In today’s NYT, David Brooks recommends that the Democrats run a nominee with a forward-looking, optimistic message in 2020.
Sure.
It is extremely important for tactical reasons, and for the sake of the country, that the Democrats pose as the defenders of traditional American values and institutions in both 2018 and 2020. Left-wing Trumpism would be almost as bad as the original hard right version. That said, the party isn’t going to endure four years of Trump and then pick someone who is going to bring a knife to a gun fight. The nominee should be the candidate who best figures out how to express the anger of the base in a colorful, but constructive way.