2020 Democratic Candidates Tracker - Part II

[angrysoba]

Marraine Williamson, who has been cut from the debates for not having enough support in the polls to make her a viable candidate, just did an self pitying ,high school drama queen level WAPO op ed piece in which she pretty much declared the Democratic party a corrupt, evil organization because she did not have a place in the debates.
She declared the Evil Democratic bosses were shutting down the process too early.
Uh, how many people did we have in the debate last night?
Go back to peddling new age crap, Marriane. You could not get enough supporters to get a place in the debate and are now embarrassing yourself with whining about it.
The herd needed culling, and people who had a lot more chance then you ever had have gracefully dropped out.

I don’t agree with any of her policies that I know of, but I decided to look at the op-Ed you mentioned to see if it resembled your summary and I have to say what you have written could charitably be called a hyperbolic caricature.

She complains that the debates are of a poor quality and are increasingly narrowly-focused and usually involve unedifying slanging matches. It’s hard to disagree with that part. She also argues that the Democratic Party bosses are responsible for closing down the options in the debate while giving the appearance of openness. I agree less with that, but certainly this is a view that some members here agree with - that ultimately party decides. She also thinks that the party is scared of floating ideas that will scare the horses (or corporate donors such as, presumably, insurance companies. Anyone disagree with this? And it has been seen even here that many people are afraid the electorate could not handle anyone who doesn’t look like Biden.

I think Warren and Sanders have been most explicit in echoing the views that Republicans are not afraid to be Republicans but Democrats are much more embarrassed at being themselves and loudly advocating for progressive ideas.

I lean more towards that idea than the question-begging she should drop out because it is time to drop out.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...-nights-debate-theres-no-way-im-dropping-out/

 

[varwoche]

Re Williamson's complaint that the Dems limited the number of candidates participating in the debates...

So what. This needs to be done. If you don't limit the number, you get a clown show like the 135 people who ran for governor of CA in 2003, including Gary Coleman.

 

[angrysoba]

Re Williamson's complaint that the Dems limited the number of candidates participating in the debates...

So what. This needs to be done. If you don't limit the number, you get a clown show like the 135 people who ran for governor of CA in 2003, including Gary Coleman.

Have you seen who gets to be California governor? A clown show is to be expected.

Jesus! Have you seen who gets to be president? A clown show is to be expected.

 

[acbytesla]

Marraine Williamson, who has been cut from the debates for not having enough support in the polls to make her a viable candidate, just did an self pitying ,high school drama queen level WAPO op ed piece in which she pretty much declared the Democratic party a corrupt, evil organization because she did not have a place in the debates.
She declared the Evil Democratic bosses were shutting down the process too early.
Uh, how many people did we have in the debate last night?
Go back to peddling new age crap, Marriane. You could not get enough supporters to get a place in the debate and are now embarrassing yourself with whining about it.
The herd needed culling, and people who had a lot more chance then you ever had have gracefully dropped out.

How she ever got a place on the stage is beyond me. It's definitely time to cull the herd.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Of course. That doesn't change the fact that I think that Pence would try to take what he considers to be the good things that Trump did and act as if they were his own achievements in a heartbeat, if he thought he could get away with it.

So what? He can claim anything he wants, doesn't mean he'll have any cred.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Holy wow, the host(s) actually asked them to name some Republican friends‽ The standard by which they're supposed to justify themselves & measure their own worth is by how much approval they can get out of the opposition‽ If a group of Republican candidates were asked the equivalent, they'd just laugh... but they wouldn't have been asked.

That move officially finally shifts the host(s) over from merely asking questions in the Republican way & thus trying to get them all to accept Republican premises, to just flat-out telling them they're supposed to be bowing & scraping to the Republicans at all times.

TBF, it was name a friendship with someone whose views differ, not which GOP legislator were you friends with.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

My #1 priority -- far above everything else -- is defeating Trump. I barely care about policy particulars other than how they might impact the general election horse race. Accordingly, some random thoughts...

At the end of the debate I'm left depressed. The front-runners were highly unimpressive and the candidates I like best have no chance. I like Steyer. I like Yang, even though I'm not a fan of his signature proposal. They impress me as smart and as non bull ********. Bernie out-performed the two front-runners.

I rule out Gabbard because of how her religion would play out in the general. Never mind that I think she's nutty -- that's low priority right now. Take away her religion and I think she'd win the general.

Unfortunately I rule out Mayor Pete, even though I like him a lot, due to how his sexual identity would play out in the general.

Unfortunately I rule out Beto, who I once had high hopes for, because he's staking out positions (that I agree with) that call his electability into question.

That leaves six candidates who I'd prefer over the three geezers, none of whom have an ice cube's chance in hell of winning the nomination.

