Election 2020

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BoSoxGal
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Election 2020

Post by BoSoxGal »

Maybe it’s early but with the midterms in less than 90 days, I think it’s time to start a thread about possible presidential contenders in 2020.

I have a lot of anxiety about this topic because I fear that the old ways are quickly becoming obsolete and that the Democratic Party needs to rethink the way it has picked candidates in the past. That’s one major issue.

Next is my concern over some of the likely contenders and the baggage they bring.

Also just going to throw this out there; from time to time I check in on the Helena Independent to see what’s happening back in Montucky, and today I stumbled on this story:

https://helenair.com/news/government-an ... e-trending

Steve Bullock was my boss for a few years, and I actually know him personally and know folks who know him even more closely; he’s a very decent guy with a lovely family and has been a solid D governor in a crazy purple (but mostly red) state. He’s very good on the campaign trail, really connecting with people. He did some very good work as AG and has real credibility on law/order issues.

I hope he throws his hat in, in the hopes that he might be a VP pick at least.

Some folks are talking Seth Moulton - I admire him from what I’ve seen, but need to learn more.

I hope it’s a given that Hillary is out of the game?

I feel conflicted saying this, but I agree entirely with something Michael Avenatti said on Ari Melber’s podcast the other day - 2020 is not a year to put up the best candidate for President because they’d be the best qualified person for the job (did that in ‘16 with HRC); it’s a year to pick a winner, whatever that takes. The imperative to get the corrupt and amoral GOP out of the White House is overarching all else.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

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Long Run
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Long Run »

BoSoxGal wrote: because they’d be the best qualified person for the job (did that in ‘16 with HRC)
And her long list of accomplishments? There were many better qualified and far more electable D's that could have been chosen. Interestingly, the D's did what the R's have done historically -- the "it's my turn" nomination (while the R's picked none of the above).

fwiw, I had to look up the possible candidates you mentioned, which actually might be a good thing.

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Sue U
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Sue U »

It is too early, but so what? The obvious Dems are Eric Holder, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker. As much as I loves me some Joe, I think Biden is past his use-by date. Cory is basically a good guy, but I'm not sure he has enough "edge" to go against Trump. I am very partial to Kamala Harris, who was a sight to behold dismantling Jeff Sessions piece by piece in the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings last year, before the Republicans cut her off. I think she'd be a very interesting challenger to Trump.
GAH!

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dales
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Re: Election 2020

Post by dales »

MAGA 2020 :o

Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.


yrs,
rubato

Big RR
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Big RR »

2020 is not a year to put up the best candidate for President because they’d be the best qualified person for the job
I'm not sure I ever recall that being done by either party in my lifetime. Most of the time they put up people they believe can do a good job, but a lot of other considerations go into the mix; for any candidate in my lifetime, I am sure I could find one or more who would be better qualified, capable of doing a better job. But the key is to find someone electable--nomination is not a reward for a lifetime of service, each party needs to look clearly at their candidate and decide if they are electable in the present climate, and the dems have been very bad at doing that, nominating qualified, but unelectable candidates like Kerry, Gore, and Dukakis (I'll leave Hillary out because I do not want to turn this into a debate about her).

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RayThom
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Election 2020

Post by RayThom »

I feel a Biden / Warren ticket would be electable. And then, sometime before 2024, Biden announces he will not seek a second term, setting up Warren to be our first woman president.

I feel it's a viable theory. Anything but Hillary. (However, I'd have no problem with Joe hiring her for a cabinet position or an ambassadorship to feed her need to stay in the public eye.)
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Econoline
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Econoline »

A few weeks back, Jim Wright started a thread on his Facebook page on an interesting, related question. What made it most interesting was the way he phrased the question, combined with the constraints he placed on the responses. (Well, it's his Facebook page, so he gets to decide who to block—and there are are over a thousand responses there, even with those constraints!) But I thought it might be interesting to have a similar discussion here; i.e., who could you enthusiastically support, and why—without getting into the realpolitik of partisan infighting and especially without re-fighting any of the political battles of 2016.

Here is Wright's OP, in full:
  • Doing research:

    President-wise: Who do you think you could ENTHUSIASTICALLY vote for in 2020 and more importantly WHY?

    Now here are the rules:

    • 1. Mention Bernie or Hillary, or attempt in ANY way no matter how snide, funny, or subtle you think you're being, and you get airlocked. I've reached my limit on that subject. No Bernie. No Hillary. Mention either, you go out the lock. Not one goddamned word. If you doubt my resolve on this, look at my Twitter timeline today. Several hundred people have been spaced because they thought I was kidding, it'll likely be over a thousand by the end of the day. I am not kidding.
      • 1a. Mention "neolibs" or "DNC corruption" or any other such attempts to restart the Bernie/Hillary shitfight through the back door, you go out the airlock. I am not kidding. Err on the side of caution and assume that I WILL regard any such comments as malice aforethought even if you don't mean it that way. Because I will. And I'll airlock your ass. I am not kidding.

        1b. I am not kidding. But some of you will think that I am anyway. And refighting this idiotic Bernie/Hillary battle just one more time, getting in just one more word, is more important to you than staying inside the ship. You, you're going to get airlocked and when that happens, don't write to me and complain about it because you were warned. I am not kidding.


      2. We're NOT talking about 2016. I asked who you thought you could ENTHUSIASTICALLY vote for in 2020. And more importantly WHY.

