Has anyone seen a national Democrat who’d make an excellent president? Does anyone know of such - someone harboring the thought who’s ready to file petitions and start raising millions for the race? Anyone? Anywhere?
No? Well, how about someone who would be a likely candidate for vice president? Have you seen one of them? Someone out in the hustings on the rubber chicken dinner circuit? Someone helping raise funds for a local or state or national Democrat candidate for something and earning I-O-U’s?
No? Well, what HAVE you seen? Elizabeth? Bernie? Joe? Kamala? Oprah? OPRAH? Are you kidding me???
You do know, of course, it takes three-four years of advance work, raising money, setting up state-by-state connections, creating a technology network, getting local committees of workers up and running, shmoozing big donors, You know that, don’t you, Mr. And Mrs. Democrat?
So, let’s ask again. Which Democrats are out there doing those things? Who’s got those petitions ready to file? Who’s ready to “hit-the-ground-running?†Walking? Crawling? Breathing?
The uniform answer to such queries seems to be “No one.†Since Tom Perez became National Democrat Chairman, what passes for national candidate recruitment has apparently been taking place underground in deep secrecy. I can’t come up with a single serious name being floated or even whispered. OPRAH? Are you kidding?
Hillary has said - more or less - she won’t run for office again. Good. Bernie won’t make such a statement and is letting backers ramp up the chant. Bad. Elizabeth and Kamala don’t have the chops. Joe’s age, three years hence, disqualifies him. No potential 2020 candidates there.
It’s not like the Dems don’t have some fine, highly qualified folk. Check the U.S. Senate: Mark Warner (VA), Patti Murray (WA), Sherrod Brown (OH), Amy Klobuchar (MI,) and Sheldon Whitehouse (RI). If you liked Joe Biden, you’d love Whitehouse. He was Biden’s top staffer for years and is just as familiar with foreign heads-of-state and diplomacy as Joe.
Over in the House, Joaquin Castro (Tx). Smart, experienced, able to gain election majorities - even in Texas. Or Chris Van Hollen (MD), Jackie Speir or Eric Swalwell of California or Adam Schiff (Ca) from the House Intelligence Committee. Several state houses could produce some good names as well.
Nationally, Dems have always had three serious problems. First, they normally have no “bench team†- a cadre of skilled/experienced people to get out on the playing field, ready-to-go as first-class candidates. Second, they’re not good at letting the last, lost election go to turn their focus on the next race. Internecine battles continue. Hillary and Bernie backers big time.
And, third, when they do get a good one in office, they tend to sit on their butts instead of grooming a good second team - ready to get in the game when the time comes. The Bill Clinton years come to mind.
Nationally, Democrats have some top-notch talent. They do! But, no one is currently carrying on a national dialogue, floating names or even openly promoting the necessary candidate search. It’s likely there’s a lot of commotion below the surface. But the clock’s ticking. The threshold for launching a national campaign is bearing down. Time to get going on some of the all-important name recognition. And work.
About the only national Dem chatter I hear is the continued bitching between Hillary and Bernie supporters. That’s got to STOP! Again, Hillary ain’t running and Bernie shouldn’t. Knock off the arguing and get behind someone else. Anyone else. Put that useless chatter and wasted energy into a candidate that would appreciate the added help. When you can find one.
This far out from November, 2020, it’s hard to know where Trump - or Pence - will be. Impeached. Sitting in a cell. Beaten in a nasty GOP national primary. Ready to run again. But, Democrats can be warned of one thing. In or out of office, Trump will be a larger-than-life figure in that election. His dwindling base will make it so. Faux Neus and Breitbart will make it so. Trump will make it so.
Somebody’s got to jerk the national Dems off their butts and out onto the playing field. The need for all-out, flat-out action has never been more necessary. Or, they can just continue to grumble and watch Trump and his minions tear our government to pieces.
C’mon. Make some noise!