Keller @ Large: What Would A Joe Biden Candidacy Mean For Democrats?
BOSTON (CBS) -- "Run, Joe, run! Run, Joe, run!"
The crowd at the International Association of Fire Fighters Legislative Conference in Washington wasn't coy about their 2020 presidential preference Tuesday morning.
Former Vice President Joe Biden told them he might soon be needing their support, he gave them a taste of his campaign style with a rant about funding for the 9/11 survivors compensation fund.
"Why are the hell we arguing about that still?" Biden shouted. "Why is that even being argued? It must be permanently funded. Period!"
Polling shows Biden will be the best-known Democrat in the already-crowded field if he gets in, along with Sen. Bernie Sanders. But early name recognition doesn't guarantee much in the left-leaning, activist-populated universe of the Democratic caucuses and primaries. (Just ask Hillary Clinton how it worked for her in 2008 against Barack Obama.)
And the fallout from Biden's recent offhand praise for Vice President Mike Pence ("he's a decent guy, our vice president") in the context of slamming the Trump administration foreign policy was a taste of the gantlet Biden will face, should he run.
Gay-rights activist Cynthia Nixon, who unsuccessfully challenged New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year, called Biden out on Twitter for praising "America's most anti-LGBT elected leader."
Biden quickly tweeted "you're right, Cynthia."
But on Tuesday, he seemed miffed by the exchange. "Sometimes it seems we can't govern ourselves or even talk to one another. If you notice, I get criticized for saying anything nice about a Republican," said Biden.
If he runs, Biden would be the second-oldest and most centrist Democrat in the race, a positive for the likes of potential independent candidate Howard Schultz, the Starbucks kingpin. "I think his voice will help the party," he said. "I'd love to see the party move more to the center."
But those who want to move the party left seem less enthusiastic about Biden's centrist branding. Sen. Elizabeth Warren cut off a CBS interviewer who asked her if Biden could draw support from Democrats and independents who bailed on the party in 2016, saying: "You need a pundit for that."
Democrats should take note of the fact that the union firefighters who cheered Biden are exactly the kind of traditionally-Democratic voters their party lost in 2016. And that's why a Biden candidacy would be a test of the conventional wisdom that there's one thing Democrats hold paramount for 2020: nominating a candidate who will beat Donald Trump.
