Cont: 2020 Democratic Candidates Tracker Part IV

[acbytesla]

"Vote Blue no matter who"

Well, Horton, here's our who.

Well, when the other side offers a candidate who is immoral, corrupt, incompetent as well as a despicable bully, pretty much any "who" is preferable.

But Biden is a good man and highly experienced. So we're good.

 

[Beeyon]

Why wouldn't Bernie get something? Plenty of lesser candidates seem to be getting something for toeing the party line. Are we one party or a vanquished foe?

Why are you comparing candidates who got out of the way in a timely fashion with one that refuses to do the same?

If Bernie were to have quit today I suspect he would have gotten significant currency with a Biden administration. If he gets nothing because he drags this into may, he'll have himself to blame.

 

[TragicMonkey]

If he gets nothing because he drags this into may, he'll have himself to blame.

No doubt he'll lament his actions over the years and years remaining to him. He's 109 years old, and has been wildly controversial for decades, with millions of people hating his guts. Sanders has no reason to give a crap about consequences. From his perspective he may as well keep on being Sandersy up to the last minute, which isn't too far off no matter what happens.

 

[Beelzebuddy]

But Biden is a good man and highly experienced. So we're good.

Experienced in a political environment already rendered obsolete by obstructionism. I've yet to hear him give an actual answer to being asked how he'd deal with a GOP-majority Senate. Whenever it comes up he name drops Obama and moves on.

Let's be clear: I do not like him, and I do not think he will make an effective President. But he's honest and his intentions are good, which are two things that no one can say about Trump with a straight face. If you'd like a more full-throated support, let's see him pick a young progressive as veep and move to unite the party instead of doubling down on feckless centrism. Warren would be okay too.

 

[Puppycow]

Recent Trump tweet I saw:

Pocahontas, working in conjunction with the Democrat Party, totally destroyed the campaign of Bernie Sanders. If she would have quit 3 days earlier, Sanders would have beaten Biden in a route, it wouldn’t even have been close. They also got two other losers to support Sleepy Joe!

Trump is full of it (and you know what 'it' is). Quitting 3 days earlier wouldn't have made a big difference. He just wants Bernie Bros to be so mad they won't vote. Sanders was only winning in states like Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada because there were still so many people in the race and the moderate votes were divided. Once there was only moderate candidate left in the race, that candidate started beating Sanders head to head. It's pretty simple. Sanders couldn't win Michigan even with Warren out of the race. He has double digit leads in the national polls, and in big states like Florida, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois. There was nothing Warren could have done to save Sanders even if she wanted to.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/e..._democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html

 

[Segnosaur]

BernieBros like to criticize Biden for his supposedly failing mental health.... yet here is Sanders, clinging to false hope, driving a wedge in the Democratic party, and possibly helping the Republicans. (Not to mention draining Democratic resources to continue a race when instead they could be focused against Trump.)

Hopefully Biden does not take such a combative tone.

I doubt he will.

My comments are basically my own opinions, and I doubt anyone is going to change their opinions based on anything I say.

Even if Bernie loses, he represents a large portion of the party. Concessions should be made to appeal to the progressive wing of the party.

And yet Moderates also made up a large portion of the Democratic party, and it wasn't just BernieBros here complaining about them, it was Sanders himself.

Seems to me like a double standard.

"You must treat us with respect, even though we reserve the right to crap all over you"

 

[Segnosaur]

Experienced in a political environment already rendered obsolete by obstructionism.

Yup, if the GOP hold the senate it will be difficult for President Biden to get legislation passed.

But then, given the fact that Trump has been running things by executive order, Biden is probably smart enough to know he could do the same.

I've yet to hear him give an actual answer to being asked how he'd deal with a GOP-majority Senate. Whenever it comes up he name drops Obama and moves on.

Its a problem without a clear solution. Its something that NONE of the candidates would be able to solve. So blaming Biden for not being able to come up with an answer seems unfair.

 

[Segnosaur]

Looks like Sanders is sticking in the race.

From: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/polit...ign/index.html
Bernie Sanders vowed to stay in the presidential race on Wednesday after a series of defeats that have left him trailing rival Joe Biden...

BernieBros like to criticize Biden for his supposedly failing mental health.... yet here is Sanders, clinging to false hope, driving a wedge in the Democratic party, and possibly helping the Republicans. (Not to mention draining Democratic resources to continue a race when instead they could be focused against Trump.)

The tone of his speech and the bulk of the article are rather different than your interpretation.
Standing in front of a line of American flags and a deep blue curtain, Sanders acknowledged his delegate math crunch before he dug deeper into the numbers and warned that Biden's failure so far to win over young voters could be damaging in November and beyond. He did not, however, criticize Biden over his Iraq War vote or record on Social Security. In dropping those lines of attack, Sanders offered some insight into his goals going forward: to push his own agenda and perhaps secure some commitments from Biden, not tear him down.

Even if Sanders is sincere about his stated intentions, the problem is the large number of BernieBros that might not listen.

Sanders supporters here like to point out that Sanders ended up campaigning for Clinton in the end, but approximately 1 in 10 of his supporters ended up voting for Trump. Even if, in the very end, he does is best to campaign for Biden in the end, staying in the race still divides the Democrats, and still diverts resources that could be used to fight the republicans. And all for what, to get some vague promises that Biden might not be able to get passed because of Republican obstructionism?

