It says something about the national Democratic Party in 2019, and nothing good, when CNN hosts wonder aloud if its presidential candidates have gone too far left. CNN!
As the commentariat marched before its cameras Wednesday morning, the main talking points were:
Did the moderates finally make their case at the debate Tuesday night?
And how in the world can one of the more "progressives" ever win a general election?
As laughable as this might have sounded a year ago, Barack Obama would be too moderate, and modest, for some of these people. Obamacare didn't go far enough. His government didn't spend enough. His DACA plan didn't allow enough immigrants into the country. The guy was a milksop!
Of course the candidates wouldn't dare say that last bit. But that's the message. The most telling part of the debate came when John Delaney and Bernie Sanders got into it about health care. Remember this exchange?
John Delaney: "I'm the only one on this stage who actually has experience in the health-care business. And with all due respect, I don't think my colleagues understand the business. We have the public option, which is great--"
Bernie Sanders: "It's not a business!"
(Applause.)
So now the health-care business isn't a business. Or wouldn't be, if certain of the candidates get their way. Hello, I'm from the government health agency, and I'm here to help.
Remember the cartoon that Barack Obama put out during his re-election bid, the "Julia" slide-show bit? Which explained how the government would help somebody through every phase of life? Somebody on the starboard side of politics said about it: "Who the hell is 'Julia,' and why am I paying for her whole life?"
But that's so 2012. These days there's much more to offer voters.
Free health care. Free college. Free child care. Or at least taxpayer supplied health care, college and child care. And we haven't gotten to reparations and guaranteed incomes yet. Julia was a piker.
And how do the more popular leftists explain their taxpayer-funded gifts? Like this:
"I don't understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States just to talk about what we really can't do and shouldn't fight for."--Elizabeth Warren
"I get a little bit tired of Democrats afraid of big ideas."--Bernie Sanders
And for those candidates who aren't along for the ride in the fast lane:
"I've heard some people here tonight, I almost wonder why you're Democrats. You seem to think there's something wrong about using the instruments of government to help people."--Marianne Williamson
Everything is doable, and government is the answer for everything, and you'd better be on this train, or you're not a real Democrat.
Then you had the candidates who understand American politics. Yes, they were allowed on stage, too. And made their case. And made sense:
"Folks, we have a choice. We can go down the road that Senator Sanders and Senator Warren want to take us, which is with bad policies like Medicare for All, free everything and impossible promises that will turn off independent voters and get Trump re-elected. That's what happened with McGovern. That's what happened with Mondale. That's what happened with Dukakis. Or we can nominate someone with new ideas to create universal health care for every American with choice, someone who wants to unify our country and grow the economy and create jobs everywhere. And then we win the White House."--John Delaney
"Last year Democrats flipped 40 Republican seats in the House, and not one of those 40 Democrats supported the policies of our front-runners at center stage."--John Hickenlooper
"At the end of the day, I'm not going to support any plan that rips away quality health care from individuals. This is an example of wish-list economics."--Steve Bullock
"We can create a universal health-care system to give everyone basic health care for free, and I have a proposal to do it. But we don't have to go around and be the party of subtraction, and telling half the country who has private health insurance that their health insurance is illegal."--John Delaney again
"I'm saying the policies--of this notion that you're going to take private insurance away from 180 million Americans, who many of them don't want to get rid of it--many of them do want to get rid of it, but some don't--many don't. Or the Green New Deal [to] make sure that every American's guaranteed a government job if they want--that is a disaster at the ballot box. You might as well FedEx the election to Donald Trump."--John Hickenlooper again
Yes, some of them made sense. Because they know that a true believer and Fellow Traveler can't win a general election.
The next question is: Can one of them win a primary?
Editorial on 08/01/2019