IS AMY KLOBUCHAR THE “AMERICAN THATCHER” THE DEMOCRATS NEED?
…The 3 term Senator from
Minnesota
Minnesota has voted Democratic in 11
constitutional presidential elections since 1972.
Per the writer George Will: “The
Democrats have found their answer to ‘Thatcher’, if they dare!
The “American
Thatcher” that Mr. Will is referring to is Minnesota’s three term Senator,
Amy Klobuchar. A Minnesotan that won her 3rd term by 24 points.
Senator Klobuchar is from a state that is
also connected to Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and both Dakotas. It is also the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” and
of those that were from Minnesota that have run for president: Harold Stassen,
Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, Walter Mondale, they all lost their elections. Is this Minnesota Senator the best chance to
change those presidential election results?
Minnesota borders Wisconsin, which is
one of the three Rust Belt states (the
others are Michigan and Pennsylvania that Donald
Trump took). But Wisconsin has voted Democratic in at least six
consecutive presidential elections.
This female senator is from the Midwest,
where Democrats do need some help.
But for 2020, Klobuchar also satisfies the Chromosome Criterion as the
Democratic nominating electorate today is mostly female. The party seems eager to achieve what they
came very close to in 2016: a female US president.
Now, about this senator’s politics and
policy.
Minnesota has voted Democratic in 11
constitutional presidential elections since 1972. It has more electoral votes (10) than such
swing states as New Hampshire (four), Iowa (six), Nevada (six) and Colorado
(nine). But Minnesota’s blueness may be fading as Barack
Obama defeated Mitt Romney by eight percentage points in 2012, but
four years later, Hillary Clinton defeated Trump by just 1.5
points.
(But was that just because of Hillary Clinton, and not a change of party
preference…?)
Klobuchar, who will be 59 in May, is
the daughter of a newspaper columnist.
She also went to Yale,
and then to the University of Chicago
Law School, and on to a law firm.
Her state has a significant farming
population and agribusiness with: Cargill, General
Mills, Land O’ Lakes, & Hormel, so
she has had practice speaking to populations and interests that the Democrats
needs. She has spoken against trade wars
in which US farmers have quickly become the collateral damage. She has become informed about what could be
one of the most important issues in 2020: the high costs of prescription
drugs. In the Almanac of American Politics’ most recent vote rankings, Klobuchar
was the 27th-most-liberal senator.
That’s just liberal enough to soothe the liberals without annoying
everyone else
As the apparent bidding war for the affection
of the Democratic left spirals into its insanity with such issues as: “Abolish ICE!”; “70 percent marginal tax
rate!”; “Impeach the president!”; “Pack the Supreme Court!”;
“Medicare-for-all!”; “Free college!” & “Free other stuff!”, Senator
Klobuchar is the potential top-tier candidate most able to resist losing the
general election, while possibly winning the nomination.
Her special strength is her temperament. Baseball, it has been said, is not
a game you can play with your teeth clenched.
That is also true of politics, another day-by-day game with a very long
season. It requires a special level of poise. That includes a blend of relaxation and
concentration, with great stamina combined with long-lived cheerfulness. Yes, Klobuchar laughs easily and often. If the nation wants an angry president, it
can pick from many angry Democrats, or it can keep the ignorant, lying
president that is currently in the White
House.
If, however, they would like someone to lead
a fatigued and currently less than respected nation that’s in a long
exhale. They can finally pick a Minnesotan
that could possibly return the nation to its former greatness with our allies.
Copyright G. Ater 2019
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