General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This message was self-deleted by its author [View all]bigtree
(93,319 posts). . . I can safely guess that there will be a republican challenger. That's going to be what we're up against.
Unless the sky cracks open or something dramatic happens and transforms politics as we know it, I don't believe there will be a viable independent candidate. I can see several scenarios where we might run with one and certainly there's a chance they could make it, but I'm not seeing the value in elevating some ideal over our nominee when there isn't even a name associated with all of that.
I don't take our Democratic coalition for granted. It's tough to elevate ideals into legislation and you need some reliable vehicle to get your initiatives to the level where they're even being considered. That takes time and effort which has to be self-evident for regular folks like me to have any faith in.
This is going to be a weird election. Everyone knows that the end game is beating the republican. All contenders on our side of the aisle, independent or whatever, will be measured against that need and expectation.
Am I the only one getting antsy waiting for a Dem rival to Hillary to step up and impress all of us with their ability to win that race?