Probably the same maintenance person who turned out the lights on Trump Casinos, Trump University, and other bankrupt and failed Trump enterprises.
17
No Bernie, not now, not ever.
9
Great, elite minds like NYT columnists can discuss Trump’s amorality, corruption, and attack on the institutional foundations of the United States until everyone is blue in the face. However, it matters little because Trumpists listen only to Fox, read only pro-Trump social media posts, and pray only to the god of some very strange evangelical cult - remember there are just too many very Trumpian Trumpists.
Therefore, Trump will win in 2020, and bankrupt the USA morally and financially (by the way Krugman’s wrong about the benefits of national debt this time). I just hope the maintenance person who turns out the lights in 2023 or 2024 will have been paid in advance.
5
Barr seems to relish playing the role for Trump that the late but unlamented Lavrenti Beria played for Stalin. If so, he would do well to remember what Stalin eventually did with his pernicious toady.
AG “Barr-ia”, anyone?
8
Unfortunately, the electorate these days is like the audience at a WWE or mixed martial arts match -- mainly looking for the jibe, the putdown, the crude remark. The process has gone low and lower.
Highminded plans and policy speeches just do not seem to resonate with certain groups of voters, at least enough to make a difference if the goal is to rid the government of Trump. People seem to want the definitive attack, blood on the floor of the political fighting ring.
All of the Democrats so far have been shy about calling Trump what he is, with perhaps the exception of Biden. Now, Mayor Mike has attacked back vigorously, and even if he is not nominated, he has promised to support the Democrat who is nominated. We need that type of street-fighter mentality. If I were running, I would address Trump as he is. Trump has a thin skin and thinks that he can always stalk his opponents. It is time for someone to turn that on him.
Mike Bloomberg should also consider setting up a 24 hr channel with reporting to counter Fox and personalities to counter Hannity.
8
I think a Hillary petition is around the corner. The Dems deserve better than Bloomberg and Sanders is economic apocalypse.
1
I don’t think people have figured it out yet.
Donald Trump has declared that the rule of law is dead, and that HE IS THE LAW.
Republicans are backing him up.
They refuse to recognize the rule of law, and reject the Constitution.
They have thrown down the gauntlet and have declared that America, as a Republic, is dead.
They will not follow the Constitution, and no one can or will make them.
The Republicans, and Donald Trump claim that they ARE America.
People need to realize that this is the reality that Republicans are claiming.
They will not cooperate.
We are at a crossroads.
16
Jeff Sessions is principled. He's a racist bigot but he's principled.
9
I think it was a wise decision to put Bloomberg on the debate stage. It will be a good test of his rhetorical mettle and honesty, and voters need to hear his Road-to-Damascus explanations of his past racist and misogynistic words and actions. He’s fortunate that most Democrats – women and minorities especially – are open-minded. But a humbling experience is what he needs, and how he handles that, to gain trust. I have no doubt that he stands on the right side of issues such as climate change, health care and education. If he can convince Americans that he’s in the race to raise all boats, even to sacrifice life and lucre for it, he might win. I will be voting for Elizabeth Warren in the Democratic primary. She is as perfect, honest, astute and hardworking candidate there is. If Bloomberg is the nominee, I will vote for him. My advice is to vote your values, then in the general election vote for anyone but trump, a lying con-man cheat.
18
Unless Superman is real, no one.
1
Bloomberg is not beholden to any superpac, billionaire or milllianaiire or to a fanbase that sends threatening tweets and/or boos and shakes their fists in dem or a republ campaign rallies. If you really want to know what he stands for then learn about his philanthropy. You might not like his money but he's known tRump for years and knows "where the bodies are buried". If you care that this particular election is, by necessity, about tRump then BLoomberg is the only candidate who can outspend tRump without having to soothe the wealthy donors that the status quo will prevail. And, the only candidate whose credentials increase the odds that the House stays democratic and maybe brings along the Senate too is Bloomberg.
6
This Stephens - Collins dialog is the best thing going. Brilliant idea.
2
I haven't read the column yet.
My comment is that I noticed that the columns seem more frequent. Then I read the fine print and noticed that you now converse weekly.
Some weekly sane conversation.
Thanks.
4
Bloomberg's history is building a novel business from scratch, being elected Mayor of NYC 3 times, giving away billions, running that company which apparently employs thousands (hopefully they get paid well). If this is correct, he's got an impressive history. Does it include stuff not acceptable today? Apparently so. Of course.
I remember stop and frisk. Constitutional rights were violated. At the time I asked myself, having last been in NYC in 1972 and never wanting to return because even back then it had a reputation for violent crime, if I lived in Harlem and stop and frisk enhanced my personal safety, would I have said so what, especially if I were African-American whose civil rights, back then, existed basically on paper.
And--I am just letting off steam here--I don't care that he isn't soft and expressing his feelings. What I care about is he defeats T. And, along the way, puts Bernie to pasture.
10
We’re gonna need a bigger Swamp.
4
Here’s a little about me, not that you asked. I campaigned for Eugene McCarthy before I was old enough to vote. I have voted for the Democratic presidential candidate every year except 1972, when I couldn’t bring myself to support Senator McGovern and voted for the Socialist Worker Party candidate in protest. I’m slow to anger and quick to forgive. But my people have been in this country since William Witter left England prior to 1638. And I’m furious. The very thought that a billionaire could buy his way into the White House makes my blood boil. Like Gail, I’m all in for Warren, but I’d happily support Bernie if he wins the nomination. If the candidate is Bloomberg, I may well abstain out of utter indignation. So take that, DNC!
1
@Cynthia K. Witter
Seriously? You may be a lifelong Democrat (and so am I, and I voted for McGovern my first time voting), but you are seriously misguided. People like you got us Trump.
17
Everybody loves to throw in their 2-cents about who's best, what's best, bla bla...-it's entertaining sometimes, but usually pretty dull.
..-- We each get just one vote, in the end that's all that counts.
..-When the time comes, add 'em up.. And move on
"But the longer he campaigned the more he reverted to the guy who’s running for president for the third time and has yet to ever win a single primary. Ever. Or even come in third."
Let's look more closely at just why Obama chose him to be his VP. He had no strong independent base. His appeal was to the very people with whom Obama was weakest. Biden reassured them that it would be okay to elect the liberal black guy.
Is that reassurance of the Democratic right the correct message for Democrats against Trump? It seems there are many Democrats who think so, but they are themselves rather suspect of being in the thrall of the Democratic right wing money guys.
3
Love this section of the paper. That's why I always want you to take up the serious questions when things get dicey. In that light, couldn't you have taken up the matter of Barr seriously? Yep, his comeback at Trump was almost certainly fake, or, as you put it, political theatre. Though "political theatre" is a broad and neutral term that does not sound enough like "doing irreperable damage to our system of democracy." You're skipping circles around the elephant in the room. What's to be done--and done now--about this attorney general who is--on behalf of this corrupt president and his friends and associates--intimidating prosecutors, going after the investigators, undermining (still) the Mueller investigation, interfering in ongoing cases? He is destroying a fundamental tenet of our system of democracy, namely, the independent nonpartisan tradition of the DOJ and the FBI. Surely, this, too, is an abuse of power? Surely this too is impeachable for both Barr and he who shall not be named?
(A for Biden, I disagree with Bret. Biden is not a good speaker but he is an excellent person-to-person campaigner. Likewise he would almost surely be a better president than campaigner. Why? He was, for example, on the right side of many of the things that Obama got wrong, and when he disagreed with Obama he said so.)
8
==> "That was quite a public rebuke of Donald Trump from Attorney General Bill Barr, "
No. It was not. It was a puppet show. How dumb do you think we are ??
10
Great--so we've gotten ourselves tied up into a ball again believing that Democrats can't win unless they are, in essence, Republican.
How'd that work out last time?
3
If we're going to have to 'vote blue no matter who' for president, we've got to vote blue for the 'down-ticket' offices as well.
11
Easy fix for Bloomberg's misogynistic remarks. Klobuchar would make a great VP. She would also make a wonderful president, but she's too, unknown and anti-flash. Too, I know some democrats, (buddies) who can't pronounce her last name. NOT a joke.
"Barr" is easy for Trump to spell. Has to be a favorite son. The circle maybe closing on Donnie. We will know soon enough. Will others join Romney and Barr? Are Trump's decisions to commute the sentences of certain wise guys a cryptic message suggesting quid pro quo? You support me. I commute you and yours!
5
"Who will turn out the lights at Trump's White House?"
I don't know. But based on the way the Democratic Primaries are playing out, it won't be until January, 2025.
8
I almost, only almost, am coming to a conclusion that those three "pardoned" by trump- Bernard Kerik, Rod Blagojevich and Michael Milken, may even feel tainted by being pardoned by this joke of a so called president. His entire tenure is a travesty. Let's all work to make sure this never happens again.
12
Bret: So Gail did you see that over 17,000 showed up for a Bernie rally in Tacoma, WA yesterday? I sure wish Bloomberg could draw a crowd like that.
Gail: Please Bret, I don't pay any attention to anyone whose last name isn't Warren. You know that...
But did you notice that the early voting numbers in Nevada have revealed that over 50% are first time voters?
Bret: Wow! I wonder what that could mean? Guess we will find out Saturday Gail. I sure wish Bloomberg could get some of those votes. Oh well, talk to ya next week.
This is so much fun!
3
I always enjoy reading this column. While most OP-Ed pieces flash like warning signs pointing to the looming apocalypse, this column speaks in calm, dulcet tones about the ongoing upheaval calmly and and with humorous detachment.
I agree that Barr's histrionics were intended to foster the illusion of independence from Trump. If Barr was perturbed about Trump's behavior, it was the result of Trump airing their dirty laundry in public. Judging from the soap opera so far, it would seem Trump will not be happy unless he has complete power over our Justice System. He seems to have the word "president" confused with the words "king," and "God," and Barr is doing nothing whatsoever to help the dear leader with his definitions.
I agree with Brett that Biden is more decent than he is clever in an era which desperately needs a return to decency but also with Gail, because if we are honest Joe is a good man but he's never been a good candidate. The fact that the DNC knew this going in makes him a strange choice, and the fact that his own handlers tried to hide him from view made this situation worse not better. Sad about Elizabeth Warren because she was my candidate. I like some of Bernie's ideas but he is a divisive candidate and I'm not sure he has the broad appeal to win the nomination. And despite all the hysteria about Bloomberg's past gaffs I would definitely vote him in a general election against Donald J. Trump though, probably not in the primary.
7
Could I suggest another setting of converse, between two people, such as you are doing? Let two of the candidates for President of each party converse. Until all have done so with each of them. We can also have the candidates who have dropped out converse about what went wrong with their campaigns. And maybe , for comic relief we can have the Democratic candidates converse by twitter with the Republican candidates! I do think every week would be too much, maybe once a month until election. I am sure Maggie would be willing to be your "go to girl" for setting this up.
This is in response to Stephens' comment that Biden should quit if he doesn't excel in SC. I agree the field will need more winnowing soon. Biden and Bloomberg are directly competing for votes, so one will have to drop for the moderate wing to get the nomination. But if one drops before Super Tuesday, we won't know if the right candidate was cut.
I've been following the Times' election coverage and have noticed a lack of articles about Biden's policy plans. There has been a lot of coverage, but it mostly focused on the horserace angle, or his speech issues. There have been many articles on Warren's plans.
Last weekend, I was reading Nevada news sites to see how the local press was covering the caucus. In a series of articles about the candidates, the LV Sun said of Biden: "What’s clear is that Biden has used his longstanding connections with the party’s power structure to assemble a seasoned policy team that understands the issues and offers one of the most thorough and coherent sets of plans in the field. As demonstrated in his position papers, each part of his platform builds on the other, with none operating in a vacuum. The complete package reflects an understanding of a core need of governance: Everything fits together and offers a vision for the future."
Two newspapers in different geographic locations came to opposite conclusions about the candidates. This is the argument on why we need to hear from other regions before writing the obituary of a leading candidate.
5
@Bret Stephens, you said "I was on a TV show the other day in which Amy Klobuchar was the star guest. " - could you share the URL? I'd love to se it.
1
@KayP
Real-time with Bill Maher last Friday. (HBO). It was very good.
2
As for me, I'm staying in my wine cave through Super Tuesday. The steward has picked out enough bottles to last until then. After that I'll know who's on first & what's on second. I'm afraid "I don't know" still may be on third.
2
Lots of great lines and zingers here, but the bottom line seems to be about dissecting many of the candidates. No one gets through life without making mistakes, even big ones. I vote on who people are now, not who they were 10, 20, or 30 years ago. If a person hasn't grown in that time, she or he is not worth my vote.
6
"A spokeswoman denied that the Justice Department was taking orders from the president ... " (NYTimes, 12Feb2020) If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.
5
The only way he leaves the White House is if the House stays Democratic and the Senate flips.
That's whether he's reelected or not. Even a new Democratic president might not be able to pry him out if the Senate stays Republican. Who knows what stall tactics, state of emergency, or pretext a defeated Trump would try to invoke? What would a GOP senate do if he refused to recognize election results?
Sure, that goes against every tradition, law, regulation, etc. in our long history...but they haven't stopped Mr. Trump yet. A president who jokes about third, fourth, and subsequent terms, or makes king references, and is convinced he has "absolute rights" is not someone we can expect to say, "ok, you win, Melania will call the movers..."
9
Maybe, remember: "birds of a feather,,...."!
1
The strongest ticket is Bloomberg and Klobuchar. The voters are just going to have to get over Bloomberg's flaws. He's a sel-made New York street fighter and that is what the Democrats need to beat another New York street fighter, albeit one born with a silver spoon in his mouth, or should I say silver foot in his mouth?.
10
I am delighted that Bret spoke about Amy Klobuchar, a decent and potentially powerful Trump option in November. I'm surprised that I agree with him since I mostly don't! Perhaps proof that she can win from all quarters. As others have said, my biggest fear is about the Democratic purists and sulkers, which is really what they do, along with third party folks. My way or the highway people. Not good for the country at the national level.
Bloomberg distresses me because not only of what he is but what he isn't. Who exactly does he represent? Which party? Rich or poor voters? His huge ego keeps teling us he has the ability to fix things or maybe he just wants all that power. Who does that remond us of?!
6
If politicians had to spend more time raising money and less time campaigning, I'm not sure I see a downside. I don't know of any country where candidates campaign nearly full time for one year or more to lead their nation. They simply repeat the same speech, with subtle variations, over and over. This moreover contributes to our silly obsession with "relating" to the candidate. Frankly, I'd prefer candidates who most of us DON'T relate to, because to be an effective president, you need to be pretty darned extraordinary. Better for each candidate to have a web page with a suite of filmed speeches, a record of their accomplishments, and a list or recommendation/endorsement letters. Give the country one week to peruse them, and then we vote. This of course would require next to no time raising money.
4
This is, without any doubt, the most consequential election in this country’s history. Trump needs to be thrown out, and thrown out hard; everything else fades to insignificance right now. It’s who Bloomberg picks as his running mate that will really matter, in the end.
10
If only that EXIT sign above Barr's head meant he was really leaving, sigh
11
"His retort, noting that he was the only candidate in the stage who wasn’t a millionaire or billionaire " I've heard this line from Buttigieg too many times. I'm pretty sure Biden, Warren, Sanders, Klobuchar were not millionaires when they were 39 years old. by the time I reach 70+, I may be a millionaire on paper though I've never made six figures in a single year. but between owning a house and investing in my IRA when I was raising three children, The numbers may add up to a million.
4
By the way, any word from Trump's sister, the former federal judge, Maryanne Trump Barry? Or, has she been "executive privileged" over tax evasion charges?
8
Who doesn't love the story of the plucky woman from a small Midwestern state who consistently wins through hard work and empathy towards voters? Sen. Amy Klobuchar is a down-to-earth realist who negotiates the Senate version of the bloated Farm bill to get what is possible for her farmers: both corporate and family. She doesn't make enemies without reason and rarely gives up.
Is Sen Klobuchar the candidate who can bring the voters of the USA together after Trump is defeated in 2020? Given the anti-woman agenda of the Republican party before Trump and the objectifying of women by Trump and the men he surrounds himself with, I doubt any woman can make headway in changing the attitudes of Trump followers after Trump is defeated.
Looking beyond the campaigns to get the job of president, to actually doing the job of president, my vote will still go to Mike Bloomberg even with the past behaviour of language hostile to women in a workplace and the history of "Stop and Frisk" as implemented by New York City police.
I have been the only woman in a managerial team where language was as open and frank as in the city junior high schools in which I taught. I have witnessed major corporate decisions be horribly discriminatory to groups based on nothing more than ignorance and bigotry.
Workplaces like that are bad for people and business. There are worse things happening in the world's workplaces. The USA post Trump needs the strongest, proven executive we can find: Bloomberg
7
Bloomberg seems to be the type of person a Trump supporter who has fallen off the wagon would vote for. I can't say that about any of the other candidates. If Democrats hope to take the Presidency they need every Trump defector they can get their grubby little paws on.
Furthermore, I think Bloomberg could be a good President. He has a ton of really practical experience at a very high level and he genuinely wants to do a good job.
11
Who Will Turn Out the Lights at Trump’s White House?
History will.
6
In a bit of understatement, Donald Ayer says Barr is "un-American." Only un-American? How much damage does someone with abusive control over our justice system have to do to be labeled what he is--un-democratic, anti-Constitutional and borderline treasonous?
7
The Meatloaf motto is right on! ...I’d vote for anyone for love (of country) but not THAT (Socialism)! Good one Brett!
4
I saw Mr. Stephens and Senator Klobuchar on Bill Maher’s weekly political gabfest, While always entertaining—if sometimes uncomfortably so—Maher’s program seemed to me to underscore the serious problem the anti-Trump folks have. Yes, Klobuchar was good, and she just may have gained my “liberal” vote in the upcoming Super Tuesday competition. But the challenge is how to coalesce all the anti-Trumpers in November after the fractious and seemingly unending Democratic nominating process. Maher’s show—and this regular colloquy between NYT op-ed contributors—only deepens my concern.
2
@Linda Moore...My wife and I joke about how many times we have changed nominee preferences. I like Amy. Besides her decency, I think she his fire in the belly for what needs to be done to help America recover from these past three+ years. She also has the benefit of a closet empty of skeletons. The Oval Office occupant probably fears her as much as anyone because she will lose no anti-trumpers and likely will cut into his base.
10
When democratic voters finally find that perfect candidate, the saint who will inspire each of US in our own way, we will see that person walking on the Potomac and complain that he/she cannot swim.
Every candidate who has appeared on the debate stages, or will appear on future debate stages, has one thing going for them that the current so called president does not. They are human beings who possess empathy for their fellow Americans and have put forward ideas for the betterment of the Nation and her people. US.
What I like about Klobuchar is her inner sense of self; she is powerful but friendly, she is smart without a sense of being smarter than everyone else, she is funny, she is from Minnesota.
It should be pointed out that Bernie's supporters voted for Clinton in bigger numbers than Clinton supporters voted for Obama in 2008. I don't think Bernie Bros are as dangerous to this election as most pundits seem to want them to be.
We have to understand something about this coming election: It is not up to the Democratic Party, or Nancy Pelosi, or Mike Bloomberg to save our democracy. It is up to We the People. If we don't want to see t rump elevated to Supreme Chancellor we had better vote blue early and often.
11
Gene McCarthy's proposal for campaign finance reform was to prohibit TV advertising. It's high cost, even in 1968, is what requires massive amounts of either courting rich donors or being a multi-billionaire.
3
To the tune of “The Song That Never Ends”, I hear - on an endless loop, reinforced by having toddlers in my home - “it’s the campaign that never ends. It just goes on and on my friends...”
I could honestly care less about who the Democratic nominee is. Would I prefer Warren or Klobuchar to Sanders? Yup. Would Bloomberg verbally spanking Trump daily during the election give me a frisson if schaden freude? You betcha. In the end, the ONLY thing that matters is to Vote. Trump. Out. Nominate Peewee Herman. Or a Muppet. Or Caspar Babypants. Or an aspidistra. Because, let’s face it: the slobbering hoards at His Orangeness’s rallies would vote for him if he started a nuclear war in their hometowns. The flip side of that absolutely needs to be that those of us appalled by what’s happening to our country get off our butts and vote for the Democratic nominee.
Phil for President! (He’s a houseplant.)
22
Gail speaks truth, Bret speaks wish fulfillment. Bret just be a Republican and quit pretending to like any of the Dem candidates. Your comment on Buttigieg vs Warren is completely skewed.
4
Who will turn out the lights at Trump's White House?
That should be an easy answer, and the answer is the newly elected Democratic president.
But I truly fear that even if a Democratic candidate is elected, Trump will refuse to leave office and will hold siege like those deranged strange-looking wild men on local Evening News that barricade themselves inside houses with guns in a police stand-off (we live in Utah). And who in the Republican Party will be able to successfully talk him out--or even attempt to try?? Mighty Fox News will back up Trump, no matter what he does--political assassinations, trashing the Constitution, damaging the country and planet. Bring it on!
So who of the Democratic presidential candidates will have the moxie to leverage Trump not only from office but out of the White House on moving day? Because I am actually thinking about these 2 questions as I watch the Democratic debates.
How in the world did the United States of America get to this point in our history? And how do we get Trump to physically leave the White House? Is there a plan? I have a horrible feeling we are going to need those plans. Or what if Americans actually re-elect Trump in those Electoral College swing states again? Then what do we do?
6
Question for Sanders on the debate stage: will you work hard to elect the D candidate even if it is not you? Good Q for all. Mr Bloomberg has already answered it.
11
Gail, I sadly agree on your Warren observations. I’m still holding out for her presidency, and I have fantasized that maybe the masculinity of her last name will somehow trick the misogynists into voting for her.
5
Just a slight correction for the record. Barr has already besmirched his reputation with his performance for George H.W. Bush. But we get your point. It adds to the drama to think that Trump souls decent people. In reality, his people start off as venal, and it’s just downhill from there.
10
“Who Will Turn Out the Lights at Trump’s White House?”
The lights have never been on. Trump’s White House is a place of total darkness where nocturnal creatures do damage to our democracy to avoid being exposed to the light of transparency and truth.
14
Klobuchar 2020!
7
Either Bloomberg or Klobuchar would be a great candidate to take on Trump in November. I am really worried about Sanders, and it is pretty obvious that Sanders will lose to Trump, likely delivering the congress to GOP at the same time. I had rooted for Biden until his poor showing in Iowa, and I felt sorry for him and wish him well.
5
I hope Amy continues to rise! As Bret points out, she's intelligent, has good ideas, and has be a successful legislator sponsoring over a 100 bills which have passed. Bernie has only 7 bills!
12
The trouble with electing businessmen as President is that companies and corporations are authoritarian power structures. The boss decides. Government isn't like that -- as it turns out, even authoritarian government isn't like that.
9
@SqueakyRat He was a mayor. He knows how government works.
2
And All County Building Supply and Maintenance can thank Obama for cleaning up the financial mess that the last Republican administration left in its wake. Trump is just skating along on Obama’s successes in pulling us out of the Great Recession caused by repealing laws and regulations that were designed to prevent it in the first place.
11
This was supposed to be a reply to John in Oregon (about 10 posts below).
2
if Bernie accuses Bloomberg of not being a democrat, what does that make him?
Bernie did not run as a democrat for his Senate seat. He filed as a democrat AND an independent to run for president. Guess he wants to have it both ways.
At least Bloomberg had the courtesy to register as a democrat before running as a candidate for president on the democratic ticket!
7
While Bloomberg is fairly reasonable on the fiscal side of things, his gun-grabbing antics will make him an anathema in the very places where the Democrats need to win. As far as I can tell the Democrats are still doubling down on the same far Left social policies coupled with insulting everyone who disagrees that cost them the election in 16. I keep hearing that Democrats are willing to do "whatever it takes" to defeat Trump. Evidently that doesn't include moderating your positions on social policy to be more inline with everyone outside of NYC, CA & academia.
3
Bret, you pick your candidate; Trump. And we Democrats will pick ours; Sanders. You’re not invited to our party.
