Needed: A 2020 Coalition
The photo above makes the point that the frontrunners in the Democratic primaries are not spring chickens. Only Warren is younger than Trump. A Biden-Warren combo doesn’t solve this problem, but each of the younger VP candidates has her own issues. Warren is significantly better qualified. She also drew more votes. She’s the obvious VP choice.
The dilemma is how to get voters to the polls in sufficient numbers to overwhelm Trump’s Electoral College advantage and the GOP’s efforts to keep people from voting. My suggestion is for Biden and Warren to propose a cabinet that embraces the political spectrum of Trump opposition — from AOC Democratic Socialists to centrist Republicans who are verified resisters. This 2020 Coalition campaigns as a team. Biden and Warren could strengthen this by pledging to serve only one term, mentoring as much as leading the team. Four years will show the voting public who’s got it and who doesn’t. A new generation of leaders will emerge, politically tested on the national stage.
The other focus of the 2020 Coalition needs to be on securing Congress for the Democrats and breaking the deathgrip of Mitch McConnell and the RNC. This is just as important as retaking the Presidency. How important? We’ve just seen vividly how Trump & McConnell (et al) only care about securing their own continued power at all costs. They are the ancien regime, ruthless in their determination to eliminate any limits to their actions. Like the authoritarians they admire, they view competence as a PR issue. Four more years will erode these limits further and retard action on issues like climate change that will only grow worse if we resume our bad habits. The pandemic shows that Trump & Co. have zero regard for science. Their focus is entirely on their petro-addicted plutocracy and how to keep it going.
Chasing out these weasels and recovering from the damage done will be part one of the the 2020 Coalition’s first term. Part two will be some version of the Green New Deal — progress on the agenda its sets out, with more to come in 2024 under the direction of new and proven leadership.
My advice to Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren is to build this coalition now.
