If New York Times editorial writers knew what's what, Hillary Clinton would be president. How about we just let the votes decide, eh?
21
So the women and gays should drop out so two old white guys can fight each other without interference??????????
22
Vote Bernie 2020
8
Biden needs to get out of the race as well.
11
Tough medicine, but oh so right. Klobuchar was my choice, and Bloomberg my second -- but Egan is absolutely right: they and the others need to drop out -- NOW -- and solidify behind Biden. Same for the incredibly annoying Warren and the smart kid from South Bend. OUT! Sanders will almost certainly not beat Trump.
14
Spot on!
6
Please oh please can we somehow morph Joe Biden into Sherrod Brown ?
8
News flash! Trump fires his top epidemiologists for warning that the virus would soon be spreading within our borders and puts Pence in charge...
1
The world IS a class struggle, Tim. Wake up and look around you in Seattle.
10
Democrats can avoid extinction by getting on their knees and begging Nancy Pelosi to become their nominee for President. She has already whipped Trump with an impeachment that the gutless GOP Senate wouldn't touch. Wake up Dems! Your political gift from the gods is waiting for you to act.
7
Advice that’s succinct and to the point. Now let’s see if any candidate(s) dare to rip the bandaid off.
2
"Joe, say it ain't so!" Biden has a known racist Hindu Nationalist on his payroll, Amit Jani. Jani does not hide what he is on his twitter account and in several articles. He is a supporter of Narendra Modi. Modi is leading the Indian government in a pogrom against its Muslim minority population. We all know Joe is not a bigot which makes hiring Jani even more of a head-scratcher. It seems the campaign is the mistake that keeps on messing up. If Jani is there in November, no way I can vote for Biden and anyone who is disgusted by bigotry no matter where it rears its ugly head should not give Biden a pass just because the persecuted minority this time happens to be Muslims.
2
It is so interesting that you say “Mayor Pete is a delight” because he’s intelligent, quick on his feet, a man of faith, married to a man, and a groundbreaker. But Warren — who is all these things and has accomplished so much more — is “annoying.” Your bias is showing.
22
Joe Biden? He's way past his sell date and is maybe the one candidate that Trump could beat.
The American people want change and they have been trying to jump out of the box for twelve years now. They voted twice for a black guy, and once for a blithering idiot they want it so bad. Tim, the phrase "Go peddle your papers someplace else" comes strongly to mind.....
5
Hey Egan, outside your progressive coastal bubble, there isn't anything the "republic needs saving" from. Trump has strengthened the economy, grown jobs, defeated ISIS, established better trade deals, and curtailed the invasion of illegal aliens. America is doing great.
I think you got your calendar mixed up with your "10 days" to Democrat oblivion. Super Tuesday is in 4 days.
1
Excuse me?! Says who?!
2
Yes!
1
Hey Tim, are you in a Super Tuesday state?
I am. And I get to decide for myself how to vote.
And it won't be for an old white guy. We've had too many of those.
7
Bloomberg is real and ready. Seems like the writer has Bloomberg envy. ... https://lstrn.us/3c4pK8w
4
If you really think that the Democrats will lose to Trump 2020 if they don't play their cards correctly, then the title of this article should really be "Americans, Your Time is Over", because this country is doomed if anyone short of a idiotic lunatic can't beat Trump.
4
Democrats, especially us old line Democrats: It's time to lay to rest our fears of another McGovern. Yes, we took a drubbing in '72, and then again in '80, and then again in '84. After which we essentially buried our heads in the sand for over thirty years. Oh, woe is us. But times are different now. This country needs a new direction. Bernie is the only genuine candidate left. Biden is just four more years of burying our heads in the sand. But time is running out. And, no, I'm not a Bernie Bro. I was aga8nst him four years ago, and I was still against him up until a few weeks ago. Amy Klobuchar was my preferred candidate, but she's probably dead in the water now, since all her recent momentum was scuttled by Mike Bloomberg buying up all of the headlines that otherwise might have gone to her. But back to the point. We were the generation that grew up fighting for change. We were going to change the world, remember? Well, it's time to resurrect that spirit, to pull our heads back out of the sand, to shake off our caution and yes, our cowardice, and face up to the fight once again. We can either go out fighting or go out whimpering. The choice is ours. If Bernie is our guy, then let's get behing him. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said: "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." Let's make the youngsters proud of us. And Amy would make a good V.P. candidate.
11
I think we should wait until after Super Tuesday to see who should drop out. I think Bloomberg would be the best President. He is definitely not the best politician; Buttigieg is the best politician. They are both extremely intelligent, which I think is important. Biden would be fine also, but I worry a lot about dementia with him. Among these three, two of them need to drop out after Super Tuesday and fully support whoever did the best on Super Tuesday. If they really believe in incremental but steady improvement, they need to push their egos aside and do what’s best for the country and the world. Otherwise, we will have only a fascist and a communist to choose from. For Bernie fans out there, Bernie at heart is truly a socialist (not social democrat, like Scandinavia), like Chavez, Castro, and Mao. For the young people who support Bernie, please be patient and we will continue to improve slowly. Climate change is real and it will cause great harm, but it is not solvable with the USA alone and it not an “existential” threat. Bernie saying it is an existential threat just shows his dishonesty.
5
Sorry, the votes have been not cast yet.
2
"Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, Mike Bloomberg and perhaps Elizabeth Warren need to get out of the race."
Perhaps the media should have paid more attention to Tulsi Gabbard. And despite her low showing in the polls, she might have provided a bit of sanity to the out-of-control circus that was the debate this past week.
“Minnesota Nice” for Ms. Klobucher is really a misnomer. Ask her employees? My view in hearing about her treatment of her employees immediately disqualified her as a “hidden” remade Trump TV candidate.
Bloomberg and Steyer are vanity candidates. Warren is at least a reality player, but not that popular. That leaves Buttigieg who hasn’t alienated too many voters and only two or three other candidates.
2
Biden and Sanders? Really?
Sorry, neither is appealing and Trump can easily roll over both of them attacking Biden as semi demented and Sanders as Communist.
Warren and Klobuchar need to step it up, especially Warren.
9
Great article Tim. Let’s hope they listen to you. You’re one of the few reasons I keep my subscription to the NYT. I use the columns written by Brooks, Douthat and Stephens to wrap fish.
3
I like Mike. Joe Biden has failed in every Presidential primary he's been in, should that tell you something?
6
Very undemocratic approach. I thought we always say the people should decide not the professional politicians. they wanted Hillary and now they want Biden. Hard to do worse!!
1
Grasping at straws. That's what Tim's piece and pro-Biden comments seem like to me. Warren seems lost, but that's because she has wandered back into the Neo-liberal miasma that the Clintons, Obama, and Biden left in the center of the Democratic Party. Abandoning working Americans to embrace the Bezos and Gates and Wall Streeters of the world is what got us into this incredible mess. Biden has barely a word to spare about climate change or our bankrupt health care system. Scrambling for political survival, everyone but Bernie just cannot bring themselves to face the crisis that they brought upon us. It's not Trump or the Republicans. Yes they are an incoherent anti-scientific, anti-fact, denialist catastrophe. Yes they make everything worse. But, it is the half-hearted Neo-liberals of the Democratic Party that failed to offer a convincing alternative to fossil-fueled wars and avidly pro-wealth anti-government policies of the Republicans that really got us into this horrible mess. Of course, they received a lot of help from the confused leaders of the NY Times. Editorial writers like Tim and Tom Friedman seem to be groping their way toward solid ground. Paul Krugman shows signs of life in that big brain of his. Sorry I can't be too sympathetic, but we need big solutions to the horribly big problems we've created, and Bernie and to a lesser degree Elizabeth are the only ones offering them.
6
Do we already know who won the Iowa caucus? Asking for a friend.
2
It just stinks that having the most thorough plans, the best track record on fighting corruption and for consumer rights, and even the sharpest tongue doesn't mean a lot if you're a cranky older woman.
Warren would be the best president from this field. But she's losing because she's not "likable" and had the gall to actually show that health care needs to be paid for.
9
I'd be okay with just Bernie getting out of the race.
11
Bernie will be our Brexit: a disastrous and very costly mistake that will upend people’s lives driven by gullible young voters who are enamored by the word “revolution.”
6
"She seems — how to say this? — gutless to take on the one person squatting in her lane."
Are you sure you've understood the Warren filleting of Bloomberg, Timothy? In any case, I'm happy to read that you had some qualms about expressing that perception of yours.
3
Elizabeth Warren needs to stay in the race. She is head and shoulders above all the others.
6
There are some Democrats I would vote for for president. None of these people. They are too old or too young, or too extreme in other ways. Except for Amy Klobuchar. And she's too boring.
4
This brings up an excellent point: why doesn’t Mayor Pete grow a beard? Anything that adds a few years to his looks could only help him.
1
You missed Sanders and Biden.
Dear Mr. Egan,
It really doesn't matter which Democrat faces Trump in November. We will be faced with yet another "Kobayashi Maru" choice (the "no-win" scenario). For those unfamiliar with that Star Trek reference you can find it at 2:50 of this video:
https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine/videos/10153862576609117/
The rest of the video isn't too bad either, poking fun at the politics of the 2016 election.
If the democrats can't change the mix in Congress, then it's pretty obvious things won't change in Do-Nothing-Washington. As far as the president is concerned, do we want a wet rag (Biden), a firebrand that stirs up the crowd (Sanders), or keep the disastrous autocrat in the White House? The way things are going, it seems these might be our choices, but then the situation is very fluid and can whipsaw at any time. A couple of months ago, who really gave corona virus a second thought?
Liz should get the nomination.
3
I'm sorry to be the one bearing this news, but self-destruction is hard-wired into the Democrats' genetic code. It's what they do, and they do it very well, kind of the way a Labrador retrieves ducks.
5
The pundits again spin soma, “There is no class war. Bernie is just crazy. There is no class war”. The billionaires know better. That’s why one is in the White House, and two are pretending to be Democrats to keep Bernie or Warren from becoming President. The wealthy have been fighting and winning the class war since at least Reagan. The billionaires have grabbed an ever larger share of the nations wealth, while the middle and lower classes’ incomes have shrunk.
So, tell me again, Mr. Bruni, how Bernie is wrong to talk about a class war. Afterwards you can turn out the lights at The NY Times as the free press surrenders to the billionaires at Facebook, Google, and Amazon.
I'm certain candidates for the nomination of the Democratic Party for President are anxious to follow the advice of a New York Times columnist. So we should see them all drop soon.
1
Sanders is not a Democrat. He is a Socialist.
The Democratic Party leadership are to blame for this mess. Sanders should never have been allowed to run in the Democratic primary. But now he should not be allowed by the National Convention to be seated as a delegate, or get the Democratic nomination for President.
And DNC members should all quit or be tossed off their positions. This mess is sickening, and it’s all their fault.
2
I think Biden needs a few more years seasoning. By the time he's 92 he'll be just perfect!
2
Mr. Egan must be pretty old if he thinks Mayor Pete looks too young to shave.
And why is it that the septuagenarian and fuzzy Biden is the one that the other moderates should defer to?
Pete finished 1st in Iowa, came in 2nd in NH, and 3rd in Nevada - he's more than earned the right to hang in!
2
Non-euphemistically, South Carolina will make this more interesting and hopefully will provide a bit more clarity.
Perhaps I shouldn't be amused - but I am - by an obvious Dem Opinion writer who just 30 days ago penned a column titled "Bernie Can't Win," and in that, wrote: "... he cannot beat Donald Trump, for the same reason people do not translate their hatred of the odious rich into pitchfork brigades against walled estates" and now insists that everyone BUT Bernie get out! "He's so authentic!" he croons. This despite knowing the Senate will laugh at everything he proposes which we cannot afford. One thing we can all agree on - Trump MUST go. Indeed, Mr. Egan: It IS all akin to a great horror movie.
Can we resurrect Jay Inslee from your home state? What's that? Who's Jay Inslee, you ask. He's a guy with a great resume, integrity and the one who would only talk about global warming. Oh, now you remember him.
6
Are you kidding?? The Dems have had but the smallest sampling of votes in just three fairly tiny contests. And you want it to boil down to two geezers. Biden just doesn't seem to have the stamina for the long term--& anyway, he has had just one decent outcome in the three elections thus far. I'm in CT, so by the time April rolls around, when I can vote, it'll probably be a (nearly) done deal by then. Are you that afraid of Sanders that you want to kick everyone out, to leave him head to head with Biden?
2
Dogmatic inflexibility....OMG.. that is Sanders...
He will probably have another heart attack railing against the world for not seeing things his way..
His inability to account for all the money he wants to spend on programs that won’t get passed will sink him.
5
How about Joe Biden gets out of the race too.
3
As long as you deny commenters the right to express themselves civilly as you request, you deny Democratic dialogue. Dean Baquet, a Columbia Class of 78 dropout does not seem to appreciate this simple fact.
Tim, you write such great books but such lousy columns. Biden vs Bernie will make me vote fore Trump. Biden can’t remember where he is and Bernie laments the loss of Castro.
1
Elizabeth Warren is running for Vice-President.
1
Righteous indignation sounds like yelling to those who don't have it.
1
Biden should get out. For the good of the future of the Democratic Party, all the septagenarians should get out. It makes absolutely no sense to me as a doctor that on the Democratic side our front runners are a 78 year male with a recent hard attack and a 77 year old male with atrial fibrillation, history of two brain aneurysms, and lapses in continuous thought patterns when he speaks. This is insane and is quite likely to come back and bite the Democrats.
7
I guess he forgot about Tulsi.
Yeah who are you to tell them to get out, if you put in the hard work and money (all but Bloomberg who cheated his way in...) you would deserve a chance as well. I blame the people who vote for Trump, why don't you tell them not to vote for Trump next time and we wouldn't be in this mess.
So everyone should just let Bernie lead the charge? That is ridiculous. Bernie is guaranteed to lose to Trump, and will make him even MORE self-delusional.
Do we really want to join the failed governments in Latin America. Is that one reason why Latinos are supporting Bernie. The fascination for revolutionary leaders, Robinhoods. We know how that works out.
3
It is incredible how totally out of touch the NYT opinion columnists are. Bouie and Collins are the only ones with even the slightest contact with reality. Klobuchar likeable? Yeah, sure, and Biden is articulate, Bloomberg is charismatic and Sanders has a great sense of style.
2
The great American Moderate Bubble freak out continues. Wash your hands regularly, you only need to wear a mask if you’re sick.
You’ve been washing your hands of things for a while, you know how to do it.
2
I am all in for Bernie now
Voting in Washington March 11
Feel the Bern!
1
What a strange world we are now where the stable of conservative NYT op-ed writers can only find solace in a virtual reality world where «corporate » (for the lack of a better world) democrats are able to excite passion, generate enthusiasm, rally the latinos and black americans and the only one able to beat Trump.
Call it denial of reality. Or maybe the so-called reasonable centrists never looked at facts and data. They just went with middle of the road conventional wisdom in DC or Manhattan. They find refuge in slogans such as “Americans will never accept a Cold War socialist who supported Castro” or “Medicare for all means the end of the choice of private insurance of millions of Americans”.
What world do they live in? In face of the most dysfunctional healthcare system in the world, “moderate” democrats and their allies in the media end up pandering to the me-first instinct in many of us instead of looking at the bigger picture.
I have had enough with Brooks, Edsall, Stephens and Egans. Please NYT, can’t you find conservative writers who are actually thoughtful and do serious research before just speaking their mind? More Douthat and less Stephens. Please.
2
Warren and Sanders: TEAM UP!!
i asked myself who would be the best president during a possible pandemic? For me, it's Biden hands down.
smartest thing I've seen all day. Timothy Egan is one of the best voices at The Times.
2
Really? I shouldn’t have a chance to vote?
Love the kicker!
Why not a Klobuchar-Buttigieg ticket? She has the DC experience he lacks, so let him gain that experience as veep and then he'll be the candidate to beat next time around.
1
Warren is my first choice for president but Bernie will be the one. He is electable and not a radical so please stop NYT with all of this kvetching which only helps the corrupt Republicans. In addition it is really stupid thinking. I am ashamed for the NYT and realize the increased importance of more independent media. You are missing the boat and will lose readers of the younger generation more and more.
1
Liz should stay in. She's the only possible unity candidate.
2
I am and will remain a NYT subscriber. But I will also look somewhere else rather than here for balanced analysis of the democrats' primaries. There is a limit on how much fearmongering one can accept. Enough is enough. A senator who has never disrepected democracy can't be so constantly and absurdly conflated with that dangerous demagogue in the White House. It's all right to have diverse opinion pages. So why won't the NYT give Sanders' favourable opinions some space too?
2
Add Biden to the list.
1
So that's it, Mr. Egan, a confused, doddering Biden as the alternative to Sanders? Are you serious?
2
Klobuchar, Bloomberg, Warren, and Buttigieg are the ones who should stay in the race, in that order.
2
Dems surely are good at one thing - snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Sigh....
3
If the Democrats take away Bernie's chance at the nomination, as they did in 2016, Democrat implosion is assured. Better get out the earplugs.
1
Joe Biden: “I’m looking forward to appointing the first African American woman to the United States Senate”
https://pic.twitter.com/K49PV7yAUY
“the coronavirus, which has the outside potential to do to the human race what climate change may do to the planet”
Shame on you Tim Egan for fomenting panic in the face of what we know about Covid 19. In most people it is relatively mild. It tends to kill the old and the infirm. In babies and children it tends to be very mild. The statistics on the percentage of people who die from it are skewed by the fact that they are taken from the diagnosed cases, not from the entire population of who have had it but did not get diagnosed.
Mr Egan, you need to be a more responsible journalist.
Bill
1
No No, you have it wrong....Sanders, Biden, and the rest of the men need to exit! Let the women lead: Warren or Klobuchar with Biden or Sanders as Vice!
1
The Democratic Party is a pathetic collection of total amateurs, without even a statement of purpose or objective.
1
Republican/ Independent/Democrat/ Republican / Democrat opportunist Michael Bloomberg is a spoiler. His agenda is not America’s, his sensitivities are not humanitarian: see the accompanying Op-Ed piece on how he treated working pregnant women ; or, adopting the Israeli tactics of stop and frisk ; or grabbing an illegal third term as NYC Mayor, when the City Charter is clear of the two-term limit He hasn’t said peep about the Sacklers and the opioid poisoning that killed 800k Americans. Will they get a minute of silence every year as well? And on and on. Amy Klobuchar should remove herself. She was propped up by Bloombergian money to hurt Sen. Warren. Stayer can’t buy political office with money, even if he has good intentions.
Bernie has not been vetted properly and his positions are not fully developed. That leaves Sen. Warren again as the best choice for out times , if we all want a reset of our government . If the unthinkable happens and Bernie keeps moving up, Biden would be a much better and only choice.
NO on Warren leaving the race!
2
Please tell us something we don’t already know. I’m tired of the opinion writers and pundits who get paid for telling us what we already know. How about offering some news/opinion that hasn’t been turned over and mined hundreds of times? Thanks.
Personally I’ll vote for Warren, but my 30 year olds love Bernie, and I welcome their motivation.
Thomas Friedman made a good point about the Democrats forming a team of rivals and going after Trumpism with a united front under a huge tent.
We need to reform the Presidency itself. Trump is a malicious moron who’s one talent is finding and exploiting weaknesses in people and systems, and he has proven that there is too much concentrated power in that office without more serious safeguards.
2
"Bernie... a grumpy ideologue with a heart condition who sees the world as a class struggle."
What world do you live in?--without class struggle? Does equality prevail? Or are the bottom feeders grateful for what oozes down?
As for "ideologue"--that's consistently committed to a value system--reality/ideality--and a strategy to go from one to the other.
You prefer what?-- free from law and logic marketing?--lies, lies and meta lies?
1
Another Times column where Tulsi Gabbard is She Who Must Not Be Named. Of course it's not surprising that the newspaper that was one of the biggest cheerleaders for the Iraq War would restrict its coverage to one candidate who explicitly voted for the War, and another who voted for the 1998 Act (supporting the overthrow of the Iraqi government) that Bush 43 used to sell it to Congress instead of the woman who was actually deployed there.
Shameful.
3
Vote blue no matter who and stay focused on flipping the Senate!
2
As much as I like him, and as proud as I am as a gay person of him, Buttigieg can't win. Steyer just can't get any traction. Sanders will be eviscerated by the RNC and is the left-wing version of Trump, a self-righteous authoritarian with skeletons in his closet. That leaves Warren, Biden, Bloomberg, and Klobachar. Warren comes across as a whiney elitist intellectual who's never going to connect well with people outside Cambridge, Amherst, Chapel Hill, Berkeley, Boulder and Madison. Bidrn seems confused and in a match-up with Trump, with come across as a bumbling grandpa. That leaves Klobachar, who has the smarts and skills and Bloomberg, who has the money and hatred of Trump is spend whatever it takes to destroy him. For me, a Bloomberg/Klobachar ticket is the final answer.
4
Can we ignore Egan and use this space wisely?
2
Yet another piece in the "newspaper of record" that equates the nomination of Sanders with the destruction of the democratic party. What's the matter with you guys and gals? At least Mr. Egan falls short of predicing the end of the free world as Mr. Brooks, patently misinformed about the liberal political tradition that includes Locke's defense of regicide and revolution and Mill's embrace of socialism, has recently done. So why is a candidate who has a groundswell of support among the young, an ethnically and racially diverse coalition, a massive grass roots campaign and policy positions on health care, student debt, and education embraced by a majority of the electorate deems a "dogmatic" revolutionary, or, if you're prone to really hysterical hyperbole, a "Nazi?" What do people like Mr. Egan and his media cohorts believe Sanders going tp destroy? Their privilege? Their cultural influence? Their right to either ignore of scream down those with whom they disagree with impunity? Their corporate sponsors? The NYT op-ed page? What?
1
How about Biden? Let's get rid of Biden, Klobuchar, Buttigieg, and of course Bloomberg.
Seriously, Biden's a failure.
I see, so of the candidates that are supposed to drop out, it's Warren because she "hasn't worn well," and Klobuchar for being an Angry Woman, while Buttigieg is, well, just too much of "a delight" and "a groundbreaker" to stay in the race. OK, Mister Egan, got it.
1
We'll see if Pete wins any states. Maybe you should stop writing off candidates before 1/3 of the Democrats even vote. Also, enough with the stupid youth jokes: this man is nearly 40, is a Rhodes Scholar, was an intelligence officer, and served as a mayor for 8 years. He is more intelligent than all of the NY Times columnists combined.
2
"Why not vote for a grumpy ideologue with a heart condition who sees the world as a class struggle?"
You're wayyyy out of touch.
1
Bloomberg has no chance no charisma, bad record, African Americans will never support him in large numbers. Mayor Pete, smarmy, disingenuous, and has no charm; Klobucar – weak; Warren is okay but won’t make it; Biden senile; Bernie is okay but can he beat Trump?
Perhaps Elizabeth Warren? She has consistently performed worse than Buttigieg.
2
Republicans will investigate and impeach Biden the day he gets in office. Choose a Democrat that has no scandals in their past. They are all far more capable than our current dictator.
1
Get real. Trump's election was in large part a reaction against the self-righteous, PC elitism of the far left. For Dems to nominate Sanders would just be doubling down with more of the same. What possible good can come of that? In a Trump vs Sanders contest, there are no good outcomes. We'd be lucky to avoid a civil war.
Nobody's perfect. But of all of the flawed democratic candidates, Bloomberg has the best record of accomplishment, and the most rational and non-ideological policy proposals. It would be a tragedy to miss this opportunity because of some ideological litmus test.
389
@Emeritus Bean
Sanders is a socialist, but he does not engage in PC elitism. He scrupulously avoids it. He wants everybody to get the same free public goods he is promising. You can criticize that as unrealistic, but it ain’t PC elitism.
106
@Emeritus Bean So Hillary was part of the "far left"?? IMHO, Sanders could have won the election in 2016. He might not have carried California the way Hillary did, but he would have done better in the swing states that went to Trump.
75
@Emeritus Bean
Good point. And with the spread of the corona virus, the meltdown on the stock market and the world economic order, it is time to give Bloomberg a hard look. This is someone that brought NY back from the dead after 9/11 and has managerial experience to deal with these crises. Timothy Egan writes this column as if all of this global meltdown is not taking place.
44
"The need to replace him has never been greater."
And how exactly are you going to replace him before January 2021? The coronavirus crisis will probably have passed well before that.
Elect a Democrat by all means, but in the meanwhile retain civility towards the man who will be president for 10 more months.
My own preferences for a coronavirus czar would be Bill Clinton, a very successful president, or perhaps mayor Bloomberg. Attacks on Trump have become so "obligatory" that cooperation will be hard to achieve. And yet, we MUST look for that precious cooperation.
Americans MUST come together to address our common problem.
3
AT one point you refer to Sanders' supporters as "kids". I assume you are referring to the large Hispanic coalition that propelled him to a large margin of victory in Nevada.
That's pretty demeaning and condescending, at best.
5
Oh Timothy, if only we could all have the candidates of our choice the way you do. Unfortunately for those of us who wish for a clean, orderly election, Democracy isn't quite so accommodating.
A couple points you missed.
Joe "foot-in-mouth disease" Biden is in fourth place by delegates and hasn't yet come close to winning a single race.
Bernie "I'm never wrong" Sanders will be - if nominated, the first Democratic candidate to see me staying home.
He's not only bad for the party but bad for the country. The Don does not make Bernie viable in my view. Let him keep ripping up the GOP. We don't need a Jeremy Corbyn Labour wrecking the Democrats foreseeable future.
2
The Democratic field may be flawed, Mr Egan, so what? ANY one of them from Sanders to Bloomberg would be light years superior to Trump. The flood of these negative medial columns will help hand Trump the victory.
10
Warren would be the best candidate. She supports "progressive" policies but realizes the need for compromise to get things started. I think her clearly outlined plans would appeal to centrists who might want to know how any of the plans would work. Also she does not shout all the time.
6
Filter out everyone who has a good chance of not making it through one, let alone two, terms or too inexperienced to earn the country’s trust, we are left with:
Amy Klobuchar
Tom Steyer
Elizabeth Warren
Maybe it’s the others who should get out of the way.
3
I was nervous about this field from the beginning. But, Trump's utter incompetence is catching up to him. Another few months of this ineptness will place any of these candidates in a position to beat him.
5
Agreed! The Democratic field needs winnowng.
It's doubtful Biden can win against Trump, even if the DNC bends ALL their rules in his favor. Unfortunately, he's not a very quick or clear speaker, prone to defensiveness. His cognitive ability is in doubt. His tepid program puts the U.S. where it was 4 years ago, then inches incrementally forward. It's not sufficient.
