# Dems, what is the plan for 2018/2020? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 10, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839 "2017-01-10T22:22:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pearl_Clutching_Provocateur)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/81 "2017-01-14T16:11:24Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > From the cite,I don’t feel like doing the Schoolhouse Rock thing, but _maybe_ you actually understand the method we use to change laws? > > CMC fnord! Explain it to me then. I don’t watch Saturday morning cartoons like my liberal friends still do who are in their 30s. Sanders introduced the amendment. Clinton was a Senator. Obama was a Senator. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/82 "2017-01-14T16:20:43Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It’s not just about being smart, it’s about communicating in a straightforward way. Democrats have had a remarkable talent for nominating people who can’t communicate without hemming and hawing or just outright lying about what they believe. We were comparing Trump and Franken. You’d prefer to change the subject? Can’t say as I blame you. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/83 "2017-01-14T16:23:43Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Explain it to me then. I don’t watch Saturday morning cartoons like my liberal friends still do who are in their 30s… I sometimes watch old Warner Bros. cartoons with my son, the Err Apparent. _He’s_ in his 30’s. See, the trick is to die young as old as you can get. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/84 "2017-01-14T16:26:10Z")
However, let it be noted that Mr. Booker’s vote is a disgrace, which I renounce, denounce, and condemn. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2017, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/85 "2017-01-15T05:12:38Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Dial back the lefty social justice thing a bit and concentrate more on the economic justice front. Just make it about giving everyone a break and not just minorities or ‘the disadvantaged’. > > Basically, the arrogance of the message has to go away, as well as the overbearing sensitivity to offense. There’s a time and a place for that, and it should not be forgotten, but it should never be front and center of your message, or you aren’t getting a majority in this country. > > We (the democrats) also have to take the party back from the wealthy fundraiser circuit. It may have worked great to bring in big money for Hillary, but it’s a damned poor way to run a presidential campaign. > > We need to remind people of the gains their grand parents and great grand parents fought for, minimum wages, shorter work weeks, worker safety laws. Pretty much my thoughts exactly. Make it about the economy, not social inequalities. Slide those through after dinner when everyone that would object is half asleep. Throttle the moneyed interests and grow the vision from the uneducated rurals through to the inner city instead of the other way or from issuing edicts from the ivory towers. My apologies if that was tried this past election but if it was, it was not well communicated to the basket of deplorables. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/86 "2017-01-15T17:51:41Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Ted Cruz joined Sanders and went against the establishment Republicans. Trump sent Big Pharma stock prices spiraling by vowing to start government bidding for drugs. No it’s the outsiders versus the establishment. **Obama had eight years to allow imports from Canada. Hillary has 30 years but all she did was set up an illegal server.** From the cite > [@](#): > > Democrats blocked importation from becoming part of the Affordable Care Act in 2009, with over 30 votes in opposition, because they feared it would have pushed the pharmaceutical industry to oppose the underlying legislation. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/87 "2017-01-15T20:54:47Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I admit, it doesn’t compare well with the splendid strategic analysis you have offered. > But I accept your admonishment with grace, and look forward to sitting quietly at your feet and taking notes as you drop more pearls of strategic wisdom for the progressive movement you support so fervently. Well, tepidly. Hardly at all, actually. This would be absolutely correct IF I had actually offered strategic advice so epic fail on this sarcasm. Next time actually read the thread before you comment on what people are saying. > [@elucidator](#): > > Right now, resistance is the plan. When we see how that shakes out with The People, we’ll have a better idea of what we need to do, what standard bearer would best bear the standard. But before “we” have a plan, there has to be a “we” to plan it. So EXACTLY the plan the Republicans put in place for Obama? Wow where do I go with that? Point out the hypocrisy that when Pubs did it you called them “obstructionists” and pontificated about how that was all sorts of evil? Or is it now that you believe that is the best course of action when you disagree with the President and now you want to beg our forgiveness for speaking ill of the Republicans when they did it? ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/88 "2017-01-15T21:15:15Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Let me be the first to say it: > > Jon Stewart in 2020. > > Articulate and bright and into politics. And after Trump literally anyone can be POTUS. > > [http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/30/opinions/obeidallah-jon-stewart-president/](http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/30/opinions/obeidallah-jon-stewart-president/) > > "So, would Stewart actually have a chance if he jumped in the presidential race now? > Former Obama adviser Eric Lesser told Politico this week about Stewart, “I’d be hard-pressed to think of a person who spoke with the same amount of authority to that big of a group of people.” This is the sort of thing that convinces people there’s a liberal media bubble. His audiences on the Daily Show were mostly between 1 and 2 million people. That’s impressive for a cable show but it doesn’t mean that America as a whole loved him. The media swooned for him. He got invited to a bazillion other shows and all kinds of celebrities appeared on the Daily Show and he got on major magazine covers all the time. But it should be clear now that being popular among the liberal media is not the same as being popular among everybody. Stewart and the Daily Show appealed to a certain viewer segment: mostly tech-savy, college educated, and rich or at least middle class. He is not widely known and adored beyond that group. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/89 "2017-01-15T21:18:40Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > This is the sort of thing that convinces people there’s a liberal media bubble. His audiences on the Daily Show were mostly between 1 and 2 million people. That’s impressive for a cable show but it doesn’t mean that America as a whole loved him. The media swooned for him. He got invited to a bazillion other shows and all kinds of celebrities appeared on the Daily Show and he got on major magazine covers all the time. But it should be clear now that being popular among the liberal media is not the same as being popular among everybody. > > Stewart and the Daily Show appealed to a certain viewer segment: mostly tech-savy, college educated, and rich or at least middle class. He is not widely known and adored beyond that group. Not yet. But he could be. I have never seen one of Trump’s shows, but he seemed well enough known despite appealing only to a certain viewer segment. I think by 2020 the country will be ready for a smart and articulate progressive again. (pardon my bubble) ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2017, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/90 "2017-01-15T21:30:24Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Not yet. But he could be. I have never seen one of Trump’s shows, but he seemed well enough known despite appealing only to a certain viewer segment. The Apprentice started with 20 million viewers, had 4.5 million by the end, the jumped to 11 with Celebrity Apprentice, now down to 7.6 million. So that show alone has a ‘certain viewer segment’ that’s ranged from ‘more than double’ to ‘ten times’ Stewart’s. I know Democrats, especially on this board, idolize John Stewart, but I don’t think he’d have general appeal, and would be an easy candidate to run against. I doubt I’d vote for him, and I voted for both Clintons and Obama. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2017, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/91 "2017-01-15T22:40:48Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > …So EXACTLY the plan the Republicans put in place for Obama? Wow where do I go with that? Point out the hypocrisy that when Pubs did it you called them “obstructionists” and pontificated about how that was all sorts of evil? Or is it now that you believe that is the best course of action when you disagree with the President and now you want to beg our forgiveness for speaking ill of the Republicans when they did it? Not even close. Not close enough to correct, there has to be a core to correct. You appear to be arguing with someone who isn’t here. I disagreed with the President, the one we still have. But he made a sensible case, based on his principles of consensus as being the only valid source of government. I agreed with his ideals, I disagreed that the situation permited it. A rough analogy with Gandhi. Critics pointed out that nonviolent resistance is useless against a sufficiently ruthless enemy. To paraphrase poorly, Gandhi said, yes, if the enemy has no decency to appeal to, that tactic is futile. But the British were a fundamentally decent people, their conscience could be stirred. I think, all in all, he was right. The people who unified to such effect behind Trump have no ideology, his power is founded in a surly discontent. It was famously said that you cannot reason a man out of an opinion he did not reason himself into. And so it goes. As far as “begging your forgiveness”, permit me to offer you this heartfelt blessing: you should live so long. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2017, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/92 "2017-01-15T22:53:58Z")
