Tomasky: It's great to see Dems falling in love w/ Warren - & terrible to see them hating on Biden

[highplainsdem]

Michael Tomasky's a Warren supporter.

His new column in the Daily Beast:


https://www.thedailybeast.com/its-great-to-see-democrats-falling-in-love-with-elizabeth-warrenand-terrible-to-see-them-hating-on-joe-biden

So in my heart, I’d rather see Warren be president than Biden.

Then why am I feeling a little sorry for Biden lately?

I’ll tell you why. The hatred of him among the liberal-left intelligentsia—the Twitterati, some people who show up regularly on MSNBC, and so on—is way over the top. I mean, people despise him. They talk about him as if he’s a right-wing Republican. I know that all these people desperately want to see Donald Trump lose the election, but they sometimes talk as if Biden being president would be nearly as distasteful to them. It’s staggering to me.

And the adulation of Warren is excessive, too. Some people write and talk about her as if she’s some kind of demigod. I think I get why. She is sociologically tailor-made for the liberal-left intelligentia (of which I suppose I am a certified member, no denying that, but I do try to be able to examine my own species as I examine others’). She’s super-smart. She’s wonky. She’s passionate about the central facts of American life that people like me care about most, economic inequality and the concentration of wealth. She’s just, you know, like us, culturally; if life hadn’t made her a superstar, she’d be the kind of person we’d have to dinner parties, or run into at Whole Foods surveying the sustainable fish options. For these and perhaps other reasons, she clobbers Biden among college-educated Democrats.

As I said above, I love all those things about her, too. But I think a lot of people in the circles I travel in are blind to her electoral weaknesses—or they ignore them, or they just don’t want to think about them because they complicate the story people want to tell themselves.

-snip-

But I do know this: Biden might be the Democratic nominee. In fact, he’s the favorite to be the nominee. Remember how I said above that Warren clobbers Biden among college-educated Democrats? Well, he clobbers her among non-college-educated Democrats. If you’re a Warren partisan, you might give some thought as to why that is, actually, and remember while you’re doing it that non-college-educated Democrats outnumber college-educated ones two-to-one. Remember also that Biden has far greater strength among African-American voters than does Warren (or any of the rest of them), and black turnout might be the single most important factor next November. By the way, Biden also leads Warren in Massachusetts. The most recent poll from there was within the margin of error, but still, Biden led.

So come next April or May, Biden may well have clinched the nomination. And people are going to need to be for him. Not grudgingly. Not “well, I’ll vote for him, but I won’t go knock on any doors for him.” Not just against Trump. For Biden. And if influential liberals spend the next seven or eight months savaging the guy, their followers and readers will get the message loud and clear that Biden isn’t really worth supporting.

Just remember—there are a lot of rank-and-file Democrats, folks whose interests people like me purport to be defending, who like Biden fine; even some who love him. They don’t know as much as we do about policy, but they just might know some other things that we don’t. So let’s try to be self-aware enough to know that our little bubble is just that.

[JI7]

1. MOST Warren supporters do NOT hate Biden. there might be some loud ones but they are small in number

if Biden is the nominee most will easily support him.

i'm not sure why you posted this but it doesn't help biden at all.

[highplainsdem]

2. I posted this because Tomasky's right about criticism of Biden in the media and on Twitter.

He can see it even though he supports Warren.

[emmaverybo]

4. If I weren't seeing it, I'd still have MSNBC on day and night. Last time I got this fed up was 2007

over liberal commentators criticizing Obama continuously, war against him using proxy Reverend
Jeremiah Wright, a pretty great guy.

I think Tomasky was just being objective and fair here despite his own preference. Respect.


Thanks for bringing us this point of view, highplainsdem.

[JI7]

7. the ones who hate him hated Obama and HIllary and also hate HArris, Buttigieg and many other

democrats.

[Cha]

5. It's Michael Tomasky's view who is a

Warren supporter.. and he's obviously run into this enough.. probably on Twitter and in his circles.. oh yeah and on TV.. to warrant writing about it.

But clearly it's not just who he's referring to.. so many are doing this and specifically because Biden is the front runner.

I can't speak for highplaindem.. but I doubt if she posted his article thinking she was going to help Biden and hurt Warren.

I for one am glad she posted it.

[Kahuna7]

10. Yeah. I'm not seeing most of the hate from the Warren camp. I will leave

the offending camps nameless.

[Cha]

3. Wow.. I've always liked Michael Tomasky since

I first read him when I got into politics online.. back in '02!

