This is my 689th diary. On May 2, 2016 I wrote my 18th diary which prompted my personal record number of comments and managed to kick open a nest of angry stinging hornets. “I changed my mind. Why I’m not voting for Bernie in the Oregon primary” ended up getting over 700 comments. Most were about my diary, but also many commenters called me a paid Hillary shill. A number of commenters said I was too new to Daily Kos to have my diary taken seriously. There were three comments about the comments by Kos himself.
When I wrote that diary only a very few pundits were taking the threat of a Donald Trump primary victory seriously, let alone his becoming president. I began that diary with a quote from Andrew Sullivan, the conservative political commentator and a former editor of The New Republic, who wrote in a NY Magazine article:
"And though Trump’s unfavorables are extraordinarily high (around 65 percent), he is already showing signs of changing his tune, pivoting (fitfully) to the more presidential mode he envisages deploying in the general election. I suspect this will, to some fools on the fence, come as a kind of relief, and may open their minds to him once more. Tyrants, like mob bosses, know the value of a smile: Precisely because of the fear he’s already generated, you desperately want to believe in his new warmth. It’s part of the good-cop-bad-cop routine that will be familiar to anyone who has studied the presidency of Vladimir Putin.”
I concluded with my own observation:
This is time for unity in the Democratic Party because the stakes are too high. Trump could win, and he could win against either Hillary or Bernie. The man is a genius at manipulating public opinion, and those who don’t credit him with having a chance to become president dismiss him at their - at our - peril.
I reread the diary and skimmed over the sometimes cringe-inducing comments last night because I was wondering whether I should revisit the subject of Bernie Sanders again because of the news that he recorded a video announcing a 2020 campaign broke yesterday.
My diary was written before Hillary Clinton wrapped up the nomination and when Markos Moulitsas was allowing the often heated debate between the Clinton and Sanders camps. For those who weren't following Daily Kos back then, once Hillary was the Democratic Party nominee any lamentations over Bernie's loss were disallowed on the site.
This was also before we knew that Russian trolls were active online. As I reread the comments wondered if any of them could have originated on Russian troll farms. As one of the most read liberal websites it would make sense that Russians would see commenting on Daily Kos in order to foster a battle between Hillary and Bernie supporters would advance their mission to disrupt the election and swing it to Trump.
We haven’t seen the 2020 Sanders announcement video yet, and don't even know if he will run. Still, it is worth discussing the possibility. If he declares it will be interesting to see whether those who supported him in 2016 still think he is the best candidate to beat the Donald Trump, the man many argue he would have beaten had he run instead of Hillary.
My current thinking is that it is the Democrats have some excellent possible tickets.
I think it is fascinating to consider what would happen if the Democrats nominated an all-female ticket. I don’t rule this out as a viable and highly electable ticket no matter who of the four women are selected and who runs for the top spot and who for the veep.
Beto O’Rourke who almost beat Ted Cruz in Texas, say it again with the emphasis on Texas which hasn’t had a Democratic Party senator since June 13, 1998, could be the contender to beat in the primaries and a formidable foe to run against Donald Trump. Beto is white, male, young, handsome, and charismatic. He could lure back those rust belt voters who went for Trump. Beto might swing some of the traditional red states to blue with voters who aren’t hardcore bigots to vote for a Democrat who they see as bringing a breath of clean fresh air to the White House.
Then there’s the age question. Bernie Sanders is 77. Joe Bidden is 76. If they run each is likely to be will be a top tier candidate. However, age would be a major factor in a Democratic field where there is a national sentiment for younger candidates. The 17 or 18 announced and possible candidates range in age from Pete Buttigieg who is 37 and Elizabeth Warren who is 69 and who could very well be the one to beat in the primary.
The Democratic candidates and potential candidates, and their brethren in the House of Representatives have enlivened the political discourse by throwing shade on Donald Trump’s increasingly desperate attempts to gain the spotlight. Even Fox News is being forced to cover them and their ideas.
The primary season is in full swing. Vital issues for Democrats no matter where they fall on a Republican-manufactured scale of progressivism are being aired. Ideas like the green new deal (which really goes back to 2007 and a proposal by Thomas Friedman) are being debated. Fox News is hysterical over this saying it would destroy the American dream and create an American nightmare. That the GOP is promoting terms like radical far-left and is trying to scare people with the socialism label again shows they are alarmed by the polling that America itself has become a left-leaning nation. See Accusations of socialism drive GOP’s 2019 (and 2020) playbook.
As for whether Bernie Sanders should run again, I say the more the merrier.
What do you think?