      3. Please don't respond with "anybody NOT Trump." We've covered that in previous posts. I would hope that we're all on the "anybody but Trump" page at this point. That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking who you think you might be able to enthusiastically get behind. Who comes closest to your ideals? And why?


    If you cannot answer within the guidelines specified, then best just not answer. That's OK too.

    Who do you think you could ENTHUSIASTICALLY vote for in 2020 and more importantly WHY?

As I said, there are more than a thousand responses over there, with many of the names mentioned multiple times by multiple posters; if you're curious, follow the link in my first sentence.

I think the one repeatedly-mentioned name that (pleasantly) surprised me the most was that of our junior senator from here in Illinois: Tammy Duckworth.
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
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BoSoxGal
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Re: Election 2020

Post by BoSoxGal »

Tammy Duckworth was a name thrown out at the end of Bill Maher’s most recent episode - a great convo with Steve Schmidt on the panel, among other good folks - and I find her intriguing, too.

I will definitely check out the Jim Wright FB thread, thanks!


At the risk of being pilloried - do we need to consider avoiding a woman candidate because WE MUST WIN AT ALL COSTS, or is there no real problem with a woman candidate at this point, it was just that HRC was the wrong one for being too long reviled by the GOP?
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

Jarlaxle
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Jarlaxle »

Personally, I'm likely to vote for either Hubert George Rection or Tommy Chong.

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Lord Jim
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Lord Jim »

Either of which would be a decided improvement over the last person you voted for Jarl... 8-)
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Jarlaxle
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Jarlaxle »

I'm still figuring Trump won't run again.

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RayThom
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Election 2020

Post by RayThom »

Jarlaxle wrote:I'm still figuring Trump won't run again.
Oh ye of little faith.

He will -- if he doesn't soon get Muellered.
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Lord Jim
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Lord Jim »

My hope is that not only will Trump not be running again in 2020, but that long before then (hopefully by next summer at the latest) he won't even be running the country any more...(If what he does can actually be called "running the country")

There are just too many variables involved for me to give any kind of firm opinion on 2020...

As I said, my #1 hope is that Trump is no longer President and not a candidate, but if God forbid he is, my #2 hope would be that the Democrats don't march off a left-wing cliff and nominate someone so unacceptable to the political center that Il Boobce is actually able to get re-elected...

But if the Democrats become so hubris driven that they actually believe they can win with a candidate like that, my hope would be for a strong, responsible mainstream third party/Independent candidate who could actually capture a plurality of the vote and win the election over both Trump and a strident hardcore lefty...

Somebody like John Kasich...
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Burning Petard
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Burning Petard »

Gloom and doom on my part. I see another big hit on the economy that begins just about the time of the 2020 election, but has little impact on it, then a terrible slide downhill in the USA and the rest of the major world economies. This will all make who ever is elect about as popular as Herbert Hoover with no way out. Followed by more bad politics creating worse economics from congress, same way the 'balanced budget' crowd killed the opportunity to get cheap public bond dollars and invest long term fixes for our still crumbling infrastructure during the cheapest interest rate period in generations.

snailgate

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Lord Jim
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Lord Jim »

I have to say I haven't been real impressed with what I've seen from potential Democratic 2020 Presidential candidates so far, a number of whom (Gillibrand, Booker, Warren, and Harris come immediately to mind) seem to think that the path to victory is to run on the left of Bernie Sanders...

The latest lefty fringe idea these types have been embracing is that the response to Trump's cruel border security excesses should be to eliminate the country's ability to enforce the borders entirely...

Yeah, good luck convincing anybody outside of the 20% of the electorate that make up the hardcore progressive left base that's a good idea...

Trump serves up a winning issue on a silver platter and these jokers want to piss it away with an extremist overreach approach that will push voters back towards him... :roll: :loon
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Big RR
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Big RR »

Right now I don't think there is anyone on the dem side I could "enthusiastically" support, although there are some who do intrigue me (including Biden, Booker, and Warren, but I'll have to see more of them and their ultimate positions first). but most important is to get a candidate who will beat Trump (or whoever the republicans dish up) who are not afraid to take positions on the issue; I'd rather see a dem lean right on some issues than be on both sides of every issue.

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Bicycle Bill
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Bicycle Bill »

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Please flush before next use.
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-"BB"-
Yes, I suppose I could agree with you ... but then we'd both be wrong, wouldn't we?

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Econoline
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Re: Election 2020

Post by Econoline »

This will definitely get a few people here angry at me, but...

One of the names mentioned several times over on that Facebook discussion I referred to above—a name which I was surprised by, but would definitely support—was.....(whispers) Al Franken. :o

Yeah, a Franken/Duckworth ticket is definitely one I could get behind.

(runs, ducks, & hides...)






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BoSoxGal
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Re: Election 2020

Post by BoSoxGal »

I love Franken’s politics, and he could make mincemeat of Trump by treating him as the joke that he is.

I also have very mixed feelings about Franken’s having been asked to resign, as while he did apparently engage in some yucky behavior, unless I missed some evidence, it didn’t rise to the level of Weinstein, Spacey, and Conyers, et al.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

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RayThom
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Election 2020

Post by RayThom »

I say "me, too." If Franken would complete a successful "apology tour" I bet he'd be able to turn things around.

I'd have no problem rooting for him if he got into the big game.
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