Only one 2020 Democrat fully grasps the threat Trump poses.

[elleng]

By Greg Sargent
Opinion writer

'Is President Trump an aberration whose defeat in 2020 would allow the nation to begin rebounding toward normalcy? Or does his ascendance reflect long-running national pathologies and deeply ingrained structural economic and political problems that will intractably endure long after he’s gone?

The answer to this question — which has been thrust to the forefront by the Democratic presidential primaries — is, in a sense, both. Trump represents both a continuation of and a dramatic exacerbation of those long running pathologies and problems.

As of now, Elizabeth Warren appears to be the Democratic candidate who most fully grasps the need to take both of those aspects of the Trump threat seriously. The Massachusetts senator is, I think, offering what amounts to the most fully rounded and multidimensional response to that threat.'>>>

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/05/08/only-one-democrat-fully-grasps-threat-trump-poses/?

[shanny]

1. Amen to that.

I think she also shows us the best way to beat him. He ran in 2016 as a populist, who would stick up for the little people. We all knew that position was a cheat and a fraud (just like him)...and the way to beat him is to continually point that out, while running on real, concrete policies that WOULD make average Americans' lives better.

[NoMoreRepugs]

2. Spot on Shanny.

[DemocracyMouse]

35. I'll double your "spot on."

I put a "Warren for President" – hand drawn! – all across my bumper 3 years ago. She is the coolest, smartest, sassiest, and even the funniest (if you like populist dry wit) candidate I've seen.

Love her

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

51. Warren IS awesome...the smartest, most qualified, feistiest candidate we've had in a very long time!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[appalachiablue]

53. Triple. EW, the most intelligent, committed and a (Prairie) Populist

at heart.

[zipplewrath]

29. Win or Lose

I suspect much like Bernie did last time, she'll force everyone, on both sides of the aisle, to more concretely discuss and address alot of festering issues.

[shanny]

37. +1

[olegramps]

40. The major problem is the Republicans' determination to create an Authoritarian Presidency.

This has been their goal since the Nixon was driven from the White House. They control one of the major obstacles that has prevented that. The Supreme Court that will be forced to rule on a number of issues regarding presidential prerogatives being claimed by Trump.
Their ruling will be pivotal in either upholding the separation of powers or the capitulation to the Republicans Unitary Executive Theory. It could very well spell the end days of the Republic and establishing a presidency that is little different than that of Russia, China and the transformation that is taking place in Eastern Europe countries. Many have warned that this was a major threat that has been neglected and has had little coverage in the media. It not a recent development, but a major attempt was made by the Bush administration to establish this transformation of the presidency. It is the dream of the oligarchs that would that would put them in complete control of the economy and the complete destruction of the middle class that was built by FDR's policies.

[DemocracyMouse]

57. Well said... and we must fight it, clear-eyed, with all hands on deck.

And Warren is one of the few candidates who seems to emotionally meet the challenge. Too many just seem too polite. A little chutzpah goes a long way when most of the country is deeply frustrated.

[crazytown]

3. 'There is no "politically inconvenient" clause in the Constitution.

I was doubtful about Impeachment. I am now Impeach ASAP

[Laelth]

4. +1 n/t

-Laelth

[Duppers]

6. Yes! Impeach ASAP!

[Kurt V.]

5. K&R

[Hortensis]

7. Yes, because the other 20+ are all dumber than rocks,

certainly far more clueless than anyone here on DU. And it's not like any of them have a personal stake in this, unlike us.

[elleng]

8. :sarcasm: I hope.

[Hortensis]

11. No, I'm totally sincere. My inner Dunning-Kruger

latched happily right onto that headline. So much more gratifying to feel superior than to wonder what some of the top candidates with the most brilliant staffs and advisers know that I don't. So, thanks.

[crazytown]

9. Warren is taking the lead.

“There is not ‘politically inconvenient’ clause in the Constitutional. While other keep their options open, she persists.

[mountain grammy]

10. Yes like she always has.

You’re exactly right

[not fooled]

22. She is fearless

Her courage makes her well suited to lead when pukes have worked for decades to rule through intimidation and fear.

[MadDAsHell]

12. Agree. But that's going to get lost in non-starter policies like free college.

The spending at even state schools has gone up 300% in less than 2 decades, and there's no reason to believe it won't go up even faster in the next 2 decades. She hasn't addressed that cost control question at all. Only who should pay for it.

