Opinion: Democrats might need Biden more than they know

[Gothmog]

Link to tweet

This is where Biden comes in. Even if he is not the ultimate winner, he has the stature, the money, the name ID and the popularity to seize the party by the scruff of the neck and pull it back from the brink. He can say, “You know Bernie never accomplished a damn thing in the Senate” or "the Green New Deal that Warren supports has about 10 votes in the Senate” or “We figured out how to provide tens of millions of people with health-care coverage; Medicare-for-all proponents haven’t covered a single person.”

Biden has the reputation for being the eccentric uncle in the room, but in this case, he must play the role of the wise patriarch, there to remind Democrats that they win when they stick to the center-left candidates and that they achieve progressive aims when they win elections. If they pick scary socialists or rank novices incapable of governing (such as Trump!), they will never achieve aims such as checking climate change, expanding health-care coverage, reducing income inequality and keeping the United States safe and respected.

Frankly, that’s a message that many, if not most, Democrats already understand. However, they need someone with credibility to say it. Maybe there is someone else in the race or available to run who could do the same, but I’ve not spotted such a person. That’s the rationale for Biden to run.

Finally, those independents and disaffected ex-Republicans whose midterm votes flipped the House to Democratic control have a very big stake in this. If the Republicans, as I suspect, are unable to rid themselves of Trump, the country will need one major party that hasn’t lost its marbles, one capable of winning and governing. If Trump is the GOP nominee, voters regardless of past affiliation who fear for the country’s future need to work strenuously for a competent and electable Democratic nominee. Otherwise, we’re in deep trouble.

[handmade34]

1. ...

https://www.americanpossibilities.org/

[crazytown]

2. Yes, there's a place for a sensible center candidate

to hose down the highest pies in the sky, but Joe better think carefully about whose dreams he’s bringing on down to earth. The most successful politicians have offered a patch of blue sky - Even Trunp (and Mexico will pay for it)

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. There is a danger in being a Debbie Downer.

It seems the best way to get elected is to promise the moon.

[crazytown]

8. Just a piece of green cheese :)

Actually I think climate change is the blue sky.

[R B Garr]

3. K&R

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. Expect a lot of posters to use the ecological fallacy to criticize Rubin.

Proud Obama Democrat.

[bigtree]

6. he's the caution candidate for the viability wing of the party.

...this is the same crap trotted out every election by either timid or compromised pols looking to marginalize or suppress decidedly more progressive interests using derisive terms to describe opponents like 'overreach' and 'far-left.'

These same folks just howl with anguish when someone mentions the word 'establishment,' but all this fearmogering plea for Biden represents is a desperate and cynical call for maintaining the status quo in the Democratic party.

Don't rock the boat. No 'scary' women and minorities demanding basic rights, liberties, and justice. No newbies (like Obama) need apply. Keep your heads down while the man who dropped out of two primary elections brings this thing home.

Brother.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. I might regret writing this.

Win or lose Biden will likely siphon votes from a certain New England independent senator and that's not a bad thing. I would vote for him but I see his candidacy as problematic. We won the mid terms because we did well in the suburbs. I am concerned the aforementioned senator would drive them away. If the election is a referendum on Trump he loses. If he can make it a choice between capitalism and socialism he has a chance. Why are we even in the position of potentially having to defend socialism in a presidential campaign? FDR, JFK, and Barack Obama were liberals and not socialists.

[R B Garr]

10. This was a perfect response. You are exactly right.

This isn’t the time for arguing about socialism. It’s a time for restoring sanity and stability. I like what you said about Biden siphoning votes—a huge key for me, too.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. I would hate for our party to have to defend it being a socialist party.

Especially when 76% of Americans say they wouldn't vote for one:

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/07/24/poll-indicates-over-75-percent-of-americans-would-not-support-a-socialist-candidate/23488897/

[R B Garr]

13. Yes, it would be a disaster. No success in Vermont with

the touted socialist policies to speak about either. The blue wave gave us the blueprint, and it’s not socialism. Liberal California rejected it, too. Back to the basics.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

14. Our governor is very liberal* but he has the good sense not to call himself a socialist.

Anyway three times as many people live in the SFV than in Vermont.



*Most liberal governor in the nation.

[R B Garr]

16. Exactly right again. No reason for a hostile takeover of

California when it is already liberal. No reason for a takeover of our party with such divisive and unreliable distractions.

