Republicans want Dems to run a centrist candidate

[EndGOPPropaganda]

The Republican strategy for 2020, and you can already see it in their social media and cable news propaganda, is to encourage Dems to run a centrist candidate who will try to be bipartisan.

The GOP will then obstruct as they did with Obama, use their stolen ideologue judges to push the country to the right and lock in voter suppression, and try again in 2024 for the presidency. And Dems will have lost. The country will be lost and the Republicans will control the nation for decades to come.

We will have a small window in 2020 to push through major reforms — New Deal-style huge changes to voting and campaign finance and taxation — before the moment is lost.

This is not the time for a centrist. That time is past. This is the time for a fighter. That’s why Warren is my candidate.

[brooklynite]

1. A lot of Dems do as well.

[onecaliberal]

2. Idgaf what republicans want.

[MyOwnPeace]

5. THAT

is the response we must have! There is no "reach across the aisle" with these idiots - they see everything as "my way or the highway" and have no interest in mutual agreements or cooperation.
Get Out The Vote and get out of the way!

[onecaliberal]

6. Exactly. We cannot allow republicans to control our actions.

[Sherman A1]

7. Precisely

I want to win with as far a progressive candidate as possible.

[onecaliberal]

9. I care what they want as much as they care what we need.

I keeping hoping we all get to that place quickly. We’ve got to stop trying with them. We’ve gotten burned every single time. I’m done caring or trying with them.

[calimary]

36. You and me both, my friend.

[DetlefK]

3. How did that work out in the 2014 midterms? Oh yeah, the Democrats were slaughtered.

The democratic candidates tried to simultaneously run as Democrats while running away from Obama.

And they lost catastrophically because no voter liked that middle-of-the-road bullshit.

[rampartc]

4. victory up and down the ticket is most important objective

but now is no time for baby steps. if they have an opportunity to solidify their gerrymanders, call a constititional convention, and appoint even more "federalist society" judges we may as well, well i'm not a quitter but things will not look good.

[Docreed2003]

8. I understand that even some Dems want a moderate candidate

But I can't help but think the time requires a more bold approach. Perhaps we need to remember the words of Dr King:

This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism

[WeekiWater]

10. Great quote. Thank you.

"Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy." MLK

That is the next line.

[calimary]

37. Yep!

Make hay while the sun shines. The CONS will be bringing storm clouds with them as soon as they think they can get away with it. Which unfortunately is MOST OF THE TIME, with them.

[Garrett78]

20. Exactly. The focus must be on turning out the base, not flipping Trump voters.

There are going to be those odd, fickle and ignorant people who voted for Trump who will vote Dem in 2020. Whether they've become disenchanted or were blinded by hatred for Clinton or just like constant change or whatever, they exist. No choice of nominee or strategy will alter that reality. Even if the quantity of such voters were to be impacted by our choice of nominee, it would pale in comparison to the impact made by choosing someone who will turn out POC and young voters in greater numbers than we saw in 2016.

People didn't vote for Trump because of white economic anxiety (POC presumably don't experience economic anxiety) or because Clinton placed too much emphasis on identity politics (both of those narratives have been proven false). And to center a nomination or general election campaign around flipping Trump voters would be the height of lunacy.

There were many factors at play in 2016 that won't be at play in 2020, not the least of which was that we had 2 historically unpopular candidates going head to head. It's highly unfortunate that Clinton had a net approval rating well below 0, but that's the reality. That (along with Russia and Wikileaks, the newness of Trump following a build-up of racial resentment over 8 years, the attitude that said "let's give him a shot because what's the worst that can happen", the taking for granted that Clinton would win and "therefore, we can vote 3rd party or stay home", Comey's last minute announcement, etc., etc., etc.) made for a dynamic that is not at all comparable to, frankly, any other election in our history.

We dominated PA, MI and WI from 1992 through 2012 and made gains in those states in 2018. I don't buy this notion that we must nominate a white male or moderate in order to get those states back in our column (I think that notion is rooted in the aforementioned false narratives).