5
All the tweets and insults will stop, if Trump cannot win in the 2020 Election. Probably he will resign following morning paving the way for Mike Pence to be sworn in as 46th. Then 46th will pardon 45th for all of his misdeeds during last four years, including Campaign Finance Violations of 2016, for which Michael Cohen is serving time now. Then on January 20, 2021 47th will be sworn in to lead USA. Life goes on.
2
The pardon scene has enough cynicism to be true, but I picture Trump barricading himself inside the Oval Office screaming “it was rigged! It’s unfair! It’s disgusting! Call out the motorcycle gangs! Call out the Taliban!”
2
@Trevor Diaz Pence can't pardon him for state crimes.
4
Tired of reading how Sanders support is driven by sexism. How about Warren backing away from MFA? or coming out of nowhere to accuse Bernie of saying something in a private meeting to fire up the identity politics of sex (no doubt at the encouragement of former-Clinton advisors). If you actually look at the facts out of New Hampshire, most of Warren's support was at the expense of other "moderates" (e.g. Klobuchar, who hold radically different policy positions), not to Sanders.
2
The people are going to turn out the lights on this admin if this system still has time left in it. If Trump wont leave then the law is going to step in and turn out his lights.
2
The lights are already out. We are just pretending otherwise.
7
Too few people are asking the question: Which person would do the best job as president? Early in this process I decided (for me) Amy Klobuchar would have the best chance of not stirring up the rabid Republicans. Even if the Democrats squeek out a victory in the Senate, due to the filibuster rule, and the Republicans can block anything any Democratic president advocates. Perhaps Klobuchar, who is well-liked, might do better with these blocking Senators.
4
@Larry Oswald For the Dems to take the Senate, most of the few remaining "moderate" Repubs will have to lose. She would not have to "stir up" the remaining rabid Repubs, they will be tripping over each other trying to prove who can be the most obstructionist (playing to their base back home).
3
Bret,
I don't think your example of big donors making Eugene McCarthy's 1968 candidacy possible bears scrutiny as a rationale for no limits on campaign finance, unless your goal is to guarantee that a Democrat never again takes the White House. McCarthy lost big time to Nixon. And wasn't Hillary's 2016 candidacy due in part to big donors who were desperate to keep Bernie off the ticket? Look where that got us.
JG
2
It's odd that in our hyper-partisan political environment that both parties are poised to nominate men who haven't been members of the party. I'm old enough to remember when Mike Bloomberg was a Rockefeller Republican. He later morphed into an "independent." Then there's Bernie who has a long history of defeating Democrats in Vermont's congressional elections. I'm not sure Butigieg would be a Democrat if the Republicans were willing to overlook the gay thing. Trump was certainly never a Democrat, but he wasn't a Republican either. So here we are with the spectacle of party stalwarts taking a back seat to parasites using someone else's partisanship to propel their presidential ambitions.
4
All County Building Supply & Maintenance is hiring again in the best economy of all times!
1
@John Don't know much economic history, do you?
1
Turning out the lights implies thrift and responsibility, nonexistent in trump's and the GOP's world.
5
Amy Klobuchar is able to unite all Dems. If Sanders ends up the nominee ( not my wish), Klobuchar should be his first choice for VP, followed by Buttigieg.
We need a change in generation - Sanders, Biden, Bloomberg and Warren belong to the same group that is in power now - it is really time to a change.
2
A tempest in a teapot folks. Mr. Stone's pardon is already signed and sealed. The fix was never in doubt.
6
Democracy is messy. It is only being practiced on the blue side of the spectrum these days. Would you rather have a primary season like the Republicans where several states are not even holding a primary?
We all need to take a deep breath and allow the campaigns to sort themselves out. My hope is that we are down to three serious contenders after super tuesday and the others will have the good sense to drop out. Whether or not that leads to a brokered convention, we'll just have to wait and see.
The best thing going for the Democrats are that they are not Trump. He will continue to self-impeach and self-destruct. His rabid base of unquestioned support is about 25%. I think many of the others care enough about what is happening this week at DOJ to withdraw support for the orange one, and there will be many, many other stories before November as past scandals play out through the courts and new ones are unfortunately thrust upon us.
I like Amy, but I will vote Democrat no matter who it is, even if I have to hold my nose. Trump must be stopped for the sake of the Republic. We can stop the free fall with whoever wins the nomination, and begin to take our country back. Republicans in Congress are likely to be trounced this cycle. Americans have had enough of their divisive, hateful. fear driven policies. Just show up in November, no matter what.
4
Barr said Trump's tweeting makes his job impossible. Well, Trump's response was to amp up the tweets. Where does that leave Barr?
There's only one way to salvage what's left of his reputation: quit. It would be somewhat gratifying, as Trump needs Barr more than Barr needs him. After all, who would accept the AG job now?
4
"[Bloomberg's] big minus is that he’s got a long history as an acerbic businessman who said some things to female employees we would now consider deeply, deeply offensive — and may have then.
Um. This qualifier that 'we would now consider' is hardly true, and we both know it, Ms. Collins. We both know it was deeply offensive then, as it is now.
I am sure we both can hold forth with tales of the explicate and rude comments our superiors and peers made about women. The good news is the chauvinists who thought they got away with it, now stand diminished in stature as a warning to others. Only the weakest of characters need to punch down. True then; true now.
1
I'm so tired of the mud slinging - he did this, she said that. No one who obtained the power of the Oval Office got there by being a nice person.
LBJ was a bully and often intentionally cruel, yet he created the Head Start program, the War on Poverty. He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Richard Nixon was, well, Richard Nixon, yet he created the Environmental Protection Agency and demanded Congress expand the Civil Rights Act to include sex discrimination.
Washington and Jefferson were Founding Fathers, but also slave owners.
We never get perfect presidents, and rarely get great ones. Maybe we should focus on the candidate who is likely to do the most good. I haven't decided who that is yet, but, whoever gets elected, I intend to hold them to account for the bad things they do.
In the end, our leaders are only people who have been handed a great deal of power. It is in our best interest to keep an eye on them.
3
These two trim,fit, athletes share a common pampered adolescence, free from service in the military, and likely a past concealed and forgiven by overzealous parents.
Together they seek to destroy the Dark state, which is merely a projection of what lies within their dark souls.
Gail: "... One of them was going to have to take over the left side of the field and [Bernie's] shoving her out. Lots of reasons, but I do suspect gender is one of them."
Bret: "Me neither. I doubt [Warren] will recover, though this race has been full of surprises."
Reporting on polling in this horse-race fashion is dispiriting enough to those of us handicapped by our state's positions in the primaries.
I don't need this kind of political "punditry." I am tired of self-defeating "women-can't win" prophecies.
Please STOP.
5
The image of Barr in his office blocking entry with a pile of law books is lovely. But I think they are more likely Bibles than law books, given his predilections.
3
I hate the idea of a billionaire buying the Presidency. But a billionaire bought it the last time around. Not Trump. Koch with his propaganda empire has poisoned politics in three countries. So if Bloomberg wins, at least our new owner won't be pretending the climate crisis doesn't exist.
I still hope for Warren. Or Bernie. Or even Klobuchar. But it if comes down Bloomberg, I'll hold my nose real tight and support him. Needs must when the Devil owns the White House.
4
If Barr thought we bought his on-air diatribe against tweeting, he's wrong.
I thought it was all staged to help Barr resist the tsunami of anger against his collaborating with trump to punish trump's enemies.
When Barr's former boss joins the chorus of signatures to tell Barr to resign, it's time.
1
I wish Bloomberg would run as a Republican and divide their vote. Also, I am getting really tired of listening to conservative pundits talking about the problems in the Democratic party, meanwhile a cult has completely taken over theirs.
10
Look, Amy Klobuchar, will never be the Democratic nominee. For one thing, based on observing her, she emits a tendency towards narcissism, not an attractive feature. And, yes, we may still not be ready for a female president
I voted for Bernie in the CA primary, but I am wondering if I made a mistake and should have voted for Bloomberg. I am a Bernie supporter, but I think Bloomberg may be a stronger candidate against the evil, demeaning, destructive, corrupt Donald Trump. Whoever steps into the ring with Donald will have to be able to spar like a world heavy weight champion.
3
Amy Klobuchar will be the last one standing. It's time for a woman to lead this country, especially after Trump.
3
First, can either of you imagine people standing hours in the cold in order to be the first to hear a speech by Amy Klobuchar, which is the case at Trump's rallies? Klobuchar is simply another run of the mill leftist and in her latest quote asks why English should be our only official language!Say what?Nor has she ever DENOUNCED AG Keith Ellison for coming out in favor of open borders, "pueblos sin fronteras,"or sought to clarify very serious allegations against him that he beat up his girlfriend. Where is she on either issue?.Why are these back and forths necessary, no disrespect there!Perhaps if both of you would cease and desist in your attacks on The Donald and us his supporters, he would be in a better position to make an even greater contribution to the commonweal!
1
But I do imagine such crowd for Bernie.
1
@Alexander Harrison "The Donald's" rallies are the political equivalent of professional wrestling. People go to be entertained, even though they know it's not "real". Comparing them to "normal" campaign rallies is absurd.
1
I just cannot warm up to Amy K. I think that what I have not seen in her is any idealism. To me that is the basic premise of being a Democrat - that we can and should be better for all of our Nation, not just those who support you. Her debate blurts are all about the monumental things that she has done - I want to know what you plan to do?
BTW - Barr's little drama was nothing more than a pre approved infomercial edited by OJ Trump.
Bret is right - Joe is indeed a decent, but not clever man who has no business being POTUS.
3
I, for one, am disgusted with Bloomberg's surge in the polls. It's very discouraging that, given what we've been through with Trump, people would want to nominate another crusty, wealthy white guy with a flawed reputation who can buy his way into an election. Apparently mindlessness and expediency are not just the common trait of Republican Trump supporters.
Amy Klobuchar can beat Trump. She's a fresh face yet has the necessary experience, decency and, as Bret says, fierceness to win and begin to lead us out of the present quagmire.
2
The only thing made "impossible" by Trump's continual outing of the dismantling of the rule of law in this country being facilitated by Barr is the secrecy in which Barr would prefer to create his damage.
"Dear Mr President: I only have another assured 10 months to carry your water and corrode any faith in what's left of the standards in this country and I have LOTS more to things to demolish before then, so quit giving me more fires to put out.
Nothin' but love for ya,
Bill"
2
Come on Bret, everyone except Trump’s beloved poorly educated voters (the new GOP base) knows this was political theater. “The Conversation” is beyond tired. I stopped reading and will now head to another piece.
My ideal is an Elizabeth Warren/Stacey Abrams ticket-It's about time for an all women ticket and who better than these women!
2
Strangely, or not, I didn't realize that the lights had ever been turned on in Trump's unenlightened White House.
4
This purity test on racism and sexism for white men over 70 is a loser if it becomes an issue in this election. Years ago in an Al Anon meeting I heard the statement "all we know is what we have learned." I am a betting man and I would lay big odds that 90% of white males over 70 in this country have used the N word at least once in their lives. They also grew up with the woman was a second class citizen in the home. This is by no means an insult to women that is just the way it was. When Biden was hammered for saying Obama was "articulate", a racist implication, the critics forgot that people our age grew up with Amos and Andy, Rochester, and Step and Fetch it. We grew up with Ralph Kramden sending Alice to the moon. Biden was and is further from a racist as trump is from a Christian. The difference is as we learned how wrong we were we changed. The same cannot be said about the clown in the white house we have been forced to endure for 3 years now. If the democrats apply this purity test to candidates that can beat trump we will endure another 4 years and I agree with Bill Maher, possibly 8.
4
Political partisan theater is a power struggle as the battle of the billionaires is on the horizon. Obama (BHO) claiming credit for the past 3 years of the 1st term presidency of DJT which has been the best state of the Union in the USA is unjustified and absurd. BHO certainly can claim that DJT was handed an economy propped up by stimulus but with the largest debt in history and the ME in shambles and 5 costly regime change wars, 2 initiated by Bush during his 2 terms and 3 that got fired up during the BHO, 2 terms as president. Not only that the Korean peninsula was so unstable during the Bush and BHO years that a war seemed likely every second for the first 16 years of this century. Despite all these instability that DJT inherited along with the persecution and investigations of DJT, the economy and jobs situation is best it has ever been.
Lights at the white house will shine as bright as the sun shining on my old Kentucky home. The theater of Dem nomination process on the other hand is entering a dark period of uncertainty and malice. I saw a Bloomberg ad for the 1st time with Obama featuring prominently in the ad as though he has endorsed Bloomberg, may be he will to provide clarity that he does not support Biden. When theatrics is all the Dems can offer at this time, I would not be surprised if Michelle Obama gets on to the ticket for the VP spot while Hillary Clinton is salivating to get spot light. Bloomberg has certainly surfaced as the phantom of the Dem Opera.
2
If Barr and Trump are not behind bars at the end of the play then something is seriously wrong with America.... How is this possible? How is this so different from Watergate when then President was reigned in? Short short memories America.
3
Can you please do a column as to why several Republican senators went to Russia 2 Fourth of July's ago and now those same senators refuse to sign the bill that will prevent foreign countries from meddling in our elections? They'd rather keep talking about abortion and Hillary's emails. We have the right to know why they don't want to protect our elections. Have they turned on America?
4
Another side point that hurt Warren was her making a big deal of some kind of comment by Bernie about women candidates v. Trump. She wouldn’t let go until she was overheard side barring with Bernie about “lying.” Lying is Trump’s franchise.
1
Warren doesn’t fare well when she succumbs to taunts and tries to confront. The Indian heritage debacle with Trump left her looking inept. And the one-upsmanship game with Buttigieg failed.
3
A friend of many years, and a descendant of a family that perished in a prison camp, brought his son up, near the Cloisters in New York, and advised him to always treat the Police with kid-gloves. His wife, an African, he was being realistic, and Bloomberg's name never featured in the frisk- and-stop policy. Today his son is a leading young scientist on scholarship.
When I was six years old and lifted a dollar from my brother's desk, my parent informed me that next time she would call the Police, putting an end to my criminal career. There was no mention of Bloomberg.
'Remove the scarf from your tunic', demanded a female security officer at JFK more recently, 'unfortunately it is attached', I replied, starting to raise the tunic in compliance, 'but if you insist'...she didn't.
Biden has the makings of a fine president for this voter, a certain nobility of character that the Irish poet Yeats would pay tribute to, an ode to joy and certain sorrow.
All the Democrat nominees have matters of importance to bring to the Nation in their race to the White House, and forging ahead on the political chess-board is Bloomberg, the 'Black Knight', and the one that other friends in the corporate and public sector are rooting for. In a manner of speaking, I not only trust this self-made successful man, but I like him.
Elected to the highest Office in the Land of the Free, he will return a full deck of marbles to The Senate, and put an end to power outrages in The White House.
2
Dems do not win - cannot win - when running as a Republican. You never hear a Republican saying “I’m not like those other Republicans. I’m a progressive Republican.” They run as a Republican. Dems need to stop trying to cull the white suburban moms and Republicans. There are 70 Million kids born since Obama was first elected. They can vote now. There are more Latinos than African Americans. Don’t take any of them for granted! Run as FDR. Run as a Progressive! Equal pay for equal work. $15/hour minimum wage. Medicare for all. Green New Deal. Stop sending kids overseas to die in needless/endless wars. Student loan forgiveness. The list goes on...we have the agenda people want...we have so many more people than the Republican’ts and most of Americans agree with the Dems platform. There is no reason we should ever lose any election. Unless we push out a moderate (i.e. Republican-lite) candidate.
4
While Gail and Bret carry on a smug, self-absorbed, narrow minded discussion of every one of Trumps irritating behavior, the rest of us need to objectively analyze the Democrat Party's failures. Yes Failures.
1. The Democrat Party has failed to act like the Big Tent it likes to Crow About. Instead, the Democrat Party has enthusiaticaly handed over total dominance and control to a Political Machine...the DNC, an actual corporation. And as a Political Machine, the DNC is interested in nothing beyond unchecked power by control of the ballot box through its control of the Federal Programs, using it for graft, bribery, and patronage.
2. The Democrats themselves, blindly follow whatever agenda the DNC sets for them......fearing LOSS of Federal Funding for all the special programs that Democrats beleive are essential to their survival.....at the same time insisting that the failures of such programs to function is completely the fault of "rich republicans".
3. "Progressives" are actually "REgressive".....demanding an almost violent resistance to change, preferring a 1968 world view.
....
Trump has destroyed the Republican Party....the GOP lies dead and dismembered on the floor. For the past 30 years a dark, cynical, manipulative force has controlled the GOP......the Bush Minions. Trump has sent the Bush Minion Political Machine running for the shadows.
...
A new Political Party is now emerging, yet nameless.......the truly independent thinking Democrats need to pay attention.
Bill Barr is doing his job. Oh, unless you think, like I do, that Andy McCabe had a case to answer.
But I'll give Barr the benefit of the doubt.
As for who will turn off the lights in Trump's White House, we know who it won't be. Bernie, Joe, Pete, Liz, Amy, Mike, or Michael Avenatti (CNN's fave for 2020 pres candidate at one point.
Good luck. You've wasted three years crying about Trump and now you are worse off than 2016, as hard as that is to believe.
3
The other day I was rating the candidates in order of preference:
Sanders 7.5
Warren 6
Klobuchar 3
Buttigieg 3
Biden 2
Bloomberg .0001
Trump -50
It is always borderline disgusting when Bret and Ross Douthat talk about what form opposition to this administration should take. There are particularly ugly features of this administration that they both get off on.
Ross for example is almost salivating at the possibility of the Supreme Court with the addition of the two new reactionary judges will further intensify the assault on women's sexual and reproductive freedom. Something that he has argued for since I don't know when. In fact it seems to be the only thing that makes him totally alive (spiritually dead).
Bret is beside himself with support each time time the humiliation and oppression of Palestinians is intensified by this administration. Like Ross on reproductive freedom and sex it is where Bret is the most passionate. Though his joy at the creative possibilities of capitalism's ability to destroy and create new forms of devastation is a close second. But still the first is more basic and dear to his heart.
2
Gail... I think Donald Trump has done a pretty good job at turning out the lights.
2
What canidate is the spoiler, like Ralph Nader was in 2000?
I hope our party remembers Gore's defeat in 2000......Spoiler alert, it could happen again in 2020!
I did not want Bush and I do not think he will go down in history as a great president, but at least he had a soul unlike the donald.
3
Most of the non-PC comments that have been dug up from Bloomie's past have been about women and youth of color, but there is one comment out in the open that potentially could cut him off at the knees in industrial and agricultural areas. It his disparagement of the skills and knowledge needed to succeed as a farmer or machinist. More than anything it showed that he knows nothing about those trades and assumes because he knows nothing about them that they are easy.
The wise man learns from the fool; the fool learns from no one.
3
i have news for Ms.collins and Mr. stephens, the light at the white house are already out. considering the state of chaos and revolt at the justice dept and trumps' obscene self aggrandizing pep rally at daytona over the weekend, the only lights left on at the white house is the gaslight.
1
I see the Times gave Stephens both the first word and the last word in this conversation.
1
I thought this was an apt description of the Barr-oque performance.
https://thebulwark.com/newsletter-issue/bill-barrs-worked-shoot/
Why does everyone see Biden’s fall as exclusively his fault? Trump’s Ukraine play worked and knocked Biden out of contention.
4
“I’d like to see fewer limits on donations coupled with radical transparency about the sources of funding.” We’ll, I sent in an op-Ed piece that details how to reform the whole system and The NY Times ignored it. However I did see an op-Ed on letting Bernie Madoff out of prison. Nice job.
Barr’s interview was just telegraphing his wish that he would be freer to be Trump’s flunky if only Trump would stop tweeting about it. Seems Barr has not learnt that self-abasement is a prerequisite to work for Trump. His tweets are deliberately intended to humiliate his flunkies to please his base and so that said flunky Barr will dutifully carry out his wishes even as he kisses the boss’ behind.
4
@Sri Exactly. He's not satisfied with flunkies simply doing his bidding, he has to rub their faces in it by letting the world know that they're simply doing his bidding.
2
Any one of them can beat Trump, especially if they stop beating up each other and focus on the devil.
Bloomberg and Klobuchar - Winning combination!!
Once again the D Party will rely on their obviously exquisite superior from the tee drives to win the game whilst it miscalculates/misses important chips/putts because it miserably fails to properly read the greens.
Once again it will eat its own in some macabre purification rite.
Once again it will let theoretical perfection be the enemy of existential survival.
I plead! Those of us that value Secular Liberal Democracy (SLD) need the D Party to win and win big!
GOP obviously pointed AWAY from SLD and toward Theocratic Authoritarian Plutocracy (TAP)!
Even with its imperfections D Party at least pointed in the direction of SLD and the only force capable of saving SLD now.
Give GOP 4 more years and our march to a more perfect SLD will be dead in its tracks. The Judiciary will be GOP's; TAP will be our framework for decades.
Our economic framework is basically Capitalism. I expect Plutocrats like Mike Bloomberg to exist and that's not innately bad.
A Plutocrat mostly devoted to SLD is not an an oxymoron. MB has proven he's such.
Don't know if MB needed for to win to save SLD; I remain open.
But DO KNOW Nation needs effective SLD candidates with coattails to win big 2020! If MB provides path to a big SLD win we must go for him full bore!
Any prominent D is NOT nor will be an existential danger.
GOP is and will be!
DJT is like a hag fish. No one can get a grip on him except by a hook. I say it will all unravel for him/his through a family crisis. Pence may be the one shutting the lights off in the WH. Then the Dem can go at it with united purpose. Who is willing and able to lead us in a mutual effort towards a mutual goal? I think a combination of Sanders and Abrams would be inspiring. I would like to leave my children, especially my grandchildren, a social democracy respecting their mixed race heritage with their whole person in a compassionate and just society. There are citizens in our country who are drunk on trump, but he is just the brew. There is a whole culture that has prepared our social environment for this era know-nothing authoritarianism, and that can only be overcome with spiritual and moral courage. A new social and political vision is needed and possible. Pax, jb
1
You said it all with your closing line, both of you remind me of Statler and Waldorf sitting up in the bleachers laughing and saying nothing with no shortage of material.
What a nice headline your opinion piece has! It's so true.
Trump admits he sent Rudy to Ukraine to get dirt on Biden.
Congressional Republicans ignored Trump's illegal acts of withholding Congressional aide to Ukraine, inviting foreign election interference and abuse of power. They care more about retaining political power at any cost versus doing what's best for We The People and America while defending our Constitution.
Republicans dismissed Trump on live Helsinki TV trusting Putin over US Intelligence agencies. They let Donald spread Putin's false narrative that Ukraine (not Russia) interfered in the 2016 election. Some went to Moscow on July 4th. Ronald Reagan couldn't recognize or stomach today's Russian-loving GOP.
A.G. Barr does Trump's bidding like he's a banana republic dictator. Red hat MAGA loyalists get whipped into blind-rage frenzies reminiscent of 1923-1938 Nuremberg rallies. Congressional Republicans, with the exception of Romney, act like brown shirts. They profess their love of Dear Leader while condemning dissenters as "Never-Trumpers", all while ignoring that damage to our democratic republic.
The GOP has turned it's back on the Constitution. Congressional Republicans openly colluding with the executive branch during impeachment instead of being a check to autocratic abuse of power.
A majority of We The People can and will take back American government in November from corrupt Republicans. Demonstrate. Donate. Volunteer. Don't agonize. Organize.
Vote Blue No Matter Who.
Why does the New York Times not inform its readers that the FISA Court as a part of its order to the DOJ has demanded that the DOJ assign "outside prosecutors" to investigate the predicate for the two illegally attained FISA warrants on Carter Page?
Surely, the NYT is aware of this.
1
Right now, however, I’m willing to forgive many personal sins if I think a candidate can defeat Trump."
Sorry to say it but, in these extraordinary times if it turns out that it takes one, Bloomberg, to beat one, Trump, he'll have my vote.
If Bloomberg is elected, the only thing we'll have to worry about is the total capitulation of the entire Democratic party to Bloombergism. As the GOP succumbed to Trump.
