# The 2016 Democratic Candidates **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 20, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400 "2015-01-20T18:50:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/261 "2015-04-11T17:33:57Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Heh. That’s because Democrats quail at the prospect of even having to vote on background checks. A feather in your cap, to be sure! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/262 "2015-04-11T18:22:16Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [The NRA makes its views known](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/04/wayne-lapierres-grotesque-warning-hillary-clinton-will-bring-a-permanent-darkness-of-deceit-and-despair/) (not to anyone’s surprise): Y’know, it seems to me a Communist can be just as good an NRA member as any other. Does none of the membership object that they’re going way, way beyond gun-rights politics here? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/263 "2015-04-11T19:32:18Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Y’know, it seems to me a Communist can be just as good an NRA member as any other. Does none of the membership object that they’re going way, way beyond gun-rights politics here? Get ready for the “Hillary is going to take all our guns away” bullshit. The rubes ate it up when it was Obama, so it’s a dead certainty they’ll trot it out again. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/264 "2015-04-11T20:35:51Z")
Man, I’d really love to see how the right-wing spin machine would try to cast Schweitzer as anti-gun, if he runs. Well, OK, I’d also love to see him run for other reasons, too, but that’s definitely part of it. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/265 "2015-04-11T21:35:33Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Y’know, it seems to me a Communist can be just as good an NRA member as any other. Does none of the membership object that they’re going way, way beyond gun-rights politics here? Along with conservatives and libertarians, actual communists and anarchists have been among the staunchest supporters of gun rights I’ve seen online. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/266 "2015-04-11T21:53:36Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > If one wants an anti-war candidate one should go for an actual Democrat like Jim Webb or Brian Schweitzer rather than Lincoln Chafee. Mr. Chafee is hopefully one of the last manifestations of the sort of Very Serious Personist nonsense that this country has suffered from in the last two decades, especially the Democratic Party. Same with Chafee who parades himself as some sort of a virtuous “moderate” or even “liberal” because he supports gay marriage, legalized abortion, and opposed Iraq War despite advocating destroying the basics of the New Deal. Fortunately he seems doomed to irrelevancy at this point in time. In other words, you want to eat your cake and eat it too: A far-leftie that can win an election. If I were a Democrat I would be championing for a moderate. That’s the only way y’all get shit done. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/267 "2015-04-11T22:11:57Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Along with conservatives and libertarians, actual communists and anarchists have been among the staunchest supporters of gun rights I’ve seen online. I’m no Commie really, but I do have a red custom-made message-button I wear at SF cons: “If guns are outlawed, how will we shoot the capitalists?” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/268 "2015-04-11T22:27:08Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > In other words, you want to eat your cake and eat it too: > > A far-leftie that can win an election. > > If I were a Democrat I would be championing for a moderate. That’s the only way y’all get shit done. Depends on who the lefty is running against. A Warren or a Sanders or a Kucinich could not beat Jeb Bush – but could wipe the floor with Cruz, Perry, Huckabee, Carson, Gohmert, etc. Probably even Walker or Christie (he’s not hard-right, just too sleazy to win). ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/269 "2015-04-12T03:26:57Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > In other words, you want to eat your cake and eat it too: > > A far-leftie that can win an election. > > If I were a Democrat I would be championing for a moderate. That’s the only way y’all get shit done. Not really I’d be fine with a Hillary or an Obama. Anyways I’m not a “far-leftie” in any meaningful sense considering my ideal candidate would be a Hubert Humphrey clone not some Kucinich. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/270 "2015-04-12T03:40:27Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > In other words, you want to eat your cake and eat it too: > > A far-leftie that can win an election. > > If I were a Democrat I would be championing for a moderate. That’s the only way y’all get shit done. Another option is to go for a “centrist” who is right-wing on issues you don’t care about but left wing on issues you do. Jim Webb is that kind of candidate, anti-war and economically populist but to the right of his party on social issues. Another way to get there is to go for a guy with a reputation for working well with the other side. Russ Feingold and Ron Wyden are much too liberal to be President, except for the fact that they keep on finding common ground with guys like John McCain and Orrin Hatch and don’t use harsh language to describe the other side. Packaging a candidate as “moderate” is as much about tone as actual positions. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/271 "2015-04-12T20:59:31Z")
