So many people are choosing a candidate based on who they think can beat Trump. This is the wrong question for the following 10 reasons:
1. Nobody knows who “matches up” best.
2. Voters are not good pundits.
3. Pundits aren’t even good pundits.
1. Nobody knows who “matches up” best.
2. Voters are not good pundits.
3. Pundits aren’t even good pundits.
4. Campaigns are emotional. How you “feel” matters. General election voters will vote emotionally, not intellectually.
5. If we pick a candidate analytically, we are doing the opposite of what it takes to win the general.
5. If we pick a candidate analytically, we are doing the opposite of what it takes to win the general.
6. If you’re a progressive Dem like myself, you’re the wrong person to guess who moderate Rs and Independents will vote for. This is why you found Huntsman and Kasich less crazy than the rest of the Rs in 2016 and they both went nowhere.
7. No matter who we nominate, they aren’t who wins the election. We have to do that. We’re picking a candidate, not a savior. The math doesn’t change and the work remains the work.
8. The punditocracy primary is making it impossible for the candidates to highlight the party’s ideas...they’re too busy sounding like strategists.
9. In 2008, Barack Obama won over moderate Rs and Independents. Why?
9. In 2008, Barack Obama won over moderate Rs and Independents. Why?
It wasn’t because an African American man whose first name sounded like Bin Laden’s and whose middle name was the same as Saddam’s last name was the obvious choice to appeal to voters who might otherwise vote Republican.
And he didn’t win the “electability” argument in the primary either. In the primary, a lot of people said, “Conventional wisdom says only people like me will like him, but dammit I like him so much I’m gonna vote for him, to hell with conventional wisdom.”
And you know what happened after he got the nomination? A lot of other Americans who might have otherwise voted Republican said, “I don’t agree with him on all the issues, but dammit I like him so much I’m gonna vote for him, to hell with the issues.”
Because as divided as America is, enough of us still know a leader when we see him or her. We know what it feels like to be inspired and we want that feeling.
10. So here’s my proposal. Stop asking who can beat Trump and start asking: “If I could make one of these people President tomorrow, who would I pick?”
If we all do that, the man or woman we nominate will also be the one who - with our help - has the best chance to beat Trump.
If we all do that, the man or woman we nominate will also be the one who - with our help - has the best chance to beat Trump.
