In an article on Monday, I wrote about how I would be watching the Democratic primary. I’m interested to see what sort of developments happen as we got closer to the Iowa caucuses. It’s very clear, even the left cannot decide what they want. But it’s not just the primary, it’s in almost everything.
I’ll start with the Democratic primary. On Sunday, The NY Times editorial board issued their endorsement for President. It was interesting, because they didn’t select one single candidate. We all know there is only one President. Yet, The NY Times gave endorsement to two. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Elizabeth Warren were selected by the board. Why would they need two?
As the board describes, Americans have three visions to choose from in this election. The problem is that two of those are distinctly left views. We all know how horrible the Times considers Trump and Republicans, so it’s no surprise how they painted Republicans as part of this. But the fact that they admit two views in the Democratic Party and did not align with one of them is surprising.
Even CNN was given pause with The NY Times decision. The Times labeled it as a choice between the radical and the realist. CNN has given its support to Warren for some time, so it’s easy to see why they are upset with the decision. But it highlights the fact that even Democrats are not sure that the liberal view can win against Trump.
The division among Democrats does not stop there, however. Democrats have been split on the Trump impeachment since the beginning as well. Those “realists,” such as Klobuchar, have suggested that impeachment was not worth it. Recall Speaker Nancy Pelosi was against impeachment for the longest time. She held out for months against the calls from the progressive side of the aisle.
While Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and those freshmen radicals were all calling for impeachment, others were urging caution. Rightfully so, since they have still yet to change public opinion of impeachment. Poll after poll indicates that support from impeachment is partisan. This is not exactly what the Democrats had hoped for. It continues to highlight the divide in the party, however.
This reminds me a lot of what Republicans went through in the Obama administration with the Tea party candidates. Those candidates were outspoken candidates that were far right on many issues. Most held strong Libertarian views, of which is not the strongest among moderate Republicans. The Republican Speakers worked hard to maintain the balance between the opposing viewpoints.
That split view in the Republican Party held strong until Trump emerged as the nominee. The party was torn until that point, but they united behind Trump. The question is, can the left do this? Can the radicals get behind a moderate candidate if someone like Biden or Klobuchar would win the nomination? Can the moderates get behind a socialist such as Sanders or Warren if they win?
Right now, I don’t think they can. The party simply cannot decide what they want. They are torn between running wildly to the left, or trying to hold close to the middle and making changes moderately over time. Until the left decides what party they are, it will be tough for them to battle the candidate President Trump in the 2020 election.
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