It\u2019s fascinating listening to Republicans today. Horrified by Donald Trump, the President their Party chose, these \u201cnever-Trumpers\u201d are now telling the Democrats what candidate to nominate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I can\u2019t blame them for turning away from Trump.\u00a0Skipping the entire litany of terrible things he is responsible for, everyone should be repelled by at least two actions.\u00a0\u00a0First, his embrace of dictators from Kim to Putin to MBS.\u00a0\u00a0Trump has excoriated the leaders of, as Putin would say, \u201cliberal democracies,\u201d but it\u2019s all hugs and smiles for tyrants that murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second are the intentional atrocities at the Southern Border. We know that Presidential Advisor Stephen Miller and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions set in place a program to \u201csend a message\u201d to Central America. The message was simple: we don\u2019t want you to come to the United States, and we will treat you inhumanely if you do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result of this policy was child separation, and now, the unacceptable conditions of both child and adult detention centers. We, the United States, have \u201ccrimes against humanity\u201d occurring on our border, by our government agents, in our name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Republicans were asked to swallow so much in return for Supreme Court Justices and tax cuts. It is no wonder that many are gagging now, and want out of the \u201cdevil\u2019s bargain\u201d they made to avoid Hillary Clinton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But don\u2019t tell us Democrats who to chose for our Presidential candidate in 2020.\u00a0\u00a0 We see a vote against Trump as a moral imperative and would welcome yours. But, we aren\u2019t going to nominate a \u201cRepublican-lite\u201d in order to get it.\u00a0\u00a0If you want that, Bill Weld is running, John Kasich would if he could:\u00a0\u00a0go find a way to fix your own Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But of course, you can\u2019t.\u00a0The Republican Party has been totally infected with Trumpism: it will take the destruction of the Party to rebuild.\u00a0\u00a0Just as Democrats don\u2019t want your advice on who to nominate, we shouldn\u2019t presume to tell you how to rebuild your Party.\u00a0\u00a0But it does seem that \u201cgood\u201d Republicans have voluntarily muzzled themselves, and it\u2019s hard to believe that\u2019s just because they are afraid of Presidential \u201ctweets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It must be something more than just fear of losing votes. A little unsolicited advice: check how much Russian money has gotten into the campaign coffers of the \u201cgood\u201d Republicans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Democratic Party is going through a process. Sure, right now some candidates are answering questions about bussing for school desegregation, eliminating the Electoral College, reparations for slavery, and American bilingualism. These are issues that are important to segments of the Democratic electorate, and that’s what the primary process is all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Democrats recognize the big problems of our time:\u00a0\u00a0health care costs, climate change, income disparity, women\u2019s health rights, institutional racism, and the failure of the world order the United States has led since World War II.\u00a0\u00a0We have more than twenty candidates offering diverse solutions to these problems.\u00a0Some of those solutions seem extreme, some are sound; we have eight months until the first caucus and primaries.\u00a0\u00a0We will sort through all of the choices, and find the candidate that has the best chance to forward our solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The formula for a Democratic coalition to win the Presidency is sound. It\u2019s not just about winning a majority; Democrats proved in 2000 and 2016 they could do that and still lose the Presidency. Even with the same 2016 vote: Wisconsin and Michigan now have Democratic Governors, and there were big Democratic gains in the House of Representatives in 2018. The \u201cgeneric\u201d situation has changed. There\u2019s no \u201csure thing\u201d in politics, but that definitely includes the re-election of Donald J. Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democrats are going to represent Democrats. We are a party of women\u2019s and minority rights, we are a party of the working class. In the face of Trumpism, the Democratic Party is going to be true to it\u2019s own base, and it\u2019s own values. It\u2019s OUR Party. But you\u2019re welcome to join in. My God, if you could swallow Trump last time, you should be able to stomach health care for all and choice. And if you can\u2019t, we will do without your vote. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"