I'm willing to take a chance that won't, can't happen. Authortarianism just isn't the Democrats thing.
1
It was passing strange to me that an accomplished man like Rex Tillerson would ever have desired a job working for President Trump. An extraordinarily successful businessman and a lifetime supporter of the Boy Scouts who played a very significant role in convincing that organization to rescind its long-standing ban on openly gay youth as members, he surely would have been familiar with the Boy Scout oath which reads:
“On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”
In and of themselves, the last two words in that oath should have been a clear warning to Mr. Tillerson to avoid getting mixed-up with President Trump in the first place.
As for the mentally awake part, well ….
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/us/boy-scouts-bankruptcy-sex-abuse.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/politics/donald-trump-boy-scouts-speech/index.html
1
Trump's boss, Charles Koch, has done a masterful job of avoiding the limelight while funding the republican coup that has shredded the Constitution. With more money than Saudi Arabia this nazi-descended oligarch, and his recently deceased brother, have basically hollowed out the republican party and filled it with their own "tiny government" fanatics. Trump is their front man, the P. T. Barnum of our age, but look to the power behind the throne, Charles Koch.
2
Really, Mr. Stephens, your heart goes out to Joe Biden? Mr. Biden is the walking example of white male privilege. The bias towards white men in our culture has pushed men like Joe Biden to the top, at the expense of far sharper and more capable women, again and again. Why is it that a white man who cannot face up to his mediocrity deserves any sympathy?
1
When the lights are turned back on by the new administration it would be wise for a team of Shinto priests to be on hand for extensive purification rituals; and Miller's office should just be completely bricked off. As a parting gift we could gift Trump the golden drapes he had installed, kind of like a consolation prize for not succeeding in ruining our nation.
2
This is futile hopeless cry in the night that will change absolutely nothing. I have totally stopped reading The Times and would cancel in a moment, except that I respect the right of other family members to read your paper.
You continue to engage in false equivalencies, treating the Trump administration as if it were inherently no different from any prior administration. In fact the world is on fire and we are witnessing the decline and fall of the American Republic, which you are aiding and abetting by normalizing the singularly mad behavior of our infant king. You refuse to call out the madness for fear of being seen as partisan. You have failed to uphold the high hopes our founders had when they established freedom of the press as a bulwark against those who would put their own interest above those of the Republic. Why, I wonder? Are you too blind to see or are you too corrupt and invested in supporting the existing power structure which benefits you and your cohorts - the privileged .01%?
And No I didn't even bother to read this article. It feels that hopeless!
2
Barr’s real statement—
“Boss, stop subverting the law, that’s what you hired me for. Just enjoy Ivanka and your two scoops of ice cream and leave the shredding of the constitution to me.”
4
"I’d like to see fewer limits on donations coupled with radical transparency about the sources of funding."
Ugh, VOMIT.
Good question for all the candidates on the debate stage: are you willing to release your taxes and /or out your assets in a blind trust for the length of your term as president ?
Bloomberg/Klobuchar 2020
1
Well it is too late, then again better latte than never, until now I thought that Jeff Session had more integrity than Bill Barr , when Mr. Sessions set his bar very low.
Bill Barr was supposed to work for the Country for which we are paying enormous amount for .
All this time it was dissapointing to see Barr made himself available at trump`s beck and call.
donald trump is destroying the Country we all love and he needs to be a onetime President.
Paging Michael Bloomberg.
1
"...got a glass of Blue Nun in the bargain..."
Well, I hadn't thought about that stuff for quite a while! As a young graduate I was awfully impressed with it and with myself for drinking it.
Does anybody really think that someone is going to sit home and yawn over this election?
1
If the current polling is correct it looks like Bernie will turn out the lights for Trump and Barr. Sweet!
2
I have stopped listening to or reading about the candidates and their positions. Each one wants their own plans to be more detailed - spelled 'expensive' - then their own previous or others. All they are doing is trolling for primary votes with what seems to me to be very little attention to the Big One in November. Yes, they have to get to the convention, to be sure, but shouldn't each of them try their darndest to do two things:
1) get uncommitted, young, and/or disenfranchised voters, and,
2) convince Republican voters who disagree with the president and his incompetent administration to put a mark on their name?
I think so. I do not think they do. They already have me, whoever it will be, but that is not enough.
1
Socialism is not a dirty word, far from it....it is what truly advanced civilized countries do. I envy my friends in Canada, the UK and Australia.....and the Scandinavian countries have the highest standards of living and the most happy & contented people.Why do we stand with the group that includes barbaric 3rd world nations? Sad but true.....how much longer will we have to endure this greed driven raw jungle Capitalism imposed suffering on the majority of the American people?
2
Who will turn the lights out? If we keep reflecting on the idea that someone else will help, your thinking is wrong.
The solution lay in only one place, your mirror.
1
The lights are already out in the White House. Trump and his cronies turned them out, so no one could see what they were doing.
2
The main new thought here is that Senator Klobuchar is an inspiring candidate. Not by shouting and scolding, not by arrogantly flaunting obscene piles of money (that in a fair system would largely have been taxed away), not by trying to be all things to all people. not by capturing media fascination with one outrageous, asinine tweet or snipe after another, but by being an impressive, quietly fierce, determined career politician. Hold that thought! Spread that thought!
2
If 2016 has taught us anything at all, isn't it that anyone can be elected - when voters unite behind them? I'm thinking 'electability' has less to do with a candidate's qualities and everything to do with the electorate's determination.
In 2020, with all we know now, how determined are we? Because if we're truly determined to defeat Trump, then any of the Democratic candidates will do. And everything else is a distraction.
The GOP is well skilled and endlessly creative in voter suppression tactics which often cross the line of legality. They are clearly hell bent on keeping the Trump regime in place. God knows why; do they really think they'll remain unscathed by the wreckage?
We need to listen to our better angels. The Founders' Declaration of Independence was not a call for individualism, but a call to unity to overthrow a tyrant. The Framers' Constitution was forged through compromise to give us a legal framework to preserve the republic. This is what we are fighting for. We have the roadmap to victory. This path - unity and compromise - is in our shared national DNA. Let's do this. Together. Eyes on the prize.
4
I’m pretty sure that after enduring racism since the “birth of our nation”, black people can tell who is dangerous to them and who is not. White people went nuts about Virginia’s governor and black people basically shrugged. And that was black face! I’d say they are smarter voters than a lot of other Americans. They don’t vote against themselves in droves.
They also know how horribly racist Trump is and aren’t risking another term. I sincerely hope women follow their lead. I haven’t heard from a billionaire guy who hasn’t thought he can say anything to whomever, whenever, whether in the White House or a hoodie. They all seem like jerks. No reason to risk your reproductive rights.
As far as Barr, he just needs to carry Trump’s water for a little bit. I think he’s banking on another win for Trump and will do anything he asks or wants to stay in his good graces. His real goal is RBG’s seat. His letter to Trump re: Mueller report wasn’t an audition to AG (that just happened to be a bonus), it was a SCOTUS audition.
I don’t see her being physically able to work until 2024 and Barr will be appointed. If that doesn’t scare the crap out of Dems enough to rally behind anybody for President and overturn the Senate, I don’t know what will.
6-3 RvW
6- All corporate
6-3 All melding of church and state
6-3 Immigration
2
Nothing is more important than getting Trump ousted from office (we’ll need a bigger shoehorn). Hopefully, all progressive and moderate Democrats, Independents and disgruntled Republicans unite behind the Democratic choice. However, I worry about the one enormous obstacle that we may not overcome - the electoral vote. It makes the political theater into Theatre of the Absurd.
3
Citizen's United and our campaign system is by definition a corrupted system. It assures that we'll always have the best government money can buy.
Warren knows this is our best bet to get back on track.
4
@Clayton Marlow But keep in mind that Clinton outspent Trump by about 2-1 and lost. Money is not destiny even if it helps a lot.
2
These labels and adjectives used are rediculous. "Moderates","progressives", "liberal wing". It is quite extraordinary that we never hear about the "radical right wing", or that tax cuts are "radical capitalism ." Why is that? Why aren't the radical right policies labeled as anti-patriotism? Why can't simple things, such as fire hydrants, and road maintenance be explained as forms of the dreaded "socialism?" Why aren't people aware of the fact that our military is THE definition of "socialism?" Our municipal police forces. Why aren't the Democrats hammering home that they won't take over Ford,Apple, and all private industry? For that is real socialism.
5
It seems to me that the Republican Party is no longer a right center party but a far right one. The Tea Party took it over. Perhaps this reality should be the central message the Democrats reflect back at Republicans. Perhaps this idea could galvanize Republicans in taking back their party and dissociate it from the far right. I read a lot about the social-democrat aspect of some candidates, and the fear this creates on the United-States psyche, but why is the far right ideology of others not central in the messaging? If the Republicans don't want this president reelected, they should abstain from voting and stop contribution to the party, until it reflects their values again.
Shouldn't the onus be on Republicans, to stand for democracy and its rules.
Just a thought...
4
Bret, perhaps I misinterpreted your point, or perhaps someone else in the comment section has pointed this out, but the Democrat's presidential candidate in 1968 was Hubert Humphrey, not President Johnson, who decided, wisely, not to run. (I recall it well, standing on line at the 34th St. armory for my first presidential vote, sharing regrets with Dawn Steel, who'd gone to the same high school as I had, was at the time Bob Guccione's assistant at Penthouse, and was later a major player in the Hollywood movie industry. The memory is better than the moment itself.)
1
Gail and Bret mis-diagnose Warren's loss of support. She started as the fierce reform Democrat, the champion of the middle class, who expressed her love for free markets. Then she embraced Bernie's signature proposal--Medicare for All, with no private option--a promise to eliminate private health plans. She's been in free-fall ever since. The people who wanted MFA with abolition of private health insurance were solidly with Bernie. When Warren endorsed it, her 'Bernie Light' cred vanished. (To my 'Bernie or Bust Dem' friends: Face it: socialism is still a taboo term to most voters, including the Dems--and MFA with no private option is socialism and threatens, as Mayor Pete said, the people who have private insurance and like it. Also, as he said, if MFA proves the best option, people will vote with their feet and that will eventually kill private insurance anyway. Bernie and Warren are the candidates my heart likes. Right now, Klobuchar and Bloomberg look like the ones who can appeal to the most voters and duke it out with the Don.. For all his faults, saying Bloomberg and Trump are morally equivalent, and spending the election poutng on the sidelines will only re-elect the Don, freeing him to go into full megalomaniac dictator mode.
1
@Lee Barry
Actually, Warren's proposal was nuanced, and a bit more complex. She did say there would be a "tax hike" in people's paychecks,but in the long run they would actually be getting a net increase because premiums would be either eliminated or drastically reduced. And the out of pocket expenses would be reduced too. But all people heard was "taxes".
Funny, how M4A didn't cause downfall of Bernie, rather contrary. I am not so sure Bloomie and Amy appeal to most voters, not by the results of primaries, not by polls.
2
@Tim Lynch I agreed with her reasoning. The problem was she was going to eliminate private health insurance. Doesn't bother me, but I'm not covered by private health insurance. People don't like to give up on a status quo that they're relativiely happy with for an uncertainty.
Labels Labels Labels. Or should we say, mislabels.
If you take conservative tradition in it's best sense, meaning to preserve the good that our system has produced; it becomes not a block to progress but a guide to cautiously advance.
From at least the time of Clinton and Gingrich, when the parties were finding their place in the post Cold War, it's the Democrats who were the conservative party. The true definition of Republicans is radical reactionary. The only argument seems to be how far back.
State Socialism and and Free Market Capitalism are also anachronisms in discussions of our present and future.
I've been independent starting with voting for John B. Anderson in 1980 and Barry Commoner in 1984. Since then constant cringe worthy performance of on-campaign and in-office Republicans has no appeal to me.
And, while in power, the harm they have produced to our once preeminent standard of living proves we are better off with them on a smoldering ash heap in our rear view mirror.
The progressive spectrum of our population needs to bind with conservatives in and out of the Democratic Party. For the good of the country our first need is a united front to drive the Demagogue's defenders back to their rightful fringe place .
United to maintain our democratic government is a good point to restart. A healthy political realignment will follow. And, as is our nature, debate will inflame mighty passions. All good. Our citizens are quite capable for the missions that inspire us.
3
Gail and Bret are having the same conversation everyone is having-who can beat Trump?
It shouldn't be that hard to figure out until you realize Republicans are going to do everything possible, legal or not, to suppress the vote, lie through their teeth, and invite election interference from bad players, domestic and foreign.
This long drawn out Democratic race for that magic person is making it worse. Pick someone ! We'll make a moderate more progressive, a progressive more moderate.
8
William Barr’s THE door.
Barr has incarnated Trump's Roy Cohn beyond expectations. Trump is wily enough to know that he can ill afford to lose in 2020. Why? Because as a private citizen he will be subject to investigations that will put him behind bars - pun intended. Allow Trump to win and James Carville's voiced fears will come true. Power will be ruthlessly consolidated and democracy will wither on the vine.
2
Yes, I can't wait for the moment when there is one nominee for the Democrats, and they all firmly stand behind him/her. The current sniping (when there is a big monster to defeat in the fall!) makes me cringe. As for the big photo of Barr at the top of this discussion, all I can think when I see his face is the kiddie song "Froggy would a wooing go uh huh."
2
Barr abuses himself by imagining that his reputation for the rest of history isn't already that of closer to other members of the "Banality of Evil" gang. Trump's leadership of the wealthy, the deplorable, the xenophobic, the racist, the intellectually dishonest, and male chauvinist pig leaves what is most unclean everything he touches that has nothing in common with the gold taps that he washes his hand with, in eternal homage to Pontius Pilate ("Good people on both sides....").
Barr thinks that if he draws a line, from Trump's right hand side, that he'll be chosen to go to history's heaven, but everybody knows and will know that he's just being obsequious and having a meltdown simultaneously. He mimes a conscience the way only someone who is lacking can do so skillfully.
4
Bernie is Putin's dream come true because he's created the perfect storm of Democratic downfall.
If nominated, he cannot win.
If not nominated, he will be at least as nasty and divisive as he was to Hillary.
Rein in his supporters? HA HA HA. That's a good laugh. They will disrupt, disrupt, disrupt - then be too high and mighty to vote in November.
1
Has he stepped down yet. None of the sycophants have any sense of honor much less patriotism. Bar and the rest are opportunists, grifters and terrified toadies putting themselves and loyalty to criminal administration before the country or their constituents both of which are being harmed.
1
Whose fault is it that the campaign season seems to have dragged on so long?
2
Those on the top want to protect what they have every one else wants to survive, those on the top will be OK no matter who is elected every one else not so much unless things change. Call it a nannie state if you want but covering everyone's basic needs would go a long ways in leveling things out Warren and Sanders are the only one working for that.
1
michael bloomberg and amy klobuchar...a winning ticket...if not, bloomberg and any other candidate ...just please, bernie do not mess this up...we need everybody to be on the same side...and we need to get trump out of the white house.
1
It would take an extremely disciplined, well run organization to get Trump gone...something on the order of, oh, I don’t know...the Republican Party.
Gail and Brett, isn't it time for you to write about Klobuchar? She is authentic, honest, smart as a whip, relatable. She can heal this country's wounds. And in a debate with Trump she will make him cry like a baby.
Well, they did talk about her here...
Getting third place in NH may be "Klobmentum" but it's definitely not any sort of momentum.
Bernie or Bloomberg will be the nom. It's just going to be a long year.
It is noteworthy Reince Priebus, Hope Hicks and Sean Spicer are returning to the White House after their time in the wilderness (or the dance floor in Spicer's instance). It would seem the juggernaut has come full circle and the Left Behind are jumping back onboard. Perhaps their departure was not as rapturous as they expected it to be. Either that or the president has just run out of sufficient sycophants to stroke his ego.
There might be room at Justice as well if Barr is cashiered as he ought to be.
1
I'll keep this photograph, in fact print it and hang it up over my desk as an omen that come 2020, there is a mass exodus from the White House.
“Before You Embark On A Journey Of Revenge, Dig Two Graves” — Confucius
Trump can’t get away forever.
He may take everyone with him though.
1
...meanwhile, Ireland completes it’s entire election in 28 days. The US, on the other hand, puts its citizens through a grueling and interminable money-grubbing mud-slinging fest to acheive...what?
2
That is one stupendous photo: "Barr and His Exit Sign"
I just tagged the photo on my dart board, and am so far 6 out of 10 hitting the old dog's Scowl dead center.
Meanwhile...
Barr should permanent-tape this photo to his freezer, where he can view it as an eternal reminder of what a frozen heart his is.
2
I hadn't thought about Blue Nun since college.
2
Loser of the week is John Bolton - who gave a speech last night and told the audience that Chapter 14 of his book is a real doozy - just wait til you get a chance to buy it and read it!
Bolton could possibly have nailed Trump's coffin shut during the impeachment hearings and he refused to do it. He's obviously is in this to sell books, not save our democracy. At this point I'd only buy Bolton's book when you know what freezes over.
I decided this week to support Bloomberg because I want to beat Trump more than anything. But the more old videos I see of him and the more I read about him, he does seem to be a super jerk.
Which doesn't matter. If he can beat Trump, I'm for him. But he's a charmless guy.
1
Bloomberg and Klobuchar a dream ticket. And after one term America’s first female President. One can only hope.
1
Advice when hanging out in a Wine Cavern : take a very large, nearly empty, bag or purse.
Seriously.
2
Bret: “Leave No Grudge Behind”. That’s a good one!
Disbar Barr. Clean and simple and there is ample cause
1
Isn't democracy wonderful. Elections where we have to talk about gender bias, racial bias, religious bias or sexual preference bias- not what anyone should hope for the all men (and women) are created equal. Why don't we have a stupidity bias, something that should matter?
2
"Whenever I hear that song now"? It's a song? Now?
For those who don't get Bret's reference to the show he was with Amy Klobuchar as the star guest, it was Bill Maher's Real Time on HBO. If you subscribe to HBO you can watch it any time on HBO On Demand. And for reasons I have yet to fully understand, Maher's show is available on You Tube around the world. I say that with authority because I have seen it that way in Singapore when I couldn't access HBO from Singapore with my paid cable company user name and password. It's worth seeing, especially this episode.
2
Be careful. I saw the same show. Klobuchar was coming off her New Hampshire “surge” and she reminded me of Howard Dean at the moment of his rise/fall. Last night’s media party was a mass Bernieacide. I got the idea from Chris Mathews that the Sanders Brown shirts were poised to strong arm themselves into the nomination. There is a palpable feeling of desperation going on that seems to be gravitating toward Bloomberg. This smacks of the kind of manipulative Democratic establishment stuff that happened in 16. Please don’t. Let the process play out. Stay true to the issues (namely that life in America has become a low wage dystopia). And if the big Dems wish to manipulate something they can try to manipulate the juggernaut of corporate interests that have twisted the brains of a significant part of the voting public with hate.
1
Who knew "If You See Something, Say Something" now applies to the fight against trumpian corruption, not terrorism.
3
Forget the "cavern full of $900 cabernets," focus on the supermarket shelves full of $9 boxed Shato Grape-O-Flexes. Tastes even better coming up than it did going down.
Speaking of regurgitation, that's how I feel about Mike Bloomberg. Forget about the legion facets of his prior tin-eared imperiousness. America hardly needs another aging giga-richguy buying the presidency.
What America needs even less, however, is another term of a terminally deranged aging kilo-richguy buying the presidency for a second term.
4
The Barr(bar) is now so low in the Justice Department that the AG’s behavior is not a shock.This is the same man who edited and sliced and diced the Mueller report so that it was not recognizable when the American public finally got a chance to see it.This is the man who at his confirmation hearing admitted to Jeanne Shaheen that he did think that Trump had been the subject of some “spying”.He then proceeded to appoint a prosecutor to travel around the world with him looking for evidence.This project kept him so busy that he had no time to wonder what the heck Giuliani was doing spending so much time in Ukraine and hanging out with Fruman and Parnas who were arrested for funneling foreign money to American political campaigns.His Tuesday Night massacre when the four prosecutors of the Stone case resigned shone a bright light on his loyalty to Trump.The press conference was just a lame retort to say,”Hey boss, I’m doing my best, don’t make this sub Rosa operation so public!”Two thousand plus Federal Prosecutors are now organizing an emergency meeting -maybe they can return law and order to the Justice Department-I hope!
6
What the carpenters are saying....
I work for a construction company and have lunch everyday with with a crew of hardworking folks.
There is not much discussion on climate change, health care or tax breaks to the wealthy.
All Democratic candidates are looked at as weak.
They enjoy the craziness of Trump and care not about his tearing the country apart, his vulgarity and lies.
These guys are into one more lap around Daytona and four more years.
2
Bloomberg is the only one taking on Trump while the rest of the clowns are attacking each other.
1
Gail, thanks for defending Elizabeth Warren! Where did the media go???? All of a sudden, she wasn't called on in the last debate, and the media pointedly ignored her!
4
Will someone turn on the lights in his head and that of his supporters?
Wishful thinking as there is no bulb in there.
2
If Bloomberg is the eventual nominee, then I will vote for him. But I find it interesting that he appears to glide easily through his policing history, picking up endorsements from black mayors and black voters all over the South. And yet Pete Buttigieg is still being slammed every day for his policing record in South Bend, a record that DID NOT include stop and frisk. Goes to show that we Americans are easily swayed by billionaire jerks from NYC.
6
When I read Bloomberg's comments about "redlining" being good, I did not see it as having anything to do with redlining but more to do with greedy, dumb young bankers who thought house prices would never go down, even for a short period of time talking people into taking on debt which they could not handle.
2
@Contrary DAve
Not only that, but Bloomberg has the whole housing crisis story wrong. It wasn't redlining at all; it was securitization. Read Paul Krugman's column today.
On Barr: "Bill Barr makes Jeff Sessions look principled." sounded about right to me.
2
Oh, boy! Gail and Bret go to the track and call a horse race.
Gail likes the horse with a pretty mane.
Bret likes it, too, because it comes from Midwestern stock and has lovely colored silks.
How much money is being bet, and by whom, is sort of interesting to both of them but, really, they don't care.
All of this nonsense and noise will go away as soon as that unexpected, unmentioned horse in the lead gets declared ineligible by DNC Stewart Tom Perez, and then Gail and Bret can get excited about the sport again.
Bernie Sanders by six furlongs, 2020.
1
I find these back and forth articles tiresome. I respect the times and it’s outstanding work, but sometimes it’s breathless reporting on trump minutiae wears me out. I know it gets clicks and sells subscriptions, but, man, there are real things going on in the world besides palace intrigue.
2
I keep saying this....this election cycle, in fact all election cycles are driven by emotion. Bloomberg has an awful lot of money, but, he also has no amount of emotion---zero. This fact will become obvious on the debate stage---where who you are speaks louder than what is in your wallet. Although the Democrats have has a very messy primary season..it appears to me that Senator Klobuchar is becoming the obvious pick---she has all the tools to defeat Trump---who will self-destruct amongst women voters when he comes up with his own brand of female nicknames.
“Right now, however, I’m willing to forgive many personal sins if I think a candidate can defeat Trump.”
If Trump’s idiocy, or his conservativism, turns us into idiots or conservatives, he has won even if he loses. Yes, Bloomberg has a minimal level of competence that Trump does not. So does my uncle Bob. Yes, it would be gratifying to have a nominee who isn’t afraid to match Trump’s insults. But gratification is not political power, as Trump’s supporters may one day realize. And yes, having Trump in the White House is an emergency. But casting politics as an emergency that precludes integrity is how Trump & most Republicans get elected, and emergencies that require Democrats to shift perpetually to the right is how conservative Democrats & Republicans join to defeat progressives. We will NOT win by nominating a candidate that we speculate will be attractive to people with whom we disagree. Surely it’s worth remembering that this attitude—being so pragmatic you surrender your principle—is exactly what many people despised about Hillary Clinton?
2
Voters who sat out the 2016 election gave us Trump. This time around, voters need to keep their eyes on the prize, the White House. None of the current candidates could possible do as much harm as Trump has done to date. Another uncontrolled four years of Trump would be a devastation.
