When CNN gathered a group of Democratic voters to help determine the mood of the party heading into 2020, the one thing most seemed to agree on is that former Vice President Joe Biden is a candidate they don’t want as their nominee.
Biden is expected to enter the race soon and has been in the lead in a number of polls, making him a potential frontrunner.
Democrats Want ‘Progressives’ – aka Socialists – Not Moderates
But the CNN focus group did not see it that way. They wanted someone further to the left.
“I think we need a bold, strong leadership, and you’ll find that in the progressives,” said Democrat Carol Evans.
Democrat Michael Milisits said, “We had the standard-bearer for the kind of pragmatic centrist candidate in Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Donald Trump is now president. He is not your average political candidate, so we really need to try to think outside the box because, you know, it seems like the dude is made of rubber. Anything you throw at him just bounces off, there’s nothing that sticks.”
The group was hosted by CNN’s Alisyn Camerota.
Alisyn Camerota asked a panel of six Democrats, "How many of you would like to see Joe Biden get in? Show of hands."
No one raised their hands.
"His time is done," said one panelist. https://t.co/WlCE8xj0mJ pic.twitter.com/e55IFCYF8b
— New Day (@NewDay) March 5, 2019
‘His Time is Done’
At one point, Camerota asked the six members if any would want Biden to run in 2020. No one raised their hand.
“His time is done,” Evans said.
Democrat Russel Banks said, “I will be honest. He was riding the Obama wave and I thought he was a person that would unite the party, but to be honest, Sen. Biden really comes from kind of the good old boy politics of the past,”
“I don’t think Joe Biden represents that new thing that we need. We need a new economy, we need new politics and we need someone different,” Evans added.
Hillary, Too
These Democrats felt the same way about Hillary Clinton.
“I love you, Hillary, I love you, I love you, but stay away,” one group member said. “We are so divided right now that anything that has Hillary on it is automatically going to separate us again.”
“I just think her time is done. I think it’s been — it’s done. We do need something new,” another member said.
Clinton recently said that she does not plan to run for president.
Radical Democrats
CNN is arguably the most anti-Trump “fake news” outlet in existence. They cater to and service Democrats.
But when the Democrats they feature in a focus group seem to wants have full-blown socialists instead of moderates, what does that tell you about how radical their party has become?