One election at a time
The headline on the Politico website Tuesday should have made the hearts of Democrats sink.
It was about a potential Senate “disaster.”
Such a headline should be surprising to most people who have been paying attention this election season and heard forecasts that Democrats were poised to pick up enough seats to give them a narrow Senate majority, or at least put them within striking distance.
But, no, disaster looms.
In 2018.
On the face of it, it seems fairly ridiculous breathless headlines are being spun about an election two years off when the outcome of the election in November is still up for grabs.
The assumption 2018 will be “disastrous” rests on the notion Hillary Clinton will, in fact, win the presidency in November, and her party will suffer losses in the midterm election that follows, as the incumbent party typically does.
But the scribes at Politico aren’t the only folks who are already treating 2016 like old news and scrutinizing the landscape of campaigns to come. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who should have received much more support than he actually did in this year’s Republican primaries, has already made a return trip to New Hampshire.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, whose bid for the Republican nomination flamed out before any votes were even cast, has ventured back to Iowa for a “re-introduction,” and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is, according to the National Review, already prepping for his 2020 bid.
You can rest assured there are Democrats pondering their options if Clinton doesn’t quite make it over the finish line this time, or wondering how they would position themselves against a Vice President Tim Kaine in 2020 or 2024. Heck, there are probably Democrats pondering the chances of Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III, who might be an ideal nominee and restore the Kennedy dynasty in 2032. What about George P. Bush, the Texas land commissioner and son of Jeb? The last two guys who ran for president named George Bush had pretty good luck.
It may be human nature to peer into crystal balls, but wouldn’t it be great if we could fight one election at a time?