First to Fall in Democrat Marathon and Possible Welcome to Another Entitled Progressive White Male
[guest post by JVW]
If you had Eric Swalwell in your office pool as the first announced Democrat candidate to drop out of the race, then congratulations, you appear to be on the verge of winning:
Eric Swalwell is reportedly dropping out of the presidential race Monday after his long-shot bid failed to gain traction among voters.
The East Bay congressman is expected to announce he’s running for re-election at a news conference at his Dublin campaign headquarters this afternoon, the Los Angeles Times and CNN reported. The decision comes as Swalwell cancelled Fourth of July campaign events in New Hampshire at the last minute and found himself likely to be excluded from the second Democratic presidential debate later this month.
Once Rep. Swalwell is officially out, the next man out will likely be a tight race among Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton, who failed to qualify for the first round of debates, and four who managed to debate without making any memorable impact: Representatives Tim Ryan of Ohio and John Delaney of Maryland, and the two Coloradans, former governor John Hickenlooper and current senator Michael Bennett. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio probably has enough nutty leftist money to hold out a bit longer, at least until he is excluded from the fall debates for having failed to reach at least two-percent support in candidate polls.
But even with Rep. Swalwell’s departure, the number of candidates (and, happily, the number of entitled progressive white male candidates) may initially remain steady, with the strong potential of an imminent announcement (from same link as above):
Swalwell could almost immediately be replaced in the presidential race by another Democrat from the Bay Area. San Francisco megadonor and former hedge fund chief Tom Steyer has told political allies he’s reconsidering his decision not to run for president and could announce he’s getting back in the race as soon as Tuesday, according to multiple media reports Sunday night.
Because clearly what the American people are looking for is a candidate who combines Donald Trump’s wealth with Bernard Sanders’ righteous leftist rage, Elizabeth Warren’s gross hypocrisy, Kamala Harris’s penchant for grandstanding, and Robert O’Rourke’s yearning for the limelight. At least Mr. Steyer, who celebrated his sixty-second birthday last week, would I suppose bridge that crucial gap between the septuagenerians and the eager young pups. His entry into the race, especially if he vows to self-fund his campaign with his massive personal wealth, probably spells an end to the Jay Inslee candidacy too, as the California billionaire’s Tesla will run the Washington governor’s Prius right out of the hardcore green express lane. So in that regard, let’s add Gov. Inslee to the list above of the potential next candidates to bail out of the race.
Don’t be surprised if we don’t eventually see one or two more Democrat candidates emerge. Maybe even the long-rumored if fantastically implausible candidacy of a certain African-American woman with high name recognition who is broadly respected even if she has persistent critics who question if her attempts to appeal to mainstream America are sincere or if they are a front for a more radical and divisive agenda.
Of course, perhaps Serena Williams will just continue playing tennis and stay out of the world of politics.
UPDATE: Between the time I drafted this post and published it, Rep. Swalwell has apparently confirmed his departure from the race, at long last garnering some media attention.
Twitchy points out that just five months ago Rep. Swalwell promised not to run for reelection to Congress in 2020, declaring that he would focus exclusively on being elected President. He’s apparently back-tracking on that promise already. What a surprise. He will face a primary challenge from a young leftist inspired by our beloved nutty niece.
– JVW
Tom Steyer sure does sound like a piece of work, doesn’t he?
JVW (54fd0b) — 7/8/2019 @ 4:39 pmWas he ever in?
Keep that podium lit; Steyer may jump in.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 7/8/2019 @ 4:40 pmHe was schrodingers candidate, I thought swallow and the niece were on the same team.
Narciso (23765c) — 7/8/2019 @ 4:43 pmI thought swallow and the niece were on the same team.
I’m sure he would like to think so, but, alas, he will always be seen by them as a privileged white heterosexual male, and therefore forever ineligible for the cool kids table at the intersectionality banquet.
JVW (54fd0b) — 7/8/2019 @ 4:46 pmGosh smallest violin then,
Narciso (23765c) — 7/8/2019 @ 4:51 pmI was sure Swalwell would catch lightning in a bottle with his closing one-liner at the debate (“I’m a congressman but also a father of a two-year-old and an infant. When I’m not changing diapers, I’m changing Washington — most of the time the diapers smell better.”) and ingenious fund-raising video tie-in of him actually changing a diaper.
Well, not really.
Dave (1bb933) — 7/8/2019 @ 4:57 pmHe’s the right kind of guy to represent Marin County, bastion of sex, drugs and far-left politics for the wrinkled generation.
Colonel Haiku (0e0056) — 7/8/2019 @ 5:04 pmAlso, this tweet of his should live on in the chronicles of stupidity long after his presidential campaign has returned to dust:
Dave (1bb933) — 7/8/2019 @ 5:09 pmBrilliant. Makes me laugh and cry at the same time.
Dana (bb0678) — 7/8/2019 @ 5:19 pmhttps://m.facebook.com/berkeleybreathed/photos/a.114529165244512/2614329505264453/
Seems apropos.