[Docreed2003]

24. +1

[CrossingTheRubicon]

11. The Republicans (and Trumpists especially) are panicked that Joe Biden will be the nominee.

The great liberal Democrat is unbeatable in the Electoral College vs Donald J Trump.

We need to win this one. There is no doubt who should be our standard-bearer if we want to win this one.

Let's be smart.

[Sugarcoated]

16. He'll win back the three states that were supposed to be "The Blue Wall"

Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.

[Autumn]

12. Fuck the Republicans. They can run a centrist candidate on their ticket. Or one who is

at least half way human, that would be a change.

[Demsrule86]

13. No they don't...clearly the win in 18 was in moderate districts... far left candidate

won't carry those districts...could mean the difference of winning and losing in states like Georgia, Texas, Ohio and Florida. We need a big tent approach. The independents will decide the 2020 election in my opinion.

[Gothmog]

14. Charlie Cook-The 2020 Path Democrats Shouldn't Take

I tend to agree with Charlie Cook. We need to run a candidate who can beat trump https://cookpolitical.com/analysis/national/national-politics/2020-path-democrats-shouldnt-take

If this election is going to be a referendum on Donald Trump as a person and president, then Democrats ought to have a good shot at winning. But if the election becomes somewhat more complicated, with Democrats embarking on a path that is considerably more ideological than the one that Presidents Clinton and Obama pursued—the former going center-left, the latter further left, but not too far—then that could make for a considerably more competitive general election. The most recent growth area in the Democratic Party has been among college-educated, suburban women, and their movement toward the Democrats is more the product of their aversion to Trump than an embrace of democratic socialism.....

But when these same voters were asked how they felt about voting for someone who was a socialist, 43 percent said “very uncomfortable” and another 29 percent “have some reservations.” Just 4 percent were “enthusiastic” and 21 percent “comfortable.” Among all adults, 6 percent viewed socialism very positively, 12 percent somewhat positively, 27 percent neutrally, 14 percent somewhat negatively and 36 percent very negatively. According to First Read, the morning newsletter published by NBC News’s political unit, just 9 percent of independents and 13 percent of moderates view socialism favorably, a flashing red light for Democrats contemplating embracing that approach.

It is very clear, listening to Trump as well as to GOP strategists, that they are building up democratic socialism as the straw man to knock down in this campaign. Their goal obviously is to make electing a Democratic president an unacceptable alternative to Trump. So it basically comes down to whether Democrats want this election to be about Trump or about embarking on a new and different philosophical direction. One of those paths seems to be very risky.

I want to run a candidate who is electable. Beating trump is the most important thing

[Awsi Dooger]

22. 46% of Florida exit poll responders said Andrew Gillum was too liberal for the state

We gave away a vital governorship by applying the same type of unconcerned stupidity that is being touted in this thread. The rationalization after Gillum was nominated was that Democrats had finally done the correct thing with a bold progressive choice, as opposed to cautious strategic picks in Alex Sink 2010 and Charlie Crist 2014.

Meanwhile those were very narrow losses in heavily Republican years. Given the 2018 national tilt it should not have been possible to lose those two races. There is no question an Alex Sink or Charlie Crist type would have prevailed in 2018. We allowed Republicans to fortify the state while we slept, but it still would not have been enough if Gwen Graham or another sensible moderate had been our nominee. This is all very easy to understand if you live here and actually listen to political conversation while paying attention to Hispanic and especially Cuban ways of thinking. But if you are a dense outsider determined to force your ideology anywhere you can, then Andrew Gillum seems like a splendid choice. What could possibly go wrong?

Anyone who supported Andrew Gillum in the primary should have that number 46 stenciled across his or her forehead as reminder.

[Gothmog]

30. I like Gilliam but I agree that he was the wrong nominee

[R B Garr]

15. The opposite. They already are beating up on socialism.

They want to beat up on socialism. That’s all they talk about.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

17. what? Have never ever seen any right wing encouragement for a centrist!!!

