by digby
Brian Beutler has written a calming piece for all the Democrats starting to panic about the primary being so radical that Trump will win (because he’s so moderate….) He notes that what we are seeing is not uncommon in presidential primaries and anyway, worrying that the Republicans are going to accuse Democrats of being radical, is really, really dumb. Of course they are. No matter what the Democratic agenda actually is.
Furthermore, worrying about electability is a waste of time. Nobody knows in advance what will beat Trump. (Or, as I always say, “running against Trump is like running against an alien from outer space…”) People should look at all the candidates and decide which one would make the best president.
This is the conclusion, which is very wise:
As the race progresses, we’ll have a much clearer sense of whether Democratic voters and members the general public are really unfavorably disposed to the field’s left-most candidates, and whether Democrats will once again select a nominee who doesn’t take the left-most position on health care. That’s a reasonable way way to resolve concerns about electability. Encouraging candidates and voters to let fear of Republican demagoguery shape their values and ambitions is not, because the demagoguery is coming no matter what.
And that demagoguery is going to be very, very ugly. There’s no margin in trying to mitigate it. They need to just make their case about Trump and their agenda to the public — and try to be prepared for the mud-slinging and dirty tricks. It’s going to be epic.
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