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Why is the 2016 Democratic field so old?
Washington Examiner ^ | 04/17/2015 | Byron York

Posted on 04/17/2015 8:27:27 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Why are the Democrats running for president so old? Blame the Clintons.

There are five Democrats who have either declared or are thinking about running for president. Three — Joe Biden, Bernard Sanders, and Jim Webb — will be over 70 years old on Inauguration Day 2017. Frontrunner Hillary Clinton will be nine months short of 70. Only Martin O'Malley, who will turn 54 a couple of days before the 2017 swearing-in, has not reached retirement age already.

In 2008, Democrats had a 47 year-old candidate who mesmerized the party and ran away with the votes of Americans aged 18 to 29. Republicans, meanwhile, ran a 72 year-old man whose reputation was based on heroism in a war 40 years earlier. Youth won.

This time the situation is reversed. The average age of the Republican field is far below the Democrats, with every candidate younger than Clinton. The most senior is Jeb Bush, who will be 64 on Inauguration Day. Scott Walker will be 49; Marco Rubio will be 45; Ted Cruz, 46; Rand Paul, 54; Chris Christie, 54; Mike Huckabee, 61; Bobby Jindal, 45. Although Bush is in the older range, they're all in the career sweet spot to win the White House.

What accounts for the Democrats' dramatic change from the party of youth to the party of age?

"It's the snuffing out of young talent by the strength and size and sheer velocity of the inevitable nominee," says a well-connected Democratic strategist. "The Clintons took all the air out of the collective Democratic room. There are a lot of people who would be running who are much younger, but they've got their future in front of them, and they don't want the Clintons to ruin it, in this campaign or after this campaign.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2016; 2016demprimary; democrats; potus; seniorcitizens
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1 posted on 04/17/2015 8:27:27 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

The bench for the Democratic Party was cleaned out in the elections of 2010 and 2014.


2 posted on 04/17/2015 8:28:37 PM PDT by Publius ("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Democrats are not the party of old people. Kind of funny. The old people in the democrat party who have old 1950’s ideas are being called the Progressives by the press. Is this the opposite day?


3 posted on 04/17/2015 8:37:17 PM PDT by realcleanguy
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To: SeekAndFind
The old guard refuses to relinquish their power.

4 posted on 04/17/2015 8:37:27 PM PDT by BitWielder1 (Corporate Profits are better than Government Waste)
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To: All

I’m waiting for the msm to give them the bob dole treatment.


5 posted on 04/17/2015 8:39:04 PM PDT by willywill
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To: SeekAndFind

Because they are confident that their nominee will win.


6 posted on 04/17/2015 8:43:56 PM PDT by laplata ( Liberals/Progressives have diseased minds.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Rats are yesterday, and yesterday’s gone....


7 posted on 04/17/2015 8:45:35 PM PDT by Paladin2 (Ive given up on aphostrophys and spell chek on my current device...)
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To: SeekAndFind

Democrats are increasingly not allowed onto the field. Time is on our side. The same age comparison can be made for RINO vs. Tea.

8 posted on 04/17/2015 9:02:02 PM PDT by Vince Ferrer
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To: Vince Ferrer

The problem with your map is;
The population centers and electoral votes are mostly the blue areas.


9 posted on 04/17/2015 9:10:33 PM PDT by Tupelo (I feel more like Philip Nolan by the day)
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To: Publius

precisely. well put.


10 posted on 04/17/2015 9:47:53 PM PDT by JohnBrowdie (http://forum.stink-eye.net)
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To: SeekAndFind

Old white elitist pukes. The democrap party.


11 posted on 04/17/2015 9:52:22 PM PDT by vpintheak (Call the left what they are - regressive control-freaks)
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To: SeekAndFind

It is a long term result of the Democratic party marching in lock step doing their best imitation of the brown shirts in Nazi Germany. No dissent or variance of opinion is allowed in their party. One must be ideologically pure and blessed by their sycophants in the corporate media. Their old communist 1960’s romanticized leaders will not get out of the way for anyone. These people think it is their birth rite to never leave office (just look at Pelosi and Reed).

Somehow, irregardless of these old hippies that would make Stalin proud, they keep claiming they are the saviors of America while continuing their obsession to destroy it and reform it in their own image. I keep hoping they will retire or the Democratic party will get sick of being knocked down to 1920’s level of power and final do an internal house cleaning similar to what the Republicans are going through. In my opinion, term limits would go a long way to prying the power out of life time politician’s hands and help diffuse the consolidation of power that the oligarchs hold over the political class in modern times.


12 posted on 04/17/2015 10:18:52 PM PDT by Gen-X-Dad
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To: SeekAndFind

Posted this on my Facebook page for my wavering Libby friends! Sow doubt and discord . . . make them think, hm, what’s wrong with a Republican for once anyway? ;o)


13 posted on 04/17/2015 11:03:59 PM PDT by Hetty_Fauxvert (FUBO, and the useful idiots you rode in on!)
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To: Vince Ferrer
The population centers and electoral votes are mostly the blue areas.

Not in Pennsylvania. Allegheny county has been losing population for decades and the surrounding counties are now much larger. If you had said the Blue areas are filled with massive voter fraud, I would agree. At least that would be true in Pennsylvania.
14 posted on 04/17/2015 11:14:40 PM PDT by PA Engineer (Liberate America from the Occupation Media.)
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To: SeekAndFind
"Why is the 2016 Democratic field so old?"

The Cintons are still trying to build America that "bridge to the future." However, thanks to the clintons, obama and the regressive liberals, that bridge ends in a grave.
15 posted on 04/17/2015 11:52:21 PM PDT by clearcarbon
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To: SeekAndFind
.... The old farts will be trotted out first before the media .... in an attempt to expend the Republican nominee fields money as much as possible ..... then a younger Democrat contender candidate will come out from behind and sweep the Democrat field.

.... OK ... just my two cents worth ... but at this point .... Hillary and the senior contingent really do look like joke candidates.

16 posted on 04/17/2015 11:59:00 PM PDT by R_Kangel ( "A Nation of Sheep ..... Will Beget ..... a Nation Ruled by Wolves.")
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To: All
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17 posted on 04/17/2015 11:59:41 PM PDT by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
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To: Tupelo

Yes, decidedly so. That’s why they are so for dumping the electoral college in favor of a popular vote. Nothing like the interests of a bunch urban denizens, coastal entitlement raiders, and resource depleting liberals in tight places trumping over the real richness and diversity of this country in all its geographical expanse.

When humans, animals - most anything - are lumped and confined together it is all the more easy for disease to spread rampantly. I maintain this is so for political ideology as well.


18 posted on 04/18/2015 1:32:20 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Publius

Or the fact the Democratic Party knows Julian and Joaquin Castro aren’t ready until 2020.


19 posted on 04/18/2015 3:41:56 AM PDT by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's economic cure)
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To: SeekAndFind

The Dhimmicraps have no bench. It got wiped out.


20 posted on 04/18/2015 5:26:01 AM PDT by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
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