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| An unprecedented field of candidates is gathering for the Democratic presidential nomination, which reflects a group varying in diversity. |
Hillary walked so they could run |
| By Carl Golden |
| Convinced that President Donald Trump is seriously vulnerable, upwards of two dozen people have either announced candidacies or are seriously contemplating a run at the 2020 nomination. Among that field are five Democratic women — four sitting U.S. senators and a member of the House. |
| Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York are committed to running, while Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is in the "I'm thinking about it" stage. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is an announced candidate. |
| The challenge for these female candidates is to stand out from the crowd, draw attention, and mount a credible campaign to persuade the donor class to view each as a compelling candidate with a legitimate chance of winning. Their success rests also on where the national Democratic Party finally settles on the ideological spectrum. |
| Talker: Political correctness culture has gone too far, but blackface is never OK |
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| The party has been driven further to the left by a vocal band of newcomers in the House who believe that militant progressivism represents the path to victory — Medicare for All, free college education, government-guaranteed employment, abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, increased taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations, etc. |
| While such an agenda will most assuredly draw a sharp contrast with the Trump presidency, it is by no means certain it will capture the imagination of the nation. The socialism upon which it rests has long been anathema to Americans, a rejection of the traditional values of individual freedom, personal responsibility and self-initiative. |
| The primary contests and candidates' debates will reveal how far left the party will tilt and whether the American people can be convinced that such an ideological shift represents progress rather than a threat. |
| The unfavorable view of Trump held by a significant majority of the country could well assist Democrats in their message of change — even radical change. Democrats will bank on discontent with an administration riven by chaos and headed by a president who often seems to have slipped his moorings to reality. |
| Abrupt, contradictory shifts in policy, combined with a temperamental chief executive waging running combat with the news media in the midst of an ongoing investigation of his campaign, all work to Democrats' benefit in 2020. |
| It would, however, be a serious strategic error to rely heavily on antipathy toward Trump as the core of the campaign — a lesson learned the hard way by Hillary Clinton. Underestimating Trump, as the Clinton campaign discovered, is risky. |
| As the first woman to secure a major party presidential nomination, Clinton opened the path for women to compete on an equal footing with their male counterparts. It was no small achievement and will forever be viewed as a seminal moment in American politics, her subsequent badly flawed campaign and loss to Trump notwithstanding. |
| Any doubts about whether the country is prepared to accept a woman as president have been put to rest. Clinton, after all, won the popular vote rather handily. Intellect, insight and ability have replaced gender as the defining elements in choosing a president. |
| Carl Golden is a senior contributing analyst with the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University. This column first appeared in The Asbury Park (New Jersey) Press. |
 | | Wake up call | | Randall Enos/Easton, Connecticut/PoliticalCartoons.com | |
What others are saying |
| Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times : "Plenty of women understood intuitively that a misogynist backlash helped Donald Trump win his Electoral College victory. It's why they poured into the streets the day after he was inaugurated, and why they've led the resistance ever since. It's why there's a record gender divide in voting patterns and a record number of Democratic women in the new Congress. And it's why it's both thrilling and slightly terrifying that the Democratic presidential field is going to have at least three strong, viable female contenders." |
| Lara M. Brown, The Hill : "What's worse than the implicit patriarchal views of the presidency that often underlie the decisions of the two major political parties is that the three women who have been on presidential tickets also have been blamed for the losses. As I explained in late December 2014, when imploring Hillary Clinton not to run for president, the historical 'fundamentals' were not on the side of the Democrats in 1984 or the Republicans in 2008. ... In short, if ever there were a time for a woman to win the Democratic nomination and oust an embattled incumbent president, 2020 looks to be about as good as this type of nomination and election can get." |
| Cal Thomas, Tribune Content Agency : "The major media have gone gaga over the number of women newly elected to Congress and those announcing their run for the White House in 2020, with more female candidates likely to follow suit. But media bias — one of many — is revealed in their focus on mostly liberal women with barely a mention, if they are mentioned at all, of women who are conservative. ... Why do major media outlets trumpet the causes of women, gays, African-Americans, Hispanics and other groups who are liberal? Why do the ideas of conservative women never seem to receive that same level of attention? If you have to ask the question, you haven't been paying attention." |
What our readers are saying |
| The first thing the Democrats have to do is figure out which minority group will get the highest priority. That fight should be fun to watch! |
| — Jim Reid |
| Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Julian Castro, Amy Klobuchar — this is what America looks like. The Democratic Party represents the expanding and diversified America. The Republican Party represents the shrinking white male America. Republicans simply cannot behave honorably or properly represent the United States in the 21st century; they could barely do it in the 20th. It truly is time for the inaptly named Grand Old Party to fold its tent. |
| — Jeanne Nelson |
| If the candidate pool gets too large, that will mean President Donald Trump will win again for sure. Democrats have to wise up. |
| — Marie Reddy |
| One way to stand out among the large pool of candidates bidding for the presidency in 2020 is to have a clean past. Also, they shouldn't waste their time bashing their opponents, and actually have a plan to solve the important issues. |
| — Irene Whiteman |
| To join the conversations about topics on USA TODAY or provide feedback to this newsletter, email jrivera@usatoday.com, comment on Facebook, or use #tellusatoday on Twitter. |
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