• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

2020 Democratic Candidates Tracker - Part II

Status
Not open for further replies.
Skeptic Ginger said:
See, this is the problem, people don't get it how advanced and significant marketing science actually is.

And it doesn't make a lick of difference which party Lakoff supports. I cited Rove and Luntz, both staunch Republicans as well.
Click to expand...
I am alarmed by the increased ability of media (in the broadest possible sense) to manipulate as well.
I have spent decades in sales, and can attest to the efficacy of well researched methods of manipulating perception. There is a great deal more to it than most of us expect, and we are all victims of it- even those of us who know it is being used on us.
 
Here's what Buttigieg's campaign learned from focus groups in South Carolina:

The 21-page report, conducted by the Benenson Strategy Group with black Democratic South Carolina voters in mid-July and obtained exclusively by McClatchy, found that “being gay was a barrier for these voters, particularly for the men who seemed deeply uncomfortable even discussing it. … [T]heir preference is for his sexuality to not be front and center.”

While the report stated that Buttigieg’s sexuality was not a “disqualifier” for these voters, some of the focus group participants questioned why Buttigieg even brought it up.

“That’s not my thing but I wouldn’t want to know that as a candidate,” said one female participant under 40. “Too much information.”

“I’ll go ahead and say it,” said a male participant. “I don’t like the fact that he threw out there that he lives with his husband.”

...

Some of the focus group participants wondered whether foreign leaders would accept a gay president. “Are they going to relate to him with a husband?,” a female participant over 40 asked.

“We need someone in the position now as a strong leader coming from what we have now, and that’s the only reason I think that would hurt him,” added a male participant.

...

Clay Middleton, a South Carolina Democratic National Committee member currently advising Cory Booker, said he was not surprised by the Buttigieg campaign’s findings.

“I’ve been a black guy all my life in the South and it is one of those things. African-Americans, when it comes to certain things, are very conservative,” Middleton said. “If you needed a focus group to tell you that, ok.”

Of all members of the focus groups, older women were observed to be the most capable of moving past Buttigieg’s sexual orientation, but even they preferred he didn’t make it a focal point.

“I know there’s going to be that one little thing that holds him back,” said a female over 40. “I’m fine with it, to each their own, but … ”

...

Johnnie Cordero, the black caucus chairman of South Carolina Democrats, said he spoke one-on-one with Buttigieg about running as a gay candidate in the South last spring.

“To be honest with you, it’s going to be a problem. I know he knows that because we’ve discussed it,” Cordero said. “My advice to him was, don’t flaunt it. … I’m reluctant to say this for publication, but it’s an important fact.”

It’s blunt advice that’s divergent from what Buttigieg heard from Rev. Al Sharpton, who told him to campaign in the South with his husband “because we have got to break down this barrier, unapologetic.”

Cordero said personal engagement with African-Americans in private settings would be the best way to allay their skepticism.

“Just don’t force it down people’s throats. That was my advice to him,” Cordero said. “Oddly enough he agreed it was not to his advantage to make a big deal out of it.”

“He can change it not overnight but dramatically, that outside of that issue he is a person with integrity and honesty,” Cordero added.

When asked which approach was the correct path for the campaign, Neal said, “I think he should stick to why he’s running for president of the United States. Who he goes home to is not an issue … He’s running for president of the United States, not president of a certain community.”

Former DNC chair Donna Brazile said she believes that black voters have shown to be more tolerant and accepting than most Americans once they get to know the person.

“The mayor must convince these voters of what they share in common versus our vast differences of background, personality or sexual orientation,” Brazile said. “The best place to start is by reminding these voters that he is a person of faith.”

Buttigieg’s faith is one of the topics the campaign tested in the focus groups. For older women, it was “a real winner and pushed them past their doubts,” the campaign found. But some African-American men were more skeptical.

“How can you refer to God when a lot of people think you’re living ungodly? You know what I’m saying,” asked one male participant.
Click to expand...

And on Harris:

The focus groups were also utilized to drill down on one of the most memorable moments of the primary so far: Kamala Harris’ challenge to Biden’s record on race during the first debate.

Their finding: Black South Carolina voters were less impressed with Harris’ busing retort than white voters in Iowa and New Hampshire. While Harris was seen as “aggressive” by some participants, older women found her attack on Biden offputting.

“Trustworthiness went out the door because [Kamala] will never be on topic with something. She will try to garner that black vote and that black sympathy and speak to us as if we are less,” one woman said.

“Look at where she’s at. Get over yourself. I was a product of busing. It does make me lose respect for her,” added another female over 40.

Young women were confused by the busing topic altogether. “What does she mean by that, actually on a bus or what was she saying?” asked a woman under 40.

Overall, participants credited Biden for remaining composed and liked that he “didn’t stoop to Harris’ level and hit back in the face of an unfair attack.” These African-Americans appeared willing to look past Biden’s flaws due to his connection to Obama.
Click to expand...

Linky.
 
