It seems like the 2016 Presidential election was just yesterday, but 2010 has been on the radar for most ambitious politicians for some time. Now every week a new name crops up as a candidate to challenge Donald Trump for the Presidency next year. One publication had 43 names of those who want to be Commander-in-Chief!
Today we will look at just a “baker’s” dozen of these wannabes, and make some observations about them. Although several are really long shots to get the Democratic nomination for the office, each is serious about succeeding Trump in the Oval Office.
In recent polls, Joe Biden of Delaware, Barack Obama’s Vice-President, leads the pack. He declined to run in 2016 due to the death of his son, but is now actively seeking money and support for his effort. He is also the only one who, according to polls, can beat Trump in a head-to-head campaign.
Next in line is Bernie Sanders. The Independent but self-described “democratic socialist” ran in the Democratic primaries in 2016, and lost to Hillary Clinton in a contentious battle. He, like Biden, will be in his upper 70s if elected to the Presidency.
The rest of the field does not poll above the mid single digits, so we will just take them at random. Some will be known, others somewhat obscure, but all are serious about the race.
Notable among the runners is Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts. She has been a vocal critic of Trump, and is famous for her claim of Native American heritage which she used to further her career in academia. DNA testing hurt this part of her story (showing 1/1024th Native American, about the same as most white Americans), but she launched her bid early.
Kamala Harris, first term Senator from California, has been actively seeking the nomination. She had a meteoric rise in state politics, due in part to an affair with the then powerful Speaker of the State House, Willie Brown. She ticks the usual boxes, being a woman and a person of color. Some have tabbed her the early favorite for the Democratic nomination because of the early primary the Golden State now has.
Two other Senators are contemplating runs for the Presidency. Cory Booker, of New Jersey, made a splash in the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearing. He loudly compared himself to Spartacus, of Roman slave rebellion fame. His main attraction is that he is a man of color. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Senator is another Democratic hopeful, with not much background for this, except she is a woman.
Hillary Clinton seems poised to make a third run at the Oval Office. ‘Nuff said!
Jay Inslee has announced. This term limited Democratic governor of Washington state has little to commend himself for elevation to the highest office in the land.
Bunched together are five others infected with Potomac fever. Julian Castro, a Texas mayor and member of Obama’s cabinet, makes a case because he is of the second largest minority in the nation, a Hispanic. Also from Texas is the failed Senatorial candidate in the 2018 election, Beto O’Rourke. He is telegenic and vacuous, but looks good on TV. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic Representative from Hawaii, ticks the gender box, but is saddled with her father’s strident anti-homosexual campaign in the state, which he pushed about 20 years ago. Rounding out our small sample are two very wealthy men who can self fund their campaigns. Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City and Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks of Seattle both covet the Presidency.
As stated above, a couple dozen or more lesser known and some former wannabes are hoping lightning strikes and places them as the Democratic standard bearer in 2020.
But these are enough to give us a glimpse into the Democratic stable of horses for the next Presidential race. What stands out from this list?
First, the front runners are old, white men. Biden, Sanders, Bloomberg and Schultz fit that demographic, and if John Kerry throws his hat into the ring, six make up that cohort. For all the forward looking and “new generation” rhetoric coming out of Democratic quarters, it seems the geriatric set is still alive and kicking.
Since five of the above are women, the gender card is also being used. After coming so close in 2018 (at least in the “popular” vote, which didn’t mean anything), these ladies seem to think the nation is ready for the fairer sex to rule. A lot of noise about this will be made in the coming year.
Also, all except Schultz are products of the political arena. Each has spent years, sometimes decades, running for one office or another, with little, if any, real life experience to be able to relate to the everyday American. If it looks their policy plans have little to do with reality, this may explain it.
But perhaps the most telling common trait is that virtually all are from the east or west coast. The two from Texas are anomalies, which means that between California and New Jersey NO candidate with the experience and background are vying for the Presidency. Once again, the Democratic party is writing off Middle America, and wide swaths of the North and South of the nation will be just “flyover country” to those who want to be elected President next year. The perception of a party concentrated on the coasts is once again validated by the list of people who want to be President.
And, when you look at the leadership in Congress, this perception is made stronger. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is from California. She, a wealthy Representative from the San Francisco area, rules the Democratic House caucus with an iron hand. Cementing this is the leadership of the Senate. The longtime Democratic leader is Chuck Schumer, a Senator from New York, who doesn’t allow his caucus to stray from the accepted party line.
No amount of inclusive rhetoric can whitewash the reality of a party that ignores a vast swath of Americans in the middle states, shown by the preponderance of coastal candidates for the Presidency and the legislative leadership in the hands of coastal elites. When the election of 2020 is held on November 3, you can be assured that the Democratic standard bearer will be from one of the coasts, and the rest of us will be forgotten in the policies and words from their platforms and speeches.
What are we to do? Americans from the vast reaches between the coasts will have only one choice if Donald Trump and Mike Pence of Indiana are the Republican ticket. At least there is some balance on the GOP side. If the Democratic Party wins the Presidency, middle Americans will be relegated to a minor place in national politics.