The Republican presidential nomination comedies have already started. Jeb Bush went to Salt Lake City to meet with Mitt Romney, presumably to discuss or bargain directly about which would bear the mantle of the Republican elite and establishment. Amazingly polls show that Republican voters prefer Mitt Romney. Tough choice–a third run by Mitt Romney or a fourth Bush term.
Neither can identify with average voters.
As much as the media bows to the Tea Party, in presidential campaigns Republican voters almost always go to the establishment candidate.
The Koch Brothers are running their own nominating process, holding interviews and forums of giant donors.
The Koch Brothers have already signaled that Romney won’t get their support, eliminating him from all their events.
Our message, not our values, have gotten through.
Ted Cruz is talking about inequality. Can you imagine?
Inequality has broken through in a big way in our nation’s political discourse.
So has infrastructure development. Polling shows that fixing our infrastructure is now the fourth most important issue for Americans. People realize that fixing our infrastructure creates high wage jobs, and makes our country’s economy more productive and competitive.
We absolutely need Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren out there pounding on the big issues that can improve the lives of all of us.
Meanwhile, the typical crowd of Tea Party hopefuls are lining up for their own place on the stage of Republican debates. Mike Huckabee wants to resume his campaign as Arkansas Preacher for President. Rand Paul is trying to figure out how to explain why segregation should be legal. And the Republican leadership just lost a vote in the House of Representatives that would outlaw abortion even in cases of incest.
Even given all that, Democrats must address in substantive ways the big economic issues that can affect our lives.
Image source: DonkeyHotey on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)