2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates Challenged by Misogyny, Misinformation, and Sardonic Nihilism

A first look at those seeking to repeal and replace Donald Trump

Chances are good the Democratic Party will see its largest ever crop of presidential candidates in 2020. Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.com identified more than twenty names of people we might have heard of as being interested in entering the contest.

Many of the same folks who thought Donald Trump was just too crazy to be elected in 2016 are now saying there’s no way he’ll get a second term. This observation is often accompanied by a caveat about the Democratic candidate fitting into a particular pundit’s determination of what they consider electable.  

Thanks to the Never Trumpers, Democrats are now facing the specter of of ideological right wingers like George Will and Bill Kristol weighing in on where the party should be going in the next election. They just want somebody who will smile as they plunder the commons of our country.

A wave of barely disguised media misogyny is already responsible for such Very Serious Observations as Senators Elizabeth Warren not being likeable enough, Kirsten Gillibrand’s #friedchickengate episode, and Amy Klobuchar as staff abuser.

Here’s Philly.com columnist Will Bunch:

What if I told you about a senator who was accused by an ex-staffer of being an “egomaniacal autocrat” who was “determined to manage his staff through fear,” who allegedly yelled at a 23-year-old staffer reminding that senator about scheduling to “get the f—- out of my car”? It wasn’t Klobuchar but former vice president and Delaware senator Joe Biden, who hasn’t decided if he’s running but leads in the polls. And yet I haven’t seen anyone investigating what kind of boss Biden is.    

The New York Times has already graced us with an article pointing out past and present sexism in media coverage laced with observations about how it’s just really voter’s preconceptions that negatively impact female candidates. The paper’s role in deciding to overplay negative stories about Hillary Clinton in 2016 somehow gets lost in the article.

Perhaps the fact that there are now six women running for the Democratic nomination will spread the bullshit around enough so there’s enough time to take notice of stuff like policy and experience.

Then there are the center-centric mantras cable news outlets and Very Serious Persons chanting incessantly about running up through the middle, often backed up with a quote from somebody who votes Democratic on Tuesdays when the moon is in Gemini.

Here’s Laura Clawson at Daily Kos speaking to just how lame that approach is:

...Taxing the rich is enormously popular, both in general terms and when the question is specifically about Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax. A pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants is also extremely popular—but a border wall is extremely unpopular.

A majority of Americans understand that climate change is real, and a threat, and the Green New Deal has done very well in some polls, with especially strong support among young people.

Studies have shown that politicians believe that voters are more conservative than they really are. We can’t let conservative Democrats and a media that loves “Democrats divided” stories cover over the reality that progressive economic policies, gun reform policies, climate policies are extremely popular.

Finally, there’s what I’ll call the sardonic nihilism (™) of social media and armchair activists.

Some of this is about ideological purity. Some of this is about settling scores. And it’s all a load of crap, easily manipulated and repackaged to drive voter apathy. Often this is manifested thru a statement that fails to contextualize its subject. i.e., so and so voted against puppies, when the vote was against an amendment saying puppies are ugly.

I and the vast majority of people intending to vote in the next presidential election don’t care if Bernie Sander’s brand of socialism may have influenced by a dalliance with Trotskyists decades ago. Neither do we care about Elizabeth Warren’s past mistakes with regard to her ancestry. And we really don’t care if Kamala Harris is Black enough.

Here’s what Democrats/Democratic-leaning independents say nationwide about what they want in a candidate. (CNN/SSRS Poll, Jan 30- Feb 2, 2019)

87% - Has a good chance of beating Donald Trump
81% - Has the right experience
70% - Has been consistent on issues over the years
70% - Represents the future of the Democratic party
68% - Is willing to work with Republicans to get things done
68% - Holds Progressive positions on the issues
47% - Can bring an outsider’s perspective to Washington.

Here’s the list of potential candidates that I’ve been able to identify. Those already declared as of Feb 13 are in boldface. Each name has a link to their campaign site or ballotpedia profile.

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker
South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Former housing secretary; former mayor of San Antonio Julian Castro
Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
California Senator Kamala Harris
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren
New Age/Self Help Expert Marianne Williamson
Former Tech Executive Andrew Yang

Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper
Former Vice President Joe Biden
Montana Governor Steve Bullock
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders
Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown
Washington Governor Jay Inslee
Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu
New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio
Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke
Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe

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Your Daily Reminder: There are and will be a number of people running to be the Democratic nominee for President in 2020.

Let’s do our research, support the candidates of our choice, and talk about it civilly. The process of primaries and caucuses will weed out the not-ready-for-prime time candidates, so it’s best not to obsess. Job one in 2020 will be dethroning “Individual 1.”

I intend to support the Democratic primary winner – with every damn thing I’ve got.

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Lead graphic credit: KillJester