2020 Democratic Party primary thread

[Tellenbach]

The Hollywood elites have chosen Mayor Pete; this usually means that the news media elites will follow. Both candidates have fatal flaws and will lose because seniors don't like Comrade Bernie and black people don't like Petey. The only chance they have is if both Bader Ginsburg and Breyer croak or retire (in October) and that somehow galvanizes the Dem voters; that's my only fear.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

The person who appears to have momentum is Mayor Pete.

He'd have to win in New Hampshire for me to call it "momentum." According to 538, his chances of that (and the nomination) aren't that great. Bernie has the advantage there. Just because someone is rising in the polls for a short period of time doesn't mean they will win.

 

[Totenkindly]

Pete's way under in terms of vote share nationally (so not likely), but sure -- he's got momentum he did not have before Iowa.

I mean, everyone expected Biden to roll away with this when he entered the race, but he's hurting. You just never know where things might go before the primaries start. I think it will be a lot more clear by the end of Feb.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

An Unsettling New Theory: There Is No Swing Voter

Bitecofer has a nickname for this view. She calls it, with disdain, the “Chuck Todd theory of American politics”: “The idea that there is this informed, engaged American population that is watching these political events and watching their elected leaders and assessing their behavior and making a judgment.”

“And it is just not true.”

If she’s right, it wouldn’t just blow up the conventional wisdom; it would mean that much of the lucrative cottage industry of political experts—the consultants and pollsters and (ahem) the reporters—is superfluous, an army of bit players with little influence over the outcome. Actually, worse than superfluous: That whole industry of experts is generally wrong.

Well, I think when you consider how badly they (with the exception of Nate Silver) fucked up in 2016, that's a given.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

The Iowa Caucus Was Waterloo for Democrats – Rolling Stone

Matt Taibbi on the Iowa caucuses. Well worth the read, like everything he writes.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

The Iowa Caucus Was Waterloo for Democrats – Rolling Stone

Matt Taibbi on the Iowa caucuses. Well worth the read, like everything he writes.

I liked the article.

Democratic campaign events have long been more pep rally than discussion, more about the terribleness of Republicans than substance. “They’re so used to events where everyone is rooting for them,” says Redd. “It’s like, ‘No, we’re actually here to challenge you on issues that matter.’”

Good. This has been needed for a long time. I can honestly say that I never expected to see this many people doing this.

Kerry later said he was enumerating the reasons he wouldn’t run, though those notably did not include humility about his own reputation as a comical national electoral failure, or because there’s already a candidate in the race (Biden) he’d been crisscrossing Iowa urging people to vote for, but instead because he’d have to step down from the board of Bank of America and give up paid speeches. French aristocrats who shouted “Vive le Roi!” on the way to the razor did a better job advertising themselves.

LOL. Oh, and this is golden:

Klobuchar is a pure distillation of “electability,” i.e. a Washington reporter’s idea of what a Midwesterner finds charming. She isn’t funny, but her tireless marketing of her funniness matches the reportorial concept of what a “sense of humor” is in politics.

Her ability to speak at length without revealing deep ideological belief is also prized by our kind. This is what Washington for decades told people they wanted, instead of health care, peace, job security, etc.

 

[Virtual ghost]

I am curious and I think it is legit question: What happens if candidate's health implodes during the campaign ? What about GE ?
Does settled VP makes any difference in this ?


(there is plenty of old people in the game)

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

I'd actually trust Bernie over Pete and all of the other democratic candidates to do everything in his power to safeguard gay rights as President.

He has a track record going back to his years in the house of voting pro gay rights even when it was politically unpopular. Most democrats only jumped on board with gay rights when it was politically easy and painless for them to do so. I will concede that even Tulsi has been an opportunist in this regard.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

I fear Pete is just another corporate shill who happens to tick off the right culture war boxes that appeal to the wokester single issue voters willing to overlook the neoconservative economic and foreign policies that moderate dems always end up backing once in office.

Honestly, I'd probably have been excited if a Pete type ran in 2008. But that's his biggest problem for me. I feel like he and a lot of the other candidates are running as if they were running on a 2008 democratic platform. Which might be revolutionary in 2008, but is just running to preserve the status quo in 2020. Consider why Obama was more popular than Hillary in 2008. Because she was basically running for a third Bill Clinton term, whilst Obama represented people who wanted to move on from that--they didn't want a candidate who would campaign as if they were running in 2000. fast forward to now and trying to run for Obama's third term isn't going to cut it. It certainly didn't cut it in 2016. Most of the field is embarrassingly behind in failing to realize this. Time to move on.

 

[ceecee]

I'd actually trust Bernie over Pete and all of the other democratic candidates to do everything in his power to safeguard gay rights as President.