Sanders offers a bold vision. It's better to go into office with a big idea, and work incrementally toward that -- and don't think there will not be plenty of lobbyists, fossil fuel, chemical, and pharmaceutical corporations ready to fight him -- rather than to enter office with a tepid, status quo, vague program.
I like Warren. She's smart and plans well, but can't beat Trump. "Mean Boy" Buttigieg, who uses his tongue lashings to hit below the belt, and "Mean Girl" Klobuchar, full of sarcasm and self-praise, can go.
Reep-in-Dem clothing, Bloomberg, buys votes with ads and hires people to post nice stuff about him on Facebook, rather than actually meet voters. We only know that he's rich, racist and sexist. Out.
Steyer can't win, either. He and Bloomberg need to donate to other Democrats--Sanders or Biden.
2
Agreed! The Democratic field needs winnowng.
It's doubtful Biden can beat Trump, even if the DNC bends ALL their rules in his favor. He's not a very quick or clear speaker, prone to defensiveness, which puts his cognitive ability in doubt. His tepid program sets the U.S. where it was 4 years ago, then inches incrementally forward. It's not sufficient.
Sanders offers a bold vision. It's better to go into office with a big idea, and work incrementally toward that -- and don't think there will not be plenty of lobbyists, fossil fuel, chemical, and pharmaceutical corporations ready to fight him -- rather than to enter office with a tepid, status quo, vague program.
I like Warren. She's smart and plans well, but can't beat Trump. "Mean Boy" Buttigieg, who uses his tongue lashings to hit below the belt, and "Mean Girl" Klobuchar, full of sarcasm and self-praise, can go.
Reep-in-Dem clothing, Bloomberg, buys votes with ads and hires people to post nice stuff about him on Facebook, rather than actually meet voters. We only know that he's rich, racist and sexist. Out.
Steyer can't win, either. He and Bloomberg need to donate to other Democrats--Sanders or Biden.
1
If the choice is only Sanders or Biden, the Democrat's Time Has Run Out.
6
Mr Egan, Generally I love your writing and insight. But now, you would be wise to take your own advice. Get out now. Quit writing about the Democratic primaries. You have no insight repeating what all the other Times' opinion writers who get paid well and have have great health care benefits. You all just repeat yourselves and each other in your own echo chamber. It's become boring with the phone-in columns. You, Frank Bruni, and Bret Stephens must have the same ghost writer. Please return to your intelligence and beautiful writing.
Many of us are tired of the Times' platform that is now being used like a sledgehammer. We understand Trump is the biggest threat. We could have a brokered convention. The Times really dislikes Bernie Sanders. If people would wake up and internalize the the threat that Trump is, they would realize immediately that a moderate is what the country needs. Get rid of Trump, make a couple of tweaks, call it progressive and voila! The status quo is restored and all is good in America again.
Some of really do have a different analysis.
5
"Four more years of Trump would be catastrophic. Look what’s he’s already done — attacking Supreme Court justices, trying to interfere with the rule of law, ousting good public servants to get revenge — since impeachment."
But he has not invaded Afghanistan or Iraq and the bombing of that Doctors without Borders hospital did not happen under HIS watch, it happened under Obama.
I think some of the Democrats are better presidential material than Trump. But "Trump is a disaster" is little more than hype. Trump signing an agreement with the Taliban is the answer to Bush's invasion of Afghanistan.
Elect a Democrat but all means, but meanwhile do not undermine Trump. He is still president for 10 more months.
2
Sanders' "dogmatic inflexibility" is a myth ginned up by centrists terrified of a candidate who might actually push for the changes our country needs. One only needs to look at his voting record both in his time in Vermont and in the Senate.
7
On Super Tuesday, since Bernie will win here in VT, I'm casting my vote for Warren, because her agenda is Bernie's except she has detailed plans to carry it out, and I want her to stay in the race.
In the meantime, "Moderate and progressive Democrats must find a way to build a governing coalition together. Neither can defeat the other. Neither can win without the other. Neither can govern without the other.
If they don’t join together — if the Democrats opt for a circular firing squad — you can kiss the America you grew up in goodbye."
7
You, like so many in the media, assume it's only the "kids" supporting Bernie. Well, this 67 year old also supports him because he's the now and future of the Democratic party. This party has to stand up for its historical constituencies, minorities, low wage workers, etc., which it quit doing long ago when it became a Republican Lite party. The coronavirus is likely to become the poster disease for Medicare for All, and people will likely see that as the year progresses.
5
@chemteach: The Democratic Party doesn't even stand for one person one vote democracy.
1
Mr Egan
I got a few laughs from your Opinion Piece. I also agree that the field of Democratic Candidates needs to be windowed down. That is the point of the Election.
Personally I think Mr Buttigieg would make a good POTUS, just because he is 38 and looks to be 28 and is married to a man should not eliminate his chance at being POTUS.
There comes a time when the young need to take over as they may actually improve things. Mr Buuttigieg always sounds like the adult in the room and reading his website shows just how thoughtful and intelligent he is. As for his age well he has more life experiences at 38 than many do at 70.
To be clear I like a lot of what Mr Said says until I think about the costs associated with these programs.
I am 69 this year I will be 70 and I am retired living on a fixed income the prospect of a major increase in taxes scares me.
Just an old white man's opinion...
4
@Alecfinn
"There comes a time when the young need to take over as they may actually improve things."
Agreed.
The future of America is overwhelmingly voting for Bernie.
The old, are Pete's voters.
2
@Alecfinn
Again I pressed submit before proofreading.
The sentence that reads "To be clear I like a lot of what Mr Said says" should say "To be clear I like a lot of what Mr Sanders says"
But something demanded my attention when I reread my comment I realized the mistake.
Just an old white man's problems with computers.
What a stupid article, a stupid bit of false logic...I would expect better of you Mr. Egan
9
Perhaps you could share with the rest of us as to why the article is stupid? I think it is bordering on brilliant.
1
All we needed to do to win was to nominate someone that no one hated and that no one was scared of
Easy!
Trump was motivating people to go out and vote against him
People who were disillusioned by Trump would have voted for a non-scary candidate and would not have been afraid to vote for a moderate Dem for Senate or House seats in red-leaning states
But no, people had to get selfish and greedy and go for the extreme candidate that can cause us to lose Congress and give Trump full control
Down-ballot candidates in hard won areas are trying to distance themselves from Bernie so they won't lose, but the GOP are already pairing them with Bernie with words like radical and socialism
To win a maj in the Senate in 2020 we would have to win red-leaning states. That will not happen with Bernie at the top of the ticket
So, even if Bernie wins, he will not be able to get anything done and if he loses,Trump would have more power if he wins back the House
Voting for Bernie makes ZERO sense
Who is the best candidate to win these Senate seats?
It is actually Klobuchar. No one is afraid of her. That was what she was trying to say, that she could win the red-leaning Senate seats where people are disillusioned with Trump
Next able would probably be Biden or Bloomberg
But no, we had to get caught up in a meaningless argument over M4A, which has ZERO chance of getting done because Bernie can't, and won't, have the Senate votes!
We could lose the White House and Congress for nothing!
4
The nominating process is no longer about experience or qualifications. Democratic Party leadership is inept and dangerous. The combined weight of all moderates in this race would overtake the "Bernie Branch" of the Party, but the field is too crowded for this silly primary system to deliver an inspiring candidate for the broad needs of the country. Are we totally confident in an elderly Bernie Sanders, can he lead? Will his ideas unite the country if they cannot unite Democrats or Dem leaning independents? Will a Sanders run deliver the Senate and keep the House? Paul Ryan has warned us, will Dems listen? One of the greatest characteristics of a leader is the ability to step aside to allow the better leader to lead. Sanders is not that leader, we know that from 2016. An inspiring leader keeps an eye on the goal. There is more to a defeat of the Trump machine. Bernie fails to see his own failings, buy his weakness are clear to Republicans. He has already inspired the young, but not the rest of the Fox News leaning electorate, or at least not enough to prevent a Trump win. We have hoped to see a younger leader emerge from Congress or a midwestern state, someone with legislative and administrative experience. Did the Bernie machine prevent the emergence of the next Obama? Or is it inept leadership in the Democratic Party?
5
No time to read these comments, so apologies if this has been said. But if the choice is really going to redound to two guys very close to 80 (EIGHTY), one of whom had a recent heart 'event' and turns red as a tomato every time he yells, and the other is so clearly enfeebled mentally he can't tell Iowa from Ohio, Trump will win. Some elder Dem statesman or woman (Nancy?) needs to herd the cats and cull the field. STAT.
10
I thought my plan was firm as concrete. Warren in the MA primary and the Democratic candidate in the general. But after seeing Warren in the last debate I went right off her. With the corona virus threat, the stock market plunge( which means some of my retirement funds) and all the total ineptitude of trump cult adm, I voted for competence. Bloomberg. I don't care if he isn't a media attraction. I just want the country to work again.
7
Thanks for your opinion. Maybe it's Sanders who needs to get out of the race. 30+ years of blather and shouting is 30 years too much. 30 yeas of nothing, absolutely nothing in accomplishments. He wanted to primary a sitting president. Only Harry Reid stopped and warned him that not one red cent for his campaign, not one seat at the table. He is not a Democrat, he is not a good citizen - unless, somehow, you forget he had been helped by Russia in 2016 and is being helped now, that is not a good citizen. I don't know what you are thinking. Sanders does not have the best interest of the United States at heart. He didn't in 2016, he doesn't now.
Tell me, why are you backing a failed senator, a failed Representative, a failed father, a failed Democrat -since the only time he is a Democrat is when it suits his pocketbook and his ego, a defender of the NRA and gun manufacturers, and a defender of communist dictators? Why should we consider him? He is one of the reasons we are in this mess, and if he gets the nomination, he will be reason why we continue in this mess. And he created a 501(c)(4) to skirt campaign finance regulations. That money is so dark, a coal miner's lamp is needed to identify it. It would be like switching one egotistical, malevolent do nothing for another.
8
@Carol-Ann
Here comes Super Tuesday. It'll all be over soon.
Have a nice weekend Carol-Ann.
1
The Democrats can’t afford to have any of the candidates drop out.
They need to ensure Bernie doesn’t reach the 50% mark so they can steal the nomination from him.
Looks like the Democrats are stuck with Americans having to endure the nonsense so they can cheat Bernie.
2
I think it’s time to have a maximum age to become president, just like we have a minimum. Had this limit already been in place, we could have had a better chance of dumping Trump instead of septuagenarians pushing the 50-somethings out! I’m not holding much hope that they can defeat.
7
@Jon: "I think it’s time to have a maximum age to become president, just like we have a minimum."
I'd like to limit members of Congress to 12 years total time, but they'll never vote for it. Why? Because they all love the power too much.
4
At the risk of boring readers, I am re-posting comments I made the other day in response to Gail & Bret's column. IMHO Tim and Brooks are falling into the same category of "Bernie Bashing" that we all put up with4 years ago. Time for this to stop.
===========================================
Would that I could I would block the ink in your pens for the next 9 months.
By the media's own polling, Bernie appeals to a broad range of the electorate - by age, income, social groupings - yet you continue to denigrate his candidacy.
The more I read the more I sense that there's a "club" which consists of the 1%er's, the media, large corporations and our political class - who want to control the system a la Clinton / DNC 2016 debacle.
===========================================
And for those of you who would excoriate me for wanting to "silence" journalists please understand my rationale:
===========================================
Divergent points of view are vital to our democracy.
Articles such as this one, however, offer no constructive suggestions, no cogent analysis and make no contribution whatsoever to an informed discourse of our presidential politics.
I do not wish to prevent Gail & Bret from writing forever, just on this topic and until the elections are over: think of it as a "Time Out" we've all used with our young kids...
4
@Bob
Unfortunately, there are no divergent views on the NYT Op-Ed page with the exception of Jamelle Bouie, Charles Blow and Elizabeth Bruenig. The rest are corporate fearmongers who seem proud of their cowardice. Michelle Goldberg, Frank Bruni and today Bret Stephens repeatedly attest to how scared, nervous, frightened, terrified they are by B. Sanders. The elitist audacity of this group of overprivileged, overpaid white folk! They don't know the meaning of fear until they've tried to get medical care without insurance, struggled to feed a child despite having 2 jobs and still unable to pay for adequate nutrition as well as childcare, being thrown up against a wall for no reason other than you're unwhite because a Lilliputian billionaire mayor has determined that white makes right and anyone else is up to no good. The daily propaganda spewing from the NYT/DNC trolls has been so unrelenting in its contempt for Bernie Sanders that one reads their lies only to bear witness to how desperate the need to manufacture consent has become. The rest of the pack is no better, Brooks is still fighting the Cold War and is afraid the Russkies are still coming to steal his television machine. That Nobel Prize winning hack Krugman thinks a welfare state is great as long as it isn't here. Leonhardt seems to have 3 pieces published daily that add nothing to the discourse. Egan should stay on his religious pilgrimage and away from a keypad until he finds a soul. Collins is merely glib.
2
I'm not hearing anyone else saying this, so I will: The anyone-but-Sanders chant has gotten louder and louder all week, just as the true seriousness of the Coronavirus crisis, and the Trump team's inept handling of it, become more and more obvious. Just a week ago I was predicting the horror of Trump's being reelected regardless of who the Democrats nominated. But things look very different now; maybe any of the Democrats could beat Trump handily. So here is the DNC/DLC establishment freaking out over the massive power takeover they may well be about to miss out on. Confused, muzzy old Biden is their candidate, it's "his turn," just as it was Hillary's, and Al Gore's. What this reminds me of is 1992, when most potential Democratic candidates took a pass on challenging George H.W. Bush because, after all, nobody could beat him after the "triumph" of Operation Desert Storm.
3
“ Donald Trump makes Bernie viable” is the author aware Sanders gave HRC quite a fight, T didn’t make viable. Quite a fight until HRC and the DNC colluded Sto take the nomination away.
“Attacking Supreme Court justices” did the author lift a pen when a Supreme Court justice attacked a president and his teams right to file court cases. regardless of what Trump does that attack was way out of bounds. Presidents are expected to be political S.C. justices are not.
Get some balance man!
1
There is no evidence whatsoever that Bernie would be a weaker candidate against Trump than Biden. NONE. The Times' incessant railing against the only real economic progressive running for the Democratic nomination in at least thirty plus years has been useful for proving what a tool of Wall St. the Times really is. For decades it has simply spewed the neoliberal party line of the Boomer fat cats who've run the Democratic Party almost into the ground, losing the white working class in droves. Luckily, Bernie is here to get more than enough Rust Belt workers back not only to beat Trump, but to crush the Democratic Party establishment too.
3
@Fred White
True.
Both Bernie and Biden will lose in a landslide as they are equally horrible. In their own way, of course.
1
@Fred White
Well...the times did print an Op-Ed about how Sanders can and mathematically will win. So there is that.
But yeah, agreed about the rest.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/opinion/bernie-sanders-polls.html?
1
Why on earth would campaigns that are financially stronger than the enfeebled Biden campaign abandon their potential to compete for superdelegates at the convention?
South Carolina is largely an opportunity for Biden to quit the campaign with a memorable laurel.
2
Laughable.
Biden and Bernie should get out of the race, along with Steyer and Bloomberg.
You would have the most capable people bow out and leave us with the least capable?
I don't buy it, Mr. Egan.
5
This is smart advice, but the Jill Steins of this election cycle will not take it. And neither will the pundits who promote them on cable and other airwaves and in print. The first sentence of Nu Wexler’s column says it all: “ When Joe Biden was considering running for president last spring, progressive activists circulated a video clip of him delivering the eulogy at Strom Thurmond’s funeral in 2003.”
Progressive activists have an opinion of Biden that is set in stone and is blind to the context in which that eulogy was delivered for a Thurmond who was no longer a segregationist. They are blind to the fact that Biden has not only has double the achievements of any of his rivals, but has learned the right lessons from his errors. The activists have relentlessly cherry picked Biden’s record for the portions that will look worst in the eyes of Twitter culture. They have cherry picked his debate performances for his worst moments, And even as Biden’s errors are magnified, those of his rivals minimized. No wonder the zombie candidates won’t get out of his way. No wonder the king of the zombies, Tom Steyer, is willing to empty out the bank to chip as many percentage points off a Biden win as he possibly can. No wonder the more Trump’s viciousness and incompetence are exposed, the more likely his re-election seems.
2
Buttigieg has more delegates locked down than Biden does. Biden doesn’t even remember what he is running for. He said he was running for the Senate. He said, “If you don’t want to vote for me vote for the other Biden.” Do we need to have two elderly men, one of whom seems to be in the early stages of dementia, and one whom just had a heart attack? Can’t we have one candidate who might be capable of actually serving out one term, let alone two?
2
Thank you! I'm still hoping that Bloomberg can make a run but Klobuchar, Buttietieg, Warren and Steyer have no chance. They should all fall on their swords. My bet is they won't - they won't put country over their now pitiful chances to win - but let's hope they do.
3
I LOVE Elizabeth warren. But she has to choose now
1
"Bloomberg...insufferably paternalistic and ungracefully imperious."
He thinks he is entitled to POTUS by divine right--the right of the Almighty Dollar. Thus by Feudal Aristocracy--which Democracy supposed to have supplanted.
The Oligarchs/Moneylords want to control both parties--to guarantee being beneficiaries of the status quo--i.e. Conservatives.
And maybe secret a regressive--as Warren points out. He would be the Democrat's Trump. He is certainly NOT a Progressive
5
They are all on ego trips, like Bernie. And as with the Republicans the last time around who ended up conceding to trumpy, these Democrats will fall to Bernie. Bernie, in turn, will lose the White House and Congress to trumpy and his sycophants. But these Democrats may keep their jobs or get lucrative gigs on CNN and MSNBC.
5
Cicero in his rants in the Roman Senate initiated the use of preteritio when he said I don't have to waste time with facts telling you how corrupt Cataline is.
Mr. Egan Obviously has been studying Cicero, when he simply says Trump is "a corrupt president"( with no explanation) so we can just pass over that.It is a given.
It is precisely that kind of elitism that has the Democratic party in the shape it is today.
the lack of patriotism in the remarks of ALL the Democratic contenders when addessing the carona virus is on display for all the voters to see.
They could not do more to help Trump.
1
I thought Biden was running for Senate. He said so himself.
3
Sanders is the one who should bow out, who shouldn't even be in the race. He's not a Democrat, and he does nothing but lie when he promises all of his freebies. He knows he will never get any of that passed, but for the sake of power, he will pretend he can do it. He will lose in a landslide to Trump and doom this country.
7
Can you blame younger voters for rejecting business as usual?
3
BLOOMBERG. BLOOMBERG. BLOOMBERG.
All the rest is democratic chatter of uselessness.
4
Trump will win easily. The democrats need some real candidates. First Hillary and now this group? What do you expect?
3
Mr. Egan: Calm down and let the process play itself out according to the rules and survival of the fittest. The ones with the most money, the most stamina and the most popularity will survive the longest until a choice of one needs to be made no later than their nominating convention. It will all unfold in due course, so sit back and relax.
2
Good article. Ranked voting would have shown which candidate has the most support of all voters in the party.
It is counterintuitive that democracy requires persuasion and compromise but humans respond to the dogmatic consistency that undermines democracy. "We need a revolution!" is compelling, but does not pass legislation. "Moderation!" is not a great slogan, but it's the enduring advice from the Oracle at Delphi.
I view the claim that Mexico will build the Wall about as likely as Bernie's repeated slogans & promises that rally the righteous despite having no strategy for their implementation. Trump points his finger at brown people and Bernie encourages resentment toward the "establishment" or wealthy people. So commenters write that Bloomberg, who did much to promote gun safety and deliver the House to Pelosi doesn't "share our values" because he is a billionaire. And other Dem candidates don't make health care a priority. Really?
That there is little chance of dissuading a Trump supporter or Bernie supporter should instill caution and doubt in those voters. Mexico won't pay for the wall & there were 70 Democratic Senators and 26 Republicans in 1935 when FDR was president. We won the House by 11% in 2018 and flipped 28 seats by running moderates. Sanders choices in swing districts lost. None of those new members will want Bernie to campaign for them to harm their chances to repeat. Evidence is not as compelling as emotion, so a dogmatist can win & we may lose.
4
The "insane" part of the primary election process, and the similar bane of the Electoral College is the whole "winner take all" the delegates or electors, rather than the far more sane approach of allocation based on vote results. Proportional allocation based on ranked choices would bring a lot more order and certainty to the process, not constant panic each time we go through the cycle.
3
As much as I like Bernie, and agree with him that billionaires have too much power, it is simplistic to lump all billionaires into the same league.
Mike Bloomberg is as anti-Trump as you can get -- competent, curious, experienced, knowledgeable, straight-talking. Yes, he -- like all of the other Democrats -- has major flaws, but his skill-set is tailor-made for the times we live in, where a pragmatic approach to spectacularly complex problems is necessary for the survival of human society -- and so much more.
9
Mr. Egan is correct about the need to thin the Democratic field, but instead of choosing names, should have just specified that anyone polling below the top two or three, or those with no delegates should get out after next Tuesday. Senator Sanders needs time to weed through potential veep picks and prepare for the scorched earth campaign that will be inevitable with President Trump. Which demagogue will America pick?
Amy Klobuchar is Minnesota nice? Have you seen the seething hatred she has shown towards Pete Buttigieg? She absolutely despises him. She was the self-anointed Midwestern moderate candidate of 2020 until he came along and spoiled it. And with him polling ahead her most of the time, her resentment is palpable. Even your colleagues on this paper have noted it.
Remember, this is the senator who has the highest staff turnover rate. She voted for many of Trump's court appointments even as her fellow Democrats did not. She supports a mining company that has Trump ties. She has a record of being soft on crimes where police are suspected of wrong doing.
More like Minnesota nasty.
Sometimes I think she is a DINO, Democrat in name only.
4
“... Bloomberg, a paper tiger whose billions cannot buy him a joke writer, a man shown to be both insufferably paternalistic and ungracefully imperious ...”
Except it’s no joke that Bloomberg has demonstrated how to lead through huge security, health, economic and myriad other crises, across both sides of the aisle. As if we aren’t in dire need of such qualities now! So it’s a good thing he’s not a jokester. And Bloomberg would trounce Trump, whereas Bernie would lose and has shown no ability to solve problems.
It’s insufferably paternalistic and ungracefully imperious to proclaim Bloomberg needs to drop out.
10
Newspaper columnists like Mr. Egan want the Democratic race concluded already. Why? He reads this stuff every day and is exhausted with the infighting. Having a long drawn out primary schedule with multiple voices allows voters in America to engage. Americans don't want kumbaya. They want a fight. They want to be entertained. So it's better to battle it out. Get ratings. Get attention. Let each constituency have their voice. When it's done, come together. The 2016 GOP process was ugly up to the end, but they eventually unified. Democrats need to go through the same noisy, chaotic process.
2
I think Bernie will win. I then think their will be a military coup.
Bernie is toxic to our political, military, and economic leaders.
Writing off women is also catastrophic. Your essay demonstrates the sort of sexist, even misogynistic approach to female candidates that has helped narrow the field to wealthy cisgender white men.
Yes, the vote is badly split and the field needs to be narrowed. But eliminating the strongest candidate -- Elizabeth Warren -- because she's patient, pragmatic, and poised isn't the way to winnow. Warren isn't attacking Sanders because she agrees with many of his ideas and sees alliances between herself and others onstage, as well. She knows how to collaborate, how to work across differences. If you need someone to shout and bully to seem powerful, you'll miss her power. She's a better candidate than Sanders because she knows how to get things accomplished and has clear, economically sound plans for ideas that Sanders can't enact. She's a woman of both thought and action, and she doesn't resort to bullying or faux outrage. Let's toss Bloomberg off the island first. Bloomberg's history of violent racist policies and sexual misconduct allegations means he should be the first to go.
6
Timothy Egan nails it (again). Please, candidates with no chance, it's not about you – it's about us. We're staring into the abyss. Billionaires, step aside and push for a Dem win in November.
2
"Get out! It’s the title of a great horror movie. But also a necessary public service that should be performed immediately by Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, Mike Bloomberg and perhaps Elizabeth Warren."
Doesn't Bernie still need some coaching/learning? And my guess is that that requires at least some competition at the level of presidential candidate debates. If so, how could that happen -- as you suggest, Timothy -- if Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, Mike Bloomberg and perhaps Elizabeth Warren get out?
And won't Bernie need a savvy VP, like Elizabeth Warren, and a few senior cabinet members after he's squeezed Bone-Spurs' orange juice out (and the pips have been jailed or exiled)? What better way to select senior cabinet people than assessing his closest competitors for the Democratic nominee?
2
Excellent column, yet poisoned with a glaring error about Mike Bloomberg. Yes, the critiques of his style (his lack of it), his inappropriate remarks and his contentious policies are all valid, but they ignore the firmly established competence and capability he would bring to the presidency.
Yes, billionaires have way too much power, but in Bloomberg's case, that power comes with a set of skills this nation desperately needs. Our complex world needs a gifted manager who surrounds himself with experts that comprehend the complexity and can steer our way through it. He's the anti-showman we need.
13
If non-Democrat Sanders is the Democrat nominee, prepare to see ‘Bern’ up and down the ballot. Not only will Sanders not win the White House, he will cause the party to loose seats in the Senate and may give the House back to the Republicans. His brand of social democracy may send the Democrats into the wilderness for a decade.
5
Anyone who thinks Biden has a chance of winning against Trump has not actually seen him in action. (He was my senator for years). His native habitat is the club rooms of the Senate, where he excelled at being chummy with Southern Segregationists and lobbyists. He has a desperate need to be liked by even the farthest right senators, so he often ends up playing the chump. He has never really had a program apart from advocating for the big Delaware banks, and although he is friendly (where Sanders is crabby), Biden is also deeply paternalistic to women and minorities. To be electable, you actually have to win elections, and if he somehow breaks his pattern of primary flame-outs (1988 and 2008), then he will be crushed when he has to run against someone who is unwilling to like him.
8
I am impressed with the number of “centrists” (i. e. apologists for the capitalist way of life) who are soiling themselves in fear of a Bernie nomination.
Let’s remember one important fact: the 2016 nominee - well-funded and centrist - lost to Trump.
Stop blaming Bernie for the Democrats lack of vision.
6
Much of the world is a class struggle. Get used to the idea.
6
Bernie is winning. Doesn't matter what all the haters want or dont want. Id like the writer to stop writing.
Dont tell our candidates to get out of the race.
