Discussion » Questions » Politics » Do you like Thomas Friedman's idea for the Democrats to form a national unity ticket to defeat Trump?

Do you like Thomas Friedman's idea for the Democrats to form a national unity ticket to defeat Trump?

The team would even include Mitt Romney and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Brilliant or a pipe dream? Here is the relevant excerpt from his opinion column: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/opinion/democratic-primary-candidates.html?searchResultPosition=6

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?

“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. 

“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.

Posted - March 3, 2020

Responses


  • 34296
    I could see many Dems getting behind this idea.....as I Rep that would be a nightmare.  It is a pipe dream.  Trump is winning in Nov. 
      March 3, 2020 10:43 AM MST
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  • Although I have no desire to see a coalition, dream ticket or National Unity effort as you have described above, it has been done effectively in the nation's past. The election of 1864, featured an incumbent (Lincoln, a Republican)) and a new national hero in the person of Gov Andrew Johnson, a Democrat of Tenn. that risked life and limb to hold the governor's office for the Union. A mostly symbolic act, the threats were real and the newspapers had a field day.
      March 3, 2020 11:09 AM MST
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  • 17600
    No.  Democrats keep coming up with everything imaginable other than simply being the party most of America agrees with.  2016 was the first election EVER that I felt like America would become a disaster if my choice didn't win.  That is horrible.   This post was edited by Thriftymaid at March 3, 2020 2:22 PM MST
      March 3, 2020 2:20 PM MST
    0