Senate Dems cheer Biden decision to skip 2016
By BURGESS EVERETT
10/21/2015
Politico
Joe Biden’s decision not to take on Hillary Clinton makes the 2016 presidential election a whole lot simpler for Senate Democrats.
Already in the awkward spot of mostly backing Hillary Clinton while their colleague Sen. Bernie Sanders challenges her from the left, powerful Democrats breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday that they wouldn’t have to navigate an even messier primary season that included a sitting vice president that few of them would endorse.
Joe Biden’s decision not to take on Hillary Clinton makes the 2016 presidential election a whole lot simpler for Senate Democrats.
Already in the awkward spot of mostly backing Hillary Clinton while their colleague Sen. Bernie Sanders challenges her from the left, powerful Democrats breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday that they wouldn’t have to navigate an even messier primary season that included a sitting vice president that few of them would endorse.
In interviews with a dozen Democratic senators, it was clear that party insiders were thrilled to avert a Clinton-Biden showdown. Biden would have either lost and tainted his legacy as a popular vice president and senator — or engaged in a months-long intra-party battle with the candidate Capitol Hill Democrats are overwhelmingly backing.
Biden’s decision, senators said, positions Clinton to win the nomination and be in the strongest possible position in the general election.
“It’s one thing if Hillary were going down. She isn’t, she’s going up. And her debate performance was superior. And I would just hate for him to be in that role that would create a real schism within our party. We don’t need it and we need to be together,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
“It makes things a lot simpler for the party moving forward. That would have been a tough call for a lot of our mutual friends,” added Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).
Indeed, several Democratic senators said that they expect the rest of the undecided Democrats to fall in line behind Hillary Clinton now that Biden is out. A handful of Democrats have held out, including Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), though most are already unofficially supporting Clinton.
Then there’s the Biden-backing Delaware senators, who now have to come to terms with the expectation that they need to eventually back Hillary Clinton. But Sen. Chris Coons has no imminent plans to endorse Clinton, aides said, and Sen. Tom Carper said he has no timetable for such a decision.
“I’m not ready to think about that today. Right now I’m thinking about my friend Joe, thinking about him, praying for him and his family. Sending him my love,” Carper said.
Democrats have been walking on eggshells for months as the Biden speculation reached a fever pitch over the past week. For many of them, there was no easy answer on a potential Biden run, and the Democratic refrain had been that it was his decision to make, not theirs.
But most Democrats quietly wanted him to stay out and avoid complicating the Democratic ticket, not to mention relationships within the confines of the Senate.
More than 30 senators have voiced support for Clinton this year, creating an air of inevitability while simultaneously boxing Biden out from the Senate, an institution that he served in for 36 years and that still includes many old friends hoping to avoid an awkward battle among Clinton, Biden and Sanders.
If he had entered the race, no one was going to switch their endorsement to Biden. And few senators would have defended him, other than Coons and Carper, once the first real confrontation with Clinton bubbled up.
“He would be a good candidate but he made the right decision,” Reid told a pair of reporters.
Sanders continues to poll well in early states, but he didn’t effectively engage with Clinton on the debate stage last week. So even after Biden dropped out Wednesday, some senators still believe that he could have offered a competitive spark that seems to be missing from the race.
“I don’t know that it helps the party either way. There’s nothing wrong with competition,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who runs the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm and has not endorsed in the presidential race.
In statements blasted out to reporters, Democrats were uniformly diplomatic, praising Biden for taking time to make the decision after the death of his son Beau.
But in the hallways of the Capitol, new polls are always being digested and political calculations never stop. And after doing some quick math in their head, Democrats said that Biden dropping out means Clinton should look a heck of a lot stronger in the next set of polls, which already show Clinton gaining steam after last week's debate in Las Vegas.
“She demonstrated how qualified she is for the job in her last debate. You can see [in] the polling numbers that have come out this week how that has certainly reassured and solidified her support among Democrats across the country,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). “This will push her even further in that direction.”
There’s still a major elephant in the room: Sanders. While some like McCaskill have publicly disparaged his electoral prospects, as long as he challenges Clinton there’s still an awkward dynamic in the caucus that requires some fancy footwork whenever the primary comes up.