More environmental destruction, more tax breaks for the wealthy, more wasted taxpayer money on the wall Mexico was to pay for, more discrimination against minorities, more Federalist Society judges, more nuclear bombs, more of Putin and less of our European allies, more corruption of our legal system, and just many more bad things invented in Trump's peabrain.
Many of us may have to hold our nose and vote for a choice we didn't select in the primary, but we have to do it. Survival of our democracy is at stake.
2
"My heart goes out to Biden, not least because he’s the sort of man who is more decent than he is clever, in an era which desperately needs a return to decency."
This line from Bret hit such a chord. "More decent than clever"---what does that say about our society overall? Sure we claim to want decency but ruthless is what we need too.
Decent and ruthless makes a poor combination. It's interesting that the most likeable candidates--Klobashar and Buttigieg--have a ruthless side that leaps out every now and then to prove there's a killer inside.
Biden doesn't--and it's so clear in the look on his face that says,' I don't even feel at home' in this world anymore. The longer he stays in this race, the more forlorn he becomes and although he was my first choice for months, I hope he can exit gracefully.
2
@ChristineMcM I absolutely agree. The strange silence -in media commentary, from other candidates, and from Democratic "influencers" - regarding the unequal playing field Biden endured as he was tarred day after day after day-HOW did that silence happen? What was that about? Look back at his statement as to why he was running - his country needed him. He did not need this. He still is my first choice, Tom Steyer my second, but if Biden exits I hope for more than graceful- I hope there will be sustained acknowledgement that Trump's scheme worked and that the machinery of press coverage and political infighting were the handmaidens.
1
Re: "radical transparency"
I've been wishing for that for ages. I don't frankly care who gives money to whom as long as we, the constituents, can view the list of donors AND a politician's appointment book and then see who gets more one-on-one time. And then check the voting record...It's the appearance of NOT listening to the Jane Does of the district that ticks me off--eg. sending out opaque form letters or only staffers meet with we small fries or only having town halls b/f an election...
Governance matters!
1
Remember how everyone complained that Hillary was a corporate shill who gave speeches at Goldman Sachs? Now everyone can't wait to elect The Corporation.
I guess double standards are the last refuge for hypocrites.
3
Political theater is alive and well here near Trump's presidential manor, Mar-a-Lago. Bloomberg has opened Bloomberg for President store-fronts in Florida. Mike Bloomberg may be an old broom, but he's a rich and good old broom. Beggars comprehension how many Americans are hoping/praying their dream of removing Trump and his cadre of enablers (from AG Bill Barr to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to the rest of Trump's very bad-apples) from the White House comes true.
2
On the debate stage, Klobuchar and Buttigieg will look like the attendants at the Old Folks Home.
2
Gail, we get that you don't like Pete. But mentioning the wine cave, what, three times?
He stayed 30 minutes and drank no wine. There was no $900.00 bottle either. Read his book or are you afraid to?
Read the article in the Washington Post written by one of the attendees, a teacher, among other educators who were there, and who confessed that he is no millionaire, but wished he were!
2
If Trump wins this election, your children and my grandchildren will be reciting “I pledge allegiance to Donald Trump and his United States of America.... “ every morning in school.
Let's see what the sentencing judge says. Everything else is just eating up paper.
1
Lights out 2025.
1
"Barr’s complaint seems to be that Trump’s tweets deny him the opportunity to pretend that he’s acting out of conviction, not dictation."
My belief is that Barr is concerned that his probable verified complaints (he mentioned in the Tweet Complaint interview) which are high in number, are contradicted by what the President tweets.
When filing many lawsuits, the attorneys who are moving to sue or prosecute (as Barr is as AG of the US), there are declarations (attached) which are verifications by the attorneys who make the representations contained in the moving papers that to his or her knowledge are true.
If there are NO verifications in the declarations, what so ever, and anyone with an internet account can investigate on PACER.gov, there still are verified statements that this or that attorney or separately, each attorney on the case, state they are on the case.
I believe that the verified statements are being contradicted by the President's tweets.
Listen to Barr's interview in its entirety, I do recommend. That interview indicates that Barr does worry about his license to practice law and the possibility he could loose it if the opponents in those legal actions take the President's Tweets as evidence.
3
Thank you for the Meat Loaf reference, Bret. That is all.
2
A lot can change in a month, so I would not count Warren out yet. Bernie lost to Hillary by an overwhelming amount of votes, and I don’t know of one Hillary voter that would vote for Bernie in the primary.
If Bernie win the primary, he will go down in history for putting Trump in the White House twice, and denying two women the opportunity to serve as president.
5
@Mathew D Goodrich I can't agree more.
If you have not read Clinton's "what happened" do it now, and if you have, re-read the parts about Bernie. BTW the audiobook version is read by Hillary and it is captivating.
Bernie doesn't give a flip about "playing well with others." His impact on Congress is nearly nil, whilst Biden and Warren never, ever stopped making eyes-wide-open efforts decade after decade - to move the arc towards justice.
Earlier today I posted here that Bernie is Putin's dream come true. If nominated, he cannot win. If not nominated, he will be at least as nasty and divisive as he was to Hillary. Rein in his supporters? HA HA HA. That's a good laugh. They will disrupt, disrupt, disrupt - then be too high and mighty to vote in November
2
Odd, I find myself agreeing with Bret. I'm in love with Amy too.
With Trump as President its a really low bar to have done anything so bad it disqualifies you. Yes, Bloomberg has some baggage but these things occurred when this type of behavior was the norm. Not an excuse but a real fact. Many Americans thought smoking OK, thought segregation a "norm". Having the clergy bless our weapons for war etc.
This is 2020 and we are in a crisis and Bloomberg has lots of positives. WE need to give him very serious consideration and look at what he is doing now and in the recent past, not years ago. WE are in a battle for our Democracy.
Bloomberg's campaign is transforming Democratci Party politics far beyond what has ever happened before.
He is pouring money not just into attack ads, but also serious policy issues. focused nationally and state by state.
He is supplying campaign support for Democratic down ballot candidates, notably in swing states, to insure the Dems sweep back in control of the Senate.
He has invested in data science and social media marketing on a scale unmatched even by Trump's vaunted campaign war chest. (This factor alone is scaring the bejeezus out of Trump).
Bloomberg has completely re-written the strategy behind Presidential politics. Like Obama, he has largely ignored the DNC, but more importantly, he has bypassed the traditional path of caucuses and state primaries to focus on general election voters -- the ones who really count.
And, above all, he is applying managerial competence and foresight into political campaigning. The best example of this competence has been his preparation for the expected criticism of his previous positions regarding stop and frisk and redlining, not to mention his boorish behavior towards women. He has not fallen into denial, nor has he blamed others, This is frustrating some in the media, but others are seeing it as reflective of Bloomberg's focus and discipline.
In my view, a Bloomberg/Klobuchar ticket (with either as President) is emerging as a viable option for Democrats.
1
Campaign financing isn't what damaged Warren. She discovered she couldn't dominate the progressive so she pivoted back toward center. She backed down. In the process, she alienated both progressives and moderates. The interesting question is which way do her remaining supporters go. They are by no means inconsequential.
In theory, most die hard Bernie fans have already bolted on Warren. Do the remaining progressive feministas sigh and vote for Bernie or will they back Klobuchar as a "good enough" alternative? Interesting footnote in history. There was in fact an Admiral Goodenough serving under Winston Churchill in WWI. What a great name for leadership.
Anyway, the answer on Warren is probably determinate to the outcome of the primary. How her vote splits and when will change the outcome dramatically.
I wish these columns were more thoughtful.They are long on snark and attempts at clever commentary, and short on useful ideas or information. Stephens did offer some tidbits on Bloomberg and hinted at some on Klobuchar. Collins offered her usual snark. Please NYT, do better than this.
5
I'd like to see them all trying to squeeze out the side door of the White House at the same time, trying to be the first out. They like to be first -
first at white supremacy in the White House, first at tweet rather than lead, first at watching tv more than any other administration, first at golf, first at hate-speak, first at firing if you don't agree, first at criminal hirings and jailings, first at birtherism, first at mocking, first at loving the undereducated, first at swamp increasing, first at crime family living in the White House.
Who will get out first!! I can't wait!
3
How about a Mike Bloomberg-Stacey Abrams ticket?
3
Bloomberg should make a video with 10 minority women whose innocent children were gunned down in the lawless years before stop and frisk. He didn't dream up the policy out of nowhere.
3
One of the NYtimes big endorsements Klobuchar, a senator for three terms, couldn't name the president of Mexico. Enough said.
4
'Regarding Bloomberg:I don’t think his problem is that he’s racist.'
WHAT! his policies and multiple now leaked speeches say otherwise.
black people voting for you don't confirm that you are not a racist. smh
4
The new Marist poll strongly suggests that after Super Tuesday this will be a two man race. No need for gender neutrality in this description. It will be Bernie Sanders, son of a paint salesman born September 8, 1941 in New York City vs. Michael Bloomberg, born February 14, 1942 in Boston. Pearl Harbor, among other things, divide them. Both are Jewish men approaching the age of 80. One is the exalted leader of the political left in the United States, magnet to young Democrats and socialists. The other is one of the richest and most powerful business leaders in the United States with 63 billion in net worth as of this morning.
One is committed to democratic socialist and the radical restructuring not only of healthcare but the entire economic system in the U.S., transfering some wealth and power downward in our societal pyramid. The other is what one might call a progressive technocrat committed to many liberal causes but essentially firmly opposed to what the socialist wants to do. So, there is a clear choice between Sanders and Bloomberg and the generational divide inside the party is at this point monumental. Sanders runs away with voters under the age of 45 in the Democratic Party. But he is barely a whisper among the middle aged and elderly. This is where Bloomberg and Biden come in. But Biden should soon fade or dropout leaving Bloomberg astride a mature crowd of Democrats.
The question is who will take nomination, and can they unite the party. Not sure.
6
It feels like bipartisan support is going to be a positive factor for Mike.
I friend relayed a conversation last week. She was talking with one of her friends who is in her 80s and is a conservative Republican.
They were talking about the acquittal, and my friend asked her if she believed the things Trump had done to warrant impeachment charges. Her Republican friend said no... you read what you read and believe it. I read what I read and believe it.
Then her Republican friend asked who she was supporting, and my friend she liked Boomberg.
And her Republican friend said, "I do, too. If he's nominated, I'll vote for him. It's time for a change."
4
"Do you think there should be any curbs on how much money candidates get from rich insiders?"
Didn't Citizens United settle that? Democrats need to be as ruthless about money as the Republicans. No need to take the high road on this point.
3
Bullies (cowards) respond to intimidation. Bloomberg can intimidate. So that’s where we are, tactics of a banana republic, but time to face reality and use them.
2
No matter Barr's posturing, his reputation's fate is the same as any other of the Complicits, whose reputations' gravestones litter the helter-skelter trajectory of Impeached Forever 45*'s past.
Thought problem: Name a person (anyone) whose reputation has been enhanced by any association with Extremely Stable Genius 45*? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
4
Against my better instinct, I read this piece hoping that even at this point in the death throes of America's liberal democracy, these two clowns might realize that simply dredging the DC sewer for political drama and cutesy comment are symptoms of the long arc of decay that gave us Trump. Well, might as well yuk it up, you guys! Next!
4
Stop with the wine cave thing already!!!
I have spent many an hour in wine caves, wine cellars and wine warehouses. They have an excellent purpose, they keep cool and nearly constant temperatures. They also make for an excellent place for BEER.
Once again we are losing our political beliefs, ideas and philosophy over $$$$. Elections should not be about who has the most money. But it seems to be. Look who is ahead and who our current president is. That says $$$$, is the root of all politics(or evil?).
If I were to go on ideas, or philosophy of what government should be then I would have to go with Elisabeth Warren.
If I go for $$$$ it would have be between Bloomberg, Steyer or a distant trump unless he lies about his wealth( would he do that??)
I will vote for anybody as long as it is NO TRUMP
2
Klobuchar is trying to lie her way to the presidency. She deliberately distorted a comment from Buttegeig that made it sound like he said the opposite of what he actually said. That's not OK. We don't need another opportunistic liar in the White House.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/02/klobuchar-saved-campaign-new-hampshire-buttigieg-attack.html
3
Anne Boleyn? Funny--Barr is just another "revolving door" AG to Donald The 8th.
I am remembering TIME magazine's cover sometime in the late 70's. Having a bit of fun with then President Jimmy Carter.
The legend read "Jimmy In The Lions' Den." Showed a saintly Mr. Carter, eyes directed heavenward, clasping--was it a Bible? Spotless white robe.
Around him crouched various lions--wearing the faces of various world leaders. Mr. Sadat was one (I believe)--Mr. Begin was another.
The idea being--this man is altogether too saintly, too otherworldly to be President of the United States.
There is not ONE of Mr. Trump's predecessors--no, not one--that I would not give gold to see back in the White House. How I groaned when Mr. George W. Bush was inaugurated.
I would give up years of my life to see him back.
Ditto Mr. Reagan--of whom (at the time) I declared the American people would never elect a sometime has-been film star as President.
I turned in my Prophecy merit badge the next day.
You speak of "decency" in the White House--"decency in the federal government."
I am pining for "decency" like a man dying of thirst in the Sahara desert pines for water.
Democrats! Make peace among yourselves--
--and focus on the real enemy--
--that corpulent fellow in the White House--
--laughing at you non-stop.
9
Why is no one talking about the new book about Deutche Bank and Trump, “Dark Towers”, by NYTimes financial editor David Enrich (an appropriate name for a financial editor)?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/books/review/dark-towers-deutsche-bank-david-enrich.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/magazine/deutsche-bank-trump.html
This confirms what others have long suspected, that Trump is in hock to Putin-connected Russian oligarchs. This explains why Trump is so desperate to hide his financial records, and why Trump is an apologist for Putin..
AG Barr is acting as Trump’s defense attorney, and the entire GOP (with the lone exception of Senator Romney) is providing Trump cover.
The GOP has become the Gang of Putin!
7
Sexism is part of what has driven Sander's support up & Warren's support down, but not in the way you imply. I think people were troubled by Warren's saying a woman couldn't win the presidential race - in a private conversation for 3 reasons: 1) it was unprovable, 2) it doesn't sound like anything Sanders has said publicly, & 3) it would be an idiotic thing to say, since Clinton won the popular vote in 2016 & whatever else he is, Sanders doesn't appear to be a political idiot. Also, we know Warren in basically an opportunist from the 'Pocahontas' scandal, so the fake feminism is in character for her.
3
Bloomberg/Klobuchar?
6
Gail Collins:
Warren was a hypocrite when she attacked Buttigieg over fundraising. She herself transferred $10 million from her Senate campaign which she had raised in the same legal way as Buttigieg.
Btw, there never was a $900 wine. Another lie by Warren.
5
Your discussion of what caused Warren’s big slide overlooks her shameless attempt to play the gender card on Bernie Sanders during the New Hampshire debate. For a candidate who prides herself on not attacking opponents, she came off looking like a real snake in the grass.
5
@Never Trumper
Who-said-what-to-whom? Open question, I think.
1
The Gail and Bret show is getting about as tiresome as it is predictable: Nothing like a Klobuchar punchline (and picture!) to remind us of the NYT editorial page’s heavy handed preference pushing of their endorsed Senator from Minnesota, a feature of a lot of their election reporting lately as well. Meanwhile, Warren is more or less written off, and yet, only a month ago also endorsed by the editorial board of the NYT. With overt pushes like these, who needs subliminal messaging?
7
"assuming (a very big if) that Sanders supporters wouldn’t sit out the election in protest over a contest of plutocrats."
Yet the opposite is what what Brett and the rest of the Biden/Bloomberg/Buttigieg crowd are assuming and almost promising will happen if Sanders is nominated. Just goes to prove that basically there is one giant center-right party (pretending to be two) that is just gone bonkers that somehow they have both elected an absolute idiot rather than a nice-guy toady.
Some insightful and fun commentary in this opinion piece, but flashes of yellow journalism detract and disappoint. Gail, remarking that Elizabeth Warren is losing favor because "..I do suspect gender is one of them" is so convenient but where's the proof? America was ready to elect a woman in 2016, and she would have won in a landslide had it not been for behaviors both personally (both alone and with her husband) and politically as a congressperson, and America would stand-up again to elect a qualified candidate who happens to be a woman. Warren is well-educated, bright, and at times well-spoken, but chose to take an extreme liberal position and delivered that with an acerbic statements of tax the %$x# out of companies and the rich and medicare for all and take away private insurance for over 100 mn people.
Next, Gail, you state Bloomberg "has a long history as an acerbic businessman.." and "said some things to female employees.." Wow, so easy for you to lob jabs at person who created a successful business from nothing, created high-paying jobs for so many--men and women, then gave it up to dedicate himself to public office--and worked for $1 for NYC, and now is spending his own $ and doesn't have to trade favors for campaign $.
Lastly, Bret, on Klobuchar, "She's funny, fierce, knowledgeable and quick on her feet.." Are we watching the same candidate. Her debates are fine but underwhelming, and her recent Bill Maher don't support any of your claims.
3
"Do you think this means Barr has finally drawn a line in the sand ...?"
One cannot draw a line in the murky waters of a swamp and his boss lives to destroy anything in his path.
The slow moving coup of our Constitution is picking up speed, people.
3
If I had a billion dollars to spend on politics I would give it all to Amy Klobuchar, but instead she will need to settle for 25 right now. But its great to see her mentioned in so many places now even if it is at the end of a column. Bloomberg's billions gets him attention though not in a good way and Sander's message is good, but in his own way it too seems to be catching up with him.
As for Trump and Barr they deserve each other in their sleaziness though I suspect Trump would fire everyone except himself in order to run things the way he wants them run outside of Constitutional boundaries. Oh wait, he might hire Giulliani to do some of his dirty work.
1
I'm in the Amy-Klobuchar-is-Goldilocks-candidate camp. On he debate stage, there will be four candidates in their seventies and one in his thirties.
Klobuchar: No dementia . . . and no acne
Klobuchar: No Depends . . . and no Pampers
2
I see several comments here about how Blacks are responsible for the meltdown because banks loaned them money they could not repay.
A lie worth of Stalin! Too opaque to be Trumpian. I worked on the street calling a Hedge funds selling equity ideas. It is a 99% lie that the crash was caused by minorities not paying their mortgage. Did they also over leverage Lehamn Brothers that started the dice rolling. Did the crate off balance sheet financing that hid debt and had some firms leveraged 90%? Did they rig the CMPO market and create instant shorts from Goldman Sachs?
NO
!
5
The governors of Vermont and Massachusetts are Republicans, which means if Sanders or Warren become president they will be replaced by a Republican in the Senate...
4
Doesn't mean that at all. After all both of them were recently re-elected. Clearly, the people in these states have no problem to split the vote.
2
I’ll call it right now, based on the latest Info: Bloomberg and Klobuchar, in that Order. And I’m fine with that.
VOTE BLUE, NO MATTER WHO.
22
My 2 cents. Biden, Warren, and Sanders have too much baggage, much of it self generated. The republicans have spent years attacking them like they did Clinton. The smear campaign against Biden has already been successful. Warren, while brilliant has been somewhat neutralized. Sanders self description as a Socialist, (even though it’s inaccurate), will turn off many potential voters. The mayor just isn’t ripe yet, needs a little more time on the vine, maybe in the senate or behind a governor’s desk. I don’t want another businessman as president, government isn’t a business and the goals are different. Think Hoover to see how this turns out. I like Senator Klobuchar, smart tough quick practical (how do you get stuff enacted, not necessarily a strong suit for the others), and funny. We need a President who plays nice with others and can repair the damage both internally and externally done by the current occupant. She will get my vote on March 3.
6
@6Catmando
Too late to "play nice." But we do need a candidate who can help flip the Senate and keep the House.
1
The playbook on Bernie has yet to be seen. There are photos of him picking coffee with Sandinistas, the time he was an elector for the socialists and sent envoys to the ussr. His baggage is real. I say this after him being my mayor, representative and senator.
2
@Bonnie I agree to a point, but their still are certain republicans (I hope), that will work for the good of the country once their cult leader is out of the picture. But I really was referring to bringing the whole big tent Democratic party together, as together we are much stronger than as factions, (it's like herding cats). I would also hope that she could get more through congress than either Warren of Sanders just because she doesn't generate the really hateful emotions and rhetoric
1
A better title would have been, "Get Ready For The Second Term". Cause folks, it's coming. It's inevitable. And the Dems have zero levers left to reign him in just as they have zero candidates capable of beating him at the polls. Most days it's tough to be a Democrat.
4
I am a progressive and desperately desire Trump, McConnell out, but I am afraid the squabbling of The Democrats is going insure Trump and McConnell stay in power. The lights are dimming in America.
7
Good column today. I agree with many commenters who stress the importance of beating Trump, but what worries me is that Trump will no know limits and will fight dirty to win, with the Electoral College hovering in the background, and possibly more Russian interference. I'm not holding my breath. I hope I'm wrong on this one.
6
According to numerous reports, Barr has long evinced an attitude that Republican (but not Democratic) presidents should have absolute power. I believe his displeasure with Trump's tweet was that it 1) drew unwanted attention to his actions; and 2) made him appear to be a toady succumbing to Trump's demands, when he is really doing what he independently wants to do. The motives of a government official who craves secrecy should be suspect.
6
It dawned on me yesterday after seeing a headline somewhere that Stacy Abrams is open to a Veep offer. That being said and with names such as Booker, Harris and even Klobuchar, Warren and Buttigieg being thrown out for public digestion as potential Veeps let’s immediately change the primaries from being for President to Veep...seems we might more easily agree on a great Veep than a medium President. Let whoever wins the Veep contest choose the next President. They are all stellar individuals with clear thinking and battle tested political instincts even in the face of electoral defeat, in some cases, due to gerrymandering and other local twists of law and intent tipping the election to opponents.
Easy schmeasy...dump the Trump, enjoy at least eight years of enlightened progress and growth preparing for a future very different from today while repairing the institutional and ethical breaches of DT through buttoned up legislation and clarified 2 nd Amendemnt, etc. Imagine, a government with clarity and with actual planning for a future with known challenges and unknown but foreseeable calamities. For sure we need a national Moon Shot effort, just not sure which of the current runners have the foresight, political gravitas, and potential public attraction to pull it all together. Bet the stable of Veep contenders not currently on the ballots can help with that conundrum.
2
Ms. Collins blames Senator Warren's collapse in the primaries in part on her gender, in direct contradiction of Senator Klobuchar's success in edging the Vice President to also-ran status, and moving up quickly on Mr. Buttigieg. Somehow her gender doesn't seem to be hindering the Senator from Minnesota! In fact, Ms. Warren has not run a good campaign, and was anointed front runner status by a mainstream press eager to push her candidacy before anyone actually stood up, or cast a ballot for her. That deflated quickly. One would wish that four years from now the press will avoid picking winners and losers months before the caucuses and primaries begin, but that hope is faint.
8
With all respect the Senator of Minnesota is not a front-runner either.
1
Klobuchar has great moments, but why does her head shake like that? If there is a medical issue, voters should know. Similarly, Bernie’s heart condition is cause for concern. That Trump’s health (mental and physical—even financial) is not an issue is absurd.
President is a tough job. We shouldn’t be looking for a cult leader, but for someone who can perform. Though I have to admit, Trump has been equal to the task of dismantling the American system of government.
I have been proud of all the Democratic candidates (except Tulsi Gabbard). I hope they don’t start bashing each other, and democratic pundits don’t come up with clever slams such as “zombie economics” until they balance the election back to Trump. But I’ll be voting Blue no matter who.
1
@Jennifer: I haven’t noticed her head shaking but if it does she most likely has Familial Essential Tremor. My husband has it, Katherine Hepburn had it and I suspect Susan Collins may have it. It is not anything serious, you can Google it if you need reassurance.
2
@Anaboz I’m extrapolating from her vibrating bang. Very little about Susan Collins reassures me these days, but I’m glad of your input on Klobuchar.
