Candidate Profile: Amy Klobuchar

Image source: The New York Times

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar was recently one of several candidates in the race to claim the Democratic Presidential nomination. A seasoned moderate Democrat who has long advocated for increased bipartisanship in Congress, Klobuchar has had an impactful and notable political career both within and outside the confines of her state. Despite this, her early presidential campaign efforts did not resonate with prospective voters. As the campaign season has progressed, however, her unanticipated success- particularly following the New Hampshire Democratic Debate- led to her attracting increasing “Klobmentum” with prospective voters. While she has since dropped out of the race, it is still worth exploring the policies defining the woman who had finally begun to cause such a stir so late in the game and how she continues to impact the race from the sidelines.  

On the minds of many voters because of its potential long-lasting consequences is environmental policy. Klobuchar has several policies she wishes to implement which would help the US achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. She plans to reduce carbon emissions by implementing more stringent government regulations, and to end leases on federal land made for oil and gas drilling purposes.[1] This would cause the nation to decrease its reliance on fossil fuels and increase its use of cleaner, more renewable energy. Furthermore, Klobuchar’s commitment to re-entering the International Climate Change Agreement[2] highlights her more proactive approach to combating climate change in comparison to that of the current administration.

Klobuchar also deviates from the Trump administration with her views regarding immigration. While President Trump has been notoriously hostile to immigrants of multiple backgrounds, working tirelessly to end DACA, Klobuchar rallies for the policy as a way to protect immigrants “brought to the [United States] illegally as children” and as a method to help them obtain citizenship.[3] She does not support the decriminalization of illegal boarding crossing though, which alludes to her more moderate platform. 

Also a priority among voters is healthcare reform. Overall, Klobuchar advocates for an expansion of coverage by “building on” the groundwork laid by the Affordable Care Act, a 2010 law put forth by the Obama Administration designed to make affordable health insurance accessible to more people.[4] Her view that Medicare for all is not a viable option “right now”[5] underscores her more moderate political stance and emphasizes her acknowledgment of the trade-offs associated with the program: the large expected costs and the likely rocky transition that would follow forcing everyone onto one plan.[6] Ultimately, however, Klobuchar has iterated time and again that she is working towards achieving universal health care. 

Many Americans are plagued by concerns regarding a lack of affordable housing, the low federal minimum wage, and the hefty price tag associated with higher education. To mitigate the high cost of housing, Klobuchar favors an expansion of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, which encourages the “construction or rehabilitation of affordable rental housing for low and moderate-income tenants.”[7] Additionally, she supports an increase in funding for various rental assistance programs and initiatives that would directly aid financially struggling families and individuals throughout the rental process.[8] Also instigating economic hardship is the low $7.25 federal minimum wage. Klobuchar, along with the vast majority of her fellow Democratic presidential candidates, advocates for raising this hourly rate to $15 and increasing it as the years go by to keep pace with inflation. Lastly, in response to the sky-high cost of obtaining a bachelor’s degree and the debt that plagues millions of young adults for years afterward, Klobuchar has expressed her support for making two years of community college free of charge and by building on or reforming current debt-relief programs.[9] The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is the focus of many Democratic candidates, Klobuchar included, due to its rigid eligibility requirements which have led to a denial of ninety-nine percent of all loan forgiveness applications.[10]

When her campaign was still active, Klobuchar posed an interesting threat to candidates such as Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg, who have both recently withdrawn from the race. Selling herself as a moderate alternative to the more left-leaning Democrats and campaigning in the hopes of obtaining the votes of independents and some Republicans, Klobuchar weakened support for Buttigieg, who had adopted the same approach with some success against Bernie Sanders. Klobuchar also represented a threat to Warren’s attempt to win the votes of “suburban, college-educated women, largely moderates.”[11] 

Despite the large number of newspaper endorsements and dramatically increased national attention that followed Klobuchar’s third-place win in the New Hampshire Democratic Debate, she ultimately chose to withdraw from the race in early March. In doing so, she has explained that she hopes to help “unite the moderate wing of the Democratic Party'' by publicly endorsing fellow moderate Joe Biden.[12] Klobuchar is attributing her choice to her ongoing effort to unite the American people against President Trump. Regardless of the Democratic nomination outcome, the emphasis Klobuchar places on the importance of both bridging the political divide and achieving unity within the Democratic Party is something to bear in mind.

Sources:

1. Politico. “Where Amy Klobuchar Stands On The Biggest 2020 Issues.” POLITICO: 2020 Dems. Politico, February 6, 2020. https://www.politico.com/2020-election/candidates-views-on-the-issues/amy-klobuchar/.

2.  “Climate · Amy Klobuchar for President: Let's Get to Work!” Amy Klobuchar for President: Let's Get to Work! Amy For America. Accessed February 28, 2020. https://amyklobuchar.com/issue/climate/.

3. Hansen, Claire. “2020 Explained: How Immigration Will Impact the Election.” U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News & World Report, September 12, 2019. https://www.usnews.com/elections/immigration-2020.

4. “Affordable Care Act (ACA) - HealthCare.gov Glossary.” HealthCare.gov. HealthCare.gov. Accessed February 28, 2020. https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/.

5. Weissmann, Jordan. “Every Democrat Should Talk About Health Care Like Amy Klobuchar Does.” Slate Magazine. Slate, February 19, 2019. https://slate.com/business/2019/02/amy-klobuchar-medicaid-buy-in-medicare-for-all.html.

6. Politico. “Where Amy Klobuchar Stands On The Biggest 2020 Issues.” POLITICO: 2020 Dems. Politico, February 6, 2020. https://www.politico.com/2020-election/candidates-views-on-the-issues/amy-klobuchar/.

7. Politico. “Where Amy Klobuchar Stands On The Biggest 2020 Issues.” POLITICO: 2020 Dems. Politico, February 6, 2020. https://www.politico.com/2020-election/candidates-views-on-the-issues/amy-klobuchar/.

8. Turner, Cory. “Why Public Service Loan Forgiveness Is So Unforgiving.” NPR. NPR, October 17, 2018. https://www.npr.org/2018/10/17/653853227/the-student-loan-whistleblower.

9. Corasaniti, Nick. “How Amy Klobuchar Suddenly Became a Rival Worth Attacking.” The New York Times. The New York Times, February 20, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/us/politics/amy-klobuchar-debate.html.

10. Burns, Alexander, Jonathan Martin, and Nick Corasaniti. “Buttigieg and Klobuchar to Endorse Biden, Aiming to Slow Sanders.” The New York Times. The New York Times, March 2, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/02/us/politics/pete-buttigieg-joe-biden-endorsement.html.