Does It Matter Who the Democrats Choose?

[applegrove]

Does It Matter Who the Democrats Choose?

*moved to the proper forum

In terms of actual policy, probably not very much.

By Paul Krugman, Opinion Columnist at the NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/opinion/does-it-matter-who-the-democrats-choose.html?fbclid=IwAR1EiQ3zeROxK36L3SUy4r1UYwMnrXM6uAxF4cior9goZH8ihDeTmhzeNH4

"SNIP......

At this point, the Democratic presidential nomination is very much up in the air. Not only is it unclear who will be the nominee; it’s unclear whether the nominee will be a centrist like Joe Biden or Amy Klobuchar, or a representative of the party’s left like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. Whoever wins, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth from the other side.

So I’d like to offer an opinion that will probably anger everyone: In terms of actual policy, it probably doesn’t matter much who the Democrats nominate — as long as he or she wins, and Democrats take the Senate too.

If you’re a centrist worried about the gigantic spending increases Sanders has proposed, calm down, because they won’t happen. If you’re a progressive worried that Biden might govern like a Republican, you should also calm down, because he wouldn’t.

In practice, any Democrat would probably preside over a significant increase in taxes on the wealthy and a significant but not huge expansion of the social safety net. Given a Democratic victory, a much-enhanced version of Obamacare would almost certainly be enacted; Medicare for All, not so much. Given a Democratic victory, Social Security and Medicare would be protected and expanded; Paul Ryan-type cuts wouldn’t be on the table.

......SNIP"

[David__77]

1. I sure think it does in the realm of foreign affairs.

...

[DanTex]

4. That's a great point. Domestic policy might get stuck in congress, but foreign policy yes.

[highplainsdem]

7. That's why we need Biden. Polls have shown voters trust him most on foreign policy.

[elleng]

2. We need a candidate who attracts voters from everywhere,

geographically, economically, and socially, who does well on her/his feet, and has good judgment.

Coat-tails useful too.

[redqueen]

3. Sounds like an ad for Yang.

"a significant but not huge expansion of the social safety net"

78% of us live paycheck to paycheck.

How long will we keep pretending the same old same old is good enough? We know we will need UBI. What are we waiting for?

[Squinch]

5. Yes it matters. Look at the results of the far left candidates across the nation.

Our Revolution had ZERO winning candidates in 2018. Zero.

We have ONE job. Only one. We HAVE to win.

[mitch96]

6. I'll vote for who ever topples the corrupt tRump crime syndicate

For me that is the prime objective... Dump the Turd, Nov.Third...
Oh and if we have the house,senate and presidency to not squander the first one or two years of opportunity. Loved Obama and I think he squandered his chance of real change by trying to
"Reach across the isle" to the opposition during his first year... McConnell went for the throat while Obama brought a hot dish to a knife fight. YMMV
m

[peggysue2]

8. Does It Matter Who the Democrats Choose?

If we want to dump Trump and get the country back on the rails? The answer is YES. Otherwise, look forward to 4 more years of Trump's wrecking ball.