The Democrats seem to be letting a great chance go by. They have too many candidates trying for the presidential nomination and there is not a strong unified message that is being presented. The candidates are spread from extreme left to right of center. Donald Trump is vulnerable and can be beaten, but only if the Democrats unite and produce a message of general appeal. Many of the candidates currently have no policies that they stand behind and nothing that separates them from the great mass running for president. Ask a citizen which candidate stands for what and you’ll generally get a blank stare.
The great number of candidates is because most of them believe Trump is in trouble and can be defeated. However, some are in the race just to get exposure, able to say that they ran for president. Perhaps it will help them with a later foray or a run for a different office. There are only a few who actually have a chance of being the Democratic candidate. It’s true that it’s very early, but most of the candidates have not gotten any traction with the populace. Some of the names are completely unrecognizable by rank and file Democrats. Maybe some of the candidates believe that they’ll get a bump from their performance in the debates or frequent appearances on cable TV programs. But it’s really not worthwhile for them to keep going if they can’t catch on. And of course, many of them have been unable to raise sufficient funds to keep them viable. Trump has out raised the entire Democratic list combined.
There is also the hope that perhaps they’ll be able to catch lightning in a bottle like Mayor Pete, emerging out of nowhere to gain recognition, support, and dollars. But Mayor Pete has a compelling story that is different than other candidates, even though it’s been his personality rather than his policies that have given him a boost. It’s not likely that other candidates will be able to duplicate his rise. Most of them seem to be going nowhere, remaining behind in the overall pack.
Bernie Sanders scored a coup going onto Fox News for a town hall, seeming to electrify the audience and getting them behind him. If nothing else, it annoyed Trump who had considered Fox his personal domain. Now it seems that Mayor Pete may follow Sanders and perhaps a few more Democrats will also. Appearing on Fox seems quite reasonable as there may be voters watching there that the Democratic candidates might be unable to reach in any other way.
And Joe Biden has to either p— or get off the pot. He’s dragging this out much too long. Is he in or out and what’s his position on the main issues. But it’s time now for some other Democrats to start dropping out, giving the more viable candidates a chance to get their messages across. Too many cooks really create an inedible stew.
Resurrecting Democracy
www.robertlevinebooks.com
Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020