Politics 2016: The Other Guys

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are (as of 7/22/15) a total of 21 presidential candidates--16 of them Republicans--all vying for the chance to take over Barack Obama's job come 2017.  Some of them are serious contenders and are in it for the long haul, while the others are there to draw attention to issues they consider important, whether they admit it or not.

For the GOP, these are the names we have so far:  Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Lindsey Graham, John Kasich, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum.

For the Democrats:  Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Jim Webb, Martin O'Malley and Lincoln Chafee.

With all those people in the running, and primary season yet to get under way, it's hard to stand out and explain to the voters why you want the job when all you're getting in return are meager sound bites and money worries.

It's also harder if you're behind the eight-ball from the very beginning, recognition-wise, while candidates more familiar to the voters suck up the media oxygen.  Trump gets headlines for dissing Senator John McCain's war record and broadcasting Senator Graham's phone number on live TV.  Clinton has been the Democrats' presumptive nominee almost since the last election.  Jeb Bush, whose father and brother were previously Presidents, must be seeing the White House as his birthright.

Until Trump came along, the biggest flakes in the campaign were Senators Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky.  They could always be counted on to make outrageous statements intended to fire up their conservative bases, particularly the Tea Party set.  To everybody else, they were indicative of what was wrong with the Republicans.

Besides Bush, a number of present and former state governors such as Christie of New Jersey and Jindal of Louisiana are in this campaign.  Scott Walker of Wisconsin, whose labor and economic policies have alienated almost everyone there, reminds those of us on the Minnesota side of the border of the reign of Tim Pawlenty.  He ran for President too.  Oh, and doesn't Christie also have a bridge scandal to live down?

Progressives who are unhappy with or unsure of the seeming inevitability of another Clinton administration have been flocking to Bernie Sanders' side.  The independent Senator from Vermont has made himself an alternative by hammering away at his contention that (a) the rich are getting richer, and (b) the poor and middle class are so screwed.  Familiar arguments, yes, but there's little evidence so far that any of this is making a dent against Clinton.  If you believe the polls, she leaves  everyone including Trump in the dust.

It's only a matter of time before the wheat is separated from the chaff, so to speak, and some of these candidates go back to their day jobs.  Until then, we can only imagine what it must be like to be a voter in a major primary state, about to be bombarded with TV and Internet commercials from 21 different presidential candidates spending their time and (somebody else's) money chasing a dream.  We don't envy you at all.