This is exactly what I've been thinking about the insidiousness of the toxicity of the smearing of Biden. And, I'm not talking about honest critique.. it's the palpable hate.

If Biden is the nom.. it's really hard for some to come to terms with thinking about the big picture of getting trump out of the WH and not hanging on to the hate they immerseved themselves with in the primary.

Thank you so much for this, highplainsdem!

[jaysunb]

6. Truth told here. N/T

[blue-wave]

8. There is too much divisiveness

among democrats. It's like when I tried explaining to my ex-wife, " I am not your enemy, I'm your husband." Alas, that didn't work.

But I do hope Democrats understand that we are not enemies of one another. We have more in common than not, we are brothers and sisters together in this battle.

[OKNancy]

9. His argument is what I've been saying all along

As I said above, I love all those things about her, too. But I think a lot of people in the circles I travel in are blind to her electoral weaknesses—or they ignore them, or they just don’t want to think about them because they complicate the story people want to tell themselves.

It's the electoral college my darlings

[Kahuna7]

11. I'm hoping that come time to cast their votes, just like with Dean vs. Kerry...

they will cast their votes for who they believe will be the most electable in the general election.

[Gothmog]

12. Great article

Link to tweet

[aikoaiko]

13. I don't see Democrats and allies hating Biden. Some just don't want him to be the nominee.

Some people feel the same way about others and it shows when they post about them.

[Celerity]

21. +10000

[Gothmog]

14. From the article cited in the OP

Link to tweet

Biden consistently has commanded a staggering lead among black voters. Two-thirds of black voters over 65 are backing Biden, as well as 42 percent of black voters overall; Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) comes in a distant second with about 12 percent support. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is down at 8 percent and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg is not even registering at 1 percent.

This sounds like a pretty interesting story. Instead, “frontrunner, but …” is a common refrain. Consider the new Axios-NewsWhip 2020 tracker that found Biden has been bombarded by negative coverage. Of the 100 stories about Biden that got the most social media attention, 77 were negative. Presumably, the same is true of cable news.

Even with the magnification of Biden’s gaffe-du-jour and the flow of media admiration of Warren’s surge — both of which reflect a true story — Biden’s backers are the most committed. Nearly 65 percent of his supporters say they’ll definitely support him, as opposed to just 34 percent of those who support other candidates.....

Why is it so hard for people to grasp that Biden isn’t just the most “electable” but, rather, the candidate with positions most in line with Democrats’ preferences? His platform is made up of policies that poll incredibly well and his supporters aren’t masking their love for progressives in favor of a safe bet. They like Joe.

[Tarheel_Dem]

15. Unlike Michael, I'm not so sure about this....

"I know that all these people desperately want to see Donald Trump lose the election....."

Keep in mind that many of the talking heads will probably lose their shows when a Democrat is elected. It's just a fact of life that when your party wins the White House, people feel like they've done their duty by removing the opposition, and they feel the job's done until the next presidential election, and they tune out. I'm convinced that many of left's "intelligentsia" would be just as happy to see another four years of tRump because they don't have to work hard. They sit behind their desks, and pick apart the latest outlandish tweet for an hour, or they pontificate about what their rivals over at Fox are talking about. No real footwork required. Mark my words...if a Dem is elected, Fox News ratings will explode, and MSNBC's will implode, and many of the lower rated shows will be on the chopping block.

[RhodeIslandOne]

17. MSNBC has had the same lineup for years.

Since when Obama was in office and Hillary seemed to be cruising to victory at least.

I think the attempt for the GOP to rehabilitate themselves when the Trump fart cloud clears the room will be fascinating TV.

[RhodeIslandOne]

16. I prefer Warren to Biden, but do not hate Joe

And I accept there is a good chance he will be our nominee.

It's unfortunate that ALL supporters cannot remain positive and not bash others. That goes for everyone.

I support whomever the voters choose.

[LiberalFighter]

18. Instead of attacking Democratic candidates

they should be identifying why their candidate is the better candidate. If all they can do is attack then it shows their candidate is weak. It is what happen in 2016.

[peggysue2]

19. This is really a thoughtful and honest piece, highplainsdem

Thanks for posting it. I probably would have missed it otherwise.

[Cha]

20. KICK!

[JackFrost]

22. It's called politics...

A dirty filthy game and always has been. If a candidate can not withstand the shit flinging in a primary. The candidate can't withstand what will be much worse in a general election against a seasoned lowlife and dirtbag like Trump.

[myohmy2]

23. exactly...

"A dirty filthy game..."

...no one hates Joe, and Elizabeth's just the flavor of the month...

...no one's been more maligned than Bernie...

...