is passionate about their choice, what unites the Dems is the absolute loathing of Donald Trump. This is to me similar to the hatred felt by Republicans for Clinton in 2016. I for one know I will cast my vote for whoever wins the nomination, and I don't know anyone who says otherwise. I would vote for lump of clay if it had the nomination.
Too much talk about electability. Vote for who you like the most in the primary. And then come out and vote for who wins. We have excellent candidates, but we don't need them. A lump of clay would do the trick.
Thanks Mr. Leonheart for writing what may be the first genuinely-evenhanded NY Times op-ed of the season!
Are far left progressives really interested in getting rid of Trump, or are they as much of a cult as MAGA supporters and will only vote for progressives. They view moderates as the same as Trump, a naive and ignorant view. If moderate Dems can beat Trump than so be it. The far left has got to stop their attacks on anyone who doesn't agree with their agenda. If there aim is to defeat Trump then they should compromise for the good of the country and support whoever is nominated. Doing anything else makes them Trump enablers.
Any of the current democratic candicates are way more capable and honest than the current ugly demagogue in the Oval Office. Therefore, whoever ends up getting the nomination, ought to be supported wholeheartily by a 'massive' vote of the people. The fact that some of those that voted for Obama did then switch to Trump was likely due to Trump's shrewd demagoguery, promising heaven on earth...even though he never meant to help anybody but himself. Let's hope we learned the lesson...and detach from Trump's emotional grip. He harbors too much resentment, and willing to take revemge on any and all who, under oath, told the truth about his criminality. Can't we see how dangerous and unhinged this man-child tyrant has become, adamant in destroying this democracy of ours, by doubling down on his lies and insults? Just imagine if a real crisis presents to us, and he tells the truth about it (by an honest mistake, no doubt), no one would believe him. A potential disaster we cannot afford.
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.
This is exactly what Red Statists live for:
Broken-loop panic-pieces they can viralize & grind about demoralized Dems.
Republicans only really care about one thing: Triggering Liberals.
They used to have to make up headlines denigrating Dems, but now since the silly Iowa glitch, Dems are manufacturing their own defeatism.
This is a creature of the press, creating angst to glue eyes. One tweet from the Don mocking Iowa & it's off to the public self-flagellation.
That's what the mean-spirited Trumpists want; To snark, sneer, mock, ridicule, & crow.
But based on recent events, Dems may come to find that the real problem is not a brutal primary-bloodied duel with the Don.
The GOP has seized power. They're one 'crisis' away from full shock-doctrine officiation of their coup.
I think the question Dems need to ask of themselves before voting in the primary is who is the most electably man or woman in your party and then vote for that person in your primary ?
As an independent I'm doing my part because I absolutely won't be voting for the incumbent in this presidential election but I won't be voting for the Democrats nominee if it's comrade Bernie or Pocahontas .
So don't make us go third party but you have a wide array of choices including the likes of Mayor Bloomberg, Senator Klobuchar, VP Biden , and Mayor Pete.
After the constant and blatant blackout of Andrew Yang by the DNC and MSM, the real question should be whether the American voters should support such a corrupt system.
2
Brett Kavanaugh, brought to you by those who
didn't vote because their preferred candidate lost in the primary!
Define short sighted.
1
Yes, of course I would support any candidate other than Trump. He's a criminal who is tearing down the democratic institution our Founders fought and died to build. Easy question.
1
Bernie Sanders' lack of support for HRC gave us Trump. Many of his whiney supporters supported Trump, or Stein, or did not vote. Uncompromising all the way. Well I am getting used to this and I am getting used to having a horrible president. So if Democrats nominate Bernie, who is not a Democrat, I will return the same favor that his whiney supporters did to HRC.
The only preferred candidate is NOT TRUMP. And for the love of god and country please lets all rally around the nominee and do the one thing we CAN do to end this reign of dangerous narcissism and demagoguery - VOTE HIM OUT.
I will absolutely vote for whichever Democratic candidate runs against Trump. Any of them would be preferable to Trump! He is a huge danger to our society and to the world. Getting rid of him is paramount.
1
This is exactly what Republicans live for:
Panic-pieces they can viralize & grind about demoralized Dems.
Republicans only really care about one thing: Triggering Liberals.
They used to have to make up headlines denigrating Dems, but now since the silly Iowa glitch, Dems are manufacturing their own defeatism.
This is a creature of the press, creating angst, gluing eyes. One tweet from the Don mocking a glitch in Iowa & it's off to the public self-flagellation.
That's what the mean-spirited Trumpists want; To snark, sneer, mock, ridicule, & crow & make Dems squirm.
But based on recent events, Dems may come to find that the real problem is not a brutal primary-bloodied duel with the Don.
The GOP has seized power. They're one 'crisis' away from full shock-doctrine officiation of their coup.
1
Voting for the Democratic nominee no matter who it is and regardless of whether or not I need to hold my nose.
I will support the eventual Democratic candidate, whoever he or she is. Actually, any rational, patriotic, and empathetic natural born American citizen would be a vast improvement over the incompetent and dangerous Donald J. Trump.
If the Democrats don't find a way to unify the party, Trump and the GOP will walk away with the next election. No Russian hacking or Ukraine intrigue will be necessary either, because it will be entirely our fault. We will have done it to ourselves. Yesterday, some Democratic volunteers arrived at our door asking us to sign a petition which we did. Then the woman in the group began to lecture our son about why he shouldn't support Bernie (because he's an antisemite???) saying she propably wouldn't vote for Sanders in the general. Our son actually knew just as much, if not more about politics than she did, but she was rude and condescending to him. Folks, if this is our strategy for winning the next election, we might as well give up now and send Trump a note telling him he's already won. People scream about how awful Trump is and I agree, but if this is their approach to beating him they are delusional. And yes, I will vote for any Democratic candidate who runs against Trump. Folks who complain incessantly about the demise of our Democracy should do likewise. If they don't they are just hypocrites talking through their hats.
1
If the primaries don’t turn out as you hope, will you still do everything in your power to deny Trump a second term?
ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and more exclamations).
A friend opined recently that when Ms. Clinton received the nomination that some sat out the election or voted for Trump. They made Trump the president.
We MUST!!!! remember that any and all of the Democratic candidates are far better than Trump.
We do not like a part of a candidates platform. Democrats work together, unlike Trump and Republicans. WE CAN and WILL work it out for the best of all Americans.
Do you want a worse hangover than you had four years ago that's still pounding in your head and throughout your body four years later? If so, the next election will probably be the last election held in a democracy that's hanging by a thread. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Now's the time to definitively answer those regrets and do everything in your power to save your country. The opposition has already answered that question in lockstep by embracing its leader who, in turn, embraces the autocracies and leaders of our most formidable sworn enemies. The rest is just noise.
Right now Dems are cooked, Trump is ascendant. I don't want it to be that way, but Dems can't get out of their own way. Iowa showed that. If NH has a problem Dems will look even more hapless. Go back to 2018 see why you were successful and pull out the same playbook. Redesigning the world will not work.
Any one of the democratic front runners would be light years ahead of Criminal Trump's "Take America back to the 1930's Again" policies.
Everyone needs to vote.
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Why is it that The NY Times and many other publications leave off the one candidate who already unites the party...Andrew Yang? To not even mention his name in a list of contenders manipulates public opinion. Disaffected voters and registered independents, a full third of the voting population are sick of Washington insiders. So much so that enough of them helped elect DJT. If we are going to ask voters to back whoever the nominee is, even if it’s not their first choice, then the nominee should be someone who appeals to the disaffected voter and the registered independents, not party line Democrats. The NY Times should stop promoting the candidates they think should be the nominee and stick to covering all the candidates.
2
Every single non Trump lover eagerly plans to vote for the Democratic nominee in November. In contrast, in 2016 such was not the case, with some supporting the execrable Jill Stein or Gary Johnson.
Don’t let the temporary bickering fool anyone. We want Trump gone.
The guiding principal for the pending election can be summarized with one proper name, Heather Heyer. The person currently occupying the Oval Office has not the moral fortittude to so much as utter her name. That a citizen should die as she while he stood to defend those who brought her life to an end, the gasp of outrage is enough to swallow the universe.
Any one of the democratic front runners would be light years ahead of Criminal Trump's "Take America back to the 1930's Again" policies.
Everyone needs to vote.
1
Bloomberg is genuinely awful on many issues, but better than Trump on global warming, which is the biggest issue of all. So yes, I would vote for him if he buys the nomination.
But don’t try and gaslight us into saying the problems with someone like Bloomberg are small. He supported the Iraq War and stop and frisk. He has contempt for the poor. He is terrible.
Just not as bad as Trump.
1
It is safe to say that anyone who takes their toys and goes home because they don't get exactly what they want is a privileged child, especially when the neighborhood bully can be vanquished if all the kids rally together.
Who will the spoiler be? Bernie or Mike? For sure it will be one or the other. Their egos come before the good of the nation. Just watch...
"The Question All Democrats Need to Ask Themselves
If your preferred candidate doesn’t win the nomination, will you still do everything you can to deny Trump a second term?"
YES!
If you believe Trump is a danger to America, PLEASE do this.
Voting for a potted plant would be a better use of our vote than voting for Donald Trump.
If this strikes you as cynical and bankrupt, well yeah: this is what Trumps' behavior has led us to.
The Democratic candidates differ on many things, but none of them are ignorant nor indecent. Trump is both. We can quibble on various policies all we want, but the choice is black and white on bedrock principles of character and integrity no matter who the eventual nominee is.
No one should let a difference in opinion on a policy matter move them to vote against the eventual Democratic general election when the bedrock principles matter most.
