(Caricatures of the Democratic candidates are by DonkeyHotey.)Until this last week, the Democratic candidates, all 24 of them, have run a pretty positive campaign. Instead of going negative on their opponents, they have been trying to make the case for why they should be the nominee. That is how it should be, and I had hoped it would stay that way for a while -- at least until after the first few debates.
Unfortunately, some candidates (probably upset because they can't seem to garner enough support) have decided to attack the frontrunner -- Joe Biden. First it was his support of the Hyde Amendment (which kept government funds from paying for abortions). Biden was accused out being out of step with the Democratic Party. I don't buy that. He was just playing for general election support -- knowing that a substantial majority of Americans support the Hyde Amendment. But he changed his opinion and that controversy died down.
It didn't take long for another to pop up though, as some candidates now seem determined to go negative on Biden. This time he was accused of pampering racist senators decades ago, because he opined for a return to civility in Congress. Frankly, I think he was right. We need more civility, especially in the Senate. There are only 100 senators and 60 are needed to get anything passed. It doesn't make sense for a senator to treat others with disrespect, since you might need their vote someday.
Biden is not my first choice (at least not right now), but I disagree with these attacks on him. I think his opponents are reaching to find anything they can attack him on.
Let me be clear. There are no perfect politicians. If you look hard enough, you can find something you disagree with on any politician -- and that includes all 24 Democratic candidates for the party's presidential nomination. They all have "warts". But I am convinced that any of the 24 would be a much better president than the current resident of the White House.
Any candidate that goes negative now will lose any consideration of support I may be giving them. I want to know how you're going to beat Trump and why you should be president -- not how negative you can be about your fellow Democrats.
It's time to put country and party first. Going negative just helps Trump (and that's inexcusable).