[Garrett78]

18. Really? The likes of George Will, Steve Schmidt and others do so regularly.

They have a vested interest in promoting Blue Dog Democrats.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

19. I think that's just crazy talk. If they "want" someone

To run against it would never be a centrist.

[Garrett78]

21. We can agree to disagree.

I think the narrative that our key to success in 2020 is nominating a centrist is deeply flawed.

And please don't take that to mean that I think we should nominate someone such as Sanders. I certainly do not. Sanders is also deeply flawed.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

23. How about we go with someone immensely qualified??

[R B Garr]

25. Those people don't get much attention, though.

Trump and the Fox News crowd are obsessed with socialism. They are already talking nonstop socialism for awhile now. They want to run against socialism so they can mock.

[CrossingTheRubicon]

26. They are loving it. A Joe Biden nomination stops this BS in its tracks.

The Trumpists are scared to death that our party picks Biden. They know that's it for Trump.

[R B Garr]

27. +1, yes. Trump is not a serious person. He just wants a

performance and socialism will be his crutch.

[CrossingTheRubicon]

28. I seriously don't know how Trump could pull his bullying behavior with Joe Biden.

He'd have no point of attack, certainly now where his record wasn't 1000 time worse (so bring it on!) and Biden is a great counterpuncher when he needs to be while maintaining his dignity.

It is like Joe Biden was purpose-built to take down Donald J Trump.

[Garrett78]

32. "Centrist or self-described socialist" is a false choice.

And that's not what this is really about. This is about a notion that the key to 2020 success is nominating a white male who will flip white blue collar Trump voters in the Rust Belt. That's really at the root of the bulk of support for Biden. And that notion stems from a right wing narrative that was pushed hard in 2016 and picked up by all sorts of Democrats (from the likes of Bernie Sanders to the likes of Tim Ryan) as gospel. The notion that Clinton lost due to white economic anxiety and Dems placing too much emphasis on identity politics (on the contrary, Clinton heavily over-emphasized economics and Republicans know full well that anti-racism and anti-sexism threaten the viability of their party).

I think Biden is a much more flawed candidate than many currently wish to acknowledge, that there are numerous reasons why Biden never came close to getting nominated the other 2 times he ran, that the key to 2020 success is boosting POC and youth turnout over 2016, that the 2016 dynamic was very unique and not terribly relevant to 2020, and I think we can do better (in terms of Dem turnout) than Biden.

But we can agree to disagree.

[R B Garr]

33. Actually, I wasn't even thinking of winning Trump voters, just

not being pinned into clownishness about socialism. Biden does have a good rep with the working class, though.

Biden is post Obama now, too. That will go a long way and, in fairness, most everyone pales next to Obama so it’s not the best comparison about a prior run. Obama is one of a kind.

[Garrett78]

34. That was my point. Obama resurrected Biden's political career.

Before he was strategically chosen as VP, very few people had an interest in Biden becoming president. And now he's 76.

Many only think of him as lovable Uncle Joe who pals around with Obama buying burgers and ice cream, but there are issues that a campaign will reveal. And, again, many (even if you don't) seem to think we must nominate a white male to win in 2020, because white economic anxiety led to Trump winning PA, MI and WI. I don't buy that, and not just because it ignorantly suggests POC don't experience economic anxiety. There were many factors at play in 2016 that aren't relevant this time.

We have numerous options that don't require us to be "pinned into clownishness about socialism."

[quickesst]

29. Since the majority of democratic voters....

..... would prefer a more centrist candidate, common sense tells me that's who we need to run against drump. Sounds logical to me.

[Gothmog]

31. I want a candidate who is electable

A far left candidate is a good way to lose

[Renew Deal]

35. There is truth to this

They want someone that will back off Democratic ideals to split the base. They can’t handle a Democrat that believes Democratic ideas are better than republican ones. This is partly how Obama won. He didn’t back off of his ideas.

[Garrett78]

38. Exactly right.

Republicans have a vested interest in pushing Blue Dogs. And centrist vs. self-described socialist is a false choice. We have numerous other options.