He has a track record going back to his years in the house of voting pro gay rights even when it was politically unpopular. Most democrats only jumped on board with gay rights when it was politically easy and painless for them to do so. I will concede that even Tulsi has been an opportunist in this regard.

I would trust Bernie to safeguard the rights of more people than any other candidate.

Could Bernie Sanders Actually Legalize Marijuana Nationwide On Day One As President? | Marijuana Moment

To effectively end marijuana prohibition through the executive branch, according to an analysis from the Brookings Institution’s John Hudak, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or an outside party would have to file a petition, which would then be reviewed by the attorney general, who has usually delegated that responsibility to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The attorney general can also initiate the process on their own, requesting a scientific review directly to HHS. Under HHS, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would then assess the scientific, medical and public health implications before submitting that review to the Justice Department.

Even though it would not impact state laws, the notion of decriminalizing at the federal level is a positive step. Not just weed but the entire war on drugs bullshit.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

I would trust Bernie to safeguard the rights of more people than any other candidate.

Could Bernie Sanders Actually Legalize Marijuana Nationwide On Day One As President? | Marijuana Moment



Even though it would not impact state laws, the notion of decriminalizing at the federal level is a positive step. Not just weed but the entire war on drugs bullshit.

Decriminalizing and legalizing it at the federal level is the way to go. States have taken too long on this issue. We also need to immediately pardon all criminals with weed offenses, and expunge records of past offenders.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

I'd hoped adding a heterodox liberal to the field would have been a good thing, I can see now I was wrong.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

The DNC and masses of primary voters should be considering her potential to swing Trump voters to the democratic side in a general election, something Pete or Joe will have trouble achieving.

Trump Voters Have Found a Democrat They Can Get Behind in New Hampshire – Mother Jones

LOL, what if Hillary is secretly working for Tulsi and her recent slam was a bit of reverse psychology to get more people behind Tulsi?

 

[SearchingforPeace]

A Republican Plutocrat Tries To Buy The Democratic Nomination ❧ Current Affairs

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

Bloomberg is just as bad as Trump. We don’t need another rich reactionary

Worst part is that if this guy starts doing well, you can guarantee a lot of democratic voters will be seduced and justify it with “at least he ain’t Trump”

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

I changed my mind. He may be worse, because he’s smarter than Trump. Doesn’t mean I’d vote Trump. Probably stay home and mourn the death of the facade of democracy if it ends up Bloomberg vs Trump. How depressing

 

[Maou]

I changed my mind. He may be worse, because he’s smarter than Trump. Doesn’t mean I’d vote Trump. Probably stay home and mourn the death of the facade of democracy if it ends up Bloomberg vs Trump. How depressing

For the DNC, it is a facade. Bloomberg bought his way onto the debate stage and got the rules changed to fuck over Sanders. At least Trump got in by the current rules in the RNC.

At least Klobuchar is rising. Fuck Biden, and fuck Warren.

 

[The Cat]

O I dislike bloomberg so hard. that fuckin guy.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

O I dislike bloomberg so hard. that fuckin guy.

I've noticed a lot of Bloomberg stories (many of them pro-Bloomberg) in my news feed app this morning. Looks like they're pushing him hard. I get that he has a lot of money to throw at people, but wouldn't the smart thing for establishment forces to do at this point be to pick one candidate and throw all their support behind him? First it was Buttigieg, then it was Klobuchar, now Bloomberg. I guess they're just in "irrational panic mode" because Biden flamed out in Iowa.

I'm reminded of how the Republican establishment couldn't settle on a single anti-Trump candidate and all get behind that.

I think Bloomberg isn't going to gain much traction. I don't think even "electability" will convince Democratic primary voters that they should replace a New York plutocrat with a less overtly racist but more neoliberal New York plutocrat. I would have banked on Mayor Pete being a threat, but it seems more like there's going to be a split between Klobuchar and Buttigeig as (I predict) Biden continues to hemorrhage supporters as everyone catches on that he has no interest in actually winning this thing and that he was just talked into it.

 

[The Cat]

I've noticed a lot of Bloomberg stories (many of them pro-Bloomberg) in my news feed app this morning. Looks like they're pushing him hard. I get that he has a lot of money to throw at people, but wouldn't the smart thing for establishment forces to do at this point be to pick one candidate and throw all their support behind him? First it was Buttigieg, then it was Klobuchar, now Bloomberg. I guess they're just in "irrational panic mode" because Biden flamed out in Iowa.

I'm reminded of how the Republican establishment couldn't settle on a single anti-Trump candidate and all get behind that.

pretty sure the Democrats are a house divided at this point. id rather have a coked out nic cage in the office than bloomberg.