General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: O'Malley: 'The Presidency of the U.S. Is Not Some Crown to Be Passed Between Two Families' [View all]Kammer
(111 posts)O'Malley, Warren, Sanders or any other Democrat has the right to challenge Hillary in the primary and I haven't heard anyone say they didn't have that right.
However, if they do, they will force Hillary even more to the left. That presents an opportunity for the Republican nominee to pull more center voters to him/her. The reality is that the Democratic candidate will get 47% of the vote and the Republican candidate will get 47% of the vote; it is that remaining 6% who will decide the election, and I doubt those people are on this board. We need those 6% to be more left of center than right of center. The extreme right wing primary candidates in 2008 and 2012 pulled both McCain and Romney so far to the right, they couldn't recover in the general and it was a major reason President Obama is in office instead of one of them. It is my hope and belief that the nutty right wingers (yes I am talking about you, Ted) will force the entire Republican field to the right, helping the Democrats again.
2016 is a great opportunity for us because of demographics and timing (many more Republican senators up for reelection, many in blue leaning states) in retaking the Senate and maintaining the presidency. If we win in 2016, any opening on the Supreme Court from one of the 5 conservatives will result in a solid liberal leaning court for years to come.
This is especially important considering the slim to none chance of us retaking the House. We won't see than opportunity until we retake more statehouses and governorship's and can undo the gerrymandering in 2020 that the Republicans were so successful at in 2010.
Just my humble opinion. I will support Hillary with my vote, time and money.