Vultures Circle Clinton

The Democratic Party stands on the brink. To paraphrase the famous 1964 Lyndon Johnson campaign ad “Daisy,” they must either love each other or go into the darkness.

Successive shockwaves of doubt have been roiling the Democratic establishment over Hillary Clinton’s surprising weaknesses as a candidate, and the progressive grassroots are flocking to the probably unelectable Sen. Bernie Sanders. Now, once-sidelined Democratic power players are eyeing a chance to enter the contest for the Democratic nomination.

Vice President Joe Biden, once considered an unlikely 2016 challenger to Clinton, has been ratcheting up his conversations with longtime supporters to explore the possibility. Biden reportedly made a call this week to former South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Richard A. Harpootlian to discuss a bid.

And murmurs of activity from an even more unlikely Clinton foe have increased in recent weeks.

“They’re getting the old gang together,” an anonymous Democratic insider said this week about the team of former Vice President Al Gore. Though other conflicting reports Friday from advisors close to Gore suggested the former U.S. Senator turned Vice President is not actively pondering a run.

Only a few months ago, Clinton owned the term “frontrunner.” She seemed to have the near-unanimous support of an adoring, unified Democratic Party.

Regardless, many Republicans scoff at the prospect of either Gore or Biden as the savior of the Democratic Party. But they shouldn’t scoff too soon. The visceral leftist approach these two evince, while ridiculed on the right, connects them to the Democratic base in ways that could drive liberals to the polls in both the primaries and the general election.

It could happen, just as another improbably leftist candidate, freshman Sen. Barack Obama, made it happen in 2008 and then again as president in 2012.

Only a few months ago, Clinton owned the term “frontrunner.” She seemed to have the near-unanimous support of an adoring and unified Democratic Party.

The scandal surrounding Clinton’s use of a private-email server as secretary of state has refused to die. Like a multi-headed hydra, each time Clinton and her allies chop off an angle, another dimension to the scandal appears. This week the issue reignited when Clinton turned over a professionally wiped hard drive to the FBI.

For the first time, a poll of Democratic primary voters this week showed Sanders leading Clinton in the key first primary state of New Hampshire.

“The Democratic Party rank and file… are uninspired by (Clinton),” Chuck Todd said Friday on NBC’s “Today Show.”

Calls for an alternative to Clinton are still muted but are growing audible.

“(Biden) brings a different voice in,” Iowa state Sen. Tony Bisignano told the New York Times this week. “If you’re a liberal, you’ve got to like Bernie’s message. But I don’t think enough people that like his message have full confidence he can be elected. And Hillary obviously has a very strong organization here. But people are very apprehensive about her because they always feel like there’s (another) shoe to drop.”

The once nearly-defunct group “Draft Biden” now has new life with the addition of longtime Biden family political insider Josh Alcorn.

Alcorn was a leading architect behind Beau Biden’s gubernatorial aspirations in Delaware before Biden’s untimely illness and death. The veteran fundraiser is well established in Democratic circles, with ties to outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. The addition of seasoned staff indicates the “Draft Biden” organization is gaining legitimacy.

Various reports suggest Gore, the former vice president turned global warming activist, is inching closer to actively considering a return to politics as supporters smell blood in the water around Clinton.

Either contender’s entry would set the stage for a level of brutality in the Democratic nominating process completely unforeseen earlier this year.

“They’re figuring out if there’s a path financially and politically,” an insider told Buzzfeed. “It feels more real than it has in the past months.”

Earlier in the year, both former vice presidents would not have been considered likely to mount a serious challenge to Clinton. The opportunity for an alternative to shake up the race for the Democratic nomination may be opening just wide enough for one or the other to make a bid.

If Gore or Biden launch a 2016 campaign, each man would be expected to run to the left of Clinton, but from a more legitimate position than Sanders. Timed precisely, a challenger’s entrance into the race could tap into the excitement and momentum enjoyed by Sanders and channel it into serious, lasting opposition to Clinton.

Either contender’s entry would set the stage for a level of brutality in the Democratic nominating process completely unforeseen earlier this year.

Gore, in particular, would be free to attack Clinton from the left on the issue of standing up for American workers. Clinton voiced her tentative support earlier in the summer for TPA, President Obama’s controversial trade agreement authority. Sanders has enjoyed considerable applause from liberal crowds for blasting the deal, which could expedite the loss of thousands more American manufacturing and textile jobs to Pacific Rim nations.

Both former vice presidents, particularly Biden, could also use the issue of global warming to set themselves farther to the left than Clinton. President Obama vetoed Republican-passed legislation to build the Keystone XL Pipeline. This offers Biden the chance to claim identity with the environmentalist radicals in the Democratic base. Clinton has been noncommittal on the project to date.

The possibility of a real run by Biden or Gore may still be distant and the challenges still immense should they pull the trigger. But for the first time, the possibility of disputing Hillary’s inevitability seems real.

[lz_virool paragraph=”3″]