My thoughts are similar. Details differ but the gist is the same. All these candidates and I'm not convinced the top three are sure bets.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Apparently Buttgiggle recently reassured insurance companies that they'll still be able to make huge profits even if Medicare for All happens. Does he think that increases his appeal to voters? Or is he angling to catch Biden's eye as a VP candidate?

A link would be nice.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

As it should be. Any beating they take now will be nothing compared to the dirty politics that will come in the general. Any candidate that can't survive some tender needling from within the party primary has no business running against Trump.

The biggest complaint about candidate Hillary Clinton is that, if not for Bernie's moonshot campaign, she would have run largely unopposed by serious candidates. The Clinton coronation lead to a uniquely weak candidate.

Or Sanders' criticism left damage.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

What was with Harris's thing about getting Trump off Twitter? If a central Democratic campaign theme is Trump isn't smart enough or mentally stable enough to be president, why would they want him to stop tripping balls on Twitter?

Seemed to me she was looking through prosecutor glasses where you cannot say certain things in public that taint the trial.

 

[Brainster]

A link would be nice.

Buttigieg came out with a YouTube video where he talked about letting people keep their private insurance if they want. So the Sanders supporters are spinning it that he's just fine with the "huge" profits insurers are making.

 

[Aridas]

So what? He can claim anything he wants, doesn't mean he'll have any cred.

Let's take a step back here. You made what was likely something of a throwaway comparison between Biden and Pence. I responded. At no point did I even remotely attempt to claim that either would have cred doing the thing, just that I can indeed picture Pence doing exactly that. Pence is a lying weasel, after all.

TBF, it was name a friendship with someone whose views differ, not which GOP legislator were you friends with.

Minor correction because it wasn't quite that, either. It was a request to describe an unlikely friendship. You're describing the most obvious way to answer it, not quite the question itself.

 

[SezMe]

Why not?

Just sharing some haymakers from the frontrunner.

It's a good clip worth watching but Bernie is not the front runner.

 

[SezMe]

Horse before cart. Is it even an important consideration for you?

Nope.

ETA: The only real data I have is what's been reported in this thread, and Delphic Oracle's attempt to downplay the donation attack as "over the course of her entire career". This makes it seem a lot more spread out than it actually is. Mildly interesting sidebar, but not really a problem that needs solving. Unless you think it is.

Nope. Well, it did give me an opportunity to yank your chain just a tad so I didn't want to pass that up.

 

[Brainster]

Meanwhile, half the Squad (the more famous half) is endorsing Bernie Sanders. AOC and Ilhan Omar announced their support today; Pressley and Tlaib are holding back for now. Someone said that perhaps AOC was making a mistake by endorsing now, but it's actually pretty savvy. It gives Bernie a slight boost just when he needs it, and if he fizzles out and she has to later endorse Warren, I don't think it will hurt her. Keep in mind she was a volunteer for Bernie in 2016, so I doubt there will be bitterness on Warren's part if she ends up being the nominee. And of course she's not going to support Biden until he's guaranteed the nomination.

 

[SezMe]

What was with Harris's thing about getting Trump off Twitter? If a central Democratic campaign theme is Trump isn't smart enough or mentally stable enough to be president, why would they want him to stop tripping balls on Twitter?

Candidates sometimes make dumb (in the context of a race for office) statements:
- Warren stating she wants to eliminate private insurance
- Harris wanting to get Dump off Twitter
- etc.

 

[SezMe]

Given the mortality tables, being Biden's Veep might very much be worth it. Biden will turn 78 shortly after election day in 2020. His odds of surviving 4 years are around 80%, of surviving 8 years about 56%. Of course, those are averages and we'll assume that the President gets quite a bit better than average healthcare.

To be balanced against having a FAR more stressful job than most octogenarians.

 

[SezMe]

TBF, it was name a friendship with someone whose views differ, not which GOP legislator were you friends with.

It was still a really dumb question. How is that supposed to decide who should be the Dem candidate?

 

[kellyb]

Candidates sometimes make dumb (in the context of a race for office) statements:
- Warren stating she wants to eliminate private insurance- Harris wanting to get Dump off Twitter
- etc.

I don't think it was dumb. She's assuming that between her and Bernie, one would drop out eventually, and she's showing "the left" that her opening negotiation on healthcare isn't going to be starting off by conceding territory to the right, which is something most progressives worry about.

 

[Brainster]

To be balanced against having a FAR more stressful job than most octogenarians.

I hadn't caught this before but if Biden wins he would be older than Ronald Reagan was when he rode off into the sunset. Reagan was the oldest president ever at 77 years and 349 days when he retired back to the ranch; Biden would be almost exactly that old on election day next year, and older that that if he were inaugurated. Of course, if Trump is re-elected he will become the oldest president ever if he survives his second term. And Sanders has them all beat already so he would immediately become the oldest president ever. And if Warren wins and is re-elected? Yep, if she survives she'd be the oldest president ever.

Wow.