Not many doubt that Hillary Clinton is already in the hunt for the Democratic nomination for president for 2016, but despite that badly kept secret, the purported Democrat front-runner was not invited to a closed-door meeting of deep-pocketed liberal donors being held this week.
Politico reports that liberal favorite Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren was invited, and even Vice President Joe Biden is to appear at this year’s annual winter meeting of the Democracy Alliance. But Clinton is not on the list of speakers.
Democracy Alliance is a George Soros-funded, left-wing advocacy group that caters to big unions and has helped fund such far-left groups as People for the American Way, EMILY’s List, ACORN, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Progressive States Network, Center for Community Change, Sierra Club, and U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund.
Senator Warren intends to speak on the economy and how liberals can hobble Wall Street, raise the minimum wage, and institute a mountain of new regulations on the economy to “help” the middle class, and Biden has spoken to the group many times in the past.
The event is meant to showcase the newest “progressive” policies being planned for future campaigns. It appears that even after the drubbing that the Democrat Party received at the hands of the voters earlier this month, members of Democracy Alliance think that the answer to the Democrats’ woes is to drag the whole party farther to the left.
The DA’s newest director, Gara LaMarch, warned that the absence of Clinton at this year’s meeting is not a reflection of what members think of her chances for the White House.
“None of this has to do with presidential politics, and none of the people you asked about are declared presidential candidates,” LaMarch said of Warren and VP Biden.
Senator Warren, though, is quickly emerging as the far-left’s dream candidate for 2016, and many assume if she runs, she would be running to Hillary’s left on the issues.
Clinton may yet find another challenger, though, one who could present a bigger threat to her inevitability. Should he throw his hat in the 2016 ring, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb would assuredly run to Clinton’s right which could be very appealing to a Democrat Party devastated by a conservative wave that rolled over the country, putting Republicans into office from coast to coast.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.