Press: Which way do Dems go in 2020?

It’s started way, way too early, but there’s nothing we can do about it. The 2020 presidential campaign is well underway. And, of course, with no serious Republican having the guts to challenge President Trump – Where are you, Jeff Flake, when the country needs you? — all the excitement is on the Democratic side.

For Democrats, there are two big questions: Who’s running? And what’s the Democratic message? Or: Will the Democratic Party blow it by veering too far left?

The list of Democratic candidates changes almost daily, as new contenders jump in and some anticipated contenders opt out. Just last week, four potential candidates announced their decision not to run: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Attorney General Eric Holder, and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown. Still waiting in the wings are Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, and former Vice President Joe Biden.

{mosads}

But that still leaves, as of this writing, 14 announced candidates off and running. Granted, this early in the game it’s impossible to predict who will end up on top. But we can break the list of those already announced into three categories. Immediately serious candidates: Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), and Kamala Harris (Calif.). Potentially serious candidates: Sens. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. Not a prayer: Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Rep. John Delaney (Md.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), author Marianne Williamson and entrepreneur Andrew Yang. 

Which raises the second question, with which both The Washington Post and The New York Times seem obsessed: Will the Democratic Party tilt so far left it will lose its appeal to Middle American swing voters? To which, I believe, the answer is a resounding no!

First, don’t forget, the party rejected the populist message of Sanders in 2016 in favor of the centrist message of Clinton. How’d that work out? By running to the mushy middle, do they really want to make the same mistake again? Second, in 2018, Democratic candidates nationwide ran on a strong progressive platform — and won 40 seats in the House in both reliably blue and swing districts. Why run away from what’s proven to work?

One other important consideration. As Sanders delights in pointing out on the campaign trail, three years ago everybody said his ideas were too extreme. No longer. Today, they’re mainstream and, with some variations on a theme, proposed by all Democratic candidates: “Medicare for all,” lower prescription drug prices, $15 minimum wage, universal child care, action on climate change, higher tax rate for the wealthiest Americans, sensible gun safety legislation.

Socialist? Hardly. Too far left? That’s not what the majority of Americans say. Most of those so-called extreme policies are, in fact, “extremely” popular. As reaffirmed in a recent Politico/Morning Consult poll, 90 percent of Americans support background checks on all gun sales. According to Reuters, 70 percent of voters now back Medicare for all and a majority support free college tuition. Even a Fox News poll found 70 percent of overall voters — 85 percent of Democrats, 54 percent of Republicans — are in favor of higher taxes on the wealthy.   

Final reason not to worry: That’s what primaries are all about. It’s up to voters to decide which big ideas are best and which candidate is best equipped to deliver them. And in making that decision, Democratic primary voters will be driven by one consideration above all others: Not by which candidate is far-left, mid-left, or center left, but by who’s the strongest candidate against Trump. Period.

Press is host of “The Bill Press Show” on Free Speech TV and author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”