Hotair ^ | 02/07/2020 | John Sexton
Earlier this week James Carville went on MSNBC and told Democrats it was time to panic. āI mean, Iām 75 years old why am I here doing this? Because I am scared to death thatās why,ā Carville said. The clip of Carvilleās on-air panic went viral and today, Vox interviewed Carville and gave him a chance to revise and extend his remarks:
Sean Illing
Why are you āscared to deathā about the 2020 election?
James Carville
Look, the turnout in the Iowa caucus was below what we expected, what we wanted. Trumpās approval rating is probably as high as itās been. This is very bad. And now it appears the party canāt even count votes. What the hell am I supposed to think?ā¦
We have candidates on the debate stage talking about open borders and decriminalizing illegal immigration. Theyāre talking about doing away with nuclear energy and fracking. Youāve got Bernie Sanders talking about letting criminals and terrorists vote from jail cells. It doesnāt matter what you think about any of that, or if there are good arguments ā talking about that is not how you win a national election. Itās not how you become a majoritarian partyā¦
Iām not sure Carville is personally that far off from Bernieās positions on these issues, but he knows that winning an election means focusing on issues where you have an electoral advantage, not ones where the electorate is against you. The counter-argument, which Voxās Sean Illing makes, is that maybe things have changed so much that Sanders can win despite his far-left platform.
Sean Illing
A lot of threads there. First, a lot of people donāt trust the Democratic Party, donāt believe in the party, for reasons youāve already mentioned, and so they just donāt care about that. They want change. And I guess the other thing Iād say is, 2016 scrambled our understanding of whatās possible in American politics.
Are we really sure Sanders canāt win?
James Carville
Who the hell knows? But hereās what I do know: Sanders might get 280 electoral votes and win the presidency and maybe we keep the House. But thereās no chance in hell weāll ever win the Senate with Sanders at the top of the party defining it for the public. Eighteen percent of the country elects more than half of our senators. Thatās the deal, fair or not.
So long as McConnell runs the Senate, itās game over. Thereās no chance weāll change the courts and nothing will happen, and heāll just be sitting up there screaming in the microphone about the revolution.
As another example of a losing issue, Carville brought up a viral video in which a voter confronted Elizabeth Warren over her college debt forgiveness plan:
Hereās another stupid thing: Democrats talking about free college tuition or debt forgiveness. Iām not here to debate the idea. What I can tell you is that people all over this country worked their way through school, sent their kids to school, paid off student loans. They donāt want to hear this shit. And you saw Warren confronted by an angry voter over this. Itās just not a winning message.
The core of Carvilleās message is that you have to always be thinking about the persuadable voters because ultimately every election is about persuading a majority of voters with your most appealing issues. As Carville sees it, thereās no alternative: ālook, if no oneās persuadable, then letās just have the revolution.ā
As for the outcome in 2020, Carville was asked if he sees anyone who can beat Trump and replied, āI donāt know, I just donāt know.ā
Carville will be ignored by Sandersā supporters, probably with a jaunty āOk, boomer.ā Heās old, heās out of touch, heās moderateālots of reasons to ignore him. But I think heās right about Sanders, at least so far.
------------
Carville actually does understand voters, much like the late great Pat Caddell, another honest democrat. Heās the only one on the left pointing out that the emperor is buck naked and nobody is taking him seriously.
Face it, if they had a Bill Clinton running, weād be sweating. Thatās the kind of candidate Carville is wishing for.....but one who kept his penis in his pants and not in some young Interns mouth as he slid cigars in and out of her...OVAL ORIFICE!!!!!
Earlier this week James Carville went on MSNBC and told Democrats it was time to panic. āI mean, Iām 75 years old why am I here doing this? Because I am scared to death thatās why,ā Carville said. The clip of Carvilleās on-air panic went viral and today, Vox interviewed Carville and gave him a chance to revise and extend his remarks:
Sean Illing
Why are you āscared to deathā about the 2020 election?
James Carville
Look, the turnout in the Iowa caucus was below what we expected, what we wanted. Trumpās approval rating is probably as high as itās been. This is very bad. And now it appears the party canāt even count votes. What the hell am I supposed to think?ā¦
We have candidates on the debate stage talking about open borders and decriminalizing illegal immigration. Theyāre talking about doing away with nuclear energy and fracking. Youāve got Bernie Sanders talking about letting criminals and terrorists vote from jail cells. It doesnāt matter what you think about any of that, or if there are good arguments ā talking about that is not how you win a national election. Itās not how you become a majoritarian partyā¦
Iām not sure Carville is personally that far off from Bernieās positions on these issues, but he knows that winning an election means focusing on issues where you have an electoral advantage, not ones where the electorate is against you. The counter-argument, which Voxās Sean Illing makes, is that maybe things have changed so much that Sanders can win despite his far-left platform.
Sean Illing
A lot of threads there. First, a lot of people donāt trust the Democratic Party, donāt believe in the party, for reasons youāve already mentioned, and so they just donāt care about that. They want change. And I guess the other thing Iād say is, 2016 scrambled our understanding of whatās possible in American politics.
Are we really sure Sanders canāt win?
James Carville
Who the hell knows? But hereās what I do know: Sanders might get 280 electoral votes and win the presidency and maybe we keep the House. But thereās no chance in hell weāll ever win the Senate with Sanders at the top of the party defining it for the public. Eighteen percent of the country elects more than half of our senators. Thatās the deal, fair or not.
So long as McConnell runs the Senate, itās game over. Thereās no chance weāll change the courts and nothing will happen, and heāll just be sitting up there screaming in the microphone about the revolution.
As another example of a losing issue, Carville brought up a viral video in which a voter confronted Elizabeth Warren over her college debt forgiveness plan:
Hereās another stupid thing: Democrats talking about free college tuition or debt forgiveness. Iām not here to debate the idea. What I can tell you is that people all over this country worked their way through school, sent their kids to school, paid off student loans. They donāt want to hear this shit. And you saw Warren confronted by an angry voter over this. Itās just not a winning message.
The core of Carvilleās message is that you have to always be thinking about the persuadable voters because ultimately every election is about persuading a majority of voters with your most appealing issues. As Carville sees it, thereās no alternative: ālook, if no oneās persuadable, then letās just have the revolution.ā
As for the outcome in 2020, Carville was asked if he sees anyone who can beat Trump and replied, āI donāt know, I just donāt know.ā
Carville will be ignored by Sandersā supporters, probably with a jaunty āOk, boomer.ā Heās old, heās out of touch, heās moderateālots of reasons to ignore him. But I think heās right about Sanders, at least so far.
------------
Carville actually does understand voters, much like the late great Pat Caddell, another honest democrat. Heās the only one on the left pointing out that the emperor is buck naked and nobody is taking him seriously.
Face it, if they had a Bill Clinton running, weād be sweating. Thatās the kind of candidate Carville is wishing for.....but one who kept his penis in his pants and not in some young Interns mouth as he slid cigars in and out of her...OVAL ORIFICE!!!!!