The most uncompromising people that I see on social media are the Sanders supporters. Moderates are the ones who vow to vote for any Democrat nominated including Sanders. Why do I think Bernie is going to torpedo 2020 just like he did 2016 ? It's because around 45% of his supporters have been polled as stating they won't vote for anyone except Bernie. These people are as insufferable as the New Left Notes dorks I remember back in the 1970s. Nobody is pure unless they're in chapter and verse with them.
1
The Republicans have become Trumpists. If the Democrats become Republicans, and the university professors and scientists emigrate to functional democracies — who’s going to manage Space Force?
If Trump is reelected, there will be mass flight from the USA by intelligent, ethical-types.
2
Life is simple until you complicate it: it really doesn't matter who the nominee is, does it? VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO.
It's a big ask, knowing your colleague Bruni is writing up his next vitriolic attack on Bernie at this very moment and Tom Perez is trying to push Bloomberg on us.
But yes, I'll hold my nose for four more years of status quo which is an improvement over going backwards.
So the Democratic Party platform is not to get Trump reelected.
That's a shortcut to losing the elections.
Why do they need the power if they don't know what to do with it.
What chronic problem has Obama solved?
None!
There is only 1 reason I would like to see Trump get in. And that is to see his disastrous decisions come down all around him. And they will.
I will preface this by saying I would literally vote for a Democratic ham sandwich over Trump.
Please don't dismiss the so-called "youth vote." Voters under the age of 50 will cast the majority of votes in the 2020 general election. There just aren't enough Boomers and Silents left to outvote them. Skeptical? Please review the 2016 and 2018 voter turnout charts from the Pew Research Center below.
In 2016, Gen X + Millennial + Gen Z vote totals surpassed vote totals for Boomers + Silents. That was entirely due to demographic trends, as you can see looking at the trend lines. Four years later, that trend will be increased.
On top of that, the under 50 turnout rate surged in 2018. They also voted for Democrats at higher rates than their elders in the midterms. (Boomers favored Dems 1.07 : 1. Gen X favored Dems 1.24 : 1. Millennials favored Dems 2.14 : 1.) This resulted in a Blue Wave for the House.
People under 50 might not match the turnout rates of 65+ voters in 2020, but they don't need to match them in order to make up the significant majority of votes cast. Median age doesn't vary much from state to state, so this effect will be seen all over the U.S.
2016 Turnout: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/07/31/gen-zers-millennials-and-gen-xers-outvoted-boomers-and-older-generations-in-2016-election/
2018 Turnout: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/29/gen-z-millennials-and-gen-x-outvoted-older-generations-in-2018-midterms/
2
Last week's events made me feel physically ill. Not kidding.
Wonder how it made the Republicans feel? Not the blowhards or Trump cultists who cheered, but the others, the ones that remain somewhat sensible, the ones who quietly keep their heads down. Where are they in all this?
I have now doubt wherever the pendulum swings--You are right-do not freak out--(Hillary and Carville)-it's a necessary process to regain equilibrium
1
I dont want to but I will. I think the boomers need to get out of politics, hollywood and corporate America. People make fun of milennials but srlsy the boomers are so oversensitive and entitled. Go retire! make room for the rest of us. Your time is long over....
1
Bloomberg is right. As the article states: "The moderates are running to the left of Barack Obama, and the progressives would be constrained by Congress....."
Bernie would not get Medicare for All right away, but if he doesn't don't ask for a whole loaf he may not even get half a loaf. By the way, if he did get MFA, it would cost Americans FAR LESS less than we pay now---- NOT the $33 Trillion that Biden talks about, which is an outright lie! That LIE really turns me off about Biden...... he knows better than that.
I really wish that Bernie would plainly show the economics of MFA, because they are spectacular. People would pay NO health insurance premiums, NO co-pays, NO deductibles and NO one would go bankrupt because of medical bills.
Employers would no longer be saddled with the cost and complexity associated with providing employee health insurance, and presumably, pay into MFA for far less cost.
So, both David and Bloomberg are right---- the differences between Democrats is minor compared to the difference between them and today's Trump Republicans.
1
What is disappointing is how few of the comments simply say something like, "Yeah, sure, of course. I am not stupid. Anyone who gets the Democratic nomination gets my vote. Period."
In turn, commenters are not telling us how great one or the other candidate is. Instead, far too many seem to think they have to say something negative about one or more of the candidates and that they will vote for them grudgingly if at all.
Seriously, go ahead and donate to your favorite. Try to convince some others if you like. Go ahead and vote when you get your chance. But frankly, whatever you think is important may not be what determines the primaries and then the nominee.
Finally, the distinctions among the candidates are largely artificial. Each of them is staking out a position to draw attention and establish contrasts. None of them are so naive as to believe that what they say they want is what they think will happen. You should be just as realistic.
the answer is YES. But I am concerned about the zealots supporting Bernie (and I supported Bernie in the primary). They are wicked(as we say here in Maine) sore losers. Some even voted for Trump on the bizarre theory that it would bring on the revolution. Talk about irrational non evidence spoiled babies(our version of Trumpsters).
That. Similarities. Climate change, tax on wealth, voting rights, health care and more. Those of us who know regard these issues as the ongong focus of our democracy. These affect all Americans. The apprentice in the WH? Not so much. He has been playing with power, and with his elastic sense of right/wrong, me/them, mine/yours, his narcissism, his preference for firing staff, and the availability of his Twitter account, none of these assure people that out country is unscathed. Families disagree. Best friends disagree. Couples disagree. Scientists disagree. Democrats disagree. At least we know what is happening and how they think. The WH has everyone in goose-step (a blogger used that) and that is not good.
There is an important question that all journalists need to ask themselves:
Are you going to continue to report the Republican narrative in the way that gives it the most credibility to help re-elect Trump?
Or are you finally going to report the false narrative the Republicans are pushing with the context that makes it clear that it is false and the Republicans are lying?
For example: If William Barr claims that smoking will cure cancer, there are two ways this newspaper can report it:
The same way this newspaper reports every utterance by William Barr:
"William Barr will invoke new rules to require smoking 5 cigarettes a day for all children over 12. William Barr explained that because smoking cures cancer, this policy will make children healthier. Anti-tobacco partisans disagree, but Barr explained that Americans will be much healthier thanks to his new policy."
Or practice real journalism:
"William Barr, disregarding the science and the millions of Americans who died from lung cancer, will put children in harms way by requiring children over 12 to smoke 5 cigarettes a day. Barr refused to name the scientists he claimed had proven this would be healthy for children but the billionaires who fund his party have been demanding this policy for years and they will benefit financially from this new harmful cancer-increasing policy."
Understand the difference?
A number of the comments here make me increasingly nervous about the prospects for party unity...
1
Even Tulsi is better than a second Trump term, and that’s saying a lot.
1
I'd vote for Mitt Romney if that's what it took to send Trump packing. I can live with any of the Democrats.
1
None of the people on the debate stage are likely to ignite the fire we need to to purge our country of the whole morally bankrupt Republican party. Bloomberg is too old, but he's better than the alternatives. If he chooses a running mate that the African-American community of voters will flock to the polls to support, we can still survive as a democracy.
I will vote for anyone who is not Trump.
Hate to burst your bubble, but NO, not every D candidate would do those things for the Democrats.
Bloomberg is a Republican with just as many racist tendencies as Trump.
If he wins the nomination, we could be worse off as Bloomberg could be Trump on steroids.
To say all the nominees are equal of purpose is delusional at best.
Yes, I have my favorite candidates, and I will likely vote for the D nominee unless Bloomberg or a similar candidate gets the nod, then I'll sit this one out because going from the frying pan into the fire is not a good choice to have.
Yes. And I'm not even a Democrat.
1
As a Dem, the answer is we must...but do not ignore the anger many Bernie supports felt after the DNC did their best to undermine Bernie in 2016...and even worse...that manipulative and undemocratic superdelegate issue.
They AND the media are doing it again...so it’s totally inane to think that Bernie supporters won’t be more angry this time.
Eliminate the superdelegate issue and play fair...and they won’t have any arguments if he loses.
1
Leonhardt avoids confronting the one entirely possible scenario that would very likely shatter the unity he calls for: a contested convention that undemocratically gave Bloomberg the nomination.
As Leonhardt's NYT colleague, Michelle Goldberg sketched this widely recognized danger:
"[I]f Sanders emerges from the primaries with a plurality of votes, denying him the nomination would be not just unfair but potentially suicidal....[A] candidate foisted on the party over the furious remonstrances of a disempowered base would almost certainly fare worse, while permanently alienating the young people who should be the Democratic Party’s future."
[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/opinion/democratic-primary-2020-election.html]
3
What would happen if Bernie wins the nomination and then has another heart attack?
I worry that if Trump and the Republicans control the White House and Congress 4 more years, they will succeed in rigging the system such that we will only ever have one party in power going forward. Sadly, too many people are worried about supposed "socialism," a word they throw around with absolutely zero understanding. These are the same people that said not to worry the first time Trump was elected because "checks and balances..." Wake up!!!!
2
I think a more fundamental question voters should ask themselves is "do I fully realize that not voting or voting for anyone other than the Democratic nominee is in effect a vote for Trump and Fascism?"
Absolutely yes... a thousand times, Yes!
Yes, without question.
Trump's gotta go!
1
Yes. I will cancel out the vote of one Trumper. Question becomes: How many Trumpers are out there and will enough of us show up to take them down?
If the Democrats nominate Leon Trotsky, I will do everything I can to make sure he is elected.
1
Yes, definitely. This is not even a question.
No matter WHO, VOTE BLUE. I'd like it to be Biden or Bloomberg but I'll work my tail off for who ever it is. That's a promise.
1
True but the lesser of two evils is difficult to swallow with Big Pharma bought Buttigieg or bought Biden or billionaire Bloomberg.
1
I have been voting for 47 years. I voted 90 times, the primary and the general each year, missing the vote only 4 times.