Kishnevi (dfca54) — 7/8/2019 @ 5:33 pmIs this race to the left working? I have no faith in pundits or polls so maybe we will have to wait for a primary. The American electorate mystifies me.
DRJ (15874d) — 7/8/2019 @ 5:42 pmHe’s the right kind of guy to represent Marin County, bastion of sex, drugs and far-left politics for the wrinkled generation.
Do you think his Marin home has a hot tub? (Rest in peace, former President George H. W. Bush.)
JVW (54fd0b) — 7/8/2019 @ 5:44 pmI’m happy to see that Montana governor Steve Bullock is still in the running, as is South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg. So a Bull-Butt ticket is still a possibility.
Gary Hoffman (7ec1de) — 7/8/2019 @ 5:47 pmIs this race to the left working? I have no faith in pundits or polls so maybe we will have to wait for a primary. The American electorate mystifies me.
Every single prediction I made about the 2016 election turned out to be wrong, from my 2015 declaration that Hillary Clinton would not end up seeking the nomination to my prediction up until Election Day 2016 that she would defeat Donald Trump handily. Accordingly, I hope to avoid making any prognostications this election cycle, and I invite all of the readers and commenters to ignore me if I do.
JVW (54fd0b) — 7/8/2019 @ 5:47 pmLike Daenerys of House Targaryen, a woman right now is waiting for all her rivals to self-immolate.
Believe me, winter is coming. And all will bend the knee.
Patricia (3363ec) — 7/8/2019 @ 6:53 pmHe doesn’t look any more repellent than Trump, and that’s all I know about him. How does he feel about “terrific” billionaires who like their “women as much as he does, and many of them are on the younger side”?
nk (dbc370) — 7/8/2019 @ 6:53 pmMaybe I’m just getting old, but I can’t muster interest in any of the Democrats out there. The only guys I’m semi-interested in are the businessmen, Hickenlooper (who’s hanging by a thread) and Steyer.
Paul Montagu (ab1d35) — 7/8/2019 @ 11:58 pmAs far as reparations go I would love to see a obese, angry woman of color get the democrat nomination.
mg (8cbc69) — 7/9/2019 @ 3:10 amIt will be interesting to see how this shakes out. I suspect several of these candidates will withdraw before the primaries, due to lack of funding and low polling.
Over at Politico, Mona Charen has an article on how a Democrat could win the vote of Republicans not happy with the direction of the party under Trump.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/09/never-trumpers-2020-democrats-227255
In it she warns that proposing radical policies such as eliminating the electoral college and promising to use executive orders to impose gun control and enforce environmental policy, which four or five on the current leading candidates have done, are not the way to go. She seems to prefer Biden, because he hasn’t.
Problem with that is this is Biden’s third presidential race. In the previous two, he didn’t win a single primary. Maybe he will this time around, as the third time is the charm.
I don’t know, and I don’t care. I’ve never voted for a Democrat to any state or federal office in my life, and I’m not about to vote for Biden just because he’s Not Trump. I prefer to wait and see who runs on the Libertarian ticket. Amash might, but I think he’s planning on running in 2024, perhaps as a Libertarian but probably as an Independent.
Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1) — 7/9/2019 @ 6:39 amSteyer jumps in.
DRJ (15874d) — 7/9/2019 @ 6:56 am“Over at Politico, Mona Charen has an article on how a Democrat could win the vote of Republicans not happy with the direction of the party under Trump.”
NeverTrump to the rescue! Vichy working to aid and assist the enemy in the Cold Civil War.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 7/9/2019 @ 7:14 amOpposing Trump = Nazi Collaborators.
DRJ (15874d) — 7/9/2019 @ 7:25 amAiding Democrats is collaboration.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 7/9/2019 @ 7:27 amHow many other installments of Kavanaugh Theater are required?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 7/9/2019 @ 7:29 am“I know Hillary and I think she’d make a great president”
Dave (1bb933) — 7/9/2019 @ 7:32 am– Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton donor
Yes, he was a reprobate. Next…
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 7/9/2019 @ 8:26 amYes, the Mona Charon vote is the key to winning in New York and DC. If the R’s can’t keep Mona Charon they’ll never win Manhattan and DC. Oh wait.
rcocean (1a839e) — 7/9/2019 @ 9:12 amMatt Lewis is also letting be known his vote is up for grabs. And we all know that’s the key to winning Maryland. With the Never-Trumper vote the D’s can’t be stopped!
rcocean (1a839e) — 7/9/2019 @ 9:15 amMatt Lewis is also letting be known his vote is up for grabs. And we all know that’s the key to winning Maryland. With the Never-Trumper vote the D’s can’t be stopped!
rcocean (1a839e) — 7/9/2019 @ 9:15 amSorry for the double post
rcocean (1a839e) — 7/9/2019 @ 9:16 amWell Larry Hogan, oh wait.
Narciso (23765c) — 7/9/2019 @ 9:56 am