As the first round of the Democratic primary contests starts in Iowa, the party has to seriously wonder who can beat Donald Trump in November.
In this year’s Democratic Party presidential primary race which begins Monday, Feb. 3 at the traditional Iowa caucuses, what is at stake goes well beyond the candidates’ personalities and different policy positions. The Democratic presidential nominee chosen by the party from among 11 candidates at the end of the primary process will indeed bear the heavy responsibility of preventing a second term for Donald Trump on Nov. 3.
The Democratic nominee’s responsibility does not only apply the United States. If you look back at only this past week, you’ll get an overview of the risks the world faces with four more years of Trump in the White House. The probable failure of the impeachment process in the Senate indicates the hold Trump has on the Republican Party, while it also shows how far the president is willing to go to stay in power: trading American military aid to a foreign country, Ukraine, in exchange for an investigation into his political rival.
The Repercussions from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Loss
Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner’s Jan. 28 announcement of his “vision” to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is another example of how toxic this administration’s foreign policy is. The plan, crafted in harmony with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, violates every rule of international law.
So, who can win against Trump in November? It is a true dilemma for the Democratic Party which must choose between reason and ideals. The truth is, the political tendencies of Democratic candidates are not necessarily in tune with all American voters. One repercussion of Hillary Clinton’s failure to win the 2016 election is that the party drifted to the left over the last three years.
The issues which unify the Democratic presidential candidates with various levels of enthusiasm and which led the Democrats to win a House majority in the 2018 are a more equitable tax system, better health care, a higher federal minimum wage and a return to a more multilateral approach to global issues. Young women unafraid to show their radical nature are the rising stars of the Democratic Party. Trump, on the other hand is campaigning on a platform of patriotism and a strong economy.
The Final Judge Is Not the Popular Vote
Among the four runner-up candidates who stand out as the primaries begin, Sen. Bernie Sanders is the most radical. Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s vice president for eight years, is the most centrist. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, inclined toward left-wing politics, could be a bridge between those two extremes, as could Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and the youngest of the four candidates.
For now, Sanders and Biden are ahead going into the primaries.* However, American elections do not rely on the popular vote but employs the Electoral College as the final judge, a system which favored Trump in 2016. This works to Biden’s benefit. Biden, 77, is a safe bet, but he is not particularly inspiring to those who support deep-seated change in the Democratic Party. Regardless, the other side of the Atlantic will watch these primary races very closely
*Editor’s note: This article was written prior to the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3 which may result in a different lineup.
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