Why the Democratic Party looks more progressive in presidential primary debates than it is in real life, by EricLevitz
The next Democratic president won’t be left to her own devices. Photo: Jayme Gershen/Bloomberg via Getty Images The Democrats on your television are more moderate than they appear.
By all appearances, the arc of Democratic history was bending back toward George McGovern. Progressive activists walked away feeling triumphant; Never Trump columnists, aggrieved and concerned. But all could agree that this wasn’t your father’s Democratic Party anymore . The left has a lot of controversial ideas for reducing economic inequality. But the $15 minimum wage isn’t one of them. The policy is overwhelmingly popular in opinion polls. It has proven successful at the state and local levels. What’s more, the House’s $15 minimum-wage legislation phases that rate in over a period of five years, at which point it will really be $13 in today’s money .
For these reasons, Democratic candidates have some incentive to favor the strongly held preferences of their party’s highly engaged, progressive minority over the moderate preferences of its broader base on issues where there is a divergence between the two. And matters are even bleaker for progressives in the Senate, where predominantly white, rural states wield obscenely disproportionate influence over policy-making .
That said, “political reality” is a social construct. What qualifies as a “moderate” or “conservative” position on any given issue varies across decades and national boundaries. The left’s power over presidential primary discourse may be greater than its power over the Democratic Party writ large. But the discourse matters.
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
The Democrats’ congressional campaign arm targets new voters as it faces criticism from progressive wingAs the Democrats come off a successful 2018 election cycle that saw a “Blue Wave” of victories that allowed them to retake the House majority, the party has also drawn criticism from progressives for its efforts to shield incumbents from primary challengers.
Leer más »
Video: Could going too far left on health care hurt Democrats in 2020?: Nate SilverIn This Week's ''Do You Buy That?' FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver looks at whether a push for Medicare for all in the primaries could hurt ultimately Democrats in the general election.
Leer más »
Fox News host Tucker Carlson called Cory Booker one of 'whitest candidates' among 2020 DemocratsAnd in a 2006 discussion of then-Sen. Barack Obama, Tucker Carlson wondered, "How is he black? ... He has one white parent, one black parent."
Leer más »
After rocking first-half, 'misplaced pessimism' risks ending 2019 investor partyAfter possibly the best first-half of a year ever for world markets, investors n...
Leer más »