The European Courier | 2008 Race: Democratic Contenders

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DEMOCRATIC CONTENDERS – July 3, 2007

As America waits another fifteen months before it selects its next President, the primary debates between the candidates has already gotten underway. The media is a buzz with speculation on who will be representing their respective parties on the ballot next November. Every election cycle Americans are told this will be the most import election in the history of the country and that so many crucial issues will be at stake. Media hype aside, 2008 is shaping up to be one of the most interesting elections, at least in modern history.

2006 was a good year for the Democratic Party. After four years of opposing Republican policies in the minority, the Democrats won majorities in both the House and Senate. While the experts debate the reasons for Democratic victory; an unpopular President, Iraq, Congressional scandals; the Democrats have viewed this chance to lead the country in a new direction and improve their chances for a Democratic President in 2008. The question for the Democratic Presidential candidates is what kind of change in leadership will they offer?

One of the most talked about matters involving the Democratic candidates is the potential of electing a minority to the Presidency. Hillary Rodham Clinton, former First Lady and current U.S. Senator from New York, could be the first female President. Senator Barack Obama of Illinios, who’s father was Kenyan, would be considered the first black President. Former Secretary of Energy and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson would be the first Latino to be elected to the Presidency. But the central theme of any of the Democratic campaigns are not focused on what gender or race the candidate is, but on how the candidate would be least like incumbent President George W. Bush.

According to recent polling averages [1] , 34.6% of Democrats favor Sen. Clinton for the Democratic nomination; while an average of 23% favor Sen. Obama and 10.9% favor former Senator and Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards (North Carolina); keeping in mind the polling data changes daily. While these remain the “Big Three” candidates in the Democratic primaries, other candidates include: Senators Chris Dodd (Connecticut) and Joe Biden (Delaware), former Senator Mike Gravel (Alaska), Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) and as mentioned above, Governor Bill Richardson.

Each candidate is in the stage of attempting to give themselves their own unique brand image. Some have done so more successfully than others. Of the “Big Three” candidates, John Edwards has branded himself champion of labor and the working class, reviving his 2004 theme of “Two Americas.” He has even landed a champion of labor, former Democratic Congressman and Minority Whip, who is currently teaching courses in labor studies at Wayne State University, David Bonior of Michigan as his campaign manager. Edwards has spent the last two years organizing labor rallies and starting poverty center at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He has recently been labeled a hypocrite by his critics for his admittance to getting a $400 haircut with campaign funds and managing a hedge-fund for the last several years. Barack Obama has made a name for himself as a charismatic young Senator. Obama’s appeal is primarily to young voters looking for a well spoken leader to be the voice of a new generation. Obama has recently written a book entitled The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, that what he sees in the modern political debates in the 1990s and through today as the same arguments that went on in dorm rooms in the 1960’s; and that America must somehow move beyond that. Obama primarily speaks in lofty rhetoric with few specifics, but has managed to court many generous supporters, including some former Clinton loyalists. He has positioned himself as a mainstream, liberal Democrat, to the right of John Edwards, but to the left of frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Senator Clinton has attempted to run to the center, however, her adversaries have a difficult time separating her current image from her more liberal past. Despite losing some of her supporters to the Obama campaign, Clinton remains the prominent frontrunner. As for the other candidates Governor Richardson has positioned himself as a centrist candidate, to the right of Clinton. Congressman Kucinich is the champion of the far left of the Democratic Party; Senators Dodd and Biden, both mainstream New England liberals and former Senator Mike Gravel has reemerged from a long retirement to play a maverick role.

From the first two Democratic debates, there appears to be a great deal of orthodoxy among the candidates on the direction the country should go on a number of the big issues. On foreign policy matters all the candidates have opposed the latest troop surge and have called for one form or another of withdrawal from Iraq. John Edwards, who voted to authorize the war while serving in the Senate, apologized for his vote, claiming it was the wrong decision. Senator Clinton claims she was acting upon the information she knew at the time, but had she known what she knows now, she would have opposed it. Clinton has also proclaimed Iraq to be “George Bush’s war.” However, Clinton also said Iraq has become a matter of “what do we do now?”. For other candidates, including Senator Obama, Governor Richardson and Senator Gravel, it has become much easier to distance themselves from the war, being that none of them had to vote on it.

Congressman Kucinich, who voted against authorizing force in Iraq, reminds his colleagues that his position has been consistent and that continuing to fund the war is an open ticket to continuing the fight the war. Senator Biden, however, has defended his position to vote for more funding as a matter of given the troops the equipment and support he believes they need, so long as they remain in harms way. On broader questions regarding the “War on Terror” and the policies of the Bush Administration, the leading candidates have had their own unique responses. While Senator Obama credited the Bush Administration for some of their anti-terrorism polices, he also suggested “we live in a more dangerous world, not a less dangerous world,” partially due to what he sees as a distraction in Iraq. Senator Edwards on the other hand has called the War on Terror a “bumper sticker, not a plan,” and claims President Bush has somehow used this as a justification for his actions. At the same time, however, Edwards says he would use “every tool available” to keep America safe.

