I've been saying this. Once Biden wins, the Trump boogeyman is gone. The spotlight will not only be on him, but on the party that ran him. And if he steps down three months into his second term and passes the ball to Harris, it will be a black eye for the Dems AND diversity advocates. Because this
"Klein’s idea, which is valid, is that Biden should just be replaced at the Democratic convention in the summer. "
Lol. What an idiot. Democratic Party insiders trying to force their preferred candidates down the public's throat is how we got into this mess. The solution is not even more of the same.
You aren't wrong, but either way we're getting someone forced down our throat. I'd rather it be someone who is not obviously visibly mentally impaired.
I look at Biden’s absence of a campaign platform and see him trying to execute a Hillary 2016 strategy, which involved a focus on Trump’s character flaws rather than fighting for a transformative policy agenda. At a time when Americans are still experiencing brutal inflation and the worst affordable housing crisis in modern history, I don’t think Biden’s approach will work.
"Go to the American people and ask them, really, do they want to deal with Donald J. Trump for another four years? Doesn’t he exhaust you?"
Yeah, this. That's enough for me. The Trump years were exhausting. Social unrest everywhere you looked. Everyone freaking out and yelling about politics nonstop every day. I'd rather not go back to that, please and thank you.
"Everyone freaking out and yelling about politics nonstop every day. I'd rather not go back to that, please and thank you."
Biden being elected isn't going to end that. As long as both parties represent the interests of the ruling class to the exclusion of everyone else, it will continue.
Restoring the middle class. Taxing the rich. Bringing us back down to the levels of income inequality we had in 50s will do that.
The Democratic Establishment stands in the way of that as much as the Republicans.
I'd love to see a postwar-style economy reinstated. It's what my substack is about. But there is more than just passing the necessary policies. There is how to create the political environment conducive to the evolution of a politics that can pass such policies. Nobody has a theory or model that says how you do that.
Exactly! We are FINALLY returning to something approaching "normal" after a global trauma. I have a certain amount of faith that the last thing most people want to do right now is upset things and allow the chaos we experienced during the last Trump regime back in. Americans are going to reject it. Biden just needs to keep it together until November.
When was that really possible, though? As Yglesias has pointed out repeatedly: that middle-class family had one car, a 900 sq ft house, didn't vacation by plane or send their kids to college (*maybe* a local city college or whatever), and didn't pay for television while cell phone/internet bills obviously didn't exist yet. If you were truly interested in paring your family's life down to that degree, you'd probably be able to on a single middle-class salary. The difference is that what is considered a "comfortable" middle-class lifestyle has grown tremendously since then.
When I in my teens and twenties I could find a job in a week cooking, live in a decent apartment, and pay my rent with one week's pay.
Are you going to pretend that this is still possible? Are you going to try and tell me that Americans have always been $400 away from financial catastrophe?
We paid $1.5M dollars for our condo in Park Slope. You know who used to own it? A cop was able to buy it on his salary.
Trust me when I tell you this: trying to convince people that everything was always this bad, so you should definitely vote for the doddering old fool who used to once be referred to derisively as "The Senator From MBNA" is not going to work.
But I don't know. Maybe you are just 14 years old.
I'm not. I'm old enough to remember the times before the Democratic Party was to the Right of GWB, let alone Reagan.
My comment was not in any way an endorsement of Biden or the Al From Democrats, simply the reality that what we look back on as the prototypical middle-class lifestyle from 50 years ago is still reasonably achievable today, but would be considered a pretty shitty, deprived QOL for most of us who think of ourselves as somewhere near the middle class in 2023.
If you're curious, I'm in my late 30s and even though both my fiancee and I make decent-to-good money, we're renters and would struggle to buy a home that costs even half of what the house I grew up in is worth today, much less a $1.5 million condo in Brooklyn.
"we're renters and would struggle to buy a home that costs even half of what the house I grew up in is worth today".
Perhaps I am misunderstanding your point. It would seem to me that your first comment said that the middle class I refer to never existed, and then above you seem to be saying that it did.
Excellent column. The contrast with 2012 Joe Biden is stunning. No one has a crystal ball - plenty of things may happen between now and the election that we cannot even fathom right now. I think RFK will be on all 50 State ballots and it surprises me that this isn't being taken into account.
>There's a lot of mainstream media clickbait that would suggest Democrats are losing these communication wars
EVs and climate change are areas where Democrats have the popular position. There are also "communication wars" where Democrats do NOT have the popular position.
Like you, most Democratic "strategists" would rather plug their ears and/or mouths about these subjects, because certain folks have adopted a "talk of retreat is a shooting offense" policy. Writing about these weaknesses gets you attacked & accused of "helping the other side." Even trying to discuss these weaknesses in an informal context like this is a land mine.
These factors have resulted in what is commonly known as a "blind spot."
Most people believe it's important for OTHERS to fight climate change. When any of the polling questions turn inward and ask the person whether they'd be open to inconveniencing themselves even slightly or pay even like $5 more a month to offset climate change, the "yes" responses evaporate immediately. And even voters who claim to care about the climate listed it 11th or 12th on their ranking of priorities when stepping into the voting booth.
I've been saying this. Once Biden wins, the Trump boogeyman is gone. The spotlight will not only be on him, but on the party that ran him. And if he steps down three months into his second term and passes the ball to Harris, it will be a black eye for the Dems AND diversity advocates. Because this
https://youtu.be/nx8v89z-ri0?si=VCm1VtyGw3up2LHq
"Klein’s idea, which is valid, is that Biden should just be replaced at the Democratic convention in the summer. "
Lol. What an idiot. Democratic Party insiders trying to force their preferred candidates down the public's throat is how we got into this mess. The solution is not even more of the same.
