Journalist Ryan Grim said in an interview that aired Wednesday that progressive Democratic presidential candidates are battling to stand out in the crowded primary field by unveiling a series of policy proposals.
“You have all of these candidates now, they have to think about ‘what’s the idea that I can put out there that will get people excited. Excited enough that they will volunteer for me, and that they will give money to my campaign,’ ” Grim, The Intercept’s Washington, D.C., bureau chief, told Hill.TV’s Saagar Enjeti and Krystal Ball on “Rising.”
Grim argued that progressives have benefited from a boost in enthusiasm recently, saying “that same urgency has created the energy that is now driving the Sunrise Movement and the Ocasio-Cortezes of the world,” referring to progressive freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) as well as the grass-roots youth organization focused on climate change.
While former Vice President Joe Biden has continually led polls of the crowded 2020 field and has pitched himself as a candidate to unify the country, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have competed for support from the party’s progressive wing in their Democratic presidential bids.
Sanders and Warren have spoken out against corporate money in politics and advocated policies such as “Medicare for All” and free college tuition.
Warren, in particular, has focused on putting out a number of policy proposals, which has gotten her additional coverage on the campaign trail.
The Massachusetts senator made headlines last month with her plan to cancel nearly all student loan debt and create universal free public college.
She has also called to break up Facebook, Amazon and Google. Sanders joined Warren this week in calling for the breakup of Facebook amid anti-trust concerns.
— Julia Manchester
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