The unpopularity of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is creating a ‘power vacuum,’ Democrats argue
The potential of Hillary Clinton vying for the presidency again has entered public discourse after two prominent Democrats pitched the former secretary of state as being in an “advantageous position” to run.
Political consultant Douglas Schoen and former Manhattan Borough President Andrew Stein made their pitch in the Wall Street Journal this week, arguing that Clinton offers an alternative to the current unpopular administration.
The authors note Clinton, at 74, is younger than Biden, whose age has been a topic of debate as he is the oldest sitting president at 79, and also that she is an “experienced national figure.”
Though Clinton herself is a divisive politician, Schoen and Stein argue Biden and Harris are in far worse shape. Both see their favorability ratings in polling continuously decline during their first year in office, as the administration deals with multiple national crises like the Covid-19 pandemic and record inflation rates.
They argue that Democrats will likely lose both the House and Senate to Republicans in the 2022 midterms if there is not a major “course correction,” paving the way for Clinton to sell herself as a “change” candidate and an alternative to current failing policies and controversial progressive topics.
“Mrs. Clinton can spend the time between now and midterms doing what the Clinton administration did after the Democrats’ blowout defeat in the 1994 midterms: crafting a moderate agenda on both domestic and foreign policy,” the two argue, adding that Clinton could be the only “credible alternative” to Biden and Harris in 2024.
Schoen and Stein’s motives for pitching a “credible” Clinton to Democrats have been questioned, with CNN’s Chris Cilizza noting on Wednesday that neither of the men have “sterling credentials as Democrats” due to Shoen’s work for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Stein’s 2016 endorsement of Donald Trump.
Clinton has previously predicted Trump would run again in 2024, telling ‘Today’ in December that the former president “seems to be setting himself up to do that.”
In an interview with MSNBC last month, Clinton appeared to distance herself from Democrats currently leading the party.
“At the end of the day, it means nothing if we don’t have a Congress that will get things done, and we don’t have a White House that we can count on to be sane and sober and stable and productive,” she said, arguing Democrats need to give “careful thinking about what wins elections, and not just in deep blue districts.”
