and the Trump regime through obstruction and executive orders exposed how governing by fiat forces reactive pushback and authoritarianism. We have a dictator in place of a government with three functioning parts engaged in democratic governance. We need to restore the Constitution and democracy.

...signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Heck, Lyndon Johnson was allegedly said racist things in private, yet he was also prescient in terms of describing the modern Republican Party:



Bernie is not going to be able to pass Single Payer through a series of roll call amendments. If Bernie wants to get things done, and is not in it for the ego, then Bernie need Joe Biden as President, because Donald Trump sure as hell is not going to do it.

Give Biden a Congress that will put progressive legislation on his desk and you'll see progressive reforms.

It really is that simple. The same would have been true of many candidates in this year's primaries.

Johnson carried the ball as Biden must, too.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/04/what-the-hells-the-presidency-for/358630/

My point is that without a Congress that will pass that legislation, it goes nowhere. If LBJ hadn't had an amenable Congress, no amount of "convincing" would have been enough. It's vitally important that we keep the House and somehow regain the Senate.

the solid Dem South for years, and would lead to Republican victory before long.

LBJ was arguable the most powerful Senate Majority leader ever. LBJ knew power.

Voters may well put in overwhelming Dem majorities and that will be great. Very unlikely to put 'Progressives' in any kind of majority.

The entire 2018 shift that elected Pelosi, [far left blue wave myths aside], came from 42? red destricts.

That factor is often highly underestimated.

Yes, most of the seat flips (30+) were moderates in purple/red districts.

JFK was an inspiring and effective speaker, but given his narrow margin of victory over Nixon, he was not necessarily seeking revolution. Rather, given his background, he was clearly anti-communist. And JFK's selection of Lyndon Johnson was opposed by liberals. Yet, in the end, it was Lyndon Johnson who pushed the major pieces of progressive legislation over the finish line.

Kennedy's health insurance bill, which would have paid for hospitalization and nursing costs for the elderly, failed to pass either house of Congress due to the opposition of Republicans, Southern Democrats, and the American Medical Association. However, it was LBJ was able to get Medicare signed into law.

I don't think its an accident that Lyndon Johnson, a former Senate Majority Leader, was one of history’s most legislatively active presidencies. I agree it depends on what Congress puts on his desk, but I think Biden will be far more effective in influencing that process than Bernie.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johncoleman/2018/07/30/the-johnson-treatment-pushing-and-persuading-like-lbj/#163c400e4201

That is a factor that is often underestimated. The LBJ museum has a whole section talking about the influence and the interconnections between JFK's death, JFK's agenda and LBJ's. They were inextricably linked due to circumstances.

There is no doubt that LBJ bullied his way to passing many of his landmark acts, but he also had a lot of leverage.

as well as the house, so he can sign their legislation, but yes. We're in a time of literally desperate need for landmark legislation on many fronts, and we're the only people who can and will meet that need.

Among Biden's many plusses is a very widespread trust and familiarity that can mean really big coattails. For those who haven't lived through a lot of these things, when electorates feel they're pushing the box with a president or governor, they usually give control of congress and legislatures to the other party to act as a leash.

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*Recommended)

LBJ was a master of bothe the House (1937-'49) as well as the Senate. He had a great understanding of systems. His success as president was not entirely based upon JFK's death, as is too often mistakenly assumed. There was serious public pressure on the issues involving Civil Rights, as the most obvious example.

Johnson was a complex man. But for Vietnam, he would definitely be ranked in the top 3 or 4 presidents in our nation's history.

...as a very progressive President by virtue of all of all of his landmark legislative accomplishments. Yet, he was definitely not seen as progressive or liberal at the time with liberal Democrats opposing his addition to the JFK ticket.

I agree that you cannot legislate in a vacuum. in the end, you have to legislate against the existing social backdrop. But that just confirms the case that its evolution and response to grassroots pressure, rather than a top down ideologue that is most effective in a Democratic society.

It's our duty to create those conditions today!

Side note.. amazing you're Undecided!

I feel kind of funny switching my preference again, since it does not actually reflect how I voted. Between Sanders and Biden, I definitely would choose Biden.

The Dreamer has the ideas, the ideals, the romance, the vision.

The Doer is the person who gets the job done.

Just like an architect makes the plans, but it takes a carpenter to build the house.

...and the fact that was and remains a non-factor on major legislation underscores how ineffective he is as a leader and a legislator. Joe Biden was a committee chairman who knew how to get legislation passed.

On the other hand, Bernie can bloviate from the sidelines, but the fact that he is not even bothering to show up for work in the Senate is tacit admission that he is really has not ability to advance any portion of his agenda as a Senator, and it casts serious doubt on his ability to pass any portion of his platform.

Joe will be able to get a great deal done as POTUS

to vote blue down the ballot for big change. VP Biden's coattails could be huge.