Some Things Presidential Candidates Could Do Instead of Running for President
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is running for president, joining 22 other people who are running as Democrats. The majority of those people are white men. There are seven senators, three governors, and two Johns.
It is a farce and a shame, a circus of ego; man after man with politics and a policy profile almost identical to his opponents pretending that he thinks he could actually be president in order to boost his boring profile, using the opportunity of running against Donald Trump to secure a future MSNBC gig, or a corporate board appointment, or just higher speaking fees. You thought it was silly for Beto O’Rourke or Pete Buttigieg to run for president? Just wait until you meet Tim Ryan, a man with two first names and no face.
Let’s imagine a better world in which these people were motivated by anything other than self-interest. Let’s imagine they were inclined to listen to reason, and entertain other options for occupying their time. What could they more usefully do?
1. Run for Senate.
This is an obvious one: With the 2020 Senate odds tipped towards Republicans maintaining control, Democrats need good candidates in Senate races. States like Georgia, Colorado, and Maine represent possibilities for Democratic pickups. If you actually care about getting any of your policy priorities through, you need the best possible Senate makeup you can get.
Best candidate: Beto O’Rourke. Beto, you absolute moron, you could have kept riding the wave of national admiration for being a popular Democrat in Texas by running against John Cornyn. Instead, you’re polling “worse than ever.” Nice one.
2. Just keep doing your actual job.
Someone tell me what the dang hell is wrong with being governor of Montana? You get to live in a cool-ass Western mountain state that looks like this; you get paid $111,000, which in Montana is like being a millionaire in New York; you get to wear a cowboy hat. And what the darn tootin’ heck is wrong with being mayor of New York? Sure, everyone hates you, but no one is going to like you any more after you run for president. You get a massive house in New York City, too.