Amy Klobuchar Launches 2020 Presidential Bid: Minnesota Mean, or Minnesota Nice?

Amy Klobuchar Launches 2020 Presidential Bid: Minnesota Mean, or Minnesota Nice?

Over the past several days, there has been a flurry of news “reports” about Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) being a “mean boss” and a “bad boss.”  In sharp contrast to these accusations, Klobuchar’s 2020 presidential campaign announcement shows her to be immensely likable.  She has that genuine “it” quality that stands in sharp contrast to Elizabeth’s Warren’s Saturday launch.

Having just seen the Warren launch, I had to smile as Klobuchar begins her speech by thanking, rather pointedly I thought, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan and noting that Flanagan is “the highest ranking Native American state official in our nation.”  A few minutes later, she mentions that the Mississippi river, the central theme of her speech, is Native American for “the father of waters,” a reference totally irrelevant to her speech.

In all honesty, this is the first time I have listened to Klobuchar give a speech, and I wasn’t expecting to find her so personable, so yes, I’ll say it again, likable.  It was a pleasant surprise, and I think the contrast between her and the triumvirate of angry Democrats (i.e. Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker) stands her in good stead.

Watch:

Having been reading for days about what a horrible human being she is, I was genuinely surprised to find Klobuchar so likable.  It’s not hard to imagine that the oppo research dump came from one (or more) of her 2020 Democrat competitors trying to get a head start on undermining her genuine charm and appeal.

Here are just a few of the stories that have been running across leftstream media:

• Amy Klobuchar: Bad Boss? – Bloomberg
• Does it matter if Amy Klobuchar is a mean boss? – Wapo
• Senator Klobuchar’s Staff Mistreatment Reportedly Goes Back a Decade, Includes Throwing Binders – The Intelligencer
• Staffers, Documents Show Amy Klobuchar’s Wrath Toward Her Aides – Buzzfeed
• Klobuchar’s opening pitch sidetracked by staff horror stories – Politico
• Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s Mistreatment Of Staff Scared Off Candidates To Manage Her Presidential Bid – HuffPo

Given how well she comes across, it’s not that surprising that the opening salvo against her targets her likability.

She posits herself as someone who can unite the country, and it’s not hard to see why she thinks so.

Fox News reports:

Klobuchar, a moderate, Midwestern Democrat who has served in the Senate since 2007, highlighted in speech her ability to work across the aisle with Republicans and her “grit” as Democrats try to win back voters in a region that supported then-candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 race.

“We worked across the aisle to get the federal funding and we rebuilt that I-35W bridge — in just over a year,” Klobuchar said in her speech with the Interstate 35 bridge over the Mississippi River as her backdrop. “That’s community. That’s a shared story. That’s ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” she said in her prepared remarks.

She added: “But that sense of community is fracturing across our nation right now, worn down by the petty and vicious nature of our politics. We are all tired of the shutdowns and the putdowns, of the gridlock and the grandstanding. Today on this snowy island, we say enough is enough. Our nation must be governed not from chaos but from opportunity. Not by wallowing over what’s wrong, but my marching inexorably toward what’s right.”

While it’s easy to see why she is considered a “moderate Democrat” in light of the absolutely loony Green New Deal embraced by many of her Democrat 2020 opponents, Klobuchar’s remarks reflect a pro-amnesty, pro-universal healthcare, pro-gun control, pro-net neutrality, pro-crippling regulations in the name of “climate change” stance that sounds pretty radical to my ears.

That said, she’s going to be a formidable opponent for her socialist/communist/progressive opponents.

Nate Silver over at FiveThirtyEight has written an interesting analysis based in no small part on her likability and appeal to voters in “flyover” country.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced her candidacy for president at a rally in Minneapolis on Sunday, becoming the fifth Democratic senator¹ to launch a campaign. In contrast to some of the big names — Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren — who had been expected to run for president for years, Klobuchar is a little bit more of a homespun, independent-label candidate.

But being on an indie label has its upsides and downsides. On the one hand, there’s perceived authenticity and the ability to build momentum from modest expectations. On the other hand, there’s the question of whether your product can get into the hands of consumers without having major-label marketing muscle behind it — and, if so, whether it can expand beyond a niche audience.

Silver lists four potential advantages for Klobuchar (electability; Potential strength in Iowa, and in the debates; the beer track [aka “‘flyover-state’ moderates”] … without the baggage?; and a reasonably clear contrast to Trump.) and two potential problems (Lack of a clear path with nonwhite voters and staffing a campaign and building support among insiders.).

On her potential strengths, Silver concludes:

Overall, this is an impressive list of strengths, even if some of them are quite hedged. They’re why Klobuchar has a considerably better chance of winning the nomination than you might guess given her relatively low profile.

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.