The political landscape is becoming more and more complicated every day. This essay will examine the choices Democratic voters have for president at this early stage.

The US currently has a lame duck president who is taking on a many of the most controversial issues during his time in office. On the other hand, a cavalcade of old and new faces are dominating the liberal side of the equation by grasping onto tired issues. If any of the latter group is to be successful, he or she must choose the most important issues in the minds of voters and deliver tangible strategies to solve the problems of all Americans.

Let’s  consider the candidates who may represent Democrats.

Kamala Harris still has not revealed what she aspires to moving forward. Her choices are to run for the presidency once again, run for governor of California or just hang around as others plan and execute their next moves to win the Democratic Primary.

Kamala would have to shed a ton of dead weight before she could assume leadership of the Democratic Party. Her performance in the last presidential campaign is not affording her party confidence that she will do better with another presidential nomination. She has not made one single proposal or remark that has encouraged voters to support her. Kamala is not a leader and does not have the knowledge to take on others from her own party or the opposition party.

Kamala has left her party in shambles and her book tour is only serving to infuriate fellow Democrats. I started to read her autobiography and ended my experience just a few chapters into it. I decided to give the book to one of my frustrated progressive friends.

Gavin Newsom seems to be moving ahead with a plan to run for president. The New York Times seems to think this man can save the Democratic Party. California is having a very bad year. Fires, protests, massive debt concerns and a growing homeless population are all things that Newsom doesn’t speak about when he gets on the stump. To date, Newsom has not done a very good job selling himself as a top shelf candidate. His rhetoric is directed mostly at Trump’s persona, not his policies.

Bernie Sanders is too old to lead the Democratic Party. He is the most knowledgeable progressive and would be a huge supporter of AOC if she decides to run for president. Bernie just has not been able to convince the voters that he can run the US government himself, much less balance the budget after giving way so many free things to his constituents.

AOC is an interesting choice for president. I must confess, she has really made an impact as a rebel-rouser. That is not to say she has anywhere near the requisite experience to be president and a world leader. Her affiliation with the radical troublemakers in Congress will not help her gain support.

So, Zohran Mamdani is the new face on the block. Having won the New York City mayoral race is a feather in his cap, but he is a socialist. I spent my entire life being told and believing that socialism is very bad for our country. Why would I ever consider a man who eschews capitalism as a person to be the leader of the largest and greatest city in the world? New York City is a solid blue stronghold, but it’s the economic capital of the world. There are lots of young people who seem interested in testing socialistic solutions to our problems. They will learn to appreciate that socialism is not going to be successful in the Big Apple. Even China and Russia are accepting capitalistic dogma. Mamdani should have little impact on the impending presidential elections. It will be impossible for this man to give the benefits he says he will fight for.

Democrats don’t seem to understand that facing off against Donald Trump is a waste of time. He’s going to be gone in less than three years. Of most importance and to win, Democrats need new ideas about how to deal with illegal aliens, in particular. Our nation has been inundated with illegals and a significant number of them have criminal records. The impact of 20 or so million people across the US has been a hardship at every level of government. This is a fight for jobs, housing, and education. The assimilation of illegals would be an excellent challenge for Democrats to take on. To date, the focus has been on new immigrants. Illegal immigration will continue to be the number one issue facing our leaders in the foreseeable future .

Democrats must move away from woke issues. The backlash against this phenomenon has been broad. Unisex bathrooms, teaching very young children about gender issues and the like are not popular with the majority of American voters.

Effective Democratic candidates will need to convince ultra-progressives and young people that militant activities such as violent protest will make it impossible for Democrats to effectively challenge conservative Republicans.

There are a number of Democratic Congress-people who could become effective candidates for the presidency. Unfortunately, radical progressives of the party will prevent them from getting into the race for political offices.