Why after two mismanaged caucuses must we suddenly limit the choice to two - forgive me - old white guys who do nothing but rant? One about refusing to cross the aisle and the other only about crossing the aisle, but neither with any feasible plans or proposals.
7
Biden versus Bernie. Two men of advanced age. One seems to be in the early stages of dementia. The other just had a heart attack. Neither of them would be capable of serving two full terms. I have my doubts that either could even serve out one full term. Is that a solid plan?
8
What's the worst that could happen?
Sanders gets elected, the Dems keep the House
but don't quite win a majority in the Senate.
So nothing much really changes after all,
except for the urgently needed result- no more Trump.
After Bernie's 30 years of political leadership in Vermont,
we have yet to see any work camps or Stalinist purges.
And Vermonters still have their guns and their cows,
and life goes on.
But what's the worse that could happen?
It's 1860 al reverse, Bernie wins, Dems keep the House win the Senate, and the Republicans
follow Trump who won't step down, citing rampant
voter fraud and a scheme for communist take-over.
Then, which side will secede?
2
Sociologically it is interesting to read about all the anti-Bernie strategies and ploys. That Bloomberg is a former George W Bush Republican supporter, a guy who said he loved Donald Trump who, according to him in 2011, is a "great guy" does not stop liberals from considering he is a savior. Who better than a racist, sexist billionaire to defeat a racist, sexist, vulgar billionaire?
The Dem party is getting ready to re-elect Trump out of spite for Bernie. If Bloomberg or Biden are forced down the throat of ordinary Dems the anointed candidate will not get millions of votes from angered Dems. Once again the undemocratic shenanigans of the not so democratic Dem party will had the election to the conman on a silver platter.
After the utter fiascos of Russiagate and the impeachment the Dems are once again choosing an approach that will reinforce Trump. One cannot help feeling that they fear democracy more than plutocratic Trump.
3
Why are you panicking? Let the process work its way through. The Coronavirus is going to cause more problems for Trump than he can handle.
4
Hmm based on people in NH, Iowa and Nevada? Nope. Lets get some results from the rest of the country.
2
I am really tired of the NY Times denying Elizabeth Warren credit for her delegate wins and refusing to admit that she brings strong and doable progressive policy to what is otherwise a weak field (corporate democrat Biden or that republican Bloomberg--really?). So tired that I subscribed to the Washington Post to get some sanity which might move this country forward and not maintain the status quo. It is worst there. Hey media, stop trying to manipulate us. A smart, tough woman can win and it is Elizabeth Warren.
11
Your preaching to the choir with me. Someone needs to ask Bernie to explain how his revolution is going to get off the ground? No debate to date has put his feet to the fire about how is his revolution going to be paid for.If Bernie wins the White House and loses House then what? Open borders is going to fly in the general election? Praising Castro is going to win votes in Florida? Maybe a repeat of McGovern 72 is needed to bring us back to sanity.
3
Feel The Bern Timothy. He the only real, authentic candidate and has been for 45 years.
1
When will the unity start? I am exhausted reading and watching this Democratic mess.
5
Bernie didn't "GET OUT" in 2016 and we ended up with Trump. Why should any of the Democrats get out now? What goes around comes around.
3
Oh, for Pete's sake! You - and other pundits! - spend years whining about the state of the world and agitating for change. Then when change is at your doorstep, you refuse to embrace it.
Identity politics is dead. Issue politics is here. For me, stopping US wars of imperialism is the number one issue. It has been since 1965. For most US voters, the number one issue is healthcare. Sanders has the best grasp on the solution. Ergo, Sanders' popularity. He is also more likely to get us out of Afghanistan and Iraq and all the rest of our covert wars.
I have been working for change in the US death culture for over fifty years. I welcome Bernie Sanders as nominee and President.
6
Every Democratic contender has serious issues. Buttigieg, Klobuchar, & Steyer shouldn't hang on. I am disgusted that Bloomberg's candidacy is all about his wealth.
But Biden also would help the Democratic party & the nation by dropping out ASAP. He is one of the most inept political candidates I have seen in my over 50 years of following politics. His 2 prior efforts to get the Democratic nomination (1988 & 2008) were pitiful & quickly imploded without earning a single delegate. He is a veritable human gaffe machine who serves up ammo for GOP attack ads at a dizzying pace. He naively tries to compromise with Republicans who have no intention of yielding an inch, so he can offer us nothing better than "GOP Light" & will never produce the changes hungered for by Democratic leaning voters. He is a creature of a bygone era.
Sanders has a loyal core of 30% of the electorate, but cannot expand his appeal beyond that cohort. He's clearly the opponent Trump prefers to face, so the Russians are busily boosting him, at the behest of Trump's master, Putin. An organized "Stop Bernie" movement is growing stronger. Most Democrats hunger for a viable alternative.
Egan should omit Warren from his "get out" list. Only Warren is acceptable to both progressives & the Democratic party establishment. Disappointed Sanders supporters will take her over any "moderate". Hence, she is best positioned to unite the party & lead them to victory in November.
10
“A veritable human gaffe machine” - brilliant!
2
Joe Biden? Please. He should have ended his political career after his VP term ended. It will be Hillary 2.0 in an election against Trump. Biden doesn't have a chance. If Bernie is in the lead and the Dems allow their super delegates to swing (i.e. rig!!!) this election to Biden, they are guaranteeing another loss to Trump. My household likes a Bloomberg /Warren ticket with Mayor Pete in the mix somewhere...
5
I've just arrived home from work. In the Age of Trump, I check the NYT once I set my briefcase down and before making dinner--so much can happen that torques the world in the course of my work day, I want to know; the degree of distress the news brings defines how intricate my meal-making will be, as a distraction from the stress.
But this op-ed's headline and sub-head depresses me.
In 2016, we all complained and kvetched that the Dem primary was rigged. We wanted more choices beyond Hillary--and yes, Bernie, too. Here we are, 4 years later, with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to political talent. And ethics. But the media churn is winnowing (with relish) our choices before the primary season even really starts!
Our democracy is in tatters, not just from Trump--but from blindsiding "coverage" from the mainstream media, too.
3
“In a world where fake is easy to create authenticity is hard to define.”
This is a quote I heard from a reporter on Bloomberg TV as she was covering technology.
No I’m not referring to the president’s habitual way of pretending he doesn’t like the news media.
I’m referring to the feeling that Joe Biden can’t overturn the public’s feeling that he is cooked.
I think South Carolina will be a game-changing moment on the Democratic side when Joe walks away the winner.
1
As a Viet Vet and a true blue progressive in the reddest of red states here's my take. If my 'party' puts forth Bernie Sanders it will be no different then the outcome of Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, all of whom I sadly voted for. I actually voted for Humphrey, while I was on leave.
In the '70's, Bernie was a anti-capitalist, anti-war Liberty Union Party of Vermont in two Senate and two gubernatorial races in Vermont. He lost all four races and resigned from the party in in the late 70's.
In 1981, Bernie made an independent bid for mayor of Burlington as a 'socialist' and won by 10 votes over the city’s Democratic mayor, and went on to win three more terms as a Independent 'socialist.
"I am not now, nor have I ever been, a liberal Democrat," he said in a 1985 New England Monthly!
In 1988, he explained when he unsuccessfully ran for Congress "Socialist is the political and economic philosophy I hold, not a party I run under".
Trump will make mince meat out of Bernie. The party needs a strong centrist or partially conceived Reagan Democrat. 18-29 year old's are not going to decide any Presidential electoral college win. You need middle age and older Whites, especially suburban woman. The Blacks have to vote in force and of course the Latino community. If Biden wins, the Black caucus and every Politician with a 'D' besides their name will support him. Both Obama's will campaign for him and donors like Bloomberg will fund him. Win, win!
4
So the smart, sensible guy should get out of the race because he is too young, in order to make room for a bumbling gaffe master who will turn 80 when he takes office? I would say it should be the other way around.
6
Biden? Good Lord. Just the other day in South Carolina he announced that he was running for Senate. The man needs to retire. Trump would destroy Biden in televised debates.
4
Bernie is not my first choice, but if he wins the nomination, I'm full in to support him and I'm counting on the rest of the DNC to do the same. Anything less would be single most foolish act of ego and vanity my party could possible muster.
As he inches closer to claiming the mantle, I'm doing my best to educate myself about his positions and to make sure that I am educated enough to do my part in fighting off the certain GOP smear campaign. It's time for the DNC to embrace a single candidate and for that person to embrace the notion that they alone don't represent the entire country and to acknowledge the great talent of the crew that remains on the stage by welcoming their ideas and support. If Bernie can do that, it would go a long way to help people like me to support him whole-heartedly.
The sad truth is that the Democrats do not have one single outstanding candidate in the whole bunch. One could go down the list enumerating the defects and flaws of each and every one but Mr. Egan already suggested many of them.
Perhaps if the convention is deadlocked in July, the Democrats might do something brilliant and draft a surprise candidate that everyone (except, of course, Bernie Sanders) could agree upon. Sherrod Brown??!
Just kidding :) A thought like that might be considered akin to believing in Santa Claus or the "tooth-fairy". Moreover, it could conceivably subject the speaker to bodily harm by enraged Sanders' supporters:)
3
Everybody’s so sure Bernie will lose in November. Everybody was so sure Trump would lose in 2016 —both pundits and pollsters. Here’s a radical idea. Wanna get rid of Trump? Get behind the Democrat who wins the nomination, be it (gasp) Bernie or be it (gasp) Bloomberg.
5
Wait a second! In the only three states that have voted to date, according to Wikipedia’s tally, Buttigieg easily out-polled Warren in the popular vote in Iowa, 43,000 to 35,000; New Hampshire, 72,000 to 27,000 (with Warren from Massachusetts just next door); and 18,000 to 12,000 in Nevada. And it’s not Warren – who is so close to Sanders on the big issues so many are so concerned about – but Buttigieg who has to leave the race right now???
And as for Biden, Buttigieg out-polled him by 20,000 in Iowa and by 48,000 in New Hampshire, and lost to him in Nevada by only 1,600. True, Iowa and New Hampshire’s electorates are far less representative of the national than Nevada’s but not by nearly so much as would explain Biden’s weakness. Could it possibly be Biden's always looking to the past, and his generally marginal to poor performance as a candidate, among other things, often getting tongue-tied, sometimes to the point of incoherence? It’s not clear that Biden will even be able to complete the campaign much less a full term as president should he somehow beat Trump.
Biden has been truly dedicated in office and is projected to win big in South Carolina. Looking beyond that nobody knows for sure. But comparing how he has done against others so far, he may well have a hard time repeating that win in many other states to come.
Warren is the best candidate in terms of preparation, planning and positions, and should stay in if she continues to have a path. If others have no shot after Super Tuesday, they should get out, including Biden.
3
Well, "who looks too young to shave" re: Pete. Cute, but not true. He most often has a quite visible 5 o'clock shadow. No matter, we can't believe our eyes anymore.
4
Lets make this easy and get the candidates down to one progressive and one centrist after Super Tuesday, instead of having to endure death by a thousand CNN Town Halls along with the usual cacophony on baseball team sized panel shows.
4
"The center cannot hold because there is no center in 2020." And there never was. The Democrats have been on the right in all my years (I'm 70). And they are so right wing that they have been unable to give the people even universal health care - something taken for granted (and therefire center ground) in every single rich country of the world (the OECD) bar none. Or rather, bar the USA.
And to argue the case for it is to be besmirched, McCarthy style, as socialist (or worse.) And, if I may, the NYT has a dog in this fight too, as it claims the centre ground and the right to say what this means.
Bernie or Warren. In both cases it's about time on the central political choices of the day. Cannot the bravehards on the editorial board step up and say so? And where is the British boss at the Times, who understands this situation very well? Time I think - in the age of Trump - to declare where a proper, ethical and moral center ground truly is, or should be.
Go for it!
2
Why does Buttigieg need to get out of the race? He has actual delegates already locked down. I’d much rather see Bloomberg leave the race. He hasn’t participated in a single primary or caucus. Why is he considered viable?
3
Not of big fan of Bloomberg but he wasn't even on the ballot in NV and I understand they can't write in. So prediction with regards to Bloomberg is absolutely premature.
1
Great column Mr. Egan.
We accuse Donald Trump of having an enormous ego which results in all his policies and actions designed to benefit Donald Trump. Unfortunately, the same can be said of the Democratic candidates with little or no hope of capturing the nomination. For them it's more about ego than helping the Democratic Party defeat Donald Trump.
4
Tim, may I suggest that before you discard Elizabeth Warren you take the time to learn about the real Elizabeth Warren, not the one we all to often are given here in the times.
You will find her in the March 12, 2020 New York Review of Books in an essay “Warren In The Trap”. The author of the essay is Caroline Fraser who recently received the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
In connection with this suggestion that one has often to go to other sources than the Times to learn about American political figures of importance, I report that today in the Magazine section of my Swedish Newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, I find a multi-page report on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - full page picture on the cover - that tells me about the true ACO in the same nuanced way that Fraser tells us about Warren.
And in closing, the same was true for Kamala Harris who in the Times was always Black/African-American ”race” but in Dagens Nyheter became an individual characterized in part by her lines of descent and in part by the crucial role that her mother who came to America from India played in her upbringing.
If you can read Swedish and want to learn about such Americans, best to visit DN.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
3
Living in Europe, I'm not exposed (thankfully) to the constant stream of ads, talking heads, and nightly news drama. I get a different viewpoint.
I look at the records and follow the money. I have Amy as the least flawed and who also has the least amount of campaign cash. To her credit she only takes from small donors.
So who owes who for their poll numbers. The playing field is hardly level or democratic.
2
I would like to encourage everyone to just close their eyes for a moment and think really seriously about this year 2020 and what it means.
This is the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment giving women the Right To Vote!
Only since 1920 have women been able to vote for a say in the government they live under. Please digest that for moment and think how you would feel to be told you couldn't vote...you weren't important or smart enough to have a vote!
I'm sorry to say that I haven't thought much about that until the last 10 to 20 yrs but I think about it a lot now ... and we need to do justice for those brave women who worked so hard for so long to make this happen for us!
We, men and women alike, have the opportunity this year to do that by voting for a smart and competent woman like Senator Warren, a person we know will try to make all our lives better.
So, I have decided to "End" the indecision and to cast my vote for the most qualified person who is woman named Elizabeth Warren. Then, should she survive this process, I will talk to everyone I know to make sure we turn out in droves to send her to the Whitehouse! The first woman - ONLY - 100 years after getting the RIGHT to vote.
3
By all means, get out of the race. But it should be Warren or Sanders. Admittedly, I live in a bubble but apparently, so does Egan and the mainstream press. all of my friends who have been vocally anti-Trump see Bernie Sanders as a greater threat to the Republic than Trump. I do not overstate the numbers, when I say far less than 10% of those that I know, who characterize themselves as centrists, left of center, and traditional Democrats would support Sanders. My wife and I cannot stand Trump. Yet, I am a first-generation, bi-racial American. My mother emigrated to escape the rise of Communism, my father did the same from Yugoslavia, post-Tito's rise and nationalization of all property. I will never vote for a Socialist regardless of how he perfumes the pig. Sanders not only makes likely a Trump re-election, the establishment of a Socialist as the head of the Party irreparably damages the Democratic party. There will be a schism between those that see Socialism as a a new America and those like myself that will reject Socialism even if it means re-electing Trump. The Democrats must find a centrist. period.
4
@Boswell They are nervous not because Bernie will assault their patronage incomes but because he would very probably lose to Trump, regardless of what recent polls say. Unfortunately, most current voters' personal memories do not extend back 48 years to George McGovern.
3
Mr. Egan,
Thank you for the column and I hope the candidates are reading it.
It is very hard to understand what this number of candidates think they can accomplish? Things might be a little different if we didn't have so many states in the super Tuesday primaries, but we do and NOW is the time for some of them to get out.
My first pick would be Mayor Pete, who I like a lot, but he is clogging up some important channels. I've also begun to think about all the billionaire donors he's courting and I ask myself why would these wealthy donors be funding him when they know he has no chance? Therefore, I would like to see NYT do a rundown on these donors and what their motives are. Maybe they're the spoilers and Mayor Pete is just a gullible person?
Tom Steyer, Mr. Bloomberg, maybe Klobuchar should go!
...And I have lost respect for Senator Sanders for being in this race to begin with and I now believe him to be just as egotistical as many other politicians. That feeling has been enhanced by learning that he believes a plurality of delegates should give him the nomination at a brokered convention instead of following the rules he agreed to 2 yrs ago.
I do feel that if Biden manages to hang in, his VP should be Sen. Warren not Klobuchar. ...and if Senator Warren could pull it off, then her VP should be a more conservative person like Governor Bulloch.
Don't need 2 progressives on the ticket, or 2 women. We need some balance and a nod to voters of all stripes, please.
6
@Blanche White How ridiculous: so just for being in the race, you've 'lost respect' for Sanders? Explain the rationality of that, if you can....! Shall I similarly lose respect for anyone who dares to enter a race for high office, and reserve my respect for people who don't bother?
Thinly veiled desperation to maintain the Clinton Duplicity Wing's hold on the Democratic Party. Time to cast Joe Biden and that Rockefeller Republican legacy to the wind. It was complicit in the ongoing Reagan Restoration, the most damaging US political force in the last hundred years.
4
Yes, Tim, at least 4 need to get out of the race and I would add Biden to your list and remove Warrem-
But not a one of us, you or the 855 comment authors, can point to a single one of those 5 who will voluntarily leave.
As a long-time Sanders supporter, I still would prefer Warren and take heart from those of the 855 who point to the importance of Warren staying in the race.
Could Warren by a Vice President to Bernie Sanders? Or to phrase the question differently, who is the person, candidate now or not, who would be the Sanders Vice President who could help in critical states?
Any suggestions?
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
3
Dear Mr. Egan, I am a staunch fan of yours and couldn't agree more with this column. I dislike all of these candidates and especially Bernie Sanders. Couldn't the Democrats do better?? Bernie will lose to Trump period. I cast my absentee ballot for Joe but feel on shaky ground. I would love to vote for Sherrod Brown or Cory Booker.
4
@Pleiades - You may be a fan and agree with the column yet you seem to have missed the point of the column, fewer, not more is best.
Past tense "cast", has California absentee voting?
Just curious
Citizen US SE
Dear Mr. Egan, I am a staunch fan of yours and couldn't agree more with this column. I dislike all of these candidates and especially Bernie Sanders. Couldn't the Democrats do better?? Bernie will lose to Trump period. I cast my absentee ballot for Joe but feel on shaky ground. I would love to vote for Sherrod Brown or Cory Booker.
3
Given that the Republicans are making no secret about their efforts to get their voters to vote for their preferred (i.e. weakest) Democratic candidate to face Trump (essentially Sanders at this point) in open and semi-open primaries in South Carolina, California, and elsewhere, it is entirely irresponsible to report election results without noting the fact that results may be dramatically skewed by crossover voting.
Reading many of the columnists and "news" articles, it is almost as if the writers are totally unaware of this significant reality. Bad journalism (to put it politely.)
4
Biden, Buttigieg and Klobuchar should come to an agreement that only the one with the greatest number of delegates gets to stay in the competition following Super Tuesday. The one with the second highest number endorses him/her and agrees to take the second spot on their ticket. No chance that Bloomberg or Steyer would agree to become part of that bargain, at least not at this stage: each one still has too much money to burn. Come to them again after another few primaries by which time Warren will probably also have raised the white flag. That would give us a real choice between Bernie and a single moderate candidate, at which point no one could reasonably complain about the level of fairness with which the party's ultimate nominee would be determined.
4
@stu freeman - A Verified Emeritus re-appears. Welcome back. You also answer questions that I pose in a comment 5 above you, one of those now accepted in a microsecond by the algorithm system, so that I learn what it was like to be a Verified. I would appreciate it if you would look 5 above. I find your comment very helpful even if it does have Warren raising the white flag.
Larry
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
1
Can we see you and Elizabeth Drew argue against each other publicly? Frankly, her argument that the race needs to play out longer sounds pretty good. The scare tactics about needing to end the race RIGHT NOW are frankly a little silly, given how short people’s attention span has become, anyway. The eventual candidate will be a better candidate for having learned how to win and win and win.
5
Regarding Warren... the candidate who would be the best president and has so far shown the most agility in debate takedowns... I wouldn't ask her to bow out. She would destroy Trump in a debate. She has detailed policies and plans that have been thought through. Unlike Sanders, she supports ending the filibuster so that Republicans cant block everything again. Even today, The Root ranked her policies for Black America as the strongest. She should be winning. What damages Warren is perception. The perception that everyone is lining up behind Bernie or Biden. If Warren had optimistic press coverage (and not asking her to exit the race) she'd be leading.
11
In a way, what you say shows what an un-democratic farce our primary system is. As I read I found myself becoming angrier. I don't get my 'chance' to voice my opinion until March 17. I do not like (and am not going to "warm to" - funny choice of words re that angry guy) Bernie, though if he is the nominee I will vote for him in November. That would, in your model, leave Biden. Faithful, long-serving, truly good, dignified, hard-working, avuncular, smart - yes, but I do not think Joe Biden should be POTUS - 20 years ago, sure, but not now. So, maybe I skip that line in the primary or will Joe be gone too.
We need a single, national primary day - everybody votes! This system is nonsense and getting to be more so with every election cycle.
8
Given that the Republicans are making no secret about their efforts to get their voters to vote for their preferred (i.e. weakest) Democratic candidate to face Trump (essentially Sanders at this point) in open and semi-open primaries in South Carolina, California, and elsewhere, it is entirely irresponsible to report election results without noting the fact that results may be dramatically skewed by crossover voting.
Reading many of the columnists and "news" articles, it is almost as if the writers are totally unaware of this significant reality. Bad journalism (to put it politely.)
1
Does a party ever win an election by choosing the “tolerable alternative” - someone no one actually loves, but is sort of a blah that at least doesn’t have so many negatives? Sounds like a strategy for losing. I know some people who agree Biden is a practical choice, but no one who loves him. Excited about Biden? I’d love to hear anyone say those words.
4
@Peter R Mitchell
Joe Biden looks mostly comotose, half asleep. He does look insipid. Senator Sanders on the hand, does look lively, he has a booming voice, which in contrast to Biden is a positive characteristic. Compare that booming voice to Trump's incoherent, mumbling, confused speech and Sanders will very likely win the presidency.
3
Democrats need to buck up. I am tired of seeing headlines and comments that amount to little more than handwringing for far too long. It's propagated by mainstream media because they, yes the NYT included, like to get clicks. It makes them money.
Democratic primary voting draws 10-16% of the electorate, depending on the year. This year's turnout has been mixed so far. Some good news, some bad.
Roughly 8% of Americans have donated to a presidential candidate this year, so far. Bernie's donors vastly outnumber any of his competitors. And they are repeat donors.
Regardless, it's a small, energized fraction of the electorate which decides who is the party's nominee. If you don't vote, donate, or volunteer, don't complain about who is leading the field.
Fret quietly about Bernie's chances or pray silently the DNC will swoop in and some unity candidate will prevail if you must, but the openly aggressive infighting, public handwringing, and fear emanating amongst Democrats must end.
There has been a global wave of Authoritarianism on the rise for over a decade, two maybe, but accelerated after '07. It's a backlash to petty political power struggles in democracies and vastly disproportionate distribution of trillions of dollars gained since the early 80s, while national and global issues fester. Obama both embodied an unwelcome change of order and bore the brunt of that backlash. Reaganism finally collapsed into Trumpism. The time to build something better for all is now.
1
I’m beginning to think that instead of limping along with the current system, we should allow authoritarianism to take hold. The response and backlash to authoritarianism might provide something new. Something better than we can currently imagine. It’s a long view, and definitely not a good idea for short term happiness.
1
@Ben
I've had somewhat of the same thought. But more in the immediate term. If this virus doesn't trigger it there's a true recession coming due in the next year or so. He owns it either way. As do the people who enable him. But yeah not a happy thought. It's a dicey gamble to just let things fall apart.
1
Immediately after upvoting my post, another “recommend.” Is this something which only I can see? Because I am not expressing something people agree with. And the time differential between my upvote and the second recommend was a couple of seconds. I doubt anyone else will recommend it no matter how long it stays up. What’s the deal?
1
Well argued. One can understand why it's difficult for supporters of these excellent candidates to accept the argument; but the logic is impeccable.
It seems pretty inevitable that the Democrats won’t only lose the presidency, but the House as well. That used to frighten me. Now, I am embracing the chaos. Perhaps true anarchy can emerge at some point once we go through the upheavals.
5
No matter how unpopular an opinion I post, if I upvote it someone else immediately also recommends it. Every. Single. Time. I don’t understand.
If you just look at the number of people that show up for Trump vs. any of the Democrats you get an idea of what is going to happen.
Bernie seems capable of pulling in an audience of almost a couple percent of Trump’s and he gets by far the most of any Democrat.
Mostly, Democrats seem to have tea parties for old people while Trump is rocking the House.
4
Big crowds show up to pro wrestling matches and monster truck rallies, too. Probably the same people who go to Trump rallies.
@Ken
While you may have more experience with pro wrestling, large crowds show up to tennis tournaments and cricket matches when there is something worth seeing.
@Ken
I think Trump has his traveling circus for his rallies!
1
This is sad. Biden is being forced down our throats. At the very least Bernie has passion and a set of beliefs to which he is dedicated. Why is it 1960's to want universal healthcare and affordable college. All of a sudden it seems Sanders is being lambasted as a retread to the 60's. What is going on here, Mr. Egan?
6
Win/Win:
Bernie withdraws at the convention, turns his supporters over to Warren, saying "I am too old and the movement is about us not me, and Elizabeth Warren, ("I am a capitalist") as a social democrat, is welcome in the democratic socialist tent.
Warren picks Castro/Harris/Booker as a VP and easily beats Trump.
All is well and we can ignore politics except for climate change.
3
@Ben Bryant
Interesting idea. Except maybe he does, in the end, think it is about him? And the way his supporters are badmouthing Warren on this site makes me think they would stay home en masse? (My goodness. Based on their comments, she must be even worse than Clinton.) Note that Warren has adopted the excellent Inslee climate plan.
2
Biden should drop out. So what if he ends up winning South Carolina?(!) It's not like SC is going to pick Biden over Trump. Democratic voters need to wake up and understand it doesn't matter who ends up with the nomination, Republicans will still call them a socialist. The only way through is to follow Bernie's lead and reclaim the language.
3
Richard, no one in the race but Bernie Sanders is a socialist. Republicans will criticize the Democratic nominee no matter who it is, but only one is a socialist who cannot win in November.
6
Actually, redefine what the center is. The definition of the center should be based on plans for health care provision. That which is center is anyone who fully embraces universal health care provision. Anyone else is on the right.
