The design of our political system favors two parties, and most of my previous post can be applied to both parties. The media also plays a role in this, though I'll get to that a little bit later.
This next bit gets into speculation and reading between the lines. I am not, by any means, saying my opinion is an accurate reflection of the situation.
In 2008, the Democratic Party had Obama and Hillary...those are the two main candidates everyone remembers. You might remember Joe Biden (selected for VP), and maybe even John Edwards. Not sure how many people remember Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson, Evan Bayh, Chris Dodd, Tom Vilsack or Mike Gravel.
I think everyone remembers how upset Hillary supporters were when Obama, then a rather new and unknown candidate, ended up defeating Hillary.
In 2016, the Democratic Party had Hillary and Bernie Sanders (who some argued wasn't truly a Democrat, and who clearly resented him for running in their party). You probably don't remember Jim Webb, Lawrence Lessig, Martin O'Malley, or Lincoln Chafee. It's not just that they didn't get enough support to win. None of these four candidates was on the same level as Joe Biden or John Edwards in 2008. There was practically no competition from them. (Somewhat related to the media. It's coming, I promise.)
Now, part of what I want to speculate on has to do with RUMINT (for rumor intelligence, like HUMINT for human intelligence.) You have to be careful with rumors, since there are people who deliberately spread lies. Sometimes knowingly, sometimes not. At the same time, you sometimes can important info from it. Sort of like how 'everyone knew' about Harvey Weinstein.
When I first started hearing jokes calling Dick Cheney a vampire, for example, I pretty much dismissed it. While reading about the Bush presidency, though, I came to think that those jokes were speaking a truth of sorts. That Dick Cheney held a level of control as VP that was not typical for the position, and that he used that power in ways that were ultimately detrimental.
In a similar fashion, people were joking about Hillary's 2016 run as a 'coronation'...and comparing the candidate list of 2008 to 2016, I can see why. Add in reports that Obama discouraged Joe Biden from running, and it seems clear the Democratic Party was clearing the way for Hillary. Now, not all elections are competitive, of course. It's sort of accepted that the vice president of a sitting president is the lead contender for the next election (when said president's two terms are over). That's part of why Al Gore didn't have much competition in 2000. But 2016 was an election year where Obama was not eligible, and the vice president would have been - Joe Biden.
Clearing the path for Hillary is not the typical move. I have to wonder how much of it was done out of fear that a more competitive primary would lead to a repeat of 2008. That is, some unknown candidate would take the nomination and yet again Hillary would be passed over. (Never mind that if you have to clear the race for a candidate, they probably aren't that competitive to begin with.) Or maybe it was some sort of agreement between Obama and Hillary, especially after her loss to him in 2008. Who knows?
Still, limiting the 'serious' candidates so that Hillary is pretty much the only candidate is Hobson's choice.
What's funny is that even with those limited choices, even with a remarkably un-competitive primary, Hillary Clinton still struggled to defeat the one lone candidate that refused to play along - Bernie Sanders. The nomination was practically handed to Hilary, the path cleared, and then an outsider came in and almost defeated her. Again. (No wonder the true believers resent Bernie so much!).
That's still not all...
This next bit gets into speculation and reading between the lines. I am not, by any means, saying my opinion is an accurate reflection of the situation.
In 2008, the Democratic Party had Obama and Hillary...those are the two main candidates everyone remembers. You might remember Joe Biden (selected for VP), and maybe even John Edwards. Not sure how many people remember Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson, Evan Bayh, Chris Dodd, Tom Vilsack or Mike Gravel.
I think everyone remembers how upset Hillary supporters were when Obama, then a rather new and unknown candidate, ended up defeating Hillary.
In 2016, the Democratic Party had Hillary and Bernie Sanders (who some argued wasn't truly a Democrat, and who clearly resented him for running in their party). You probably don't remember Jim Webb, Lawrence Lessig, Martin O'Malley, or Lincoln Chafee. It's not just that they didn't get enough support to win. None of these four candidates was on the same level as Joe Biden or John Edwards in 2008. There was practically no competition from them. (Somewhat related to the media. It's coming, I promise.)
Now, part of what I want to speculate on has to do with RUMINT (for rumor intelligence, like HUMINT for human intelligence.) You have to be careful with rumors, since there are people who deliberately spread lies. Sometimes knowingly, sometimes not. At the same time, you sometimes can important info from it. Sort of like how 'everyone knew' about Harvey Weinstein.
When I first started hearing jokes calling Dick Cheney a vampire, for example, I pretty much dismissed it. While reading about the Bush presidency, though, I came to think that those jokes were speaking a truth of sorts. That Dick Cheney held a level of control as VP that was not typical for the position, and that he used that power in ways that were ultimately detrimental.
In a similar fashion, people were joking about Hillary's 2016 run as a 'coronation'...and comparing the candidate list of 2008 to 2016, I can see why. Add in reports that Obama discouraged Joe Biden from running, and it seems clear the Democratic Party was clearing the way for Hillary. Now, not all elections are competitive, of course. It's sort of accepted that the vice president of a sitting president is the lead contender for the next election (when said president's two terms are over). That's part of why Al Gore didn't have much competition in 2000. But 2016 was an election year where Obama was not eligible, and the vice president would have been - Joe Biden.
Clearing the path for Hillary is not the typical move. I have to wonder how much of it was done out of fear that a more competitive primary would lead to a repeat of 2008. That is, some unknown candidate would take the nomination and yet again Hillary would be passed over. (Never mind that if you have to clear the race for a candidate, they probably aren't that competitive to begin with.) Or maybe it was some sort of agreement between Obama and Hillary, especially after her loss to him in 2008. Who knows?
Still, limiting the 'serious' candidates so that Hillary is pretty much the only candidate is Hobson's choice.
What's funny is that even with those limited choices, even with a remarkably un-competitive primary, Hillary Clinton still struggled to defeat the one lone candidate that refused to play along - Bernie Sanders. The nomination was practically handed to Hilary, the path cleared, and then an outsider came in and almost defeated her. Again. (No wonder the true believers resent Bernie so much!).
That's still not all...
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