The Politics Thread

[Khan]

 

That, too.  Pete Buttigieg's disposition is a perfect tonic after four years of narcissistic Donald Trump.

 

But...is he electable?  I'm not so sure.

 

 

I've always thought, if Pete Buttigieg were heterosexual, he'd be a Republican.

 

 

I really, really, REALLY don't want this to come down to a contest between Bernie Sanders (or Mike Bloomberg) and Pete Buttigieg.  "Baby Boomers vs. Millennials" cage matches never end well.

Edited February 12, 2020 by Khan

[Soapsuds]

Bernie...

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[lovely_m]

 

Oddly enough the 78 year old man who had a heart attack would win the millenial vote over the actual millenial.

[Days22]

 

It's because Pete is a hollow candidate. I have never seen a candidate in my lifetime represent so little. He makes John Kerry look like a man of strong ideas and convictions. The Jean Passanante of candidates, really. 

[Khan]

According to the Washington Post, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren praised each other in their speeches before voters tonight.  This has me imagining what it would be like to have a Klobuchar/Warren administration, with Kamala Harris as U.S. Attorney General.  Man, it would be awesome!

 

 

If that isn't Pete Buttigieg in a nutshell, what is?

 

 

Apparently, promising "free college and legal weed" (tm @marceline) goes a long way with millennials.

 

Meanwhile, has anyone in the press attempted to figure out which candidate(s) us Gen-X'ers lean toward?  Or are they still pretending we don't exist?

[Soapsuds]

Everyone is being nice to each other except for Bernie who started out OK and went on and on saying he was going to win.

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Hell no.....a woman who was put in her place by Sonny on the View....a screamer and yeller in Warren and Kamala who I never cared for.

Edited February 12, 2020 by Soapsuds

[Days22]

 

I think Millennials will keep getting behind the candidate who says they want to offer them financial relief. Personally, of the very liberal candidates I much prefered Yang over Bernie or Warren even tho he never had a chance, but at least his ideas had actual logical detailed plans on his website.

 

I think Boomers are so focused on stopping Bernie that any Tom, Dick or Pete will do for them, but probably won't beat Trump. 

 

And then unfortunately Gex X has indeed been erased from history 

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Edited February 12, 2020 by Days22

[Khan]

Both the NYT and WaPo are reporting that Bernie Sanders has won the NH primary.  However, as @DRW50 has pointed out, Sanders' lead was much narrower this time around.  In 2016, Sanders beat Hillary Clinton in NH by twenty points.  Tonight, only a point or two separated him from second-place finisher Pete Buttigieg.

 

Oh, and earlier today, the Senate voted down three election security bills.  G'night!

[DRW50]

 

Bernie's plans tend to amount to saying vague things and then hiding behind "revolution," which means very little. He has had much less support in the primary this year than polls or his turnout operation suggested, and the people he supported in 2018 all generally lost. His best solution seems to be saying he's going to hold rallies against Mitch McConnell, which will probably give Mitch a good laugh, but won't provide much else in way of response. 

 

What is he actually going to do and what is he actually going to offer? 

 

I read that the culinary unions in Nevada are going after him for his health care plan. Of course the cult will say boo, bad union bosses, but it's yet another example of why using buzzwords and having rock concert rallies isn't the same thing as working out deals to make things happen.

 

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/in-new-flyer-culinary-union-warns-members-sanders-would-end-their-health-care-if-elected-president

 

The biggest problem for Bernie, besides his supporters being stacked with pond scum who go around threatening to kill anyone they don't like, is that the voters who want to stop and think about policy have little reason to support him. The irony is that many of his supporters hate Obama and trash Obama for only caring about hype...yet Bernie has made a career out of nothing but hype. And so far, he's had two disappointing finishes to show for it, in two states that were supposed to be blowouts. 