[customerserviceguy]

15. You are completely correct

Any "blue wave" we saw last November was suburbanites reacting to having only $10K of their state and local taxes remaining deductible. They have two years to get over that, and shift the blame to those who enact the laws that cause them to pay over $10K in state and local taxes.

As soon as he announces, Biden becomes the 800 pound gorilla in the room. The nightmare scenario is that he gets too few votes for a first ballot nomination, but the superdelegates push him over the top on the second ballot, and a lot of people on the side of the "certain New England independent senator" gets pissy like they did the last time.

[Gothmog]

17. How will Joe hurt in the surburbs?

I like Joe and will probably support him if he runs

[DemocratSinceBirth]

18. Please re-read my post and the posts responding to it.

It is the opposite of what you are construing.

[Gothmog]

25. I am sorry that I misread your post

We are in agreement.

[LakeArenal]

28. No matter what "crap" you trotted out...

Biden remains the most qualified person for the job..

What Democrat says “no scary women”?

Meanwhile many Dems here have trotted the “old white guy” crap.

Crap is crap. Lots of it floats around in the primary.

[bigtree]

29. it's Rubin's crap that's at issue in this thread

Rubin:

"If they pick scary socialists or rank novices incapable of governing (such as Trump!), they will never achieve aims such as checking climate change, expanding health-care coverage, reducing income inequality and keeping the United States safe and respected."

But, go ahead, identify Biden with this republican embarrassed with the party she puffed up for over a decade.

[LakeArenal]

30. Outside DU and political blogs...

Who knows anything about Rubin?

[R B Garr]

9. Dont listen to those bellyaching about "establishment" .

Look what all the pie-in-the-sky, all or nothing has gotten us—Republicans! That’s the reality. It happened with Gore when the same phony lies about Democrats were trotted out. Like this author says, not one single person is covered on Medicare for All, but Obama managed to cover millions.

An above post fails to take into account the absolute power these “movements” have handed over to the Republicans. What a waste of time to talk about Iraq votes. There never would have been an Iraq war if Gore was President. That is the power handed over to Republicans, and for what. Don’t blame purity standards and ego-driven protest votes on the rest of us who know that Republicans are the problem. Not Democrats.

[WeekiWater]

11. What is the party on the brink of?

We just won a major election cycle and have some great candidates running.

[comradebillyboy]

19. An interesting thesis.

[ucrdem]

20. I think he stands a good chance of winning.

By good I mean about 50/50. Trump is shameless crook, but red states seem to love him, US elections are rotten, and incumbents aren't turned out very often. So if Trump manages to avoid being run out of office he won't be that easy to take down in 2020, even with all the investigations. Basically Trump gets to run on the Obama economy which after 8 years of incredibly focused attention is still running strong. If Biden can make the case that in fact, it's his economy, he might take the prize, but somehow I don't see Biden or Barack ever getting the credit they deserve for what they accomplished. Bill Clinton never did either.

Anyway I hope Joe gets in soon and runs like hell.

[workinclasszero]

21. What a crock! "seize the party by the scruff of the neck and pull it back from the brink"

She meant to stay seize the party by the scruff of the neck and pull it back to the right!

I guess if the democratic party wants to totally lose the 30 and under vote they could go ahead and take a hard right.

Gee I wonder why conservative republican Jennifer Rubin is so concerned about the progressive dems running in 2020?

She is just trying to be helpful no doubt when she said: "seize the party by the scruff of the neck and pull it back from the brink"

I guess Joe can run on a platform of NO,NO,NO, we can't do a damn thing for the average American, sorry folks.

We will see how far that takes him LOL

Pretty sad when the advise of a hardcore right winger like Jennifer Rubin is put on DU as something good.

[CrossingTheRubicon]

22. We need to remain the "We Have Not Lost Our Marbles" party.

A Joe Biden nomination wins in the General election in the EC and supports our liberal tradition as Democrats.

If we were to lose our marbles, as the Republicans have, there would be no sane alternative in American politics.

Fortunately, that not going to happen.

[m-lekktor]

23. yeah, according to RWNJ Jennifer Rubin. smh

I think I will wait and see what Karl Rove has to say.....

[Gothmog]

24. I am glad that Brown decided not to run in that we can not afford to lose his senate seat.

This is also good news for Joe Biden

Link to tweet

[at140]

26. Agree about Biden ! Nt

[Kurt V.]

27. no thank you