Log in
Control Panel
|
|
|
|
Notifications
Who is online?
In total there are 3 users online :: 1 Registered, 0 Hidden and 2 Guests
The Last Outlaw
Most users ever online was 156 on Wed Jul 03, 2019 11:22 am
The Last Outlaw
Most users ever online was 156 on Wed Jul 03, 2019 11:22 am
Statistics
We have 32 registered users
The newest registered user is JeffVAU
Our users have posted a total of 3980 messages in 1663 subjects
The newest registered user is JeffVAU
Our users have posted a total of 3980 messages in 1663 subjects
Latest topics
CBOX
Dems, Want to Defeat Trump? Form a Team of Rivals
Page 1 of 1 • Share

The opinions in this article are the author’s, as published by our content partner, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bethea's Byte.
From Thomas L. Friedman to The New York Times

If this election turns out to be just between a self-proclaimed socialist and an undiagnosed sociopath, we will be in a terrible, terrible place as a country. How do we prevent that?
That’s all I am thinking about right now. My short answer is that the Democrats have to do something extraordinary — forge a national unity ticket the likes of which they have never forged before. And that’s true even if Democrats nominate someone other than Bernie Sanders.
What would this super ticket look like? Well, I suggest Sanders — and Michael Bloomberg, who seems to be his most viable long-term challenger — lay it out this way:
“I want people to know that if I am the Democratic nominee these will be my cabinet choices — my team of rivals. I want Amy Klobuchar as my Vice President. Her decency, experience and moderation will be greatly appreciated across America and particularly in the Midwest. I want Mike Bloomberg (or Bernie Sanders) as my Secretary of the Treasury. Our plans for addressing income inequality are actually not that far apart, and if we can blend them together it will be great for the country and reassure markets. I want Joe Biden as my Secretary of State. No one in our party knows the world better or has more credibility with our allies than Joe. I will ask Elizabeth Warren to serve as Health and Human Services Secretary. No one could bring more energy and intellect to the task of expanding health care for more Americans than Senator Warren.
“I want Kamala Harris for attorney general. She has the toughness and integrity needed to clean up the corrupt mess Donald Trump has created in our Justice Department. I would like Mayor Pete as Homeland Security Secretary; his intelligence and military background would make him a quick study in that job. I would like Tom Steyer to head a new cabinet position: Secretary of National Infrastructure. We’re going to rebuild America, not just build a wall on the border with Mexico. And I am asking Cory Booker, the former mayor of Newark, to become Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Who would bring more passion to the task of revitalizing our inner cities than Cory?
“I am asking Mitt Romney to be my Commerce Secretary. He is the best person to promote American business and technology abroad — and it is vital that the public understands that my government will be representing all Americans, including Republicans. I would like Andrew Yang to be Energy Secretary, overseeing our nuclear stockpile and renewable energy innovation. He’d be awesome.
“I am asking Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to serve as our U.N. Ambassador. Can you imagine how our international standing would improve with youth worldwide with her representing next-gen America? And I want Senator Michael Bennet, the former superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, to be my Secretary of Education. No one understands education reform better than he does. Silicon Valley Congressman Ro Khanna would be an ideal Secretary of Labor, balancing robots and workers to create “new collar” jobs.
“Finally, I am asking William H. McRaven, the retired Navy admiral who commanded the U.S. Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014 and oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, to be my Defense Secretary. Admiral McRaven, more than any other retired military officer, has had the courage and integrity to speak out against the way President Trump has politicized our intelligence agencies.
Only last week, McRaven wrote an essay in The Washington Post decrying Trump’s firing of Joe Maguire as acting Director of National Intelligence — the nation’s top intelligence officer — for doing his job when he had an aide brief a bipartisan committee of Congress on Russia’s renewed efforts to tilt our election toward Trump.
“Edmund Burke,” wrote McRaven, “the Irish statesman and philosopher, once said: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’”
If Bernie or Bloomberg or whoever emerges to head the Democratic ticket brings together such a team of rivals, I am confident it will defeat Trump in a landslide. But if progressives think they can win without the moderates — or the moderates without the progressives — they are crazy. And they’d be taking a huge risk with the future of the country by trying.
