Biden and Beto Boosted GOP Candidates in 2018. That's Disqualifying.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

[ Eric Levitz, the author of the article, has some good arguments with links to his sources. I'm not posting this as flame-bait but rather in hopes of getting some enlightenment by discussion here. ]

Biden and Beto Boosted GOP Candidates in 2018. That’s Disqualifying.

By Eric Levitz
Jan 23, 2019

George Will has been a reactionary for longer than Beto O’Rourke has been alive. Will was an adviser to Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign, climate change denier, and fierce opponent of Social Security. His hatred of progressivism is so deep and comprehensive, he may be the only nationally syndicated columnist who has called for the abolition of both the minimum wage and denim pants.

But last summer, Will advised his readers to “vote against the GOP this November” — no matter where they lived.

[ ... ]

Will was not the only lifelong conservative to render this verdict. Max Boot, a neoconservative intellectual who once decried Brown v. Board of Education as an attack on the Constitution — and opposition to the Iraq War as mindless isolationism — wrote in October 2018, “Vote against all Republicans. Every single one.”

Joe Biden and Beto O’Rourke refused to endorse this advice.

[ ... ]

By boosting Hurd, and spurning Ortiz Jones, O’Rourke did not put “country before party”; he put himself before both.

[ ... ]

Biden declined to endorse the Democratic candidate Matt Longjohn in his race to oust Upton from Congress. Instead, “uncle Joe” vouched not only for Upton’s bipartisan credentials, but painted him as a champion of the sick and infirm — despite the fact that the Michigan Republican played a lead role in trying to pass legislation that would have thrown 20 million Americans off of health insurance.

Upton ultimately won his race by less than 5 percentage points.

[ ... ]

Bipartisan overtures will never persuade congressional Republicans to vote against the interests of fossil fuel companies, or back dramatic expansions in public health insurance, or dismantle election laws that give their coalition wildly disproportionate power. Only a unified, Democratic government — that is willing to ruthlessly prioritize ideological goals over bipartisan comity — will have any chance of overcoming our legislative system’s copious veto points, and passing anything resembling a proportionate response to our nation’s climate, health-care, and democratic crises into law.

[ ... ]

[ Much more at the link (title above). Lots of supporting links within the article. ]

[stonecutter357]

1. Joe Biden 2020 !

[Glamrock]

4. I'm in!

[LakeArenal]

9. Me, too! Go With Joe.,,

[UniteFightBack]

13. Go with Joe, he knows! nt

[OBrien]

2. Beto 2020!!

[Awsi Dooger]

7. Likewise

I'm sure there are plenty of bland candidates who check every litmus test box and would have no trouble losing

[Glamrock]

3. Good points for sure.

But, until there is a Democratic candidate who's different, point is fucking moot man. They all say, we have to reach across the aisle, we have to come to bipartisan solutions, etc.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

8. Fuck reaching across the aisle... we've seen where that leads.

[Stuart G]

5. I looked up the "Upton" mentioned in the article, (paragraph 6 above)

Fred Upton - Wikipedia.......Congressman 6th District- Michigan

Matt Longjohn ...ran against Upton..

[shanny]

6. this was the money quote for me:

Our country paid a big price for the Democrats’ failure to do this the last time around. Had 51 Senate Democrats been willing to kill the legislative filibuster in 2009, they could have passed cap-and-trade, a version of the ACA that included a public option, a stimulus package proportional to the severity of the Great Recession, more foreclosure relief, card check for unions, and citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants on a party-line vote. In so doing, they quite likely would have prevented Donald Trump from ever becoming president; add a few million more immigrants to the electorate — and a couple percentage points to the rate of private-sector unionization — and you end up with a country that is both more democratic and more Democratic.

my bold. For too long one side has been waging a war, and the other has been reaching across the aisle. It was really nice to see Nancy Pelosi bring it; everyone needs to continue that and it can't just be about rump.

[ucrdem]

10. If we're talking about 2020, I don't see how that is a problem.

In fact I think it would give a Biden/Beto ticket electability. If we're talking about the primary on the other hand, this is basically fodder for rival candidates who are either not Democrats or became Democrats as adults. So there's plenty of arrows in everybody's quiver if it comes to a debate.

[erpowers]

11. Beto O' Rourke Did More To Help Democrats Than Hurt

Democrats may not have won as many seats in Texas if Beto O' Rourke had not been running. Beto O' Rourke along with straight party voting allowed a number of Democrats to win when many thought they were going to lose. It is possible that the enthusiasm generated by Beto O' Rourke helped people like Lizzie Fletcher win elections they were supposed to lose. So what if he boosted one Republican, he helped dozens of Democrats win their elections.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

15. thanks, I thought he had 'coattails'

I don't have any numbers, it was just an impression because he certainly got a lot of attention for Democrats.

[dsc]

18. the article mentions that

but you can't simultaniously give him credit for having coattails in races whose results you like and dismiss that he had them in a race where he specifically endorsed a GOP Congressman who won by only a few thousand votes.

[oberliner]

12. Eric Levitz is: "one of the much-reviled, emprog, BernieBro, leftwing critics of Obama"

According to his own tweets.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

16. thanks

I did not know that. He's done some good writing. Being critical of Obama isn't necessarily bad, as long as it's factual and constructive. "BernieBro" is more of a problem for me as it carries the memory of 2016.

[BannonsLiver]

14. Meh.

[delisen]

17. Beto lacks experience; Biden is reason for high interest rates

on credit cards. He has been a good friend of the banking and credit card industry which destroys working people.

Biden held the the second highest office during which time Democrats lost over 1000 seats throughout the country. He focused on his re-election and achieved it but the party was blown apart.

(He also wrote and voted for the Crime bill we heard so much about in 2016).

I think Beto is clueless on foreign policy-we can't afford that.

Neither of these candidates has the moxie or the the boldness, skill and wisdom of a Pelosi or an Al Gore (who was actually the winner in 2000).

Ambition is no longer enough. The people know we are on the edge of disaster.