You aren't wrong, but either way we're getting someone forced down our throat. I'd rather it be someone who is not obviously visibly mentally impaired.
The ship has sailed, unfortunately. There was a chance to have a primary but it is gone.
I look at Biden’s absence of a campaign platform and see him trying to execute a Hillary 2016 strategy, which involved a focus on Trump’s character flaws rather than fighting for a transformative policy agenda. At a time when Americans are still experiencing brutal inflation and the worst affordable housing crisis in modern history, I don’t think Biden’s approach will work.
It's not age--look at Bernie Sanders--still sharp as a whip. It's DEMENTIA!
"But there was logic to the old system, which precluded someone like Donald Trump from seizing control of a major party."
Another way to avoid losing control of your party would be to work in the best interests of the public.
Krugman wouldn't have to work so hard scolding people to not believe their lying eyes.
"Go to the American people and ask them, really, do they want to deal with Donald J. Trump for another four years? Doesn’t he exhaust you?"
Yeah, this. That's enough for me. The Trump years were exhausting. Social unrest everywhere you looked. Everyone freaking out and yelling about politics nonstop every day. I'd rather not go back to that, please and thank you.
"Everyone freaking out and yelling about politics nonstop every day. I'd rather not go back to that, please and thank you."
Biden being elected isn't going to end that. As long as both parties represent the interests of the ruling class to the exclusion of everyone else, it will continue.
Restoring the middle class. Taxing the rich. Bringing us back down to the levels of income inequality we had in 50s will do that.
The Democratic Establishment stands in the way of that as much as the Republicans.
I'd love to see a postwar-style economy reinstated. It's what my substack is about. But there is more than just passing the necessary policies. There is how to create the political environment conducive to the evolution of a politics that can pass such policies. Nobody has a theory or model that says how you do that.
Exactly! We are FINALLY returning to something approaching "normal" after a global trauma. I have a certain amount of faith that the last thing most people want to do right now is upset things and allow the chaos we experienced during the last Trump regime back in. Americans are going to reject it. Biden just needs to keep it together until November.
Normal for me would be a person in the middle class being able to raise a family on one income.
When was that really possible, though? As Yglesias has pointed out repeatedly: that middle-class family had one car, a 900 sq ft house, didn't vacation by plane or send their kids to college (*maybe* a local city college or whatever), and didn't pay for television while cell phone/internet bills obviously didn't exist yet. If you were truly interested in paring your family's life down to that degree, you'd probably be able to on a single middle-class salary. The difference is that what is considered a "comfortable" middle-class lifestyle has grown tremendously since then.
When I in my teens and twenties I could find a job in a week cooking, live in a decent apartment, and pay my rent with one week's pay.
Are you going to pretend that this is still possible? Are you going to try and tell me that Americans have always been $400 away from financial catastrophe?
We paid $1.5M dollars for our condo in Park Slope. You know who used to own it? A cop was able to buy it on his salary.
Trust me when I tell you this: trying to convince people that everything was always this bad, so you should definitely vote for the doddering old fool who used to once be referred to derisively as "The Senator From MBNA" is not going to work.
But I don't know. Maybe you are just 14 years old.
I'm not. I'm old enough to remember the times before the Democratic Party was to the Right of GWB, let alone Reagan.
My comment was not in any way an endorsement of Biden or the Al From Democrats, simply the reality that what we look back on as the prototypical middle-class lifestyle from 50 years ago is still reasonably achievable today, but would be considered a pretty shitty, deprived QOL for most of us who think of ourselves as somewhere near the middle class in 2023.
If you're curious, I'm in my late 30s and even though both my fiancee and I make decent-to-good money, we're renters and would struggle to buy a home that costs even half of what the house I grew up in is worth today, much less a $1.5 million condo in Brooklyn.
"we're renters and would struggle to buy a home that costs even half of what the house I grew up in is worth today".
Perhaps I am misunderstanding your point. It would seem to me that your first comment said that the middle class I refer to never existed, and then above you seem to be saying that it did.
I hope you're right. I sure as hell can't predict this stuff.
If Joe Biden can’t win, things can only get better.
Informative.
Excellent column. The contrast with 2012 Joe Biden is stunning. No one has a crystal ball - plenty of things may happen between now and the election that we cannot even fathom right now. I think RFK will be on all 50 State ballots and it surprises me that this isn't being taken into account.
He's going to take more votes from Republicans than Democrats.
>There's a lot of mainstream media clickbait that would suggest Democrats are losing these communication wars
EVs and climate change are areas where Democrats have the popular position. There are also "communication wars" where Democrats do NOT have the popular position.
Like you, most Democratic "strategists" would rather plug their ears and/or mouths about these subjects, because certain folks have adopted a "talk of retreat is a shooting offense" policy. Writing about these weaknesses gets you attacked & accused of "helping the other side." Even trying to discuss these weaknesses in an informal context like this is a land mine.
These factors have resulted in what is commonly known as a "blind spot."
He’s worse than Ronald Reagan.
Most people believe it's important for OTHERS to fight climate change. When any of the polling questions turn inward and ask the person whether they'd be open to inconveniencing themselves even slightly or pay even like $5 more a month to offset climate change, the "yes" responses evaporate immediately. And even voters who claim to care about the climate listed it 11th or 12th on their ranking of priorities when stepping into the voting booth.