Amy Klobuchar: The Promise of Pragmatism

When juxtaposed with the 14 other groundbreaking Democratic candidates, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar’s positions certainly are not exceedingly progressive. Her lack of appeal to the far left, however, may be compensated by centrist and moderate Republican support—important factors to consider as our Democratic and Republican parties continue to diverge, leaning ever further toward extremism.

The majority of the current Democratic favorites come from coastal states, but Klobuchar recognizes the importance of garnering support from states like Wisconsin and Michigan, which swung the 2016 election to Trump. She argues that Democrats cannot afford to forget about the middle of the country and believes her roots (“Minnesota nice” branding) moderate politics will appeal to a considerable number of these voters. To a certain extent, these claims are justified by her history of winning in purple states—her 2018 re-election campaign resulted in victory with a margin of 24 points. Elizabeth Warren won by the exact same margin in Massachusetts, historically a much more Democratic leaning state than Minnesota. This is a testament to Klobuchar’s self-proclaimed ability to “disagree without being disagreeable.” For reference, Hillary Clinton took Minnesota by less than two points in 2016, but won Massachusetts by a broad margin of 27 points.

However, a history of Klobuchar mistreating her staff has emerged, somewhat disfiguring the “Minnesota nice” image that she has carefully curated and around which she has framed her candidacy. Some of Klobuchar’s former staffers describe her as demeaning, demoralizing, and difficult to work with for extended periods of time. They cite her frequent belittling e-mails, in which she would characterize one’s work as the worst she had seen in her decades of public service, using them to justify her relentless scrutiny. Leaping to Klobuchar’s defense, supporters claim that her unparalleled attention to detail, work ethic, and exceedingly high standards foster a productive environment; Klobuchar had reportedly passed the most laws of anyone in the Senate in 2016. These supporters maintain that Klobuchar simply wants to see her staff meeting the high expectations she herself strives toward, motivating her employees to grow and achieve their fullest potential. The circulation of such divergent views of Klobuchar’s staff treatment may be interpreted in various different ways, working both to the detriment and benefit of her campaign.

Klobuchar’s policies primarily concern health care costs, cybersecurity, and climate change, echoing those of other generic centrist Democrats. Though she has not advocated for a program that provides Medicare for all, unlike various other candidates, she has backed the expansion of both Medicaid and Medicare. Championing legislation to curb the cost of prescription drugs, she has introduced bills that would encourage the development of cheaper alternatives to brand-name drugs and require Medicare to directly negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. In efforts to reduce foreign intervention in online election advertising and protect the online privacy of consumers, Klobuchar has also introduced legislation focused on increasing the transparency of social media companies. In addition, she has pledged to prioritize climate change, claiming that within the first 100 days of her administration, she would invest in green jobs and infrastructure, rejoin the Paris accord, and reinstate the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan.

Though Klobuchar’s staff mistreatment controversy and relatively moderate policies may mar support for her campaign within her own party, recent analysis indicates that a majority of Democrats claim preference for nominees who can beat Trump—rather than those who share all of their policy views. Thus, Klobuchar’s potential appeal to centrists and anti-Trump Republicans amid an increasingly polarized political arena certainly makes her an enticing candidate.