Trends that will define significant themes in the 2020 election are already becoming apparent. The election of Donald Trump fueled Progressives by showing the power of the progressive issues on which he ran. These issues included, for example, affordable health care, draining the Washington swamp, fixing the unfair tax system, and ensuring an economy that worked for everyone. Trump lied about his willingness to carry out these ideas but nonetheless showed that voters wanted them fulfilled.
A large number of candidates competing for the Democratic nomination ensures that their discussion of progressive issues will raise their salience. Many of the Democratic candidates have already called for raising taxes on the incomes of the rich while Elizabeth Warren has even called for a tax on their accumulated wealth. These proposals have panicked the “centrist” Democrats and Republicans who might have voted for Democrats in 2018.
One former “centrist” Democrat, Howard Schultz, is threatening a run for the Presidency. The basis for his race seems to be splitting the Democratic Party if it nominates a candidate he considers too far left. And the Republican Party is already gearing up to paint the Democratic nominee as a leftist too dangerous to be entrusted with keys to the White House. Among the many other flaws of Republicans, they seem to lack a sense of irony.
Pundits using the midterms as a template for what to expect in 2020, although the political atmosphere may already have changed. In the midterms, some Republicans may have voted for some Democratic candidates as a buffer against Trump’s craziness. In 2020, some Democrats and Republicans may decide they do not want to risk a “captain of the ship” who may champion raising taxes on the rich.
A large number of candidates competing for the Democratic nomination ensures that their discussion of progressive issues will raise their salience. Many of the Democratic candidates have already called for raising taxes on the incomes of the rich while Elizabeth Warren has even called for a tax on their accumulated wealth. These proposals have panicked the “centrist” Democrats and Republicans who might have voted for Democrats in 2018.
One former “centrist” Democrat, Howard Schultz, is threatening a run for the Presidency. The basis for his race seems to be splitting the Democratic Party if it nominates a candidate he considers too far left. And the Republican Party is already gearing up to paint the Democratic nominee as a leftist too dangerous to be entrusted with keys to the White House. Among the many other flaws of Republicans, they seem to lack a sense of irony.
Pundits using the midterms as a template for what to expect in 2020, although the political atmosphere may already have changed. In the midterms, some Republicans may have voted for some Democratic candidates as a buffer against Trump’s craziness. In 2020, some Democrats and Republicans may decide they do not want to risk a “captain of the ship” who may champion raising taxes on the rich.