Bloomberg is a moderate who would help heal the country and get the votes of independents and Republicans who can't stand what trump has done to the republican party. And he would probably have enough coattails to deliver the Senate to the Dems and keep the House from turning over. In normal times, he most likely wouldn't be my first choice, but in normal times, he wouldn't be running. He sees what we're up against and is willing to throw his money into the ring to see that the swamp in the White House comes to the end. I think he is the least riskiest choice and I do believe he scares trumpt to death.
10
I see this going to a brokered convention. Biden isn't a strong enough candidate to get the others not named Bernie Sanders to pull out. Biden will probably do well in states like South Carolina and Alabama where a large percentage of Democratic voters are black but not so well in a number of other states. Bloomberg and Steyer are billionaire candidates and are probably enjoying the attention they are getting too much to withdraw. Whether the others stay or go will probably depend on the results of Super Tuesday. This just looks like the year when several candidates will be able to stay in the race until the end and none will have a majority of delegates. Ultimately I think the super delegates will play a major role in choosing the nominee which will drive Sanders and progressives crazy but might result in a really good ticker for taking on Trump in the general election.
2
Earlier, the consensus among centrist pundits was that Bernie had no chance of winning the primaries. Now that that's been proven wrong, their next line is sure he'll win the primaries, but he'll definitely lose to Trump. But polls indicate the opposite (see the parallel Op-Ed by Steve Phillips). When pundits consistently get something wrong, you have to wonder. Are their predictions worth listening to? Have they simply failed to understand the mood of the times? I think the answer is yes to both.
5
Oh this is funny. Everyone wants moderates to drop out to consolidate the moderate vote but no one can agree which moderate should drop out. Thing is, they’re not all exactly alike.
Meanwhile...the working class votes for Bernie.
1
Tim,
You are rushing to judgement. There is plenty of time to reach a national consensus. So far, I can sense a consensus building around the issue of how to correct the decades long yawning gap in income inequality, improving the availability of healthcare for all, and hopefully take on the serious health harming related diseases, injuries, lifestyle and nutrition issues that are adversely affecting the quality of life of Americans of all ages.
I can also sense a growing awareness that we need to give more attention to our toddlers including their pre-natal care mothers.
Then, amazingly, I can sense that American's want to turn their legendary productivity that we saw in WWII to the problem of climate change. Most of us know that we can evolve away from fossil fuel energy and invent the equipment and technology to provide the planet with non-fossil energy and make everyone in the World better off for it.
Finally, most realize that the era of war and violent conflict have had their day.
Therefore, I think the leader of the newly emerging consensus will be a gifted communicator who will have the political savvy to explain the issues and join the best and brightest of our elected officials in a very aggressive effort to mobilize the international community to make the whole planet a better place to live while setting a good example in our own democratic society.
It would be absurd to get into a long contest of who can lie the best with the shrinking Trump camp.
2
It's beneath the New York Times, Mr. Egan, insulting the Democratic candidates and running around as if the sky is on fire. There have been numerous commentators screaming that the Democrats are in disarray. The real issue is that we have a slate of immensely talented politicians; it's an embarrassment of riches, particularly compared to the Republican candidates vying for the office over the last several elections. Calm down; let the process play out. We may have a very exciting Democratic convention for the first time in decades! In the meantime, think about going to work for a tabloid.
6
Nixon won a landslide victory in his 1972 re-election despite having sub 50% approval ratings because his Democratic opponent George McGovern was broadly viewed as too liberal. The same fate will happen to Sanders. Hence the push to find an electable Democrat at the head of the ticket.
2
I don’t know which candidate I want to get the nomination. But this much I know: politics is unpredictable. Somehow you think Bernie can’t beat Trump or that he’s tear the country apart if he did. Well, maybe he’d fight for policies that the broad public wants and he’d do it forcefully and unapologetically.
5
You got everything right except who should drop out. The correct answer is everyone but Klobuchar. She's the one who can win in the electoral college, keep the House, win the senate, and she's "good enough" on policy. And virtually zero baggage.
5
@Ethan
Oh. Please. Klobuchar to Mayor Pete: "Did you just call me dumb?"
That was so lame. She needs to go back to grade school. (which is exactly where Trump will send her)
1
Ethan, virtually zero baggage, virtually zero charisma, and virtually zero support.
1
Mike Bloomberg would be the man most likely to beat Trump in November. He would preserve Democratic control of the House, and even might give the Senate to the Democrats.
Most importantly Mike would make an outstanding President.
Naturally he is not perfect, but who really is? He needs to loosen up, perhaps by taking some acting lessons.
5
I think in terms of this hand ringing about Bernie Sanders winning the Democratic nomination something very very important is being forgotten. One of the prime reasons we have warped elections in the US is because younger voters don't turn out.Guess who is having tremendous success turning them out and getting them to vote for him?
3
@Bill Langeman This very paper just reported that Sanders' claims of increasing turnout aren't materializing.
5
If you’re advocating putting up a sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered in the general, then I agree: let Biden and Sanders take the fall. They are certainly not going to be relevant in 2022 (not that they are particularly relevant now). But shouldn’t Democrats aspire to more? Shouldn’t we put up a candidate with a fresh perspective, and the fight in them to push it?
2
The broad base and diversity of the Democratic Party are great strengths, but we are also seeing a weakness and vulnerability that seems to be baked in. Are voters capable of choosing a leader who best represents and best serves the broad majority, and even has in mind the best interests of people who don't vote Democratic? I don't see that happening. Some candidates are really trying for the broad appeal, but it's not working: so many voters are focused on narrow partisan interests.
2
Michael Bloomberg did an excellent interview with Kasie Hunt. All should watch it. I especially liked what he had to say about the election not being to select a Debater in Chief, but a Commander in Chief. Mr. Bloomberg convinced me he knows how to lead, set priorities, listen, manage and delegate. He also showed integrity toward his goal. To lump him in with the other candidates loses the focus on the qualities so lacking in our current president and also missing in the argumentative, bristling Bernie Sanders. I don't know how to narrow the field, but feel strongly that the best candidate has been identified in Mr. Bloomberg and it would be a loss to the nation if he were to withdraw from the field and leave the stage to Mr. Trump and Mr. Sanders. Our country needs to catch its breath from the current administration. It also needs strong leadership, honesty, and strategic thinking in the national interest.
8
"Four more years of Donald Trump would be a catastrope." Really? The longest economic recovery ever, record low unemployment for every ethnic group, with the lowest income rising faster than the highest incomes, judges who limit the power of government and thereby protect our liberty. President Donald Trump has hardly been a catastrophe.
9
@Dennis
Correct. And unleashing the coronavirus on the economy will be nothing compared to the destruction Bernie Sanders will wreak.
3
@Dennis Disregarding, somehow, Trump's total lack of integrity, moral conscience, compassion for the average US citizen, and a complete disregard of modeling an intent to bring unity to this country. His massive favoring of the wealthy over everyone else is legendary. So is his sexism. And you're voting for this fellow?
1
Even as a longtime supporter Sanders and Warren supporter, I have to say this argument is exceptionally cogent.
I'm tired. I'm sick of this circus. Let's agree to let the chips fall where they may, have a graceful convention, and then spend the summer and fall shouting either "Joe!" or "Bernie!" until our voices are hoarse. I don't even care anymore.
3
I am not a neurologist, but having watched my mother and my in laws go through cognitive decline and dementia, it saddens me when I watch Biden. He reminds me of my mother when she was first diagnosed with cognitive impairment. For the most part he does OK, but then he’ll make incomprehensible statements like he made in South Carolina, introducing himself as Joe Biden, who was running for US Senate, followed by something like if you don’t like this Biden, I have another one to offer you. Or he’ll forget what he’s saying in the middle of the debate, then there are the comments to his supporters,like calling a young woman who asked him a question a dog faced pony.
Bernie Sanders is the same age, but he is must more mentally astute. How can Egan still be touting the virtues of Biden over Bernie, given Biden’s mental lapses,only a few of which I mentioned. Is he fear and dislike of Sanders that strong that he would risk another person in the White House, like Trump, who is not all there.
I think Biden is probably a good man, but he looks tired. He should go home to Delaware or become an elder statesman, but the time long passed for him to be president. Perhaps had he never entered the race people like Sherrod Brown or Jon Tester might have entered the race. But the DNC didn’t learn their lesson from their coronation of Clinton in 2020 and now we’re forced to listen to the laments of centrists pundits like this, with their doomsday scenarios. They are be imd delusional.
9
Mr. Egan has so often published deeply insightful commentary. Is he really suggesting that Vice President Biden stands a chance to prevail over Sen. Sanders?
Regardless of Mr. Biden's proclivity to insult voters who ask him unpleasant questions, his tendency to mumble and stumble, his horrific behavior towards Anita Hill, and the terrible bills he helped push through, one simple fact alone ensures that he will not be the candidate:
- his support of the invasion of Iraq.
2
A virulent president may finally be felled by a virus IF Democrats can get their act together and unite around a candidate who with the appropriate running mate can unify the party. It's time for all the moderates like Michael Bloomberg, Amy Klobuchar, and Tom Steyer to stop cluttering and diluting the moderate vote of the Democratic Party and step down. The contest should be between the progressive wing of the party of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and the moderate wing of Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg. After South Carolina even Warren and Buttigieg should probably leave. Let Sanders and Biden fight it out for the nomination. But, whoever wins must pick someone from the other side to unite the party against Trump.
How is it in this day and age, of over 300 million citizens in the USA-
that we cannot find a bright, personable, honest, stable, thoughtful person to lead our country?
4
I'm a big fan of Timothy Egan's but if Sanders successfully "primaries" Warren in her home state (as the WBUR poill suggests), staying in the race would represent a level of sycophancy to rival the likes of Devin Nunes, Bill Barr and Lindsey Graham.
Massachusetts will have told her they don't want a better-educated, more articulate and adaptable version of Bernie's progressivism, in other words, tuna with good taste. They're not getting together to sing "I say oysters and you say 'ersters.'"
I would like her to win in order to slow his momentum a bit, but if not it serves her right for running a campaign so derivative of his own.
She should take a lesson from Lady Gaga who can afford to cuddle up to her new boyfriend in public because he's anonymous and he's not going to drop her for Rihanna.
1
Would a contested convention be that disastrous? Is it absolutely necessary to know the nominee before then? I don't believe so. Yes, many of the candidates are over 70, but they're running against a 73 year-old fat man who consumes primarily Diet Coke and junk food. The only voters who believe Trump is more physically fit also believe he's 6'3" and 239 lbs. Yes, Sanders has had a heart attack, and yes he must release his medical records.
The problem presented by a contested convention is the assumption that the losers will take their supporters and go home. Well, if we're honest, that Sanders would take his supporters and go home. I'm willing to risk that to gain a candidate that has true, majority support. Right now, I feel like I'm being bullied into a nominee by a group of people who think holding their breath, and their vote, is an acceptable political tactic. That makes me less persuaded, not more.
4
This narrative that creates a false equivalency between Donald Trump and Bernies Sanders, that Sanders is to the Left what Trump is to the Right, is such a damaging narrative to the Democratic Party and to the country at large that I wonder whether it was born in the Kremlin. While Bernie is not my preferred Democratic candidate, he is orders of magnitude more qualified, more experienced, more reasoned, and more temperamentally suited to the highest office than the man who currently occupies it.
Yes, Sanders' policy positions map out to the far left on a political science diagram. And yes, he tends towards dogma in public addresses. Dogma, not demagoguery. Importantly, unlike Trump, Sanders has a long record of public service that in no way suggests a strident or bitter partisan, but rather a hard-working legislator willing to compromise and consider the nuance of the legislation he's supported. Can you imagine writing anything similar of Donald Trump, a man whose brief service record is rife with inaccuracies (aka, lies), inconsistencies, and ignorance? And where Trump even map on a left/right diagram, anyway--a "populist" who provides tax relief to the rich by cutting services to the poor, who vowed to protect healthcare for the old but continues to threaten Medicare at every turn and who shows zero understanding of the current health crisis facing the nation.
Sanders is an idealistic man, yes, but a reasoned one. Trump is has no ideals and, critically, no reason.
1
People need to get out, but I hope to God it’s not Bloomberg.
Micheal Bloomberg is the only qualified person in the field. And the only person with any chance of pulling the country together after he’s elected.
Sanders as President would literally tear what’s left of this country to shreds.
3
I am inclined to agree with this, as much as it pains me to say it. (I really like Warren, but she isn't faring well enough.)
Let Biden take on Bernie, and may the best man win.
2
I understand the political mix in US is 28% Dem, 28% GOP and the rest Independent.
So at 30% Bernie would have just 8.5% sewn up but a long way from the 50ísh% he needs in Nov. And despite his feverish support base to a lot of people he's a big unknown.
It's not often in politics you get normally sensible people saying the great thing about his policies is they won't get enacted. Bizarre. Rolled Gold Bizarre.
Unfortunately Biden doesn't really seem with it. In Australia we'd say he's off with the Fairies. Bernie also. In fact, here Bernie would be in the Green Party.
Both are likely fodder for Trump.
The rest all have their own problems. Long way to go but at the moment the Dems are staring down the barrel.
1
Timothy. I hope you aren't suggesting that Bernie is a viable candidate for the nomination. Donald Trump would be absolutely thrilled to have such an easy opponent. Bernie would hand the election to Trump and truly put this country back in the dark ages, where chaos rules, science is banned, the country is ruled by the wealthy in a series of fiefdoms. God helps us all.
4
Tim, thanks for NYTimessplaining it all for us. Are you aware of how much you sound like the rest of the WaPo/Times syndicati who already know the outcome of an especially unpredictable process?
I'm not sure if the candidates can hear you. Mayor Pete would be delighted that you called him a delight and even if he heeds your advice and drops out for four years, he knows that a columnist is wowed by his command of corporate retreat platitudes delivered in his best imitation of Obama's voice. He's obviously working hard on both.
4
Fully agree with Egan. The more splintered the party the greater Trump's chance of reelection. We will know if Bernie can sustain his momentum by next Tuesday, and if that's the case, we must unite behind him. The specter of Trump in office through January 2025 should be enough for Democrats to be all in on defeating him.
They all need to concede that Bernie is going to be the nominee. Period.
2
They should concede at the same point in the race that Bernie conceded in 2016. That would be fair.
5
YES! The majority of Democrats want a moderate and do not want Sanders. I hope the Democratic candidates who are lagging behind decide to help our country by dropping out so that Biden, the moderate most likely to win against Trump, will be able to beat Sanders and fulfill the wishes of the majority. Please!
5
So Egan wants our choices narrowed to Democratic candidates in their late 70s? Some of us oldsters think that's too old.
7
Why does Trump favor Sanders? I'd like a clear answer to this question.
5
Easy. Because he knows he can use Sander’s words, over 30 years in politics, against him in the states that matter. The commercials almost write themselves.
5
@reader I know it's bad form to quote a competitor, so please forgive me, but Paul Waldman's column in today's Washington Post (that details why the right wing media machine is having trouble covering covid19) may have some of the answer in the form of a citation to this article:
"Disgust Sensitivity and the Neurophysiology of Left-Right Political Orientations"
Easy. He identifies as a Socialist. The Republicans are going to have a whole lot of fun with that...this is America,remember? No chance bernie..sadly.
I would very much like the right to vote for my candidate before others decide for me that they have no chance to win the candidacy. Let democracy play out. Have faith in the people’s choice.
It’s for this reason I wish the primary had rank choice voting, because it give the voters the chance to break a stalemate instead of delegates.
6
I dont want the others to drop out because I don’t like Bernie and I’m tepid about Biden.
4 years ago we had 17 Republicans with the ideological wing of the GOP very vocally denouncing their lear candidate.
It did not “tear their party apart” or assure a Democratic victory.
I want to see this thing play out. I want to see the candidates who can grow and develop into formidable leaders do so over the next few weeks. Bernie won’t destroy the country and embarrass us on a daily basis but neither will he be able to get anything done. Who else is up?
5
Thank you Mr. Egan. I donated again to Bernie. Sorry to all of the "moderate" neoliberals,but the majority of us want a chance.We are sick of the insurance industry making millions off of sick people,sick of big pharm having people decide between food and medication,we are sick of our young people sinking under student loan debt,or not getting a college education at all.
Boomer here that is retired and financially fine,because both my husband and I were union members.I want my adult children and future grandchildren to have a chance. I want my fellow citizens and their children to have a chance.It is our turn!
3
Mr Egan is one of my preferred columnists almost less partial of all his fellow columnists A recent column on all that was being destroyed Iin systems, waterways, woods, laws to protect the environment and all of nature was extraordinary. This column,, however, if it did not have his name I would not believe was his. Who can forget the 50s and the 69s. who may not understand the horrors of WW II. Who could not understand that an experienced septuagenarian who could take on bringing back the rule of law first could not or should not win and build the experience for others to continue.
I am deeply offended by the characterization of the septuagenarians due to their age versus who can transition and stabilize. Very offensive.
2
Handed a candidate, Bernie, whom the majority believe and trust and the party can’t get behind him? It’s unbelievable.
2
@rebecca1048
You know the primary isn't over and not everyone has voted? There is no majority until that happens and its unbelievable that you could think that.
I voted for Klobuchar, and think she would be a much better choice than Biden or Buttigeig. And way better than Sanders! We have plenty of time before the convention. We have 50 States. We only have results from 3 of them. Calling for candidates to drop out today is premature.
10
Democrats are going in circles because we all know that every candidate left standing is flawed, a consequence in part of a nationalized fundraising and debate process that unnecessarily winnowed out respectable candidates like Steve Bullock. It is also a test of our big tent philosophy, which unfortunately will lead to a candidate that, no matter who it is, most won’t care for.
There is a certain amount of vanity that these candidates on the second tier are stalling. It would be so inspiring to see them say hey there’s a lot of work to be done making sure we get the Senate and the house and I’m gonna focus there and support the president nominee for the democratic party whoever that is. show a sense of solidarity. One person does not save this country from the bottomless pit it’s falling into with the Trump and company
5
It wouldn't be the end of the world if Senator Sanders is the nominee, he may have to have AOC adjust his supporters' expectations of getting anything done, as she has already begun to do with Medicare for All.
I really hope if it's down to two older gentlemen, it wouldn't be VP Biden. I understand how none of the loans or "consulting" gigs his brother/sister/sister-in-law/son got were illegal but they smell bad. And what he did to Professor Hill isn't going to be rectified by nominating a black woman to the Supreme Court.
1
A very interesting column. I agree with almost everything. My one quibble is with Elizabeth Warren. She's toast and needs to leave.
That leaves Bernie and Joe.
5
Mr. Egan - there are many Democrats who don't think Warren took down Bloomberg in the least. She rehashed old news, some of it factually wrong. I have long supported Warren, and after her performance in the last debate I my turn against her. You would do well to investigate the role, treatment, and compensation of women in Bloomberg's organization. They are a model of what should be. If that statement seems outrageous to you, that is a big concern.
7
@Koho Non-disclosure agreements aren't usually signed with people without a reason. Any insights on those?
2
Uh, great essay? I agree with Egan about folks dropping out and think a Bernie/Amy ticket could win but Egan seems to think the world isn’t a class struggle. Please provide evidence to the contrary. It most surely is one. Thinking this isn’t a class struggle is pure NYT privilege talking.
6
Some would say that class struggle is white privilege. Minorities don’t have the luxury of being “revolutionary.”
Sanders is supported by the Russians, by his own admission, because he will split the majority opposition to Trump.
Not only that, he will lose the House and potential Senate majority to Republicans.
Sanders Medicare for All is imposing a health care solution on Americans that people don't want, and will not accept.
Sanders praise of Castro is deplorable. He was a murderous dictator. How can he criticize Trump's dictator fetish?
The Democrats need a ticket that appeals to the great center opposed to Trump.
Democrats have won the popular vote 6 of the last 7 elections.
The two elections in 2000 and 2016 were "won" by cheating: voter roll purging and Putin-GRU assistance.
Stacey Abrams should be a VP on the ticket because she was denied the Georgia governership by cheating, and has been working to address this GOP tactic.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg is the smartest, most tactical candidate running. He can assemble a team of experienced government officials around him like every other President (but Trump) has done.
Mr. Steyer and Mayor Bloomberg should use their resources to help Mayor Pete and Stacey Abrams win the nomination and the general election. They will have saved the Republic and the world for generations.
Sanders is too egotistical to leave the race, even with dwindling vote numbers and a small minority of the Democratic vote.
The Russian's choice for Democratic nominee must be pushed out, along with the Russian's choice for President (Trump).
12
I totally agree with this. Pete's future is in the future. Warren, Klobuchar, have had their shot, and are still in the back of the pack. Bloomberg should fund the democrats, and not run; he could do a great service for the country. Sanders is perhaps the only candidate who could lose to Trump. Give Biden (and moderates) a clear road.
3
Rethinking the candidates and my vote. Taking the big view of where is the country and the world going in the immediate future. There are huge danger signs in every direction: general climate crisis, specific natural disasters of fire, landslides, flooding, heavy rain, severe storms, drought, wide-spread eco-grief as well as apathy and snarling social divisions, the rise of dictators, war drums beating, vast mind-bending through technology, the limits of overpopulation reached by the end of the century as food and water supplies become critical and, of course, epidemics that become pandemics. Which candidate can handle really bad stuff? Which candidate has proved his/her ability to endure personal suffering and still carry on affairs of state? Which candidate has ability to compromise rather than rant and pout and invent impossible dream-worlds? There is no dream world ahead--its going to be very tough. I have come to the conclusion that Joe Biden has got the experience, the chops and the heart. I will vote for him.
4
Most of the country has had no voice to date. Is that how democracy is meant to work? And it's clear from the comments to Mr Egan's column that people are nowhere near agreeing on who should get the nod. I think we need to hold on a bit longer to see if a clear leader emerges.
9
Maybe we should allow at least one candidate who has a chance of serving two terms to stay in the race? Because Biden and Bernie aren’t going to be able to do that. Health and age do matter.
15
I'll try again and tone it down.
These are not normal times.
We have an authoritarian (Trump), with a submissive Republican Party, that don't want to leave office and refuse do their jobs.
Seventeen U.S. intelligence agencies said the Russians manipulated the election in a "sweeping and systematic" fashion to favor Trump.
Both Robert Mueller and intelligence agencies have said the Russians are still maneuvering behind the scenes to get Trump re-elected.
This is normal?
We don't have the luxury to dither about this person or that issue. I think are in a constitutional crisis, and, I'm sad to say, no one is talking about it in the debates.
Even worse, the Republicans are running $1 trillion-dollar deficits every year for the next 15 years -- on top of ~$22 Trillion in existing debt.
The only person with any experience with a crisis, financial markets and large-scale management is Michael Bloomberg.
Extraordinary times require extraordinary people.
13
@An independent in
Our country is NOT a business--very complex peoples, issues and problems interlaced with global affairs. No more "business men" for pres, please. Business men are repeatedly shown themselves to be unrepresentative, inflexible and packed with hubristic egos. Very 19th century. No thanks.
2
I support Amy and have written to her to tell her i am withdrawing that support, but not my admiration. I did already vote for her in the Colorado primary. She unfortunately has not gained enough traction and has had enough time to do so, as have the rest of them mentioned, except Bloomberg. I think he needs to stay in the race and be given more time, a little redemption, a good idea's person to listen to. He did a great job in NY for 12 years and left office with a 75% approval rating. You might want to look at him twice. You want an exciting candidate, i want a competent one who's name i hear every 2 weeks, but whose results are visible and palpable. I'm from NY. We don't care if you own the city. If you do a good job we vote for you. 3 time Mayor is more than impressive. I wish he was handling the Virus issue not Dum dum Pence who doesn't believe in science.
13
Why are so many people fetishizing the government of the United States of America? What is important about America is not the Presidency, or the Congress, or the Supreme Court, or even our our creaky, old, slavery-enabling Constitution.
What’s important about America is the idea of it. To be an American is simple. Despite what Stephen Miller says through his Trump megaphone, any man or woman is an American if they believe that it is self-evident, so obvious that it needs no explanation, that all men and woman are created equal, and that they are endowed by there creator with certain unalienable rights, that God gave us rights that no one can take away, chief, but not limited to, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
That means there are Americans living in Nigeria, Indonesia, China, and Russia. Anyone who believes those words is American.
But that also means that there are foreigners to our beliefs who wrongly hold the franchise in places like West Virginia, Mississippi, Texas, and South Carolina.
So maybe we should stop trying to keep patching together a failing government, and start concentrating on gathering together all the world’s Americans.
1
@Walter Bruckner
Our government is, in several ways, the only thing keeping many of Amercians' rights and resources safe from the "foreigners" within our borders. To abandon its defense would be calamitous.
3
You misunderstand me. The foreigners within our borders are men and women who hate immigrants, who hate change, who blame their problems on others, and who are mean, spiteful, hate-filled, and above all, hysterically afraid. They may technically be citizens of the United States. They may technically have the vote. But they are not Americans. They are the true foreigners.
This is another symptom of money in politics that should have us questioning the role of money in American politics.
Why do candidates stay in a contest longer than they perhaps should? Because America allows direct financing of political candidates, or candidates to finance themselves, rather than financing political parties whose members would then have real power to decide the future of the party, based on the results of intra-party primaries and caucuses. That's basically how other democracies perform the task of staffing government.
Does anyone think a GOP in 2016 would've allowed a Trump candidacy to move forward and completely demolish it's brand, if it controlled the purse strings of the many GOP campaigns? Does anyone think the GOP would've even had 10 candidates vying for the nomination if it held the purse strings of GOP campaigning in 2016?
Same goes for the Democrats today. The American public still suffers under the illusion that the parties matter. They don't. Not really. On both sides of the political spectrum, they are a facade of alleged authority and control that disappeared decades ago.
Part of reforming the American electoral system, once we rid ourselves of this current cancer afflicting our government, should involve not just the financing of political campaigns, but what role we want those political parties to have in vetting their respective candidates for basic fitness for the job, and how campaign financing through the parties might help.
3
Listen up people:
Whether your favored candidate is the nominee or not, it is urgent that the Trump administration be removed. The damage they are doing and have done to our institutions of government are nearly irreparable. Another four years will cement their execrable deeds into our country as permanent marks on our society. Don't "hold your nose" and vote for the eventual nominee. Jump in with both feet and cheer the nominee and sing their praises. No matter who it is, the Democratic Party's nominee will be a better President than the current White House occupant.
