The Democratic Field Will Be Set in March or Early April

[mark46]

Brown is not a centrist that is for sure.....I am in his district.....

not a centrist compared to whom?
Who would you consider to be centrists, say among Senate Democrats?

 

[civilwarbuff]

not a centrist compared to whom?
Who would you consider to be centrists, say among Senate Democrats?

That is hard to put a finger on since they all demonstrate an intense and universal hatred for Trump; I believe that makes them go to extremes simply to oppose him. Joe Manchin for one; I think he would side with democrats more except that he is from a strongly R district which require he vote with Republicans more often than he would like but he is certainly more centrist than Brown.

 

[Hank77]

If Trump chooses not to seek reelection, the nominee will certainly be a more solid, better known, Republican.

Have you got any suggestions, not just among those previously mentioned.

And as for the Democrats, a more traditional Democrat would serve that party better than the recent crop that's fixated on the idea of being as radical as possible. That is with the possible exception of Joe Biden who, however, is showing signs of still being the gaffe-a-minute candidate who failed in two previous bids. Still, though, Richard Nixon came back from the dead to win the 1968 nomination as the tried and true, "experience counts," leader type, so there could be hope for Joe.

I agree that a far left candidate will likely lose.

 

[civilwarbuff]

The one thing I like about Trump is that in many cases he has or at least has tried to keep his campaign promises. That is by far the exception when it comes to presidents.
The one thing I don't like about him is that he keeps his cell phone battery charged up.....

 

[GoldenBoy89]

They won't be getting my vote.

No way!

 

[GoldenBoy89]

June of this year? If so the people will be so sick of dem candidates that by nominating time they will just tune them out.

I remember thinking that about Trump.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

At this time, we do not know who the opposing candidate will be. Even your OP speculated that Trump would not be run for reelection, and that framed the issue for most of the posts that followed.

Trump is obviously going to run for re-election. He has already in essence started campaigning on the idea of finishing the wall that is yet to be built.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

The one thing I like about Trump is that in many cases he has or at least has tried to keep his campaign promises. That is by far the exception when it comes to presidents.
The one thing I don't like about him is that he keeps his cell phone battery charged up.....

I think Trump has certainly tried to keep most of his promises to his base.

The deciding factor in the coming election is not going to be on the lines of Trump's success or failure in keeping those promises but along the lines of whether the people support him in general or not. I'm not exactly convinced that enough people will still want to keep him around but at the same time, I'm keeping my expectations low because I also feel it is very likely the Democrats would just mess this one up again and he would be re-elected to a second term.

 

[mark46]

Of course, Trump is making campaign speeches. This is one of three places Trump is comfortable, in addition to being at one of his golf courses, and watching FOXNEWS.

And he certainly may end up deciding to run. As of now, he is certainly running. The open question is how he will feel about running come next January or February.

Trump is obviously going to run for re-election. He has already in essence started campaigning on the idea of finishing the wall that is yet to be built.

 

[mark46]

Brown is not a centrist that is for sure.....I am in his district.....

I reviewed him a bit more; you correct.

 

[mark46]

And thats stretching the term centrist in the case of Kloboschar and Sherrod Brown.

I guess you are correct with regard to Brown.

I do think that Klobuchar come close to being a centrist, and certainly far to the right of the center of the Democratic Party.

I suppose that I should add Booker, although I don't think that he has much of a chance of getting the nomination. He is an Obama Democrat.

I think that Democrats need someone from the MidWest or the Heartland.

 

[Albion]

Klobuchar--does she ever break ranks with the rest of the Senate Democrats on a roll call vote? I don't get that she does, although I have not kept close watch on it.

I think that Democrats need someone from the MidWest or the Heartland.

Tactically, that would be right, I agree. But there isn't anyone on the horizon who could fit that bill, is there?

 

[mark46]

Yes, all Democrats follow their leadership in the Senate, as do the Republicans. There are rare exceptions on either side.

I don't think that the way to win primaries is to vote with Republicans on key votes.

With regard to other "centrist" choices, there are no others currently in the race. The senator from Montana was thought to be a possibility; it seems that he is not running. Booker is a possibility, but I don't think that a NJ Democrat is a winning strategy. In a sense, this discussion will be better had in April, after we know whether Biden will run. If Biden does NOT run, there will be lots of money looking for a centrist candidate.

