The Democrats USA (2018-2020)

I wish Biden would have stayed out. And DiBlasio? He's NYC mayor! :rolleyes:
Trying to wrap my head around the ones who won't be able to run for their own cities and states gov. :dismay:
 
silva said:
I wish Biden would have stayed out.
Click to expand...
That's what Mrs Summer says, too!

Realistically, at this point (is it too early?), which of the "hopefuls" have a chance to actually get elected? I think in many ways they're up against a very difficult opponent. Of course, in a sane and democracy-loving world (or country), pretty much all of them would be able to get elected when the opponent is openly flirting with fascist ideas, but it seems the old rules no longer apply.
 
Seems, at least at times, that we're a select few that want to discuss politics on here. Pete Buttiegeg gave a good foreign policy speech recently. Here are Pete Buttigieg’s 5 clear foreign policy proposals sums it up. The whole speech was about 50-60 minutes long and I found it on you tube if anyone wants to look. Although lacking in headline news, I agreed with nearly all of it, and the few tiny parts I disagreed with were things that no major politician in the US is likely to do or say anyway.

I was glad he (implicitly) called for a popular vote to replace the electoral college system as well. This is not news either, since he has already called for in the past. I wish more democrats would spend more time focused on improving American democracy.

He is running perhaps a fairly clever campaign. I think he probably figured running for President would get him attention and be good for his career even if he doesn't win. I can now see him getting a major Washington job of some sort under the next democrat President, or maybe using his increased profile to aim for governor or senator or something.

My theory is that he sincerely wants to be President, and can do the job now if he unexpectedly wins, and he will be quite happy with that, but his more realistic goal is to be President in 10 - 20 years.
 
Biden is beating trump so!idly in current polling, by over 20 points in Florida, if I remember correctly.

Biden is also currently ahead of trump in the Rust Belt states whose EC votes gave trump the election in 2016.

Harris and Sanders are also currently beating trump in Florida, by margins that are about half of Biden's, if I remember correctly. The rest of the Democratic field is running neck and neck with trump in Florida.

Polling so far is limited to certain states. AFAIK, no national polls have been taken, since it's so early.
 
Mischief said:
Biden is beating trump so!idly in current polling, by over 20 points in Florida, if I remember correctly.

Biden is also currently ahead of trump in the Rust Belt states whose EC votes gave trump the election in 2016.
Click to expand...
So, in terms of electability, at this point Biden seems to be preferable. The Dems would be "playing it safe" by nominating him. And surely, considering the Republican alternative, the Dems really don't want to lose this time. What are the concerns about Biden? Would it be so bad if he got the nomination?
 
Indian Summer said:
So, in terms of electability, at this point Biden seems to be preferable. The Dems would be "playing it safe" by nominating him. And surely, considering the Republican alternative, the Dems really don't want to lose this time. What are the concerns about Biden? Would it be so bad if he got the nomination?
Click to expand...
It all depends on whom you ask. As far as I' m concerned, I'd bring back GWB if it meant getting rid of trump, and I detested GWB. But as many deaths as GWB was responsible for, the damage he caused in eight years doesn't compare to the damage trump has done in two and a half, and it's only going to continue to get worse.

Biden is not my personal preference, for a number of reasons, but apart from the fact that he currently looks as though he has the best chance at beating trump, he's probably also the Democrat who has the best chance of getting the government to actually work again if the Republicans continue to hold the majority in the Senate (which is likely).
 
Andy_T said:
Of course! To a Dump voter, Biden sure must look quite attractive :oops:
Click to expand...
If you are saying that Biden and trump are similar, I have to strongly disagree.

Biden is doing well among pretty much every group except the most progressive wing. He has name recognition, which counts for a tremendous amount in American politics, because, frankly, most American voters know less than a handful of things about any candidate, and aren't interested in learning more. As such, he's a reassuring presence, because he's a known quantity, a familiar presence. He's doing well among African Americans, both because of his association with Obama and because a lot of African Americans are fairly conservative wrt social issues.
 
