Join institutional investors, analysts and strategists from the world's largest banks: Subscribe today
Already have an account? log in
As Trump Triples Down Ahead Of House Rebuke, Let’s Get Real About That Leaked Democratic Poll
Nobody ever accused Donald Trump of being one to take the high road or otherwise let things slide in the interest of calming frayed nerves.
The president on Tuesday persisted in his efforts to stoke divisions within the Democratic party, taking to Twitter to blast out tweet after bombastic tweet aimed at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley, who, during a joint press conference on Monday afternoon, delivered a scathing rebuke of the commander in chief's inflam
I disagree with your assessment that it is a mistake for the Democratic Party leadership to “[ostracize] its own rising stars in order to pacify [voters] who they believe they need in swing states”. AOC and the rest of “The Squad” are far-left candidates who won in solidly Democratic districts, where the only competitive election is the primary. The last time a Republican was elected from any of these districts was over 25 years ago, and in the case of MA-7 (Pressley’s district) the last time a Republican was elected was almost a century ago. None of these candidates contributed to the Democrats retaking the House in 2018. Anyone with a pulse and a D after their name would have won the general election in their districts.
The party leadership is trying to preserve (or grow) their majority in Congress and retake the presidency. Having members with far-left ideas garnering so much national attention by virtue of their outspokenness, social media savvy, and the news industry’s desire to generate clicks is detrimental to this effort. It allows the Republicans to scare moderate voters into believing that all Democratic candidates are far-left politicians.
The country is (for now) a democracy, and many of the ideas “The Squad” supports (abolishing ICE, eliminating private health insurance, massively shrinking the military to name a few) are not popular outside of very liberal enclaves such as the districts that “The Squad” represents. For the Democratic Party to remain competitive in moderate (“swing”) districts, which are the places they need to win to hold the majority, they need to distance themselves from the more extreme elements of their party.
this is a very intelligent comment. thank you for weighing in.
“[Democrats] need to distance themselves from the more extreme elements of their party.”
Right on. But they will have a hard time doing it, as Trump will continue to bring attention to “the Squad”. He thrives on setting up a strawman style opponent, from Rosie O’Donnell to Hillary, Obama, or criminal alien immigrants, in order to appeal to fears of unknown, unverifiable but frightening images and possibilities. Kinda makes Richard Nixon look like Mr. Rogers by comparision.
again though, however strategically correct, we are subjugating political expediency to getting actual change. AOC and Omar and Tlaib want actual, real change. not just Obama “change”, but the kind of policies that change real people’s lives in ways that mean something. not just a warm, fuzzy feeling, but actual health coverage. the comfort of knowing their kids will be able to attend college for free. etc. etc. It’s highly disconcerting and, frankly, quite sad, that what counts as “extreme” is healthcare, housing, and college. meanwhile, what’s become just another day in America is a sitting US president advertising his resorts on Twitter, and passing tax bills that benefit his family to the tune of ~$1.1 billion, and refusing to release his tax returns, and calling Muslim congresswomen terrorists. etc. etc.
that’s some truly sad stuff there.
as i’ve said, America is a kleptocracy and, now, a soft autocracy. and yet somehow, AOC is “extreme” and we have to “distance” ourselves from her. that’s nuts. absolutely, stone cold nuts.
“that’s nuts, absolutely,….”
Yes, indeed.
It just goes to show how well demagoguery works. As an example from another incident, let me circle back and analyze Senator Harris’s take-down on Vice President Biden during last month’s debate. She effectively used the imagery of a young Senator Biden currying favor with old-fashioned segregationists to tarnish his image as true champion of the people. She even suggested, without any supporting fact or analysis, that she was that “little girl being bused” and therefore a victim of racial discrimination.
The media did not ask “Wait, wasn’t busing considered a pro-active policy to integrate public schools?”
and “Have not all politicians cajoled and horse-traded for favors within their own parties, to achieve broader goals?”
No, the media fawned over the emotional impact and effectiveness of Ms. Harris’s performance, and refused to dissect the innuendo. So, facts be damned. We humans operate much more on emotion than logic.
So America goes down the toilet because the people are not given the ‘truth’ ?? To say (and I agree) that there is a huge number of poorly educated people in America and to not try to educate them… Which is worse?? Acknowledging that they aren’t educated or not putting forth an effort to re-educate them knowing they are in danger of going down the toilet??