deserves its own thread. In this morning's Wall Street Journal: "Democrats, if you’re serious about winning in 2020, put aside Trump rage and impeachment fever and give voters reason to believe you’ll calm the acrimony and restore bipartisan problem-solving in the capital." How Democrats Can Avoid Losing Trump is beatable in 2020, but only if his opponent appeals beyond the base. By Ted Van Dyk May 30, 2019 6:48 p.m. ET Typically a Democratic presidential nominating field contains candidates from various flanks of the party. This year most contenders are taking positions that aim to attract activists who work and vote in early primaries and caucuses—but that could result in landslide defeat in November. Fortunately, there’s still time to adjust. Here’s how: • Don’t pursue impeachment. The Mueller report disappointed many Democrats by failing to find collusion between Russians and the Trump campaign. But House committee chairmen and other impeachment hawks have continued to press investigations of the president on bases ranging from his private business dealings to legally required Mueller report redactions. The Justice Department, meanwhile, is looking into allegations that Obama-era intelligence and law-enforcement officials colluded to undertake illegal actions against the 2016 Trump campaign. Voters are exhausted and disgusted by all of it and desperate for bipartisan action on salient policy issues. • Abandon the Green New Deal. This proposal, which some candidates have already embraced, is economically and technologically impossible. It would create wrenching economic dislocations. By rejecting nuclear power, it would continue to make near-term reliance on fossil fuels a necessity. Candidates would be wise to embrace the prior consensus view on the issue: Gradually diminishing use of fossil fuels and their replacement with renewable forms of energy, including nuclear. • Moderate Medicare for All. This attractively named proposal comes with a price tag that would bust the federal budget and frighten voters. A practical and affordable way station would be a provision within Medicare of catastrophic coverage for all Americans. That would relieve Americans’ fear of being left destitute by lengthy and expensive medical conditions, and it would be far less expensive than dismantling private health insurance. • Embrace immigration reform. Even Trump critics now concede there is a crisis on the southern border. But both parties are posturing rather than collaborating. Democratic candidates should move beyond denouncing Mr. Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to comprehensive proposals including not only border security but regularization of status of the millions of illegal aliens and an eventual path to citizenship. • Reject identity politics. A proud Democratic history of pursuing equality of opportunity without regard to race, ethnicity, sex, religion, sexual orientation or other irrelevance has given way to an identity politics based on victimhood, ugly accusations such as “white privilege” and “toxic masculinity,” and dramatic but empty symbolism, such as destroying Confederate monuments and demanding reparations for slavery. Democrats should instead concentrate on the plight of black Americans in inner cities plagued by high crime, violence, incarceration, school-dropout and unemployment rates. They should propose measures to restore family structure and provide fair and effective policing and job and skills training. • Make tax policy fair. Democrats took the lead a generation ago to remove loopholes and unjustifiable preferences from the tax code. The result was the bipartisan 1986 reform law, which reduced the number of brackets and the rates for all taxpayers, thus generating new economic growth and employment. Do it again—remove all deductions but health expenses and home-mortgage interest. Instead, current candidates stress raising tax rates on the rich (which would raise little revenue) and placing tighter regulation on business. • Stop promising free stuff. Ideas like a guaranteed income for people who don’t work, free college, and taxpayer assumption of student debt appeal to defined groups of voters but are unaffordable and out of line with most Americans’ core values. • Respect the other side on abortion. States will continue to attempt restriction or expansion of abortion rights. In defending those rights, however, advocates would do well to recognize that the country is closely divided on the issue and that a strong majority of pro-choice voters oppose late-term abortions. This is an issue on which people of goodwill honestly disagree based on religious, ethical and other values. Defense of Roe v. Wade should be based on that realization. It is important for presidential aspirants to lead rather than follow avid partisan constituencies. A cautionary example is 1972. Democrats lost a 49-state landslide to incumbent Richard Nixon, notwithstanding a flat economy and Watergate. I served as policy director of George McGovern’s campaign. McGovern strongly opposed the Vietnam War, and ran to end it, but otherwise held moderate views on a range of issues. Party activists stressed divisive cultural and social issues, which rubbed off on McGovern. He became known as the candidate of “acid, amnesty and abortion”—and not only among Republicans. Decades later columnist Robert Novak revealed that quote came from Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri, who briefly became McGovern’s running mate. Democrats, if you’re serious about winning in 2020, put aside Trump rage and impeachment fever and give voters reason to believe you’ll calm the acrimony and restore bipartisan problem-solving in the capital. At the same time, develop a platform and message that can command support from a majority of the electorate. Don’t let the cheering end at the nominating convention. Mr. Van Dyk was active in Democratic national policy and politics for 40 years. He is author of “Heroes, Hacks and Fools” (University of Washington Press, 2007). Appeared in the May 31, 2019, print edition. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-democrats-can-avoid-losing-11559256496?mod=hp_opin_pos3
Oh man, the moment I saw the title and that it was WSJ, before clicking I jokingly said to myself "be more conservative!" And, LOL, here it is.
