The Wall Street Journal: Trump and Biden or Lincoln and Douglas?
By Peggy Noonan
“This Will Not Pass” by Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns captures the insularity of Washington and the closed-off nature of the conversations that consume it. It is deeply reported, with sourcing from both parties and criticisms of both, which is refreshing. It also captures both parties’ refusal to be honest with their own voters.
Both parties would benefit in the long term from facing the issues they’re dodging. They must stop fearing their supporters and saying nothing. They should start trying to persuade.
On the Republican side it revolves around Mr. Trump. Party leaders, officeholders, operatives and donors despise what he represents: the deterioration of everything. They say so in private, not public. They don’t try to persuade anyone, or say, “Try to see it my way”; they hunker down and hope it will pass. Mr. Trump has a hold on about a third of the party: You win or lose with that third. The Republican Party as an entity, and a solid portion of its own voters, is utterly divided.
On the Democratic side, what can’t be discussed is what the progressive movement is doing to the party and its prospects. Messrs. Martin and Burns report on a series of memos from Mr. Biden’s pollster during his first year. Early on the pollster sounds the alarm on what the administration is getting wrong, from illegal immigration to crime. No one pays him mind. They don’t want to upset party progressives, who are a small but significant part of the base.