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I am very interested in Inslee, but also in Hickenlooper. His record on the environment is not perfect, but I understand he made the drillers cap their methane emissions, which is actually a big deal. I may end up getting behind Biden, though. No sense running away from a majority, I always say.

It does seem that Trump is completely off the rails and, bizarrely, the Republican Party, after a few attempts in the early days of his Presidency at trying to get him back on, have completely abandoned any semblance of legal or administrative oversight. I am aware that may be a very European view and that US politics have different procedural emphasis, but the perspective applied from European history - which has a dark shadow - is that behind the bluster and blather and deflection there is a serious attempt to usurp the democratic process; this is evidenced by the deliberate stripping out of the administrative mechanism which is the basis of all open government.

Yes, it's depressing to see such an unraveling. And the worry of having 6 more years of the Donald is a real one. The Dems are investigating the heck out of him, as indeed they must, after two years of zero congressional oversight. But Trump's people will see this as persecution, Trump will play that to the hilt, the Dems may nominate someone to whom the socialist label will stick, and enough moderate voters may cast votes against that party's nominee to keep Trump where he is. Oh, this also assumes that Mueller's and the NY Southern District's investigations don't find illegalities that are serious enough to impeach him. The Democrats might try anyway.

So what you mean is : they are going to have to drag him out in chains and handcuffs ?

vizitelly wrote:So what you mean is : they are going to have to drag him out in chains and handcuffs ?

According to Michael Cohen, if he does lose in 2020, he will barricade himself inside the WH and refuse to come out!

DWill wrote:Why only Jay Inslee of Washington as a governor running for the Democrats? Do governors have better things to do, like running states? Anyway, Inslee has beaucoup experience at many levels of government, and with his commitment to attacking climate change, he's my pick so far. Senators, House members, your time has passed!

I have a one letter response: W

DWill: Why only Jay Inslee of Washington as a governor running for the Democrats?
Harry Marks: I am very interested in Inslee...

I don't know anything about Inslee's positions, but saw a brief interview and he seems too mild-mannered. Once Trump decides on Inslee's nickname* he'll be flattened, another "Low Energy Jeb" disappearing trick. I'm not sure who the strongest personalities are yet, possibly Kamala, but that will be more important than usual this time. However I'll be all in with the Dem nominee!

*Probably something adolescent like "Ickey Inslee" but it won't take much to work. Aw hell, it writes itself:
Trump: Have you heard of this guy, Jay Inslee, Governor of pot smoking Washington State? {Insert hand motions} We call him "Ickey Inslee."
Crowed: EEEWWWWW! Boo! EWWWW!
Trump: That's right, Ickey Inslee. He's so ickey. {Insert hand motions} Just gross. Nasty! So ickey!
Crowd: Boooo! Ewwww! Booo! Trump! Trump! Trump!
The press one week later: "Governor Who?"

There is indeed a coup against Trump being led by a vindictive little prick. His name is Donald Trump.

LanDroid wrote:

Harry Marks: I am very interested in Inslee...

I don't know anything about Inslee's positions, but saw a brief interview and he seems too mild-mannered.

I sort of agree. I may support him anyway. I don't think he can win even the nomination, but if he makes a real showing, polling more than 10 percent consistently, he will raise the profile of his "single issue."

Being mild mannered is not necessarily a way to lose to Trump. The Evangelicals may very well desert him outside the South, especially if a good candidate comes along. I saw William Weld interviewed on CNN and he is "too mild mannered" but it actually comes across in a very appealing way. Like, you know, sanity for a change. Trump's moment may have passed, being a combination of economic desperation (which looks more and more like it is in the rear-view mirror) and white fragility, which can be turned deftly against a blundering racist like Dear Leader. I don't think anyone will successfully challenge him in the primaries unless the Mueller report catches him red-handed at something really nasty or the trade war blows up in his face (though I still think Nikki Haley could whup his ass if she set her mind to it). But I would be even more shocked to see him win Wisconsin and Michigan in 2020 than I was to see it in 2016.

I predict we will see that the money that flowed into beating Republicans in the swing districts of the House, mainly affluent suburbs, will still be working against him in the general election. Even if the Dems don't choose a firebrand like Bernie or Kamala, the sanity vote could be HUGE. If I am not backing Inslee or Biden it will probably be Hickenlooper, who might just create the right combination of pragmatic centrist programs to swing those swing states back to Blue. I think Warren's programmatic proposals have been super, but despite being about reining in corporations, they will not appeal to the same populist Sanders/Trump voters who led Hillary Clinton to back off of the TPP proposal. The magic word could be "infrastructure", which is pretty mild mannered when you think about it.

We saw surges from 2008 to 2016 in the importance of turnout by the base. But with the size of the 2018 swing in the House, you have to consider appeal to moderates to be extremely potent. If the Dems do choose a firebrand, I hope they have the sense to appeal to the center, in the way Bill Clinton did in 1992, rather than relying on firing up supporters of Democratic Socialism. Why run away from a majority? Kamala Harris can run as a prosecutor and a leader who will knock heads together to get things done, and Bernie Sanders can run as a person who will bring back power to workers through pragmatic trade barriers or other practical programs. He actually had a good record of setting things on a sound basis in Burlington, and Democratic Socialism does not need to be about giveaways of free stuff.

One of the things that struck home most strongly with those outside the USA during the Obama elections was the absolute rejection of Hillary Clinton - it seemed clear the USA would never vote a woman into the Presidency - and that was compounded by the disgraceful treatment she received when Trump won. So, like her or loathe her, does the same hold true now for any woman candidate ?