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The Civil War in the Democratic Party Israel today

2020-08-17T18:37:47.558Z


| United StatesIt is difficult to assess the intensity of the civil war within the Democratic Party between the Liberals and the "mainstream", between the Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren camp, and former Vice President Joe Biden and his deputy Camela Harris. Alongside this great war, there is also the war of conservative Democrats, those who feel that neither the establishment nor the liberals know how to sp...


It is difficult to assess the intensity of the civil war within the Democratic Party between the Liberals and the "mainstream", between the Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren camp, and former Vice President Joe Biden and his deputy Camela Harris. Alongside this great war, there is also the war of conservative Democrats, those who feel that neither the establishment nor the liberals know how to speak to them. 

After: Gilad Distelman

The primaries race has revealed how divided the Democratic Party is. The 2016 election also proved how conflicted Democrats are among themselves. If the anti-establishment liberal left had united around Hillary Clinton, it would have given it the meager advantage it needed to win the three blue states Trump "stole" from it: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. 

But that's history, and today (Monday) a local clock evening was expected to open the party conference in Milwaukee who until recently was the biggest threat to the democratic establishment: Socialist senator Bernie Sanders along with Michelle Obama and other familiar figures. Sanders does not even define himself as a member of the Democratic Party, but is actually defined as independent at the party level, but he has a grip on the Democratic "base", a grip that spread like wildfire back in 2016. 

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Although Sanders expressed support for Biden, as he did for Clinton after the then primaries, he will certainly dedicate his speech at the conference to parts that were not included in the platform: nationalizing health insurance in the US, a harsh hand against Israel for its anti-Palestinian policy, aid draconian measures against Wall Street and the business sector It could be said that the main issue in Sanders' remarks is making America a socialist - a dream speech for the Trump campaign.

Biden seems to have made a strategic decision that it would be better for him to open the conference with the extrem Sanders, so he can let off steam, and mingle it with Michelle Obama and other such figures on the first evening, then on the rest of the conference deploy his doctrine, and of course attack the Democratic establishment. Trump.

"We need the voters in the American home front"

In the seat in front of me on a flight from Chicago to Milwaukee, I saw a man wearing a T-shirt with the caption: Democrats are pro-life, I knew straight away that this was an activist coming to the Democratic convention in Milwaukee, and that he was not like the other activists. He belongs to a group that is not usually heard in reports of Democratic voters. His name is Matt Tuman, and he is one of the senior members of the Democrats for Life in America, which opposes abortion, except in the event that the mother's life needs to be saved. 

I wondered how it was that I had never heard of this organization. Tuman emphasizes that he supports democratic ideas, and also unlike Republicans, is in favor of the administration’s participation in funding fertility and prevention clinics. But the organization belongs to the pro-life camp, as opposed to the "pro-choice" camp, which has been dividing America for decades since the Supreme Court extensively approved abortions for most of pregnancy. 

"We want the pro-life Democrats to be a more integral part of the party," he says, adding, "The party has become so radical when it comes to abortions. It even supports abortions in the ninth month and even opposes rescuing a baby who manages to survive an abortion." "One in three Democratic voters is in fact pro-life," he said. He further explained that it is possible that the same conservative Democratic voters who remained in the House in 2016 went up to Hillary Clinton in the presidency.

"Democrats will continue to win in New York and California, but if you want to win in rural areas you need the voters in the U.S. home front," he warns Biden. "In the key states of Michigan and Wisconsin, voters can help win the presidency and other races."

He notes that the party sees itself as the home of Catholics and of such and other ethnic groups, especially Hispanics and blacks, but the Democratic leadership has forgotten to accept them along with their values. Biden, a Catholic himself, is now in favor of federal funding of abortions and according to Tuman it will hurt him among that segment of conservative Democrats.