“The poll numbers suggest [Biden dropping out] strengthens Hillary Clinton’s hand in many states. And ultimately I believe Bernie Sanders is going to be the major challenger to her,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
That’s just fine for most Democrats. Sanders has strong support on the left, they say, but without Biden in the race most Democrats believe they can now set their sights on Republicans.
“It clearly defines the issue that Hillary will be the Democratic nominee. And I expect her to be the president,” said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). “With respect toward Bernie, it narrows the field.”
Article Link:
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/joe-biden-2016-senate-democrats-215026#ixzz3pIectCa3
Biden’s decision, senators said, positions Clinton to win the nomination and be in the strongest possible position in the general election.
“It’s one thing if Hillary were going down. She isn’t, she’s going up. And her debate performance was superior. And I would just hate for him to be in that role that would create a real schism within our party. We don’t need it and we need to be together,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
“It makes things a lot simpler for the party moving forward. That would have been a tough call for a lot of our mutual friends,” added Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).
Indeed, several Democratic senators said that they expect the rest of the undecided Democrats to fall in line behind Hillary Clinton now that Biden is out. A handful of Democrats have held out, including Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), though most are already unofficially supporting Clinton.
Then there’s the Biden-backing Delaware senators, who now have to come to terms with the expectation that they need to eventually back Hillary Clinton. But Sen. Chris Coons has no imminent plans to endorse Clinton, aides said, and Sen. Tom Carper said he has no timetable for such a decision.
“I’m not ready to think about that today. Right now I’m thinking about my friend Joe, thinking about him, praying for him and his family. Sending him my love,” Carper said.
Democrats have been walking on eggshells for months as the Biden speculation reached a fever pitch over the past week. For many of them, there was no easy answer on a potential Biden run, and the Democratic refrain had been that it was his decision to make, not theirs.
But most Democrats quietly wanted him to stay out and avoid complicating the Democratic ticket, not to mention relationships within the confines of the Senate.
More than 30 senators have voiced support for Clinton this year, creating an air of inevitability while simultaneously boxing Biden out from the Senate, an institution that he served in for 36 years and that still includes many old friends hoping to avoid an awkward battle among Clinton, Biden and Sanders.
If he had entered the race, no one was going to switch their endorsement to Biden. And few senators would have defended him, other than Coons and Carper, once the first real confrontation with Clinton bubbled up.
“He would be a good candidate but he made the right decision,” Reid told a pair of reporters.
Sanders continues to poll well in early states, but he didn’t effectively engage with Clinton on the debate stage last week. So even after Biden dropped out Wednesday, some senators still believe that he could have offered a competitive spark that seems to be missing from the race.
“I don’t know that it helps the party either way. There’s nothing wrong with competition,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who runs the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm and has not endorsed in the presidential race.
In statements blasted out to reporters, Democrats were uniformly diplomatic, praising Biden for taking time to make the decision after the death of his son Beau.
But in the hallways of the Capitol, new polls are always being digested and political calculations never stop. And after doing some quick math in their head, Democrats said that Biden dropping out means Clinton should look a heck of a lot stronger in the next set of polls, which already show Clinton gaining steam after last week's debate in Las Vegas.
“She demonstrated how qualified she is for the job in her last debate. You can see [in] the polling numbers that have come out this week how that has certainly reassured and solidified her support among Democrats across the country,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). “This will push her even further in that direction.”
There’s still a major elephant in the room: Sanders. While some like McCaskill have publicly disparaged his electoral prospects, as long as he challenges Clinton there’s still an awkward dynamic in the caucus that requires some fancy footwork whenever the primary comes up.
“The poll numbers suggest [Biden dropping out] strengthens Hillary Clinton’s hand in many states. And ultimately I believe Bernie Sanders is going to be the major challenger to her,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
That’s just fine for most Democrats. Sanders has strong support on the left, they say, but without Biden in the race most Democrats believe they can now set their sights on Republicans.
“It clearly defines the issue that Hillary will be the Democratic nominee. And I expect her to be the president,” said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). “With respect toward Bernie, it narrows the field.”
Article Link:
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/joe-biden-2016-senate-democrats-215026#ixzz3pIectCa3
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