Posted on 07/12/2015 12:51:59 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The former head of the Democratic Party says Donald Trump's early success on the presidential campaign trail is rooted in the discontent of conservative voters.
Howard Dean, the former Vermont senator who previously headed the Democratic National Committee, said that Republican frustration has fueled Trump's rapid rise, but also predicted it doesn't have the sustaining force to propel the business mogul into the White House. "He's really a candidate who's collecting anger, and the problem with that is at the end of the day people are not interested in electing somebody out of anger, and they almost never do as president," Dean said in an interview with New York radio host John Catsimatidis.
Dean cited several politicians he said have exploited voter angst to win elections including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) but argued the same rules don't apply to national elections.
"They will send a message," Dean said. "But people aren't going to do that for president of the United States. They're just not going to do it. And that applies to both Democrats and Republicans."
Trump has seen surprising success since launching his campaign last month amid an already crowded and still growing Republican field. A new Reuters-Ipsos poll places him alongside former-Florida Governor Jeb Bush at the top of the pack.
His message has been highly controversial his launch speech attacked Mexican immigrants as criminals and racists but his poll numbers suggest he's tapped a vein that appeals to conservative voters.
Dean said Trump's early success could translate into primary wins, particularly in such a large pool of GOP contenders, but predicted the novelty will fizzle and the nomination will go elsewhere.
"It's a funny year, because let's just say you have 16 people on the ballot, that means somebody's going to win with less than 20 percent of the vote. Can Donald Trump get to 16 or 18 percent of the vote? He could," Dean said.
"So Trump can get 16 -17 percent of the vote, maybe, and that could be enough to win him some primaries, but I think he'll be gone by March, if not much sooner."
The toughest opponent for any Democrat, Dean said, would be former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
"I'm not at all convinced Jeb Bush can get the nomination, but, you know, he's got a lot of advantages that some of the other candidates don't have, mostly in fundraising," he said.
On the Democratic side, Dean said he's "all-in" for Hillary Clinton.
"She's the most experienced, most competent person in the field, on both sides," he said. "She has probably more experience than every other candidate, added together."
Gender, Dean said, will likely play a role.
"Young women would like real change, and they got real change with Barack Obama in 2008 and this generation wants to do it again," he said. "They want a woman president and I think that's great."
Dean praised Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Clinton's most formidable Democratic contender, for his life-long dedication to middle-class economic concerns, predicting that message will take him far but not to the White House.
"All his life as a politician his message has been economic justice, and this is the year for that. I mean, even the Republican pollsters understand that this is probably the No. 1 issue for the American people," Dean said. "This is Bernie's issue. And he's very good at it. He's a good debater. He's very smart. And I think he can make a real run at this.
"I think Hillary will win," he added. "But
anything can happen in a presidential race."
He sees trump winning some primaries. And then after that, it’s Super Tuesday when all that really matters is deep pockets & name recognition. Trump has both. Trump might not be going away any time soon.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.