Another week, another candidate. It's prime announcement time and the Democratic field is getting more crowded. On Sunday, Minnesota Senator, Amy Klobuchar, announced that she is running for president. Klobuchar focused on the appeal that she has across the state of Minnesota; both in rural and urban areas, including counties that Donald Trump won in 2016. She believes that her success within her state can carry over into other parts of the Midwest. The rally took place near the I-35W bridge that collapsed in 2007, symbolizing her ability to work across the aisle as she worked with Republicans to rebuild the bridge quickly. However, Klobuchar has drawn criticism from both sides with Republicans saying she is able to get things done because she focuses on small issues. Progressives have criticized her, saying that she lacks the passion and new ideas that excite voters.
Senator Klobuchar garnered national attention during the Kavanaugh hearings. When she asked if he had ever drunk so much that he forgot what happened, he turned the question around and asked, "Have you?"
Do you think Klobuchar has what it takes to become a Democratic nominee?
Do you agree with her ideals?
Do you think she would succeed in getting the two parties to work together?
Klobuchar, being a relatively new candidate for the presidency is already at a disadvantage with the vast amount of people running for the Democratic nomination. I don’t think she will get very far in the race for president because she doesn’t have the impressive resumé and popularity that other candidates have. Her ideals, which I admittedly I know very little about, seem fair, but good and relatable ideals is not the most important thing when it comes to winning an election. I don’t think that she will gain much support since she is only focusing on small issues and not taking a strong stance on either the Democratic or Republican side. Overall, I think that a more popular and experienced candidate will beat her.
ReplyDeleteI think that Klobuchar has what it takes to be a candidate running for the presidential election because of her ability to appeal to various communities which includes both the city dwellers and those in the small suburbs. Thus, she has a wide range of support, at least in Minnesota. Next, she also has the ability to think quickly on her feet as demonstrated by her ability to find that the only solution to repairing the bridge would be to work with the other party. Nevertheless, I do not know much about her ideals, but if she appeals to both the rural and suburban areas, she may have ideas about equality in opportunity which I agree with. Despite my agreement, I do not think that this, alone, would help her win the presidential election because she already has an overwhelming amount of doubters and haters who disagree with her platform because they believe she does not have what it takes to make a "big impact." Thus, due to partisan disagreement, I do not think she could succeed in getting the parties to work together because the Republicans will refuse to help her and the existing Democrats will simply look to another candidate rather than pair with the Republicans.
ReplyDeleteKlobuchar does seem have a lot of potential to become a strong candidate and eventually become the democratic nominee. She does seem to have a lot of ideals and traits that could appeal a lot of people and eventually that can get her nominated as the potential Democratic nominee. Her decision to have her rally at the I-35W bridge that collapsed in 2007 in order symbolize her ability to work across the aisle as she worked with Republicans to rebuild the bridge quickly is a good one. This can allow her to get a lot of quick popularity by Republicans and Democrats in the Midwest. However, she is still a fairly new name getting popularity from the Kavanaugh hearings and is facing a lot of criticisms. If she is able to respond to these criticisms and prove that she can get the job done, she may be able to have a chance in winning the presidency. As of now though, there just isn't enough proof that she can handle the president position.
ReplyDeleteSo far, it seems that Klobuchar is doing a good job in establishing herself for the presidential race. Her ideals are shared by much of the population, and her initial campaigning seems to be bipartisan, and not focused entirely towards democratic voters. However, it will be difficult for her to stand up against more jaded politicians, and she must continue this hot streak in order to be successful.
ReplyDeleteWhile Klobuchar has gained prominence in various communities throughout Minnesota, that makes no guarantees regarding the rest of the nation. However, the ability to find common ground and be able to represent people from all communities is promising if she can gain traction in other rural communities throughout the nation. The voter base represented by "middle America" and middle-class rural citizens is a large base, and acquiring that vote can transform an entire election. In that way, if she garners more attention, I believe that Klobuchar could be a promising candidate.
ReplyDeleteI´m not exactly sure that Klobuchar has the drive to become a nominee, not saying that she won´t. Just because she has the backing of small counties doesn´t mean she will achieve it from the nation. Minnesota knows her better than the nation as a politician, so it would be obvious she has their trust. There are just more powerful nominees that may overwhelm with their presence to take the lead that I believe will have a better chance at getting nominated
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about her but it seems as though she at least wishes to lessen to polarity and gridlock in politics, which I admire. With the government shutdown and all of the current gridlock, it seems that nobody really wants to focus on compromise in either party. It will be interesting to see how her ideals and stance on compromise, and "bridging the gap" between the two parties will play out in future debates with other democratic candidates.