The ONLY candidates during that time that had a platform that was relatively aligned with my own were McGovern, Anderson, and now Sanders, who is by far the closest of all.
This being the case, I resent being told that it is I who MUST vote blue no matter who, just because there is a madman in the room. He is the symptom, not the disease, which is neoliberalism. It started under Reagan, and continued through Bush, Clinton, The Shrub, and Obama. I voted for Obama once, due to the 2008 recession, a direct result of Clinton's repeal of Glass Steagall.
So why is it that all the neoliberals wring their hands about Bernie supporters, when neoliberalism is at issue? Why isn't the same question of "Will you vote for Bernie if he is the nominee" being asked as vociferously as the converse?
In a March 4, 2019 article in Vox, Brad DeLong - who served as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for economic policy under Clinton - says that the time of people like him running the Democratic Party has passed. “The baton rightly passes to our colleagues on our left,” DeLong wrote. “We are still here, but it is not our time to lead...The world appears to be more like what lefties thought it was than what I thought it was for the last 10 or 15 years.”
Google "A Clinton-era centrist Democrat explains why it’s time to give democratic socialists a chance". PLEASE.
3
Quite a pickle.
Nominate an avowed "democratic" socialist and lose the election. Don't nominate him and you lose the party.
The thing about "democratic" socialism is, you vote yourself in, but you need to fight your out.
An a registered independent, I'm sticking with Trump.
I have been voting for 47 years. I voted 90 times, the primary and the general each year, missing the vote only 4 times.
The ONLY candidates during that time that had a platform that was relatively aligned with my own were McGovern, Anderson, and now Sanders, who is by far the closest of all.
This being the case, I resent being told that it is I who MUST vote blue no matter who, just because there is a madman in the room. He is the symptom, not the disease, which is neoliberalism. It started under Reagan, and continued through Bush, Clinton, The Shrub, and Obama. I voted for Obama once, due to the 2008 recession, a direct result of Clinton's repeal of Glass Steagall.
So why is it that all the neoliberals wring their hands about Bernie supporters, when neoliberalism is at issue? Why isn't the same question of "Will you vote for Bernie if he is the nominee" being asked as vociferously as the converse?
In a March 4, 2019 article in Vox, Brad DeLong - who served as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for economic policy under Clinton - says that the time of people like him running the Democratic Party has passed. “The baton rightly passes to our colleagues on our left,” DeLong wrote. “We are still here, but it is not our time to lead...The world appears to be more like what lefties thought it was than what I thought it was for the last 10 or 15 years.”
Google "A Clinton-era centrist Democrat explains why it’s time to give democratic socialists a chance". PLEASE.
3
It is the chattering class and journalists like you who have been overemphasizing the differences rather than the similarities while usually emphasizing the negatives rather than the positives of the candidates .
As you note, Sanders and Warren are essentially Eisenhower Republicans. I hope Sanders is the nominee. After coming to the States in 1973, looking back it has always been a backward, violent place and I don't have much hope for it, especially after living in Europe and comparing it, and especially after Reagan, Bush and Trump were elected. Their supporters are ignorant bullies bent on committing social suicide. Will anyone but Sanders or Warren realize that we are at war against these people and work to defeat them? I doubt it.
2
I think George W. Bush was the single worst United States President in a century. And I'd vote for him a nano-second over Donald J. Trump.
1
YES. A million times yes. Trump will destroy what's left of this democratic republic and our environment. VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO.
2
I'm for Sanders but I'll vote blue. Period.
1
It came to me yesterday in a moment of clarity. Democrats are taking the bait and focusing on beating Donald Trump. It’s the Republican Party policies that Democrats should be attacking. Trump is just the Party’s distraction while it gets everything it wants. Trump is no Dictator, he just wants you to believe he is. He’s the GOP’s clown that pokes at the Democrats continuously so that no one will focus on the real issues. Republicans can get the Policies for the rich and Corporations while using Trump as a delusion so no one will notice what’s really happening. Meanwhile, the Democrats have no unity in their messaging except beating Donald Trump. It’s a trap, wise up or Trump, the Republican Party rather, will win in November.
2
Trump won last time because the 'more woke than thou' didn't turn out to vote as much as the 'MAGA' crowd did, because they didn't get their candidate. Pretending consequences for your voting choices don't exist doesn't eliminate those choices, if you don't vote, then your voice is silent, when others do, they are heard.
This. No matter who wins, we need to come together. I say this as a Sanders/Warren supporter. Nothing is more important than getting rid of Trump. If it means a term of baby steps than the structural change I want, so be it. some steps are objectively preferable to giant leaps backwards, which is what we would continue to get with a second Trump term.
3
Regarding "Mike will get it done": Imagine a Bloomberg presidency following the contours of the Bloomberg mayoralty: Bribe the left with generous charitable gifts; satisfy the right with Stop-And-Frisk. And get the two-term law changed so he can have a third term. I don't know about you, but I'm not ready for a truly Imperial Presidency. Trump is a horror, but Bloomberg, by buying the Presidency, will be the end of democracy in the U.S. So here's my answer, Mr. Leonhardt: On the day Bloomberg--a lifelong Republican--gets the nod to be the Democractic candidate, I'm going to be making my plans to get out of the US and never come back.
2
I think Mr. Leonhardt is wrong. I believe, that I , and many middle of the road Americans do not feel that job one is to get rid of Mr. Trump at all costs. Let's face it, the Trump years have been good: booming economy, record low unemployment, less illegal immigration, better international trade deals, etc.. Of course we dislike Mr. Trump, but not enough to vote for say Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders. I am sure there are Sanders populists, who feel the same way about more moderate candidates. For me, if Mr. Bloomberg doesn't win the Democratic nomination, I will be holding my nose and voting for Mr. Trump. I am sure I am not alone.
2
I will vote for whomever gets the Democratic nomination. I support Ms. Warren, but I am not being overly idealistic.
1
Maybe if our slacker kids were as woke as they pretend to be, and vote, then our republic will endure.
Right now, older voters are not going gentle into that good night, while the next generation, who will suffer the burnt of the terrible consequences of the Industrial Revolution, keep hitting the snooze button.
If every young person of voting age voted, this wouldn’t even be a topic of discussion, this hand wringing.
201
@El Jamon To be fair, it's hard to encourage young people to vote when the DNC puts a thumb on the scale (or even appears to be doing so) at the expense of the candidate they like. It's just exasperating, at that point, when they're excoriated by the older generations for their reticence to participate in a system that is designed (or appears to be designed) to stymie them and devalue their priorities and they, themselves, as participants.
I don't personally agree with abstention, but I would suggest that calling younger (non)voters slackers and pretenders is probably doing more harm to your case than good. Acknowledging that they have to fight harder than their elders to be heard in Democratic primaries would be a good first step to convincing them to vote for their second-, third-, or fourth-choice candidate. The next step is learning from them and acknowledging the material needs that they're expressing when they refuse to vote for candidates like Clinton and when they turn out en masse for candidates like Sanders and Yang (neither of whom are my first pick, personally).
The gen-X'ers were called apathetic slackers before the millennials because the boomers didn't know the difference between slacking off and choosing ways of life they weren't familiar with or didn't approve of. And I imagine the millennials will do the same thing to gen-Z'ers in due time. It's a pattern of behavior that is, however, founded in ignorance, not truth.
25
@El Jamon This observation is correct....I wish my generation was more active at getting out to vote and addressing the vast damage your generation has done to this country, from the housing crisis and great recession, to the 5 trillion dollar war of adventure in Iraq, out of control health care costs now at +75% every other modern nation, to the destruction of the environment, offshoring of jobs, stagnant wages, illegal immigration, to a $22 trillion dollar national debt, etc.
30
@El Jamon Want young people to vote, stop putting forward candidates who offer nothing to young people. The policies put forward by the majority of candidates do nothing but preserve the status-quo, which almost exclusively serves older generations.
19
I will not be supporting the Socialists.
1
@Tony That's an easy call. they're not running a candidate this year.
3
All of them are my preferred candidate because all are preferable to Trump. They are good people. He is not. They are hard-working people. He is not. They are thoughtful people. He is not.
3
I am disappointed, here as elsewhere, about the facile assumption that Sanders and Warren are somehow clones representing the "Progressive" wing of the party. They agree on many issues, but represent radically different ways to achieve progress on them. On issue after issue, Warren 'has a plan' - evidence-based and in writing - while Bernie simply proclaims it is a 'different world' and touts the 'revolution' as the way to make all dreams real. Reducing candidates to simplistic categories does not help anyone, and only serves to intensify polarization within the party. I'll support whoever runs against Trump, but let's get off this tendency to over-simplify the choices.
I also find it distressing that the top remaining woman in the race is getting the dismissive treatment in the press - Warren did, after all, place third and beat both Biden and the forecasts in Iowa. All the reports focused on the B-boys. Sad.
3
A high school student of mine said that he wouldn't vote for just anyone - he had to feel galvanized. It's given me a pit in my stomach ever since. If the last three years haven't galvanized you, I don't know what to tell you. People who will only vote for their preferred candidate in the end because they haven't been "inspired" are coming from a place of real privilege. In the words of Enjolras, our little lives don't count at all! Our lack of galvanization doesn't matter! It doesn't matter who we like in the primary: if that person isn't the candidate, aren't they still better than Donald Trump?
When freedom and liberty and justice are all at stake, how can you decide that nominee isn't good enough because they don't go far enough on Medicare for all? Plus, you know who definitely will NOT improve the healthcare system, in any way? Donald Trump, or the Republican senate! You're throwing away a chance at progress with both hands when you'll only vote for someone who checks every single box.
2
so why does mayor pete do so poorly among african-american voters (2% support among african-american voters according to a wapo poll)?
2% african american support is akin to what mitt romney received in 2012; not a winning combo.
