October 23, 2019 | Reading Time: 2 minutes

Quick Take: Don’t worry about Dem anxiety

It's natural and healthy.

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We had a great time last night at New Haven’s Institute Library. My guest Bill Scher was a fount of knowledge and wit about the Democratic nomination process and why the Democrats do the (often peculiar) things they do. The audience was small but engaged. One of the questioners’ questions is the subject of today’s Quick Take.

Are the Democrats really hoping someone new will jump in the race?

That was the gist of it. It appeared inspired by a piece in yesterday’s Post: “Anxiety rises among Democrats worried about party’s prospects in 2020.” The piece was mostly a platform for speculating whether Hillary Clinton will run again (she won’t). It seems to have evoked anxiety in readers, though, as if no Democrat can beat Donald Trump.

Bill said anyone entering the race at this stage is going to be crushed by media attention, so much so that the first day of campaigning might end up being the last. My answer is a bit more homespun. The Democrats are anxious. They should be anxious. Ten months into the nomination process, they are getting even more anxious. That anxiety is starting to spill over publicly, where it gets picked up by the press.

Will someone new jump in? Yeah, it’s possible, but not likely. This is the time of the season where people start talking crazy. Journalists love it when people talk crazy. Fact is, any of these Democrats would enjoy the same electorate going into the general election. Bottom line: anxiety is natural and healthy but don’t make much of it.

—John Stoehr


More

  • Today’s Editorial Board asks “Why Is a Cheater Running for President”?

  • Bloomberg News reports that the president knew a group of House Republicans was going to “barge into a secure hearing room on Capitol Hill where Democrats are holding impeachment testimonies.” Trump’s brownshirts are everywhere.

  • Lizzie Skurnick argues that the press is freezing out Kamala Harris.

Plus

John Stoehr is the editor of the Editorial Board. He writes the daily edition. Find him @johnastoehr.

2 Comments

  1. Adam Marchand on July 30, 2021 at 7:56 am

    Sorry to have missed that event. Glad to subscribe and support your work

    • John Stoehr on July 30, 2021 at 7:56 am

      Thank you, Alder!

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