Thank you, Bret, for mentioning Amy Klobuchar at the end of the piece. But to my way of thinking and hoping she deserves the lead not the wrap up. She will make an excellent president. All she needs is the media to give her the same respect and air/ink space that Warren and the boys get. Go Amy!
4
re Klobuchar ink and air time: she is the darling of neolibs who own the media. I've seen her twice in a starring role on Bill Maher; she lives on MSNBC. Inkwise she is always "surging" and gets more attention than the progressives combined. HRC loves her, but Bloomberg's money now catches her eye.
We need, all of us, to examine our hearts and do some critical thinking as to who will best serve the needs of all our people, and not just settle for another corporatist in love with power and money.
But, sadly, if that person is not selected, get behind whoever is wearing blue. Even (sigh) a Klobucar.
1
Unless the democrats nominate a candidate that inspires the voters, this election may be over before it begins. None of the candidates is another Barack Obama and frankly, I was pleasantly surprised when he beat Romney in 2012! The 2012 election restored my faith in the American electorate.
Bernie should moderate his Medicare For All plan. "My way or the highway" will not gather the number of Democratic Party votes to win the election. The one thing we do not need in the White House is another curmudgeon who never smiles!
3
When my sister and I were discussing the president’s authoritarian outrage of the day, my trumpian cultist brother kept chanting in a mocking tone “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie..” (Ever notice that a trump supporter never actually defends his actions?) No one should underestimate the fear the right wing media has instilled in many who live in areas with electoral college clout.
So like many others I have jumped on the Bloomberg bandwagon because defeating a tyrant, whose only ability is to destroy not build, is paramount. Most critical for me is Bloomberg’s proven record on environmental health issues and climate change. If that can’t get Bernie’s supporters to the polls, I guess they will have to live with the filthy air and water, pesticide-laden food, and extreme weather conditions that the destroyer president favors.
13
@AJ Ever been stopped and frisked? Probably not....
1
No I haven’t but I (sadly) still favor a candidate who has renounced the policy over an avowed bigot. If we can’t find a candidate who can beat trump and restore our democracy, what will we get for all our idealism?
1
We do not need another opportunistic party-shifting billionaire. Been there done that. Bloomberg may be rich and electable, (able to buy the office out of his own bank accounts) but how will he govern? Commitment to democratic values and humane character are priorities, the challenge is to get the voters to buy into them. Self-funding electability vs. kitchen table issues is a false dichotomy. With a good ticket, proven records, and energetic, positive personalities with an infectious smile (not finger pointing and scolding) can carry the day, and we eventually will learn to spell the names!
4
@Fran B.
So who?
Personally, I think Bernie-Amy makes the Dems' best ticket.
Problem is, I don't think any of them can beat Trump, but Bernie-Amy at least is an honest, democratic attempt.
5
If Bloomberg were smart and wanted to insure that he gets some part of the progressive vote, he'd make a deal with Warren and announce that he would choose her as his running mate.
That would reassure many that he means to make those changes he's promising. If Trump can choose Pence certainly Bloomberg could reach across the "divides" in the Democratic Party.
3
@historyprof I think Bloomberg/Warren would be a winning ticket as well. A lot of people like me for whom Warren was a first choice are considering voting Bloomberg in the primary for his perceived electability and his stance on gun control and the environment. I also think Warren will make a mistake by going strong against Bloomberg for buying his way into the race. There's a difference between accepting funding from people who you might be beholden to afterwards and self funding a campaign.
1
For the first time since I began voting in 1978, I can’t settle on any Dem candidate to vote for. in the primaries. I go back and forth on a daily basis. It’s probably because I am laser focused on defeating trump. My mental health depends on it. Politically, I am in Sanders’ camp, but I am convinced he cannot win. Bloomberg looks like he could dethrone trump. He donates to very progressive causes and also to Democratic candidates, but he is a billionaire, which gives me qualms. I guess I’ll look at the polls until Super Tuesday.
P.S. Maybe I’m just dense today, but I don’t get the Katie joke.
6
@Kb "My mental health depends on it." Amen!!!
1
Al Franken had nothing but praise for Amy Klobuchar in his wonderful book Al Franken Giant of the Senate. If Amy wins the primary wouldn't a Klobuchar/Franken ticket be the ticket?
8
No one who is supporting any of the Democrats should stay home on Election Day.
First of all, any one of the candidates are qualified and have not lead a life of crime like Trump has his entire adult life. It is extremely important that Trump be flushed into oblivion.
I am hoping that the Liberal, Green and Libertine Parties all unite with Democrats and endorse the Democrat candidate as well. Payback can come after the Dem’s inauguration.
22
Any candidate of any party should be allowed a fixed amount of money into his or her election, whatever his or her fortune. The actual system makes the American democracy laughable.
8
Interesting mention of campaign financing.
Why not public financing of elections? Candidates would get a fixed amount depending on the office they sought--and nothing more. No more pandering to rich donors, more time to campaign and talk to people.
Trying to get that through Congress would be challenging.
6
@Frank Baudino ENFORCING it would be impossible.
We are seeing in the field of Democratic candidates the possibility of one of history's strongest, most progressive administrations with a cabinet made up of smart, benevolent, competent, caring people. Still, it will be essential for the future of the republic and the future of the planet to vote out the corrupt, dilatory, malfeasant Mitch and his minority representing minions of the Senate.
Democrats must win Kentucky. Choose the President/Vice President team and platform that can do that.
18
Bernie's argument would be a lot more convincing id his campaign actually was getting people fired up and increasing turnout.
So far, he has gotten fewer than half the votes he got last time and turnout did not increase in either Iowa or NH. Throw out the disproportionate impact of college towns in both states and he loses both states.
7
My question: if Bernie gets the nomination (he is my candidate for a future of the US) will the Democratic Party get out and knock on doors? Probably not. But Bernie supporters will in great numbers and win the election if any Democrat can.
11
Odd thoughts--I believe the comment that the whole of the financial industry was fairly toxic and most other places when it came to women back in the day. However when it comes to women today Bloomberg invested heavily in the women running for congress in 2018 and most were successful. Ask Emily's List. That he has morphed from Republican to Independent to Democrat speaks to his ability to change. (Trump unsurprisingly went the other direction.) He is also on the right side of climate change and other issues as far as I am concerned. Bloomberg is one tough cookie who will give Trump, the faux billionaire, a run for his money. More than anything for most of us it is defeating Trump period. Bernie voters take note. Will they get in a snit and stay home if he doesn't get the nomination? Who knows. I am giving Amy Kobuchar a lot of my attention. Bret I think your description is spot on. (Sorry 'cause I love you Mayor Pete.) Back to Bloomberg if African-Americans can forgive him stop and frisk I can too. Really happy he will be in the next debate. How the left (that's not me.) can choose Bernie over Elizabeth is beyond my understanding. Practically everything about this election is beyond my understanding.
26
@amp
I wonder if the reality of the lives of ordinary working people is also beyond your understanding.
1
I could point out that while Democrats are shoving every one of their candidates through the fine sieves of political perfection, the Republican candidate couldn't pass a test of common decency. But then that shows pretty clearly the difference between Democrats and Republicans.
86
@Frank O
100%
The Republicans know how to WIN!!
3
Representatives of one or more branches of U.S. military will turn out the lights, because Trump will refuse to leave and force his own physical expulsion.
Seriously: do you see him sending a gracious concession message to the victor? Do you see him looking on respectfully as someone else is sworn in? If anyone ever needed stark, vivid public proof of his lack of class, January 2021 will provide it.
27
Who cares about whether Trump gives a gracious concession speech or not.
My true hope is if he is gone, this nation may survive and he can be prosecuted for all the crimes he and his crime family has committed.
3
Summing it up:
Bloomberg can beat the incumbent
Klobuchar would be a strong VP choice.
Bernie supporters, feeling jobbed, may stay home.
If Sanders’ supporters can be kept on board, we could be rid of Trump.
So what’s more important, your pride or your country?
32
Elizabeth Warren's platform is not just about corruption but how the rich are making money off the rest of us. "Follow the Money" was the tagline of All the President's Men. Every single one of the problems/issues that we have in this country can be uncovered by following the money: Substance Abuse -- Follow the Money to big pharma; Health Care & High Cost of Prescription Medication -- Follow the Money to Insurance Companies; Immigration -- Follow the Money to private incarceration companies and those companies that hire illegal immigrants; The Financial Crisis -- Follow the Money to the big banks; Gun Violence -- Follow the Money to manufacturers of guns and the NRA that lives high off the hog; Employment and Loss of American Jobs -- Follow the Money to international companies who pay little or no taxes; High Taxes for middle class -- Follow the Money to corporations who do not contribute to the tax base; Child Care -- Follow the Money to the businesses that don't pay an adequate wage to cover the cost of taking care of our children. Pay attention, my friends. Elizabeth has taken the wide view and sees why systemic change is necessary. Follow the Money.
20
Bret Stephens states: "My heart goes out to Biden, not least because he’s the sort of man who is more decent than he is clever, in an era which desperately needs a return to decency."
Was Biden being "decent" when he attacked Anita Hill during the hearings that Biden chaired? Was Biden being "decent" when he advocated for freezing Social Security and Medicare? Is Biden being decent when he refuses to fight for universal healthcare?
There are some excellent and very "decent" candidates out there: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, both of whom, unlike Biden, will fight for what America needs.
Biden won't be the Democratic nominee, and that's OK.
15
If you honesty review Joe Biden’s 40-year history in public life, you will find basic decency. Cherry-picking one’s worst moments doesn’t make any of us look good.
Don’t compare Biden to St Francis, compare him to Trump.
1
Not to mention Biden being all in on killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens.
2
"And I remain fairly bullish on Mike’s chances if he gets the nomination — assuming (a very big if) that Sanders supporters wouldn’t sit out the election in protest over a contest of plutocrats."
I understand Democrats don't like Bernie and don't want his name on any ballot. I did not understand how deep this dislike was. Bloomberg has floated the idea of bringing Hillary on board. It has not been denied since it was mentioned, by either party.
The best thing for the country would be a Mike/Hillary 2020 ticket. They could take Bernie out. If they can do it humanely, that would be best. If Bernie won't go peacefully, Hillary would be happy to use the biggest nuclear powered flame thrower she can carry.
Then, on the morning of November 4th, 2020, we can get back to Keeping America Great. Bernie on Super Tuesday and Trump on the Tuesday that counts.
3
How about Klobuchar-Bloomberg? Maybe the billionaires should only be allowed to buy the presidency for their running mates. I would vote for any one of the Democratic candidates though—they're all qualified and intelligent and dignified. I sure wish they would speak about each other as colleagues rather than adversaries.
10
I’m a life-long NYC dweller and I remember the Bloomberg years with despair. All you have to do is read Bloomberg’s wiki entry to see how he bought his three NYC elections. For god’s sake, the way the Independent party used his personal $600,000 donation to re-elect Bloomberg even sent the head of it to jail. And Bloomberg outspent - with personal money- his first democratic opponent by 5 to 1 and in greater proportions thereafter. He also bought, as he’s doing now, big-name recognition black support with his money, and that generated the black vote.
And now he’s flushing out all the centrists who whine about the demise of American democracy but are fully willing to have a mega-billionaire buy his way to the white house, supplanting a racist and misogynist and classist real estate developer with a racist, misogynist, and classist technocrat who sold NYC to big-time real estate developers.
11
If you “despaired” under the Bloomberg years, all I can say is that you despair easily. I hope you have some residual despair left over should Trump be re-elected.
2
You know what makes Bill Barr’s job easy and manageable? The fact that he has a whole slew of family members working in Federal agencies closely related to the DOJ and that only one lone Republican senator gives a darn about the rule of law.
9
Willam Barr is unimpeachable because elected republicans refuse to protect the Constitution so they may maintain power.
When Obama was president Republicans spoke about impeaching him daily on Fox News for using executive power- power he used sparingly and always for the public good.
Trump abuses his powers daily and gets more brazen every day. Republicans can stop this but they won’t and that is why they must be voted out.
16
On Maher's show Katie Couric said she had it on good authority that Bloomberg has hired specialist who have dealt with narcissistic behavior and will team them with comedy writers to create material guaranteed to get under Trump's very thin skin.
I think I have to vote for Bloomberg.
24
I've been saying "Blue no matter who" since the beginning of the race, but Bloomberg winning the nomination would be the thing that convinces me there is in fact no point to any of this.
5
Bret Stephens and Gail Collins are, as usual, very good company (especially "No Grudge Left Behind"). However, they need to cut the snark and get serious about the best candidate to beat Trump. Increasingly, despite my great liking for both Mayor Pete and Sen. Klobuchar, that looks like Mike Bloomberg. Yes, his past comments about women and black homebuyers are distasteful. But let's look at him squarely in the light of right now. The Republicans owe their success at winning elections to tribalism. The Democrats need to kick their habit of eating their own - and they should be encouraged to do so by the clever pundits who write about them.
6
Peter Paul & Mary had a folk song entitled Light One Candle, and one verse's lines, out of context, seem appropriate -
We have come this far always believing
That justice would somehow prevail
This is the burden, this is the promise
This is why we will not fail!
Let's all hope it is still true despite Trump, Barr, et.al.
8
If the lights aren't turned out and trump wins another the term, the party will certainly be over.
9
O were we all so secure in our present and future that we could call this nonfictional plot against America "political theater" and joke about turning out the lights.
I don't see Stephen Miller leaving the room where it happens until he's forced out, nor his boss; and last time I checked the American taxpayer was paying the light bill.
308
@Christopher Delogu It's all we have: the belief that we the people will have the final say. Most certainly the Republican party will not support despotic behavior, especially if it continues to cross red lines of certainty.
It is worth noting, however, that an old friend from summer camp, whom I've known since I was twelve, worked with at the same camp for years, and who supported me in an unlikely bid to join him at college, drew the line when I sent him an article from this newspaper, and to others in our online Coffee Klatch, that Trump was doing harm to our democracy. I no longer seem to be in his good graces, not to mention many of the others.
I can only watch, wait, and prey my fellow Americans won't gleefully fall off the cliff.
22
@cdsdeforest
Are you saying that you do not believe Republicans will support despotic behavior? They already have.
32
@Marianne not sure why the double standard from democrats - Obama ran all over the constitution and it seemed everybody was on board... weather it was fast n furious or Holder ignoring congress? Two wrongs don't make a right but democrats have a knack for the double standards - look at the impeachment debacle, the congress ignored real witnesses but then wanted to slow it down after passing an unimpeachable case to the senate or passing obama-care without reading it wasn't very good or when hillary destroyed the servers and cell phones. The left likes to have the cake and give it to people who don't deserve it which will cause President Trump to crush the democrats again:)
Bernie Sanders is not a socialist. But he has never shied away from that appellation - to his and the Democratic Party’s detriment. Socialism is “...any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.” (Merriam Webster Dictionary). Socialism does not, and never has, embraced a market-based economy.
Yet, whenever Bernie makes loose reference to socialism - he is really describing the systems of government of all Western European democracies. They are “social democracies” (not “democratic socialist” - whatever that is). They are market-based economies with strong social safety nets. But Sanders is so loose in his language that he effectively equates socialism to social democracy - which is apples and oranges. That is why the term socialism is so very toxic in this country. Marxist Communism socialism through and through, and I know he does not espouse that. But, the exact definition of socialism and what many Americans think of as socialism is exactly that. Americans are not mistaken - Bernie is. So no wonder Bernie scares the bejabbers out of many voters, and hands Trump a rhetorical billy club that will be effectively used. Lastly, the fact that Sanders cannot articulate standard poli-sci 101 political science theories, disqualifies him out of the starting gate.
3
The headline for this story captures many parts of what is happening: Turning out the lights may not be necessary for the most unenlightened administration since long before Calvin Coolidge. Whether light actually need to be turned out or on for an administration which has shown glitter for the rich and darkening shadows for the poor and immigrants is clear enough. Spotlights which show the meanest and vile side of a Dark Shadows administration, but which hides behind a curtain of claimed rights to abuse power and trust, while keeping corrupt tax dealings in the dark.
The text of this article is, as usual, excellent with these authors, but kudos to whoever came up with the headline for this article on shadowy characters with dark hearts.
3
Political theater? The answer is obviously yes. Barr s a Republican party apparatchik who has never been interested in equal application of law. We shouldn't forget his first stint as attorney general, under Bush Sr., when he was brought in to cover up Iran-Contra (which Bush Sr. was up to his neck in) and broker pardons (Weinberger et al.) for the criminals who perpetrated that scheme. Now, surprise, he is doing exactly the same thing for Trump.
The question we face in this election is what kind of democracy we're going to have: something approaching what the Constitution envisions or an autocratic kleptocracy? It's gut-check time for everyone. If you do not vote for Trump's Democratic opponent, whoever that is, and choose a third-party or non-voting option, then you are effectively voting for Trump. I wouldn't want that on my conscience.
7
Bloomberg is mean? And that’s a problem? A big part of Donald Trump’s popularity is that he’s mean. Like it or not, it may take someone as mean as Trump but smarter, more experienced and more stable than him to beat him.
23
Elizabeth Warren's loss of ground to Bernie Sanders may be due in part to uncharacteristic gender bias in the Democratic Party's "left lane", but there's another explanation that's much more plausible.
Though Warren has impressive strengths and virtues of her own, in the competition to lead the left she's a Bernie-come-lately, a Bernie with caveats, and a Bernie with baggage (she was once a Republican). The original, unalloyed Bernie has a natural advantage among the voters they're both trying to attract.
A case can even be made for the proposition that Warren's strong showing up to now has been due in some degree to gender bias in her favor. The outcome of the 2016 election left a pent-up demand for the election of the first female president. Warren, more than the other women in the race, started as a major figure who could benefit from that demand. It's just that the benefit is getting to be a spent force.
Elizabeth Warren would make a better president than Bernie Sanders and a better nominee in the general election, but Bernie makes a better Bernie in the primary.
7
A never-ending discussion, finding the most charismatic, and knowledgeable, and honest (if not decent) candidate...that may infuse passion to participate and contribute (certainly by voting!), so to oust autocrat Trump, and returm America to a democracy worth it's name. But, for this to occur, we will have to overlook many personal flaws, and the distinct 'sincere' public apologies, and the promise to do better in the future. And Klobuchar meets this challenge, a sober pragmatic woman with amply charged batteries for a long fight.
2
Hmmm. The "show" closed after one performance, how predictable. The AG scripted some words and now we are to believe he will be in support of his oath. The joke is on us. Wait, wait, it is not a joke it's the wannabe king's court jester shoveling subterfuge.
5
I'm not at all excited about Mike Bloomberg, but I'm certainly going to vote for him.
6
If Bloomberg is the Democrats’ last best hope, then all is lost.
7
Bloomberg did say that if he doesn’t win, he would spend a ton of money to help the candidate who does. Vote for Klobuchar!
8
I realize that Mr. Trump is coarse, vulgar, and probably not suited to be President of the United States.
But there is part of me that hopes he gets re-elected in November, simply because he, his antics -- his tweets, his narcissistic outbursts, his plots for revenge, his insults of other politicians -- and his never-ending, made-for-television cabinet drama have provided grist for some of the most entertaining theater, courtesy of the NYT and other respectable media, that we have had in this wretched city for some time.
The idea that we might go back to an ordinary Presidency is, quite frankly, as shocking a possibility to me as was Mr. Trump' ascendancy to the Presidency in the first place.
2
@David H
So all you care about is entertainment? What a selfish and destructive way of thinking.
Bizarre.
3
@LauraF
At this point in my life, yes, essentially. All politicians are corrupt, they differ only in style.
2
Amy K is smart bit very boring. As everyone knows, dems need to fall in love. She does not inspire.
And i sense that those young Bernie supporters will very likely take their ball and go home if they don’t get their man. There is a sense of entitlement that just because they like someone, he should win.
3
@Jsw
I'm a boomer, but don't blame the "young." Isn't it great they are excited and involved? Doesn't everyone want "their candidate" to win? In 2016, the DNC chose Hilary as the "electable" candidate, and despite her popular vote win, she is, sadly, not President.
1
When it comes to hiring new personnel, do we ever really know how that person will work out? Sometimes the person who wows everyone in the interview turns out that you bought a pig in a poke. We can never really know which Democrat candidate will make the best president. So does it really matter that much who we pick to head the ticket as long as that person can beat Trump?
6
This political theater, on both sides of the aisle, has three problems for me. The play stinks, the actors are awful, and for those of us in the audience there are no exits. We can't walk out.
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@Tom Debley
No, you’re right, we can’t walk out. But we can yell “FIRE” in this crowded theater of America and keep on yelling it until we either get arrested or rescued. At this point, I believe a lot of us would settle for either.
Vote Blue - No Matter Who!
41
@Tom Debley Awesome comment!!
9
@Tom Debley On both sides of the aisle? Dems are supposed to sit quietly while Trump shreds the constitution?
31
President Trump, the Justice Department and Attorney General Bar have seen- eye-to-eye on most cases that have sparked controversy.
Both agreed with the Muller report findings.
Both agreed the prosecution of Michale Flynn should be reviewed based on new evidence that the FBI faked part of the evidence against him and coerced a confession by threatening to prosecute his son.
Both agreed that allegations against Joe Biden and his son Hunger merit review. (The Justice Department is now vetting evidence supplied by Rudy Giuliana through Sen. Lindsey Graham.)
Both agreed that the initial sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone was excessive.
They disagreed on whether Andre McCabe should be charged, but McCabe may still face charges related to the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
As far as interfering in federal criminal investigation, Trump does lots of tweeting but little intervention. So far, President Trump has granted 18 pardons and commuted six sentences. President Obama granted 142 pardons and commuted 1,715 sentences, an average of 71 pardons and 857 commutations per term; this works out to 71 pardons and 857 commutations per term.
Trump has proven less inclined to meddle with federal criminal sentences than were previous presidents.
3
A question for Mr. Stephens. Who were those big-money donors who made Gene McCarthy's challenge to LBJ in New Hampshire in 1968?
I remember many unpaid young people who paid their own way to New Hampshire to canvas for his. And they slept on the floors of people who were opposed to the war. I'm curious where all that big money went.
And considering LBJ dropped out before any other primaries which, by the way, was when Robert Kennedy jumped in, it's hard to see how any money McCarthy got after New Hampshire was in any way for him to challenge LBJ.
5
As for Trump tweeting Barr into ignominy in the near future, I think it would be safer to bet on the possibility (actually, more probability than possibility) that Trump gave Barr's Tweet prior approval, if Trump didn't actually provide the wording himself. Trump has been uncharacteristically mum, it must be acknowledged. Barr is only doing the master's bidding.
Now, I'm a few years older than Bret, having been alive, going through Army basic and advanced individual training, in 1968, and my memory of that year might be fogged over by the weight of those accumulated years. Correct me if I'm wrong, but, in 1968, LBJ announced he would not stand for re-election, opening the door for Hubert Humphrey to run against Nixon. McCarthy, big money backers or no, never really stood a chance until he got the nomination, and my vote, in '72. I have a long, almost perfect record of voting for the losing candidate for President, or if I did vote for the winner, I was living in a state where, thanks to our Founding Father's biggest constitutional mistake, my vote was as meaningless as a single molecule of H2O in the Pacific.
If Bloomberg prevails and Bernie's response is to throw a snit fit, pick up his voters and take them home with him, handing Trump the wherewithal to completely demolish the American democratic experiment, Sanders will not be celebrated for his dedication and consistency but blamed, and rightly so, for the destruction of the Democratic Party.
8
@Glen
Wasn't McGovern the nominee in 1972?
1
I also find Amy Klobuchar to be the best person to narrate those Democratic Party values that can hold on to Democrats, bring in Independents, and let those Republicans who abhor Trump either not vote in November, or even vote against him.
The problem is our Executive Barnch has been virtually destroyed. The biggest job over the first couple of years of our next President's first term will be to get it on its feet again. That calls for someone with proven, superlative, executive ability. The only one in the race who has that is Mike Bloomberg.
How about Bloomberg for President, Klobuchar for V.P.?
12
"that Sanders supporters wouldn’t sit out the election in protest over a contest of plutocrats."
