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Warren, Buttigieg fight echoes 2004 campaign, serves as warning for 2020 race | TheHill

posted onDecember 8, 2019
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Article snippet: An escalating feud between Sen. MORE (D) is highlighting old schisms in the Democratic Party over ideology and political strategy — disputes that highlight just how crucial the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses are to both candidates. The sight is all too familiar — with a large number of Democrats in Iowa, the fight is reminiscent of the 2004 campaign, when a similar cast of characters held the stage. The feud between the two front-runners cost them both the chance to be the Democratic nominee against President George W. Bush.  Fifteen years ago, liberals found a rising champion in Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D), the only major contender in the Democratic race who had vocally opposed the war in Iraq. Dean's populist appeal drew huge crowds at West Coast campaign stops, and his poll numbers in Iowa rose steadily. ADVERTISEMENT Standing in his way was the man Dean had supported for president in 1988, Dick Gephardt, the House Democratic leader. Gephardt, from neighboring Missouri, cultivated a blue collar Midwestern moderation and banked on support from one of the key pillars of the Democratic electorate, organized labor. Fifteen years later, another Northeastern populist is carving out a liberal niche. Warren does not have the benefit of a single issue on which she can contrast herself with the rest of the field, like Dean and the war in Iraq, but she has used detailed policy proposals to set her campaign apart. Like in 2004, another Midwestern pragmatist is making... Link to the full article to read more

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