Taking On Issues - Political Issues and Government Policies

A Hot Discussion Forum on Government Policies and Political Issues

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Election 2016
  • Big Government
  • Healthcare
  • The Other Side
  • What’s New
  • Your Freedom

Springsteen: ‘I don’t see anyone…who can beat Trump’

December 3, 2018 By Takingonissues

Bruce Springsteen is another left-wing rock star but he’s one who has his roots in the kind of blue-collar world that helped Trump win the 2016 election. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Springsteen was asked about the up-coming 2020 election and said that, at the moment, he doesn’t see anyone on the left who can beat Trump. From CNN:

“I don’t see anyone out there at the moment … the man who can beat Trump, or the woman who can beat Trump,” Springsteen said of the potential 2020 Democratic field. “You need someone who can speak some of the same language [as Trump] … and the Democrats don’t have an obvious, effective presidential candidate.”…

Dismiss Springsteen as just another liberal rock star if you will (and he is!), but also remember that Springsteen’s roots are in a working-class, blue-collar community — and that he has spent his entire life writing about and trying to explain the hopes, fears and anxieties of those communities to the country and the world.

Trump spoke to those fears and hopes in a very direct and real way during the 2016 campaign. He won the White House thanks to victories in the industrial Midwest — Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio — that was hit the hardest by the rapidly changing 21st-century economy and the crushing blows it dealt to the manufacturing sector.

That analysis comes from CNN’s Chris Cillizza and for once I think he has a point. Undercutting Trump’s base is going to take someone who can connect with that base and it’s unlikely that Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris will be able to do that. The Democratic Party is moving left and that means the mostly white working class in these rust-belt states are likely to feel even more left behind than they did in 2016.

Springsteen gave another recent interview to Esquire magazine in which he talked more generally about Trump. What’s interesting about this isn’t the knee-jerk anti-Trump stance but Springsteen’s awareness that maybe this is a problem for both sides of the aisle now.

If you could, I say to him, make one request of citizens in this country right now, what would it be?

A long silence follows. Springsteen turns back to the mirror and, at the same time, draws both of his booted feet up to the edge of the couch. He resembles a man squatting beside a campfire, watching flames. “I think that a lot of what’s going on has been a large group of people frightened by the changing face of the nation. There seems to be an awful lot of fear. The founding fathers were pretty good at confronting their fears and the fears of the country. And it’s the old cliché where geniuses built the system so an idiot could run it. We are completely testing that theory at this very moment. I do believe we’ll survive Trump. But I don’t know if I see a unifying figure on the horizon. That worries me. Because the partisanship and the country being split down the middle is something that’s gravely dangerous. To go back to your question, what would my wish be? [Sighs] It’s corny stuff, but: Let people view themselves as Americans first, that the basic founding principles of the country could be adhered to, whether it’s equality or social justice. Let people give each other a chance.”

You can blame Trump for the disunity all you want, but ultimately Springsteen hints at the fact that both sides of the aisle are behaving as partisans. Is there anyone on the left who is promoting unity rather than running harder to the left and demonizing their opponents? Again, it’s not Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris. Who is the left’s unity candidate? Beto O’Rourke? Hillary 4.0? Like Springsteen, I don’t see that person on the horizon.

The post Springsteen: ‘I don’t see anyone…who can beat Trump’ appeared first on Hot Air.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Email, RSS Follow

Related

Subscribe to Taking on Issues

Enter your email address to subscribe to our site and receive notifications of new posts by email.

RSS Political News

  • Judge OKs Suit Aimed at Halting Obama Library in Chicago February 20, 2019
  • McCabe says ‘it’s possible’ Trump’s a Russian asset February 20, 2019
  • Gowdy challenges McCabe's claim congressional leaders didn't object to Russia counterintelligence probe February 20, 2019
  • Trump, Giuliani deny president tried obstructing Michael Cohen investigation February 20, 2019
  • Trump's Two-Year War on the Investigations Encircling Him February 20, 2019
  • Trump to nominate Jeff Rosen to replace Rod Rosenstein as deputy attorney general February 20, 2019
  • McCabe says he doesn't recall discussing infamous 'insurance policy' with Strzok, Page in 2016 February 20, 2019
  • CNN Hires GOP Operative Run Its 2020 Coverage February 20, 2019
  • GOP threatens retaliation against Dems probing 'ridiculous conspiracy theory' on White House-Saudi nuclear tie February 20, 2019

Archives

New Featured Articles

  • “Deep disappointment”: Netanyahu hits back at Kerry, accuses U.S. of orchestrating UN resolution
    December 28, 2016

    posted at 4:31 pm on December 28, 2016 by Allahpundit I get the sense that he’s annoyed. Netanyahu’s Facebook page pic.twitter.com/5hr9dl6Fi3 — Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) December 28, 2016 That was his Facebook message to Obama. His Facebook message to Trump was “President-elect Trump, thank you for your warm friendship and your clear-cut support for Israel!” […]

    Email, RSS Follow
    […]
  • Know anyone who relies on menu nutrition info to order?
    August 6, 2018
    You know how you wait all week to eat out? Then, you […]
  • Constitutional posturing: Dems propose ending the Electoral College
    January 4, 2019
    The first day of any new Congress usually consists of […]
  • A Benedict Option For Muslims?
    January 1, 2018
    Emma Green shows once again why she is the most […]
  • Professor left in neck brace after Middlebury College mob goes nuts over Charles Murray speech
    March 3, 2017
    posted at 8:01 pm on March 3, 2017 by Allahpundit Says […]
  • The Michelle Carter verdict was a total miscarriage of justice
    June 17, 2017
    Having had the night to sleep on it, I wanted to take […]
  • Why weren’t Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills charged when they lied to Peter Strzok and the FBI?
    December 5, 2017
    A terrific catch by the Daily Caller’s Chuck […]
  • Gingrich: How about that “correction” from Trump, eh?
    July 18, 2018
    Even in its original form, Donald Trump’s […]
  • Missouri Governor Eric Greitens indicted for invasion of privacy
    February 22, 2018
    Missouri Governor Eric Greitens was indicted Thursday […]
  • The Urban Home as Fortress
    February 1, 2017
    This house on Brattle Street in Cambridge, which […]
  • Polls: 76% who watched approved of Trump’s speech, 57% were “very positive” about it
    March 1, 2017
    posted at 11:21 am on March 1, 2017 by Allahpundit I […]
  • Caught on tape: Reporter says win by “f***ing John James … would suck”
    November 6, 2018
    Take it from an old call-center manager — you […]
  • WaPo to Maddow: No, the White House didn’t memory-hole a Helsinki question
    July 25, 2018
    Here we go again, indeed. Last night, Rachel Maddow […]
  • Multiple nations want joint Saudi-Turkey probe into Jamal Khashoggi disappearance
    October 14, 2018
    Several European countries are pushing for a joint […]
  • The latest craze on the left: Trump won’t run for a second term
    April 21, 2018
    The grand plans of Democrats and never-Trumpers have […]
Copyright © 2019 TakingOnIssues.com

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Advertise | About Us