I cannot believe what I am hearing! Are you people nuts? There is only ONE option for the sanity of this country and our place in the world: whoever the Democratic candidate is, everyone of us needs to get behind her/him with not only our vote, but our money and our volunteer time. I have said it often: no more repeats of how Hilary lost last time. Bernie Sanders especially and everyone of the other candidates must pledge that should they lose the nomination, they will tell everyone of their supporters that they must get out there, vote, donate, volunteer and get everyone to the polls that you can for whomever the Democratic nominee is. Monday and Tuesday of election week in November, all of us need to take vacation days and get out the vote. That is not a "blank check". That is saving our democracy from sure destruction which has already begun at a frightening pace. I don't care of the Dems nominate Donald Duck. Donald Duck would be my vote. You cannot go lower than Trump.
6
You took the words right out of my mouth!
How about you let us exercise our vote before putting us through some kind of purity test?
1
Yes
Yes
Yes
You bet!
1
If the Left of America doesn't support whoever gets the nomination and sit on their hands or play with their phones then we deserve what we get. I hope that enough people who talk like Republicans are disgusted with Trump and vote blue and the Liberals grow up enough to just vote.
1
I'm voting for a bag of potatoes if it opposes Trump and there are no others. At least the potatoes have a primitive thought process
1
In addition to the incredible antics of deplorable Republicans, the numerous Democratic candidates have not yet inspired my admiration and support. Pete B. is too young, inexperienced and too gay. Biden has been badly damaged by DJT. Bernie and Warren are too far right. Young is too naive. If he wasn't so wealthy I might be optimistic about Bloomberg's chances, but I keep hoping and praying that someone still lurking in the shadows of potential leadership might emerge into the light of reason and truth telling.
For instance, Deval Patrick, the black former gov. of Mass. might be promising. I'm going to study up on him at his web site https://devalpatrick2020.com/and see how he does in New Hampshire. He might team up with Amy Kloburchar as his VP, although I could personally see her as Pres. I think she's been underrated by too many.
I wish the whole idea of "polling" had never been adopted. I think it is harmful to the entire process of nominations and elections. Also there should be a limited time period for campaigns (not more than 6 months) a national holiday for all General Elections, and automatic voting registration for 18 year old citizens.
I'd tell you more, but I have to go fix lunch.
Let's just be bluntly honest here: a second Trump term is unthinkable - it would be catastrophic in ways we can hardly count or describe, for the USA but also for the global community at large. DON'T LET IT HAPPEN!!!!!!! No matter what, Just Say No... and vote for anyone the last Dem. candidate standing - no matter what.
1
Just imagine yourself listening to Donald Trump's second inaugural address... Then decide how to act!
2
Rob Ford proved that the mushy middle is the key. Ignore the 30% lunatics who cannot be persuaded - go after anyone with a brain and it will turn rather quickly.
There's Tucker Carlson fans that support Bernie. You can even hear them applauding Jimmy Dore a left wing clown that has some popularity the internet. On important issues there's much in common between them. Some people say the democratic party is either to stupid and stuck up to understand this. I think it's both. So what they're wrong on immigration but on some issues people are willing to listen. What aren't you. Too pure?
I would vote for Jack the Ripper before I'd vote for Trump.
Sanders/Klobuchar anyone?
1
"the least enlightened things Biden or Bloomberg has ever said?" I don't think people who criticize Biden and Bloomberg, would use such gentle words as "least enlightened". You did though.
Also, the Brookings Institute is a left leaning centrist think tank.
You be the judge of what this opinion piece is all about.
In my opinion, the only Democrat who can beat trump is: MICHELLE OBAMA!
2
Here's the #1 question on every Democrat candidates minds today (but one).
What the heck is lying dog-faced pony soldier?
2
Young progressive/liberal folks have been brainwashed that it is their conscience that is most important. Hence the Jill Stein toilet they flushed their votes down last election because Hillary. This election will be no different. In this regard, Republicans are much, much smarter in this regard as they have long ago figured out that you vote party, not conscience, if you want to win.
David, thank you.
1
Going on the premise ANY of the Democratic candidates will make a far better, far more reasonable President than the monster in the White House at the moment, absolutely.
I'll take any of them in a heartbeat.
To stay home pouting and whining like in the 2016 debacle would be the death of America. I truly believe it.
We simply cannot take another four years of all the chaos and corruption this man and his party of bootlickers represents.
The world cannot take another for years.
2
Right on, David!
1
"...Instead of just beating Trump, Democrats have to have policies Americans can support..."
An earlier comment stated this fact, and it needs to be reiterated, and embraced by all of the Democrat's propagandist allies in the media.
Two differing and non-converging strategic lines of advance are on offer:
(1) Demonizing Trump as a propaganda exercise.
(2) Developing and organizing a new, genuine, campaign manifesto for the Party and its Head-of-the-Ticket in 2020.
24/7 the Democrats and their propagandists in the infotainment media have been saturating the infotainment space with every form of media hostility toward Donald Trump. Its as if they have nothing else of substance to say.
When on occasion, and in the most innocuous politically-correct way, Democrats are asked what their major politico-economic objectives are, they collectively scream, "DEFEAT DONALD TRUMP". They then calm down and soberly list all the different ways they hate and despise him.
If Democrats aren't sure you have a bedrock hatred of Trump. They start out any conversation with you, saying you're a stooge or a Russian spy. And if you're a Black American who notices the collapse of institutionalized Black male unemployment, in our black communities, you're told not to believe your own eyes. Then you're told that Donald Trump is a member of the KKK.
But about a unique Democrat vision for America? Or the end of our boys being killed in Afghanistan? Democrats are silent.
1
Firstly there is no socialist candidate in this race.
Such a candidate would demand raising the taxes on anybody in order to provide the free college to everybody.
Demanding increased spending without securing the funding first isn't the socialism but the old-fashioned stupidity...
Yes, and every down ticket seat to dog catcher.
NOGOP.
3
ANY BREATHING HUMAN 2020
2
Would you invite cancer into your life a second time? Of course Democrats must do everything to deny this antiChrist, with his "Make Russia Great Again" hat. We look at the seven candidates and think none are outstanding. But compared to what we have now, anything, anybody would be better. Pete and Klobuchar would make a great team.
Like any loyal Republican I am going to vote for who Putin wants me to vote for.
2
Leave it to the Democrats to snatch failure from the jaws of success.
Donald Trump is so unstable, incompetent, corrupt, self-absorbed, dangerous and full of hatred that I have no other choice but to vote for the Democrat who ends up as the nominee. Even if I have to hold my nose, I will vote BLUE - because anything less is a vote for the destruction of our democracy.
1
The left burned that bridge long ago.
1
No.
After Clinton's first term I decided to swear off lesser evilism. It leads to a race to the bottom. Each D candidate is less evil than the the R, but more evil than the previous D candidate.
If the D candidate is bad enough I will vote for Trump. I'm not afraid of him. He is too stupid and self-centered to get a majority solidly behind him.
2
I will vote for the Democratic nominee no matter who it is (including Mike Bloomberg). That jerk in the White House must go!
1
There are only three relevant questions.
Which Democratic Party candidate do hacking, interfering and meddling Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin least want to run against Donald Trump?
Which Democratic Party candidate can win more than 43% of the white European American voting majority vote?
Which Democratic Party candidate can turn out and win the black African American voting minority at Barack Obama levels?
1
Yes. Yes. Yes.
1
Voting Blue period, the end.
3
Of course. But if we are to "VOTE BLUE—NO MATTER WHO!", let's make sure the Blue we vote for is actually Blue! We can have "It is over" Biden who waved the loser into the White House in the first place, or bloomy who'll perpetuate free-speech-zonery and the billionocracy and groper-cop state (while, to his credit, taking on the gun and food megacorps)...
...or we can VOTE in the primaries, and finally HAVE a Blue.
1
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
1
This is not a question solely for Democrats. It's a question for any self-respecting American citizen who understands that the country is in a full-blown descent into a fascist dictatorship, and their republican, false-representatives are in on the take. Either you're duped, or we get rid of this criminal junta. It's the last chance for Republicans, Democrats, Independents alike to save the rule of law, the Constitution, freedom of the press, and the democratic principles that this imperfect country was founded upon. Don't place this responsibility on Democrats. It's a Citizen issue, period. If anything, the problem lies with the dupes in the military, the evangelical, faux-Christian taliban, and the people who swallowed the bait that their 401K is rocking not because of O
2
I am beginning to get a sense of this. Democrats love the candidate most unlikely to win. Today it is Bernie. There is no chance he will get to reproduce the free worker's paradise he dreams of, with free anything. He will be trounced by Trump. His supporters have tasted blood, and are hungry for more. They fear that if Trump is gone, the looting and pillaging, the defiling and destroying by the top 1% of Americans will likely come to an end - i.e., an outcome they cannot abide. They cannot imagine waking up to finding that the children are no longer in the cages.
Trump has provided so much fodder for the self-indulgent, self-pitying, poverty-porn addicted democrats that they fear winning and depriving themselves of another four years of horror.
I hope that answers your question: no, Bernie supporters helped Trump win in 2016. They will again in 2020. Their tribe will lose all meaning if they win with another tribal leader.
Reading the comments, it's as if the catastrophe of the last 3 yrs hasn't happened. Unbelievable.
Ah yes, Americans and their penchant for convenient amnesia and selective memory when it matters most. Four decades of creeping Authoritarianism infiltrating and perverting the Constitution, finally culminating in TrumPutin, the Illegitmate, Impeached Fraud-In-Chief, and now it's time to hand wring over alternatives?
