In case you missed it, Donald Trump is the incumbent president of the United States. Any number of existing Trump jokes aside, his reelection is coming up, and he may have to fight to defend his position. Later this year, he and his opponents will go into “full campaign mode” (and many of them are already attempting to get their names in the public’s ear). If the 2016 election is somehow not burned into your memory, the scenario for the Democrats is not unlike the Republicans two years ago. There are a plethora of hopeful usurpers (which will be linked instead of listing, as this number is sure to change over the next few months, even possibly days), and the voters of the Democratic Primary will be tasked with the issue of deciding who will oppose Trump.
All of these candidates are Left-leaning in comparison to the Republicans: that is the whole point of separate parties. The range from moderate to progressive is wide, and all of them can be placed somewhere on a spectrum. The Democratic Party is also going through a sort of “identity crisis.” Many of its constituents want progressive-Left reforms and overall goals, but the Party itself seems less enthusiastic. As more legislative positions are being filled by progressives, it is only going to get harder for moderate Democrats to get away with the Bill Clinton/Barack Obama archetype. Like them or not, they are not the ideal Leftist for many, and had massive shortcomings during their terms, such as the continuation of the presidential tradition of taking “military action” (calling it “war” would be too obviously unconstitutional) towards a nation without congressional approval.
There are two categories I would classify the Democratic hopefuls into (though candidates are on a spectrum even for these categories). The first is the more moderate ones, also known as the “Corporate Democrats.” Your examples of Corporate Democrats running in 2020 include Senator Corey Booker, Senator Kamala Harris, and most other candidates in the running. For past (and well-known) examples, think of the Clintons and former President Obama. These are what usually comes to mind when one hears the word “Democrat,” and take a left-leaning stance on most issues, but not a full-on progressive Left stance. Corporate Democrats are generally supportive of gay marriage, climate change reform, and more of a governmental role. However, they seem to really be riding the growing progressive wave as opposed to being front-runners on the issues. For more radical issues like Medicare for all, a higher living wage, climate change reform, and liberal tax reform, many Corporate Democrats either avoid the topic, or claim support, then failing to take any meaningful action. In a recent interview at SXSW, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “calls out” moderates/Corporate Democrats, calling centrist ideals a “meh” outlook on life. In recent years, the Corporate Democrats will actually side with Republicans on the issue of “military actions” (again, not war because that would be unconstitutional) against nations/people that violate U.S. interests. The only thing keeping the U.S. involved in these “not wars” is the puzzling bipartisan support, because most Americans hate it.
The second category, as you may have guessed, are the true progressive Democrats. These folks have been making names for themselves rather quickly, and you have likely heard of many of them. Some of these include presidential hopefuls like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Tusli Gabbard, as well as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. Since many of them are new to office, besides Sanders, their track records will be watched as time progresses. Many of them do practice what they preach. Sanders is one of the earliest supporters of gay rights, and Gabbard’s voting record for gay rights is also solid. These progressives advocate and push harder than Corporate Democrats on the issues of opposing U.S. military involvement abroad, advocating for rights/equality as a whole (women’s, gay, racial, etc.), pushing for legalizing marijuana, and most notably, liberal economic policy. AOC and Elizabeth Warren have both presented popular (yet controversial) tax reforms that would increase taxes for the wealthy, which have been opposed by the usual suspects (Republicans, Corporate Democrats, and the wealthy), but for many these propositions have quite a bit of popular support.
Some (including myself) speculate that while Corporate Democrats have tradition and the status quo on their side, this may be a big year for progressives. Bernie Sanders almost won the primary over Hillary in 2016, and could possibly have done even better, based on the fact that the DNC was rigged in favor of Hillary. Progressives may not even win the primary this year, and winning the presidency may prove even tougher, but the 2020 election will be a pivotal one, because the Democratic party may be forced to become more progressive, as more and more Americans are becoming such themselves. The 2016 presidential election combined with a couple upsets in 2018 have made politics harder to read, and only time will tell just how progressive Americans will become.
Very interesting summary, i think some of it was cut off on my computer but i got a lot out of your post. i think that the 2020 election is going to be even crazier than the 2016, especially with the vast array of different democrats running. i feel like that are dividing themselves and splitting votes before they even compete Against their biggest opponent: Trump.