No one who can do elementary-level math is going to want taxpayers fully footing the bill for an expense whose growth is that out of control. Any projections of the cost of free college would be off by 100% within just a few years.

I'm afraid her very positive approach to dealing with Drumpf is going to get lost in very questionable math.

[backtoblue]

25. She would slaughter t in a numbers debate...

No way he could keep up with her proposals.

[zipplewrath]

28. Bad assumptions

There are reasons that college tuition rose so fast. No single reason, but the availability of credit for loans was one of them. So was the loss of "free" colleges like Brooklyn college and much of the California system that had to start charging for tuition when funding was cut (mostly from GOP driven tax cuts like Prop 21 and the like). The very fact that more and more people were pursuing college also drove the price up.

We had a strange phenomenon in Florida. There were efforts for more government funded/supported education. We had the "bright futures" scholarships, as well as the Florida Prepaid effort. The thing was, they had to go to Florida Schools. So the "best and brightest" that formerly went out of state to more "blue chip" colleges, were driven to the two or three "best" Florida Schools. It became hard for even "top" students to get in because there just wasn't enough room.

Economics drives the cost of schools. It drives where students go to school. Warren, and other progressives plans, are to predominately "drive" students into community colleges and other low cost options. The government will establish prices they will support and the universities and colleges will have to respond. Yes, there will be public institutions that won't need to lower prices to get these students. They'll be full. But they'll also watch many of the "best and brightest" go to institutions that they can afford. It will have a direct impact on the cost of college for everyone. Think of it as the "public option" for education. We have private schools now, but the public schools are quite full.

As I said, everyone talks as if publicly funded college education is some newfangled (crazy far left liberal) idea. Quite the opposite, it's about as new as a public phone booth, only something that is worth bringing back.

[Texin]

13. Impeachment in our only hope of stopping tRump's overthrow of the Republic.

Every day he entrenches deeper and deeper. His defiance continues and he will ratchet up the stonewalling and the defiance of the House's constitutionally given legal authorities. By soft-soaping this, the Dems will have all but ensured that tRump will roll over the will of the people who elected their representatives. He is thwarting the will of the PEOPLE of this country and he is imposing his own self-proclaimed right to rule as a sovereign. Whether the Dems in Congress succeed or fail to remove him by impeachment, they will have provided his mechanism to continue this behavior to the point that elections will be irrelevant in the near future, for they will have allowed this execrable creature to destroy the republic by not bringing forth Articles of Impeachment.

[LongtimeAZDem]

23. Oh, for god's sake; no, it isn't.

[Progressive dog]

50. Sure, it's "the Dems" responsibility to

help Trump rally his base by engaging in a doomed to fail attempt to remove him from office.
Most of "the Dems" understand that the jury has already been chosen. Impeachment without a conviction accomplishes nothing.

[zentrum]

14. Warren is fantastic.

Authentic. Brave. Can't wait to see her in the debates.

[stuffmatters]

48. 100% "Warren has a plan for that" bkz she fully understands our deep systemic problems

And she has the extraordinary gift of describing complex problems in simple language with clear (near common sense) solutions. We need her in the debates so badly... not just to elevate the discussion but to represent & drive home to millions the ideological chasm between Republicans and Democrats.

[zentrum]

63. Yup. She's got

......Bernie's policies but explains them much better. It's got to be sexism that's kept her down. She would be one of our greatest Presidents if it could ever happen.

[stuffmatters]

64. Yes,I find Warren the one most morally, ideologically, intell'y capable of a 21st C New Deal.

[EveHammond13]

15. we MUST sweep all GOP out of power, and empower Warren and others

to fix this GD mess. It will take a group effort to fix the damage.

[Demsrule86]

18. How will we do this...the Senate is a longshot...easy to say hard to do. But we must try of course.

[Demsrule86]

16. Impeachmennt is a political act and political consequences as in losing the 2020 election must be

considered. Giving Trump another four years by impeaching him would be extremely stupid. What would we have accomplished? That being said, it may come to that, but this is not something we should take lightly. The media is egging on impeachment as they want the ratings that would go along with it...we must carefully consider before embarking on this path. I doubt impeachment could be complete before the next election and if /when Trump is convicted in the House and the Senate refuses to take it up or has a fake trial designed to damage our electoral chances ...they will then claim exoneration. This is going to be a close election in 2020, he may gain sympathy and eke out a win...so than he gets four more years to destroy this country.

