At a very basic level, there is something very wrong with the New York Times. Bloomberg the most viable challenger to Sanders when his attachment to the Democratic Party is even less than Sanders's, he has few grassroots supporters, and he does not thrive when challenged verbally? Move Warren out of the Senate, where she is very effective, and into HHS? Bernie Sanders as Treasury Secretary? This is not even phoning it in. In a way, it is the Fox News journalism strategy but for a different demographic: let's tell our audience not what they need to learn but what we think they want to hear. It is, I think, as poisoned: Scott Lemieux: Who Moved Tom Friedman's Cheese? http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2020/02/who-moved-tom-friedmans-cheese: 'I regret to inform you that Tom Friedman has written about electoral politics again.... "Something extraordinary... a national unity ticket.... What would this super ticket look like? Well, I suggest Sanders—and Michael Bloomberg, who seems to be his most viable long-term challenger..." It’s hard to see how a longtime Republican who is third in the national polling averages, leading in the polls in zero states despite a massive ad blitz, and coming off one of the most humiliatingly bad debate performances in the history of the contemporary primary system is Bernie’s “most viable long-term challenger,” but moving right along.... "these will be my cabinet choices—my team of rivals.... 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.... I will ask Elizabeth Warren to serve as health and human services secretary..." “Bloomberg or Bernie for Secretary of the Treasury—doesn’t matter, they’re basically the same. Oh, and let’s give Republicans an extra Senate seat for a crucial few months so that Elizabeth Warren can have a second-tier cabinet position in an area... not her main area of interest but probably torpedoed her campaign. And let’s get someone who has been very successful winning elections in a purple state out of the Senate too. Does control of that institution really matter anyway?” Hard to see any flaws in this logic!...
#noted #2020-03-03