We have nobody to blame but ouselves for what's happened, all 40 yrs of it, because people here are so petrified of change Your Constitution and the good faith traditions of the presidency have been obliterated in 3 yrs. And now, you're good with acclimating to it, because it's now the status quo? Because, that's exactly what's happened. This asinine, water-muddying debate over what brand of alternative is worthy of being the alternative is mind-boggling. It's either that, folks, or continued subversion. This lesser of two evils "thinking" we've adopted in our couch potato "activism" is why we're here in the first place, and it's the justification we use for our own ineptitude and inaction.
And so what if the DC turns out to be a Warren or a Sanders? Does anyone actually think that within the entrenched, unflinching, gridlock establishment in Washington that those "socialist" ideas stand a chance in Hell's Half-Acre of being enacted?
Get a grip, folks. Nothing changes....if nothing changes. Do we want this subversive rot out of the Whitehouse, or not?
2
I'll vote Dem no matter what, but my question is: will the NY Times, the Wash Post, MSNBC et al continue doing everything in their power to stop the progressive revolution that Bernie's leading if he wins the nomination? Would the Times consider hiring at least one permanent columnist who's an actual left-wing progressive?
You all need to look in the mirror over there, David.
3
Vote blue, no matter who
1
So true.
1
More than half of the candidates have no clear path to the nomination. The only reason they remain is to take up airtime during the debates and siphon off enough votes from Bernie to broker the convention which, any idiot can see the DNC is itching to give to Bloomberg, as he piles on the donations to them. Where is the article that if Warren really wanted to defeat Trump she would have already dropped out and endorsed Bernie?
1
Americans must intensely fear another Trump victory, which likely will include retaining a Republican Senate majority and in the worst case gaining the House as well. With Mitch McConnell continuing his process of stuffing the court with Trump supporting radical judges, he will likely be able to appoint two new Supreme Court justices, AG Bill Barr comes to mind, who would gleefully assist to make Trump an undisputed autocrat in the tradition of early term fascists. And history tells us what can happen later on. We know Trump envies the power and methodologies of Orban, Putin, Xi and others, and strives to be their equal. He has the temperament for it, he is ruthless, vindictive, unapologetic; he hates the freedom of the press, he is intolerant of criticism and will strive to eliminate all obstacles in his way. In fact he reminds me of Il Duce and Hitler, under whom I sadly lived in my childhood and became well acquainted with his tactics and crimes in the years after the war. When I think of this period the words of Martin Niemöller come to my mind:
"First, they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Trade Unionist
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out —
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.
1
Can't vote for Bloomberg, sorry. Trading one racist billionaire oligarch for another doesn't work for me.
2
Yes. Yes. Yes.
1
No. Trump is a thug whose supporters act like he is their cult leader. The same applies to the far left cult leader Sanders. He wins the Democratic nomination, there is no point in voting at all.
" Sanders’s pugnacious authenticity" translates to "my way or the highway{" which perhaps was a bit self-defeating and ham-strung him from accomplishing anything much in his term after term in Congress. To that point, "Pugnacious " and "Authentic" are not necessarily, in every case, positive qualities. The terms may equally apply to others such as, well Stalin, Mao, Caligula, and Hitler. Perhaps not equally. Sanders seem to be a bit more over the line.
1
Blah blah blah. Are you all kidding? Get over yourselves. Vote blue no matter who! There is not one candidate running who would be worse than Trump.
The Republican Party is dead. What’s left are obstructionists, courtiers, oligarchs, militarists, and fools.
Democrats at least care. Why does this paper constantly attack Democrats for not doing the right thing and praise republican theocrats and oligarchs for disassembling anything for the working people but film flam? Huh?
You are lost in your own miasma!
You bet!
Oprah-Bloomberg. Two aquarians for the Aquarian Age.
VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO UP & DOWN THE TICKET TOO!!!!
1
We should all vote for anyone the democrats put forward over the age of 35: black, white, pink, yellow or striped.
Oh my goodness YES!
I am happy to see this much diversity in the Democratic candidates. We have a big tent, and that is our strength. We will come together.
A BIG YES!
Moderate Democrats in the last 40 years have done nothing about the elimination of unions, the destruction of pensions, wage stagnation, destruction of public schools in favor of charter schools, elimination of pre-school opportunities, the targeting of women and the choices they can make about their private lives, segregation in our schools, and have been unable slow down the greed of the super rich, etc. So electing a moderate Democrat is no guarantee that they will use their power to alleviate the plight of the working class and fight against income inequality.
This is why they keep losing. Americans who call themselves democrats want someone who is willing to fight to restore the rights of working people against the constant attacks by those whose think that since they have theirs, everything is okay. Americans need to care for their neighbors plight whether next door or in the hood. ANYONE can beat Donald Trump if they have any regard for their neighbors. If we think that our wallets are full so hell with the environment, our climate, and the plight of the less fortunate, than yes. The menace in the White House will win of the wings of personal selfishness. I will vote for whoever is left standing in the Democratic field because the alternative is an ongoing nightmare.
1
My parents shocked me last night by wavering about this very topic.
I hope we run a centrist..... someone inspirational or universally likable. My pics: Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Bloomberg.
The so-called squad really turned off my parents and friends. We only brought them back around when we began to enumerate the sheer immorality of the GOP... the gerrymandering, lying, cheating, divisiveness, the treasonous behavior. Policy alone is not going to win this. This is going to be a referendum on values. The smart Democrat will cease on that more than obscure issues.
133
@GWE :
I am a 70 year old progressive. There are no inspiring moderates. In my life, moderates are only interested in surrendering to the Right Wing. I will 100% vote and vote Blue, but it is not because any moderate Dem is inspiring.
19
@GWE
I certainly applaud the appeal to your parents on policy issues that separate the GOP from the Dems. However, my feeling is that the election will boil down to which candidate appeals to the emotional needs of the electorate rather than intellectuals policies. That is how the charlatan in the White House gained ascendency - appealing to the fears of the whites against being overcome by people of color, pandaring to evangelicals, appearing strong in the face of economic uncertainty, and being able to clean out the "swamp" free of government meddling of business. All this was proposed to be done in the spirit of "authenticity" - talking like a Mafia don and impulsiveness in action. The young progressives need to step up to the plate and actually vote rather than wring their hands and leave the decisions up to the old, rural, and largely uneducated right-wingers.
9
@GWE While I can understand someone wanting a moderate, the idea that Bloomberg fits that bill is something we need to push against. The man has spent decades supporting conservatives and Republicans against democrats. He has spent tens of millions of dollars fighting unions and liberal economic policies. Bloomberg is a moderate Republican who is trying to buy his way into the Democrat's race because he knows there isn't space within the Republican race. No Democrat should support him even if you want a moderate. He is not a moderate, he is a conservative.
5
The answer is one giant, unequivocal YES! I , along with my wife and daughters, am going to vote for whoever gets the Democratic nomination. Dump Trump!
Bernie is a socialist ideologue. In an ideal world he would get the nomination and win the election, and we all would live happily ever after.
But, we're in the REAL WORLD, and Bernie's fans sitting it out or even voting for Trump is just plain stupid. It can't be more accurately characterized.
Yes.
My answer depends on whether the DNC sabotages the Sanders campaign again as they did in 2016. If they don't sabotage Bernie, I'll vote for the Democratic candidate who gets the nomination. If they do sabotage Bernie, I'll vote for Trump again. Period.
good lord, yes.
Amen, brother.
1
Dumb question, I would vote for a squirrel to get trump out of office.
5
Mr. Leonhardt needs to calm down. It is a little early for loyalty tests.
Hey, NY Times. Enough "Democrats in Disarray" articles, okay? There have been plenty. You over-focused on the Clinton Foundation in the last election, barely addressing the truly corrupt Trump Foundation. This was just one example of your bias in 2016. Your lopsided reporting helped elect Trump. Don't re-elect him.
3
YES!!
Will we support whoever is nominated? I already do.
We can't wait until we've chosen a candidate to start taking down the demagogue in the White House. We need to apply all of our efforts now to showing our fellow citizens how dangerous Trump is. We need to dedicate our full effort to defeating his enablers in Congress.
A good place to start is Indivisible's Payback Project.
This is urgent. We cannot sit around while this autocrat cements his grip on power. The question is not what will be do in the fall, the question to each of us is 'what will I do today?'
2
“If your preferred candidate doesn’t win the nomination, will you still do everything you can to deny Trump a second term?”
Answer from this Iowan: A resounding YES!
I caucused for Obama and for Hillary. This election I didn’t caucus at all. Not because I lack enthusiasm. On the contrary. I can’t wait to vote that monster out of office and I will be thrilled to vote for whoever the Democratic candidate is. Each and every one is a thousand times better than the alternative.
We either go forward together or backwards apart.
Vote for the Democratic nominee because our democracy and planet literally depend on it.
There are no sour grapes this time, you rarely get your perfect candidate. It is a moral imperative to vote against Trump and for the Democratic nominee.
1
"If the primaries don’t turn out as you hope, will you still do everything in your power to deny Trump a second term?"
YES!
Of course we'll support whoever wins the nomination. Of course, of course, of course!
If they don't, they shouldn't be running.
I do worry about Bernie's bros jumping ship if they don't get their way.
1
@nlightning
So elect Bernie if you truly want unity...
1
“If your preferred candidate doesn’t win the nomination, will you still do everything you can to deny Trump a second term?”
Do you REALLY want another four years of what we’ve had to endure? I, for one, do not. Any Democrat who does not vote for the party ticket loses all right to complain about what happens should the eventual Dem nominee does not win. Period.
And there will be an unending amount of things to complain about. Such as, kiss the climate and the planet goodbye should Trump win in November.
"If the primaries don’t turn out as you hope, will you still do everything in your power to deny Trump a second term?"
Yes!
Absolutely! With all I got!
If my preferred candidate doesn't win the Dem nomination, it won't matter much, because I prefer any of them over Trump.
