In Divided Michigan District, Debbie Dingell Straddles the Biden-Sanders Race

Bernie has proclaimed AIPAC as racist. Virtually every endorsement for him in Michigan involves someone with a history of anti-Semitism. Every American of the Jewish faith ought to pay attention to this. Folks who support Sanders ought to read Norman Podhoretz before they vote.

The Detroit auto industry was in deep trouble long Nafta. When Volkswagens began to be seen on American rioads, in the 1950s, the Detroit auto moguls laughed--and made no plans whatsoever to compete. Several more times before NAFTA, the auto moguls of the Big 3 stuck to their obsolete car designs, thereby driving the American auto industry almost into the ground. The fault is not with NAFTA, but rather with these smug, stupid auto executives who have presided over the worst-managed industry in America.

This is just crazy. A President of the United States inciting such vindictive hate. It’s as if a Purple Heart recipient said something critical of the President then his supporters would make them a target. There’s so little decorum in politics and the President is leading the tone. I guess we have two choices to fix this divide; let’s hand everyone handguns and devolve into civil war, or, maybe we take a step back and mirror the civility of a generation ago. Democracy doesn’t work if we can’t disagree, nor does it continue to function if we can’t have a conversation.

While it is the butt of many jokes in MI, the Downriver is as diverse as it is stereotypical. While there are plenty of college educated, professional and progressive people Downriver, it is not hard to find very ridged “traditional” values. My daughters, raised to be liberal, feminist, knowledgeable of others and caring about the environment were routinely scoffed at for speaking out. When I refused to let them eat processed junk food at school, their organic lunch items were mocked. When they spoke to their peers about access to birth control and abortion, that was met with disdain too. When my younger daughter was a senior in HS (2016) there were 4 girls who were pregnant by graduation and “could not wait to be Moms”. Several others became pregnant after graduation, some now have 3 kids. They are applauded because the are pro-life. No college, minimum wage jobs, multiple baby-daddy’s – but they “did the right thing”. I knew several white neighbors or acquaintances who were on “disability”, some for anxiety, who hated people on welfare. There are many good people in this area – but it's hard to find shades of gray in this diverse population. Most of the area is ripe for the picking by Trump because they feel left out and disaffected. Ms. Dingell has s tough job, but seems to be able to cross boundaries and genuinely connect with her constituents. We need more of this in politics – agree to disagree but also find the common ground to move forward.

Bernie, like Trump, opposed NAFTA. The autoworkers that supported Trump over Clinton may continue to support him over Biden, but will support Bernie over Trump. Bernie opposes Trump's NAFTA 2.0 because it still allows outsourcing to countries that pay low wages, and hurts U.S. workers.

The Main Rreason That Democratic Party Lost to Trump in 2016 was because They Were Not Fighting For Something,but They Were Only Fighting To Stop Something (Fascism and Racism) or Somebody (Trump). It seems like Democrats are trying to repeat the same mistakes this year; both in The Primary (Stop Sanders) and The General (Stop Trump). History shows that Voters Respond To A Campaign That Offers Something or Ideas than the one that's just against something or ideas or Somebody. Democrats must come up with a Clear Vision and Irresistible Brand. Like him or not,Trump has an irresistible Brand called " Make America Great Again". Instead of offering their own irresistible Brand,Hillary and the Obamas wasted their time and energy trying to prove that America is already great. As we now know,many voters didn't believe that America is already great. Among all the two dozens democratic candidates,it's only one that has a Brand which is "For All" in terms of Medicare For All,Public Colleges For All,Government Should Work For All,Housing For All,This Country For All and not for the few wealthy people,and he also has a Motto which is " Not me,Us". Can anyone tell me the Brand or even the Motto of Joe Biden besides "Defeat Trump" and "I'm The Most Electable" ? While defeating Trump might be the number one goal of tribal Democrats,it might not be the number one goal of Independent and Swing Voters who actually decide the outcome of any presidential election.

I’m from California, a media-driven and service-oriented “techno-state” that now votes essentially Democratic (with only defined pockets of GOP holdouts in rural areas). This well-researched article reconfirms the truth of the old adage that “all politics are local” - at least in the family-dominated manufacturing heartland of America. However, I suggest that, whilst Michigan has yet to make the politico-cultural transition to become a part of “Hotel California” - that is, a highly variegated service-based agglomeration, it inevitably will - as will the rest of the US. Stated another way, both “populism of the right” (as mobilized by the likes of Trump) and “populism of the left“ (as energized by the Bernie Bros) are merely a product of societies in transition. The times, they are a-changin.

A good and thoughtful article that makes it very clear that Biden with his pro-China and pro-NAFTA stance will have a very hard time mobilizing enough voters in November to defeat Trump. If you also add his increasing difficult to speak and his erratic outbursts against voters–as happened today in Detroit when challenged on guns–I think that he has little chance of ever becoming president (unless the Corona virus disaster makes Trump totally unelectable by late fall). I fear a repeat of 2004 or 2016 all over again.

I am an old man, a Roosevelt-Kennedy Democrat. Although I don't agree with her on everything, she comes as close as anyone I know to speaking for the American people as I used to know them. In other words, while this country is in various respects becoming unrecognizable to me, she still speaks for me in a way that many others don't. God Bless her.

The sprawl and complexity of Congresswoman Dingell's district is a prime example of gerrymandering in Michigan. Google the map of the MI 12th district and see for yourselves. There's certainly a simpler way to draw those boundaries, but that would make her district less polarized. The fact that she is beloved by so many diverse constituents is testimony to her and her husband's good work in Congress.

Let's not get caught up in the primary contests and forget about the ultimate price which is winning November 2020 general election. There's something really wrong when a former Vice President finished fourth in the first Contest in Iowa and fifth in the second contest in New Hampshire despite big endorsements including John Kerry; while a Mayor of a small village in Indiana tied as first in Iowa and finished as second in New Hampshire. The Earlier We Address The Elephant In The Room, The Better It Helps In November General Election. Historically, no candidate that Finished Below Third in Iowa and New Hampshire has ever been elected President of United States. Based on my observations here in Pennsylvania in 2016, I predicted in that Summer 2016 that Trump would become the President whenever Bernie drops out, and that's what exactly happened. That's because a lot of people here in Pennsylvania are Independents who really distrust any Republican or Democratic Establishment Candidates. They mostly said in 2016 that Bernie was their first choice and Trump the second choice because they're both Independents. I can tell you to brace up for the night of November 2020 general election if Biden is the Nominee.