According to Wikipedia: “The 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and caucuses will be a series of electoral contests organized by the Democratic Party to select the approximately 3,768 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention, who by pledged votes shall elect the Democratic nominee The 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and caucuses will be a series of electoral contests organized by the Democratic Party to select the approximately 3,768 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention, who by pledged votes shall elect the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The elections are scheduled to take place from February to June 2020, within all fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and Democrats Abroad.… 26 major candidates have entered the race for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination, of which one candidate (Richard Ojeda) so far opted to withdraw. This is the largest field of presidential candidates for any political party in the post-reform era of American history, exceeding the field of 17 major candidates that sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016”. There has been this week two debates among some of the hopefuls for the Democratic nominee for the 2020 Presidential election, which while catching only snippets, I have followed with interest.

As some of my readers know I am a minor political junkie and have taken a special interest in this Trump era of politics pertaining to the American political scene, often more so than what is going on in my own neck of the woods, the UK. Politically, I am a conservative leaning libertarian but one who might have in recent years leant toward the Democrats. The reason would have been that while the USA is the supposed land of the free and of opportunities, the gap between rich and poor remains huge, there are injustices and a free market, capitalist system of government can’t be guaranteed to address these concerns. I am now neither Democrat nor Republican, for I judge the swamp has invaded both parties, but because it has affected Democrats more than others, where the loony left have taken over, with its call for extreme socialism and giving out freebies to all and sundry with more government control, advocating of abortion right up to birth, the down playing of the importance of the rule of law and secure borders and nonsensical political correctness and I really don’t like many of its main players, it is more likely I would vote Republican if I were qualified to do so, without giving them a free pass on many of the social justice issues, although that would still depend on who I consider to be the best candidate.

For my British friends, there will be some bemusement that eighteen months before the big day, when the USA votes who is to be the President from January 2021, for the next four years, that the race to find the next Democrat candidate to oppose Donald Trump, standing for a second term, should be hotting up now, but that is USA politics for you and is part of its fascination. I confess, I have only dipped in and out of the debates, spurred on by comments like those of Alex Jones, and what I have seen has not impressed much, due to the lack of searching questions, even I could think of, e.g. why Cory Booker sides with big US pharmaceutical companies. With one exception, none of the candidates’ answers have given me the impression they have what it takes to be President. The big named front runners: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have underwhelmed. The dumbest respondee has been Julian Castro who in the spirit of political correctness has advocated abortion for MEN with disappointing none of his opponents pointing out how absurd this is. I have to confess, after seeing Kamala Harris annoyingly seek to destroy those she grilled in Senate hearings, the light dawned on her passion for racial justice, and why she might take the positions she does.

But the big winner, other than Donald Trump, who might breathe easier if that is what he is going to be up against, is an outsider not being promoted by the Party grandees, Tulshi Gabbard. During the Trump presidency, the overwhelming impression I have of Democrats is one of impeach, impeach, impeach or failing that obstruct, obstruct, obstruct, and while there has been some bipartisan cooperation, there have been a long list of opportunities lost (although in fairness the same could be argued regarding the Republicans when there is a Democrat President). It seems Tulshi Gabbard’s approach to foreign policy is not so dissimilar to that of Donald Trump’s when free of the Neocons. But I liked her valid points e.g. over Venezuela over his need to walk the walk rather than talk the talk. While foreign policy does not win elections, she strikes me as one who could put forward a credible challenge that folk not beholden to radical socialism / liberalism might follow.

There is a long way to go to be sure and in the months leading up to the Presidential election proper, all but one of the declared candidates will fall by the wayside. Interesting times ahead!