“Establishment”

Could It Be A Battle Between Two Upper Septuagenarians For The Democratic Presidential Nomination In 2020?

Ronald 6 Comments

This blogger has written recently on the potential field of candidates for the 2020 Democratic Presidential nomination, with him emphasizing the desirability of a “newer” generation of leadership in their 40s and 50s.

But having said that, the possibility does exist that the major battle for the nomination could be between two upper septuagenarians with long political careers, and many people who greatly admire them.

I am referring to former Vice President Joe Biden, who also served 36 years in the US Senate from Delaware; and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who has served 27 years in Congress, in both the House of Representatives and Senate as the first successful long term Independent Socialist, who only became a Democrat when he announced for President, and now is officially an Independent again, although he caucuses with the Democrats.

Biden will be 78 two weeks after the 2020 election, and Sanders will be 79 shortly before that election.

Both are dedicated public servants, who have millions of admirers who remain ready to support their favorite candidate, if they decide to run for President.

Biden is comparatively more centrist, while Sanders is the extreme left of the Democratic Party.

Were both to run, while they would have many other candidates competing, it could be a battle royal for the ages, with their advanced age being an issue, although Donald Trump, were he to run in 2020, would be 74 and a half at the time of the election.

We have never had two people in their 70s as the alternatives, although Hillary Clinton was 69 in 2016.

Trying to predict who would triumph is quite a challenge, but this author thinks that Biden would have an easier time, with his Establishment credentials, and with Sanders still having to deal with the “Socialist” label, and being Jewish, even though he is not at all devout.

In the long run, however, it would still be preferable to have a “newer generation” of leadership leading the Democratic Party and the nation into the 2020s.

The Alienation Of Millennial Voters Endangers Voter Turnout Which Could Undermine Democratic Party And Progressive Values

Ronald 4 Comments

Depending on which public opinion polls one follows and believes, it might be true that many millennial voters are “turned off” by the present election contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and might vote in large numbers for Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson or Green Party nominee Jill Stein in November. Or they might just stay home and not vote at all.

Millennials, defined as those under 30, but also sometimes including those under 35, are hostile to the “Establishment” and the normal way of dealing with politics and government, as represented by the stalemate, gridlock, and paralysis so common in recent years in Congress and in state governments, as the two major political parties refuse to work together and cooperate for the nation’s future.

The problem is that the present situation seems likely to be perpetuated, as the House of Representatives, at the least, still seems likely to remain Republican, maybe with a smaller margin, while the US Senate may go Democratic by a few seats, but not enough to avoid filibusters by the minority. So new people might be in charge, but the overall situation is unlikely to lead to the real possibility of progress on major domestic problems, and controversy over foreign policy may be further enhanced.

The danger is that alienation may bring about the possible election of Donald Trump, which would be a national nightmare, and undermine the Democratic Party and progressive values, including the future direction of the Supreme Court.

The nation can ill afford the possibility of a “loose cannon” with the backing of extremist right wing forces, termed the “Alt Right” by Hillary Clinton this week in a Reno, Nevada speech, gaining power and promoting ideas and programs that would undermine the Bill of Rights; promote confrontation and conflict between races, ethnic groups, and different genders and sexual orientations; and put the nuclear codes in the hands of a dangerous man who could undermine our relations with foreign allies and provoke war due to his lack of discipline and mental stability.

“Super Delegates” And “Unbound Delegates”—The Politics Of Presidential Nominations!

Ronald 2 Comments

With all of the Presidential primaries and caucuses, it turns out that “Super Delegates” in the Democratic Party, and “Unbound Delegates” in the Republican Party could overrule all of the election results in the two major parties!

“Super Delegates” are several hundred delegates, who are party officers and elected members of Congress and in the state governments, and right now, it is clear that the vast majority favor Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders.

“Unbound Delegates” are about 200 delegates in a few states, including North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, that under Republican state party rules, can go to the convention unbound, no matter what the state voters in those states have voted, and they are enough, along with “Marco Rubio” delegates, to create the possibility of preventing Donald Trump from reaching 1,237 delegates, the majority needed for nomination.

The problem with these different kinds of delegates is they can cause total disillusionment in voters who feel their vote has meant nothing, and that the “Establishment” in both parties is working to undermine the revolt against them, led by Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.

One thing is clear: Both parties and their conventions will be far from boring this summer in Cleveland for the Republicans and Philadelphia for the Democrats!

The Young (Under 45) Challenge To “Baby Boomers” Control Over Politics! Is It For Real?