The things Biden gets roasted for in the liberal media and on social media I think are things that most people don't care too much about.

The only trouble with polling is that they are wrong very, very often. Clinton vs Trump - wrong. Brexit - wrong. Last 2-3 UK elections - wrong. So it may just make sense to support the best candidate.

That being said, I also saw some stats showing a big lead for Biden over Trump. If the lead is 10 points and it's a well done study with proper sample sizes, it may be a different matter.
 
We watched a documentary last night called (I think) Knock down the House, featuring Alexandra Ocasio Cortez (did I spell it right this time? :p ) and other progressive Democrat women trying to win their party's nomination for seats in Congress last year. Many of them came from poor, working class backgrounds, had experienced much adversity and personal loss, and one had even sold her house to help finance her campaign. Recommended! Available on Netflix, maybe elsewhere.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KLS52
Indian Summer said:
We watched a documentary last night called (I think) Knock down the House, featuring Alexandra Ocasio Cortez (did I spell it right this time? :p ) and other progressive Democrat women trying to win their party's nomination for seats in Congress last year. Many of them came from poor, working class backgrounds, had experienced much adversity and personal loss, and one had even sold her house to help finance her campaign. Recommended! Available on Netflix, maybe elsewhere.
Click to expand...

It wasn't just progressive Democratic women who made major strides in the last election; moderate Democratic women did too. It's just that the progressives have been getting all the media attention (as well as the attention of the Republicans, who are using them to try to scare voters away from the Democratic Party.)
 
Mischief said:
It wasn't just progressive Democratic women who made major strides in the last election; moderate Democratic women did too.
Click to expand...
I got the impression from this documentary that perhaps the "real" divide in the Democratic Party wasn't so much between progressives and moderates, but between 1) the lazy establishment - representatives in safe seats who had not been challenged in a primary for many years and/or who were beholden to Big Business and/or other lobbyists after taking their money, and on the other side 2) those hungry/desperate for change, often newcomers, from working-class, immigrant or minority backgrounds, often keen to fix the gross unfairness of the US health care system, the racial inequalities and so forth.

Anyway, I was extremely impressed with AOC and how she handled difficult questions. Unfortunately, none of the other women featured were successful in their attempts at getting nominated/elected.
 
So did anyone watch last night's debate? What did you think? I read a piece in the Guardian just now that suggested Warren, Castro and Booker did well.
 
Castro did much better in the first debate than anticipated, so that gave him a boost. Booker had really been flagging, and his performance was solid enough that he's back in the game.

Frankly, I don't think they have a shot at anything other than VP.

Warren gave a solid performance. She had been moving up because she has actual policy plans for just about everything. Her debate performance will keep her on her upward trajectory.

As for the second night: Harris was clearly the star. After last night, the talk is no longer of her as a potential VP; she's top of the ticket material and that's what she's going for.

Buttigieg turned in a solid performance, enough to keep him in the game.

Biden lost an awful lot of traction, but he was so far ahead of everyone else going into into the debates that I suspect he's still in the lead. He's really going to have to turn things around in the next debate, though, or he'll be toast.

Sanders looked old, really old. I think he's done, but he won't know it for quite a while.

In summary, I think Biden, Warren and Harris are the three to watch for the top of the ticket. I think Booker, Castro and Buttigieg are still in the game, but realistically, the best they can hope for is the VP slot. Everyone else might as well go home now.

But what do I know. I didn't think trump could win until shortly before the election.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KLS52
Indian Summer said:
So did anyone watch last night's debate? What did you think? I read a piece in the Guardian just now that suggested Warren, Castro and Booker did well.
Click to expand...

Some of it I watched I thought Warren came out o/k but I don't think her health policy would work.

It was strange to view, almost like different political parties thumping each other over policy differences and personal attacks, not what you would expect from members of one political party.

If that's how they carry on in public I would love to be a fly on the wall to their behind the scene meetings.;)
 
Top Bottom
Back