And I mean a huge risk. Back in May 2018, the former House Speaker John Boehner declared: “There is no Republican Party. There’s a Trump party. The Republican Party is kind of taking a nap somewhere.”
It’s actually not napping anymore. It’s dead.
And I will tell you the day it died. It was just last week, when Trump sacked Maguire for advancing the truth and replaced him with a loyalist, an incompetent political hack, Richard Grenell. Grenell is the widely disliked U.S. Ambassador to Germany, a post for which he is also unfit. Grenell is now purging the intelligence service of Trump critics. How are we going to get unvarnished, nonpolitical intelligence analysis when the message goes out that if your expert conclusions disagree with Trump’s wishes, you’re gone?
I don’t accept, but can vaguely understand, Republicans’ rallying around Trump on impeachment. But when Republicans, the self-proclaimed national security party — folks like Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton — don’t lift a finger to stop Trump’s politicization of our first line of defense — the national intelligence directorate set up after 9/11 — then the Republican Party is not asleep. It’s dead and buried.
And that is why a respected, nonpartisan military intelligence professional like Bill McRaven felt compelled to warn what happens when good people are silent in the face of evil. Our retired generals don’t go public like that very often. But he was practically screaming, “This is a four-alarm fire, a category 5 hurricane.” And the G.O.P. response? Silence.
Veteran political analyst E.J. Dionne, in his valuable new book, Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country, got this exactly right: We have no responsible Republican Party anymore. It is a deformed Trump personality cult. If the country is going to be governed responsibly, that leadership can come only from Democrats and disaffected Republicans courageous enough to stand up to Trump. It is crucial, therefore, argues Dionne, that moderate and progressive Democrats find a way to build a governing coalition together.
Neither can defeat the other. Neither can win without the other. Neither can govern without the other.
If they don’t join together — if the Democrats opt for a circular firing squad — you can kiss the America you grew up in goodbye.
From Thomas L. Friedman to The New York Times
If this election turns out to be just between a self-proclaimed socialist and an undiagnosed sociopath, we will be in a terrible, terrible place as a country. How do we prevent that?
That’s all I am thinking about right now. My short answer is that the Democrats have to do something extraordinary — forge a national unity ticket the likes of which they have never forged before. And that’s true even if Democrats nominate someone other than Bernie Sanders.
What would this super ticket look like? Well, I suggest Sanders — and Michael Bloomberg, who seems to be his most viable long-term challenger — lay it out this way:
“I want people to know that if I am the Democratic nominee these will be my cabinet choices — my team of rivals. I want Amy Klobuchar as my Vice President. Her decency, experience and moderation will be greatly appreciated across America and particularly in the Midwest. I want Mike Bloomberg (or Bernie Sanders) as my Secretary of the Treasury. Our plans for addressing income inequality are actually not that far apart, and if we can blend them together it will be great for the country and reassure markets. I want Joe Biden as my Secretary of State. No one in our party knows the world better or has more credibility with our allies than Joe. I will ask Elizabeth Warren to serve as Health and Human Services Secretary. No one could bring more energy and intellect to the task of expanding health care for more Americans than Senator Warren.
“I want Kamala Harris for attorney general. She has the toughness and integrity needed to clean up the corrupt mess Donald Trump has created in our Justice Department. I would like Mayor Pete as Homeland Security Secretary; his intelligence and military background would make him a quick study in that job. I would like Tom Steyer to head a new cabinet position: Secretary of National Infrastructure. We’re going to rebuild America, not just build a wall on the border with Mexico. And I am asking Cory Booker, the former mayor of Newark, to become Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Who would bring more passion to the task of revitalizing our inner cities than Cory?
“I am asking Mitt Romney to be my Commerce Secretary. He is the best person to promote American business and technology abroad — and it is vital that the public understands that my government will be representing all Americans, including Republicans. I would like Andrew Yang to be Energy Secretary, overseeing our nuclear stockpile and renewable energy innovation. He’d be awesome.
