Recognising that I come from a country which is not far behind trump and my mother’s from a country that has had the most corrupt politicians outside of Italy.
I do think the one thing both those countries have, along with AUNZ, most of Europe and elsewhere have a clear leader of the opposition
I think the Dems miss a trick by not having a putative leader in waiting who gets to respond to trump’s actions.
The discourse takes place by talking heads in the media and outraged individuals saying he can’t do x
A clear opposition leader may go some way to allowing the Dems to build out of this shit show
I saw a suggestion that the Dems should start holding a daily press conference to discuss what is going on in the administration. Invite all the press so the media has something to talk about daily.
The suggestion I saw was to have Major Pete lead it. He would be good but you could rotate in those that are trying to sound the alarm now. AOC, Kinsinger, Raskin, Crockett, etc. Al Franken would do a great job of leading it.
Modern politics are about owning the narrative and the Dems are failing badly here.
That’s a very good take. Right now we get a couple of comments from well-intentioned folks who are speaking out against the path towards autocracy, like Pete B, AOC, Bernie, or Jasmine Crockett but not much more. We need a unified voice agains that. Hopefully with some of them “RINOs” joining on the response.
I agree with you. There is no Dem or Ind. that can unify.
The fracture between CenterLeft and woke agendas won’t permit unity.
In the next few years there is no one who comes close to reaching CenterRight voters.
And you can completely write off MAGATs. If the Dems put up a woman, minority, or gay… It’s over before it starts.
The mentality, the myopia, and the shortsightedness of Red and rural Republicans will categorically reject a woman (Hillary) who by the way, was by experience, more prepared to be POTUS than any other male or female. But they didn’t like her voice. Cory Booker could be another Obama/Kamala, but no way will “they” “go with a N again.”
Evangelicals vote collectively for gay? - Never.
“We hold these truths to be self evident…”
But “they” don’t and won’t. That leaves an attention-getting, Constitution-following white boy, who may even be a Republican. But the Squad-L will veto him, because they are not sufficiently politically savvy to see that they will get some political return from a Kinsinger, than the garbage they’re gonna get in the next years.
Hate to say it because I think he would be a competent and thoughtful leader, but these aren’t the times for a diminutive gay intellectual to oppose MAGA. We need a Bill Clinton or Barack Obama type figure, and best I can tell the closest thing available is Gavin Newsome.
Kiki - Yes, She is supremely articulate - and intelligent, a great rep for her district. However, she and the other Squads need Bernie to teach them political shrewdness nationally. She won’t penetrate the MAGA mind. It will take one FOX replay, and… “She’s just the Ivy League DEI spk-girl dancing on a rooftop.”
I hate it, but that’s all the mentality they possess.
Sphere is articulating far more politely and ethically than my experiential descriptions of the opponent.
i think it is too early for anyone wanting to be the Dem nominee in 2028 to be front and center presenting alternative positions on important issues. Better politically to give it a year, let things start to go wrong and then jump in with a focus on the screw ups. i think Shapiro will be the dem candidate in 2028. Has charisma, can think on his feet, good on TV, and most importantly he won a swing state by 15% (mid-term, but when there was a Dem president so usually not good for party in power), showing more cross party appeal than other prominent dems. He needs to do the best for PA for another 2 years, get re-elected with a big margin, and then push for more national recognition.
Maybe Mayor Pete could fill the gap until then - articulate and thoughtful, but i don’t see him being a leading candidate in 2028.
I agree with you on Pete. He is extremely sharp and would be great at this. I would like to see the Dems talk with him and discuss that there are probably too many biased voters in America to elect him president, but if he will take the point on these issues - they will push everyone running for president to let him have any cabinet position that he wants.
It is early yet, and yes even Schumer knows he is not the guy, nor is Bernie nor is AOC. Of the 2,500 or so counties only 500 or so went for Ms Harris. The messenger in opposition should confidently walk into a room of rural townsfolk and speak to their concerns openly with an opposition counter message that rings true to them.
