Dave Leonhardt is somewhat of a centrist writer for The New York Times editorial page. In this columnfor today’s printer, he takes on the notion of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” -something also a focus of Not Deranged. Determined! by Charles M. Blow, who argues the real derangement can be seen in Republican policies. Blow is someone who gets featured here regularly, by me among others, and he is predictable in his strong opposition to Trump, which is why I have chosen to focus on Loenhardt’s piece, since he is probably not as well known or regularly read by the denizens of this website
.
As we look at the probability of a “blue wave” two years into Trump’s term, a lot of people, especially pundits, make comparisons to 2010 with the Tea Party revolt. But Leonhardt points out a key difference: so far only two Democratic incumbent House Members have lost primaries (and both were in solidly Democratic districts).
Zero Senate candidates did. In conservative states with moderate Democratic senators — like Indiana, North Dakota, and West Virginia — not one of those moderates even faced a serious primary challenge.
Leonhardt continues with this paragraph:
The situation was very different in 2010 with the Tea Party, which pushed the Republican Party to the right. Multiple incumbents lost that year, as Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report noted last week. “Please stop with the ‘revolution’ in the Democratic Party narrative,” she said. This year’s real story is the one that the political scholars Lara Putnam and Theda Skocpol have tried to tell: Anti-Trump activists have taken a strategic approach, backing either moderate or more progressive candidates, depending on the district.
It is true we have seen progressive candidates like Andrew Gillum and Stacey Abrams win state-wide primaries for governor, but Leonhardt suggests we watch some of their speeches, then writes
For one thing, both are strong candidates. For another, they are hardly socialists. And the list of progressive insurgents who got thumped is much longer. In New York, Cynthia Nixon didn’t crack 35 percent.
That most Democrats are not running on impeaching Trump, but rather urging people to wait for the completion of Mueller’s investigation, even as
There is strong evidence that Trump has broken the law, both by obstructing justice and by using the presidency to enrich himself.
is to Leonhardt clear evidence that their reaction is not deranged.
He acknowledges that Democrats have moved left on policy, but quotes Larry Summers of all people as saying the last 15 years should have moved people to the left.
You can see Leonhardt’s centrist approach in this paragraph on policy:
But think about what a truly left-wing agenda would look like: Top tax rates of 70 percent (which we had as recently as 1980) or higher. A generous “universal basic income.” The elimination of employer-provided health insurance, with a system more like Britain’s. These ideas remain limited to the margins. None is likely to happen even if Democrats sweep the elections of 2020.
Here I would respond that te “margins” may be far wider than he realizes, and likely to expand, especially on health care, if Republicans at both state and federal levels continue to diminish the access and support — insufficient as it is — that people have now experienced under the Affordable Care Act, especially with expansion of Medicaid
Leonhardt offers summaries of policy briefs of both parties, noting that it is the Republican agenda which is truly radical on most issues, including denying science, running up deficits, denying the vote to those with darker skins, and protecting Trump from any accoutability. And, relevant to this weekend’s news, stealing a Supreme Court seat.
He would said that for any self-defined moderate, whether slightly left or right of center, the choice this November is clear.
It is the last two paragraphs that bring this home. The first of these is dedicated to those on the left of the party:
And if you consider yourself a leftist, I understand you are probably frustrated that the Democrats won’t go further. But look at the big picture. The Democratic Party may not have moved nearly as much as you would like, but the party has moved. It has adjusted its agenda in response to soaring inequality and stagnant living standards.
The final one speaks to all Americans, and has echoes from two years ago that perhaps should haunt at least a few people:
The one mistake no voter should make is pretending that the two parties are just different versions of the same thing.
Indeed.
Now go read the entire piece.
And pass it on.
Peace.