ReplyDeleteWhile Klobuchar on paper seems to be a mediocre candidate with a small resume, she might end up surprising most people despite her relative lack of inexperience. However, I think her attempt to work with bipartisan support might be a bit of a problem, as seen with Obama, trying to work across the aisle with the opposing party can lead to issues, as they can end up just blocking you and having you end up with nothing. However, I think that her methods could have potential.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kayla in that Klobuchar is such a new candidate that it's unlikely that she would be able to beat the many other more established Democratic party members such as Elizabeth Warren in the huge pool of candidates running for the 2020 election. However, her bipartisan campaign and ideals truly appeal to me. I believe that in the face of such polarization in which no issue could be truly addressed by our government, rather than having a more hard-core left-leaning Democrat that would most likely continue this divide, it would be better for a more moderate Democrat to take charge and facilitate a more bipartisan government, and I think Klobuchar has shown to be very competent at gaining that bipartisan compromise through her ability to address pressing citizens needs quickly while working with Republicans.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Klobuchar has some experience in politics, I do not believe that she would win the Democratic primary. As we learned in Gov, you need to have a name that is nationally recognized in order to win and something that makes you stand out (partaking in several historic events, accomplishing an impressive task, having a unique policy). I don't believe Klobuchar has any of these qualities to win the Democratic election.
ReplyDeleteIn this age of extreme political polarization it is certainly appealing to have a moderate candidate. However, I do not think that her method of attracting bc others will work as she is not as well-known as the other democratic candidates. Additionally many Democrat voters probably will not appreciate the fact that she is moderate and will most likely vote for a more extreme candidate.
ReplyDeleteAs others have already commented, Klobuchar's emphasis on bipartisanship is a breath of fresh air. It would be extremely unfortunate and unproductive for the country to have such a highly polarized political system that the nation's politics would swing from conservative to liberal every 4-8 years (depending on the president), because it would foster uncertainty and shift the public focus from policy/action to petty partisan news. However, Klobuchar does lack national recognition, and when compared to Kamala Harris, whose policies include the LIFT Act, which would help working class families, and has a reputation for taking responsibility of her actions, Klobuchar seems mediocre. Nevertheless, the fact that Klobuchar is a centrist may appeal to more people, and she may have what it takes to be a Democratic nominee.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to what other have said, it is certainly admirable that Klobuchar has placed such a large emphasis on bipartisanship. In this current age of politics, she is doing something different, whereas our current government and trends dictate a sense of polarization in the government. While it is new to have a moderate candidate, I am not sure if she will gain enough support to become the Democratic nominee. It is impressive that she has been able to gain such support in areas of Minnesota, however I am not sure if that will be able to translate to the nation as a whole.
ReplyDeleteThe rather neutral ideology that Klobuchar possesses may be beneficial, but it also may come to hurt her. Modern day US politics is extremely polarized and sorted along party lines, so politicians seem to always be butting heads. The moderate stance of Klobuchar could act a means for the two sides to come together and consolidate, but there's also a chance that she may just not fit in any group, leaving her career in a bad position.
ReplyDeleteI believe that in a growing field of democratic candidates, Klobuchar may get drowned out by Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris since they are both well known nationwide and are recognized by millions. Furthermore, Klobuchar supports very ambitious and large projects such as universal health care, tuition free college, and the Green New Deal. Although all of these projects would greatly benefit many people, the government will struggle in funding all these programs without decreasing the budget of other programs. Moreover, in the political climate that we are in (polarized), she will struggle to find enough support to start any of these projects. Some democrats may not support her projects they may be too progressive. Additionally, Klobuchar bosts about working with the Republicans to get a bridge in her state fixed quickly. Even though this is true, in the national level of politics, it will be extremely hard to work with Republicans when she supports such liberal projects that many conservatives would disagree with. Finally, I believe that she may gain limited support due to her stance against Trump's policies and because of her views towards social issues, but she will struggle to compete with Sanders and Harris who have a larger backing.
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