WAPO: Calm down. Democrats are not in disarray.

[ehrnst]

Just imagine if Democrats still don’t know who their nominee will be after two whole states have voted, with only 48 left to go. What ever will they do?

Oh please. Everyone just calm down.

People in politics suffer from a kind of myopia, in which what’s right in front of them, being in sharp focus, seems like the most important thing that has ever happened or will ever happen. This Changes Everything, we say over and over, despite the fact that the last 10 or 15 events that were supposed to Change Everything turned out to be so inconsequential that we’ve already forgotten what they were.

And what is it that’s happening now, this extraordinary disarray that threatens to destroy Democrats’ chances of winning in November? You might want to send the children out of the room before I tell you: Presidential candidates are criticizing each other.

And also, at least one candidate many thought was a serious contender (Joe Biden) is faltering. And a candidate many think will struggle in a general election (Bernie Sanders) looks strong.

What a calamity! Has any party ever witnessed such madness?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/11/calm-down-democrats-are-not-disarray/

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Ahhhhh. A voice of reason at last...

[SWBTATTReg]

2. I agree. Some are hyperventilating and act as if doom and gloom are upon us if choice XXX or

option YYY or candidate ZZZ are this, or do this, or are that, in this area, etc. It's part of the primary / caucusing process that we're undergoing. All normal.

[Quixote1818]

3. Remember the Republican party when Trump started getting traction?

Talk about disarray! It was chaos and yet Trump still squeaked out an illegal win.

[ehrnst]

4. There was an attempt to take Trump off the ticket by GOP leaders

but Pence refused to step into the POTUS position. He wanted to get there by vote, and not be a default.

[Moderateguy]

11. This

The media seems to have forgotten the absolute mess the Republican primaries were in 2016..

[McKim]

5. Yes, "Democrats in Disarray" is a Republican Story

Yes, “Democrats in disarray” is a Republican story that they want put through the endless echo chamber. Don’t feed it. Just quietly keep pushing the ideas you want on our platform and advocating for the candidate that will bring what you want the most for America. Act with forethought and dignity.

[Wellstone ruled]

6. This Story has been rewritten upteen times since

last fall. Just more and more of the Right Wing Propaganda Machine,seen this before and more of these stories are going to pop up on every Media Source in the coming months.

The Disinformation Machine is just getting started.

[m-lekktor]

7. If we nominate Bloomberg we will be. The ACTUAL left will stay home more than in 2016.nt

[stewrat]

8. more than they did in 2016? And now Gorsuch & Kavanaugh sit on the bench....the scorched earth

campaign by the ACTUAL left makes no sense to me. At least with a moderate they have a seat at the table, if they want it. with Trump, you get jack shit.

[caber09]

12. Yep the far left still hasn't learned from 2000 and 2016 huh...

If Bernie is the candidate everyone else will stay home...and his turnout blows despite the hype....theyll show up to rally but not to vote...getting rid of Trump is THE most important thing..giving him the Socialist boogey man to run against would be doing him the greatest of favors. Remember the blue wave was moderate, both in 2018 and 2019...the squad won in blue areas...Omar and Tlaib will prob be gone...the revolution has yet to show up ever. The far lefts purity tests are complete BS and hinder our side...especially when Bernie and the AOCs cannot even pass their own purity tests..The lesson that was supposed to be learned in 2000 was ignored in 2016...lets not have history repeat itself again.

[Farmer-Rick]

21. Well, so good that you can predict the future for the entire Democratic Party

You don't see the center right disavowing their base, the teabaggers. Michelle Bachmann wasn't ridiculed and insulted by her own party. The religious right is embraced not ignored like Dems ignore Unions.

When Occupy was crushed, RepubliCONS knew they could get away with anything because liberals were disavowing and crushing their very own supporters.

Bernie and AOC voters are the Democratic base and if Dems crush them, they crush the spirits of their own party. Dems are Not light RepubliCONS. They are liberals. Beating up the most liberal of liberals only hurts the Dems own voting base.

The most liberal voters are the ones who bring the enthusiasm, spirit and drive to defeat the status quo, a wannabe dick tater and a rigged system. Crushing our left of left will crush the spirit of our party. And that's exactly why Putin puts out lies about Bernie and AOC.

[caber09]

27. Bernie and AOC are not the base..

I am from 2 districts over from AOC..she isnt even the base of the Queens NY democratic voter let alone the nations...enough with the BS rigged system...Bernie lost by 1000 delegates and millions of votes, then proceeded to bash Hillary/Dems until after the convention. In 2008 in a much closer primary, Hillary got more votes and delegates were extremely close, she dropped out immediately and gave a rousing unity speech. Putin is laughing at the far left helping to do his bidding. We have been hearing about this new base of the Dem part party for years. The blue waves of 2018 and 2019 were not far left at all, they were moderate candidates. Dems ignore the unions? The Bernie wing is trying to dismantle union fought for insurance plans taking choice away, thats supporting unions? Come on. The far left has not won a darn thing, usually when they run it results in less Dems in office and more Rs in office...I hope losing committee chairs, supreme court for decades, judges in the justice system, reversing every single piece of progress has been worth it to you. If Bernie somehow is the nominee I will vote for him, I hope the far left will do the same when its not Bernie, this time around instead..the Revolution in Iowa and NH didnt show up in the numbers Bernie promised/expected, whose to say they will show up in other more center left states. You want to get rid of a dictator...dont give him a boogey man to run against.

[Farmer-Rick]

30. Bernie can win in the general.

I don't care that Bernie lost the last election. The whole Democratic party lost the last election. We need to come together to win this next election.

Do you think the tea baggers were the RepubliCON base?