No one should throw their vote away, especially against the prospect of four more years of Trumpism. Just like last election, it will be a stark and clear binary choice. But...if there is any candidate that Sanders supporters wouldn't boycott, it's Bloomberg.
2
I am delighted to see Amy Klobushar getting the attention she deserves! Now I want to see a movement to draft Sherrod Brown! I think they would make the perfect combination to defeat Trump. But so far, efforts to get Brown into the running have failed. We need a really strong, concerted movement! And some seasoned, well-positioned campaigners to get that movement going!
3
@David Kleinberg-Levin
We need Sherrod Brown to represent Ohio in the Senate, but I wish the candidates would adopt his "dignity of work" ideas.
2
Bloomberg is getting whacked by the press and I'm sure his opponents will whack him hard in his first debates. How he reacts will tell us what kind of candidate he is.
Based on the vote totals to date, Sanders holds about 1/3 while moderates hold about 2/3rds. I don't see how he can reach the nomination with that kind of support. I suspect a lot will depend on which moderates are left standing after Super Tuesday.
However, I don't think the Democratic candidates have learned anything from Obama's successful runs. He was very strong on hope and change while the moderates seem content with the age old Democratic slogans and Sanders and Warren, in their quest for Medicare for All and higher taxes for the rich, are instilling as much fear as they are hope. The American people are scared and are looking for hope and change.
Lastly, the DNC is probably the biggest roadblock the Democrats are facing. Caught Tom Perez on a talk show last week and thought he came off as still committed to Hillary and wedded to the campaign rhetoric of 2016, not to mention the DNC's outdated approach to social media. If the DNC has anything to do with it, they'll make sure Trump wins.
It's too bad Greta Thunberg isn't old enough and an American. She's the only one who seems competent enough to handle Trump.
9
Let me tell you how decent Biden is. Remember the John McCain thumbs down ACA vote? The one that would have stripped ACA and brought back pre-existing? It was co-authored by heavy incumbent Fred Upton (R) West Michigan. In 2018, Biden showed up in MI to speak for his buddy Upton, 3 weeks before an election where the Dem opponent was within 4%. $200,000 - that was the size of the check Biden collected for his decency, speaking for one hour. So, yes Brett, that was a decent haul.
13
Bloomberg was on my radar well before he ran and spent millions--so Gail's comment is incorrect. When Bloomberg announced that he was running, I was overjoyed. He is our only chance to get Trump from destroying our nation...and I believe he will make an awesome president.
6
@Thalia
Jeepers, even Cypriots think Trump will destroy their nation?
TDS knows no bounds...
Trump is a horrible guy, personally, but he's not destroying the US or anywhere else.
Bloomberg buying the presidency though? Now there's some destruction!
2
The White House lights went out months ago.
The real question is will anyone ever be able to turn them back on.
9
As to Barr reflecting Trump's policies, that's what AG's do as part of their job, always have.
Washington appointed his aide-de-camp as first AG. In more recent times, Eisenhower appointed his campaign operative, Herbert Brownell, as his AG, who was a particularly good one.
The most notorious President-AG relationship was, of course, JFK appointing his brother Bobby as his AG, where his motto "Don't get mad, get even" could get a workout.
With that in mind, what prevented Trump from appointing his attorney, Jay Sekulow (which he might still), or Don Jr. to AG?
Under the Constitution he can appoint anyone as AG conditional upon Senate approval and we know how that would go.
4
Once Warren drops out, all of her support will go to Sanders. A ticket of Bloomberg and Klobuchar is the best chance the Democrats have against the current menace.
12
@Mike Not true -- many Warren supporters see Bernie and his supporters as sexist. In my district, there is a clear gender divide.
1
@Mike Not true -- many Warren supporters view Bernie and his supporters as sexist. In my district, there is a clear gender divide between Bernie and Warren supporters.
I’m a Warren supporter & I can assure you Bernie is the last Dem I would vote for. I’d be most happy to vote Warren/Abrams! Vision, Unity & Competence over men’s egos!
1
I really like and admire Amy Klobuchar, I do not know why people are not more excited about her because as you said, she is smart, knowledgeable, quick with her wit and very experienced. I hate to think that gender has to do something with it but in my dreams she is the candidate of choice. I also think that if any of the men get to be the candidate they should bring Stacey Abrams as her VP, I really think she would bring a great balance to the ticket and good representation, also a very smart and experienced woman. if Amy Klobuchar would be the candidate I would love to see her pick either Abrams or Corey Booker but not sure this country would elect a woman which is very unfortunate because we are way behind on this kind of thing happening and we women would love to have our due.
13
Here lie the reputations of everybody who had a decent one before they went to work for Donald Trump.
Why in the world were their reputations decent before? This is the big (lie, distortion) of what "decent" means when it comes to the people mentioned.
8
Trump will turn out the lights. Right after the end of his 2nd term. The Democrats have lost their GPS signal and rudder at the same time. They wander aimlessly in their own political wasteland of identity politics and their "gimmie" culture. They are unfit to lead.
2
I would vote for Sanders if he is the candidate but I just do not get how he fires people. To me, he is so boring trying to be upbeat or something. I am an American born elsewhere. I understand that a social democrat is no a communist; that Maduro is not Willy Brandt. Most voters in this country will not know that difference. Trump will exploit that to get re-elected.
Even Bloomberg is more interesting if he finds a way to redeem himself with women. Maybe running as Klobucar's VP.
9
I’ve read and enjoyed particularly Gail Collins columns over the years, but this light hearted tone addressing Trump and the Republican party’s dismantling of our Democracy is depressing and deeply frustrating. It mirrors the Democratic leadership’s ( especially Nancy Pelosi) response to Trump’s crimes. It’s like a fire captain arriving at the scene of a blazing building and assembling their lieutenants to hold a press conference reviewing the various safety violations of the buildings owners , as the building burns to the ground , along with hundreds of occupants. Democrats like me are looking for leadership that recognize that Republican arsonists are burning our democracy to the ground and we need to fight them at all costs. Ripping up Trumps speech is pathetic. Sending dozens of bills to the senate that you know will not be addressed is pathetic. If crimes are committed by Trump or any of his allies they should be investigated and witnesses should be compelled to testify. In other words the minimum requirement for Democratic leadership ( and for presidential candidates) is to recognize that negotiations are over and we are in a war to defend our democracy. We have been in that fight for some time now.
408
@jim frain
Exactly correct. During the Obama Administration the GOP relentlessly held hearings, blocked legislation, and did everything they possibly could to thwart him. Why haven't Barr, Giuliani, Bolton, etc. been hauled in front of Congress and placed under oath already? If party affiliations were reversed the Republicans would have done that a long time ago.
91
@jim frain
I am not exactly sure what you expect the Democrats to do here? They subpoenaed quite a few people who simply refused to participate based on trump's edicts. They are stonewalled by the Republican's constantly (and have been for the last nearly 12 years). Short of hauling everyone up before the Supreme Court (heavily biased) I don't know what people expect them to do? If you have legitimate, workable ideas to go along with your very valid criticisms, I'm sure everyone would love to hear them.
126
@crystal I don't understand why the Democrats insist on playing the "traditional" game and following "norms" when the Republicans are not holding themselves to that standard? I'm not saying that democrats should "go low", but...
"The House of Representatives could send the sergeant at arms to arrest someone who is determined to be in contempt of Congress. The contemptuous witness could be confined in one of the secure rooms in the U.S. Capitol (which was done in the Daughtery case) or in the jail cells located at Capitol Police Headquarters. Once held in contempt, Congress could consider fines or imprisonment as a way to motivate a witness to purge the contempt by testifying fully and truthfully."
65
The equivalencies and weasel words on the part of the press as regards Trump's behavior needs to stop.
Call a spade a spade, and then have someone - anyone - a a dem candidate daily remind everyone what this man has done.
Serial philanderer. Paid off adult stars. Eight associates in prison. GOP senators admitting he's guilty of what he was accused of. No salary but an equivalent of 334 years of salary in golf and travel perqs. Millions of dollars accrued to his companies, which he still is not divested of.
11
Thank you for a conversation with sanity and humor--in that order. The world has seemed topsy-turvy since 2020 began six weeks ago. It's nuts. I look forward to your conversations about all things political. The rest of this week will continue that crazed pattern with a Federal Judge's conference today over the Roger Stone Case, an emergency meeting of the Federal Judge's Association over Bill Barr's interference in multiple cases on Trump's behalf, tomorrow a Dem Debate including Bloomberg for the first time and who knows what else right up to when Trump boards Marine One to head to Florida for his weekly golfing vacation. And we still have a week of February left--including a Leap Day!
5
Any lawyers here okay with their clients being jailed after the issue of illegal warrants?
1
Who ever turns out the lights; replace'm with LEDs please.
3
Klobuchar is the necessary answer to the schoolmarms' best little boy in the world. We'll see if Sanders' Law of Patriarchy is diluted at all by Limbaugh's Law of Incongruity, but if these two Midwesterners can get along well enough for a general election campaign we may have two Hoosiers in a row at the Naval Observatory.
2
"Makes Sessions look principled" is the most apt description of Barr that I've seen yet. Yes, the AG's phony proclamation of "independence" was most certainly theater, but also a warning to Trump that if he keeps on tweeting about how well he has corrupted the Justice Department he may lose his Roy Cohn. The complaints of federal judges and more than 2,000 former DOJ prosecutors cannot be ignored.
5
Good for Pete B - no previous campaign war chests to raid and the donations fall within the guidelines. The wine cave - it’s California- home of a huge wine industry and we buy local- no one drinks Blue Nun - anywhere. Knuckling under to the anti- money crowd only uplifts Sanders. How will he ever compete against Trump’s monied supporters? Pete is smart, well versed in politics and business and won the trust of poor Midwesterners. The media is trashing him at every turn. No, it’s not gender - Warren “I have plan” comes across as school marmish - and as a Sanders copy. Sanders has less support than in 2016 although I expect that was Hillary backlash - stoked by the media. You are well in your to re- electing Trump!
Mr. Stephen's description of Bloomberg as a jerk but not a racist is the same defense that many on the right make for Trump. This is the clearest argument for Bloomberg. He can take the swing votes from Trump that gave him the five important states in the Electoral College because he is a "law and order" candidate, yet he also understands climate change and the economy.
209
@Anthony The 2005 numbers are pre-stop and frisk, so I think a lot has changed in those 15 years, eh Brett ?
8
@Sam
Ummm, sorry, stop-and-frisk was in place when Bloomberg took office. Admittedly, he pursued that policy with far greater vigor, but he did not initiate it. Furthermore, he still won > 50% of African-American support. So, either they did not feel he was racist, or they felt that his opposition was even more so.
23
@Anthony
The clearest argument for Bloomberg is that he is a jerk, but not a racist??
I'm sure that red swing states are eager to hear about Bloomberg's big issues of taking their guns, and sugary soft drinks away from them.
He would be better off embracing his inner racism, and revealing his true Republican values.
3
The mantra for realist Democrats has to be “Survive until Milwaukee!” As long as Sanders doesn’t go into the DNC with a clear, or nearly clear, delegate total, the Biden-Bloomberg-Buttigieg-Klobuchar faction can coalesce and give the nomination to one of their type.
Personally, I would like it to be Klobuchar, but I think she’s destined for the Veep slot. Not a bad outcome, either.
2
I do not believe that anyone trying to displace Trump is as dangerous or as nasty a piece of work as our incumbent is. I will vote for the Democrat regardless of which one rises to the top, even if it is one that I don't like.
But I do believe that some candidates will bring their own chaos, and we will pay for it in midterms, and some will be a better broad fit for the country.
My question is will voters be able to vote for people who don't pass their purity test? The GOP voted in a highly flawed transactional hypocrite who delivered on the surface a lot of what they wanted.
Democrats don't seem to be as willing to set aside their own moral objections and convictions. Can we accept a jerk to displace a despot? Or will our candidate fail because he or she is proven to be less pure, or less ideal - or more conservative or more liberal than their ideal?
When it comes down to it, I have more faith in the whole raft of candidates, and none in the Democratic voters. I believe our committed Democrats are guaranteed to assure Trump a second term.
204
@Cathy I sincerely hope that you are wrong. But I am exceedingly afraid that you are spot on with the Bernie voters.
21
@Cathy - You state very eloquently my thoughts as well. After reading the many truly over the top, vicious tweets, comments, etc., aimed at the president of the Culinary Workers Union in NV because they did not endorse Bernie, I'm really concerned there will be a repeat of 2016. Home addresses, phone and personal info was made public, accompanied by threats and harassment.
This is just wrong.
26
@Cathy
Less pure? ideal? Even the Son of God was crucified. We will take the less pure one, for he's better than the devil we currently have.
12
He absolutely did not "speak" to Trump about his plans to criticize him. Rather: "WINK, WINK".
5
@logic
He likely didn't get a chance to speak, the smart money says he got his orders barked at him. So no, he did not speak to the president about it.
1
So Barr finally calls out Trump on his tweets that we are all sick and tired of. Problem is we don't know if the rebuke was sincere or some sort of ruse that Trump and Barr had agreed on beforehand. Judging from the lying character of the Trump administration, it was probably a ruse.
5
Here’s a lesson to Democrats from the 2018 election in my home country, Brazil. There were two names on the ballot. A reactionary Trump-loving Bolsonaro, or a Haddad’s Workers Party that led Brazil for twelve years under immense corruption that led to the imprisonment of one president and impeachment of another.
There were no good choices. Some people I know said to vote Bolsonaro then to get rid of the corrupt Workers Party, with the understanding that four years later in 2022 they would vote for someone other than Bolsonaro.
Now look at the crossroads we are in. Pick Bloomberg today with either Klobuchar or Stacey Adams as VP. In 2024 Bloomberg will be 82. He can pass the torch to his VP and help finance the election.
7
I can see a Bloomberg/Klobuchar ticket. Bloomberg has been in the ring with Trump for many years. He knows Trump's game and is much smarter than Trump. Klobuchar is intelligent, a uniter, and moderate thinker with middle of the road policies. This is a team that will have the money to challenge the Republican cash cow the integrity and moral compass that can bring people to the poles to defeat Trump!!
10
When you look at the results of the primary in New Hampshire, the three moderate candidates (Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Biden) combined for 52.6% of the vote. The two progressive candidates (Sanders and Warren) combined for 34.9% of the vote. And Bernie’s support was less than half of what it was in 2016. Yet the NYT runs a headline that Bernie had “tightened his grip” on the party. You see? Ignoring evidence to promote a false narrative is not exclusively the domain of the right.
11
@Zack the Times wants trump to win. If a normal person becomes President the Times will be digital only and near bankruptcy. Same with CNN and MSNBC.
1
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Mike Bloomberg, the "anti-Trump":
"His big minus is that he’s got a long history as an acerbic businessman who said some things to female employees we would now consider deeply, deeply offensive — and may have then. Not to mention his statements about black New Yorkers and crime, plus the virtues of redlining."
2
Klobucher and Meatloaf -- now there's a ticket we can get behind.
1
Aside from polluting this nation and democracy, Trump has destroyed my tee shirt wearing happiness. My Triumph motorcycle shirts crease up and look like Trump t-shirts. so I get dirty looks when I go through the airports and I get overweight, old MAGAs come up to me, wanting to shake my hand only to realize it says Triumph not Trump. I am a biker and I can't stand Trump
21
"Who Will Turn Out the Lights at Trump’s White House?"
There may be no need. As the Times reported in 2017: "Aides confer in the dark because they cannot figure out how to operate the light switches in the cabinet room".
And who will fix the air conditioning that Trump said last year Obama broke? (The air-conditioning system wasn't actually replaced until 2017, but we're sure it must still be Obama's fault somehow).
5
Actually it doesn't matter whether Barr has fallen out of favor with the president, the damage has already been done. Barr whitewashed the Mueller report to the public in trump's favor instead of truthfully bringing out trump's obstruction clearly written. Trump doesn't need him anymore, there's always another toady waiting in the wings.
6
@Scott Kurant - I am amazed at the number of toadies out there willing to hook their names to this horrible man in charge of the white house. It was obvious from the start that Barr would do anything...ANYTHING- for his lord and master Donald. Did you notice that Sessions is still trying to win Donald's favor?
I care not a bit how senator K treats her staff, quit if she's too tough, I only care that the trump family is evicted from the people's house.
19
Trump tweeting isn’t the type of government transparency we want, but it is that type of government transparency we need. Through his tweets, he exposes the sycophancy and the hypocrisy of his administration, the GOP, Trumpism, and our congressional representatives. Watching senators back-pedaling their positions is both concerning and delightful and exposes their moral abstinence.
2
Bloomberg's undergraduate degree is in electrical engineering; a nerd, a technocrat. Based on the gazillion EE guys I've dealt with, he's probably more oblivious to people's feelings than malicious or malevolent, like Trump.
Other than having yacht loads of money to spend, is a technocrat going to lead us out of the gutter we've fallen into?
2
It's a strange time to be a Democrat. I see Bernie railing against the Democratic Party Establishment, which he seeks to "bern down" in order to save it. And then there's Bloomberg who alternates between calling himself a Republican and a Democrat who's seeks to carry the banner for a party to which he's lukewarm. And these men are frontrunners.
In the long run, it seems that if either wins the nomination, he will weaken the party. Of the two, I think Bloomberg might work with the Democratic establishment; not so sure about Bernie who shows an inability to compromise.
My first choice was Warren for her anti-corruption policies. I'm very sorry that she's fading as a candidate.
411
@Marilyn You could also say 'And then there's Bernie who alternates between calling himself a Independent and a Democrat who seeks to carry the banner for a party to which he's lukewarm.' Note that Bernie runs for President as a Democrat and for the Senate as an Independent at the same time.
Bloomberg on the other hand has been a Democrat for 40 years, an Independent 11 years and a Republican only 6 years. Much better than Bernie's zero years as a Democrat.
61
@Marilyn
As to Warren, she was a Republican far longer than Bloomberg was. She, like Bloomberg, seemed to choose her affiliation based on what was best for her: a libertarian Republican in Texas; a progressive Democrat in Mass.
13
@Marilyn I prefer Warren but know she can’t win. Bernie has good ideas - he’s a social democrat, not a socialist, by the way, but voters won’t know the difference - but no chance of beating Trump and no way to realize his ideas with a GOP Senate in his path.
Some of Sanders’ supporters are obnoxious jerks who want either to win, or burn the Party and nation down - they are not Democrats, but rather feed parasitically on a Party that they wish either to take over or destroy (the “neo-liberal” chant). But Bernie himself does not fake the me-or-le-deluge route. He will support the nominee.
Biden is a weak candidate. Buttigieg cannot beat Trump - not because he is gay, but because he is young, inexperienced and does not draw black votes.
If Bloomberg can suppress his inner jerk tomorrow night - and I agree that he is a jerk, not a racist or misogynist - he can win the nomination. Despite his big mouth and “stop and frisk,” he was the best NYC mayor in my lifetime, and my first mayoral vote was for Abe Beame. He tends toward the autocratic but is not petty or mean. He is on the right side of climate change, reproductive rights and gun regulations. He is a brilliant manager that got NYC through the Great Recession with few scars.
Let’s see how he does tomorrow night. His biggest drawbacks are his thin skin and conviction that those who disagree with him are idiots. If he survives the debates and is nominated he should run with Amy Klobuchar.
32
All Democrats need is a supercomputer in which to plug in a super-algorithm that will emphatically declare which of the candidates can absolutely beat Trump. This morning, I am betting Bloomberg is the only candidate who can do it. Tomorrow, I may change my mind.
It is only about electability. That is unfair to Warren and Klobuchar who are fine candidates but the horrible truth is that the America that elected Trump is not ready for a female president. An America that elected Trump is a scary place and if Bloomberg, a white male, is the one who can send Trump packing, he has my vote. In my next life, I will be born in Canada.
432
@Patricia Caiozzo
I disagree. America was not fully ready for a woman named Clinton (and she did, truly, win the popular vote). I think Warren's prickly personality would suffer the same pushback as Hillary received. Klobuchar, however... she is a different type of candidate. I think she'd do better vs Trump than Hillary with all of her baggage, and far better than Warren and her "progressive" policies.
13
@Steven and I agree with Patricia - that is reality here in 2020 . . . . love to be wrong but my gut says the best chance to get Trump out is Bloomberg.
13
@Patricia Caiozzo I'm with her.
2
i'm not a city person (in fact quite the opposite) but the concept of stop & frisk seems consistent with policing everywhere, including out here in the suburbs. if it's a saturday night and you're young, expect to be pulled over for no reason at all; the cop shines a flashlight in your face, decides you're not drunk, sends you on your merry way. it's not the same as being thrown against a wall, but it is the same logic: to serve a higher good the police harass law-abiding people.
if bloomberg can prove that there *was* a higher good and that it wasn't outweighed by its racial injustice, he might have a popular story to sell the electorate.
I spent over 10 years working in NYC’s financial district 20 years before the #MeToo movement. Bloomberg’s language was the norm, spoken by men and women alike.
I lived in NYC for part of Bloomberg’s tenure as Mayor.
We all lived through the 2008 financial crisis caused in large part by large mortgages being available to people who simply could not meet their obligations, regardless of race.
I don’t believe Bloomberg to be misogynistic or rascist.
I believe he spoke in the vernacular of the industry in which he worked, led NYC competently though not perfectly and makes decisions based on data, which sometimes is misleading.
I don’t expect perfection from my candidate. I do expect competence and decorum. Bloomberg delivers on both and I would strongly encourage my fellow citizens to focus on what matters.
863
@Greenfish
I lived in NYC during all of Bloomberg's mayorality. Let us not forget that in each of his elections he needed to gain the support of white conservative working class voters. He did this by demonizing blacks and Latinos.
He may not be a racist but he wanted people who had racist views that he agreed with them. This is the same thing Trump has done.
31
@Greenfish
"Large mortgages..."
I don't fault Bloomberg for what may have been an honest misunderstanding at the time, but he (and you) should acknowledge that it was the packaging and speculating on the mortgages that did the damage. And that the people and institutions doing the bundling and gambling were not the ones who lost their homes.
75
@Greenfish: "I don’t expect perfection from my candidate. I do expect competence and decorum."
I'll vote for whoever the Dems nominate, but this sounds very much like a 2016 description of Hillary Clinton.
23
If Bloomberg actually buys the nomination (don't try to convince me that it's not buying), I will very reluctantly vote for him and encourage my twenties something children who swear to sit it out if he is, to vote for him for one reason only.
THE SUPREME COURT.
And then I think I will walk away from caring about politics for the rest of my life.
9
As far as the Eisenhower administration is concerned, I remember well our father taking my sister and I to the train station during the 1952 whistle-stop tours of the Presidential campaign.
It must have been then that I (age eleven) asked him what was the difference between the R's and the D's. His answer: "The Republicans are for the rich; and the Democrats are for the little guy".
Sorry to say that that hasn't always been strictly true in the intervening years; but it has been true enough to make the difference. I dislike the use of expressions such as "enough said" because they try to cut off the conversation. But in this case, I'm tempted to make an exception.
148
@mb I was told that also, as a little girl. But really, my dad didn’t have to tell me. He worked two jobs all his life. I knew even then it was unfair, because he was absent so much. A staunch democrat, he was also pro union.
26
@mb
My father told me the same thing. He was a die hard Republican throughout most of his life. That all changed in the 2018 election. He was repulsed by trumpf’s affairs.
He died two years ago at the age of 95.
14
@mb
Slightly off topic, but my childhood memories of the campaign include seeing "I like Ike" buttons.
It would be great to see "I like Mike" buttons.
It's a stretch - and mostly wishful thinking - but they might subliminally touch Mike-leaning Republicans who feel it's time for a change.
Are buttons like this out there yet?
6
This will be the first convention in my lifetime, Democratic or Republican, that will allocate delegates on a proportional representation system. Unless one candidate makes a surprising breakthrough early on, Democratic delegates will have to choose who to vote for while they're at the big meeting, and party leaders might be at wit's end attempting to keep whole blocs of delegates from simply walking out.
The Trump campaign is already by far the best-financed in American history. The Republican party is unified, even if there's been a lot of retirements. The President is learning how to dole out goodies. Florida will get Everglades restoration funds. Maryland and Virginia won't get Chesapeake Bay restoration support. It looks as though military spending in blue states will be cut to pay for the border wall.
