Upon further reflection about the Houston Democratic Presidential debate last Thursday, it would seem that three candidates have lost the likelihood of having a real chance to be the nominee of the party in 2020.
Those would be:
Andrew Yang, who offered ten families $1,000 a month for the next year as part of his promotion of $1,000 a month for all adults over the age of 18, which drew some attention when he said it, but is seen as a death knell for his candidacy, even though Republican President Richard Nixon suggested a similar plan of $500 a month nearly fifty years ago.
Julian Castro, who by, seemingly, bringing up ageism as an issue about Joe Biden, made many enemies, and it is likely to derail his campaign, and probably kills any chance of him being the Vice Presidential nominee.
Beto O’Rourke, who by calling for mandatory buyback of AR 15s and AK 47s gave great propaganda to gun enthusiasts and the National Rifle Association, who will use what he said against Democrats to scare gun owners to vote Republican, not an insubstantial number. While one can understand O’Rourke’s sincere emotions after the El Paso and Odessa-Midland shootings in August, it is a guaranteed defeat for any Democrat to follow through as O’Rourke has, not because it is wrong, but because it is not winnable in a national election, despite all of the mass murders that have occurred in recent years.
Additionally, since the ageism issue has been brought up, it could be that the two oldest potential nominees–Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden–who would reach 80 early in the next term, might find that their candidacies might worry and concern voters, especially at a time when Donald Trump is showing signs of mental decline, even though he is four and five years younger than Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, respectively.
So more attention will likely be paid to other candidates—Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, and Kamala Harris.
With 141 days to the Iowa Caucuses, it is far from certain what will happen in the battle for the Democratic nomination for President.