[HopeAgain]

17. Trump is merely the symptom

The disease has been a exploitative capitalism which Warren has been fighting ever since she became involved in politics. The Democratic front runner not so much.

[loyalsister]

43. It's systemic

And it's also white supremacy. The conventional political wisdom and culture have groomed us to embrace a predatory economic system that benefit white people. Sadly, I'm not sure I agree that she's the only one who gets it. And, I worry that there are some who are willing to pay lip service in order to return to the more subtle status quo. It seems to be taboo to identify the roots and nurturing policies.

She's definitely the only one who has detailed plans to address it and she is the most credible opposition to the most insidiously gentle and friendly forces that brought us here. My worst fear this time around is that voters will dismiss it and building political power on the backs of vulnerable people will again be dismissed as a necessary evil.
The exploitable population continues to grow substantially with increasing economic disparities. The beneficiaries have been hedging their partisan bets for decades. Bernie Sanders' clumsy opening of the dialogue on the national stage had it's benefits and provoked reasonable hostility from some Democrats.

Warren is carrying the message much more effectively, and I see more unity between her and the younger candidates than any others. They have been challenging white supremacy beyond the cosmetic, color-blind approach that has kept white people comfortable. I'm not sure that she's the only one who sees it, but at this point, I think she is the most audacious and most prepared to take it on.

[SunSeeker]

19. K & R

[Liberty Belle]

20. Yes, Warren is great at cutting to the chase and connecting with people.

I believe she can attract perhaps the widest swath of voters. Certainly as a mainstream Democratic woman if she won the nomination, Hillary followers would back her even if she wasn't their first choice.

She has a plain spoken, visceral way of connecting to working class voters and young people the way that Bernie Sanders did on issues such as taking on the big banks and wealth gap, and could keep his large group of followers from straying and voting third party.

She can also connect with some of those disillusioned blue collar Republicans and independents who backed Trump but are now realizing that the emperor has no clothes and is an unpatriotic con man.

She would also rip Trump to shreds in a debate. Bring it on!

[uawchild]

21. Warren is courageous

She doesn't triangulate and accommodate with the rThugs.

[Politicub]

33. I feel myself being drawn in each time I hear her speak

She's amazing.

[zonkers]

34. She gets it. She is the best.

[dlk]

24. The Voice in the Wilderness...

I admire Warren's courage in speaking up and speaking out.

[pdsimdars]

26. And I am with her. They don't seem to grasp how severe this is. And yet, she persists.

[Chin music]

45. +1

[DownriverDem]

27. Come on

Support who you want, but don't act like the rest don't understand what a threat trump poses.

[bloom]

30. the pertinent parts AFAIC -

"...Warren is treating this two-sided coin of authoritarianism and corruption as a systemic problem in need of reform, one linked to the broader imperative of actually “draining the swamp,” as Trump vowed, only to plunge into full-scale corruption himself.

...Biden is implicated in many great elite failures that supposedly fueled Trump’s rise, including bipartisan neoliberal laxity toward Wall Street and the Iraq War.

By contrast, Warren has offered the most detailed populist prescriptions in response to the “rigged” economy of any candidate, including policies to tax extreme wealth and reconfigure corporate power. If Warren proves unable to appeal to blue-collar whites, we’ll perhaps have to revise our story of 2016. But here again, Warren is the one with the biggest actual argument.

Trump exploited populist discontent and then embarked on a near-total betrayal via an embrace of GOP plutocracy, in the form of a massive corporate tax giveaway and a deregulation spree that further enabled elite corruption. These things, too, show Trump as both continuation and exacerbation — and Warren has offered the most systematic and comprehensive response to all of that, as well...."

[Celerity]

31. +10000

[loyalsister]

44. +1000 YES!!

[marylandblue]

54. The antidote to authoritarian populism is progressive populism.

Warren gets that. I think Sanders does too, but he is too rigid to be a good progressive populist.

I also think Buttigieg gets it, but he is taking a different approach from Warren.

Warren is my second choice.

[Boomer]

59. Warren / Buttigieg 2020

That would be my dream ticket.

[Locrian]

60. Warren is fast becomming my #1 pick

She (more than the others) is focused on the system being corrupt and offering a path forward. That (I believe) is KEY to winning - as it addresses the historic shift away from establishment social control of the "old" way. Lots of it fueled by the internet yes - even as it goes thru the ugly growing pains of narcissism, temper tantrums, nihilism, etc.