Democrats need to think ahead to the 2022 election.
66
@David Martin
If the Democrats lose in 2020, there may not be elections in 2022 or anytime thereafter.
Well, I guess technically we will have them, but by then we will likely have some very serious voter intimidation to go along with the voter suppression.
45
@David Martin
There is a hope (however small) that the Dems could take the Senate this year. I believe 23 Republican seats are available to the 12 for the Democrats.
I've pretty much accepted that no candidate right now can beat Trump, and that's where the DNC should focus their energy. Having full control of Congress would do a lot to curb Trump.
43
@David Martin
It’s too early to throw in the towel. There is too much at stake. Trumpf’s actions, especially after being acquitted by the Senate, are tearing apart our country on a daily basis.
If he does win, God help us, he will irrevocably alter the fabric of our country. He has already caused too much damage.
56
Bloomberg is rich, old, white, a little racist, crude, old-fashioned, and full of himself. Consequently, he appeals to those 200,000 or so centrists in the upper midwest who are just like him (only haven't won the Lottery yet.) Since those people get to decide the election, maybe we should nominate Bloomberg. Millions of Sanders too-young-to-know-better supporters don't matter. Healthcare doesn't matter to people old enough to be on on Medicare, climate change doesn't matter to people who don't expect to live long enough to see it affect them, and even if college were more expensive, I imagine people would still go. Only the wisdom and common sense of the centrists can save us from our radical communist urges. We must nominate a candidate whose vision of the future is in alignment with the Retirees of Wisconsin, otherwise, four more years of Trump. In fact, Democrats might be wise to just nominate Trump themselves, as he obviously appeals to those centrists whose votes they are so concerned with attracting. Since the election isn't about the majority, why settle for Bloomberg?
5
How about a debate between all of the Republican candidates and all of the Democratic ones, on one stage. Then we could really see who has the mettle to take us where we need to be going forward.
5
As a lifelong resident of NYC and its suburbs, here’s a little hint: the minority neighborhoods were war zones. And the victims were minorities themselves.
Stop and frisk wasn’t designed to victimize minorities; it was to reduce crime.
And the elimination of redlining did indeed help cause the 2008 economic meltdown. In the name of diversity, banks were forced to extend mortgages to people with no chance of repaying.
I think it’s “woke” to be honest about it.
And yes, I think Bloomberg might be the only chance to throw Trump out on his....ear.
107
@David G. - funny how it is always easy to advocate for harsh police enforcement when you know your civil rights will not be impacted. Good example is the change in how people (white people) are responding to the opioid crisis - suddenly treatment instead of jail time makes sense when it is your sons and daughters
11
In other words, despite articles in this very paper that clearly refute your points with data, you choose to believe your anecdotal information.
3
I disagree with Gail that Bernie Sanders is "a nominee who can get people fired up and turn out the voters who might otherwise just yawn and stay home."
I would argue that this entire 2020 field of candidates would have produced yawns and stay-at-homes in past elections. There is no one candidate who seems to appeal to all of the critical groups we need at the polls to beat Trump. The only candidate who fires up ALL voters, including those critical swing voters, is Donald Trump himself. We'd better hope that Trump continues to outrage all the way to November.
16
@Jenny
I just fail to see the appeal of Mr. Sanders. I also fail to see how any of his ideas or policies would get made into law. While they are nice on paper, and look good, I don't see most of them happening.
43
And another thing ... that can be said in mitigation of Michael Bloomberg: The claims that Bloomberg is not a real Democrat are about as equally true of Bernie Sanders.
65
@Peter Aretin
perhaps not mitigation of Bloomberg so much as a criticism too of Sanders, who has for decades attacked the party that has been fighting for universal health coverage, campaign finance reform, protection of voting rights, an increase in the minimum wage, sustainable development, sane gun laws,...for decades
11
@Peter Aretin
Sen. Sanders was never a registered Republican.
He never contributed to Republican candidates, like (Lindsey Graham!) to defeat Democratic candidates.
He never addressed the Republican National Convention endorsing the Republican candidate over the the Democratic candidate.
6
Let's not forget Mitt Romney as the news cycle moves on. One of those rare Republican profiles in courage. May he serve as a role model for many other Republicans.
76
@Richard Waugaman, M.D. romney? profile in courage? it was stage craft and nothing more.
1
Your respect for Romney is likely based on his support of a personal agenda.
1
Trump is the symptom of a corrupt Republican Party, and the Republicans will find a new racist leader after Trump. The problem preventing a functioning US government is the Republican enablers: Barr, Graham, McConnell and the Mini-Trumps like Jim Jordan and Elise Stefanik. If we can get these NRA-funded enablers out of Congress, we can begin having civilized discussions based on facts and truths.
148
"Amy Klobuchar is funny, fierce, knowledgeable and quick on her feet. And she has a message of sanity and unity that should appeal."
Bret: you should read the NYTimes.Amy Klobuchar fails the purity test. As the Times has reported ("How Amy Klobuchar Treats Her Staff"), she has a long record of being an abusive boss.
Nobody's perfect, and I don't think her record as a bad boss (or "a jerk" to use Bret's description of Bloomberg) disqualifies her. But likewise, I don't think Bloomberg's mistakes outweigh the greater good he has done in his career.
36
@K D P
I'm concerned about Klobuchar's reputation as a boss, but don't think it comes close to approaching the allegations against Bloomberg when it comes to women. The fact is, none of the candidates could pass a purity test. It's up to us to figure out how those flaws could affect a policy agenda.
11
@K D P
"knowledgeable and quick on her feet"
She didn't know the name of Mexico's president. This, from someone who serves on the Senate's Subcommittee on Border Security & Immigration.
@K D P i
Over the years, I have met or worked for a number of men and women who were top executives. Many acted like jerks at various times.
It takes a strong, committed person to reach the top tiers of management, and many are rushing to win that gold medal .
They don’t — or won’t — use the time to make nice.
I must also ask why Klobuchar is being singled out for her management style. Is it because she is a woman, and women aren’t supposed to act like that?
I really don't care which Republican turns out the White House lights. Just as long as it is a Democrat who turns them back on.
150
Are Bernie Bros Russian hackers? Seems likely. Perpetuating this trope is certainly in their play book.
Listen up everybody. Just vote. Let the person with the most votes move on to the next stage. All these predictions are nothing more than reading tea leaves... trying to put a rational narrative on an irrational process.
14
@LBJr
Except that, without a national primary, we are left to see the first winnowing take place after a caucus and a primary representing only 1.33% of the US population. Entire political careers are being made or broken on the say-so of two states with 90% white population (US is 61%) is laughable.
National primary. One day per party if need be, two if it's split so each half is representative.
Tiptoe-ing around two states' bragging rights is no way to run an election in the 21st century.
34
Brett. Bernie voters should sit it out and why not. Perez is pulling out all the stops to deny him the nomination
9
Same hopeless attitude which got us Trump and will keep him in office. I like Sanders on the issues, but the first priority is bringing some sanity back to the country. Whose side are you on anyway?
15
@Patrick.
You do that (again) and you get 4 more years of Trump. Are the Sanders supporters so spiteful that they will allow another 4 years of this "administration?"
One would hope not (again).
3
@Patrick.
This type of false narrative is what got us Trump, along with Barr, McConnell, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh,
Pulling out all the stops would mean requiring that you are a registered Democrat to run in Democratic primaries----AND rewriting the debate rules so that a non-Democratic would not get on the stage while accomplished Democratic Governors and Senators (Bullock, Bennet, Inslee, Booker,,,,) are excluded
If people care about this country, this democracy, the future generations of citizens, they will vote for ANY of the Dem candidates.
And maybe if the press would concentrate on Donald Trump’s faults and corruption, instead of picking apart the Dem nominees, we will get our beautiful country back. Perhaps the black cloud of vulgarity, viciousness, corruption, recklessness will indeed go up in smoke as Trump and his brood would be forced out of the White House - forever.
Keep giving Trump supporters fuel, media, by sparring over Dem candidates, and you will be responsible to explain to future generations what happened to a once democratic free country.
91
@MIMA
The people who voted for the guy in the White House are to blame for his election. They will be responsible if he is re-elected.
A huge turnout will insure the current guy will be a one-term president.
Urge all you know to participate in our democracy. VOTE!
Quit the finger pointing and do what you can to help defeat our national scourge.
6
It will be a perfect irony if Bill Barr, for all of his insincere posturing as a reasonable Attorney General resisting an unreasonable President, finds himself on the outside when Donald Trump demands his resignation.
It will be a fitting justice if Bernie Sanders falls by the wayside when every elected Democrat, including those running for president, declares that Sanders is nothing more than a selfish socialist trying to destroy the party.
It will be the finest hour for Joe Biden when he realizes that his time has come and gone, and he withdraws from the race and supports Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bloomberg on the condition that Bloomberg confess to being a know-it-all, insensitive jerk, apologizing to the American people.
10
I don't know the name of the person who will turn out the lights, but I suspect he or she will be Russian.
28
@RNS
Yes, in fact you could say that Putin already turned out the lights at the White House
So Barr piled a library of LAW books and I'm sure some heavy LAW journals too, against the door, hiding out from the throngs of critics. Good to know that Barr finally found some use for the law.
15
Mother Nature will turn all our lights out.
28
That's true, in the long run we're all dead. The next 100 years is going to be an extremely interesting chapter for the human race. Sadly, I will miss most of it.
Good luck to all of you who will face it!
8
@NewsReaper
Yes, our 'sentient' species Homo "Insipiens" is doomed.
Barr’s line in the sand... it’s so true. It takes only a slight breeze to erase it.
As for who’s going to turn out the lights on Trump’s White House? The answer is easy. Accomplishing it it’s a monumental task: Amy Democrat winning the presidency coming November 2020.
5
So glad to see Bret coming around to Klobuchar...
Gail, I hope you're not far behind.
People do pay attention to each of you.
She can get the Sanders contingent to vote for her and the Bloomberg supporters too. I fear that if Bloomberg or Sanders is the nominee, they lose the other's supporters.
Klobuchar can unite a divided party and begin to heal a badly divided nation.
19
No comment on the rough weekend that Mr. Bloomberg had from our dynamic duo at the New York Times? Mayor Mike, who in a very condescending way, talking about for farmers and blue-collar workers did everything but called them deplorables In the dynamic duo’s hatred of our president, do they not think that this is the wrong way to try to win in the swing states in the Midwest? Do they not think the people in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Minnesota we’re not listening?
2
So happy that these two political pundits are plugging for Klobuchar. She has always been my first choice and, while I've always had a thing for bad boys, Bloomberg still needs some work on that image. Love love love this article's upbeat look ahead.
8
A Bloomberg Klobuchar ticket would be a winner.
19
@Celeste
Since we are dreaming, how about your ticket being elected, and Bloomberg resigning after three years making Klobuchar the President. She could appoint Pete as her Veep, and voila, a new generation of leaders to lead us. New ideas will be exciting. Decency will return.
2
Let's all be perfectly clear about our situation. We need to get the clown out. Whatever we have to do to join forces to get this done. That means some of the candidates should call it a day, stop wasting time and support the top 2 to get our country back to being a republic in which we should all stand for. It does not matter who it is just as long as bozo is OUT.
39
Sanders is not a mystery. He is the reincarnate of Nader. I think his middle name is Ralph. He is nasty just like his supporters. More obvious every day. If he happens to get the nomination, i will be forced to vote for him. Sad
16
@Robert Black
We already have an angry old man in the White House. Another one isn't necessary.
p.s. I'll vote for him if he is the nominee.
2
No one.
Nobody is going to turn out the lights.
Whoever the next President will be, will have to deal with it.
(Assuming that we actually get another President.)
5
"Bloomberg would of course not be on anybody’s radar if he wasn’t a multi-multi-billionaire spending his own cash on a flood of campaign ads."
I get what Gail is saying (esp. re: voters outside the NY Metro area), but I think she's a little quick and dismissive. In addition to having built a wildly successful business from scratch, Bloomberg also served 3 successful terms as Mayor of NYC, a gig often called "the second-hardest job in America." And before he was buying presidential campaign ads, he began spending large sums of his own money to restrict illegal handguns, fight climate change (just one effort of which entails shuttering the nation's most polluting coal plants), and support a significant list of Congressional candidates.
Bloomberg is running on a record of policy positions, accomplishments, and ongoing endeavors. He may or not be your cup of tea, but he's a lot more than just a rich dilettante.
83
@D Price
Not sure how to tell you this, but... being the republican mayor of NYC, calling for stop and frisk and neighborhood redlining isn't a great start for a Democratic president.
4
@Neal
I think you proved my point -- when people think of Bloomberg, they don't think only of how he uses his wealth to buy ads. He's on people's radar for other things as well -- many. other. things.
2
Here is the problem. A big majority of Democrats, Independents and moderate Republicans understand that Trump in ending our democracy as we know it. Turning it into a Hungary or Turkey or Russia. So, the top goal is to get rid of Trump. But, we also know that we do not want a Socialist country (most people don't know the difference between a Socialist, Democratic Socialist and a Social Democracy). We also know that elections are bought with money and Trump has plenty of money to buy the election. So, does this majority decide it is more important to get rid of Trump by winning the election with Bloomberg's or Bernie's money or take a principled stand and lose to Trump? I say, accept the truth that money buys elections, and buy it.
The next questions are 1. will and can Bernie bring his crowd along if anyone else but Burnie gets the nomination, and 2. can another candidate beat Bernie and Bloomberg in the primary without the money to win the support of Bloomberg in order to get the financial support of Bloomberg for the general election.
I say, hope for 1. and 2. and for Amy to be the candidate!
12
@Fearrington Bob the election has already been bought, by billionaires (not Trump, his billionaire backers), the only way to reverse that is bring Bernie in to begin to clean up the mess.
2
@Fearrington Bob
"accept the truth that money buys elections, and buy it."??? Trump is selling out democracy to Putin and other rich plutocrats, which is horrible, but is it so much worse than letting "money buys elections?" Isn't it more or less the same thing? (i.e. putting money before people)? Both are at the polar opposite of democracy. I am all for Sanders and getting big money out of politics, but I would, of course, vote for whomever wins the democratic nomination. I'm not crazy about Bloomberg, but I do believe he would enact laws to reduce climate change and that is pretty big. Bernie, of course, will do that too, while actually helping the working class and the middle class.
On the one hand Gail Collins believes that sexism is holding Elizabeth Warren back. On the other hand, she dismisses Bloomberg's long history of sexual harassment and disparaging women as saying offensive things before we all knew better. And that he “said” things about race when in fact his stop and frisk policy did real harm to so many black and brown people in New York. And he governed by creating a surveillance state. Feminism is not just about supporting women candidates. Feminism is about challenging and dismantling oppression of all kinds.
14
If Pete joined Amy as her VP, they could sweep the floor.
Biden and Sanders could have contributed a lot more to this election by not running, and I hope the end of their campaigns is nigh. Both because they're too old, and Sanders because he'd make an abysmal president.
32
And if Cory joined Amy they’d swoop the floor., wash the windows and clean out the garage.
12
"The Bernie folk would argue that we need a nominee who can get people fired up and turn out the voters who might otherwise just yawn and stay home."
The Bernie folk need to understand that we're guaranteed to have such a nominee. His name is Donald Trump.
29
Warren was hurt not so much by the attack on Buttigieg, as by his attack on her healthcare plan. Unfortunately, she is too nice and didn't attack him back, as he deserved because his plan is misleading, half-cooked and very light on numbers, but instead she put more detailed plan that again was attacked. Second mistake was spat with Bernie. Whatever he said in this conversation, it was private and more than year ago. If she disagreed with him, she should air that then, not year later.
17
Who will turn out the lights? I worry about that because Trump may not leave voluntarily once the country elects somebody else. What is our national plan for that eventuality?
35
@Sky Pilot. I believe that a candidate who so thoroughly trounced the monstrosity would have no trouble taking over the reins and throwing out the refuse. My heart goes elsewhere but at this point I think it could be Bloomberg??
1
This is kind of reminiscent of the Republicans and the ACA: They railed against it for years but when they finally had the power to change/repeal it, it turned out they didn't have a plan. Similarly, the sole plank in the Dems' platform has been to defeat Trump. Now that the time has finally arrived, they don't have a clue, let alone a plan.
7
@pete
Sad, isn't it? Democrats can't agree on how to move forward and improve our health care system. I thought that was the one single issue they could have won the election on, but no...
2
@pete ---You pose a good question that has crossed my mind several times. What gives me assurance that this won't happen is that there's never been the takeover of a country without the backing of the military. My take is that the military hates Trump. Pardoning the war criminal Gallagher may have been the last straw for them. On top of that, military leaders strike me as having much more integrity than political leaders.
1
Barrs comments on Trumps tweets was definitely a red herring. The outcry by the justice department over Trumps Roger Stone tweet had the republicans scrambling to calm the waters. so they sent Barr out with a criticism that wasn't a criticism making it look like there was some pushback against Trump. But like all things Trump it was a con.
Also I am a Warren supporter but I have no problem with Sanders. It seems the conservative side of the NYT editorial board has a real fear of him and are doing their best to sabotage his accession by sowing fear about his so called socialism making it seem as if Trumps corrupt administration is a more sensible way to govern. Just another con by conservatives hammering the word socialist constantly as something to be feared when the U.S. has consistently acted socialist like bailing out the auto industry, banks , airlines, farms and on and on. Don't buy into the con
26
@Mic p bernie owns his "so-called socialism." At the 2014 Move-On confernce, he did shout out "I am not a Democrat! I am a socialist!" He criticized the Democratic Party as much as he did the Repubs. He only joined the party this go-round to run for president. He will quickly go back to Independent when he is again rejected by true Democrats.
1
Pete and Amy have to join teams. I like them both, but with Amy's senatorial experience, and the desire for at least half of the country to be excited to FINALLY put a woman in charge, I say Amy for President, Pete for VP. Let them make a deal that it's reversed for the next election. But NEITHER will garner enough votes on their own to beat Bernie, and The Bernster can't garner enough votes to win; his ceiling is in the high 30%.
15
It can be said regarding Bloomberg's money that he has at least pledged to use his considerable resources to support whomever finally becomes the Democratic nominee. It can not be said with nearly as much confidence that Bernie's Cultural Revolution could be counted on to do the same.
46
@Peter Aretin
We shouldn't forget that Bloomberg gave big money to the Demo get out the vote effort in 2018 - and it worked!
6
The popularity of Sanders, Bloomberg and Trump show that both the R party and the D party aren't major players in delivering what the voters want. Partisan rancor and gridlock leaves room for outsiders who claim to be able to get things done to make the lives of the afflicted better. Bloomberg hasn't exposed many of his policies, but promises to relieve us of the Trump affliction. That's the prize.
The Republicans gave up on their presidential primaries. The Dems and the media are gamely following a rule book for their primaries that became obsolete several years ago. These debates are little more than high school bus banter.
We have a king to unseat. Business as usual won't do it.
12
Despite her cold, Elizabeth Warren was out in force in Nevada rallying her supporters who like you, Gail, are keeping the faith. Bloomberg is like Trump coming up behind from Hillary and in her space. What right does he have in buying his way in filling the Irwin’s and mailboxes with his ads without doing the hard work of grass roots campaigning?
Bernie isn’t made for the long haul but the short term burn, his ideas having no real policy behind them as Warren’s have.
Moderates are milquetoasts sopping in lukewarm water.
We need a fighter like Warren to evict Trump out the door.
27
@Ichabod Aikem I agree Warren is the right candidate. She has the knowledge, life experience, government experience, energy and humility to give this country a course correction. We need a leader, not a milquetoast moderate. The Democratic primary race is a long haul and the media is only interested in narrow snippets of a brief moment in time. Iowa and New Hampshire are so unrepresentative of the country. The fact that NH is next to MA is irrelevant. The fact that MA has a Republican governor, and has for years is more telling.
2
I want Bloomberg and VP Klobuchar for the win. Nothing Mike has or could do would be as bad as the things we know Trump has done or tried to do. Politics makes for strange bedfellows.
70
I would vote for Bloomberg and Klobuchar. And we need to take back the Senate. A Presidency without control of the Senate is blocked from doing anything meaningful.
We don’t need radical change. We need slow meaningful logical change done on behalf of the people.
The country needs to reunite on behalf of each other.
33
@Michael
Bloomberg: Not As Bad As Trump, 2020
Thanks for the bumper sticker. Ill put it right next to the one I have that says
New Jersey: Not As Bad As People Say
2
While I shed no tears on their behalf, I get exasperated when the billionaire class is scorned as a giant monolith of greed, corruption and smugness. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are billionaires who have used and set aside vast portions of their wealth to fund causes they are passionate about. They are self made billionaires and the success they achieved should serve as an inspiration to everyone to stay committed to ones goals. Bloomberg for years now has been a leader on gun control legislation, women health issues and climate change. It’s easy to imagine 60 billion ways that Bloomberg could find more pleasurable pastimes then running for President as a Democrat butb instead he played no minor roll in the 2018 election cycle that led to a Democratic House majority.
Democrats should stop seeking contrition from Bloomberg when it comes to stop and frisk. Pouring millions of dollars into strict gun regulations is how a billionaire shows contrition for past mistakes. By backing stronger gun regulations Bloomberg has made getting guns off our streets not a racial issue but a humanitarian issue. Democrats should open their arms to Bloomberg and embrace him wholeheartedly. Bloomberg is a billionaire because he is not dumb. He is running as a Democrat because he stands with Democrats on, gun safety, women’s health, climate change, education, universal health coverage.
Embrace him and his billions because he can beat Trump.
Stop bullying the billionaire.
130
@Leslie
I attended Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg has contributed million$ to Hopkins over many years. The JHU community is very grateful to him for his generosity to his alma mater.
11
@Leslie Okay, sold...as long as he picks Amy K. for VP, or Pete, but not someone out of left field that no one's heard of.
3
@JB - How about Stacey Abrams - if she could be drafted. She's got the resume, the intellect, temperament and she's a just a really good person. She'd make a great second in command and in my sort of wild dreams, would be more than ready for the top job in 2024... if only.
5
"Barr's doings" have been entirely proper to date, but get bad press only because they seek to eradicate the systemic left wing bias that pervades the career DOJ attorney ranks.
Now that the Times' effort to undermine Trump has failed, they have gone quiet on the topic and instead are doing what they should have been doing all along - focusing on the publication of news.
When Durham turns his attention to news media participation in a criminal conspiracy to subvert the presidency, things will get interesting. I wonder how that story will be covered.
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@Objectivist
Subjectivist, Barr's doing on the presentation of Mueller's findings alone was not entirely proper. And the list is long.
And until someone can prove that there's a systemic left wing bias amongst DOJ attorneys, I'll consider that fake news.
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Law enforcement seems to have a bias against conservatives, because for whatever reason, conservatism goes hand-in-hand with criminality.
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@Objectivist Barr's doings are only proper if you think of him as Trump's personal attorney.
21
Take the long view. It is quite possible that a moderate Dem will lose in November, and very likely that a progressive will lose. Incumbent presidents are hard to unseat; the economy is good; the left is riven by infighting; and Trump has turned the right into his own personality cult. What happens next is worth thinking about.
If the Democrat candidate is a moderate, and loses, it will give strength to the loony left of the party who will insist that the only explanation for the loss was that the Democrats weren't extreme enough progressives. The extremists will get even more extreme, and even less electable. The Democratic party will degenerate into a mire of faddish identitarianism and unpassable purity tests. It will represent the few and the zealous.
Meanwhile if the losing Democrat is a progressive, it will at least quiet that unelectable wing of the party in preparation for a good centrist candidate in 2024.
It's a gloomy outlook. But a realistic one. If you think Dems lost in 2016, imagine how much worse they will lose when they actually become all the things the right says about them.
8
@Mike You think too far ahead. What makes you think Trump would relinquish in 2024 or that there would be much in government that could stand alone or that his diet won’t do him in first?
3
Seriously, Bret. Anne Boleyn? The correct analogy would be Wolsey or Cromwell.