13
@Sarah Completely agree. It boggles my mind when I read that some Sanders diehards refused to vote for Hillary after she was chosen over him. Are those people happy now with what Trump has done to the country already? And if Sanders somehow doesn't win this time, his diehard supporters might just stay home again and allow Trump to win again? I cannot comprehend how someone who wants the kind of things Sanders champions could feel that the would rather let Trump win than vote for Democrat who wasn't their first choice.
1
We have enough smug critics. Do us a favor, all of you NYTimes editorialists, and provide a bit of cheer leading. We're not going to change the cast of characters, the electoral college, or the problematic primary process during this election cycle. But we can elevate both the urgency and importance of participation, as well as the lend some optimism to the prospects of change.
11
News flash: Sanders didn't win the primary in 2016, because the majority of Democrats wanted someone else. If he couldn't win the majority of Dems, why would he win a broader audience? It doesn't compute. It was poor strategy for the DNC to allow him to run on their platform AGAIN, and it was poor strategy to start out with 20-plus candidates, especially after seeing how a similar dynamic worked out for the GOP in 2016. But now that they've put the ball in motion, we may as well see how the survivors do on Super Tuesday, and you know, let Democrats in say, Colorado and Texas, have as much say in choosing our nominee as a Republicans in Nevada and South Carolina. The media put their thumb on the scale when they tell us knowingly that Sanders or Biden are inevitable. It's eerily reminiscent of media assuring us of the outcome in 2016, ahead of the actual vote. We're in unchartered territory and the media should get out of the prognostication business and go back to reporting.
17
You hit the nail on the head about the vanity candidates. They should drop out ASAP. Biden certainly has the experience, but he doesn't seem mentally sharp in the debates or speeches and that really worries me. I'm not sure he's the best person to represent the moderates. I'd propose that he drops out and leaves one of the others to be up against Sanders, but unfortunately that's not going to happen.
6
@Ariel
i completely understand where you're coming from, but I don't think the debates are representative, at least the way I see it.
For me, it's about two things with Biden: 1) the running mate and 2) the first year--I'm not looking beyond that, as the luxury of time may not be present and an incredible amount of work will need to be done immediately and realistically. After that, it's all about setting and keeping the course, with the running mate backing it all up.
2
Excuse me, but my vote counts and I'll vote on super Tuesday. To encourage those candidates to drop out before then is undemocratic.
10
Tim, please check the state by state polls. The top three candidates in most states are Sanders, Bloomberg and Biden.
6
Check some of the state party delegate rules. Some of THEM are undemocratic.
Those candidates should run for the Senate--meaning those not already Senators or up for re-election to the Senate. They already have political campaign organizations and could be ready to go. It is so important to have the flip in the party majority in the Senate as it was in the House in 2018. I'm a Sanders supporter and admittedly biased, but I still see more evidence of his being successful in November that people give him credit for. The article in the NY Times just this week pointed out the reasoning--and evidence!--to support this perspective. The complaints about him have become variations of the stereotypical ("grumpy ideologue"), as much as I admire Mr. Egan's opinions.
2
Actually, it's Bernie that needs to get out as he is NOT going to be the nominee. The ONLY thing he can do is get trump reelected like he got trump elected.
15
Some of our democratic candidates do sorely need a “reality mirror” check, but it was good they joined the table with such timely perspectives. The desperation for meaningful dialogue proves itself very urgent.
The question then seems, whether it’s Joe or Bernie who can expand the dialogue without ignoring tough questions. It’s the majority of us citizens, who - silently despair over the lack of conversation - must answer at ballot. Trump was scarily clear, so we should want a candidate who is clear.
1
None of Tim's suggestions will happen before Super Tuesday, however after Super Tuesday, quite a bit of it should and probably will happen. Biden or Bloomberg, whichever does worse, must drop and endorse the other. I'm assuming Pete and Amy will do the same. There are still 60% of the delegates to be determined after that - let the Democrats decide whether they want Bernie or the Biden/Bloomberg alternative. Whoever wins, we all must support.
6
Exactly my points. Good column. All those should leave immediately otherwise if bernie and his followers decide to walk away since he's not a Democrat, the 2016 fiasco will repeat again.
1
Yes. These candidates must overcome their personal ambition. They must do what is best for our nation: getting Trump out of office.
1
Oh, go sit on a tack, Tim Egan. I'm not remotely interested in Biden and my 2016 enthusiasm for Bernie has waned. I am much more interested in what Warren and Klobuchar have to say, even if they are often enough contradictory, and I see no good reason to give them the bum's rush out of the race.
29
Oh. So you want Trump re-elected in effect.
I agree with Mr. Egan. Frankly, the nomination process has become a circular firing squad. Months ago all the candidates professed their common ground in terms of policy and the overriding imperative to beat Trump. But the imperative to defeat Trump seems to have lost out to the exigencies of nomination with its imperative that candidates distinguish themselves from one another -- the effect being for each to question the efficacy of the other's policy along with the other's electability, so that each appears weaker now than at the start. Objectively, the imperative remains to beat Trump, but the longer the nominating process drags on, the less electable every candidate appears. It really is time to put a stop to this process with a political revolution within the Democratic Party, whereby the leadership brokers a "settlement" after Super Tuesday to select the nominee and his/her running mate to avoid a brokered/contested convention. It's time now to have unified party and platform. Yeah, I know -- it ain't gonna happen.
Excellent diagnosis of Warren. Her attacks on Bloomberg used up her only ammunition and wasted valuable air time. In the meantime, Sanders has not been confronted with the reasons that Trump, the Republican Party and Putin favor him.
9
Two thoughts. First, there is no reason for the field to be more than 3 after Super Tuesday. Second, as we all have seen many many times, candidates NEVER choose as their running mates someone on the debate stage. So dont get your pencils sharp for that.
2
Republicans have evolved and are in power because they voted for change and presented and supported it in Donald Trump. Bernie is the Democrat’s only hope. Democrats have to sincerely and bravely commit to a viable alternative for the future or strike their colours.
It's Biden above all (and Klobuchar) who should drop out. The media is making a huge deal of his lead in south Carolina, blithely ignoring his abysmal performances so far and his very weak standing in California and other Super Tuesday states where he has no significant infrastructure in place and little money. He's a weak, flawed candidate who would get demolished by Trump and the GOP misinformation and smear machine. But he will self-destruct way before then, but not before he has irreparably weakened the non-Bernie lane.
9
Warren’s best line of the last debate is when she went after Bernie. She said they had similar ideals, but she had the details to fill in the blanks, and the track record of getting things done.
She probably should be the Dem candidate, but unfortunately doesn’t look like she will be.
25
As a strong supporter of Mayor Pete, in my head, I have to admit that this is right. I don't have any fear of a Sanders Presidency. I just don't believe he can win in November, so we need a strategy to nominate a candidate who can win. My heart wants to say that Pete will pull a March Miracle in South Carolina, but I know this likely won't happen. So, we need to consolidate around a candidate who can both win the nomination and the White House. The looks to be Biden at this point.
7
These candidates have either spent millions of other people's money or tens or hundreds of millions of their own running for office, participated in those horrifying debates, suffered through four far-flung states, endured the town halls, handshaking, baby ogling, and other dire rituals of retail politics and they should jump ship now when barely one hundred delegates have been awarded? That makes precisely zero sense.
15
I find this column offensive to all Americans. We urge people to vote, and yet Mr. Bruni is urging candidates to leave the race after only three states- all with relatively small populations- have even had their say on who the Democratic candid will be. We lost good candidates before any voting even occurred! I think that our broken primary system is one reason why many disengage from the system- why vote when by the time your state has a turn, many of the candidates have already ceded the playing field?
19
@Denise Koetas-dale You've got the wrong columnist.
For heaven's sake, no large state has even voted yet! Only one state had a real primary.
I know you have to write a column every day. But Tom Friedman has had the only column all month that made any sense - all the Democratic candidates are light-years better than the current incumbent, and the new administration should include them all, each holding a job based with their main strengths.
Meanwhile, let the voters decide who should lead the ticket. Don't tell me whom I don't want to vote for!
37
All points Valid and Well Said. Thank you for getting us All back to Strategy!
1
The ballots have been printed, Tim. So wait until next week.
Bernie is running on the Liberty Union ticket/platform of the 60s and 70s. Naive idealism with no specific, practical steps to achieve the goals, except the "revolution of the masses." Rhetoric, hyperbole and sloganism are never going to replace what people really want: Straight talk, a fair shake and a square deal. --And specific, practical steps to achieve the stated goals explained in detail in language we can all understand and relate to.
We are not nominating a debater-in-chief, nor are we electing a debater-in-chief for president. There's a lot more to it than that. Hopefully primary voters will recognize this and shift the course of the nominating process as the primaries move forward.
8
Mike Bloomberg should not get out of the race. His debate performance is not first-rate, but his governance and his ability to beat Trump certainly are. He should choose a woman and/or a minority as his running mate. There are many deserving people to choose from.
14
"The center cannot hold because there is no center in 2020."
Or, perhaps there is a center, but pundits simply don't know where it is anymore. Perhaps the "center" in American politics has shifted, and maybe has been shifting for years. Perhaps the political spectrum as envisioned by pundits who fancied themselves to be very well-informed has not existed in years. Perhaps that's why pundits failed miserably in predicting political developments in the last 4 years.
9
The world is a class struggle. Particularly right now.
8
if the candidates that you mentioned still do not do significantly well in south carolina, though bloomberg is not even in that race, i agree. there are too many running and those mentioned that do not make a serious up turn should get out before the tuesday election.
Why should any of the Democratic presidential candidates withdraw if they don’t want to do so? They have no obligation accept the strategy prognostications of journalists and others from the pundit class. Just because Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg are billionaires does not mean they are disqualified from running.
Bloomberg has apologized for the things which required apologies, and simply because he is not a good debater in the midst of being assailed on all sides does not mean he would not be a good president. His record suggests that he would be very good. Steyer was in the race early and calling for the Trump impeachment. Like Bloomberg, he is smart and has good intentions.
Let this thing play out. Trump, in the meantime, will be putting his foot in his mouth at every opportunity.
11
I'm so sick of reading that the candidate that goes into the convention with the most delegates, but not with over half, should become the nominee. If that is so, why bother even having a second ballot?
The 771 super delegates don't vote on the first ballot, but do on the second, if there is one. This arrangement was a concession to Bernie Sanders. Up until now, they voted on the first ballot.
They are DELEGATES, indeed, they are SUPER Delegates, and they are called super for a good reason. They are the Democrats who have put many long years and hard work in the party. They aren't Democrats for convenience sake, like Sanders and Bloomberg.
I will vote for ANY Democrat, including Sanders and Bloomberg, but I don't like being blackmailed by the Bernie Bros, who threaten to stay home if Bernie doesn't get the nomination. Their loyalty is to Bernie, not the party.
It's either their way, or the highway. And I want to see Sanders health information, which he promised, and is now not releasing. He knows that this instills apprehension about his health, and is harmful to him. Holding it back means the health info must be even more harmful.
18
The strongest case Liz Warren could make against Bernie Sanders would be to team up with Mike Bloomberg — showing that she can work with a conservative businessman and affirming that “billionaires” are American citizens too. She has nothing to lose at this point! And Bloomberg should accept, boldly, to be her running mate. A Warren/Bloomberg teamup would dominate the news cycle and offer a real choice on Super Tuesday. Extraordinary times require extraordinary steps. Show some initiative! Think outside the box!
198
@ Sunspot.
Having Liz as Mike's running mate is way too far out of the box. Easy.
13
@Sunspot the problem I have with this equation is that Bloomberg is in it. Maybe Warren isn't doing that well at this point. It's still early. What does she have to gain by sending the message that she doesn't really stand for anything? Also, I don't take issue with the people that are billionaires. I take issue with wealth inequality in America, and billionaire status is one symptom of this problem. No one needs to have that much money or even the potential to gain that much money in a healthy economy. We don't have to hand billionaires political power on top of economic power.
35
@Sunspot Have you watched any of the last two debates? Warren has been criticizing Bloomberg fiercely (and brilliantly). There's no way the two of them are going to form an alliance. And it doesn't seem that Warren has any desire to make a case against Sanders.
35
With the exception of Steyer, the fact that people are calling for the remaining candidates to dropout when only ~3% of America will have voted in the early polling states is absurd.
The Democratic Party does not equal Iowa, NH, Nevada, and SC, especially when two of those are caucus states and two of them are demographic equivalents of vanilla chocolate chip ice cream.
16
This sort of gratuitous advice should have been addressed to Sanders four years ago after Hillary clinched the title: Get out of the race; do better than mouthing lukewarm support for Hillary; show more leadership by making sure your followers supported Hillary. Sanders' foot-dragging was no help to Hillary in the final contest.
17
I was a Bernie supporter in 2016 and I remember him enthusiastically endorsing, supporting, and rallying for Hillary. I was going to vote for her anyway, but Bernie made me happily do it, as opposed to feeling bitter.
This whole notion of blaming Bernie for hilarys loss is tiresome and flat out wrong.
17
@Dan There was a very long wait before he did so. And other Bernie supporters decided they would rather not vote than vote for Hillary. And look what happened to the country as a result.
4
Hillary handicapped Bernie through the DNC - and then failed spectacularly.
Bernie will keep his lead, but the DNC will try its utmost to sabotage him. And that's a big problem—one that Trump dearly hopes for. Meanwhile our addled president never looked so bad. His mental state continues to deteriorate.
6
@Mike C. Are you sure you're not referring to our former 'addled' vice president?
Your basic wrong assumption is every moderate's second choice is Biden. This was already proven false in Nevada, where the most popular second choice was Sanders. Your panic is simply not shared by everyone.
8
No, not Mike Bloomberg !
No matter what you say Mike Bloomberg, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders would remain.
Hope Joe Biden would be the nominee or Mike Bloomberg.
Benie Sanders would divide the Domocratic Party and there is a chance we could even lose the House and the Senate.
9
I sent polite texts to Bloomberg and Steyer and asked them to please consider getting behind Biden. How huge are their egos. I'm growing to hate the other moderates. They are bulls in the china shop and it Bernie wins and loses to Trump, I will never forgive and never vote for them for dogcatcher. What arrogance and ego.
I urge everyone who wants to beat Trump to also make their views known to the campaigns.
@Mary Rivkatot
Do you REALLY think they care? Such missives probably go straight into their spam folder. Yeah, call me jaded.
That's why I became Independent.
1
I used to enjoy reading Egan and Brooks, mild-mannered intelligent fellows I thought. After today, no more of this elite journalist self preservation hogwash. We need major change in this country, and everyone but those who have been very comfortable with things as they are, sees it. Thanks for shortening up my reading list!
5
If we don't move quickly we might get universal health care! Oh my goodness!
5
Ouch, that was so hurtful!
But so true.
No, no, no. Let the process run its course. You are so quick to dismiss some wonderful candidates. Very Trumpian of you, in my humble opinion.
6
Media hype are words that go together like bread & butter. Mr. Egan may well be right that Amy, Pete, Tom, Mike and perhaps Elizabeth should exit the stage. However they have all invested large amounts of their energy, time and $ to campaign. Bernie is the front-runner but as of today has really only won a very small number of delegates in very unrepresentative small states - two of which (Iowa and Nevada, in case anyone needs a reminder) did not even hold primaries. And New Hampshire is right next door to his home state of Vermont. So I think it makes more sense to let Super Tuesday roll and decide about dropouts right after that, no?
10
I get your point, but isn't Mayor Pete currently second in delegates? We'll see if he has a path forward, but maybe the candidates with no delegate should consider dropping out first.
8
If anyone should get out of the race it is Bernie Sanders. Arguably he can be blamed for Hillary Clinton losing in 2016. One can see a George McGovern moment coming. Democrats are giving in to their emotions and not thinking rationally. Sanders cold easily lose the House and Senate if the Bernie or bust voters show up and only cast one vote, for Sanders. To continue the blue wave the best choices are Biden and Klobuchar. Warren might also be good.
21
"Trying to interfere with the rule of law"??? Trump is way past "trying", he's solidly neck deep in the Justice department and hasn't even tried to hide his manhandling of that once venerable and apolitical institution that is now little more than Trump's personal . . . security guy. Yes, there are a few folks with little reason for hope and should've bowed out of the race by now, but it's vitally important we don't make the mistake of being too quick to anoint someone that might be too flawed to win an electorally majority. Those remaining in the race have supporters to placate and a service to provide in ensuring a Hillary-like coronation doesn't take place prior to the crown being prepared and fitted.
The weaknesses of this otherwise logical article is that Biden maybe not more electable than others, and Sanders is proving to be a good campaigner. Predictability is not in the cards for this primary.
4
@Julius Boda I predict with great confidence that if Sanders is the nominee, sometime around Halloween he will be depicted in an onslaught of media as the second coming of Stalin, especially in the key swing states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The race would tighten for everyone, sure, but it would be uglier for some than for others.
1
Most polls show Bernie beating trump. Recent Morning Consult poll shows Sanders is the second choice for most of his opponents' supporters, including Biden voters. It's misleading to say Dem voters haven't warmed to Sanders. The Republicans aren't going to play nice with any Dem. And centrists have not at all proven that they know how to win. I think there are risks every which way, but Egan's assertions here are not supported by the facts.
8
Centrists won the House back in 2018.
Well, we'll see what happens in the South Carolina Primary. If Biden wins big, then, yes, the other moderates should consider getting out of the race; but to-date they've all done much better than he has, so why should they get out? Amy is nice? She lost me with her sarcasm - "Not everybody is as perfect as you are, Pete." And a few other like comments. Petulant. Good experience but really bad temperament.
7
@lucysky
She’s only polling at about 6 points above Sanders in Minnesota. She may get embarrassed next week.
4
If Tim Egan thinks that Joe Biden can hold up and win a long campaign against Bernie Sanders, and then defeat Donald Trump, he has obviously not been watching the Democratic debates. Admittedly, Biden and Sanders are both a bit old to be running for president, but Biden is clearly past his prime and lacking in energy, while Sanders seems as feisty as ever.
In 2016, every Times columnist opposed Sen. Sanders. In 2020, the Times is once again preaching centrism, and only Jamelle Bouie seems to understand Sanders's appeal to voters.
6
Egan states my thoughts exactly. I say rally around Biden if we really want to rid this nation of the scourge of Donald Trump. And I'd like to see Biden throw a Hail Mary right about now and name Stacey Adams as his running mate. That could just put him over the goal line!
5
Her last name is Abrams. And I agree she would uplift any ticket and increase the odds against hideous Trump. Stacy for VP!
4
You mean you want it to be a race between Sanders and Biden only? How depressing - to me two of the worst candidates in the race (although both hugely better than Trump).
17
Agreed.
But you need to definitely include Warren. She fares badly against Trump head to head.
And you need to remove Biden and add in Bloomberg. Biden is too feeble and confused at this point. Bloomberg is still sharp and has the cash and is building momentum.
7
Elizabeth Warren can and should stick around to pick up the pieces once Biden runs out of cash and supporters and Sanders is swift boated out of the running due to his overtly leftist leanings.
She is smart, competent and capable and would make a great President if she can tread water for a short time longer until the others cancel themselves out.
38
@BMAR and, god forbid something happened to Bernie (health wise) and this is possible whether his supporters think so or not, Warren will be there to pick up the pieces.
2
@Kris
After great deliberation I now worry that the best candidate is being seriously overlooked. It could be to our severe detriment as a nation if we don't recognize this, and do so in a hurry.
3
@BMAR
I agree. I'm sitting here waiting, and no one is beating a path to my door. Sad.
2
I disagree.
Each candidate has a loyal following, people who are excited at the thought of voting for them. Heck I saw an interview with Tom Steyer just now on MSNBC that was rather dazzling.
To win, the Democrats need that energy to turn up at the voting booth, and Trump has shown that his desire to turn everything into a reality show to distract all, might lower the heat come Election Day.
So, no, stay in as long as you want, just make sure you encourage your "team" to turn up for Election Day. Goodness knows, as much as I admire Bernie, if my vote in distant Oregon really counts this time, I would vote for a billionaire.
Hugh
2
Wow, I feel attacked, but you are right.
“In an era of chaos, why not vote for a grumpy ideologue with a heart condition who sees the world as a class struggle.”
3
A Biden/Warren ticket would have won in 2016 and would win in 2020. Bernie could win in a general, but the sheer volume of misinformation and personality cult behaviors that have plagued his campaign make him an unlikely champion.
3
@Steve How about Warren/Biden? Biden should stick with the VP supporting role - he did it well with Obama and is still trying to do this.
1
Egan you were wrong in 2016 and you are wrong again. All people need to have their voice heard (their vote) for their candidate as long as he or she is still in the race. The uncertainty of his opponent throws off the trump game plan, he doesn't know who to call names next or where to spend his campaign money. Besides who are you exactly to tell anyone how to vote or a candidate to end their campaign. This is a democracy or at least one we are trying to salvage not one by and for the chattering class.
8
This column is one of the strongest arguments for ranked choice voting that I have read. With RCV, there would be a stronger moderate choice against Bernie. Most of those voting for one of the moderates would choose another moderate as their second choice. The strength of Bernie at this point is that the moderate vote is diluted. Warren is not really in the same lane as Bernie. I could see her as the second choice of Klobuchar or Steyer voters, certainly more so than Bernie.
8
Yes, all worth less than a billion gave a noble effort and can drop out when they lose to Steyer on Saturday. Quitting early would give the impression of betraying their supporters. Quitting late would be betraying their supporters.
Many billionaires and wannabe billionaires stuff their ears with Benjamins so there should be no expectation they will see the world any other way than how they want to and pay off whomever agrees to play along. We are probably stuck with them in the race until they get bored.
While I agree with the general thrust of Mr. Egan's column, his aside at the conclusion of the column is frightening.
Maybe, Mr. Egan, we should not have trusted the President as he restricted access to the U.S. from the Wuhan region and while he quarantined those returning to the U.S. from China to prevent the uncontrolled spread of this virus.
Maybe we should have listened to those who said we should not 'target' people or guard the border. Of course, we might have ended up like Iran or Italy by now.
And certainly, we should not listen to the President and Vice-President, backed by the CDC, HHS, and DHS. We should panic in the streets so Democrats can blame the President for this virus the way they blamed George W. Bush for Hurricane Katrina.
The medical professionals have said that wearing masks by the general public will not make us safer now, and will only deplete the supply of masks needed by health professionals responding to this outbreak.
The partisan cries for this President's head should not derail a government approach to keeping us safe as this virus potentially spreads. But it is not a major problem yet, and it may not turn out to be.
Wash your hands, self-isolate if you are sick, don't rush to the hospital unless you require medical assistance, and read the New York Times to get your daily dose of panic.
4
Who can win the democratic nomination our vitriolic shouting match? Everyone loses.
If I like anyone it is Amy with her mature, steady demeanor, her experience working in Congress and middle west background. But her very strengths sometimes seem drowned out by the posturing and panic going on around her.
I can't get over the feeling that democrats are being set up by Trump and Putin to take a fall with the nomination of Sanders. But it is up to democrats to prove thel lie to this.
Yes, we must clear the field and get on with the true battle, the defeat of Trump and if that means Sanders so be it.
4
We'll see how it works out next week. I am glad to see Biden still in it. Of any of them, he'd be ready to go day one--he knows his way around, knows which drawers the keys are in, where the cars are parked, zero learning curve.
158
If Michael Bloomberg hadn't decided to indulge his ego and enter the race, Biden would already be running away with it... Bloomberg has been the greatest gift that Sanders could have hoped for. Bloomberg should drop out and put his money where it will actually do some good - behind Joe Biden in a 2-candidate race against Bernie Sanders and the hard left.
24
@Greg After Trump, the keys are in a different drawer and the cars are parked in a very different place. Recovering from Trump will require a lot of flexibility and energy, not just someone sleepwalking through using the old model.
42
@Greg
Biden ran in '88 (dropped out due to plagiarism), '08, and '20. No matter when, Americans have simply not wanted him as President. He has less baggage than Hillary, but he is uninspiring and represents an old order that America does not want.
As far as running away with it if Bloomberg hadn't entered, that just doesn't account for his dismal campaign performance since Day 1. For every one day he's on, there's three days he's on autopilot or babbling increasingly incoherent soundbites. The saddest, almost heart breaking thing to me is he couldn't even muster one bold defense of his work in Ukraine and more importantly, that of his son.
If, however, he does manages to claw his way back to the top, finds his fire, and we see him and Obama on the stump together (with a whole lot of VP Abrams) that would be a potent draw for America, no matter how many of us he ends up calling dog faced soldier ponies between now and election day. I leave myself open to that tiny sliver of a possibility.
16
Tim. Bernie wins the nomination. What are you going to do. You may not like the choice for whatever reason, but you will suggest that your readers either vote for Bernie, vote for Trump or stay home. You can be as critical as you like, but because of your position, you will have an influence. And that means that if you haven't figured it out yet, you have to decide who you're going to vote for on election day, or whether you're going to stay home. I don't really get the worry unless it's affluent democrats who are worried about their taxes going up. You know that Bernie won't be able to do big things without Congress. I don't see you staying home or voting for Trump. If I'm right, say so. If I'm wrong, say so. I guess your column wasn't that clear because maybe you're not sure yet yourself.
2
I sincerely wish the media and the Bernie Bro’s would make an effort to learn what is actually happening with voting. Unaffiliated voters can vote in many states’ primaries, with a choice between the Dem or Rep ballot. Which ballot matters more this year? In addition, changing party affiliation only to vote in a primary is easy to do, often online and in one’s jammies. Result: many die-hard Trump supporters surely are voting in Democratic primaries as disrupters. And who do you think is their choice to oppose their idol?
States can provide information on how many voters have switched their party affiliation recently, as well as provide numbers on which party’s ballot unaffiliated voters use. Crunch those numbers, and THEN tell us what is really happening.
12
When you say the female candidates should get out of the race because they aren't willing or able to be as aggressive as the situation needs, you are omitting the fact that voters criticize female candidates unequally compared to male candidates for appearing 'aggressive.' The women are walking a fine line in presenting their cases as to why they will make the best President. This is why the first female President will be historic. Please keep that in mind. I don't mind calls for the female candidates to drop out, like the male candidates, if their polling numbers are low, but your reasoning should be gender neutral if it is to be fair.
11
The issue for me isn't whether Bernie's diagnosis of the country' problems is correct - it is. His policy prescriptions can't possibly be enacted, but sure, he's authentic and his heart is in the right place.
The issue is whether he can possibly survive the assault he will get based on the 'socialist' label he has given himself. And in my estimation (as a self-described socialist) he can't. Not remotely possible. It's pretty obvious what the tRump camp thinks about that: they want him as the opponent, badly.
18
PS, if the primary race came down to Biden and Sanders alone, I would probably not bother voting - for the first time ever. I would just wait for everyone else to decide who will run against Trump and then vote in the main election.