All the Democratic candidates talk about the idea of repairing America’s reputation in the world, which they believe Bush has damaged. Yet, there has been little mention of dealing with the issues of Iran and any sort of long term vision for Middle East policy. Similarly there was no mention of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities or the rise of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and only a brief mention of the genocide in Darfur. Issues of international organizations like the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international bodies went without mention; although all the candidates seem to support some kind of adjustment to current trade policy, calling for them to be more favorable to the American worker.

On the domestic side, healthcare appears at the top of the Democrats’ agenda. All the major and minor candidates seem to agree that the federal government should assume a larger role in providing health coverage to the uninsured. John Edwards plan for universal health coverage as articulated on his campaign website [2], calls for mandatory health coverage for all Americans, insurance reform, expansion of Medicaid, a requirement for employer contributions, tax credits and developing “regional Health Markets purchasing pools” that he claims will be paid for by repealing the Bush tax cuts and even raising taxes if necessary. Senator Obama has recently released a very similar plan on his website [3] to provide universal coverage and also does not rule out raising taxes. Senator Clinton, who proposed universal health care coverage as First Lady, has made the claim that her newest proposal could be paid for without raising taxes; although she’s yet to articulate a comprehensive plan [4] . Governor Richardson has made similar claims. On the other hand, Congressman Kucinich has called for the end of for-profit health care in America and the creation of a universal non-profit system. All Democratic candidates have expressed enthusiastic support for the non-renewal of the Bush tax cuts to income earners making $200,000 or more; some have suggested an immediate repeal. The Bush tax cuts are due to expire January 1, 2011.

The buzzword around Washington D.C. surrounding both parties is the idea of “energy independence.” Having been talked about since the Nixon administration, lawmakers are beginning to get serious about such an endeavor, particularly those who are most concerned with the idea of man-made global warming. Advocates of energy independence generally favor the idea for a number of reasons: one, to find a cleaner source of energy that reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere; two, to lessen or eliminate the purchase of oil from foreign nations (especially the Middle East countries, specifically because some of that money goes to funding radical groups); and three, to supposedly create millions of jobs in the production of these new forms of energy. All the Democratic candidates have embraced the idea of energy independence in one form or another.

On social issues, most Democratic candidates have followed its party’s liberal orthodoxy. All candidates promised to appoint judges who would uphold the 1973 Roe v Wade decision that protect a woman’s right to have an abortion. The candidates have expressed favorability to expanding legal benefits to same sex couples and have found it acceptable for homosexuals to serve openly in the military. Senator Clinton referred to her husbands “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy as a sort of a stepping stone. On guns, all candidates favor more restrictive gun laws, with the exception of Bill Richardson and Mike Gravel; both hailing from very pro-gun states.

In the first report given to the Federal Elections Committee in April, Hillary Clinton (who raised $26 million) and Barack Obama (who raised $25 million) are competing heavily for fundraising from major Democratic supporters, according to an April 5, 2007 report in the Chicago Tribune.[5] John Edwards had reported raising $14 million. Surely by now, these candidates fundraising numbers have almost doubled. However, according to a May 8, 2007, Wall Street Journal report[6], many major Democratic fundraisers in Silicon Valley and Hollywood have withheld their donations so far in hopes that the grassroots movement for Al Gore, the former Vice President, former Presidential candidate and current leading voice in the global warming debate, would persuade him to enter the race.

With still over a year to go before the party convention, the race for the nomination has already been big news. There are many questions surrounding the 2008 Democratic candidates that remain to be answered. Is America ready to elect a woman President? A black President? A Latino President? How much do Americans oppose the situation in Iraq and would they support immediate withdrawal? How do Americans want to handle the War on Terror, if it is indeed more than a bumper sticker? How dissatisfied are Americans with their health care system? Do most Americans believe in global warming? If so, what changes to their lives are they willing to make? In an ever globalizing economy, is energy independence a realistic goal? Most importantly, do Americans believe that a Democrat in the White House is what America needs to address the challenges of the next four years? As 2008 approaches, stay tuned for more details.

Brian M. Koss

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Author of the article holds B.A. in political science from Oakland University, Michigan. He is presently enrolled in a Masters Program at the University of Akron's Ray Bliss Institute for Applied Politics. In 2004 and 2006 he managed and organized political campaigns of two candidates for State’s House of Representatives.

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Footnotes:

1. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/us/democratic_presidential_nomination-191.html

2. www.johnedwards.com

3. www.barackobama.com

4. http://www.hillaryclinton.com/?splash=1

5. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070404obama-money,0,7560926.story

6. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114704312621046146-lTSOyMu7Vwq8UGCpmz7VSinWpLs_20060607.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top

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