I don’t see where a master plan is necessary. Even IF Trump is a successful president (hard to imagine), he’ll still be the same guy who lost the popular vote in 2016, and will be extremely vulnerable. There is nothing resembling a Democrat front runner for 2020, but any number of potential nominees could beat Trump, if he inspires a slightly higher black turnout and if the Greens learned not to steal votes in crucial swing states. The Democrats don’t need a flashy nominee. An ordinary Senator or governor can definitely beat Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/93 "2017-01-16T11:36:50Z")
Sigh. Jon Stewart would be terrible at the job, and I’m pretty sure he’s smart enough to know that (unlike certain other people) even if he was interested in it (which I seriously doubt). Saying “[Celebrity X] should be POTUS because he tells it like it is” is like suggesting that Roger Ebert would have been the best film director ever. The skills to be a critic are not the same as the ones to produce what is being criticized, no matter how on point the critiques may be. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/94 "2017-01-16T18:19:49Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Ted Cruz joined Sanders and went against the establishment Republicans. Trump sent Big Pharma stock prices spiraling by vowing to start government bidding for drugs. No it’s the outsiders versus the establishment. Obama had eight years to allow imports from Canada. Hillary has 30 years but all she did was set up an illegal server. OH, Obama vetoed multiple bills passed by a GOP congress that would allow imports from Canada? Cite please? Or perhaps you’re confused about how legislation gets passed: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tyeJ55o3El0/hqdefault.jpg "I'm Just a Bill (Schoolhouse Rock!)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/95 "2017-01-16T18:46:53Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Sigh. Jon Stewart would be terrible at the job, and I’m pretty sure he’s smart enough to know that (unlike certain other people) even if he was interested in it (which I seriously doubt). > > Saying “[Celebrity X] should be POTUS because he tells it like it is” is like suggesting that Roger Ebert would have been the best film director ever. The skills to be a critic are not the same as the ones to produce what is being criticized, no matter how on point the critiques may be. That’s absolutely true, but it’s also true that one of the biggest problems we face today is voter apathy and cynicism due to politicians who lie to us constantly. Obama did not help with that at all, running as a reformer and governing as a typical politician. Jon Stewart wouldn’t be a great President, management-wise, but he would be a good communicator and is actually an honest guy, not someone who just pretends to be to get votes. The Democrats could do a lot worse than to have their own Ronald Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/96 "2017-01-16T20:15:02Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Jon Stewart wouldn’t be a great President, management-wise, but he would be a good communicator and is actually an honest guy, not someone who just pretends to be to get votes. The Democrats could do a lot worse than to have their own Ronald Reagan. I’m just curious what makes you think Stewart “is actually an honest guy”. My impression of the Daily Show is that they got rather famous for deceptive editing and taking quotes out of context, not exactly hallmarks of honesty. So, why do you think Stewart is “honest”? ---
**Author:** ![phantom\_lamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@phantom\_lamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantom_lamb)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/97 "2017-01-16T21:00:20Z")
Gavin Newsom would be a good move, and I hope it happens. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/98 "2017-01-16T21:10:32Z")
> [@phantom\_lamb](#): > > Gavin Newsom would be a good move, and I hope it happens. Corrupt, smirking San Francisco politician who loves to piss on the 2nd amendment? No thanks, i would vote Republican for Prez for the first time in my adult life. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/99 "2017-01-16T21:39:26Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Surprised no one mentioned Warren. No god please not Warren or any woman against Trump ! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839/100 "2017-01-17T01:29:08Z")
> [@skdo23](#): > > Exactly. The last four elections were lost by candidates who were the presumptive nominees four years in advance. I don’t think Romney was at all the presumptive GOP 2012 nominee after 2008. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dems-what-is-the-plan-for-2018-2020/776839.md?page=6)