"If we want to be a minority party, we have to remember that, we have to remember that there are a lot of potential voters who do not vote for our party just because of its position on abortion. There are so many people who voted for Trump in 2016 just because Trump was pro-life. Because Hillary Clinton "She stood up in confrontations with Trump and defended abortions in late pregnancy," Tuman said, reminding me of the three Midwestern countries that "defected" to Trump - Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

He said many voters simply kept their feet off the ballot box because they could not accept Clinton's position. "Democrats are making the same mistake this time, 70 percent of Democrats are in favor of such and such restrictions on abortions," he said. "But the lobby for abortions is so strong that the Democratic candidate is afraid to fight it."

Either way, Biden hopes this conference will not be about the dirty laundry of the Democrats, but about the future vision of the "Bide administration." But Biden knows that Trump should not be attacked, the media does the work for him. And anyway, everyone already has an opinion on Trump. His ultimate goal at the conference is to present himself to the American electorate as a worthy alternative, and especially to unite the ranks and show that the Democrats are no longer a niche-liberal party of the beaches and elites. But to show that they are an alternative, they need to show a fighting spirit, and most importantly, a unity of lines.

The Wall Street Journal wrote an article today whose title probably best sums up his situation: "Can Biden hold the Democrats together?". If he manages to do that at the conference, it will be a significant boost. In doing so, he will overcome one of the obstacles that Clinton has not been able to overcome. 

Trump is continuing the targeted campaign, and some say even effective, to blame the postal vote. On the one hand, Trump is right - there have never been elections that were so dependent on the post office, so it is impossible to ignore the fact that the fear of forgery is several times greater than in ordinary years. On the other hand, it is precisely in states where the most powerful Republicans, such as Montana, Maine, Nebraska and Texas, that Trump voters will depend on the mail. If Trump continues to refuse to add a budget to the National Postal Service, he may not hurt himself, but Senate and House candidates in those states will be hurt and Democrats may be able to get a majority in the upper house of Congress because Republican voters will not get their ballots on time. 

Yesterday, the president said the election would not be "fair" if everyone was given the right to vote by mail. Trump and his people are coming out as a buffer mainly against the conduct of some of the countries where it was decided to send voting forms even to those who did not ask to vote by mail. For him it was an opening for trouble. "If there is a vote in the mail, tens of millions of ballots will be sent to everyone, it will reach their dog, it will reach people who have already died 25 years ago, there will never be such a fair election." He said if that were to happen all over the U.S., it would be "the biggest scam in our lives."

Photo: Reuters

Voters are starting to return home

If until recently it seemed that Biden was able to cause the defection of swinging voters or even those who once supported Trump, the latest CNN poll shows that the gap between Trump and Biden has narrowed to 4 points at the national level. 50% in favor of Biden-Harris, and 46 in favor of Trump-Pence. Since the sampling error itself is 4 points, it seems that it may even be an equality.

The reason for narrowing the gap is an exceptional interest in the election. Voters usually fall asleep in the summer and wake up in September and October, but this time the interest they show in elections is greater than usual. In the same poll they segmented voters in 15 key countries, countries that are not in anyone's pocket, and there is an even closer battle. 49 points for Biden versus 48 points for Trump.

For Biden this is a warning light, he must open up and show that he wants the voice of those swinging voters, otherwise they will just stay with Trump because he is the most prominent figure. People are attracted to those who occupy the arena, not to those who sit sideways at ease. So far Biden has run a particularly cautious campaign, not even holding a single press conference since announcing Harris as his deputy. His supporters and opponents alike want him to stand up and give answers to questions, to speak to the people, and especially about the people and not just present election broadcasts, effective as they may be. Want something that you can hold on to. "If he's afraid to fight for himself, why would he fight for me?" Many voters ask. 

Another thing that works in Trump's favor is that there is a gender gap again. Male voters return to Trump, CNN explained: In June they were equally divided, but now, 56 percent support Trump and only 40 percent support Biden. 

The first day of the conference is the first real test of the Biden-Harris duo, and judging by Matt Tuman, Biden is expected to work hard both against the Democratic base, and against the swinging voters. Trump is not going to give Biden all the spotlight this week. While the media will be busy in Milwaukee, Trump will remind everyone that he is the most powerful figure in American politics, and also the most interesting. Biden should start talking.

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2020-08-17

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