Maybe the Democrats think that having 24 declared candidates is seven better than the GOP’s 17 in 2016. Or perhaps the lunatics are running the asylum. Nancy Pelosi can’t do everything, you know.
Either way, the party of Andrew Johnson has a problem There are so many aspirants, it’s as if there were none. Perhaps it’s better to think of the double dozen, not as viable contestants, but rather as a think tank, and the primary contests an extended brainstorming session.
The most prominent candidates, professional pols like current frontrunner Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and Bernie Sanders, do not have a single, signature issue. However, there are talented prospects on the taxi squad; people who possess experience in particular disciplines. For example:
- Jay Inslee on climate issues
- Elizabeth Warren on public education and family economics
- Pete Buttigieg on homeland security and counterterrorism
- Andrew Yang on automation and workforce
- Tulsi Gabbard on armed services
- Michael Bennett and Julian Castro on immigration
- John Hickenlooper on gun control
- Seth Moulton on national security
- Tim Ryan on the economy and international trade
How about locking them into a free-wheeling Internet-aired discussion, two or three at a time; forcing them to grapple with a single issue; challenging one another to propose a plan and then defend it. Require a proponent to explain how a program would be funded. Americans love new ideas, but we hate paying for them. These forums would provide the second-tier candidates with a way of distinguishing themselves, and at the same time giving the issues some Oxygen. The discussions could be posted on Youtube. They would be a stimulating sideshow to the Debates, an insufferable main event.
Evan Sarzin is the author of Hard Bop Piano and Bud Powell published by Gerard & Sarzin Music Publishing. He writes and publishes Revolted Colonies (http://revoltedcolonies.com).