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@Ian T Glad to see that I am not the only one completely diverted from the actual subject! He is probably referring to the Holbein portrait of Anne of CLEVES - HVIII declared her not as described and didn't consummate, eventually annulled, the marriage.
1
My guess is that the Deutsche Bank case that exposes Trump's Russian money laundering, which is set to come before the Supreme Court soon, will result in Trump's lights turning out.
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@rich I think that there are plenty of people who will take that bet and win.
The SC will give Trump a pass on the same basis that they chose to prohibit all other prosecutions of a President in office: it is too distracting. The remedy is impeachment and conviction: been there, couldn’t finalize that. The money case can be and will be postponed and the people will have had their day in court — and lost.
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@rich We can only hope!
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@rich - WHY? he has proven, with the help of a bunch of spineless senators, of which Fl has two, he is above the law so somehow we have to get prepared for at least 4 more years.
1
Nightmare scenario increasingly possible: a brokered convention after nobody wins outright on the first or second ballots. After a lot of deal making, Bloomberg stitches together enough votes from the field to gain the nomination, but the Bernie Bros explode into anarchic rage on the convention floor. TV spectacle ensues, with comparisons to 1968. Bloomberg does get it, but after a vicious and depressing campaign, Democratic turnout is low. Trump cruises to victory.
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Yes, fear of Bloomberg is potentially a fantastic compliment to his millions. The fact that he can “contribute” to forces that normally lean left will play out in an interesting manner. The debate veterans would do well to stick to their own strong points and not give him too much attention. Make him pay for that.
5
I liked Klobuchar the second I heard she was hard on her employees and staffers. I've met sweet and friendly female bosses but never one who was successful. Of course, her strength as a boss was criticized in a way no man would suffer criticism, but that's the jambalaya: Amy is a mighty, get-things-done manager and an excellent campaigner with a sharp mind and sharper wit.
I'm glad voters are taking a second look at her. I've have a simmering suspicion that Bloomberg will not come off as a strong debate opponent against Mr Trump. He may well be seen and heard as a mirror image of Trump with the viewing voter feeling strangely sidelined as the two old rich guys trade barbs in the Club Room.
Klobuchar on the debate floor will, I think, bring us voters with her and give Trump the what for. I'd love to witness it.
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@Mullingitover I’ve worked for abusive female principals and a workforce living in fear does not create a productive, positive outcome. Cruelty is not a personality point to be celebrated. Having lived through it, I’m disgusted that anyone would think that it is.
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@CB I've had both male and female managers who were abusive - but the men are given a pass much more often by others. Men are expected to be more 'assertive' and domineering - therefore far more abusive behaviour is accepted. I'm giving her a pass on that criticism since I don't know if she is being held to a higher standard, by her staff, since she's a woman.
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@CB
"Cruelty is not a personality point to be celebrated." You are so very right.
When we're talking about Amy's bad boss behavior, like screaming, throwing things, or dehumanizing her employees, the question should NOT be "Could a man get away with it?"
The real question is: "Should we treat other people this way?"
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Despite my affinity for Bernie's policies, my old man instincts suggest Bloomberg may be the fighter to emerge from the crowd. And despite his past and his billions, there's a 'dark horse' appeal to his strategy that just might overcome some Democrats worried about Trump's continued high ratings.
I do think many Bernie supporters will stay home if Mike voters show up, however. Democratic unity pales in the face of Republican backing of the autocrat.
And Barr? He's as expendable as the next guy, but so far he's doing what he's told. The choreography is working, no matter how many prosecutors sign a petition.
How many people are required to take down a country? Only one has to knock down the first domino when the rest are lined up already. We've been on the verge of losing our democracy since Reagan -- Trump is the one demonstrating dictator-ish tendencies that may help all the dominoes collapse.
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@SGK He is aided and abetted by an entire Party cowed by fear of being called an insulting name and losing their corporate election funds. Make no mistake: it is the loss of the backing of corporate America and the super rich that has Republican Senators cowering in corners and hiding their faces from news people and cameras.
5
What do you expect when politicians select judges? They must choose the ones most sympathetic to their philosophy. For judges they must show their bias in favor of the politicians desires to get the promotion they want. That injustice follows is inevitable.
7
Who the democrats run against Trump is important, however, the biggest factor in 2020 may turn out to be AG Barr. There is no chance that Republican voter suppression and election fraud activities will be looked into by AG Barr's Justice Dept. Therefore, voter suppression, voting site equipment malfunctions, telephone jamming, social media misinformation, and most likely election fraud will be happening wherever Republicans control the management of elections. Think Jeb Bush on steroids during the 2000 election.
Unless something is done to rein in Republicans messing with elections the final steps to turn our nation into a putinocracy will be taken shortly after Trump pulls off another win.
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It’s an incredibly sad commentary on how low our society has sunk that we are willing to support another Trump just to remove the one we have.
Climate change and spiraling health costs aren’t going away anytime soon. Not voting for the best candidate is not an option, and neither is not voting at all.
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@Howard Wasserman whatever one thinks about Bloomberg, he's very liberal on these issues. He's not my candidate of choice, but he's not Trump.
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@Wanda I agree given that you have to sink very low to be on par with Trump.
At this point, we all need to put our energy into encouraging everyone we know to vote. As painful as it is, it is also important engage people that may have supported Trump in open dialogue.
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Howard Wasserman: Mike Bloomberg may remind you of Trump because of some of his rude remarks to and about women that occurred way in the past. However, the resemblance stops there. Bloomberg is smart,well educated, hard-working and has shown by his behavior that he is committed to helping women move up the corporate ladder. He has also had considerable experience in government as mayor of NYC, and is not a rude and vulgar minor television star because of a reality show as Trump still is. Mike has never been charged with sexual assault as Trump has been, nor has he declared bankruptcy and stiffed not only the banks but small tradespeople. He does not appear likely to be an admirer of Putin, Kim Jong Un and Duterte to name a few of Trumps heroes, nor to beat up our allies. Yes, Mike has more money than god. But he did it the old fashioned way: he earned it.
4
Money Mike got into the race very late but has been able to buy enough ads to propel him to serious consideration. Meanwhile Klobachar has struggled financially to get a little recognition. Others like Harris and Booker had to bail out for lack of funds. This is the tale of two truths...
First, money is electability. Without money you can not run. With money anyone can run. So American elections, American government, American democracy, is up for sale.
Second, you get what you pay for. Most Americans don't have a spare dime to give to a campaign. Small donors can't compete with PACS collecting big dark bucks from Wall Street, the fossil fuel industry, other special interested billionaires. So we will end up voting for whoever has or gets funding. That will be someone who is chosen by monied interests, for monied interests, not the people's interests.
BTW, Barr has disgraced the Justice Department as much as Trump has disgraced the presidency. It will take generations to recover.
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@JABarry
Yes, money has become votes. The media reports fund raising results instead of policy as a marker of a candidate's strength. Votes no longer count until the actual election when the two candidates acceptable to the PACs and wealthy backers square off.
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@Zeke27
This is why I say that they are all in on it.
My feeling is that the election is already a done deal. We are being misled.
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@JABarry Agreed. Money runs campaigns, and the longer our presidential campaigns last (these days, if you wait until a year before the election, you’re getting in “late.” Compare that to any other country), the more money a candidate needs to stay in contention.
I would argue, however, that media coverage is just as important. In 2015-2016, no one took Trump seriously as a candidate, and he had no actual policies to speak of, but everything he said (sexist, racist, bigoted, ignorant) was covered relentlessly by the media. That negative coverage only added to his name recognition and assisted his win.
I’m personally a Klobuchar fan, but she gets very little press coverage in comparison to other candidates, despite her substantial experience in crafting legislation with bipartisan support. She is just the sort of return-to-normalcy I think that we need to heal the nation after Trump.
But “normal” candidates don’t get the media coverage that other candidates do. Average Americans aren’t poring over editorials in the NYT, watching every debate or attending political rallies. If someone isn’t getting front page news coverage on a regular basis, the average American doesn’t know who they are or what they stand for. “Senator Gets Bipartisan Support For Legislation” isn’t a headline. “Trump Calls Mexican Immigrants Rapists and Murderers” is. How do we fix this?
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I note that this discussion ended with Mr. Stephens saying that Klobuchar's rising numbers gives him hope. I had a phone conversation just yesterday with a long-time friend who has never voted for a Democrat. I asked him which of the Democrats running for the nomination he would be least unhappy with if he or she were to win. His choice was Klobuchar.
I took his answer to be the reason we have been friends for decades, since I would be happiest with Klobuchar as the candidate. But I also believe that Bloomberg is the candidate with the best chance of taking out the Orange Menace.
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@Nat Ehrlich
Lets win with Mike and Amy as VP then Amy as POTUS in 2024.
1
@Nat Ehrlich
I should add as an edit that I have voted in every Presidential elections since 1964 except 1996, for Democrats and Republicans and third-party candidates.
Thank you NY Times for pairing Gail
and Bret. It’s the type of discourse I wish we could see at least in the Senate! I remain equally fascinated with Bret’s comments on the Democratic contenders, not the least of which include his positive thoughts on both Pete and Amy. There’s a positive future for the party and its leadership in those two — Bret and Gail, and Pete and Amy. Sounds like a movie! I look forward to your next column.
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I'd agree, if Collins and Stephens were actually different in their opinions, which they are not.
@P Dykstra
The most relatable line of all in this entertaining and insightful repartee: "President Leave-No-Grudge-Behind!"
My current Democratic candidate depth cart: Klobuchar, Buttigieg, Bloomberg, Sanders, Warren and Biden. Biden has simply lost the energy needed to win the election. The "socialist" tag will bring down Warren, but Bernie might overcome it with energy. Bloomberg' s money would scare Trump to death, as would the intelligence of Klobuchar and Buttigieg.
Most importantly, I will vote for a Democrat no matter who is nominated.
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@Jim Dennis
Bloomberg already said that he would support the eventual nominee financially. So what's the point of nominating him?
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@Active Germ-line Replicator Because he is the only one that can beat trump.
3
A troubling issue that lacks the juiciness of electability discussions is one that may be of utmost relevance - administrative abilities.
Trump is continuing to hollow out the executive branch of our government. We are losing in droves the skilled and experienced staff and civil servants who do the day-in-day-out jobs of making this country run.
We have been witness to Trump's glee in dismantling our country's administrative infrastructure.
But the rest of us would do well to consider presidential candidates who are capable of rapidly rebuilding a collapsed executive branch to one that functions for the people of this country.
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@beth thank you for this comment. This is something that is noted in passing but an issue that is of vital importance to the nation if it wants to have functional government. Heads up: This is how Trump poisons everything he touches.
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@beth Well said, looking to the day after the election counts for a lot. Huge damage has been done, intentionally, to our government by republicans. Only fools would think we don't need the State Department, CDC, NIH, EPA, and so many other arms of the government whose function is to keep us safe. It will be an intensely demanding job to recover from this destruction. Few would really be capable of this focus. Bloomberg has run an incredibly complicated city and built a world class business. And he can go head to head with trump and beat him, as trump knows and fears.
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@beth
And that would be Bloomberg, based on his record as Mayor.
6
I'm really enjoying the cut and thrust of these two, even when I don't agree... keep cheering me (at least) up guys. :-) We need it.
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You've got to be kidding. More like winks and nods.
A good discussion between these 2 pundits has ended on a very positive note, namely a plug for Amy Klobuchar, being described as smart and funny. Also, Amy K is a moderate with sharp edges, much needed now.
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@Tom Boyd. Today my picks are Bloomberg with the possibility of Klobuchar as VP, but I don't like the possibility of her abusiveness. I don't want us to elect another tyrant to anything Elizabeth strikes me as a better more encompassing choice and certainly a competent one.
1
@tom boyd
I expect the President of the United States (and hopefuls) to be able to name the President of Mexico. She couldn't, which disqualifies her and Steyer.
I'd like some discussion on how effective each candidate might be in rebuilding relationships with our allies, in protecting us from cyber attacks, and in ending fruitless military adventures.
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@syfredrick heads up: Trump is actively working in Afghanistan to nullify theTaliban In the months just prior to our November election. Selling out the Afghanis just like he did the Kurds. That latter step along with our withdrawal of troops didn’t bring any peace in the region, did it? But it “looked good” to Trump supporters and it becomes another notch in his belt for “promises kept.” He is so transparent and yet people seem blind to the self serving nature of his actions.
9
oh dear. That's all I have to say.
That and I agree with your comment that this race seems like its began during the Eisenhower Administration. Which is before I was born.
31
Gail says about Bloomberg, “His big minus is that he’s got a long history as an acerbic businessman who said some things to female employees we would now consider deeply, deeply offensive.” Many said the same thing about Trump, albeit in much harsher terms, during the 2016 election and look at him now. Bloomberg’s comments toward women will become a non-issue. Democrats who are desperate to remove Trump from office may not forgive or forget, but they won’t allow his transgressions from getting their vote.
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@Randy Watson
"an acerbic businessman who said some things to female employees we would now consider deeply, deeply offensive.”
Yes, his social skills are weak, but as far as we know he has never touched a woman inappropriately. Or had an extramarital affair.
6
@Don Wiss Denigrating your female employees isn't equivalent to "weak" "social skills"....
1
Barr drew a line in the water, and there is a lot of water in the Trump swamp.
Still with Warren. We will need a plan or two on day one to overcome the disastrous Trump years. And please, she and Bernie are not "left", just first world modern.
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Bloomberg needs to be the candidate. No matter how you feel about his past and his dollars, he is the anti-Trump and has the best chance of beating him. Protest votes and bitter Bernie Bros were a factor in HRC losing in '16 and the Democratic party is lining up to lose it all again when progressives and purists throw tantrums because their candidate wasn't picked. We would love Medicare for all and a more progressive country, but a significant percentage of voters located in swing states are not ready for it and it could cost Democrats the election. Give the swing voters someone to vote for. They will never pull the lever for Bernie, or Warren or Pete, but Bloomberg is a viable option.
James Carville is right. Pick the candidate who can beat Trump. Period.
472
Actually, Biden has the absolute best chances to beat Trump according to the latest. Bloomberg's chances are same to Bernie's but considering error margin, chances of all of them is about the same. So, why should we overlook Bloomberg's transgressions?
13
@Indulgent Nonsense In the primary, pick the candidate whose principles inspire your support. That should be the only criterion. If we subvert our principles for the sake of guessing the ultimate winner, that candidate will not be the first choice of a majority. In the primaries, follow your heart; in the general election, support the majority candidate who is not Trump.
28
@Indulgent Nonsense - Great, so it will be business as usual: Bloomberg as president will mean nothing will done about America's insane "health" "care" industry, the very rich will get richer and everyone else will get poorer, industries will go unregulated, causing ongoing pollution of our environment, and education will go unfunded and unvalued. Fantastic!
I am in my late 50s. I have voted (D) in every single election--national, state, and local--since I turned 18. But I will sit out this election for the first ever if the D party this time does not nominate a progressive (preferably Warren--it should be patently obvious to everyone that she's the smartest and most qualified--but I'd also vote for Sanders). Yes, I will do that even if it means four more years of the Trump monstrosity. I'd much prefer Trump in the White House to Bloomberg. Bloomberg will continue the same old Republican/centrist policies that have resulted in the mess we're in today. However, he will manage to appear more normal than Trump, and people will just go back to sleep, as they do. Four more years of Trump, though, will pretty much guarantee that the country swings further left in time for the 2024 election, at which time we may end up with a progressive president and, who knows, even senate.
Cue the angry commenters who will tell me that we can't survive four more years of Trump. We can. It will be awful, but we can, and then with progressives finally in power, we can begin to put things right.
13
Message to Democrats: Enthusiastically unite behind a candidate who can create a focused coalition to beat Donald Trump. Lay aside purity tests. Unite behind a candidate to restore sanity and rebuild core institutions. To engage positively with Red and Purple state America and do it directly not through surrogates. To begin to rebuild relationships with allies on the international stage. To lay aside differences in the name of big D diversity -- economic, cultural, regional, geographic, racial, orientation, religious. To promote virtue as much as decrying vices. This is the path to genuine renewal.
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@HPower I wonder if you are talking about Bloomberg. Since I know he is brilliant he must know wooing the Clintons is going to work for him and put those levers of power in reaching distance. He must know that he can cope with the hatred so many have for the possibly resurrecting HRC.
He must know that was way more effective than looking independent. He might have managed a dance with Amy and carved out an end to the incipient dynasty.
But if you were just speaking generally, say to the Sanders voters who look to be getting buried, many will wish along with you.
2
@HPower - You say that Democrats should enthusiastically unite behind anyone who gets the nomination.
Problem is, what happens if the Democrats nominate a Republican (namely, Bloomberg)? Then who are we D's expected to unite around?
Nothing on earth could persuade me to vote for a Republican. If Bloomberg is the nominee, I'm staying home. Like all Republicans, he will be destructive to the environment, the economy (long term), education, and health care. Under his regime, the rich will continue to get richer, and the rest of us will get poorer. Business as usual for America, and everyone goes back to sleep.
Indeed, we'd be better off with Trump than Bloomberg. At the end of the day, Trump is no different from any other Republican; the only difference is he's obviously mentally ill, so the awfulness of Republican "thinking" and policies is thrown into relief. Better a mentally ill R like Trump in power than an R like Bloomberg, because Bloomberg will manage to make Republicanism appear more normal and acceptable. Bloomberg is thus more dangerous by far than Trump.
10
@EB You can call Bloomberg a Republican if you want, but he's a registered Democrat. And for heaven's sake. Bloomberg is "more dangerous by far than Trump?" Please.
45
"She’s funny, fierce, knowledgeable and quick on her feet."
I've watched the debates, listened carefully to all the candidates. First on my list was Warren, then I drifted over to Buttigieg, then back to Warren, and considered Sanders.
But always had on the back of my mind Klochubar. To me she is the best candidate to beat Trump. Middle of the road, Midwesterner, and a Woman of strong character.
Amy Klochubar can win the suburban voters.
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Klobuchar is definitely "fierce." She's been the most aggressive attacker on the debate stage.
I'm not too sure about "knowledgeable." She didn't know who the president of Mexico was at a recent Telemundo interview. That's not fatal, but it's a troubling lack of knowledge.
As for "quick on her feet," I guess we'll find out. She's never really been attacked in the debates. She's been the one doing all the attacking and has been free to build her image with heart-warming personal narratives. Now that her polling numbers have climbed, she'll have to defend herself from attacks on her record as a senator and prosecutor.
She'll also have to answer for her alleged mistreatment of staffers. The tales of her throwing things, screaming at staffers, and the "salad comb" story will likely put a little tarnish on her "Minnesota Nice" image. Most voters haven't paid much attention to her until now, so those stories will come as a surprise to many.
56
somewhat agree. I started being interested in a different candidate but then I turned to Amy. smart, funny, she seems like a real person (that was an appeal of Barack). big plus is she has gotten things done in the senate.
15
@cherrylog754
A Sanders-Klobuchar or Klobuchar-Sanders ticket would be a winning combination.
A Warren-Buttigieg ticket or Buttigieg-Warren ticket is also a winner.
Actually anyone of these four can beat the corruption that is Trump-Pence. A majority of honest, patriotic Americans will take back American government from corrupt Trump and his enabling sycophant Congressional Republicans in November.
Trump openly admitted he sent Rudy to Ukraine for dirt on the Bidens. Acts like that make the 2020 Blue Tsunami larger every day which will sweep the GOP from the Senate and White House while keeping the House.
Then the real work of cleaning up the swamp mess they made begins. We can and will do this.
14
I saw Klobuchar’s interview on Bill Maher last week and, though I much prefer her to Bernie and the left, have to disagree. She was clunky and slow on her feet. Granted, Maher is quick as a whip, but she didn’t have anything like the ease of Buttigieg, who was on the previous week - the ability to deflect with grace and humour. That’s not all there is, and I think she’d make a great president. But it sure makes winning elections easier.
30
I remind myself, once in a while, that there actually WAS a King Henry VIII running the show and it wasn't all that long ago when you get right down to it.
8
@Robert McKee There was also a Charles I that managed to alienate everyone because of his constant spats with parliament. Eventually a war broke out. Charles didn't fair well after that.
3
@Robert McKee
Henry died in 1547...but yeah, not that long ago!
1
@Robert McKee : there was a Henry the 8th...in GREAT BRITAIN! not in the USA. And long before the US was even colonized. And there were many British Kings before and after Henry 8.
BTW: he is only famous to us Yanks for having 6 wives and lots of marital troubles. But if you put that aside...Henry the Eighth is actually considered a good leader, and progressive, who broke England away from the Papacy to form the Church of England.
About Warren and Sanders' taking only small donations, those are numbers that are easily manipulated as a great many of those small donators are doing so regularly, i.e., they simply take a $1200 donation and divide it up into 12 $100 donations (once a month) or 24 $50 donations every two weeks or so ... I can make almost any gross total donation look as small as I like. "Small donations" look more like a marketing slogan than a principled stand.
17
Good point, but just because it looks that way, does it mean that it is that way?
11
@JFR a $100 donation is not big money. 12 $100 donations are also not so much, although it would be more fun to put the $$ towards a new coat, or a vacation, or a gym membership. Maybe a new couch, or a new rug... It is a principled choice, and well within the limits set by the Federal Election Commission. A working class person who is holding their own in this economy can afford it. The alternative is counting on an independently wealthy person to swoop in and save the day. And if another person is not earning as much, then 12 x $12 is an equivalent contribution.
12
@Rinwood
You're absolutely right. My point is that Warren and Sanders like to point out that their average donation is ~$20 compared to Biden's or Buttigeige's much larger numbers. Does such a comparison mean anything if the campaign treasurers are allowing the accounting processes to report "per donation" numbers (for which an individual might be responsible for many such) vs "per individual's total donation"?
4
Klobuchar is the candidate everyone has been looking for,
they judt didn't notice she right in front of them, ready to knock Trump out.
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@Blue in Green
Amy would be great in the president's cabinet but I don't believe for a minute she or Pete or Warren are mean and tough enough to knock Trump out. Bernie could but I don't believe he can get elected.
So back to Bloomberg - whose tweet that the people he and Trump know in NYC laugh at Trump and mock him behind his back. That was beautiful.
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@fast/furious
I'm no Bloomberg fan, yet agree there is much merit in what you say. It's going to take someone able and willing to "go to the mat" with Trump in order to defeat him. Ideology aside for a moment, Sanders is one who never gets knocked off his stride and message.
19
No to Klobuchar. She throws temper tantrums (and binders) with her staff. Longstanding problem which speaks to a toxic personality. She's not a toddler but a public servant in her late 50s.
20
"Do you think this means Barr has finally drawn a line in the sand with his boss?"
It's pretty hard to draw a line in the sand because there's not much sand in an alligator swamp. So no--I find myself in the odd position of agreeing with Laura Ingram that Barr was simply saying to Trump, "I've got this."
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@JKF in NYC
I completely agree. Barr should have his law license revoked which would remove his eligibility to be A.G. . He's not acting like Attorney General of the United States but is openly being Trump's sycophant.
The Trump tweet about not talking to DOJ about Stone's sentencing and Barr's ABC interview was staged. A majority of We The People saw that charade for the sham it was and are working to take American government from corrupt Republicans. Make America Smart Again.
Collins (ME), Ernst (IA), Gardner (CO), McSally (AZ) and Tillis (NC) are are severe risk in the Senate. Many Republicans will fail at re-election for having blindly protecting Trump's abuses of power over doing their Constitutional duty.
Don't agonize. Organize. Demonstrate. Donate. Volunteer. Vote Blue No Matter Who in November.
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@JKF in NYC
I think that when you are a toadie like Barr, who heads a large Agency, and you sell out your people like Barr has in the Roger Stone case, you reach a point where you have lost the respect of your people. Though he and Trump deny it it (they have given me no reason to believe them), I think Barr told Trump he had to make a public stand to try to salvage some respect in the Justice Dep't. Trump's tweet in response was classic Trump; I'll let you make a stand, this one time, but my ego requires me to also point out that I can do anything I want. If I don't do it, it is simply because I chose not to do it, not because I respect you and your Agency.
39