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"The Left vs. the Crazy Left: If you’re looking for a moderate president, you won’t find one in the Democratic field."

The Left vs. the Crazy Left
If you’re looking for a moderate president, you won’t find one in the Democratic field.
By
Kimberley A. Strassel
Aug. 1, 2019 7:17 pm ET

The nation has struggled to categorize the Democratic presidential candidates. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is some days a “populist,” others a “liberal.” Sen. Bernie Sanders is at pains to define “democratic socialism” as apart from plain, old “socialism.” The media describes Sen. Amy Klobuchar as a “centrist” or “moderate,” even as she insists on “proven progressive.”

There’s an easier taxonomy: Lefties vs. Crazy Lefties. That’s the choice Democrats have in the primaries, and the two pools from which Donald Trump’s opponent will come.

This summer’s debates have been primarily useful for highlighting how radically the Democratic Party has shifted. Barack Obama can fairly be described as the most liberal president in American history—from his command-and-control regulatory regime to the Affordable Care Act, from his tax hikes to his activist judges. Yet the entire Democratic primary field is now rebuking his agenda as small and weak, if not proto-Trumpian.

Mr. Obama avoided campaigning in 2008 on a public option, and the White House willingly jettisoned that demand in the final ObamaCare negotiations. He knew that at best it would muster 43 Senate votes, while senators like Joe Lieberman had vowed to filibuster a government “takeover” of health insurance that would balloon the national debt. House Blue Dogs similarly rejected it. Yet all 20 of the candidates on this week’s debate stage backed Medicare for any American, if not all of them.

Mr. Obama touted natural gas as a bridge fuel to a future lower-carbon environment. He kept his economy afloat by winking at the state-led fracking revolution, and since retirement he’s even (misleadingly) bragged that he was responsible for record new U.S. oil production. Yet what was the radical-left position of a few years ago—“keep it in the ground”—is now mainstream. On Wednesday even Joe Biden said no when a moderator asked if there would be “any place for fossil fuels, including coal and fracking,” in his administration. Hawaiians will never visit the mainland again.

Mr. Biden’s rivals—including Sen. Cory Booker, Julián Castro (an Obama cabinet secretary) and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio—scored him for not using his clout as vice president to stop Mr. Obama’s “deportations.” Activist audience members egged this attack on, chanting “three million deportations!” Mr. Biden made a stab at defending the Obama immigration policy, but he promised the Obama deportation rates would “absolutely not” resume were he president. The entire field is on record for easing asylum rules, and some want to decriminalize unauthorized border crossings.

On the topic of law and order, not a single candidate spoke in defense of hundreds of thousands of police officers who daily risk their lives for public safety. They instead nodded along with descriptions of police systems as “criminal,” “corrupt” and “broken.” Mr. Obama spoke at a 2016 memorial for five murdered Dallas cops. Would any Democratic candidate dare show up at such an event today?

The debates have highlighted important policy distinctions. But in the context of this overall leftward shift, they are rightly measured on a sliding scale from “lefty” to “absolutely nuts.” And it’s only the presence of the real radicals that allows commentators to get away with suggesting any of these policies are remotely “centrist” or “moderate.”

The crazies want to tax everyone and everything—financial transactions, carbon, bank liabilities, sales, wealth, income, families. Mr. Sanders has outright said he will raise taxes on the middle class, while Ms. Warren has all but admitted as much. The ordinary lefties merely want to raise taxes on capital, estates, businesses, payrolls and higher incomes.

The crazies would take over or kill entire sectors of the economy. Some Medicare for All proponents would immediately outlaw private insurance; others would do it over time. Fossil-fuel jobs would be abolished, while disfavored corporate executives would face “jail.” The lefties would merely regulate the hell out of the economy, dictating what types of health plans, financial products, energy, and drugs we can have, and at what price.

The crazies would pack the Supreme Court (Ms. Warren), prosecute Mr. Trump (Kamala Harris) and spend billions on slavery reparations (Marianne Williamson). The lefties would merely require two years of mandatory national service (John Delaney), ban union and nonprofit political speech (Michael Bennet) and impose sweeping new gun control (John Hickenlooper).

The Democratic Party seems to be banking that voters dislike Mr. Trump so much that they’ll accept any alternative. That’s an enormously risky bet. All that’s missing in this race is any evidence that a country that elected Mr. Trump is four years later willing to leapfrog beyond Obama policies into liberal nirvana. The polls continue to show (as they long have) that the U.S. is a center-right country. Ms. Warren wondered on Tuesday why anyone would bother running for president if they weren’t running as a full-blown radical. Because elections are supposed to be about winning.

Write to kim@wsj.com.
Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the August 2, 2019, print edition.
​

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-left-vs-the-crazy-left-11564701434?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

 

"In Case of Emergency: 20 Democrats Who Could Step in and Upend the Race":

If any or all of the Democratic presidential candidates on the debate stage this week stall, who will jump into the primary next? Here are another twenty candidates who could.

1) Howard Schultz: The Starbucks CEO paused his prospective independent bid amidst back surgery and Biden’s entry. Have the tacks of ex-CEO and Maryland Congressman John Delaney, former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, and Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan re-created space within the Democratic Party for Schultz?

