Democrat primary: Moderates need not apply

You would need a scorecard to keep track of the avalanche of Democratic candidates throwing their hats into the Presidential ring.

Announced or soon-to-be announced candidates on the Democratic side now approach the 40-mark with more in the wings.

Many of the announced hopefuls believe that putting their name in the running early might thin the field and improve their chances.

But others will play the waiting game and pop up at the 11th hour to "save" the party and take down a sitting President.

Many of these early candidates need the improved name recognition to raise the much-needed cash to run a Presidential campaign.

But we learned from Jeb Bush in 2016, that a bucketful of money doesn't always translate into success.

If -- and that's a big if -- a centrist Democrat were to emerge, I would think they might well weed out the leftist fringe currently in the running. But I'm hard-pressed to name a centrist in the Democratic field.

There are two schools of thought on this massive crush of Democratic wannabes.

One school opines that the more the merrier. More candidates translates into more enthusiasm for the eventual nominee and thus, the party will unite behind the winner to topple Trump.

The other school opines that the various candidate camps will be so divided and so partisan that no one can or will unite the countless factions at work in the primary.

In our current crazy world, what if Oprah were to get bit by the Presidential bug? Or how about the nightmare for the GOP, Michelle Obama?

Not long ago, the betting line in Vegas would have given good odds on Uncle Bernie having the wind at his back.

But Bernie is a tad bit too conservative for today's emerging Democrat, not to mention he's white and he's old.

That leaves us with Joe Biden who, by most polls, seems to be leading a field of candidates that grows with each passing day.

He may be creepy but he's predictable, especially if he is paired with one of the more radical and younger faces of the party.

With an inauguration still exactly two years away, it appears likely that each and every of the 700-plus days remaining will be filled with Presidential politics.

This much is certain.

For the next two years, little if any true progress will be made on any front for the American public.

The divisive rhetoric will increase with each passing day and the polarization will deepen.

And the radical leftists and anarchists who long ago predicted our downfall from within may be proven accurate.

Michael Jensen is the publisher of the Standard Democrat in Sikeston, Missouri.