Conservatives object to the Washington Post defining never-ever-ever Trumper Jennifer Rubin as a conservative. Reflecting, I had to admit that I hadn’t disagreed with anything she wrote for months. Now, finally, I do. But, sadly, this isn’t evidence that she is still a conservative. She has clearly become a radical centrist third way mugwump (RC3WM).She argues that the 2018 blue wave shows that Democrats should reject Bernie Sanders and rely on a poll conducted by “The Third Way”.
I think this is nonsense consisting entirely of setting up an oxymoronic straw man and pretending that values shared by conservatives, liberals, centrists, progressives, socialists, and fascists belong to conservatives.
My comment
I don’t see any evidence that people rejected Sen Sanders’s policy proposals, which are actually fairly moderate. It is very easy to get issue poll results one wishes by choosing the questions. Notably, the ACA is only moderately popular (50% approval) while Medicare for all has 70% approval (recently including Donald Trump).
On entitlements the moderate centrist approach is to achieve trust fund solvency with balanced tax increases and benefit cuts. The vast majority of the public wants more generous pensions, expanded medicaid and an increased Medicare budget.
That 70% in favor of Medicare for all becomes significantly reduced when the necessary taxes to support it are introduced to the question.
When and if the Democrats gain power again if they wish to create and hold that power and actually govern in a manner which helps people they simply need to purge themselves of the New Dems/Blue Dogs/etc or as I call them the Republican Wing of the Democratic Party and then push Progressive legislation through. The people would respond and reward that kind of action. As it stands now Dems get power when people vote for the lesser of two evils and frankly it is not hard to win that battle with today’s Corporate OWNED corrupt Republican Party.