2 and 3) Eric Holder or Deval Patrick: Obama confidants would pick up the mantle if he picked up the phone. Former Attorney General Holder has visited New Hampshire and other early primary states this cycle, most recently for his (and the 44th president’s) redistricting advocacy organization. The former two-term Massachusetts governor (and Chicago native) Patrick is working for a Mitt Romney-founded company, which could be a deal-breaker to the Left. Put him down on another list—prospective Supreme Court nominees in the next administration outside the box of appellate judges (a list that would also include Janet Napolitano, Amy Klobuchar, Jennifer Granholm).

4 and 5) Stacey Abrams or Andrew Gillam: Their close-call losses for governors of Georgia and Florida, respectively, in 2018 earned activist and media respect much like Beto O’Rourke’s U.S. Senate loss in Texas and subsequent presidential candidacy.

6 and 7) Al Gore or John Kerry: Two previous nominees. Gore’s a godfather of climate change advocacy and a national popular vote winner. Kerry showed some interest to international audiences and took to the Boston Globe to vouch for former staffer and AOC “Squad” member U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

8–10) Stanley McChrystal, Mike Mullen, or Wesley Clarke: Several of the most prominent Democratic military leaders. General McCrystal actually endorsed announced candidate U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts this summer. Former NATO (an alliance questioned by Trump) Commander Clarke was a late entrant from the Clinton orbit in the 2004 cycle.

11) Jason Kander: Before Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s ascension, Secretary Kander (former Missouri Secretary of State, that is) was well received as a precocious talent notwithstanding relatively limited electoral success. Kander was organizing on the ground and feted to large party audiences before pivoting to a Kansas City mayoral run and time for PTSD treatment. It’s a matter of when, not if, he reemerges.

12) Gavin Newsom: Gov. Newsom and Sen. Kamala Harris have been the two most ambitious California politicians of their generation. He, not Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (who passed on a presidential bid and has been sidetracked by a homelessness crisis), is next in line for national attention from the most populous Democratic state.

13 and 14) Hakeem Jeffries or Connor Lamb: Candidates seeking the presidency directly from the U.S. House have been met with eye-rolls from impatient press (noting that no one since Garfield made it all the way)…up until recently. Jeffries’s future is probably in House leadership post-Pelosi. Lamb had a moment after winning a special election in Trump-country Pennsylvania, a must-win for Democrats in the 2020 general.

15 and 16) Mitch Landrieu or Terry McAuliffe: The two most talented political minds not running.

17) Michelle Obama: Overnight sensation.

18) Mike Bloomberg: He was going to run to champion climate change (well covered already by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and most recent entrant Tom Steyer) and gun control (the #1 priority of already-out Congressman Eric Swalwell).

19) Mark Cuban: He has the prerequisite ego. He’s toyed with the idea before and has a history of playing with speculation, most recently saying “We’ll see what happens” in March of 2019. Will he go for it? His cat-and-mouse deliberation is reminiscent of another off-the-cuff TV business executive.

20) Oprah Winfrey: The most commonly volunteered celebrity as well as universally liked.

Also contending for the Democratic nomination and not mentioned above are former Pennsylvania congressman, Senate candidate, and Navy officer Joe Sestak and the mayor of a large Miami suburb, Wayne Messam. At least hundreds more will file with the FEC and appear on ballots. If you’ve read this far, it’s time to re-watch “West Wing” Season 6, Episode 22, for the brokered Convention you know you want.
​

https://thebulwark.com/in-case-of-emergency-20-democrats-who-could-step-in-and-upend-the-race/

 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive...ion=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepagev

Very interesting interactive data about where each candidate's donors are from geographically.

A few takeaways:

1) Bernie, Yang, Gabbard have a lot of equity geographically. They appeal broadly. Warren's support is also noticeably broad, although not as much as that group.
2) Buttigieg, O'Rouke, and Klobuchar are highly regional/localized to their home states
3) Harris and Biden are almost mirror images of each other geographically, both relying on urban areas on either coast

Looking at the city maps is also interesting.

For example, in DC the breakdown is (based on what I know about these neighborhoods)...

younger and urban white upperclass = Pete
older white upperclass = Warren
suburban and rural white = Bernie
urban and suburban black = Harris
rural black = Biden

 

Well said.

 

When it comes to Harris vs. Biden, it is really going to come down to who Steve Harvey supports.

 

I see what you did there. If that was a true quote I would not have already read it...

 

I really wish we had a non-dumpster fire omnibus primary thread, but alas.

 

I actually feel bad for the Russians. They're being blamed for everything. They dindu nuffin.

 

I was wondering what happened to this dude. He was semi-interesting.

 

That's kind of what I figured. There's nothing for him to do right now.

 

Yeah, almost nothing at all... I mean, give or take.
https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Report_Volume1.pdf

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/09/20/us/politics/russia-trump-election-timeline.html

https://www.vox.com/2019/7/25/8930616/senate-intelligence-report-russia-50-states

I wouldn't feel too sorry for your friends in the nuevo-Soviet-Union. They are laughing their heads off and really enjoying our dumpster fire of dysfunctional politics. So much less expensive for them than missiles (which they're also revamping, truth be told).

 

I tried it here but unlike others posting in this thread I do not have the free time to carry on an hourly soliloquy of my deep thoughts to keep it alive.

 

Howard Dean? YEEEEEaaaaaawwww

 

This part is certainly true.