One big problem, as I see it, is boomers (and I am one) refusing to get off the stage when it's time to go. We had a lot of good Gen X candidates: Harris, Bennett, Yang, Ryan, Booker, Castro, Patrick, etc., but none could gain traction given the boomer overhang.
Bernie and Biden are too old. Trump is too old. It's time for them, and for us, to pass the torch. Relax--the 'kids' can handle this.
2
I don’t agree that all boomers need to exit - we still have a place in the world and are entitled to representation like everyone else - but it is way past time for boomers to stop thinking that they know everything, and reflexively reject any notion that does not agree with them.
That said, if press be believed, it is young people voting for Bernie. What do you make of that?
2
@E A number of things. I think people have a natural affinity for their grandparents. Culture, it seems, skips a generation. Parents are too busy to concern themselves, so our cultural mores get passed from grandparents to grandchildren.
But more critically, Bernie has taken the time, and has the empathy, to understand the world that our 'kids' have to deal with. He proposes solutions--really age old solutions--that no one else considers.
Our nation and our planet face problems like we have never had before--the rise of digital tyranny and racism, global warming, etc. Young people feel that acutely. I think they also sense that they are not quite ready for leadership--though some (Buttigieg, AOC) seem precocious--but they know that the way these problems were created don't lead to solutions.
I don't think boomers differ from anyone else in our unwillingness to cede complete control. But because we are a large generation (the rabbit in the snake), we wield undue influence.
Boomers still have a place, but it's not necessarily on top.
Finally someone wrote the truth. At the stage having 6-8 candidates splitting the votes and creating chaos only implies that some candidates are all for themselves. They are negotiating plum positions - VP or other roles - from front runners. They aren't interested in getting the man from WH out of the house. Too much self-interest. I am checking out of Democratic debates. Media only wants them to fight with 20-50 years issues as if people don't change.
2
Egan is right in principle - the Dems must unite to defeat the catastrophe of a Trump second term; but this column is finally as irresolute and clueless as anyone about the solution to the problem. He boils it down to Biden and Bernie, and "perhaps" Warren. Okay, but which of these can win? All inspire serious doubt about electability, and therefore serious terror. I'm all for Warren's sticking around to become the unity candidate at the convention, but I'm terrified that Bernie and company will remain rigid and holier-than-thou (and will lose to Trump if nominated) and in the convention struggle to build a coalition, they would rather lose than surrender. Biden will lose en route to the nomination simply because he'll run out of energy and voter enthusiasm, or he'll lose in the general for the same reasons. Egan owes it to his thesis to name his candidate. Is this really, finally, just a Bernie endorsement? I'm all for the impossible dreamers dropping out, but I hope Elizabeth Warren stays in. She's the most plausible.
5
@Tom Feigelson Seems more like a Biden endorsement, since he wants all of his competition to drop out.
I'm not sure how swing voters and Independents, let alone any 2016 mea culpa Republicans, are all of a sudden going to become socialists overnight. And let's say Bernie Sanders is the nominee and let's say he wins. Then what? He's a one-term president given his age (unless, like Trump, he decides being a king for life would be just fine with him) and he has little chance of getting anything resembling a legislative revolution passed through both houses of Congress while appearing to suggest he wouldn't even sign any legislation that was a compromise, it's not in his nature. If anyone should leave the race early, it's Sanders. Of course, he's in it through the July convention, like the others no doubt, so keep those seat belts fastened.
4
This problem has been caused by the Democratic party's insane method of allocating votes. Instead of having proportional allocation, or even better, ranked choices, the most idealistic voters will select a romanticized version of a white haired warrior who will get creamed in the general election.
Trump has 44% under lock and key. He only needs 46% to win. That's how close this is and 1/3 of 1/2 of the electorate are not going to be enough, no matter bow passionate they are.
Super Tuesday will tell the tale. If Sanders walks away with it, then that just shows that liberals can be just as impractical and disconnected from reality as Trump supporters. You have to win people, or else you loose.
5
@Bruce Rozenblit If Bernie makes it to the general, and it looks like he might, I think he has a much better shot at generating record voter turnouts than someone like Biden or Bloomberg. Your analysis is only correct if we assume the same voter dynamic as 2016 in which POC and young voters stayed home. Or that the Democrats' mission is to win over moderates from the GOP.
We've all seen the chaos Trump has sown. I'm hard-pressed to believe that the 2020 election with a progressive at the helm won't inspire record turnouts.
2
@Sabrina
That's a big if. The only way this works is if every 18-30 year old comes to the polls and votes for Bernie. I have little faith that will happen. Very little.
3
@Sabrina He hasn't inspired record turnouts so far, which doesn't bode well for him doing so in the future.
Calling for four candidates to get out of the race now, when 14 states are voting in four days, makes no sense. The time for them to get out will be after Tuesday. If Mr. Egan thinks Biden is a better choice than Sanders, let him say so.
My hope is that voters are perceptive enough to make Elizabeth Warren the alternative to Sanders. She is a progressive Democrat with solid plans to turn our country around. The billionaires, including Mike Bloomberg, are afraid of her, not Sanders, because they understand she has the skills and the mindset to achieve real change in Washington.
I'm also sure Sen. Warren has more guts than Mr. Egan, whose job is to share what's on his mind, not to overcome obstacles and improve people's lives.
14
I question Egan's statement that, "Sanders’s dogmatic inflexibility is also his strength with the kids." Kids? Those are adults and legal voters, just as Mr. Egan is. Just as I am. Egan calls it "dogmatic inflexibility, but I call it principle and consistency--and I am a lot closer to Sanders's age, 78, than to 18.
6
Why Bernie and Biden? Bernie leads based on votes, but only if the moderates split all the moderate votes. Once a few drop out he may not look as strong.
But Biden isn’t a powerhouse either based on actual votes cast. So why call on Buttigieg, who has actual delegates, to get out?
I agree the field needs winnowing and ASAP but I think you need to see what comes out of Super Tuesday.
6
I don't agree with your premise that everyone but Bernie and Biden should get out of the race. This is a good mix of democratic politics as it stands. It should play out to the finish. I think american democratic voters can stand a little conflict even if it borders on disturbing. It may improve turnout. I was advised that one in five likely democratic voters didn't vote in the last presidential election. We need to knock on their doors ans ask them to please vote this time. It is really important. Maybe the conflict will wake them up.
1
Don't you love these sideline quarterbacks.
The way to win is to let it rip.
They're still talking about Namath.
The careful Johnny U was no match.
2
Omg if Bernie wins than trumps slogan wins. We will be moving back to the 1930’s and 40’s and putting FDR back in the Whitehouse. Damn socialist he was too!
2
I find Egan's arguments naive. The US is dealing with a set of virulent political threats mostly from the Far Right (energized by its distaste for an effete form of liberalism) that have already removed many guard rails necessary for the functioning of our political system. Trump is not the issue. Removing him from office will not cure the illness. Those celebrated legalistic /constitutional guardrails, press freedoms, judicial independence, divided government, government held to professional standards, the protection of minorities, even voting rights for vulnerable groups are disappearing quickly. More importantly, the norms and forms of political activism that sustain and rebuild the pillars of a democratic system are already frayed. In fact, Trump was elected with the guard rails largely intact. So returning to that 2016 political state gains us what? That tells you that IT ISN'T TRUMP. You remove Trump and the politics and the threat will remain the same. Our political illness may metasticize even further. It has reached the point at which journalists like Mr. Egan have simply been overwhelmed by history. They write of the 2020 election as a horse race or a beauty contest. Their logic is that if the elections are procedurally sound and there is a strong consensus Democratic candidate it will be end well. That's a fairy tale. We need journalists who know better.
2
It does seem urgent to get behind one strong candidate, but I want to see if Michael Bloomberg can develop enough followers in the Democratic party because I think he could win many votes from Republicans.
I voted Sanders in last primary and still think he has a vision but think the timing is off for him to win. Biden seems status quo and flawed by his son's dealings.
I like Andrew Yang but am not thrilled to hear that Bloomberg would consider him for VP. The suggestion of Stacy Abrams seems to have much broader appeal. But will Bloomberg listen? That seems to be his achilles heel, not hearing feedback.
6
@TS I hope that if Bloomberg prevails, he chooses a serious VP. Yang doesn't seem serious. If he chose someone like Stacy Abrams, it would show African Americans that he wants to help Blacks progress as a people.
Thanks for writing this. Exactly right. Biden will have a government in waiting, professional diplomats, scientists, and judicial nominees from the Obama era. Clean house! Bloomberg is now a massive spoiler, as are Buttigieg and Klobuchar. Steyer is a vanity candidate. I would love to see a ticket of Biden/Warren, or Biden/Gillum or Harris. In a perfect world, Warren would be my candidate and president, but we are so far from perfect, so twisted up by the toxicity of dealing with a traitor in high office and his traitorous enablers in Congress, that "perfect" has disappeared from my vocabulary. We need to purge Trump, his family, McConnell and all their crooked cronies. Sanders is not the answer. Loud, rigid, outdated, he is a barely adequate senator (a very low bar), and certainly not material for a transformative presidency. He would lose. These other candidates should get out now, just as you suggest.
3
Ace. So agree as JB has connections and truly this time the best people will work fir him and he is government enough to restore order and understand what has been deregulated etc and the Supreme Court time is of the essence as our children and grandchildren will forever with two more upon us appointments. Backwards we go.
Sorry Tim, you don't get to decide. We all still get to vote. That is how we express our equally valid opinion.
6
Thank you, a great read (for a change this week) and if there's room for another Egan in the opinion section I'm available :)
3
The Democrats cannot win since their candidates are horrors. Only Mike Bloomberg has a chance of beating Trump. I'll vote for either Trump or Bloomberg.
4
@Carol I'll vote for a cat first, any cat!
1
Bernie's followers love to use the term "Democratic establishment" it must be because Sanders is not a Democrat. I repeat He is not a Democrat. He will do to the Democrats what Trump has done to the Republicans. He is only the other side of the same coin as Trump. Both of them are a cult of personality with an attitude of "take no prisoners".
8
We're going to get slaughtered with Sanders as the nominee. He has no appeal to moderates, and even if he were to prevail the Era of Bernie would be nearly as polarizing and negative as the godawful one we're suffering through now.
I guess I'm starting to hope for a brokered convention, a desperate political Hail Mary, a Miracle in Milwaukee.
14
Sanders and Klobuchar or Biden and Warren. That's it.
3
Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, Mike Bloomberg and perhaps Elizabeth Warren, please, please, please get out of the race! My life depends on it. The future of this country, the world, humanity depends on it. Please see past your own egos. Billions of lives are depending on you. Sanders is a true fanatic idealogue who will drive the Democrats over a cliff, taking the whole country and the world with him. Please.
2
Finally a pundit willing to tell the truth. Warren & Buttigeg have no chance, none. Warren will lose her own state and despite very favorable media coverage and softball debate questions, has yet to win a primary, and the same for the mayor, they both have little to no support among black & brown people. It would help the mayor to run and win statewide, otherwise he's nowhere in '24 or '28. Klobuchar & Steyer not worth commenting on. If it goes to brokered convention only Biden will emerge, the closer he can get to Bernie in delegates, the better the chances of the democratic party not fracturing which quite possibly maybe the end of the party as we know it, and after what we've seen from '16 to present, it's time has passed.
3
Nobody needs to get out of the race until Super Tuesday is over.
16
in reference to your question YES
And forcing the flavor ban is bad strategy, too.
We do not need Joe Biden -- not as bad as Trump,
but he certainly has no understanding of the challenges
that we will face in the coming decade.
1
Can you realize with his experience the best people will work in his administration. ??
Canadian here. Bernie is your guy. He's the only candidate with a tribal following that mirrors Trump's. Even better, Bernie's squad is young and growing while Donald's is old and dying. Perhaps best of all, he might actually be able to implement democratic socialism in the United States to the extent that every other developed country has enjoyed for decades. We've been waiting for you guys to figure this out for a long time. Now's your chance. You know what to do America! Don't let us down!
5
Our caucuses should be primaries. All primaries should offer delegates proportionately.
Egan is too hard on Bloomberg, a man who can contrast his honestly self-made $62 billion with Trump’s dubiously got, inherited, comparatively minor assets.
11
Honest? Rigged tax code. Wall Street bailed out for its crimes . Honest ?
2
I just stopped in a bar/restaurant in the lower Hudson River Valley. Both of the men that I talked to were Trump lovers. Bloomberg might have a chance of beating Trump. The rest of the democrats are hopeless cases. It looks like Trump will win a second term -- he is very popular. I will vote for Bloomberg or Trump. Bloomberg has no personality/charisma. Both are businessmen, not career politicians which I prefer.
6
Serious question. So you don’t mind that trump and Bloomberg have vastly different ideas on policy (taxes, climate change, gun control)? Those two are nothing alike aside from the fact they are both billionaires (trump probably isn’t one really), and you will vote for one or the other? Makes no sense to me.
4
trump has never succeeded in business. Owes billion to the Russians.
4
@Carol Bloomberg is a milquetoast Republican. With a healthy smattering of arrogance. No thank you.
Another Democratic Party meltdown seems to be well underway. We all know, priority #1--by far--is to prevent another 4 years of Trump. And the big, thoroughly unanswered question is: do we accomplish this by staying the moderate Clinton/Obama course, or by attempting to forge a new coalition by appealing strongly to voters of color and youth.
As it stands, all doubt has been removed about Sanders. He has a deep, strong organization, he has raised significant money without being beholden to lobbyists, and his poll numbers indicate that he could very well against Trump. This all seems quite promising.
He has managed to get to this position despite being excoriated from EVERY corner. It's an equal opportunity pile-on. You don't need to be FOX news to join in. Tune in to "liberal" MSNBC or CNN and you'll hear the same frenzied panic from their pundits as well--he's a Commie!. Hillary hates him; the DNC hates him so much that they're already planning their ambush at the convention.
Now--let's imagine a different scenario. What if all the "we must unify!" centrists acknowledged that Sanders is the clear front-runner and supported him rather than tearing him down. If he's already doing this well in the face of virulent opposition from all sides, imagine how well he might do if the Dem party supported him.
6
President Trump is in no way responsible for the coronavirus. It is China who is the culprit. They were not honest as to the severity of the disease in China. They led the world into thinking it was not as bad as it was. The US is keeping us informed and will continue until this is over. They want to keep it under control and we must have trust in our government to do the right thing.
President Trump is doing all he can and will devote as much money as it takes to contain this dreaded disease. He is keeping on top of this and has qualified medical professionals watching it closely. He will not drop the ball on this one. There is too much at stake. People’s lives are at stake.
3
If he is responsible for the economic boom he inherited, he is responsible for the coronavirus as well. If you take credit for things you do not control, at least be consistent.
1
@KMW Except that he has already made false statements contradicting expert medical professionals, and those expert medical professionals must get their comments vetted by Mike Pence. Not encouraging, to say the least.
1
The US is not keeping us from informed. Pence and science? Wait a minute. He’ll ask his wife.
Ranked choice voting would sort this out.
9
I don't understand the draw to Sanders, except his dogmatic yelling. Oh, and wanting to give everything away for free.
He would be a terrible president. He would be better than Trump but literally anyone would be. Sanders is not the answer. He is stuck on positions that most Americans, and most Democrats, don't like. The only reason he is doing well is because the rest of the vote is split six ways. He is a divider and not likely to bring the Blue Wave which needs to come across the House and Senate.
Biden has flaws (my favorite is Buttigieg) but he is probably the most practical choice. Bloomberg could be ok but he isn't inspirational. Warren, Klobuchar, Buttigieg, and Steyer have not resonated by now. They aren't going to.
340
@Matt Miller Every position from Medicare For All (supermajority) to Free Public College (supermajority) polls massively well.
What positions is he stuck on that are not popular with most Americans or most democrats?
72
@Matt Miller
Amen!
My thoughts exactly!
I am tired of Bernie's arrogant assumption that Democrats are on his side and want all the freebies he touts. He does not have a referendum on more than half of the voters (which he would desperately need and never get).
My preference is Buttigieg.
31
@Matt Miller Reversing the class warfare of the past 4 decades is NOT "giving away everything for free."
The fact that the 1% got that wealth was something THEY got "for free."
Biden would be a disaster. Ditto for anybody but Warren and possibly Steyer, though as a billionaire, he'd have an uphill battle.
66
If Sanders actually had "dogmatic inflexibility" as the media keeps claiming, he'd have voted for literally zero bills during his time in the Senate.
What Sanders has is fiery rhetoric to make his case, and pragmatism when it comes to make a decision.
I get why Democrats don't like this, after decades of "leaders" happy to negotiate away any possible position of strength before the horse-trading even starts. But the Bill Clinton/Obama era is -- thankfully -- gone, and along with it are gone the endless favors for the donor class that lost Hilary the last election and handed Trump the presidency.
2016 was an election defined by populism, and so Dems ran an entrenched corporatist and lost. As much as the Times wants this election to be about Trump, it's not -- it's about the American people. And here are two Democrats running who demonstrably care about such things.
1
Maybe consider that Elizabeth Warren went after Bloomberg, even though he hasn't won a single delegate, because she views him as a threat to the democracy. She didn't go after Bernie because she agrees with him on most issues. She does, however, believe she would be a better president, which she stated clearly at the very beginning of the last debate. This speaks volumes about her character and what she stands for. She is putting the country before herself. This is not "gutless".
16
@Sonia Yes. She got into politics because of corruption of our government by the wealthy. There was no way she was going to give him a pass to buy his way in to the nomination.
8
This is so out of touch. We NEED a class struggle, because the billionaire class and corporate interests have taken over the political system and have been putting the squeeze on the working class for a generation. Senator Sanders is now engaged on behalf of the working class. It's past time for that to happen.
In addition, if everyone but Sanders and Biden exited the race, as is proposed here, Sanders would still probably win, because polls show that he would beat Biden in a head-to-head matchup. In fact, such a scenario would benefit Sanders, because it would make it far easier for him to accumulate an absolute majority of pledged delegates and avoid a second ballot in which the superdelegates could weigh in. The only reason that it is difficult for him to win an absolute majority at the moment is that so many candidates are in the race, resulting in multi-candidate delegate splits.
2
@Patrick The candidate splitting is between the moderate Dems. The Biden-Klobuchar-Buttigieg-Bloomberg vote is crushing Sanders. That's a clue.
4
@Blair that's incorrect. Voters do not vote in ideological lanes like that. Sanders is the second choice among a plurality of both Biden and Warren supporters, according to polling, and Sanders would beat any of the remaining candidates in in a one-to-one matchup, also according to polling.
I agree with Egan’s overriding endgame - defeating Trump. However, he overlooks several intervening spoilers that could redound to Trump’s favor when we are in the throes of the red zone leading up to November, most notably (a) Bernie’s age-related health issues and (b) Biden’s increasingly questionable coherence as debater and candidate. As Egan suggests, defeating Trump and Pence will be a team effort. To overcome the aforementioned spoilers, or even the risk of the same, here are my suggested solutions to emerge out of the probable brokered convention in Milwaukee (in the following order):
Liz, as President, and Cory or Julian as VP;
Bernie, as President, and Liz as VP;
Mike, as President, and Liz as VP.
Liz is the constant and predictable MVP in the above choices. Politics makes for strange bedfellows, but any of the foregoing combos would defeat the Trump-Pence ticket.
6
...more panic in neo-liberal land. Thanks for the advice that landed us with Clinton four years ago...
5
Let the primaries play out. If I were a candidate, I would not give up, hoping that doing so would somehow unite the party behind one of my opponents. What I *would* do is announce that, after all the primaries, if I were not the nominee, I would devote all my resources, influence, and good will to supporting the chosen nominee. All the candidates should follow Friedman's suggestion in yesterday's editorial, to portray an unbeatable unified front against Trump.
2
I get that eveyone is terrified of Trump getting re-elected. Perhaps that's why so many media articles are about the horserace this year. But actually the media focusses on horserace mainly every election--why never on the issues? Krugman is the only writer who talks policy and crunches numbers, but he can only write so many columns. Maybe moderates wouldn't be so scared of Medicare for All if it was ever actually explained to them? Maybe people would understand, with explanation, that Buttigieg actually has no policy positions at all for the most part? Maybe black people would realize that Biden's views on bankruptcy and credit have hurt his black supporters more than anyone else? Why does the media talk horserace so much? It must be that they simply believe the people should remain ignorant so their opinions can be more easily manipulated, and they will once again produce another candidate acceptable to the powers that be.
1
Trump has always been a germaphobe. It might be that he had a premonition that a germ would be his downfall. If the stock market continues to tank, and his handling of the viral crisis consists of irate, lying tweets then the field will be open for a Democrat to win.
For my money, Mike Bloomberg is the guy who could manage this crisis from Day One. He's got a School of Public Health named after him, for heaven's sake. And he knows how to get government programs up and running efficiently.
4
I think Elizabeth Warren's filleting of Bloomberg the second time was absolutely necessary. The general thinking seemed to be that it was going to end up being Sanders vs. Bloomberg. We needed further proof that Bloomberg is just as bad as Trump, only richer. I'm not sure why this author is convinced that Joe Biden should be the only one other than Sanders still in the race. Joe Biden was taken out with the impeachment, and he should have dropped out then. Elizabeth Warren was quite the hero in the last two debates by exposing Bloomberg as a sexist, racist, very rich man trying to buy the Presidency in order to protect billionaires going forward. I think she'll be Bernie Sanders' VP and the two together will beat Trump.
2
So, Bernie "sees the world as a class struggle."
Is it not?
6
Not unless you’re a Marxist who’s decades behind in theory.
Sanders supporters need to wake up. In 2018, moderate Democrats flipped more than 40 seats to gain control of the House. Not a single one of those Democrats, who represent the parts of the country that will decide the next election, has endorsed Sanders. Most are distancing themselves from him. The candidates in competitive districts who were backed by Sanders all lost.
Sanders' popularity right now is an illusion. His Democratic rivals have faced concerted attacks for months. Until quite recently Sanders hasn't faced much scrutiny or criticism, in part because Democrats don't want to fatally wound him if he's the nominee and in part because they don't want to alienate his base. The bottom line is that he's a massive liability for the Democratic party. He has pledged to dismantle ICE, stop deportations, and give huge new entitlements (free healthcare and college) to illegal immigrants. That's a policy combination that doesn't work anywhere in the world. Even Norway doesn't give free healthcare to illegal immigrants and somehow rust belt voters are going to embrace the idea?
Trump has avoided attacking Sanders (even taking his side against the Democratic party) because he's salivating at the chance to face him. It would be a massacre for Democrats a la Corbyn 2019. The primaries over the next few weeks are Democrats' last chance to salvage the 2020 election and stop Trump from becoming a two (or more?) term president.
9
@Edward Swing Trump ads against Sanders in October would make Willie Horton ads look like a Hallmark commercial.
5
Sounds like his the best candidate.
1
Every candidate has tried to "buy" the election, Bloomberg is the first one who can actually afford it. He's boring, so what? I could use a break from Presidential excitement for a while. Paternalistic? Smoking is bad and who NEEDS 40+ oz. of soda in one cup? The criticisms of Bloomberg are weak.
Bernie - 4 more years of division. Warren - same. Biden - he's had a good run. Pete - sharp, but needs to ripen. Klobuchar - Mike's VP. Steyer - open a family office.
10
Mr. Egan seemed more interested in clever rhymes and alliteration then astute political analysis.
Pundits should hold their water about advising which candidates should exit until after Super Tuesday when we will more clearly see where the chips are falling.
2
"She seems — how to say this? — gutless to take on the one person squatting in her lane. Either make the strongest case against Bernie Sanders or get out."
I doubt Warren will even carry MA. I agree with every one of Egan's points. we're in crisis mode, and all we focus on is NDAs for female employees who hated Bloomberg's jokes?
It's way past time to get the race down to a few candidates, and after that, focus the remaining debates on serious issues where they can differentiate themselves from Donald Trump and hone their policy messages.
Will they do it? Who knows? but for too many this seems to be a vanity project, when it should be an exercise in preparing their toolkits to use against the president.
3
We'll find out on Super Tuesday who should stay in and who should end their campaign. Nobody has an insurmountable delegate lead at this point. It's going to be a close election no matter who gets the nomination. And that's the truly sad part. Even after four years, of the most dysfunctional presidency ever, so bad it almost makes one pine for Dubya's administration - a disturbing number of people will vote to reelect Trump.
Bernie tends to do well early, and in caucus states. That was the case in 2016. We'll see how he fares on Super Tuesday. It's only a few days away.
6
Warren doesn't go after Bernie because she generally agrees with Bernie's policies, though she would be more pragmatic about achieving them (as she said in the debate, she's be a better president). It's unfortunate that Bernie chose to run; I have admired him since I first heard about him as the socialist mayor of Burlington, but he should have recognized that he's too old and has too much baggage. It's a lot to ask of any politician, but I wish he would have seen Warren as his protege and endorsed her. Bernie scares moderates (even if he shouldn't) in a way Warren does not.
Warren should stay in the race because she can be a candidate that can attract voters from both the left (Bernie) and the center (Biden). While it is a long shot, my hope is that voters will see her as someone who can unify the party behind a progressive agenda that pragmatically builds on what we have. While she is not the charismatic (lovable/hatable) figure Sanders is, she is an excellent speaker (much better than Clinton or Biden), and she is a pragmatist (in the vein of a Klobuchar).
7
Lies. Sanders won the majority of the moderate and conservative vote in the Nevada Caucuses. Also, many voters who are backing more moderate candidates site Bernie as their second choice.
3
Who could have imagined that in a world with digital information at our fingertips (who hasn't won or lost an argument with a Google search?), we have entered the Age of the Best Guess.
Pundits proffer passionate certitudes, from Egan to Brooks to Krugman, but no one actually knows anything.
Who can beat Trump? Anybody's guess.
Covid-19 - will it kill millions and sink the world's economies? Anyone with a clue (Fauci?) has been muzzled.
So many mysteries unsolved - particularly in the USA, where loyalty generally trumps expertise these days - climate change, health care, homelessness, the electoral college; even now, we marinate in opinions but actual solutions are few and far between.
Maybe, just maybe, our ready access to facts and figures has bereft us of wisdom - little but sound and fury remain.
2
Mr Egan, One of your fellow NY Times columnists had a piece in today's mix that said Bernie would beat Trump if the election were held today. I agree with you that Bernie Sanders as the Democrats' candidate would be a mistake. The Russians are helping Bernie because they know that Trump will defeat him easily, and Moscow wants 4 more years of Trump. If Bernie turns out to be the candidate, Trump & his minions will have a field day.
