Varney: Democratic presidential campaigns are in trouble
For the Democratic presidential hopefuls, it’s a Monday mess.
There is mounting anxiety that none of the candidates can mount a campaign that will beat Donald Trump.
Of course, as you scan the news of the day, you'd think the world turns on impeachment. You'd think the Trump presidency was on its last legs! That’s the media's never-ending obsession. Look beneath the screaming headlines and it’s the Democrats' presidential campaigns that are in real trouble.
This morning, Joe Biden is trying to break out of his rut. He writes in the Washington Post: "Trump won't destroy me, and he won't destroy my family," and: "Come November 2020, I intend to beat you like a drum."
He does not mention Hunter Biden. He does not mention how his son made a lot of money while his dad was vice president. And we have yet to hear why Joe allowed this glaring conflict of interest in the first place. Try as he may, he can't walk away.
Donors are not donating, and that’s a danger signal for any campaign.
Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders is recovering from a heart attack. He won't re-appear until next week's debate. We wish the senator well. But voters have to be at least a little skeptical that a 78-year-old can return for a year of exhausting campaigning.
It is true that Sen. Elizabeth Warren has been surging, but that has alarmed Democrats who do not buy her far-left policies.
In today's Washington Post, some top donors say, anonymously, that they'll sit the election out if she is the nominee. No wonder: Warren proposes a wealth tax, a lobbying tax, a corporate profits tax, a higher Social Security tax on the rich, a higher income tax and a higher tax on gun makers. Simply put, the calmer voices in the Democrat Party understand that Sen. Warren is unelectable.
If you go further down the list of 2020 hopefuls, it’s hard to find anyone breaking into the top tier. Kamala Harris gets only eight percent support, from her home state California Democrats — Eight percent!
Moderate Tim Ryan is trying to raise money in Los Angeles and New York, but he's polling way down in the single digits. Pete Buttigieg is raising a lot of money, but "Mayor Pete," too, is way behind in the polls.
So the top three all have their troubles, and the rest of the pack has failed to breakthrough. Wouldn't you think that with the president under impeachment threat, the candidates trying to succeed him, would be powering ahead? But they're not. It’s Mr. Trump who's raising the most money. It’s the Trump base that is united.
I'll repeat: eight days before the next debate, it’s a Monday mess for the democrat hopefuls.