“I am asking Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to serve as our U.N. Ambassador. Can you imagine how our international standing would improve with youth worldwide with her representing next-gen America? And I want Senator Michael Bennet, the former superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, to be my Secretary of Education. No one understands education reform better than he does. Silicon Valley Congressman Ro Khanna would be an ideal Secretary of Labor, balancing robots and workers to create “new collar” jobs.
“Finally, I am asking William H. McRaven, the retired Navy admiral who commanded the U.S. Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014 and oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, to be my Defense Secretary. Admiral McRaven, more than any other retired military officer, has had the courage and integrity to speak out against the way President Trump has politicized our intelligence agencies.
Only last week, McRaven wrote an essay in The Washington Post decrying Trump’s firing of Joe Maguire as acting Director of National Intelligence — the nation’s top intelligence officer — for doing his job when he had an aide brief a bipartisan committee of Congress on Russia’s renewed efforts to tilt our election toward Trump.
“Edmund Burke,” wrote McRaven, “the Irish statesman and philosopher, once said: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’”
If Bernie or Bloomberg or whoever emerges to head the Democratic ticket brings together such a team of rivals, I am confident it will defeat Trump in a landslide. But if progressives think they can win without the moderates — or the moderates without the progressives — they are crazy. And they’d be taking a huge risk with the future of the country by trying.
And I mean a huge risk. Back in May 2018, the former House Speaker John Boehner declared: “There is no Republican Party. There’s a Trump party. The Republican Party is kind of taking a nap somewhere.”
It’s actually not napping anymore. It’s dead.
And I will tell you the day it died. It was just last week, when Trump sacked Maguire for advancing the truth and replaced him with a loyalist, an incompetent political hack, Richard Grenell. Grenell is the widely disliked U.S. Ambassador to Germany, a post for which he is also unfit. Grenell is now purging the intelligence service of Trump critics. How are we going to get unvarnished, nonpolitical intelligence analysis when the message goes out that if your expert conclusions disagree with Trump’s wishes, you’re gone?
I don’t accept, but can vaguely understand, Republicans’ rallying around Trump on impeachment. But when Republicans, the self-proclaimed national security party — folks like Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton — don’t lift a finger to stop Trump’s politicization of our first line of defense — the national intelligence directorate set up after 9/11 — then the Republican Party is not asleep. It’s dead and buried.
And that is why a respected, nonpartisan military intelligence professional like Bill McRaven felt compelled to warn what happens when good people are silent in the face of evil. Our retired generals don’t go public like that very often. But he was practically screaming, “This is a four-alarm fire, a category 5 hurricane.” And the G.O.P. response? Silence.
Veteran political analyst E.J. Dionne, in his valuable new book, Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country, got this exactly right: We have no responsible Republican Party anymore. It is a deformed Trump personality cult. If the country is going to be governed responsibly, that leadership can come only from Democrats and disaffected Republicans courageous enough to stand up to Trump. It is crucial, therefore, argues Dionne, that moderate and progressive Democrats find a way to build a governing coalition together.
Neither can defeat the other. Neither can win without the other. Neither can govern without the other.
If they don’t join together — if the Democrats opt for a circular firing squad — you can kiss the America you grew up in goodbye.
- KyngVIP Member
- Posts : 492
Join date : 2018-05-30
Status :
I'm a bit unsure what I think of this, TBH. On the one hand, I do think some level of unity will be necessary, and I certainly agree with Klobuchar as a vice-presidential pick!
On the other hand, I doing see how Sanders could pick Bloomberg (or vice versa) for Secretary of the Treasury. They're so diametrically opposed in background, philosophy and ideology that neither of them could pick the other without looking like a major hypocrite.
Still, I suspect that some variant of the main idea will need to happen.
On the other hand, I doing see how Sanders could pick Bloomberg (or vice versa) for Secretary of the Treasury. They're so diametrically opposed in background, philosophy and ideology that neither of them could pick the other without looking like a major hypocrite.
Still, I suspect that some variant of the main idea will need to happen.