Venom said:
Bernie Sanders says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will work in his administration if he's president
Click to expand...

Delphic Oracle said:
My gut reaction is negative, to be honest.

First off he answered for her and I'd be interested to know her position on that.

It looks like a blatant endorsement-for-access deal from the "we aren't going to do politics as usual" bloc.
Click to expand...

As long as she's happy and willing, I count that as a positive, myself. There's a number of positions where she could serve with excellence, regardless of the President. With that said... while Bernie answered that for her, it was pretty clearly done in a light-hearted way, and she still made her answer pretty clear afterwards, even if that answer was neither a yes or a no, but rather more of an "I don't know yet. If I think I can do more good there than where I am, then yes, but I would need to evaluate such seriously, rather than just giving a general off the cuff answer."
 
Last edited:
Distracted1 said:
I am alarmed by the increased ability of media (in the broadest possible sense) to manipulate as well.
I have spent decades in sales, and can attest to the efficacy of well researched methods of manipulating perception. There is a great deal more to it than most of us expect, and we are all victims of it- even those of us who know it is being used on us.
Click to expand...
Yes.

Though hopefully the more educated/informed a person is, the more immune one is to the tactics. But you are right, none of us have absolute immunity.
 
Skeptic Ginger said:
Yes.

Though hopefully the more educated/informed a person is, the more immune one is to the tactics. But you are right, none of us have absolute immunity.
Click to expand...

It is just when you think you are too smart to fall for a scam, that you are most likely to fall for a scam.
 
Iowa State University poll puts Buttigieg in second place, with Biden in fourth. What I particularly like about this poll is that they show first choice and second choice and then "considering". One of the quirks of the Iowa caucuses is that if you can't get 15% of the people at the local caucus to support your candidate, you either have to leave, or throw your support to another candidate. This poll gives a pretty good indication that candidates like Warren and Buttigieg have a bigger potential group of voters than their first-place support might indicate once the field gets whittled down

I am particularly amused by the graphic on Marianne Williamson; she is the first choice of a very small group of voters, the second choice of none, and being considered by none. It is also notable that Amy Klobuchar seems to gaining some momentum; she has pulled ahead of Harris into fifth in this poll, although she's far behind the top four.

Betomania seems over, it turns out he was not born for this. He's in ninth place, but the drop from eighth is quite dramatic when you look at the number of potential voters (those either putting him in first, second or at least considering) he can draw from.
 
Sometimes it hits me how far away both the primaries and the general election are away and I have to have a drink and a lay down.

Move to Florida, the weathers great... oh and you're in a swing county in a swing state.
 
JoeMorgue said:
Sometimes it hits me how far away both the primaries and the general election are away and I have to have a drink and a lay down.

Move to Florida, the weathers great... oh and you're in a swing county in a swing state.
Click to expand...
I've lived in CA and WA my whole life. I didn't fully appreciate what it was like in a swing state until I had an extended work engagement in Florida during the 2012 cycle. Wow!
 
Tsukasa Buddha said:
Here's what Buttigieg's campaign learned from focus groups in South Carolina:

While the report stated that Buttigieg’s sexuality was not a “disqualifier” for these voters, some of the focus group participants questioned why Buttigieg even brought it up.

“That’s not my thing but I wouldn’t want to know that as a candidate,” said one female participant under 40. “Too much information.”

“I’ll go ahead and say it,” said a male participant. “I don’t like the fact that he threw out there that he lives with his husband.”
Click to expand...
Click to expand...


That sounds like my mother. "I don't care if they're gay, but they don't need to talk about it." When I point out that she has no problem with men talking about their wives or girlfriends, or women talking about their husbands or boyfriends, she just says "That's different."
In other words, "Why can't they stay in the closet like the good old days?"
 
JoeMorgue said:
Sometimes it hits me how far away both the primaries and the general election are away and I have to have a drink and a lay down.
Click to expand...

102 days to Iowa. 110 days to New Hampshire. There's a short (11 days break) to Nevada, then a week before South Carolina, but California has moved up its primary to March 3, only 3 days after SC.
 
Many stories that Oprah is urging Disney boss Bob Iger to quit as CEO a year ahead of his scheduled retirement, and throw his hat into the ring for the Democratic nod.



NO,NO,JUST NO.

I am not saying Iger would be as bad as Trump, but I don't want ANY showbiz big shot with zero political experience in the Oval Office. I have had enough of that to last for a long time.
 
But then Oprah Winfrey has been trying for years to become some kind of Kingmaker in the Democratic party, but without much success.
 
dudalb said:
Many stories that Oprah is urging Disney boss Bob Iger to quit as CEO a year ahead of his scheduled retirement, and throw his hat into the ring for the Democratic nod.



NO,NO,JUST NO.

I am not saying Iger would be as bad as Trump, but I don't want ANY showbiz big shot with zero political experience in the Oval Office. I have had enough of that to last for a long time.
Click to expand...

It's not going to happen.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top Bottom