David Leonhardt: Time for the Democrats to get ruthless

FILE - In this July 31, 2019 photo, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and former Vice President Joe Biden participate in the second of two Democratic presidential primary debates hosted by CNN in the Fox Theatre in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)Obviously, most Democrats would say it’s vitally important. Four more years of the Trump presidency could allow him to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. It would worsen the climate crisis. It could cement his paranoid racism and scorn for democracy as the new American normal.

Given these consequences, you would think that Democrats would be approaching the 2020 campaign with a ruthless sense of purpose. But they’re not, at least not yet.…