Win or lose in the fall elections, President Obama will be off the 2016 ballot and many Democrats are already considering a shot at the White House. Topping the list, say several Democratic insiders: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, among the nation’s most popular governors for his budget toughness and Clintonesque charisma.
“I don’t know of anybody who tops him right now. We have some senators and a couple of governors, but he’s the talk,” says a Democratic official. While he has a liberal pedigree and was a Clinton Cabinet member, Cuomo has governed conservatively on economic issues, slashing the state budget and threatening to fire 10,000 workers if they refused $450 million in concessions.
“After Obama’s almost hands-off years, I think we will need to change it up with somebody with bare knuckles to prove we’re competent,” says the official.
Cuomo would likely have the Clinton machine behind him since Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has indicated that her days in public service are nearly over.
The only wild card would be if Vice President Biden decided to run. He would be 74 on Inauguration Day 2016, five years older than Ronald Reagan, the oldest-ever elected president, was when inaugurated.
Lots of other new faces are on the potential candidate list, including three women, one who’s not even elected yet: Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren. If she beats Sen. Scott Brown in November, she will arrive as a giant-killer with a record of consumer advocacy. The two other women mulling a bid are Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
Also, progressive Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is on the list of potential hopefuls. He currently chairs the Democratic Governors Association, a launching pad for former candidates including Bill Clinton. But anti-tax advocates tell us they will assail the two-term governor’s tax-happy record. He’s pushed at least 13 taxes on items such as beer, cigars, gasoline, septic systems, downloaded songs, smartphone apps, video lottery terminals, and families that make more than $150,000.
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, says the taxes would help O’Malley in Democratic primaries but be lethal in a general election.
For gays, it’s harder being a Republican
Coming out is difficult enough for gays, but that’s nothing compared with what conservative homosexuals also have to do: admit they’re Republicans.
“There’s a joke,” says Clarke Cooper, executive director of the conservative and gay Log Cabin Republicans. “You can come out, but not politically. In some places of the United States, it is easier for a gay citizen to be out, but when it comes to politics, they have to keep that close to the vest.”
It’s a syndrome minorities, especially black conservatives, have suffered for years. “Unfortunately in the gay community there’s this belief that if one happens to be gay then they must prescribe to one ideology, but one’s orientation doesn’t mean that they’ve taken a single position on the economy or national security,” he says. “Unfortunately there are those in the community that believe that it is one-stop shopping, you are gay, ergo you are a Democrat.”
But times are changing, and in the direction of the GOP. Cooper says that in 2008, 18 percent of self-described gays told exit pollsters they voted Republican. That jumped to 31 percent in the 2010 midterms.
Washington off-duty: Kerry’s puck lesson
He’s proven that he can keep up with the kids on the ice, but Sen. John Kerry’s collision with a puck showed him that he needs a little extra protection in the rough-and-tumble game of hockey. The senior Massachusetts senator and thrill seeker broke his nose during an annual holiday hockey game with friends and family. Associates reveal for the first time that the longtime stick man could hear his nose break when the puck hit. And, adds one, “he definitely got religion when it comes to the value of wearing a helmet.” So much so that Kerry bought a new helmet last week that includes a face shield. Says the 68-year-old senator, “I bought a face mask which proves once and for all, if you hit me hard enough in the head, break my nose and give me two black eyes, even a politician will learn something.”
Paul Bedard,The Examiner’s Washington Secrets columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]. His column appears each weekday in the Politics section and on washingtonexaminer.com.