Klobuchar--does she ever break ranks with the rest of the Senate Democrats on a roll call vote? I don't get that she does, although I have not kept close watch on it.


Tactically, that would be right, I agree. But there isn't anyone on the horizon who could fit that bill, is there?

 

[Albion]

Yes, all Democrats follow their leadership in the Senate, as do the Republicans. There are rare exceptions on either side.

I don't think it is quite that way. With the exception of Joe Manchin who may throw a symbolic vote in the direction of moderation every now and then but only when the outcome of the vote is pretty much guaranteed already, there is basically NO Senator on that side of the aisle who will not just vote with Schumer. As was pointed out by some commentator the other day, Klobuchar even voted against confirming the new AG, even though there is almost no reason to oppose him to the point of voting against confirmation. Yet the vote was the usual 54 to 47 or something like that.

I don't think that the way to win primaries is to vote with Republicans on key votes.

I think that's right, but neither can we say that such a person has moderation or centrism as a part of her profile if she never puts it into practice!

 

[mark46]

Party loyalty in the Senate is not a predictor of future action. Do you really believe that President Klobuchar would always follow the lead of Shumer? If she were in House, she would be following the lead of Pelosi. Perhaps, this is an outdated concept. I don't think that it is unreasonable for those in the opposition party to stick together in their opposition. I certainly don't think that all senators are disqualified because they didn't oppose their party and favor one of Trump's bills or nominations. Let's be clear, there have been no vetoes. In the Senate, all but a couple of foreign policy bills have been pre-approved by the President. The votes are formalities.

I do NOT believe that voting with Schumer will hurt every senator who might oppose the president.

And, no, I do NOT think that centrism means voting in favor of the president's interests.

I don't think it is quite that way. With the exception of Joe Manchin who may throw a symbolic vote in the direction of moderation every now and then but only when the outcome of the vote is pretty much guaranteed already, there is basically NO Senator on that side of the aisle who will not just vote with Schumer. As was pointed out by some commentator the other day, Klobuchar even voted against confirming the new AG, even though there is almost no reason to oppose him to the point of voting against confirmation. Yet the vote was the usual 54 to 47 or something like that.

I think that's right, but neither can we say that such a person has moderation or centrism as a part of her profile if she never puts it into practice!

 

[Albion]

Party loyalty in the Senate is not a predictor of future action. Do you really believe that President Klobuchar would always follow the lead of Shumer? If she were in House, she would be following the lead of Pelosi. Perhaps, this is an outdated concept.

All this is fine (if that were the issue), but if she is to be successfully marketed as a moderate during a presidential campaign, she has to show some evidence of it. And the first thing that the opponent will do if she tries to claim that she is a moderate or centrist is point to her voting record in Congress.

 

[mark46]

fair enough

There will be 20 months of votes between now and the election

As far as her current record, she can point to times when she worked with Republicans on legislation.

All this is fine (if that were the issue), but if she is to be successfully marketed as a moderate during a presidential campaign, she has to show some evidence of it. And the first thing that the opponent will do if she tries to claim that she is a moderate or centrist is point to her voting record in Congress.

 

[Speedwell]

All this is fine (if that were the issue), but if she is to be successfully marketed as a moderate during a presidential campaign, she has to show some evidence of it. And the first thing that the opponent will do if she tries to claim that she is a moderate or centrist is point to her voting record in Congress.

OK, is there any record of her voting against moderate or centrist policies?

 

[Albion]

fair enough

There will be 20 months of votes between now and the election

If she makes the most of those months, she might pull it off, but of course she would probably face a lot of criticism from many in her party if she went that way. How would she weight the pros and cons of such an approach, I wonder.

As far as her current record, she can point to times when she worked with Republicans on legislation.

I've seen candidates try that approach before--and I would not be surprised if Klobuchar attempts it--but it usually accomplishes little if the voting record says something else. The people who have a chance of pulling it off are people who have not been members of any legislative body, like Howard Schulz or Trump even and former governors.

 

[cow451]

I remember thinking that about Trump.

Remember how many GOP candidates were in the hunt at this point in 2015.