1
It's as if we have forgotten how our government works or maybe because we currently have a president that does not work with our government it has muddied our thinking.
I can't understand why some are afraid of Bernie's policies when our government is set up for checks and balances, he's not making decisions on his own but we desperately need his compassion for humanity we can no longer be a hate filled nation who enjoys making fun of people or a nation who grasps onto conspiracy theories.
Republicans have no problem with socialist policies if its taking tax dollars to bail out big banks, tax dollars to bail out farming corporations or taking tax dollars from the federal reserve to make up for Trumps bad choices.
Let's stop being so afraid of his rhetoric because he uses our fear for fuel. He has done so much evil and we are terrified of being called socialist. He will call any dem a socialist I don't think it matters who it is. Its his shtick.
This piece got me to thinking. I don’t like Trump, but to be honest, he hasn’t done anything to hurt me (other than my ears). I would be very interested to hear from readers as to what, exactly, Trump has done to harm them? There is a lot of hyperbole, but not much else.
1
@T Smith If Trump was a progressive Democrat in line with my own ideas, I would still find him unfit to serve as president because he lies all the time, he alienates our longtime international allies while pandering to dictators, he is taking advantage of government funding to enrich himself and his family (see the amount spent to house security for him and remember that no other president has charged the government to do that) and he refuses to learn about issues with the depth of understanding needed by the leader of the U.S. Oh. And he's a bully who makes fun of people like a child. I could go on...
1
Kind of like a Climate Change. Only it’s American Democracy. Damage unfolds slowly on many levels, from his flirtation with white supremacy to his amoral belief that facts are what he says they are. Then there’s his disinterest in the welfare of common people as the rich get richer and everybody else treads water.
3
Amen.
Well said, however a socialist is in most cases a socialist forever and compromise and governance is just not in their heart unless you do things their way....
So if Trump is re-elected, will people stop trying to get him out of office and work to get things done that benefit this country, even if it gets spun as a Republican program..I.e. an infrastructure bill...
I will not vote for Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. Bernie is not a Democrat and I am not a socialist. Warren is to far to the left for me. Will hope for the best under another 4 years of Trump
Yes I have my favorite candidate but I will vote for any candidate who wins the nomination.
The most important thing is to get this abomination out of office. Any of the candidates would be better than him.
Once a Democratic candidate wins, the country will have a rational human being at the head of our great country.
2
BUT ... the most desireable outcome by far is to reelect Trump, and give Republicans 70% each of the House and Senate. This would allow clean appointments of Supreme Court Justices that would read the Constitution as written,
and keep "Progressive" Democrats at bay, and get such essential things as stopping illegal immigration really done,
and perhaps even reducing give-aways (to the non-contributors to the economy) and (gasp!) actually passing
one thing Democrats would vote for: getting drug costs down to levels in other countries, probably by eliminatihg
patents on drugs as well as some regulation.
And let's see what happens to Venezuela now that the Capitalist troops are called in to run the oil-cow milking machine there. If that works like it seems to be, that can be a big minus for any Democrat candidate here.
I will vote for anyone against Trump, but let’s not lump Bloomberg in the with the rest. Up until recently he was a constant founder of Republican candidates including a challenger to Warren. He worked to break unions, supported racist policies in NY, called himself a conservative, and otherwise took positions few Democrats would support. He is trying to buy the election, and while I don’t want Trump, I also don’t want another billionaire plutocrat.
2
"If your preferred candidate doesn’t win the nomination, will you still do everything you can to deny Trump a second term?"
YES. UNEQUIVOCALLY.
1
In a heartbeat and without hesitation, except for the one woman running as a donald oligarch wanna be Democrat and I will hope upon hope our younger voters wake up and do the same.
I'm old enough now donald can't touch me although he tried as hard as he could to ruin me. Tariffs ruined my business and no farmer flyover cash for most of us.
Thanks to the ACA I survived donald's assault on my healthcare and that of my family. Self employed for life and that tells the story of why.
The ONLY question one needs to ask oneself is: Am I rich? If you're rich and you could care less about anything or anyone except your taxes vote donald. He'll sail the entire nation down the river to keep your stock going up. If you just happen to be one of the rest of us you better wake up, show up, and vote for someone who cares about you more than they care about Mark "show me the money" Zuckerberg.
Your future depends on it. That's no joke.
Someone wrote: “That's not the point. The point is Democrats need a candidate that will fire up voters and drive turnout.”
Here’s my point: with the possibility of four more years of Trump looming like a horrible dark cloud, ANY Democratic candidate should fire up voters and drive turnout. Are progressives or moderates really going to sit home pouting and sulking because their preferred candidate didn’t get the nomination?
1
My thought is, if a Democratic candidate cannot win, and dilutes the possibility of any Democrat winning by exhibiting rigid, unbending loyalty to a doomed candidate, are they essentially a new red hatted MAGA threat to democracy?
I hope not.
Most medicines are poisons that try to take over from a non-functional immune system. The status quo is a disease-ridden body which the Moderates have failed to fix. They've allowed the disease to progress so now it's killing the entire planet with toxic capitalism and Forever Wars.
Trump, with his lies and chaos, is the antibiotic that our body politic called for. Like all pharmaceutical poisons there are side effects.
The lies and chaos are not the status quo, they are the cure for the disease of the status quo. Moderates allowed the disease to progress so far that we now need some very strong medicine.
The Progressive cure recognizes the status quo as the disease of unsustainable consumption and brings us back into balance by treating endemic deficiencies.
The Moderate approach is to deny that growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell. They are addicted to their processed food lifestyle and don't want to change anything.
Trump is chemotherapy and sometimes that cure is worse than the disease.
But big structural change has to happen, either with chemo or by getting rid of the addictive processed food diet of the Moderates.
This is "Code Red." We are facing extinction. Continued denial of that fact is not an option.
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To stand any chance of beating Trump in November, the Democratic candidate cannot continue to support the open borders policy that has been such a prominent plank in the Dem platform in recent years. Illegal immigration is a far bigger issue for the majority of voters than the Democrats understand. Trump gets this, and won the election the day he came out strongly against illegal immigration early in his first campaign. As long as they pander to the Hispanic lobby rather than majority concerns about immigration, the Democrats are doomed at the national level.
1
It's sad that this even needs to be asked. We're supposed to be in this together.
The Democratic party can learn from the Republicans. They take it to a ruthless extreme of course. The essence of it, backing each other, is warped to put it mildly. But it's party unity.
Vote blue no mater who.
1
The problem with the candidates is that Tom Perez and the DNC has not worked to focus the field to win the support of the Voters.
The Candidates aren’t focused on solutions that appeal to the Majority of Americans.
An example is Healthcare, after the final debate there is no agreement.
And all candidates except one agreed with Sen.Sanders that “Americans are Racist Top to Bottom”.
Welcome four more years of Trump!
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If I were one of the candidates I would start every debate by declaring that each and every other candidate on the stage was a far superior human being and leader than the degenerate in the White House, and demand that all of my supporters vote for whoever the eventual candidate is. After all, isn’t anything short of that putting personal interest over the country’s, the exact same evil we are trying to eradicate?
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Democrats should remember that being against Trump should be fueled by being for democracy.
Fellow democrats and independents:
There’s an even more urgency to elect a democratic leader..trumps budget proposal is a disaster! Our students are carrying an albatross of loan debt that will weigh them down their entire adult lives.
Trumps kids are trust fund kids so he will never never know the pain.
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Here’s the difficulty for me - I will vote for “anyone” other than Trump, but I’m not a fan of Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, or even Joe Biden. We need a Democrat who is not so old, and not so far to the LEFT. Bernie isn’t a Democrat. Joe, I love you, but the time for you has passed. Elizabeth, I’m just shaking my head because you’re too much.
I need a candidate that will take on Trump. Who is unassailable, who is earnest, honest and still comfortable. Is it too much to ask to just return to an era of civility? At this point I’m leaning towards Amy Klobuchar, but, come on DNC, give me something tangible. Give me a platform and a person that I can wield with my stuck in the mud Republican relatives who think Trump is their hero. I know that he is evil, petty, misogynistic and cruel- give me something to counter that that does not scare my mother. HELP!!
Yes even if it's Bernie Sanders who I can't stand whois too old and too angry.
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It remains questionable whether a legitimate election is even possible in our country. The behavior of the DNC and connected corporations in the Iowa caucus vote count and the use of tainted technology underscores for all that the dirty tricks of a stacked and broken system continue with nothing learned from 2016. This bodes ill for the coming year and for the future of our country.
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"Today the Republican Party has become so radicalized that it opposes almost any government action to solve problems".
Your statement is part of the problem. Democrats are also guilty of not solving problems and when you print this stuff it makes it more unlikely any problems will get solved. I am sick of Impeachment and it is upsetting that we did nothing on Healthcare or write an updated Real Immigration law. Ripping up the Sate of the Union was also a radical response. It needlessly provoked and encouraged the Congress to remain radicalized on both sides. We should replace Nancy Pelosi with an adult and start a fresh and new beginning ASAP. She is not up to the job anymore. This much we can control well before the next election for the good of the country.
Warren/Yang!
I will do my civic duty and work the 14 hours day at my election precinct on election day.
I will not, however, vote for the "lesser of the two evils" ever again. 2016 taught me that the DNC is corrupt, and I haven't forgotten the lesson.
If the D party wants my vote, it'll have to refrain from shoving a right-of-center, "moderate", corporatist, warhawk down my throat. The Dems have become complacent and entirely tuned out the voices of Gen X, Millenial, and Gen Z voters.
"OK Boomer" became a meme for a reason...
It all comes down to country over candidate when I get into the voting booth.
Any of the leading Democratic candidates would be better than the abomination we have in the White House now.
But, as in the past, I may have to hold my nose to vote for her or him.
