Unless Harris, Brown, Warren, Booker & Klobuchar all fall on their faces, not sure their is enough oxygen left in the room…
He will definitely force the conversation to include climate change. It will be interesting to see how the other candidates are able to participate factually in this discussion.
And even if he’s never in the front of the pack, those emphases can filter in. It’s all part of the Democratic tent. Plenty of room right now.
He’s governor of my state, and while he would probably make a fine President if he was magically teleported into office, I wish he wasn’t running. It’s just one more rich older white guy generic progressive to crowd the field, and make it harder for the candidate we actually need to show up early. He’s a nice guy, but not super charismatic and not a fighter.
Yeah, climate change… but there will be plenty of discussion about that in the primary without a designated champion for the issue.
I had to start reading the story again when I encountered the name ‘Poppy Harlow.’ That’s almost–but not quite–on the level with Picabo Street.
The way there was plenty of discussion in 2012 and 2016? As far as I can see, Inslee is the only one of these candidates who has his priorities right in placing climate change at the fore. And he’s proven that he can manage a government, unlike most of the others. It would be refreshing to have a president who both understands the dire importance of climate change and is competent to run our government.
Well, it’s early days and we haven’t heard fleshed-out platforms from any of the other candidates yet. I doubt climate change will be off the table this time around.
Also, I’ll admit that I’m developing a strong bias against older white guys as a candidate just on “optics” alone (even though I am one myself!). We could use some of that lightning in a bottle we had with Obama. I think the time is right for another change from business as usual, with an old white guy running the country.
Join the club. I need to keep working but I can hardly begrudge the younger generations who want to take their place in the world. It’s their turn now.
Admittedly I don’t know Inslee’s financial status but from what I’ve heard he is hardly rich
Exactly. Although he’s a fine fellow and would make a damn good president, he has the tiniest of chances. Still, I don’t begrudge him trying. And I’ll be really happy if — as expected — he puts climate change front and center. Other leaders need to be aware that they need to stop sweeping climate change under the rug.
(FYI that I edited that last sentence after posting.)
You’re right, I misspoke. He has a legal background and I tend to assume wealth for lawyers who enter politics, but he’s not exactly in the rich guy territory.
Had the primary season looked like this in 2016, we would have had a Democratic president and probably the Senate since January 2017.
I make an exception for Warren cuz she’s wicked schmaht and her track record is awesome but anyone else white and over 60, buh bye.
Well, Brown is 66 but I think he brings some good stuff to the table. Warren is great in many ways but what I like best is she can really bring the heat against Trump. It’s really who can build the excitement and lead. If that’s someone on the older side, fine, if younger, well, it’s time for them to step up and they are. I keep saying we have good choices. We’ve got a lot of options for a strong candidate and a strong, well-balanced ticket, and a lot of surrogates out there too. Gonna be all hands on deck.
Brown is more than twice my age so he’s too old for me. But if the Democratic Party wants to make him the candidate (I’ll be surprised if it’s not a woman) I’ll vote for him. We do have good choices.
Sure climate change is important, but it’s time to bring basketball back to the White House! (Inslee was on a Washington state champion team in high school and played in some of Obama’s games.)
One more? He’s the only one I’ve heard considering running (also I don’t think he’s rich).
Inslee would be a great president! It really all comes down to who the Dem is running against. If against Trump, Inslee and most of his Dem competition would do well, in light of current polls. If Trump falls, and somehow the Rs coalesces around a more moderate-seeming candidate (e.g., Kasich), then the D’s would be wise to focus on electability first and foremost. Although old and white, Biden may be the best bet against Trump, sorry to say.
Per the Seattle Times during the 2016 Gov. race, which looked at several years of his tax records, it looks like he would not be considered rich under any definition - more like any long term public servant that as they put it was “well off”.
A couple of notable items showing a lack of being rich:
-
He had to take a loan from his IRA to cover living expenses while he was running for Gov after he stepped down from Congress and
-
Per the Times, their tax returns showed little in the way of income from investments or interest on savings.