Washington, D.C., is on vacation, but that is not preventing either side from vocalizing its view of the presidential sweepstakes. One frequent refrain is that the Democratic Party field will have no one who can win if Secretary Hillary Clinton is not the nominee.
Nothing can be further from the truth. If Secretary Clinton is not in the nominee of the Democratic Party, the Democrats still have very viable candidates.
The echo chamber says Bernie Sanders is too old and that no one is going to elect an avowed elderly socialist. Perhaps that is true, but he is drawing huge crowds of younger people when he speaks. He is using his status as a senior citizen to appeal to being a different type of politician. When he made his speech declaring his candidacy, he said, “This campaign is not about Bernie Sanders. It is not about Hillary Clinton. It is not about Jeb Bush or anyone else. This campaign is about the needs of the American people, and the ideas and proposals that effectively address those needs. As someone who has never run a negative political ad in his life, my campaign will be driven by issues and serious debate; not political gossip, not reckless personal attacks or character assassination.”
During his first campaign speech, Sen. Sanders continued to talk about the tenants of his campaign, which he outlined as wealth and inequality, economics and the disappearing middle class, the effects of the Supreme Court Citizen’s United decision, climate change, jobs, raising wages, reforming Wall Street, health care, college for all, as well as foreign policy. He certainly appealed to the base of the party, buy in his announcement you could see the beginnings of arguments that could be used in a GOP/Democrat debate.
The Democrats also have two other declared candidates, Sen. Jim Webb and Gov. Martin O’Malley. Sen. Webb, a Democrat who worked in the Reagan administration, has said the quality of people who were chosen to serve in that administration was what made that administration great and that as president he would seek to do the same. Although he seems like a candidate no one will pay much attention to, when the first Democratic Party debate takes place, his numbers will most likely rise. He was a Marine, served in Vietnam, went to law school and also served as a journalist. Serving as a journalist will put him in great stead with the pack of journalists covering the campaign.
He said he was going to talk about issues even if he was told not to by political consultants, and right out of the box he talked about prison reform and the inequity of the drug-sentencing laws. He took questions at the beginning of his speech, and has made national infrastructure, and economic fairness the heart of his campaign. People who dismiss his chances should wait until the Democratic Party debates.
Martin O’Malley has also been dismissed as getting 1 percent of the total potential vote in Iowa. It is way too early to dismiss Gov. O’Malley. He also spoke to a broad swath of Americans, and although clearly was trying to talk to the Democrats who need to elect him as their nominee, he was also appealing to the voters who would vote in the general election. He said during his announcement speech:
“[S]eventy percent of us are earning the same or less than they were 12 years ago. This is the first time that has happened this side of World War II.
“Today in America, family owned businesses and farms are struggling to compete with ever-larger concentrations of corporate power.
“Fifty years ago, the nation’s largest employer was GM. An average GM employee could pay for a year’s tuition at a state university with two weeks’ wages.
“Today in America, with dreams of college, a decent-paying job, and a secure retirement slipping beyond the reach of so very many, the American Dream seems to be hanging by a thread.”
His campaign has articulated 15 goals that are specific. They are number based, and that is what Governor O’ Malley was famous for when he was mayor of Baltimore. He used numbers and measurable goals to define what he could accomplish.
I laugh when I am told the Democrats have no one to put up as a nominee if Hillary Clinton is not the one. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Democrats have some great candidates for the 2016 election. Republicans who have set their hearts on the demise of Hillary Clinton have a lot more to worry about. The Democrats have other very strong candidates.
Media wishing to interview Ellen Ratner, please contact [email protected].
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