There have been a raft of opinion pieces lately about the Democratic Party moving too far to the left. David Leonhardt's "A Dose of Moderation Would Help Democrats" is one of these. Leonhardt's columns allow The New York Times opinion page to air perspectives well to the left of what usually appears there. So it is somewhat noteworthy that the newspaper's progressive scout is alerting its readers to hold up for a centrist candidate in the Democratic primary.
Leonardt's argument is facile. Two Gallup polls show 1) that a majority of Democrats identify as liberal, and 2) most Democrats -- "by a margin of 54 percent to 41 percent" -- think the party should move to the center rather than the left. Hence, Leonhardt favors Obama's advice: the Dems should nominate a centrist.
The problem here is that centrist superman Joe Biden is tarrying once again on the sidelines seemingly unable to make up his mind, while unabashed centrists like Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar have so far resonated about as much as a liquid confetti fart.
That leaves Leonhardt pining for Sherrod Brown to hurry up and enter the race. I guess John Hickenlooper doesn't get Leonhardt's juices flowing.
Leonhardt forgets the the lesson from 2016: A centrist who doesn't excite the Democratic base is prone to defeat even though opinion polls say otherwise.
I think it's a fruitless effort at this point to keep the Democratic base penned in on the neoliberal reservation. Biden's candidacy is enormously flawed but it still might offer the best bet.
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