Ronald 4 Comments

If one goes by public opinion polls and turnout at rallies, the “young”, defined as those under 45, born after 1970, are rebelling against the “establishment”, the “Baby Boomers” in this upcoming Presidential Election of 2016.

They seem to want a complete  overhaul of government, and many of them are gravitating, ironically, to the OLDEST Presidential candidate of all, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a democratic Socialist, who has been in office for 25 years in Congress, plus eight years as Mayor of Burlington!

One would think that Sanders was an “outsider”, but he has been in government positions for more years than anyone else running, including John Kasich and Hillary Clinton!

But he is seen as a dramatic change because of his attacks on Wall Street, and his non-interventionist foreign policy, including his votes against the Persian Gulf War and Iraq War.

But the question arises whether one can be sure that the young, particularly those under 29, and even more, those who are teenagers or early 20s, can be relied on to show up in the primaries and caucuses, and actually vote in November for the change they say they want.

Many observers are skeptical, and wonder if the youngest “new” voters really even understand politics, foreign policy, and major complicated issues, or are just “along for the ride”, the excitement of being involved now, but losing interest as the months go by.

We shall see just how the young among us will transform American politics, and if it leads, somehow, to the election of a democratic Socialist President, it will be historic, even more so, than the election of the first African American President!

Bernie Sanders Leads Hillary Clinton In Iowa And New Hampshire: Time To Take Vermont Senator Seriously!

Ronald 6 Comments

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is no joke anymore, as he now leads Hillary Clinton by 22 points in New Hampshire and by 10 points in Iowa in the latest polls.

Sanders is seeing his support mounting, while Clinton seems to be quickly falling apart.

Of course, two states do not make a nomination, and Hillary is ahead of Sanders by a wide margin in South Carolina.

But it is clear that it is not only the Republicans who are rejecting the so called “Establishment”, but also the Democrats, who seem to want a genuine, authentic, consistent principle driven candidate, and Bernie Sanders is therefore, the “man”!

Whether Sanders can sustain his surge and go beyond Iowa and New Hampshire is the question, but right now, his performance is making Vice President Joe Biden, another person who is genuine, authentic, and and consistent principle driven, reconsider whether he has the “fire in the belly” to challenge Hillary Clinton.

Certainly, the Democratic nomination, once thought to be guaranteed to Hillary Clinton, as in 2008, is again up for grabs.

Last time, it was a first term African American Senator with an odd name of Barack Obama; this time, it is the longest serving Independent member in the history of Congress in both houses, a Socialist, a person of Jewish heritage with a “Brooklyn” accent, and would be the oldest President upon inauguration of any of the potential Presidential candidates,  Bernie Sanders, who is the surprise of this campaign season!

Left In Democratic Party Not Comfortable With Hillary Clinton, Looking Elsewhere For Primary Challenge!

Ronald 5 Comments

Hillary Clinton may be the runaway favorite in most polls for the Democratic Presidential nomination for 2016, but we have never seen a non-incumbent to compete without an opponent in their party’s battle for the Presidential nomination.

So we are starting to feel, see, and sense that there will be challengers to Hillary, and the speculation has become wide and deep that any or some of the following will, indeed, challenge the former Secretary of State, Senator, and First Lady:

Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont
Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland
Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia
Governor Jerry Brown of California
Former Governor Howard Dean of Vermont
Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri (totally new to any speculation)
Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado

There is discontent with Hillary Clinton’s ties to Wall Street; her gaining as much as $275,000 a speech before wealthy donors and groups; and the image of her as a “hawk” in foreign policy. She is seen as part of the “Establishment”, and as not sufficiently understanding of the plight of the middle class and the poor. Her husband worked against the left, sticking to a centrist viewpoint in his years in the White House, and while there are salutes for him as a former President, the Left is looking for someone more in the line of doing more for the poor and middle class, and staying out of foreign wars, and regulating Wall Street.

So that is the appeal of Warren, Sanders and O’Malley in particular, but the idea of Brown coming back, mentioned in an earlier blog entry, is fascinating, and Dean trying again after 12 years is also intriguing! And imagine a “Nixon”, not related to the former President, running from the “heartland”, the state of Missouri, which was always on the winning side of every election from 1900 to the present, except 1956, 2008, and 2012, but close in the first two years!

And of course, Hillary could decide, ultimately, NOT to run, and then it is a true donnybrook in the making for the Democrats in 2016!

Could there be a surprise in the Democratic Presidential sweepstakes? After 2008, who can say?