@Kyng wrote:I'm a bit unsure what I think of this, TBH. On the one hand, I do think some level of unity will be necessary, and I certainly agree with Klobuchar as a vice-presidential pick!
On the other hand, I doing see how Sanders could pick Bloomberg (or vice versa) for Secretary of the Treasury. They're so diametrically opposed in background, philosophy and ideology that neither of them could pick the other without looking like a major hypocrite.
Still, I suspect that some variant of the main idea will need to happen.
I can see these two working together. Bloomberg and Sanders working on the economy (one way or the other). And as for the rest of it, I'm all for it!
Create an account or log in to leave a reply
You need to be a member in order to leave a reply.
Page 1 of 1
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
» A Tale of Two Farewells
» A Tale of Two Farewells
» Trump Plans Farewell ‘Ceremony’ On Morning Of Biden’s Inauguration, McConnell Gives GOP Senators Permission To Find Donald Trump Guilty
» Last thing you ate/drank
» Pence. Kushner. McEnany. Ingraham. Even Giuliani… Here Are All People Trump Now Reportedly Feels Have Betrayed Him
» What are your plans for the day
» A House Majority Votes to Impeach Trump
» Glenn Beck Compares Twitter Bans to the Holocaust: ‘This Is the Digital Ghetto’
» Scathing Lincoln Project Ad Blasts Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley for Capitol Riot: 'This Is Your Coup'
» GOP Ignored Their Own Warnings About Trump (VIDEO)
» ‘Our President Wants Us Here’: The Mob That Stormed The Capitol
» Chaos ERUPTS As The White House Staff FOOLS Trump Over The Mob 'He Was Delighted'
» This Republican Senator Is Apparently Totally Unfamiliar With Donald Trump
» House Democrats Introduce Article of Impeachment Against Trump
» A Response From a Former California Governor
» The U.S. Capitol Attack Has Left An Indelible Mark On Our National Security
» The Day America Realized How Dangerous Donald Trump Is
» Congress Confirms Biden's Win After Pro-Trump Mob's Assault on Capitol
» Calls for Trump to Resign or be Removed Grow After Capitol Hill Chaos
» Lindsay Graham Makes Exasperated Plea To Colleagues To End It and Certify the Vote
» Eric Trump Warns of Primary Challenges For Republicans Who Don't Object to Election Results
» Jacob Blake Shooting: No Charges Against Officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin
» Kinzinger: Republicans Can't With 'Clean Conscience' Object After Hearing Trump Tape
» All 10 Living Former Defense Secretaries Declare Election is Over in Forceful Public Letter
» Head-On Crash Kills 7 Kids, 2 Adults in California
» In Extraordinary Hour-Long Call, Trump Pressures Georgia Secretary of State to Recalculate the Vote in His Favor
» One Dead, Several Injured in Texas Church Shooting
» Cruz, Cadre of Other GOP Senators Vow Not to Certify Biden Win Without Probe of Baseless Voter Fraud Claims
» Second Stimulus Check
» ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Reviews: What the Critics Are Saying
» Nashville Bomber Told His Neighbor Before Attack: The World is 'Never Going to Forget Me'
» Leading New Texas Rebellion, Louie Gohmert Sues Mike Pence Because VP Lacks Authority to Overturn Joe Biden’s Election Win
» Treasury, White House Face Enormous Pressure To Quickly Disburse Stimulus Aid After Trump’s Delay
» CNN's Jake Tapper And The White House's Kayleigh McEnany Spar After He Says She 'Lies The Way Most People Breathe'
» Good News About the Coronavirus Vaccine Is Becoming Contagious
» Nashville Explosion Appears Intentional, RV Played Warning Message of Bomb
» Trump Calls COVID Relief Bill Unsuitable and Demands Congress Add Bigger Stimulus Payments
» Voice of Jeopardy! Johnny Gilbert Remembers Alex Trebek: 'Part of Me Left When Alex Left'
» A Flashback Changes This Edition of Free Byte
» December Is Shaping Up To Be The COVID Pandemic's Deadliest Month Yet In The U.S.