The far left is the left. Like the far right is the right. As RepubliCONS have become more powerful, they have Not become more liberal or even centrist. They have become more right wing. The left will not win by being more conservative, centrist or being RepubliCON light. We have to follow the example of the winning party and become more like ouselves...liberal.

Putin in no way wants Bernie or AOC. His government much like Trump's is ultra conservative. That's why he backs Trump. Because Trump is a right wing facist similar to Putin.

Running a right leaning liberal will ensure that people vote for the real right leaning candidate, the RepubliCON. Because the people get the message that right wing is good from both sides. They never get the message that the left is good. That's why Obama did so well. He came out talking like a real liberal. America responded to that.

I think the Democratic party already has one boogeyman to run against and he's destroying our democracy. Next to Trump, Bernie looks like a kitty cat.

But in the end, I'm going with the Democratic candidate whoever he or she is. I will drive people to the polls and make phone calls for whoever is nominated. The Democratic party will win, our democracy depends on it.

[ehrnst]

28. No. They are not "the base."

The base chooses the POTUS nominee.

They chose Hillary Rodham Clinton, by a margin of nearly 4 million.

AOC was elected when her opponent didn't show up to a debate, phoned it in the rest of the time, and only 15% of the voters felt enthusiastic enough about either one of them to bother voting in the primary.

[caber09]

29. Correct...

Amen...The far left mobilized to the hilt only beat the base who didnt show up at all in numbers and a candidate who phoned it in by 4K, if Crowley didnt do something stupid and become a lobbyist after leaving office he would prob win a rematch...she currently has 9 primary opponents including 6 Rs...the Rs smell blood in an otherwise safe seat..she is not as safe as people assume she is in her district. The rest of AOC backed candidates got smoked in the surrounding areas..so yes she isnt even the base of the Queens NYC Dem party let alone the Dem party nationally, thank you for pointing out the fact ehrnst!

[stopdiggin]

15. so the "LEFT" is going to deliver us 4 more years

of Trump? Sounds about right!

[gembaby1]

17. Threats? Really?

Then I don’t think you’re serious about saving your country. Seems more like it’s your way or the highway. Why don’t you come right out and state the obvious. You’re a fifth column.

[Dem2]

20. Ahhh, here come the threats

Awful, awful AWFUL!

[treestar]

9. Did the media find the Republicans in disarray in 2016

when they had so many candidates? Probably not.

[stopdiggin]

14. some, yes. and there was certainly resistance to Trump (nt)

[Pacifist Patriot]

31. Yep, amazingly, they did.

Remember they were fielding a large rather contentious bunch of nitwits. Their infighting, sniping, and gaffs were reported by the media as indicative of lacking clear and cohesive leadership in a party that had been in opposition to a popular president. When Trump began to emerge as the frontrunner, I definitely saw opinion pieces that asserted his imminent candidacy showed the GOP was in disarray. Because if they hadn't been, Trump wouldn't be happening. That was a theory then at any rate.

[Mike 03]

10. Haha. A much-needed reality check.

I thank you.

[cp]

13. We have a good strong field of candidates

We have enough for a Prez, VP, and whole cabinet, all wonderfully talented.
We have the chance for attention on big ideas, how to improve lives, tackle climate change AND keep the mob boss unable to focus his vengeance on any one candidate until much later this summer. At which time we'll be energized, supportive, and getting out the VOTE.

[Pacifist Patriot]

32. That is a very important point.

Whoever becomes president will have a wealth of talent to draw upon for the critical appointments he or she will be making.

[Pepsidog]

16. I agree. Don't let the media fool you. Dems will be fine and fired up in Nov.

[Fiendish Thingy]

18. Pundits are so used to a 2 person horse race, they struggle with the complexity of 6+ candidates

The fact that we have more than two viable candidates now, and for the next month or so at least, seems to confuse a lot of pundits.

I’d like to Think Democrats can walk and chew gum and deal with the complexities our party has the courage to face, without pearl clutching and hand wringing.

[KPN]

19. Exactly.

[Laelth]

22. Well, yes and no.

It's no time for party-wide panic. With that I agree, but the Democratic Party that I know and love is almost always in a state of disarray. I quote the great Will Rogers who said, "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."

Some things never change.

-Laelth

[Hulk]

23. Amen!

I've had the same question..."what the f*ck are these pundits even talking about?"

Sometimes 4 or 5 at a time, wringing their hands and talking to themselves in order to waste time and hear their own voices on replay.

Absurd!

[spooky3]

24. Paul Waldman is the author. Nt

[yaesu]

25. We are not in disarray but the country is, big time

as a matter of fact the Democratic party is the anchor, the adults in the room, the only hope we have for beating fascism, the only hope. The party is as steady as the USS Enterprise when she fought fascism.

[DinahMoeHum]

26. Agreed. This "Democrats in disarray" thing. . .

. . .is such a bullshit narrative from a MSM that is:
1) too lazy to see and to show that this is not so
2) unable to stop acting as if Democrats and Republicans are the same species.

BTW, seems like Howard Dean's "50 State Strategy" has been revived by the current heads of the DNC, at least when it comes to fundraising:

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020/02/06/democrats-have-successfully-implemented-a-50-state-strategy/

What we have is a Republican Party that has become increasingly dependent on large donations from outside groups and a Democratic Party fueled by grassroots donations directly to candidates. That is how a 50-state strategy is attempting to level the playing field in the era of Citizens United.

[Mersky]

33. republicans arrrrh recidivists.

Repeat offenders recklessly relying on reptilian responses to racist rantings of a ruble rustling reprobate.

I prefer consonance that conveys truth.