It’s official - Hillary’s in: [http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/12/politics/hillary-clinton-president-2016-election/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/12/politics/hillary-clinton-president-2016-election/index.html) And SNL has a pretty good spoof: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/04/12/snl-imagines-hillary-clintons-presidential-announcement/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/04/12/snl-imagines-hillary-clintons-presidential-announcement/) ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/272 "2015-04-14T20:40:35Z")
So is Hillary the only candidate being fielded by the Democrats? What if she injures herself like she tends to do? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/273 "2015-04-14T23:21:40Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > So is Hillary the only candidate being fielded by the Democrats? > > What if she injures herself like she tends to do? As mentioned upthread, other Dems more-or-less plausibly mulling over a 2016 run include these dudes: > **[Joe Biden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden)** > > Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (/ˈrɒbɪnɪt ˈbaɪdən/ ⓘ ROB-in-it BY-dən; born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who has been the 46th and current president of the United States since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama and represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009. > Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Biden moved with his family to Delaware in 1953. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the ... > **[Lincoln Chafee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Chafee)** > > Lincoln Davenport Chafee (/ˈtʃeɪfiː/ CHAY-fee; born March 26, 1953) is an American politician. He was mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island, from 1993 to 1999, a United States Senator from 1999 to 2007, and the 74th Governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. He was a Democrat from 2013 to 2019; in June 2019, The Boston Globe reported that he became a Libertarian, having previously been a Republican until September 2007 and an independent and then a Democrat in the interim. He is the last non-Demo T... > **[Martin O'Malley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_O%27Malley)** > > Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American politician who served as the 17th commissioner of the Social Security Administration since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 61st governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015 and the 48th mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007. > O'Malley was elected to the Baltimore City Council in 1991 and re-elected in 1995. He was elected mayor of Baltimore in 1999 after a surprise win in the Democratic primary. He won a second term as ... > **[Jim Webb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Webb)** > > James Henry Webb Jr. (born February 9, 1946) is an American politician and author. He has served as a United States senator from Virginia, Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Counsel for the United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and is a retired Marine Corps officer. > Outside of working in government, Webb has also worked as a journalist, filmmaker, and author of ten books. In addition, he taught literature at the United States Naval Academy a... ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/274 "2015-04-14T23:31:03Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Another option is to go for a “centrist” who is right-wing on issues you don’t care about but left wing on issues you do. Jim Webb is that kind of candidate, anti-war and economically populist but to the right of his party on social issues. I don’t think Webb is necessarily to the right of his party on social issues, unless you’re considering his opposition to women in combat from 30-odd years ago. It seems like his views have evolved on this issue, and he wants to make criminal justice reform a central theme of his domestic agenda. Actually, I’m having difficulty understanding why Webb isn’t attracting more attention - even in six pages of this thread he’s only been mentioned briefly. He’s got an impressive resume: Decorated combat marine, SECNAV and Asst. SECDEF in the Reagan administration, (should be good for at least a little bipartisan good will) successful journalist author and filmmaker, Senator. For those of us who are still a bit ambiguous about HRC he looks like a pretty good alternative. I think he could do well in the primary and if nominated would have at least as good a chance as Clinton in the general election. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/275 "2015-04-15T01:29:31Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > I don’t think Webb is necessarily to the right of his party on social issues, unless you’re considering his opposition to women in combat from 30-odd years ago. It seems like his views have evolved on this issue, and he wants to make criminal justice reform a central theme of his domestic agenda. > > Actually, I’m having difficulty understanding why Webb isn’t attracting more attention - even in six pages of this thread he’s only been mentioned briefly. He’s got an impressive resume: Decorated combat marine, SECNAV and Asst. SECDEF in the Reagan administration, (should be good for at least a little bipartisan good will) successful journalist author and filmmaker, Senator. For those of us who are still a bit ambiguous about HRC he looks like a pretty good alternative. I think he could do well in the primary and if nominated would have at least as good a chance as Clinton in the general election. I’ve heard little about him. But after looking him up he’s right up my alley. I’ll have to keep and eye out and hope he runs (just the fact he sponsored the Post 9/11 GI Bill means I love him). It also doesn’t hurt that he was anti-Iraq from the beginning. Hell, on 9/12 he wrote in an article, “Do not try to take land!” ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/276 "2015-04-15T04:54:36Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > I don’t think Webb is necessarily to the right of his party on social issues, unless you’re considering his opposition to women in combat from 30-odd years ago. It seems like his views have evolved on this issue, and he wants to make criminal justice reform a central theme of his domestic agenda. > > Actually, I’m having difficulty understanding why Webb isn’t attracting more attention - even in six pages of this thread he’s only been mentioned briefly. He’s got an impressive resume: Decorated combat marine, SECNAV and Asst. SECDEF in the Reagan administration, (should be good for at least a little bipartisan good will) successful journalist author and filmmaker, Senator. For those of us who are still a bit ambiguous about HRC he looks like a pretty good alternative. I think he could do well in the primary and if nominated would have at least as good a chance as Clinton in the general election. Webb is still not a fan of affirmative action and is not too immigration-friendly either. He does favor a path to citizenship, but he voted against the Bush-Kennedy immigration reform bill and yes on making English the official language of the US. It probably wouldn’t be useful to say he’s left or right so much as a populist. He’ll definitely reshuffle the coalitions a little if he’s nominated. The Democrats will win more white votes, more male votes, and minority turnout will probably decline. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/277 "2015-04-15T04:57:57Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Webb is still not a fan of affirmative action and is not too immigration-friendly either. He does favor a path to citizenship, but he voted against the Bush-Kennedy immigration reform bill and yes on making English the official language of the US. > > It probably wouldn’t be useful to say he’s left or right so much as a populist. He’ll definitely reshuffle the coalitions a little if he’s nominated. The Democrats will win more white votes, more male votes, and minority turnout will probably decline. I would say opposing (especially race-based) affirmative action and supporting English as an official language are perfectly reasonable positions consistent with a liberal viewpoint. The Democrats definitely need to nominate a populist-in the absence of a Huey Long, a Webb or Schweitzer is our best bet in that regard. I disagree, incidentally, that minority turnout will necessarily decline especially if nominee Webb or Schweitzer makes a judicious choice for a running-mate-Cory Booker becomes a distinct possibility (and an excellent balance) or perhaps Elizabeth Warren. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/278 "2015-04-15T05:02:15Z")
That depends on what the media focuses on in regards to a nominee Webb. Just putting a black guy on the ticket won’t help much if the media portrays Webb as a white populist candidate departing from Democratic orthodoxy on minority issues. Minority turnout is unreliable enough under the best of circumstances. If all minority voters learn about Webb is “opposed to affirmative action and immigration reform” then they will stay home. That probably won’t matter in the end, because if Webb wins the Reagan Democrats he wins the election. I was just observing that it would shuffle the coalitions a bit. Webb can try to have the best of both worlds by advocating a switch to class-based affirmative action(which I think he may support), and making it clear that he does support a path to citizenship(albeit first after securing the border). The problem is that he’s not a good enough speaker or charismatic enough to control the narrative the way the best candidates do. Much as with Al Gore, the media is likely to decide what his candidacy is about and they’ll tend to focus on different things than the candidate would prefer. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/279 "2015-04-15T15:57:43Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > What if she injures herself like she tends to do? She lost a wrestling match with a pretzel? Oh, wait, that wasn’t her, was it? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/280 "2015-04-16T02:26:44Z")
Or by continuing to have negative stories about her drip out. Did you read the latest about how she was asked about her email in 2012 and refused to answer the question? No, nothing to hide at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400.md?page=15)