» Four Dead As Winter Storm Hits Northeast With 3 Feet Of Snow
» George W. Bush Sends Christmas Card With Pointed Message As Trump Contests Election
» Stimulus Checks Part of Looming COVID-19 Relief Deal as Congress Finalizes Negotiations
» Biden Working With Team to Decide When to Get Coronavirus Vaccine
» UK could override parts of Brexit deal
» CNN's Jake Tapper Thanks Trump For 'Exposing' Republicans Who Supported Texas' 'Un-Democratic, Un-American, Mendacious Joke of a Lawsuit'
» Does Donald Trump Really Believe He Lost The Election?
» The Trump Team Throws in the Towel on Proving Voter Fraud
» What was the last movie you saw?
» MLB Umpire Brian O’Nora Reportedly Arrested in Sex Sting Operation
» 17 Republican Attorneys General Back Trump in Far-Fetched Election Lawsuit
» 'If I lost, I'd be a very gracious loser'
» Barr Says He Hasn’t Seen Fraud That Could Affect the Election Outcome
» Kim Jong-Un Is Reportedly Displaying 'Excessive Anger' Over the Economic Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Ordering the Execution of Two People
» AstraZeneca Faces Difficult Questions About Its Vaccine After Admitting Mistake
» Trump Has Set a Hidden Trap For Biden. It Could Do Great Damage.
» A Trump 2024 Run Is a Terrible Idea—For Him And For The GOP
» Armenians Return to Nagorno-Karabakh After Cease-Fire
» Georgia and Michigan Deliver Blows to Trump’s Efforts to Undo the Election
» US Announces Further Drawdown of Troops in Afghanistan and Iraq Before Biden Takes Office
» Why Moderna's COVID Vaccine Has a 'Huge Advantage' Over Pfizer's
» U.S. Passes 11 Million Coronavirus Cases as Washington State Orders New Restrictions
» Trump Loses String of Election Results Lawsuits
» Alex Trebek, Quintessential Quizmaster as ‘Jeopardy!’ Host For Three Decades, Dies at 80
» MTV and Nick Cannon Inch Closer to ‘Wild ‘N Out’ Revival
» Trump May Accept Results But Never Concede, Aides Say
» Progressives’ Wish List for Biden Starts With Warren and Sanders
» Fauci Optimistic About COVID-19 Vaccine, Says High-Risk Could Get it in December
» Joe Biden Is Right: It Is Time To Move On
» World Leaders Welcome Biden Win, Seek Reset in U.S. Ties
» George Stephanopoulos Says He Has Only Slept for 14 Hours Since Election Day
» Biden Wins White House, Vowing New Direction For Divided US
» Polls Show Biden gaining ground in Texas, Georgia
» America's New Power Couple: Joe and Mitch
» Trump Hits Election Integrity With Unsupported Complaints
» Judge Rejects Moving Trial of Ex-Officers in Floyd’s Death
» Bernie Sanders’s Election-Night Predictions Were Eerily Correct: ‘He Called It WORD For WORD’
» NO WINNER YET. Key Battleground States Have Votes Yet To Be Counted.
» Jeannie Mai Hospitalized, Forced to Leave 'Dancing With the Stars'
» John Oliver Reminds Voters of All Trump's 'Massive F--- Ups' In Handling The Coronavirus
» Seven Big Things Biden Got Right
» How Are Americans Catching the Virus? Increasingly, ‘They Have No Idea’
» What happens to Fox News if Trump loses? Rupert Murdoch is prepared.
» Trump Drags Down GOP Senators, Giving Democrats More Paths to the Majority
» The Verdict Is In: Joe Biden Won The Final Presidential Debate
» Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton are engaged!
» Boyfriend Said N.C. Mom Died After Slipping in Bathtub — But 3 Months Later, He's Charged with Murder
» Lesley Stahl Gets Security Protection After Death Threat Over Trump ‘60 Minutes’ Interview
» Fauci Says The U.S.'s Record-High COVID-19 Cases Put It In a Precarious Position