Confederate Statue Slayer Mitch Landrieu Emerges as Possible 2020 Democrat Contender

There was a definite method to the madness when New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu made a national production out of tearing down a number of Confederate monuments in the Big Easy.

The removal of the long-standing historic statues of Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and P.G.T. Beauregard made Landrieu into a hero of the American Taliban who seek to erase the history that isn’t compatible with their radical sensitivities.

To those with finely-tuned political antennae and top shelf bullshit detectors it was clear that Mayor Landrieu’s pandering and demagoguery had less to do with any sincere conviction and everything to do with launching a career in Democratic party politics on the national level.

That is exactly what is happening.

Via The Hill “Meet Mitch Landrieu, the 2020 dark-horse Dem”:

Democrats looking for new blood to revitalize their party are taking a close look at New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who is suddenly being discussed as a dark-horse presidential nominee.

After delivering a powerful speech last month on the removal of Confederate monuments from his city, Landrieu made national headlines and won praise from Democratic strategists looking for ways to ignite hope in their party.

That Landrieu is a new face from outside Washington makes him even more intriguing to hard-nosed Democratic strategists.

“I find him to be an incredibly fascinating political figure,” said Jamal Simmons, one of the Washington Democrats turning an eye toward Landrieu. “When you think who are the non-Washington figures in the left that ought to have a say in where we go, I think a lot of people would point to him.”

AND

Now, as the party looks to rebuild, Democrats say Landrieu and other non-establishment politicians like him could be the future of the party.

For Landrieu, it means increasingly fielding questions about a White House run in 2020.

The mayor has told those around him and those who pose the question that he’s focused solely on his current job and his upcoming role heading the Conference of Mayors. He is not thinking about a presidential bid, he has repeated countless times.

But Democrats say his speech on the removal of the Confederate monuments struck a tone that the party craves.

“To literally put the Confederacy on a pedestal in our most prominent places of honor is an inaccurate recitation of our full past, it is an affront to our present, and it is a bad prescription for our future,” Landrieu said.

The speech caught the attention of parts of the liberal political intelligentsia.

Of course, Mayor Landrieu has several obstacles to overcome, not the least of which is being a white male in a party that has embraced identity politics as religious dogma.

The only other of this endangered species who has a chance would be former vice president Joe Biden who has coyly hinted at a desire to run. That however would put him at odds with those who will settle for nothing less than a woman – or a minority – as a presidential nominee in 2020.

The early handicapping favors freshman California Senator Kamala Harris who is able to check off two boxes on the identity politics application form although she would have to tone down her act as a bitch on wheels a tad to appeal to more than the fanatical party base.

Louisiana is well known for its long line of flamboyantly slimy politicians and rank charlatans and Landrieu is just the latest edition. Look for him to be a player going forward.