It's time to start fretting, yes, now

From the LA Times

If Democrats are looking for fresh, new faces, why are these septuagenarian white guys so popular?

After congressional elections in which Democrats in record numbers chose to elevate women, minority and gay candidates, casting ballots for diversity and youth in district after district, the list of presidential hopefuls most exciting to Democratic voters is a bit curious.

At the top, several polls indicate, is a septuagenarian white guy synonymous with the party establishment — Joe Biden.

Next is another 70-plus white man whose trouble connecting with black voters hurt his last presidential run — Bernie Sanders.

And just behind them in the early polls is yet another white elected official, albeit a younger one — Beto O’Rourke.

oh yeah

The increasingly diverse party’s desire to see nonwhites at the helm — and a primary calendar in which African American voters will have considerable influence in choosing the nominee — may play to their advantage.

“It will be about more than just, ‘this person is black,’” said Andra Gillespie, a scholar in African American politics at Emory University.

“People have the impression that’s how it is because they saw how many voters flocked to Barack Obama,” she said. “But blacks weren’t on that bandwagon initially. It wasn’t until Obama proved himself a viable candidate.”

Even so, Gillespie said, it would not be a good look for the party if the circle of front-runners remains exclusively white men when Iowans caucus a year from now.

“The Democratic Party would have some serious soul-searching to do if three white men are still at the top next January,” she said. “That would be a cause for concern if no serious candidates of color emerge.”

Hello

“The Democratic Party would have some serious soul-searching to do if three white men are still at the top next January,” she said. “That would be a cause for concern if no serious candidates of color emerge.”

I thought ageism was not allowed? I thought race was not allowed? I heard it was a benefit to have our grand parents running the show? There has been a coup in the editorial department of LA Times?

What about ToP fave Liz? I haven't heard she has a gender issue.

Remember how much we enjoyed 17 Repugs battling it out on stage for their parties nomination?
The Democrats will put them to shame with their 20...

What will they do?

What will we do?

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Shahryar's picture

it's odd to me that Beto is even considered. It's odd to me that Harris is still thought of as a serious candidate.

Then I remember, Oh yeah, I stopped being a Democrat years ago just because of this.

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edg's picture

Identity politics demands that the composition of the Democratic candidate pool be:

Gender: 51% female, 49% male
Race: 72% white (subclassed by ethnicity as 63% white non-Hispanic, 37% white Hispanic), 13% black, 5% Asian, 1% Native American, 9% other
Orientation: 91.47% straight, 8.53% LBGT

I eagerly await the debates.

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Bisbonian's picture

@edg , but actually, they are looking for that one magic candidate that meets all those percentages.

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

snoopydawg's picture

is the number of republicans that retired from the house last year and that's why there were so many openings for the democrats. Yes they still beat out republican candidates, but 40 members retiring in one year was huge.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.