Trump will win in a landslide. Please people, do not do this.
3
@Robert D. Cocke And that prediction was based on a big increase in voter turnout, something the Times has also reported has not materialized. Stubborn facts.
4
@Blair
Actually, not it didn’t. It’s was based on available empirical evidence. Stubborn facts indeed.
2
Why would you ask Warren to get out before Biden?
4
I despise Donald Trump but I could live with him if the house and senate were in democratic hands- focus on that.
5
Honestly, I think Bernie should drop out.
23
@Sydney He won't! He's a true fanatic, and that's not hyperbole. He's nuts.
1
You know you don’t have to be reading these purposely disturbing political racetrack tout sheets? They’re bad for your blood pressure and upset your tummy. If you wanted instead some agency in this modern variety show of politics, why not engage in your favored candidate’s ground game. Yes, volunteer in actual campaigning. Your FitBit will reward you as you canvas door-to-door. Speaking as a Boomer, “Curmudgeons! Move it!”.
4
Yes -- If Bernie wins the nomination, we will have to hope there are enough fanatical, black-and-white thinking Democrats out there to more than counterbalance those on the other side and to win Bernie the presidency. After which, fasten your helicopter seatbelts.
2
Thanks sooo much for your dismissive, snarky comments on the two female candidates who annoy you. Perhaps you’re only able to see through your gender-clouded eyes, but neither Warren or Klobuchar annoy this woman in the slightest.
4
Why should any of the Democratic candidates get out of the race? They have just as much right to be there than Bernie Sanders. I hope they all stay until the bitter end and let the chips fall where they may. None of them can compete with President Trump anyway. No matter the Democratic candidate, they will not win.
1
When Bernie loses and the Democrats lose all the close Senate races and several state legislator seats, his supporters will head over here and tell everyone his loss was the fault of moderate Democrats.
8
Oh, and BIDEN should stay in the race?! Biden, so obviously well past his prime, so quick to anger with members of the public, especially when it comes to his foolish son, and above all, so halfhearted about the entire thing - the Democrats should clear the deck of everyone but him and Bernie?
436
After Biden's harrowing arrest in South Africa, I feel we owe him something.
46
@Susan Poor Joe truly is past his expiration date.
5
@Susan
" the Democrats should clear the deck of everyone but him and Bernie?
Yes, absolutely ... and then pick Biden! 2018's Blue Wave Democrats will be MOST appreciative! And, my conservative but Trump-hating family members will happily vote for him. Good plan! :-)
5
As Rep. khanna mentioned on MSNBC Bernie is underdog until he is the President.
Can't wait to see what all the MSM will tell us then!
4
If you think Bernie Sanders would be a divisive candidate, he's got nothing on Mike Bloomberg. Truly, you couldn't create a candidate in a lab that would be more horrifying to the Democratic base of the present day: an arrogant Wall Street billionaire trying to buy the election; a long time champion of a policing strategy judged to be a form of racial profiling - who, in at least one instance, used racist tropes to justify it; a long time Republican who supported George W. Bush and his disastrous policies, who has given gobs of money to Republicans; and a man who has been sued by an unknown number of women for discrimination and inappropriate, lewd sexual comments (and possibly behavior), whose stories we don't really know because he bought their silence. His nomination would be guaranteed to cause widespread disaffection on the Left and demoralize the party's base. Thankfully, there's virtually no chance of his getting the nomination, since he's not very popular with rank-and-file Dems, nor with the party 'establishment'. Which means the practical affect of voting for Bloomberg is to split the moderate vote and take votes away from the only viable moderates (Biden and perhaps, maybe Buttigieg), thereby strengthening Bernie. The hilarious irony is that Bloomberg's whole vanity campaign is premised on stopping Bernie and beating Trump, when in reality he's paving the way for Bernie - and possibly Trump.
4
Glib and too early, but okay; what about the wild card factor, the one that no one could predict in 2016, a media savvy self-funding outsider non-partisan-loyal Billionaire-class candidate. With unlimited self-funding they will never be forced to drop out of the race and can marshal those unlimited resources to “outmaneuver” a brokered convention.
With Trump, Steyer, and Bloomberg cutting out the middleman, the fig leaves have been stripped away from the blooming National (soon to be Global) Oligarchy. Bombastic, Benevolent, Bumbling, or just plain yours?!
Now, we have already entered into the
Era of Battling Billionaires,
the EBB of Democracy!
1
Great column Egan. The sock puppets from Trumpville and the far-right blogosphere are here pretending to be the Sanders cult (yes plenty of the authentic zealots here too). Your sensible alternative though I would gag voting for her, might have to be Warren.
Amy and Pete are not going to the dance. That will be clear after next Tuesday. Yes, Joseph Biden shows signs of age related diminished acuity, but Sanders as you point out is older and with a cardiac condition. He could be in big trouble in an instant. More importantly he is the desired choice of only a distinct minority of registered Democrats and our House freshman are fleeing him like, dare I say, the corona virus. Joseph Biden, diminished is still not Donald trump and Joe wioll have a world of decent experienced cabinet members and advisers. Sanders will only have untested activists from campus and the professionally aggrieved.
2
@Unworthy Servant
Wow, the moderate wing has fallen completely under the spell of conspiratorial thinking. First it was Russians. Now it's right wingers posing as Bernie supporters. Anything to deny the truth that Bernie Sanders has authentic widespread support among the populace.
Anyone that thinks the Democrats are going to win this election must be new to politics.
6
And Obama needs to step in! Biden is our only hope of saving America. Sanders hasn't done anything substantial in his almost 30 year tenure, unless you could supporting guns, until, that is, is was not longer politically expedient. Face it, if Sanders runs against Trump, Trump wins because you know he's going to pain Bernie as the Socialist, Cuba and Venezuela admirer he's been until, again, it didn't sound politically helpful.
3
Sanders vs Trump: we are all doomed.
I can't understand how anyone could vote for either one of those lunatics.
I have to vote on Tuesday. I just don't know how to save America with the current ballot.
7
Almost got it right, but in my book the two who shouldn't drop out are Sanders and Buttigieg. Biden is running on nostalgia.
1
Timothy Egan, "you can't stop us, cause we're on the road to freedom, you can't stop up us cause our eyes can see . . ."
—The fear of the Democratic elites at Bernie's candidacy has little to do with beating Trump. Bernie will beat Trump. The fear of the elites is that Bernie will kick the lobbyists, the bootlickers and power brokers out of the party and actually do what he says he gonna do. Medicare for all--whoop there's goes that medical insurance lobby money--Green New Deal--whoop there's goes big Oil. Workers on the board of companies, what's Private Equity gonna do? Cut the prices of prescription drugs and federally fund medical research. Poor Big Pharma!
No, the elites want to stop him because Bernie's gonna take their cookie. And as Globalization dies before our eyes, by next year at this time there will no crying about "crowding out Private Capital." Instead the cry from the street and the board room will for once be the same. "Please, save us."
So Egan, which side are you on?
2
Why can't we comment on the Phillips article that says Bernie will win the general? We could all get behind him and stomp on the Republicans. Bernie is not dumb. He has been working with moderates for a long time and he will work with them while in office. If we stand united for ALL Democrats, we will win.
5
The only Democratic candidate who has a snowball's chance of defeating Trump is Bloomberg.
And I'm a conservative Republican voter.
Bloom has the credentials, the experience, and the wherewithal to stand up to DJT who is a junkyard dog in the debates.
The others will get eaten alive and Trump will use their bones as a toothpick.
9
Trump's not going to be doing all that well when the stock market hits 21,000 and people finally he's a total fraud and criminal.
3
@JSS
I thought so too until I witnessed his pathetic performance in the last 2 debates.
A few odd thoughts. Could it be that the Bernie people in 2016 who wouldn't vote for Hillary were "Never Hillary" people to begin with?
In any other modern democracy in the world, Bernie's (and Elizabeth's) ideas are moderate to center-right political positions, not at all leftist. Bernie will take Trump to the woodshed and thump his bottom.
The stock market is not driven by the media. In the case of Covid-19 the market ignored the obvious impact on future earnings far longer than was warranted. Mulvaney's tirade against the media was beyond stupid. The stock marked discounts future earnings, and corporate earnings are going to take a hit until at least July. That's why a market inflated by cheap money and low tax rates has become a falling knife.
2
@Gene S No "other modern democracy in the world" has an electoral college to pick its chief executive.
4
...the Democratic field is badly flawed: four septuagenarians; … --Imagine if Egan replaced the word septuagenarians above with, say, women or Latinos. Would he still have a column, or even a job at the NYT? That suggests how much less seriously casual ageism is viewed in mainstream discourse. I am getting old and cranky but, hey, please judge these candidates, including Bernie, on their merits. I would say that for Pete, too. Pitt the Younger was prime minister of imperial Britain at 24, and went on to a glorious career largely on his merits. Lets keep it that way.
3
Bernie will beat Trump for one simple reason: he places the interests of America over those of Russia.
3
Speaking of sexism! Mr. Egan, I never expected it from you. Amy Klobuchar once, apparently, ate a salad with a comb, which is a pretty revolting concept. But she did so not because she was angry but because she was hungry! One point on the graph does not constitute a trend. You excoriate Warren for wasting firepower on Bloomberg but her’s is a larger point: money can buy undue influence in politics, both sexual and legislative. Biden gets a pass despite his salvo about running for Congress, not the President. That’s the kind of mix-up in which Trump is involved daily. Not acceptable on either side of the political divide.
2
Ya, class struggle, our history shows us that the class struggle that came out of the 19th century ended the gilded age and ushered in unions, and ohh no, women voting! With the unions came the unthinkable,. 8 hour days, weekends,..you get the picture... Positive change for regular guys like us.
So now it falls to us to pick up the struggle, for healthcare, for education, for our children.....for the dream of America. I am also a cranky old democratic socialist, union member and parent. I want to see this gilded age end and our children have a chance at a decent life.
Isn't it odd that the Republican party of Abraham Lincoln became the republican party of donald trump?? Why is it so startling to think that the democratic party must also change? A new generation brings new life to an old party, as it should be. It's time for the old detritus of what used to be the democratic party to move over and accept the change they can not stop, the "moral arc of history" being unstoppable and all.....our only choice is what side of that arc do we want to be on??
1
What a cynical and mean spirited column. Not all of us are willing or ready to give up on our candidates. Is this just another version of let the old white men have the power? No thanks..still supporting Pete, Warren and Amy in that order.
2
Excellent OpEd title, spot on. Agree, 10 days to bow out gracefully (or not so gracefully),we already have a mountain of narcissism blocking American progress in the White House and his name is Donald Trump.
Mike Bloomberg already stated that he's not leaving the presidential race regardless of what happens
5
I paid off my student debt, but still have mortgage debt. Bernie needs to pay off my mortgage as well as student debt, to be fair to those who paid off their own student debt. Also, food, clothing, and rent is a basic human right, along with medical care. The taxpayers
meed to also pick the tab for all basic living expenses for everyone. To be fair and rational.
7
The implication is that Biden should be left to consolidate the votes for a moderate. This would have seemed more promising and reassuring if the column had included something positive about Biden, rather than just negatives about the others.
4
"Be gone now for the good of two-thirds of Democrats who have yet to warm to Sanders."
You realize that Sanders is viewed favorably by three quarters of Democrats, the highest number of anybody in the race, right? There's no silent majority of anti-Sanders voters waiting in the wings to rally around Biden (thank god).
It's time to start consolidating around the party's frontrunner, put this divisive primary behind us, and focus on making sure Sanders beats Trump in the general.
1
@Jake
How many of Trumps voters do you think are going to be persuaded to vote for a Socialist?
This is an important question you see, because if everyone that voted for Trump does so again, Trump wins.
You have heard of the electoral college by now, right?
9
@Larry Thiel Larry, no, no they haven't heard of it, or if they have, they don't get it. National polls, party-wide attitudes, how many Sandernistas there are per block in Brooklyn--they love this stuff. But the stubborn fact that _moderates in conservative districts_ flipped the House in 2018--not progressives from NYC--this they prefer to ignore. The only human beings in the country who matter now live in rural Wisconsin and western Pennsylvania. That's the unfair, undemocratic logic of the Electoral College.
5
@Blair
Democrats flipped the house because of record turnout driven by negative partisanship. Elections are won by getting out the base not by convincing the elusive swing voter who basically doesn't exist. The mainstream media/moderate narrative of democrats having convinced republicans is simply untrue.
2
“Ranking” in the primary system needs to happen in more states, but beyond that quick fix is the lingering feeling that the Democratic party is trying to be too many things to too many constituencies, too large an umbrella, and the coalition isn’t holding. The political distance between supporters of Bernie and Elizabeth and the supporters of the moderate candidates is too great. Voters in England who had been Labor supporters for their whole lives left the party because of Corbyn, and I fear it will happen here too. Hopefully not in this election because of the urgency many of us feel, but eventually. If it’s Bernie and Trump in 2020 there are large numbers of people, both Democrats and Republicans, who will feel that neither represents them, and that a third centrist party is necessary.
2
Bloomberg is in this until the end. He's spent God knows how many millions and even when I turn my PC on to read MSN News or whatever the flavor of the moment is, his ubiquitous advertisements are never ending.
If you've been watching his ads on the TV networks, they are very professional and quite well done. Bloomberg could end up with this and he is the only Dem candidate with the credentials to equal or top Trump.
8
You are right. I am sorely disappointed with the Democratic frontrunners. We had a few sensible moderates, but most of them dropped out for lack of support. Just the thought of seeing Sanders red-faced and shouting for the next four years makes me ill. What happened to my Democratic party that I thought was so sensible? I'm starting to feel like I have no political home anymore.
6
The coronavirus might just be the great leveler. When the virus surrounds the White House, Trump will barricade himself inside Mar-a-lago, and Pence's deficiencies will be on full display. The economy will shrink, and other wealthy people will head to their bunkers in New Zealand, exposing even further the gap between rich and poor. I see more people turning to the progressive agenda with this scenario. I just wish the people's choice was Elizabeth Warren!
4
It's too early to tell, but maybe Warren staying in the race will be able to benefit Sanders. It will depend on numbers, financial support, and how some states will vote in the primary. Let's say that there are some voters who will not vote for Sanders in the primary, but will vote for Warren. Their next choice could be a moderate and they may vote that way if she does not remain on the ballot. Warren will still be able to accumulate delegates, and then if there is a contested convention and a 2nd vote, then her delegates can be released to go to Sanders if that's her wishes, giving him just enough to nail the nomination. Of course in a 2nd vote they can do as they please, but will they go for the moderate? This can get to be as much of a shell game as the general, but astute delegate negotiation may prevent this.
If Warren is still on the ballot when my state comes around, I plan on voting for her.
If the race comes down to one moderate and Bernie, then it should be Biden, and then a moderate could win the nomination if that's what you want. Then trump could win the general if that's what you want, because Sanders has a better chance than Biden to beat him. I choose Biden over Bloomberg, because at least there will be a fighting Joe chance---with Mike, the sensible shoe moderates will not make up for all the sneaker generation votes who will not be going to the polls at all. If MB gets it on the 2nd vote from the superdelegates-look out-it's 4 more years of ill.
3
In Washington state, everyone votes by mail, deadline March 10th. This morning my brother informed me that he voted for Bloomberg and I said, "Bloomberg won't frighten the capitalists." I am waiting to mark my ballot until after Super Tuesday on March 3rd because my thinking changes every day. In the 2016 primary, I voted for Bernie Sanders. At breakfast at the nearby cafe, I found myself thinking about my primary vote in categories: practical (Biden/Abrams); strategic (Bloomberg/Yang); revolutionary (Sanders/Klobuchar); fantasy (Michelle Obama/Sherrod Brown); absurd (Rocky/Bullwinkle). Yes, I ordered scrambled eggs.
1
It's so much worse than that. The "President" has an advancing case of dementia, and it's becoming obvious. No one except Elizabeth Warren has a clue how to deal with this pandemic-- she put out a plan, a good one, for dealing with advancing pandemics ONE MONTH AGO. The other candidates, like the president, have barely begun to address the issue. But by all means call for Warren to get out of the race, she is a WOMAN after all. We never elect the best candidate and we suffer thereby. This time will be no different.
11
40 liberal Democratic House members elected in 2018 in States critical to the electoral college have already announced that they can't possibly support Bernie Sanders for President. Bill Clinton reflects the wisdom of millions of voters when he says that Bernie Sanders is unelectable. Mission impossible for Bernie Sanders.
The only 2 candidates who could possibly beat Trump in November are Biden and Bloomberg. Sanders would be a disaster for the Democrats, the nation and the world.
7
“You should be careful making political predictions in our perilous era, but there is one I can make with assurance: Four more years of Trump would be catastrophic.”
This is something all reasonable people can agree on, but Super Tuesday is too close now. The candidates names probably can’t be withdrawn, even if they wanted to bow out.
Why should Warren ‘ perhaps’ withdraw? She has much to offer and is an obvious pick for those who can’t quite commit or be inspired by Biden and who like Bernie but fear he will wear the Socialist label like the Ancient Mariner’s albatross, (I am not one of them).
I believe she is being marginalized and given poor coverage by the msm. This is unfortunate. For those interested, check out what she had to say about the looming pandemic and climate change.
14
Bernie will lose badly and give us Trump unleashed. Biden would have been great 4 years ago but he's too feeble today. If he's the nominee, Bloomberg will win in a bi-partisan landslide. Yes, his debates were terrible, but his town hall was good. He's got my vote on Super Tuesday.
5
@Liberty In I agree. You can't go by his performance in the debate. The debates are no reflection of anything but conflict baiting by the media. Bloomberg like the other candidates has problems, but his success as a mayor in New York and his money convinces me to vote for him.
I doubt the candidates will take Mr. Egan's advice, as well they shouldn't. He has handpicked those he thinks aren't viable on what basis? Personal preference, perhaps. And I think I may scream if I have to hear another white male pontificate on how either shrill, schoolmarmish or ineffective Elizabeth Warren is. Have you actually tried to keep a mind free of bias while watching these debates at all? Yeah, but Pete is great, right? I refuse to join the sky is falling chorus based on gut feelings. Can we vote our preferences and wait to see how things work out instead? I guess that doesn't get as many clicks in today's news environment, but it sure would be preferable to promoting a useless collective freak out.
5
I agree with Egan on much of this.
I am no fan of Sanders, but Biden? Gaffe after gaffe that never end and the embarrassed silence as he tries to remember what he just started to say.....over and over and over.
Major league cognitive issues.
The lights are on in the Biden household, but no one is home.
5
I really can't disagree with any of these points in this essay.
I have wondered if the Nation really needs another cranky old man wagging his finger at US after the last three years of a cranky and insane old man wagging something else at US.
But I will gladly vote for Bernie, and I will gladly vote for Biden. I will gladly vote for a tuna fish sandwich if it has a D (or a DS) behind its name.
Bernie Sanders would be a breath of fresh air; even it is really of gust of air that got in because grandpa forgot to close the door.
1
Bernie is most likely the winner for nomination.
Biden needs to go right now. Although he did better in the most recent debate, WAY too many cognitive issues.
If he stumbles, as usual, can't remember where he is at, and can't finish a sentence in a debate, how would he deal with Putin or Beijing?
5
"The center cannot hold because there is no center in 2020."
There has been no true center for many decades.
It has been right, or further right. It has been spineless sell out to the right for donor dollars, or arrogant rampaging of the right supercharged by those dollars.
It has been dollar-democracy, none of it center, much less anything "center-left."
Of course they lied about that. That did not make it true, just smoke in our face.
Now there is "no center?" That means now the sell out is not in process, for just this once.
5
Votes cast to date:
1) Sanders
2) Buttigieg
3) Klobuchar
Mr. Egan recommends the anti-Sanders forces clear the field for Biden - the same Biden who can't seem to raise any money. Looks like a mess to me.
7
@LewisPG Votes cast in 2016:
1) Clinton
2) Trump
1
The politicians don't need to get out, the system needs to be fixed. It is beyond ridiculous that I won't get to vote for my candidate of choice (Warren, BTW) because by the time my state's primary rolls around, she may have dropped out. I like neither Bernie nor Joe, and I suspect I'm not alone.
How wonderful it would be if ALL of us got to have a say? How democratic! There needs to be one primary day with ranked choice voting. Problem solved.
But until then, let me have my say…whoever's going to beat Trump can wait a few more weeks…
15
@Myasara I agree with you...More people should get a chance to vote. Timothy Egan, you only get one vote like the rest of us (mine is going to Klobuchar)...its not your call on who should drop out!! Be patient!!!
1
Not satisfied with the electability pitch that can be made using hard data showing Bernie with the most commanding lead in crucial swing states against Trump? Here's some "intangibles" polling showing Bernie outperforming all the other candidates. Based on the following (especially 1st/2nd choice combined), I would come to the same conclusion: everyone else drop out! It will make Bernie's path to a delegate majority easier.
Fox News Poll 2/23-26, 1st/2nd choice (combined): Sanders 47%, Biden 37%, rest below
YouGov/Economist poll 2/23-2/25, "which candidates are you considering voting for?": Sanders 49%, Biden 38%, rest below
Ipsos/538 poll 2/27, favorable/unfavorable split : Sanders +39, Warren/Buttigieg +33, rest below
Reuters/Ipsos poll 2/19-2/25, "which candidate can best unify the Democratic party?": Sanders 27%, Biden 19%, rest below
Ipsos/USA Today 2/12-13, "among the candidates, who's character do you most admire?": Sanders 40%, 31%, rest lower.
6
From the article:
"Politician, heed thy advice: Be gone now for the good of two-thirds of Democrats who have yet to warm to Sanders."
I would like to remind Mr. Egan that Bernie Sanders has the highest favorability among democrats of anyone in the race. In two recent ranked-choice nation wide polls, Bernie Sanders emerged as the top pick among democrats, edging out Joe Biden who was a close second. I'm sick of establishment-media types portraying Sanders as some kind of unelectable and unlikable curmudgeon. The fact is that he is both winning elections and is very much well liked by the majority of democrats. Stop this nonsense please.
9
Did you ever notice the voices against "seeing the world as a class struggle" live comfortable, rich lives? Very convenient that you don't believe in class.
9
No candidate should quit just because a writer at the NY Times orders them to. Let the process play out. We probably just need to give the nomination to whomever gets the most votes. If that's Bernie, we can say we're faithful to our decades longs calls for fairness.
7
"Friends, we are at the moment that they warned us about, a moment analogous in every way to the one in the 2016 Republican Party that gave us President Trump ... Around this time in 2016, fools were refusing to drop out because they thought they had a path forward when all they were doing was impeding yours ... I see no path forward for my campaign but for my opponents to drop out of the race ... [my opponents] are wrong when they say, 'I am the only one who has a chance against him and everyone else needs to drop out.' *I* am the only one who has a chance against him, and everyone else needs to drop out ... I don’t know what they think their paths are! I guess they assume I will drop out, and they will get my support, which will never happen! No, never, not while there is breath in my body or dollar in my bank account. Besides, I have so little support that I do not see how it will help them." (Alexandra Petri, Washington Post, 25Feb2020)
Candidates, just stop with the foolish Medicare-for-all/some fight. Even if the Democrats take the Senate, Medicare-for-all just ain't gonna happen right away. That's okay, we'll deal with it. Take the presidency, take the Senate, keep the House, and unravel all the destruction of the last four years while dealing with another recession: it's enough.
4
The reality is unpleasant. Bernie is an aging yuppie socialist who has never held a full time job outside of politics. Biden acts as one would expect of a rapidly aging 77 year old. He exhibits troubling flashes of dementia. Bloomberg has no aplomb for the debate stage and would have been advised to go directly to the public in heavily scripted acts. That sadly leaves us with the current president. Over forty percent polled consistently support Trump without knowing If he will face Biden, Sanders or Bloomberg. Realistically, this leaves less than 20% of voters in play. And if you think voter turnout will sway to the left, you haven't been to your local WalMart today. Trump is in the driver’s seat and in the pole position. Short of the Democrats drafting someone viable e.g., Klobuchar or Booker, at the convention, I will reluctantly put my chips on Donald the Execrable.
2
Slim pickings, can't trust anyone of these .Unfortunately It is Trump by a landslide. Got to deal with it. Four years is not that long
3
Biden will get a dead cat bounce in SC.
Warren will still in 4th place or might climb over Buttigieg for 3rd place.
Amy and Steyer is so far behind it's ridiculous.
And Bloomberg should not be allowed to buy this election-- but if all those others get out-- that is what will happen.
4
If anyone should drop out it's Biden, who has no chance to beat anybody and would be more of a disaster as a candidate than he ever was. This writer is clueless in saying Bloomberg, the only one with a shot against Bernie, should drop out. He will not until its over.
4
Recent op-eds in the NY Times remind us that not all the crazies are Trump supporters.
Timothy Egan wants us to winnow it down to two. And who are the two? Biden and Sanders.
The candidates that Trump wants.
If he faces Biden the election will be all about Hunter Biden's position at Burisma, which Trump will spin as corruption. Can you imagine the debates between Trump and Biden? Biden might not be able to complete his sentences.
And Sanders? There is a book written by Saez and Zucman, called "the Triumph of Injustice" which provides a left-wing screed on the need to levy a wealth tax on billionaires.
It is that issue on which Sanders is vulnerable.
S&Z argue that in the battle between labor and capital, it is the fruits of labor that are taxed excessively, not capital.
But consider this. Yields on 10-year treasuries are now at 1.3% versus inflation of 2.3% according to the January figure. That means that the return on capital is -1%. That is pretty low.
Folks, both sides in a debate can be wrong. The majority of economists can be wrong in clinging to an outmoded conventional wisdom. Both parties believe in the goal of perpetual economic growth.
But to keep growth going the Fed has kept interest rates low for the last 10 years. That has induced billionaires and ordinary folk to invest in risky assets, that is, stocks. That has caused a bubble.
The Schiller CAPE index is now 32 compared to an average of 16.
Falling stocks show how wrong we were.
1
Either the moderate faction or the progressive faction of the D party is going to be disappointed in the eventual nominee. Gotta vote for him or (preferably) her anyway.
1
I usually agree at least somewhat with Tim, but he has lost me here.
First, what we have had so far is an insignificant smattering of the American democratic populace-- who in their desires, needs and voting patterns is the clear majority of our country. Iowa is a shrinking, elderly and whites only state. And it ran a terrible caucus. New Hampshire, repeat of Iowa except at least it was a primary. In voting patterns, both are largely GOP states. Nevada is a great state, except unfortunately they run a caucus-- a very flawed and undemocratic process by definition. South Carolina is by my analysis the FIRST important primary. Let it roll.