[Juliajms]

This is an interesting breakdown of how much money people are taking in. I wish we had more recent numbers, but it's something.

https://www.politico.com/2020-election/president/democratic-primary/candidates/fundraising-and-campaign-finance-tracker/

[Days22]

 

I think it was always going to come down this because the party has quite the divide. It is still the center versus the left in the party. So I think Bernie has the left, but the other half of the party wants anyone else. But to make matters worse the DNC does such a terrible job of drawing in Independents. As an Independent, the Iowa Caucus fiasco made the DNC look so bad. As if caucuses weren't bad enough they go and add to the fire of conspiracy theories. 

 

I think What is he/she actually going to do and what is he/she actually going to offer? can be asked about any of these candidates in one way or another. I'd never vote for Trump, but I cant say any of these candidates make me wanna get out there and vote in November.

 

In a perfect world there would be a hybrid candidate with Yang's logical ideas and planning, Biden's experience & respect, and Warren's debating, but instead we're left with a fractured party while the Republicans are still somehow able to rally behind far right mayhem. but im a pessimist lol

[DRW50]

 

It's not so much about the left for me as it is about someone who has no interest in any compromise. He doesn't like the Democratic Party, and his campaign team is full of Jill Stein voters, like his press person Briahna Gray, surrogates like Rashida Tlaib who decided to turn his rally into a booing spectacle against Hillary Clinton, or like AOC who has said in most countries she would never be a Democrat. These people all profit from division - why would they want to change anything? They see the Democratic Party as their enemy, not Trump. So even if Bernie scrapes through a win, they will focus more on purging their enemies than on governing. 

 

His supporters constantly talk about how they will put people in front of firing squads and chop their heads off (and I don't think all of this is joking), they enable racism, they are proudly homophobic against Pete Buttigieg with the various slurs they throw around, they love to attack female candidates. They also profit off division - it funds their podcasts and their Paterons, gets them more likes and retweets.

 

I'm not trying to talk you out of your vote, or talk down your points. I think what you're saying is true, if someone besides Bernie was in this position. But I can't vote for him. I'm not anywhere that is going to matter in November, so I just can't and I won't. If I ever had any doubt, his hate rallies took the last little lingering doubt away. 

[Days22]

 

Well it would be nice if the country had more than 2 main parties because right now both are stuck in extremes. Cuz I would never be a Democrat (or Republican) either xD. 

 

The Bernie fans where i Live are pretty tame but there are less than in 16. 

But I don't have a vote atm in the primary because any candidates i felt even a little strongly for have all dropped out so i probably won't vote in the Colorado primary. Bernie is gonna win it tho anyway. 

 

I will probably vote any candidate over Trump though. Pete is the exception. He's my least fave candidate since Trump tbh. I'd have to sit that one out. 

[Khan]

Removing Donald Trump from office means so much to me that I'll probably vote for whoever ends up being the Democratic nominee.  Even if it turns out to be Bernie Sanders or Pete Buttigieg, I'll vote for them.

 

Mind you, I won't feel proud about it.  In the past day or so, however, I've decided that my disgust for our current administration is simply too great for me to "sit it out," like I always do.  This time, I just HAVE to vote, regardless of the candidate, or the outcome.

 

Of course, like you, @DRW50, I live in a state (in my case, Oklahoma) that isn't going to matter in the election.  Although the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metropolitan areas tend to vote Democrat, the GOP has a stronghold on the rest of the 77 counties.  Meaning, even in elections where we've had high voter turnouts for both parties, we STILL vote Republican; and even when voting Republican clearly means voting against our best interests, like it did in the last gubernatorial election, we STILL vote Republican.  We vote Republican.  No. Matter. What.

 

Therefore, because Oklahoma is in no "danger" of "turning blue" very soon, I think most left-leaning voters who DO vote go into the polling places knowing they're casting ballots for the losers.

 

As the friend and former high school classmate I've mentioned upthread said, we are a bad electorate.

Edited February 12, 2020 by Khan

[Khan]

Meanwhile, this NYT headline -- "Pete Buttigieg can compete (in very white states)." -- is shady as all get-out.  But, I love it.