Okay—Democrats, you clinched some wins during the 2018 midterms. You retook the House of Representatives. You did let your red state coalition get wiped out, however, in the Senate, so nothing much is going to get done. With the Left jacked up, everyone looks to 2020. That cycle began the day after Election Day. When you look at the Democratic field for president, it’s sort of…old. Like ‘make sure grandpa doesn’t forget to take his back pills’ old. It’s worrying some folks within the Democratic strategist world—and these concerns were already in the air before voters went to the polls last Tuesday (via The Hill):
It's a question some Democrats are pondering as the 2020 presidential election inches closer: Can their party represent change when three of its top candidates are not only familiar faces, but people in their retirement years?
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) will enter her 70s in June. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is 77. Former Vice President Joe Biden will turn 76 later this month.
Though the primaries are still a ways off, all three have emerged in early polls as favorites to be the 2020 Democratic nominee.
Some strategists say that might be a problem.
“Democrats would be better off with a young candidate,” said Democratic strategist Brad Bannon, who argued that an electorate that seems to want change might prefer someone from a younger generation.
[…]
“I think it’s totally appropriate for people to look at me and say if I were to run for office again, ‘Well, God darn you’re old.’ Well, chronologically, I am old,” Biden said during a question and answer session at the Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan’s Speakers Series last month, according to CNN.
“Every voter is entitled to know exactly what kind of shape you’re in. You owe it to them. It’s a legitimate question and so I think age is relevant.”
But some Democrats say the 2020 election won't be so much about age at all, particularly when Democrats will be competing to take on the 72-year-old President Trump.
“To me, it's less about years of age and more about the age of your ideas and whether your ideas reflect what voters want to hear,” said Chris Kofinis, a Democratic strategist.
[…]
Democratic strategist Maria Cardona said she doesn’t think the age of some would-be candidates is problematic for the party.
Cardona pointed to 2016, when Sanders was “able to attract a massive following of young people,” and nearly beat Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.
Age is the easy attack line. We used to call Clinton “old, sick Hillary,” but of course the issues are probably going to take more precedent. And here, the GOP shouldn’t be afraid either. Democrats want free college, single-payer health care, which also torches employer-based plans, the dissolution of ICE, and open border immigration laws. They want more taxes, more regulations, and they’re probably going to waste an extraordinary amount of time investigating Trump for things that have little to no evidence because they don’t like the guy. That blind, emotional wrath is going to yield a lot of insanity that’s going to turn off voters. Remember, Trump has been able to bait the Left into defending trashing our flag, our veterans, and saying MS-13 weren’t really bad people. They can't help themselves, and with a two-year window, I’d be worried what Democrats might fall for leading up to the 2020 election if I were in these circles. Blessedly, I’m not. The work to Keep America Great starts now.