A WSJ "concern troll" article on how conservatives would be best served by the field of Democratic Presidential hopefuls. Cool story, bro.
OT publicizing that he doesn't read US history / political books, A history lesson for OT, who habitually parrots one-sided half-assed articles An impeachment investigation was launched against POTUS clinton. even tho, there wasn't enough vote in the Senate for impeachment, His party lost control of house and Senate during his last 2 yrs in office, and the next presidential election, if history is any indication, Dems can improve their chances of beating Trump, by starting impeaching proceedings against him,
Prevent voter fraud by making sure the people who said they did not vote for Trump did not actually vote for him!
Impeachment is a duty/obligation at this point. However, it can't be considered an electoral strategy. Democrats do need ideas and a path forward.
That forward from grandma is only applicable if you think Trump is clean and that impeachment won't unearth a whole bunch of shady crap.
The fact that this editorial has a bullet point that suggests most liberals concede there is a "crisis at the border" shows how full of **** this article is. Yes a crisis at the border where a President created one by purposefully clogging the system by not hiring more judges to hear cases from migrants who voluntarily placed themselves in the custody of border patrol at legal checkpoints. The actual amount of illegals illegally crossing the border is still at record lows given the past half century of data. What a disingenuous hack article with **** premises.
In addition, it is from someone who won't vote for a Democrat whether they impeach or not. Not impeaching isn't going to swing over any Trump supporters. Of course Trump supporters would think that not impeaching is a good idea and impeaching is a bad idea that will hurt them.
Pivoting to the middle isn't out of the ordinary for any candidate from either party once they win the nomination, with the notable exception of 2016. I don't think the article is junk, but it does read as boilerplate wish-list stuff for moderate republicans, which is the WSJ reader base. In that sense, it's hard to take it seriously. On the other hand, it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see Biden, for instance, step center after getting nominated. (Warren and Bernie, not so much.) There's an important truth that the MSM, both left and right, is leaving out of their prognostication: The actual left-wing issues are polling extremely well with the general American public. A majority of Americans support access to abortion A large majority support restriction on gun sales A majority support medicare for all, i.e. single payer If you phrase the above as a public option, i.e. you get to keep your doctor if you want, and a public option for the rest, it's a large majority A large majority support raising taxes on the rich, and there is a poll where over 50 percent of self-identified republicans support raising taxes on the rich Gay marriage isn't even worth mentioning, but remember when that was a controversial topic just two elections ago? The above does not guarantee a victory for liberals in a national election for many reasons. The electoral college gives preference to small red state voters. Also, just because more than 50% of Americans favor a particular issue, doesn't mean you can't scare independents away in a particular state by using scare words like communism. Republicans enjoy minority rule through gerrymandering and the EC. They enjoy a conservative majority on the Supreme Court because of their minority rule. That doesn't mean their stances are popular with the public at large. The myth of trickle-down economics is enduring a long, slow death. Absolutely no one in the middle or left believes in it anymore. It has become obvious that further tax cuts and giveaways to the wealthy do not create a "tide that lifts all boats" or stimulates enough economic activity to invoke the Laffer curve and pay off the budget deficit it creates. Bernie has removed some, but not all, of the stigma from the word 'socialism.' America is ready for its long-overdue step left after the Reagan era. The democrats are not guaranteed a victory in 2020, but according to polling, running on what used to be far-left issues is popular enough to win with now.
Well said. 2020 is very important across all elections since the census will allow you to redraw districts.
WSJ and much of the corporate press. The Dems can only win if they espouse conservative/ corporate mainstream views as we tell you.
They have been investigating him going back to at least mid 2016 and haven't found anything yet. Perhaps impeachment might unearth jaywalking, that he once tore a tag off of a mattress, drove 56 in a 55 mph zone, or some similar ridiculousness???
Do you just repeat this over and over in your head like a spasm just like Donald Trump yells "NO COLLUSION! NO OBSTRUCTION!" in multiple formats of media untill he believes it?
No, Trump voters made this **** casserole and need to spoon up every ******* bite. The entire developing world's economy revolves around middle class, white American consumption so stop pretending you're "being ignored" because minorities, unmarried women and non-heterosexuals in your own back yard are getting or in most cases simply asking for marginally more equitable opportunities now.