Vote Blue for our Democracy.
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The real question is: Will our votes be counted? The answer is: Spotty at best. There was a lot wrong with the vote count in 2016. Very little has been done to address cyber attacks from foreign entities, average domestic hacking, and a lack of a paper trail. Could Leonhardt write about that?
But if we look at things very rationally, maybe Trump’s policies, as opposed to the man and his rhetoric, are really as bad as we have been led to believe.
Yes, the man says awful things, but the country is not a disaster after three years. Far from it. The economy is, frankly, in great shape. We are largely at peace. For all the fear mongering, Trump’s killing of the Iranian terrorist head showed Iran is in no mood for a real fight.
On the other hand, Sanders and Warren will pretty much destroy the economy and tear apart the country even worse than Tump has.
Biden, Bloomberg, buteggeg, Andy Klobuchar are all reasonable picks.
But with Sanders versus Trump or warren vs Trump, i’d Go with Trump.
I will vote for anyone who can oppose an evil man. Whether the young people I know will do so? That is the question on which the future of of nation hinges.
Compromise fares as poorly with social-justice warriors as it does with NRA zealots. Trump was able to sway working-class whites and that gave him his coalition. Who will Democrats count on, if the children pout over a Moderate? If moderates find Bernie too wild?
I tell them all: either choice is a vote for evil, because that is how Trump wins.
Matt Stoller commented, "Many Pete/Biden/etc supporters will vote for Trump over Bernie and many Bernie supporters won’t vote if it’s anyone but Bernie. They want different things." So it looks like Trump is going to be a shoo in no matter who gets nominated. And truly, the centrist democrats are closer to Trump than Sanders anyway. Their only issue with Trump is his lowbrow taste, attitude and thieving. If Obama basically did Trump they would be fine with him.
The best bet for Democrats is to focus on keeping the majority in the House and gaining the majority in the Senate. This would help restrain Trump, ditch Mitch, and prevent any further completely partisan Supreme Court picks.
This info from David Brooks column says it all. Bernie voters care about the issues only until it's someone else other than Bernie that needs defend them.(Abortion, environment, healthcare). Then will gladly throw the baby out with the bath water and let Trump stack the courts far right and ravage the environment. These things are happening now - not hypothetical = thanks to this -
"Only 53 percent of Sanders voters say they will certainly support
whoever is the Democratic nominee. This is no idle threat. In 2016, inPennsylvania, 117,000 Sanders primary voters went for Trump in the general, and Trump won the state by 44,292 ballots. In Michigan,48,000 Sanders voters went for Trump, and Trump won the state by 10,704. In Wisconsin, 51,300 Sanders voters went for Trump, and Trump
won the state by 22,748. In short, Sanders voters helped elect Trump.
They don't really care about the issues, even if another candidate shares most of them, or will keep some from going backwards, they still don't care if it's not Bernie. Hypocrites.
If the answer to this rhetorical question is, "No," then don't complain for a single second when we have 4 more years of Trump.
The stakes in 2016 were already high enough, and there were the "purity testers" who simply wouldn't vote for Hillary. They are a huge part of the reason we got Trump in the first place.
I do not care whether the Democrats nominate my great toenail clipping - it's got my vote! It is *that* important to get Trump out of the Oval Office, and the only candidate with any chance of doing that is the nominee of the Democrats.
I plan to vote for whichever candidate ends up on the Democratic ballot. What bothers me is it seems that the Democratic National Committee has not organized the primary i a way that encourages a limited number of candidates. So we are deluged by folks who can only make the process more difficult. If the Dems lose I will hold the DNC responsible. They had a chance to unite the party and they constructed a plan that did just the opposite. A loser party in my opinion.
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There has never been, and never will be, a perfect candidate. We should vote based on our most common policy issues such as the environment, right to choose, humanitarian issues, etc. Anyone who doesn't is selfish and childish. Just the EPA protections alone that the GOP have removed should be enough to make a reasonable person hold their nose and vote. We wouldn't be in this mess if people like Susan Sarandon hadn't acted so selfishly last time. I'll be livid if they do it again.
Although extremely troubled by our options thus far, there is no way I’ll stay home and not vote against Trump.
I respect the top runners, but there are significant shortcomings in all ... for me, at least, an independent progressive.
Sanders ... too old and I say no to full on socialism.
Warren ... I so wanted her to be my candidate. Medicare for all with no public option is a loser.
Biden ... Nothing is working here. Milk toast.
Klobuchar ... very troubled by her past of high staff turnover and record of belittling them and others. That isn’t character and values I am looking for in my President.
Buttigieg ... perfect as Vice President for now. Love so much about him, but inexperience might eat him alive in Washington. Maybe not, but I worry.
Bloomberg ... Stop and frisk was definitely wrong. Other mistakes he is apologizing for ... and taking responsibility is a good thing. I believe he would be an excellent President, but with no debate inclusion the average American doesn’t really know his record.
Michael Bennet ... would be excellent, in my opinion. I am disappointed he hasn’t had the necessary backing to put him on the debate stage of late.
David, Thanks for you thoughts. I always read your columns as IMO, they are the best of all the political op-eds in the Times. With regard to the thesis that we should vote for any Democrat nominated, I unfortunately don’t agree with you. Yes, Trump is awful and I would love to see him gone but it is important which candidate we put forward to run against him. I will vote for any of those running except Biden and Buttigieg. To me, Biden sounds like a fool and Pete seems to be an empty suit of meaningless platitudes. When I hear either one of them speak I have a vision of the same broken, corrupt and dysfunctional government we have had for so long. Neither are inspirational or really honest. I’m so distressed that they are currently running in the top four or five positions.
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I will knock on every door in the country to defeat Donald Trump. We nominated a goat? When do I start canvassing. It would be nice to be thrilled about the candidate. I, for one, want Amy Klobuchar because she can appeal to swingy states and she has a record of reaching across the aisle. But I am up for whomever we pick and ready to go.
@Lydia Whitefield Klobuchar seems to forget what party she is in. She has abandoned many of us in MN over numerous issues. She should really switch parties.
Removing djt is paramount. I'll vote for anyone else who is not a "Republican". The country needs such voters now. Voting is not a casual game. Thoughtlessly voting for him will destroy this country, sooner than one may think. Grab those questioning this need and ask them what they are thinking. Presidents do not make the economy, consumers do. Djt's proposed budget commits the public to tax payments far into the next decade: this gives him and his gang time to steal from the country, and one can bet that is their intention. Voting for djt will in fact be a active measure against the country.
I'm older, retired and outraged by the poser in the white house; let's dethrone this petty want-to-be tyrant.
If Bloomberg or Biden aren’t the nominee, I have no choice but to support Trump.
I which case, we have no one to blame but the Democratic Party for putting forth a candidate who can’t win a general election.
The idea of voting for anyone the Dems elect is an outright joke and the article screams desperation.
If we can’t win straight up we don’t deserve to win. Take our ball and go home.
Maybe the next 4 yrs we can unify...
If the lesser of two evils is still evil, I will vote for a third party candidate, as I did in 2016. This country probably needs a third party as there are many people who are poorly represented by the current system.
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Why would a so called moderate trade a racist king who ignores the law for another king who would strip us of private healthcare and very possibly completely bankrupt the entire country? There are stories as recent as last week about how corrupt the veteran’s administration has been run. Are we to blindly put our faith in the government to provide quality healthcare when it hasn’t been able to approach efficiency in the closest analog to what the far left is proposing? Because what? Everybody hates Trump? Certainly we do. But I hate the idea having our protections seized by the federal government, our taxes raised, and our country retreat from the world even more.
The ‘Bros’ and ‘Shouldn’t be in the same party with Biden’ radicals show no sign of compromise themselves. They can ride their revolution to its most logical conclusion- a general election loss. Meanwhile I’ll be praying one of the three remaining ‘moderate’ candidates can pull it off.
Yet another MSM article that excludes all other political options other than Republican or Democrat. Greens, Communists, Libertarians, and others are systematically excluded from the political process in this country, no wonder voter turnout is consistently so low.
“Under my watch theUS economy is better than it has ever been”! So says trump. At his inauguration he vouched for economic growth of “5% or 6%”. Now after almost a full first term into his presidency economic growth is barely 2%! ,,, far below even Carter at 3.3% let alone JFK (5.7), LBJ(5.3),Reagan(3.5),and Clinton(3.8).
"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." — George Orwell, “1984”.
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Are you referring to the way the Bernie adherents totally blew off the election, leaving their despised Hillary high and dry, and without election? There are a great number of Democrats who, to this day, think that Bernie is quite responsible for Trump. And rightfully so...
Just vote, vote for whoever finally receives the nomination. To the Bernie or Bust people: Are you pleased with Trump? Are you pleased with his ultra-right judicial appointments, pleased with his hollowing out our intelligence, environmental, housing and other departments? Are you pleased with his undermining of our long-time alliances? Pleased with his adoration for the world's worst dictators? If so, go ahead and enable a second term for him. Your not voting if Bernie not the nominee is support for Trump.
1
Yes, of course I will vote blue, no matter who.
The future of our country depends on this.
Bernie supporters abandoned Hillary in 2016 and I’m sure the same inexplicable nonsense will drive them to stay home this time around also. It’s going to happen so, be prepared for 4 more years of Trump.
The DNC should accept the inevitable and just focus their time and energy of preparing Adam Schiff for a 2024 run.
Good piece. I wonder if candidates ever read columns like this and understand the message.
I’ve had campaign workers agree with me that the only thing that matters is beating Trump.
I’m a bit concerned that this time around the Bernie haters, should he get nominated, will vote Trump..sputtering more nonsense about ‘socialism’ while not understanding what it is all about and how ultimately Bernie would need congress to implemenent his social democratic reforms.
