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Kandia SAMMIES 2020 Nominee World Music
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02.06.20
BY ERIC WIESENTHAL
The Democratic circus When the post-mortem on the 2020 presidential race is written, it may say: “There’s such a thing as too much democracy!” The Democratic National Committee, in its Eric Wiesenthal worked in state government for 20 years in the Assembly, governor’s office and three departments. efforts to understand how it so completely misread the electorate in 2016, went on a region-by-region listening tour in 2017. It decided there should be a marathon of televised debates from spring 2019 moderate Republicans strongly desired a moderatethrough the early primaries in 2020. Requirements to-progressive candidate comfortable with sharing in donations and poll numbers were set to qualify power with the vice presidential candidate. for each debate. Will it be Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Fair enough, right? Wrong. Klobuchar or a “dark horse?” What we have seen since the debates last I offer the following possible candidate summer is a ridiculous circus involving as many as combinations: For president, Montana Gov. Steve 20 candidates over two nights whittled down in the Bullock, who won re-election in a state that Dec. 19 debate to seven candidates, including only President Donald Trump won by 20 percentage two women and one person of color. points. Bullock also has demonstrated his ability The party of the “big tent” allowed anyone to work with the Republican-controlled legislature with a big ego and a campaign mailing address to by passing one of nation’s toughest campaign get before the electorate and make complete finance laws and expanding Medicaid. fools of themselves. It was a terrific For vice president, Stacy Abrams, idea if you’re a Republican political the first African American consultant, or worse, a member of woman to run for governor the political netherworld lookImagine the in Georgia. She served 10 ing to capture embarrassing years as Democratic leader possibility of a sound bites that can be used in that state’s House of out of context in attack ads. brokered convention, Representatives. An expert in And let’s not forget Russian public finance and budgeting, which hasn’t happened hackers. she successfully worked with At this point, unless a Republican governor and for Democrats since you are an acolyte of Bernie legislature to secure criminal 1960. Sanders, Elizabeth Warren or justice reforms. Joe Biden, you don’t know who Or Klobuchar for president to support. We’ll see a winnowing and Houston Mayor Sylvester of candidates that started with the Iowa Turner for vice president. And before caucuses on Monday, continues with the New you say “who?” he spearheaded that city’s Hampshire primary on Feb. 11 and the Nevada recovery from Hurricane Harvey. A Harvard Law caucus and South Carolina primary later in School graduate, Sylvester is an African-American February. Then comes Super Tuesday on March 3, veteran of the Texas legislature. which includes California. The point is that Democrats must come to But Democrats may not know their nominee their senses. They must remember the majority of after that. Imagine the possibility of a brokered voters want health care policies that won’t bankconvention, which hasn’t happened for Democrats rupt the treasury, job creation in America’s small since 1960. cities and towns and access to college that doesn’t What will DNC Chairman Tom Perez, House lead to crushing debt. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and influential state party It’s time for a modern, enlightened form of chairpersons do? Will they subvert the process that political deal-making, a tall order for a party has brought about the deadlock under the guise of that prides itself in letting everyone have a say transparency? Or will they astutely consider reliable in everything. Successful politics doesn’t work information from the field, not polls, and conclude that way. Ω that all along Democrats, independents and