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

The tone of his speech and the bulk of the article are rather different than your interpretation.

Emphasis mine.

I only heard the last line and I thought he said he still believes he is the best candidate ...

 

[varwoche]

There is a path until the debate, but at this point Biden has to be just boggle the mind bad in that debate for it to really matter. Like to the point where nobody can say with a straight face that he's capable of holding office.

Unlikely, but he hasn't had to be under the bright lights as the frontrunner yet, so better to find out if he can perform adequately now than in the general.

Plus there's nowhere to hide when there's just two candidates. That's a whole lot of talking time.

 

[Aridas]

I thought he please stood up.

That sounds shady to me.

In Biden news...

Joe Biden Announces Formation Of Public Health Advisory Committee To Address COVID-19

Joe Biden is forming a “Public Health Advisory Committee” tasked with addressing the COVID-19. Members of Committee will advise Biden’s campaign and the public. Biden will make a statement about the epidemic on Thursday (tomorrow).

Well... working to spread correct information and doing it in a much more Presidential manner than the current resident in the White House is, frankly, a good move, I think.

 

[theprestige]

Yup, if the GOP hold the senate it will be difficult for President Biden to get legislation passed.

But then, given the fact that Trump has been running things by executive order, Biden is probably smart enough to know he could do the same.

Smart enough to do the president's actual job, you mean?

It's not actually the president's job to get legislation passed. There's a whole branch of government for that, and it's not called the Executive.

 

[Belz...]

BernieBros like to criticize Biden for his supposedly failing mental health.... yet here is Sanders, clinging to false hope, driving a wedge in the Democratic party, and possibly helping the Republicans.

...again.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

Even if Sanders is sincere about his stated intentions, the problem is the large number of BernieBros that might not listen.

Sanders supporters here like to point out that Sanders ended up campaigning for Clinton in the end, but approximately 1 in 10 of his supporters ended up voting for Trump. Even if, in the very end, he does is best to campaign for Biden in the end, staying in the race still divides the Democrats, and still diverts resources that could be used to fight the republicans. And all for what, to get some vague promises that Biden might not be able to get passed because of Republican obstructionism?

Can we put this ridiculous smear to rest? What's the normal rate for party defectors in a primary? Was Bernie's 1 in 10 better or worse than normal?

What's the standard you are using to assess the toxicity of Bernie Bros who crossed party lines?

Hillary supporters voted for McCain at 25% in 2008. 9% of Obama primary voters voted for McCain in the general, riddle me that. Sanders supporters were 1% worse than people who didn't vote for Obama even though he won the primary.

https://www.npr.org/2017/08/24/545812242/1-in-10-sanders-primary-voters-ended-up-supporting-trump-survey-finds

This whole thing smacks of desperation to avoid the truth that Hillary lost on her own merits. Toxic Bernie bros didn't cost Hillary the election. She was a bad candidate and ran a poor campaign.

 

[Belz...]

At least two NHL teams are playing to empty stadiums as well.

That's going to take a lot of the fun out of watching these games.

 

[Belz...]

Experienced in a political environment already rendered obsolete by obstructionism.

You're not wrong, but short of a violent revolution I don't see many options to get out of this sticky situation.

 

[Beelzebuddy]

But then, given the fact that Trump has been running things by executive order, Biden is probably smart enough to know he could do the same.

That's Sander's solution.

As soon as Biden wins the election the GOP are going to start moping and whining about bipartisanship, crying big crocodile tears at the mean ol' Democrats trying to get stuff done without them. And Biden, drawing on his decades of experience working across the aisle, will water down his own proposals to nothing if it means getting them on board, and there will be months of debates and delays right up until the last moment when they will tell him to go **** himself. Just like they did with Obama. That is literally what people are nominating him to do.

A Biden presidency represents homeopathic levels of progress. But it wouldn't be further backsliding into a fascist dystopia, so at least there's that.

You're not wrong, but short of a violent revolution I don't see many options to get out of this sticky situation.

It's just game theory. You play tit for tat. The Trumpers who screwed Democrats get screwed, but the new ones and the honest ones you go out of your way to include and be nice to.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

A Biden presidency represents homeopathic levels of progress. But it wouldn't be further backsliding into a fascist dystopia, so at least there's that.

This really is the path to victory for Biden. Trump is so terrible that people aren't going to care that Biden is an extremely unappealing candidate.

I mean, this works on me, and I probably hate Biden as much as anyone that isn't a MAGA CHUD.

But yeah, not expecting anything out of Biden's presidency other than reversing some of Trump's worse executive actions and appointing a few judges. It's going to be like Obama's gridlocked years, but worse because Biden isn't nearly as effective as Obama was.

 

[Belz...]

It's just game theory. You play tit for tat. The Trumpers who screwed Democrats get screwed, but the new ones and the honest ones you go out of your way to include and be nice to.

What does that mean? They have the Senate.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

You're not wrong, but short of a violent revolution I don't see many options to get out of this sticky situation.

I don’t think that’s on the horizon, but I’m beginning to sense the stage is being set for a worldwide conflagration of some sort. Possibly starting in the Middle East over oil. There’s already economic “warfare” initiated by Saudi Arabia causing a collapse in oil prices and exacerbating the stock market rout already in progress.

Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but it’s a sick feeling that’s starting to creep into my otherwise optimistic world view.