We have three choices:
1. Trump
2. Republican Lite (Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar)
3. Progressives (Bernie or Liz)
Number 1 represents a civic death wish.
Number 2 represents the theoretical status quo, moderation to the point of immobility. Marching in circles.
Number 3 represents change. (No person left behind)
Number 3 is better than 1 and 2, but, like last time, and all the times before that, I'll vote straight Blue.
Despite the common panicking, I'm confident that Dems can hardly lose. [I know that such sentiments don't sell newspapers, though. Gotta get that pulse moving somehow.]
There is no other choice Trump must be defeated. It doesn't matter in the least what democrat is nominated.
1
The poorly educated and the rich supporters of Democrats will be scared of Bernie.
They do not realise that he won't be able to turn the USA into Cuba overnight, even if he wanted to.
He won't even be able to turn the US into Denmark in one term.
So what's the worry?
But he is the only one with a good chance to beat Trump.
You have to fight fire with fire.
Thank you for this article.
I think one important thing to keep in mind too is that you'll never change anyone's mind about an issue through yelling and insults. Taking this approach will result in the person you disagree with getting angry and closing down their openness to your ideas.
So if you're someone who gets in angry yelling arguments with other Democratic voters on social media, or uses #Neverxxxx or xxxxOrBust hashtags to refer to specific candidates, or you use pejorative or regressive terms to refer to the supporters of candidates, or post offensive images in the feeds of them or their followers, YOU are actively doing much more to get Trump re-elected than you are to generate support for your preferred candidate.
And if you're so wound up and angry over these conflicts you don't know how else to approach the primary, for god sakes get off social media. Twitter especially is an unhealthy cesspool of angry unstable people with questionable motives, and foreign or otherwise fake bots.
Instead unplug, get offline, go outside, go for a walk, meet a friend for coffee, relax, calm down, and get some perspective.
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An independent voter here, yes I would vote for the Democrat in any case, but reluctantly if Sanders, who is being railroaded again by the mainstream media, is not nominated to lead the Dems.
Nancy Pelosi showed at the SOTU with her enthusiastic response to an American sponsored coup in Venezuela that her wing of the party are military profiteers and warmongers just like the Republicans. She proved that Americans really live in a one party state, where our cultural and social wars are Washington window dressing used to bamboozle Americans into thinking they have choice when it comes to two candidates, one Republican, one Democrat, when it is really an old colonial divide and conquer strategy being used by the militarists to gaslight the working people.
Sanders is the authentic opposition to Trump Republicanism, and his Democrat opposition ironically, along with the MSM, are grotesquely using the old red baiting trope of smearing him as a "socialist". This is transparently the act of wealthy Democrats in contempt of the working class. Socialism works well in Scandinavia if it hasn't worked well in developing countries like Venezuela and countless others since WWII, because America primarily, covertly and overtly, undermined their socialist aspirations. Rich Democrats like Hillary and Chris Matthews don't like Bernie because he'd tax them like Eisenhower.
Pete Buttigieg is a Trojan horse Republican masquerading as a Democrat, he'd be a disaster for the working classes.
I had a dream last night. I was in a room full of cheering people. The crowd parted to reveal the Democratic Party Candidate. But in the nature of dreams I could not see a face or figure - just a towering presence that stretched out one welcoming hand - and a voice that said “Come with me if you want to live.”
I took that hand ... and woke up feeling like there’s hope after all.
If you don't vote against Trump, no matter who the nominee is, you are voting for Trump.
It's that simple.
1
To answer your central question, I absolutely WILL support whichever Democratic candidate becomes the nominee. I say that for the reasons you mentioned, and for one that you didn't: I realize that one or more malicious actors is trying to set us against each other through social media and/or word-of-mouth conspiracy stories, and I refuse to be played like a fiddle.
I'm starting to think only Bloomberg has what it takes to beat Trump. But if the Democrats nominate a folding chair, I will vote for that.
How do we unify the Democratic Party with Democratic voters? Here's how.
Democrats should start running TV ads showing Nancy Pelosi ripping up Trump's State of the Union address. Then Pelosi herself should explain exactly why she did it.
Because Limbaugh was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in part because he has terminal cancer? No. Because Trump overtly lied to the American people about protecting pre-existing conditions, while Pelosi has tirelessly fought for these protections. And while Trump is trying to take away health care from tens of millions, with plans to replace it with absolutely nothing.
Because a Tuskegee airman was honored? No. Because Pelosi thinks soldiers "with headaches" need to be protected.
Because a young black girl was awarded a scholarship? No. Because Trump is destroying public education using DeVos as his conduit.
Because unemployment is low and the stock market is high? No. Because climate change is killing our planet, and Trump is doing nothing about it other than eviscerating environmental regulations at every turn.
Democrats must get down in the mud and fight with Trump on a level playing field.
They must fight!
That reckoning is at their doorstep, and it will not be ignored.
America was built on the idea that the sum of all our differences makes us better. Strength, compassion, diversity, tolerance, honesty, the idea that everybody deserves a fair shot, that nobody should be left behind. These are the values that make America great.
The Democratic candidates represent America and these values that have always made America great. This is the strength of the democratic party: we are a big family, we are different, we disagree, sometimes we fight, but there is a place here for everybody. And we respect each other even if we’re different.
To Trump and his Republican Stepford wives in Congress: If you think we’re divided and weak, you are wrong! This is America, not some authoritarian racist regime. This November we will all come together, and we will take it back.
When Obama was president, all the Republicans could talk about was denying him a second term. That was wrong of them and it's wrong for the Democrats as well. Focus on what you stand for, not what you stand against. Be a gracious loser. These are important qualities that are too often forgotten.
Republicans vote in lock step - more money for their donors. Democrats vote on and are motivated by multiple issues. Not this time, it will be a singular combined, concentration of forces vote for one person and one party only - whatever Democrat is on the ticket - never GOP. The pull levers in the voting booths for Democrats on November 3, 2020 will be worn down to a pencil width as they will be pulled over and over and over ......
It’s not only the voters who need to come together even if “their” candidate doesn’t win, we need the candidates themselves to put ego and disappointment aside and immediately and with a full throated roar come out in support of the Democratic nominee and convince their supporters. My question to our candidates is can you put ego aside?
Whoever becomes President after Donald Trump (please, God, let it be January 2021), this poor individual will have the biggest mess to untangle and correct. Our entire system of government under law has been severely damaged. We’re going to need honorable people, for a change. We will need the many qualified career administrators who left government to come back...pragmatic, experienced statesmen and women, and people who do not expose us to Narcissistic Personality Disorder. I will vote for any Democrat in order to send Trump packing.
Pleas for unity among Democrats quickly wind up being a not-so-coded message to progressives to sit down and shut up. That won't happen. Progressives know that Donald Trump is not the problem, but just a symptom of the takeover of both major parties, our government and our democracy by an oligarchy of Wall Street and the one per cent. Millions of progressives will not support yet another neoliberal centrist nominee touting the very policies that made Trump possible.
Centrists are doing everything possible to tamp down policy and ideological debate in order to make the election all about Trump, but that is exactly what he wants and is political suicide. Look no further for an example than the Democrats' passage in the House last summer of their signature Raise the Wage Act. Merely symbolic as it won't get past the Senate or be signed by Trump anyway, it was nevertheless so watered down due to neoliberal centrist angst by delayed implementation until 2025 (?!) and an attached mandated study on its impact on jobs (and no, that wasn't a Republican rider that somehow sneaked through) that the whole enterprise fairly screamed "We don't really believe in this! We're only messaging, don't worry!" Not a good look for a party hoping to win back the Rust Belt.
Status quo centrism misunderstands how Trump got elected and will ensure him a second term. Only a forthrightly progressive counteragenda to the Republicans' xenophobia and authoritarianism can win.
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The Democrat Party has a major problem. If Bernie doesn’t win the nomination, his supporters won’t vote. Just like last time, and a few will vote Trump. If Bernie does win the nomination a ton of Democrats won’t turn out to vote for a communist. Either way it’s not good.
A simple choice: Democracy or not. No Democratic candidate - no matter how awful - is now striving for dictatorship. Trump - and his GOP cult - are. They're now in the planning stage
( perhaps it's curtains for democracy: even if the Democrats win - doubtful - it's likely that Trump and the GOP will scream "voter fraud" and retain power regardless. Forever.).
The last time Democrats had single party control of the federal government, they did absolutely nothing to "slow climate change, reduce gun deaths, expand voting rights, lower health care and education costs, protect abortion access, enforce civil-rights laws, rebuild overseas alliances [unless you count bowing to Saudi kings or getting nuclear weapons for North Korea and Iran]."
Democrats did raise taxes on the rich [defined as those earning $150,000 per year,] appointed progressive judges, and weaponized the IRS and FBI against their political opponents.
It is altogether possible that Trump will be superior to any Democrat nominee for the presidency who floats to the top.
1
More than a few radical progressives secretly prefer a second Trump term to a 'moderate traitor' like Bloomberg or Biden. The reasoning is that a not-so-bad moderate president will keep the system alive that they hate. While they believe that if there is another Trump term, things will get so bad that then, surely, voters will finally be ready to elect the real thing. That is, someone like Bernie Sanders.
I would vote for Mr. Magoo over Trump. Everyone I know will vote for their favorite flavor in the primary and then vote blue no matter who. But flipping the senate is even more important. Can we talk about that?
Amy Klobuchar has the experience, morals, presidential character, knows to surround herself with differing viewpoints. She is running for president, worked on an impeachment, has a full time job as a Senator, runs around in the freezing weather and doesn't look tired at all. She will have enough people to support her that she will be ready for Trump, I would advise that she not let him stand behind her at the debates that she always deflect his insults with questions, maybe she should bring a bodyguard onstage with her for protection from Trump , who is known to assault women. Amy will make a great president.