As potential Dem candidates start to emergy for 2020, the questions remain how will they deal strategically with sociopath and demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump (assuming the monster is still around) and what issues will have broad appeal with the electorate. One of the showcases for progressives is the annual Center for American Progress conference, which Michael Tomasky covered yesterday. His report lays out the problems for Dems, not the least of which is "where's the passion?" among the presumed front-runners.
In contrast to right-wing confabs like the odious CPAC mud wallow, the progressive confab was tame, with nary a mention of Rump, as if they feared a tweet storm from the would-be autocrat:
"I heard many interesting things. But one word I didn’t hear much at all surprised me. 'Trump.'It's early in the 2020 cycle, and politicians are testing out messages and positions on different issues, but Rump remains the most polarizing figure in Presidential politics in modern times. Surely, as Tomasky suggests, the Dem political class (which often suffers from timidity and accommodation) can muster a "a few jabs" can't they? A little less Marquis of Queensbury rules and a little more street fighting. Some Harry Truman role-playing might work with the right candidate.
I sat there, about an hour in, realizing: This is just a huge difference these days between Democrats and Republicans. I thought back to the similar conservative gatherings I’d covered over the years. The annual CPAC conference mostly, although that’s not quite fair because it goes on for days and is much larger than this CAP event. But other smaller ones, too. [snip] A Democratic one, by contrast, is a college colloquium. Elizabeth Warren was the keynoter, speaking on the need to repair our democracy; she was fine, all her proposals were laudable, and unlike all the others she actually did jab at Trump a couple times ... [snip]
It was billed as an 'ideas festival,' so maybe the idea, so to speak, was to accentuate the positive and not make it too down-and-dirty political. Maybe that’s fine. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Democrats should be just like Republicans. The Republicans have zero ideas, if you don’t consider turning a blind eye to the daily offenses of a con man and grifter an idea. [snip]
The Democrats have ideas, and they should be true to their DNA. But surely they can do that and get in a few jabs. God knows, liberals need some laughs at Trump’s expense. And they need some anger, too. [snip] ....Trump is liberals’ daily reality. Democratic voters will nominate the person who combines that positive message with a frank assessment of the grim truth--and who demonstrates that he or she can stand up to the bully." (emphasis added)