Second, if a single dem drops out of the race between now and March 3, they will have effectively nullified the votes of many early voters in any of the super tuesday states. Is that a positive goal for a democracy? As a California, I go to the polls on election day-- but I am out of the ordinary. I want 100% of our Super Tuesday votes to count and to matter. After that, if some who seem marginal drop out, I am okay with that-- I guess. How's that for a compromise with Tim's plan?
2
The probability that the two-thirds of California Democrats who vote for candidates other than Bernie will passively accept a reality in which their votes count for naught is minimal. That expectation defies both precedence and basic psychology. My memory of such conduct goes back to 1968. Then, I lived in a Chicago ward where Republicans were spoken of in the same breath as communists. However, when the Democratic convention delegates we elected were de-credentialed because the Illinois delegation did not meet gender and ethnicity criteria, the ward went for Nixon. You can’t tell people that their vote counts for nothing and then expect them to support you. The countervailing argument is that Trump is so bad people will have no choice other than to rally around Bernie.
They are both repulsive, all be it for different reasons and I intend to stay home on both Tuesday next and in November. As the Duke said in Romeo and Juliet: a plague on both your houses.
4 more years of Trump could be catastrophic, but 40 more years of Reaganomics would be worse.
Warren or Sanders should lead the Democratic ticket in 2020. The rest of these mugs offer more of the same -- which helped give us the first four years of Trump.
3
Patience, Mr. Egan. We have had only 3 Democratic preliminary races so far, each of those states with a quirky demographic structure. Super Tuesday might be a better indicator of who is up and who is down in the Democratic presidential bull pen.
Why not wait for the Democratic Convention, because some key event may happen between now and then that might make one of those Democratic candidates you want to boot from consideration look a lot more favorable.
Take the coronavirus epidemic, for example:
With the looming coronavirus and the most incompetent, lying president in American history in charge, I woke up at 3 am and thought: which of these Democratic presidential candidates would do the best job handling the crisis? I mentally imagined each one, starting with Bernie and Biden, worked my way down the list ,and concluded: Amy Klobuchar--experienced, level-headed, proud of being hard working and getting things done, knows whom to call, keeps things in perspective, not a know-it-all and would ask for expert advice, has a sense of humor, gets to the point, and takes no guff.
Not exciting, perhaps, but like so many competent people I worked with at an academic medical center for decades, Klobuchar focuses on getting the job done by cooperating and leading by example.
Nothing is wrong with being "Minnesota nice." Plus, Amy would bring in the swing states, and my hunch is she would be the best one at the helm to deal with a crisis and/or an epidemic/pandemic.
6
Mr. Egan is probably right. He almost always is. But it's awfully depressing to be left with two old men (I say that with impunity because I belong to the same decade as they do), one of whom was always a bit too quirky to be taken as solid presidential material and is now clearly losing focus to a worrisome extent, and the other who has a barren legislative history after 3 decades in congress but whose resentment of wealthy oligarchs has made a sort of pied piper of him, particularly among younger people who don't understand why the radical politics of the 1960s only applies today as a sad lesson learned. Whichever makes it to the nomination has my vote, but if that one beats trump in the general election, that may be the only benefit we see. Of course, that's a massive benefit.
1
Before he wrote his "Team of Rivals" op-ed earlier this week, Thomas Friedman should have had a long talk with Timothy Egan. The latter's sensible and politically astute take on the prospects for Democratic unity and success in 2020 is a welcome antidote to Friedman's fantastical (and fearful, if not despairing) perspective. All the Democratic candidates want to unite and defeat Trump? Then do it, accepting what the people say through their votes. It's not good trying to save democracy if you wind up turning it into something else.
"... be careful making political predictions ... but there is one I can make with assurance: Four more years of Trump would be catastrophic."
Assume without deciding PT is denied re-election, the question appears then to become how much less than catastrophic will the next four years be with the 40+ percent of Americans who have approved his presidency; and continue to.
In my voting lifetime the US has survived, and often thrived, with Nixon, Reagan, and Bushes 1 & 2. Trump, however, is sui generis.
Sanders may be a game changer, depending on Congress, but Trump is a cataclysm.
The nation IS in a class struggle. Pretending it isn’t doesn’t help. The middle class has had class war waged upon to the point that it more closely resembles the old working class than the 1% it used to aspire to.
4
Smartest and funniest piece by Mr Egan yet. For the good of the country, Democrats and independents need to have a clear choice between ONE socialist and ONE moderate. I actually don’t even care who they might be. Although I will say this to my moderate brethren: just like our socialist friends we should make it clear that we will NOT vote for the Democratic candidate if that candidate is not from our tribe. We can’t push our country into the socialist abyss just because we don’t like Trump.
1
Mr. Egan, are you more worried about Sanders policies, or about his electability? If it’s electability, he has many advantages to Biden, including an actual ground game, deep fundraising ability, and an army of enthusiastic supporters. He is liked by a majority of rank and file Democrats, if not the operatives (many of whom don’t have a great recent track record.) And Sanders looks stronger in many of the battleground states than the other candidates.
If it’s Sanders policies you dislike, I’m wondering why, as you’re usually such a strong advocate for human rights, income justice, and the environment.
3
@Susan With respect, I love Vermont, but I grew up in western Pennsylvania. An army of volunteers isn't a match against the conservative culture there and in rural Wisconsin.
2
Not sure any of these candidates are going to do well in rural PA. But at least Sanders speaks to rural voters about feeling left out of the process, he’s been doing it for years in conservative rural VT and winning those voters. And he’ll actually campaign in those rural swing state areas, unlike Clinton.
3
@Susan Again, with humble respect, a road in Windsor county and a road in Butler county might both be technically rural, but that's where it ends. One basks in a pastoral idyll where billboards are forbidden and a Rockefeller has personally paid to bury unsightly electric lines. The other is littered with billboards and is well known to the frackers.
Shoulda, coulda, woulda.
Once again, Democrats have stolen defeat from the jaws of victory with their selfish, stubborn, suicidal behavior and with it what's left of our democracy. Describing this as disastrous would be an understatement. Trump's second term should be in prison
not in the Oval. Wake up, America. You snooze, we all lose.
3
I don't know why Warren should drop out. If there is not a majority on the first ballot, then a compromise (I know that is a bad word to the purity test) between Bernie and Bloomberg/Biden. I will def vote for Bernie if he gets the nomination but Liz is my primary pick.
5
From the article:
"Politician, heed thy advice: Be gone now for the good of two-thirds of Democrats who have yet to warm to Sanders."
I would like to remind Mr. Egan that Bernie Sanders has the highest favorability among democrats of anyone in the race. In two recent ranked-choice nation wide polls, Bernie Sanders emerged as the top pick among democrats, edging out Joe Biden who was a close second. I'm sick of establishment-media types portraying Sanders as some kind of unelectable and unlikable curmudgeon. The fact is that he is both winning elections and is very much well liked by the majority of democrats.
5
Too many unqualified candidates from the very start. Among those who should leave, Biden is one. He stutters but there's something else going on. He also gets confused. He's learning that his confusion declines somewhat when he's angry and forcing the thoughts out by shouting. But it's there. Biden voters don't see how he's flawed. Watching him struggling to sound coherent, how could anyone consider him to be a president?
8
What’s the rush? By this time in 1968, RFK hadn’t even entered the race, and he was quickly leading the pack. Don’t deprive people of choice simply to advance the media’s narrative on the horse race; I hate the emphasis on ad buys. This election is too important and the candidates are still revealing themselves. The social media hive mind produced the Trump win; don’t buy in again.
10
I agree with a recent opEd by Paul Krugman. Given the division in the Dem party, whoever ends up on top, the best (perhaps only) strategy that will win the WH is a coalition. If it's Bernie (not my top choice but I'm voteBluenomatterWho), then he better be strategic in picking his running mate (one that complements his ideology) and why not already announce his choices for cabinet positions (including some of his running mates). This is no time for ego among the candidates (this alone would be a test of their genuine patriotism and commitment).
3
Egan knows darn well that none of the candidates he names will step aside before Super Tuesday, so why spend precious space for meaningless speculations at this time. If none gets a majority by convention time, then it's time to speculate on the best choice for the election. In such case we have an open convention, which Sanders as the likely plurality winner in delegates may not like but nevertheless had agreed to adhere to. If he and Warren combined have the majority of delegates he should be the Democrat's presidential candidate. On the other hand, if the moderates combined have the majority, subsequent ballots should determine the winner. In either case it is responsibility of the loosing prospects to fire up their followers to support the winner. This is a particularly solemn onus for Sanders if he were not chosen. It has to be more than lip service, Bernie has to show the same enthusiasm and persistence as he does presently in his primary campaigns.
3
Sensible idea, except that half of the Bernie supporters will not vote for the Democratic candidate if it isn’t Bernie. Moderates need to do the same.
I think it is a misconception that people that vote for Warren, have Bernie as their second choice and that anyone that voted for the centrists don’t have Bernie as their second choice. I have looked at the caucus results in both Iowa and Nevada and do not see this concept clearly represented. So adding up delegates of progressive versus centrist is too simplistic at best and at worse, a last ditch effort to justify giving the nomination to someone without a plurality. Given the size of the field, a delegate majority is less likely which is why there is plurality instead of a majority. The plurality candidate is likely the most popular candidate who would have got a majority of delegates in a head to head match up or in a field of 3. I just cannot see the logic of saying that a candidate with a plurality is not popular enough, and therefore, we should replace that person with someone without a plurality OR with someone that hasn’t been vetted in the primaries at all. It looks and smells like the establishment feels that they are better qualified to choose the ‘best’ candidate instead of the people.
2
I would like to see Gabbard, Steyer, Klobuchar, Buttigieg (alas), and Warren drop out immediately, but keep Bloomberg in. Warren's supporters would probably go mostly to Bernie, the others mostly to the moderate, be it Biden or Bloomberg. Bloomberg is rising steadily in the polls and has a chance to beat Sanders (a lot would depend on where the minorities go) and, most importantly, an excellent chance to beat Trump.
6
@Judith Bloomberg is the one candidate I will not vote for, and many progressives will not either. He is a horrible candidate on multiple levels.
His supporters need to stop deluding themselves.
Middle America is not pining for a Wall Street billionaire who still likes the Iraq War and who wants to ban guns and big gulps. He is massively out of touch and there is a treasure trove of video for RNC to make attack ads.
If you insist on a moderate, go with Biden. He at least has a prayer of appealing to voters of color and rust belt working class whites.
7
@Judith
I think you are right. Bloomberg is the ONLY candidate who has the wherewithal to stand up to Trump, who is a junkyard dog in debates.
Trump's fortune was inherited. Bloomberg did it on his own. He has a huge track record of success.
I am a Republican voter, but if Bloomberg got it, I'd probably go for him. Three years of non-stop never ending drama with DJT is getting very old.
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Even for most "undecided" voters, time is running out.
And with a field that is still at least five candidates too large, it's not getting any easier to figure out which is the most desirable, let alone the most electable.
Of course, Donald Trump and Republicans are taking full advantage of this by excitedly cheering on the candidate they figure they'll have the best chance of winning against in an election -- which is also why any discernable conflict within the ranks of the Democratic Party serves them best.
Without wanting to rank or dismiss anyone in particular, it's all but obvious that we're quickly approaching the time for some of these folks to up and leave the debate stage. Pronto!
And just who that is will ultimately be up to the voters to decide.
Just decide.
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The middle class in this country are literally on the edge of oblivion and they know it. They also know that it was elite Democrats as well as republicans who put them there. That is the reason a lying molester won the Presidency 3.5 years ago and that is the reason Bernie has such strong and deep support.
The present Democratic nominating process was put together by elite Democrats and is insane. It does not even come close to one man, one vote when you have to garner 15% of the vote to get any delegates. Bernie supporters will not vote for a perceived unfair nomination pick.
Best for the 'moderate' Democrats to get together so there are two or three standing for super Tuesday. Then a brokered convention can nominate a moderate and Bernie has been fairly put to pasture but can still hold his head high and campaign for the nominee.
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@kirk Trump won by making Boomers believe--somehow--that they'd been cheated of their "fair share," never mind pretty much the rest of human history as a counter example. Sanders has risen by telling the youngs they aren't getting their fair share. It's a similar appeal to navel-gazing narcissism. By many objective measures, our ancestors had it much, much worse, and every generation has to confront its own set of challenges.
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@kirk
Bernie had lots of input into and concurred with the nomination process at the convention, yet was the only one to raise his hand when asked if the plurality winner should become the democrat's nominee, a contrarian position of the rules, a bit too clever.
His supporters are primarily young people, who are idealistic. enthusiastic and quite smart- but not wise in terms of what is politically achievable. Some of his policies are a strong deterrent against support from a substantial fraction of voters. Be it mandatory MFA, educational loan forgiveness and free college for all (although it is a strong appeal to the young voters). Prohibition of fracking is a sure looser in Pennsylvania, a vital swing state. His programs are too expensive and taxing the rich and Wall street will not provide enough revenue. His wealth tax is highly likely to be unconstitutional, it is an apportionable direct tax under the constitution, as is income tax, but the latter is permissible under the 16th amendment. In summary, Sanders cannot deliver what he promises, yet they raise the heebie-jeebies amongst the moderate democrats, independents and never-Trump republicans.
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If Bernie has such strong and deep support, as you say, why should a “brokered convention pick a moderate?”
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"So, two-thirds of Democrats could vote for someone other than Sanders, and he would be the only one with something to show for it. That’s insane."
I just spent yesterday reading countless articles in the Times, both news and opinion, promoting the idea that Sanders should abide by the rules of the Democratic primary process should he not have a majority of delegates by the convention in Milwaukee. That's fine. Why then are the other rules of this process "insane" as soon as they benefit Sanders, and not, say, when he ended up with fewer delegates than Pete in Iowa despite tying in the SDE count and getting 6,000 more votes?
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Thank you for this. You are dead on.
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And all the King's horses and all the King's men could not put their Humpty Dumpty neoliberal candidate back together again.
Not in 10 days. Not in a 100. To borrow from the great historian Chris Matthews, "It's over."
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I think Sanders is the strongest general election. I'd like to see him win the nomination and the Presidency. But I care most about the Democrats winning, and I think that is most likely if the primary has a clear majority winner, whether that is Sanders or Biden. They are the only candidates with a real shot at entering the convention with a majority of pledged delegates. So I, too, would like to see some candidates drop out. Let's start with the billionaires.
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@Rob A lot of people in the super Tuesday states, notably the largest state-- CA-- have already voted. You and Tim are both wrong to say that candidates should drop out of the race now. Doing so would nullify the votes of those who have already participated in Tuesday's election.
CA is disenfranchised in the general election by the unfortunate electoral college system. Let's not let that happen to our (finally!) early primary. And I say this as a person who DESPISES Bernie Sanders.
I'm fine with candidates waiting till after Super Tuesday to drop out. But afterwards, the non-viable candidates should drop out. Including Bloomberg (who has little chance of winning a general election against Trump).
Ego will over-ride common sense from these candidates calling it quits. The Trump party will face a divided Democratic party. Sanders isn't mainstream, midstream or off-stream Democrat. Biden, will be the only Democrat left standing if those suggested do leave. Bloomberg plays the field.
Sanders will not get much, if anything, through a Republican Senate. I'm not sure what a Sanders' presidency will accomplish other than removing Trump. Maybe that's enough.
The DNC basically declared an 'open-border' policy as to who can run as a Democrat. Sanders and Bloomberg should have been disqualified. Perhaps it's time for a third party to enter the fray.
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Pete, Amy and Tom need to exit immediately after South Carolina. Thanks for the show, but everyone (including your moms) know that the show is over.
The situation is a little less clear with Warren, but in the end, I'd ask her to pack it up as well. One could argue that Warren may be the compromise candidate --- a hybrid of Biden and Sanders. But, do you seriously think that Joe/Bernie could be the top-two delegate recipients and somehow Warren walks away with the nomination at the convention? Forget about it.
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“Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, Mike Bloomberg and perhaps Elizabeth Warren need to get out of the race.”
You’re kidding, right?
If you’re serious, why not recommend the the Democratic Party take a cue from the Republican Party and just cancel primary elections altogether? That gets rid of “distracting” competition right away; and our participatory democratic republic along with it.
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PBS has alot on Sanders that is much more favorable than Biden. Cornell West has total disdain for Biden and yet no one mentions his endorsement of Sanders. Biden called a woman lying dog faced pony soldier and yet Bloomberg is the misogynist. Biden is an old white man who has association with Obama and that is enough for alot of people. Biden doesn't need to exhibit competency, he just exudes old white male.
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@That's What She Said And Warren stood on the same stage with Sanders and told him he called her a liar on national TV.
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I, for one, have zero interest in who Cornell West favors. Why should anyone?
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As a Sanders supporter, I want the moderates to have a better showing than what they've done so far. I want the best candidate, not just the candidate I like.
But that's also the problem, isn't it? The candidates who aren't Sanders are all kind of awful. Sanders terrifies boomers who remember the cold war, but he's the only candidate that actually seems to be inspiring people. He's a risk, but he simply... is out-organizing his opponents. He's having a rally in los angeles with Public Enemy and Dick van Dyke. He's becoming a political rockstar. None of these other people can generate that kind of hype.
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George McGovern had the coolest acts at his rallies too.
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@John Fischer The biggest show was the finale.
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If "Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, Mike Bloomberg and perhaps Elizabeth Warren (...) get out of the race." the remaining candidates will not get better in no way in the end.
The only advantage would be within the inner power architecture of Dem´s. because the damage of undisciplined further circular firing would not be as detrimental as it is going to be right now.
But the race is about beating Mr.Trump and nothing else. In this regard this would not move any of the remaining candidates one single inch forward. The only impact was on the amount his/her foreseeable loss. Even in case of an unlikely win of one candidate instruments to implement their new politics - legislative majorities - would not be not available due to unchanged inner divisity of the democratic party - unless the benefitting candidate was an "undercover more of the samer."
So you just should analyse at a deeper level Mr. Egan.
I do not agree with this article. I DO think that after Super Tuesday, if a candidate has less than 20% of the total delegates, they should drop out. Even if Sanders won ALL the delegates on Super Tuesday, he could not get the nomination on the first ballot ... yet. If the country and the Democratic Party REALLY wants to listen to the American people, this race needs to continue as is for now.
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Hearty, passionate debate should not be confused with self-destruction. You seem to be saying, "Just end the noise already!" but your prescription does not instruct those who leave the race about what to do next. Winnowing the field to two does not necessarily mean the noise will end.
Political parties have done an about-face before. Remember the Whigs? Of course you don't. The Republicans remade themselves, and remaking the Democratic party is a better bet for creating an American renaissance than Trump. Party operatives will lose their jobs. But the voters might support the New Democrats.
2
Relax Tim.
The threat of Trump re-election will bring likely Democratic voters to the polls in November, regardless of the nominee. To the extent likely non-voters can be cajoled to the polls in November, it appears Sanders is most cajoling.
Also: as candidates drop out, their supporters are flocking to Sanders, not Biden. So these people dropping out wouldn't thwart Sanders.
Also: only OP-ED writers favor candidates on the basis of the details of their policies. Actual normal people favor candidates based upon how the candidate makes them feel. Sanders makes people feel justifiable in their anger, which happens to be a good fit to the moment.
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Tim, it's time to stop trashing Sanders. He's the likely Democratic nominee; he can beat Trump, and he will be a very good president who we really need. He's not my first choice, but let's be serious; he's almost certainly going to be the nominee, and compared to the flaming pile of toxic waste in the White House, he's fantastic. And the rapid spread of a novel, potentially fatal viral outbreak should make it clear that we need universal health care. right now.
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Congrats to Mr Egan, this has to be the best opinion piece I've read so far concerning the current state of the Democratic primary.
2
Just to be clear, I love Egan, and I think he’s a great patriot with incredible optimism about the American experiment. When he’s worried, I’m worried. Egan probably has a more sensitive finger on the pulse of the common man than any other commentator the Times has. But this is a pipe dream, like so many others. My own version has been: if 120 cardinals can conclave and pick a pope, why can’t these candidates retire to a Holiday Inn in Centralia, Illinois, or Wasau, Wisconsin, and come out with a nominee? The person who wants it least should be the one to carry the Ring of Power to Mount Doom. Tired and broken, a step slower... it’s Biden. Not because I think he’s so great. But precisely because his heart isn’t in it. Yes, his ego makes him resentful that he’s not appreciated and respected more by the others, but do you really think he’d be out there campaigning if the Dems had a better candidate? He’s carrying his cross to Calvary, I think.
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To the op-ed writer, I guess you didn't watch the debates, where Biden stumbles for his words (yes, I know he stammers, but this is not related), lacks energy, gets confused and acts like the guy yelling ' Get off my lawn!". He is not going to motivate people to get out and vote and looking at where the economy is going this year, doesn't seem to have the energy or know-how to handle a nation in crisis. After decades in the Senate, he has no substantial legislation to his name.
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Buttigieg should withdraw? He's won Iowa, Tied New Hampshire, and had a more respectable finish than Biden in Nevada. I see no evidence that Biden should be the torchbearer yet. If he wins in South Carolina, he will still be doing worse than Buttigieg. Things will be much clearer after super tuesday.
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So, the best candidate to beat Trump is... Biden? A guy who shows his age everytime he opens his mouth? Whose past positions and policies are all considered suspect/ outdated and or historic blunders?
Whose greatest claim is he was Obama's VP? The same Obama presidency that paved the way for Trump?
Who is trailing Trump is 4 of the 5 battleground states?
13
You're right Frank to advise the obvious losers to give up now. They're only adding confusion and intra-party dysfunction by staying. Let it be Bernie against Biden and allow the voters a clear choice: Do they want to return to the politics of usual that has reigned for 30+ years, or do they want to try something new, something that will actually work for them instead of the oligarchy? My bet is the latter.
But you should take heart in the piece by Steve Phillips this morning in this paper:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/opinion/bernie-sanders-polls.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
that shows Bernie as the best bet to beat Trump. For all the handwringing and doomsaying, you pundits have got it completely wrong about Sanders. He is actually the strongest candidate. His appeal reaches across all demographic sectors. Moreover, he's the best bet to win back voters who either went for Trump or Stein.
Biden on the other hand will be carved up by Trump. He's a dinosaur from the past, and his past is riddled with betrayals to the Democrats and its base. If he wins SC it will be his first ever primary win in four attempts! Betting on him is like the gambler who deludes himself that his longshot is finally going to win. But let him run against Bernie and see what happens. If he beats him, fine, I'll vote for him against Trump, but I don't that's going to happen. But at least it will prove to the doubters that Sanders can win.
4
All this and now we are back to the two candidates with the most name recognition. All the debates, all the news stories . . . what a waste. Nominate Bernie and be done with it.
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Bernie is going to win. Get over it and move on Tim. We have a Prime Minister who won with 33%. It's annoying to see his smug face and hear his empty words on the news everyday but he still won. That's life.
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All of them can bow out--except Warren. Really tired of all of these male pundits erasing the very well qualified woman in this race. Stay in there Warren. It ain't over yet!
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"We will soon be entering the 10 days that could change the world." What ten days is Egan talking about?
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@Barry He may be including the elections that will be held on March 10, which include Michigan and five other states.
Or maybe Biden wrote the hed.
Amen. This is making the 2016 Republican clown car nominating process look like a case study in political decorum and efficiency. What in the world are these single digit candidates waiting for? They remind me of the Black Knight in Monty Python, both arms and legs severed, lying on the ground challenging King Arthur to come on and fight!
What is obvious, on the other hand, is that because no one candidate --- not even Bernie Sanders --- has been able to amass a sizable lead, the others still see themselves as viable. Bloomberg didn't even see it as necessary to be in the first 3 primaries.
While hope may spring eternal for the second tier candidates, they would do well to recognize that we out here in the audience are terrified at the prospect of the Democratic nominating process devolving into a spectacle of hand waving, shouting, berating, jumping up and down, protesting, bellowing and petulantly demanding more attention for following the rules.
Oh... wait...
2
This homogenous group will need a minority on the ticket for balance. Can't see Klobuchar or Buttiegieg realistically offering. Steyer is not as viable as Bloomberg so I agree with with the first three--should leave. Warren is solid.
Biden
Sanders
Bloomberg
Warren
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@That's What She Said Yes, exactly. That would still leave plenty of choice, two progressives and two moderates.
1
"Two-thirds of Democrats could vote for someone other than Sanders, and he would be the only one with something to show for it. That’s insane."
This line of thinking, which has been very common throughout the primary, is fallacious. Sanders is not winning an outright majority. However, that does not mean the majority of voters don't want him. They prefer someone else, yes, but he could very well be their second choice. For example, say your candidate is Biden – not because he’s a “moderate,” but because you think we need an experienced, straight-talking white guy to beat Trump. Your second choice might be Sanders. So if everyone drops out except say, Sanders and Buttigieg, your vote will go to Sanders before Buttigieg.
Look at it this way: say an ice cream shop has 10 flavors, and the most popular is chocolate with 25%, and the next most popular is vanilla with 18%. If you get rid of all other flavors, you can’t assume that chocolate will stay at 25% and vanilla will jump to 75%. Chocolate is likely to remain more popular than vanilla and go above 50%.
And in fact, in head-to-head polls (where it’s Sanders one-on-one against each of the democrats), Sanders beats them all. See https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2020/02/18/democrat-head-to-head-poll. So if this did become a two-person race, Sanders would be getting the majority of votes.
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@calantir Your chocolate vs. vanilla analogy would hold only if there were one chocolate flavor and five different vanilla flavors (French vanilla, creamy vanilla, etc.).
Now if you eliminated all but one vanilla flavor, which flavor do you think most people who like vanilla-flavored ice cream over chocolate ice cream would choose?
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@Robert While you may see Sanders as chocolate and all the others as varieties of vanilla, most voters don't simply divide candidates into "moderate" and "progressive" lanes. They have other criteria (such as identity, electability, personality) for picking a candidate besides where they stand on the political spectrum. That explains why Sanders, as I already pointed out in my comment, is the second choice of supporters of a lot of the other candidates, and that's why he beats each of the other moderates head-to-head.
Bernie would be near as bad as Trump I’m afraid.
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"she seems — how to say this? — gutless to take on the one person squatting in her lane"
Why would Warren "take on" Sanders when many of their stands on issues are very similar?
"Buttigieg will not win a state on Super Tuesday — not even close"
Biden hasn't won a state in any of his Presidential campaigns.
The reality is, if Sanders has a large lead after Tuesday, the ancient Democratic regime better get behind him quickly unless (as I unfortunately suspect) hey like David Brooks prefer Trump.
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