Trust / authority of the financial system, politicians, police, medical / pharmaceutical industry, educational, etc have all been rocked by the flood of information and ability of people to question these establishments, often for good reason. And trump rode a lot of that as a clown offering false promises.

That's why any "return to normalcy" etc is wrong headed - there is nothing to return to.
There's no roads where we're going. There needs to be change and an outlook to the future.

[pnwmom]

32. And Laurence Tribe, the Constitutional scholar at Harvard, has now joined her.

Earlier he was saying it was too early to consider impeachment; now he's saying Warren is right.

[SuprstitionAintthWay]

36. Liz is a hellcat. She takes the fight straight at The Problem.

Increasingly I like the idea of Liz topping the ticket and oh, maybe an equally brilliant, articulate, relentless, slightly more moderate, midwestern Harvard-Oxford grad and Afghan War vet filling the no. 2 spot.

Warren-Buttigieg 2020?

[think4yourself]

39. That's a great ticket right there. n/t

[SuprstitionAintthWay]

41. I drool at the prospect of a Mayor Pete v. Reverend Mike nationally televised veep debate.

Last edited Wed May 8, 2019, 03:59 PM - Edit history (2)

Indiana's very best and its very worst, on display on the same stage together.

Mike would subject the country to his agonizing, hemming and hawing, platitude-and-evasion-stuffed sermonizing... which is all he ever does besides just sit looking pained like the narrow-minded, disapproving, stuffed-shirt 1950s church elder he is.

Peter Buttigieg, in stark contrast, would address all of the issues directly and answer the questions with refreshing, laser-like clarity.

Pence -- if he grasped what was happening to him, that is -- would be crying for Mother before it was over.

[backtoblue]

55. That would be an EXCELLENT ticket

[watoos]

38. Warren moved to the top of my list,

she has balls to take on trump and has the agenda that will inspire our turnout.

[saljr1]

42. I would like to know how after all these Democrats in Congress read that 400+ pages of the

Mueller Report that they could not come away from that and conclude that there is overwhelming evidence of obstruction of justice? Step up to plate Democrats, the Republicans are laughing at you. Start the hearings Dammit.

[AdamGG]

46. Warren seems to have the most detailed, nuanced, and accurate opinions on everything

The only reason she's not my first choice among the contenders is that I fear that the right has been successful at demonizing her in a way where she is not the candidate who would get the most votes in a general election. The overriding thing for me is to beat Trump and to do it by the widest possible margin, so that we carry a maximum number of coattails downballlot seats to undo gerrymandering after the 2020 census.

I will vote in the primaries for whichever candidate seems to be the one most likely to do that.

[marylandblue]

56. That was something that bothered me too, but I'm getting over it.

She stays on substance, which is good. If she can learn to better deflect Trump's stupid attacks, she can win.

[AdamGG]

65. Right now, she's the only Democratic frontrunner polling behind Trump

Biden, Harris, Sanders & Beto all poll ahead of Dump now, but Warren doesn't. After seeing what happened with the Hillary email thing, I'm pretty leery of the degree to which they've gotten the stupid Pocahantas stuff to stick. It's like she's been pre Swift boated 2 years ahead of time. I live in Mass. and you can see the effect. She has passionate support here because it's such a Democratic state, but Ed Markey polls 10 points better than she does in the state because the 40% who aren't Democrats are so triggered by her.

Like I said, I personally think she's probably the best person for the job, so I'll be conflicted.

[bloom]

66. The way I see it

The Republicans = FOX = Trump are so good at demonizing whomever they want to demonize - they will do it anyone who is a serious threat. It can be seen as a compliment. But in any case - they will do it to whomever the Democratic candidate is. Their base will eat it up. IMO - we should pick the best person.

[List left]

47. now is the time...... nt

[democrank]

49. Thank you, Elizabeth Warren.

Thank you for your courage.

[Fiendish Thingy]

52. Warren puts the Constitution before winning the Presidency- that takes courage and guts

She is an excellent role model for the rest of Dems in Congress and the Senate that we must fight this critical fight.

[samplegirl]

58. I've been saying this

all along. I think Elizabeth Warren has been the one with the guts to stand up to him.

[tblue37]

61. I just came here to see if anyone had posted this article! nt

[Eyeball_Kid]

62. IOW, the Republican Party has rejected

the US Constitution. It’s as plain as the nose on your face. The GOP has rejected the foundation of governing in favor of fascistic, autocratic rule.

Look at what they’re DOING. They are dismantling the structure of government right before our eyes. They are, one and all, traitors.