All Purpose News and Politics Thread Part IV: The Center Cannot Hold

[Dalak]

Biden should drop out and stump for better people.

Edited to show my view, and I think everyone with their own cult of personality should turn it to support the broader efforts of progress.

As always I'll vote for the eventual nominee, but Uncle Joe needs to go.

[BeastieRunner]

Edited to show my view, and I think everyone with their own cult of personality should turn it to support the broader efforts of progress.

As always I'll vote for the eventual nominee, but Uncle Joe needs to go.

Well, the younger are the better ones. Everyone's younger than Joe and Bernie.

[Iron Maiden]

I agree. Joe (even with all his goof ups) and Bernie are better campaigners than Hillary was. I recall reading in a Vanity Fair article that Biden was seriously considering a run for 2016 even after his son's death in May of 2015 but he eventually decided against it. And I think we are seeing with Elizabeth Warren and Joe in the race now, Bernie's numbers aren't at the same level as 2016. But I would prefer someone younger than this group. But I think Warren is the best of the three. I'm still keeping my eye on Mayor Pete though.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Biden should drop out and stump for younger people.

Same with Sanders.

In my humble, though uninformed opinion, I tend to think all the support for Biden mostly boils down to perhaps the oldest of adages:

"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

People know Joe from eight years riding shotgun for Barack Obama, people are comfortable with Joe (and, to an extent, Sanders) and know what to expect from him. Meanwhile, perhaps as much as eighty percent of the now overcrowded Democratic field voters never heard of and aren't familiar with, maybe they don't want to take a chance on an unknown, maybe they think only an experienced old hand like Biden can topple Trump and worry that too much is at stake to risk everything on a neophyte. And while I admire Elizabeth Warren and believe she's more than capable of being president, let's face it, she's no spring chicken either (she turns 70 next week), perhaps younger people have lumped her in the "Get off my lawn!" category with Biden and Sanders, who knows. I guess we'll soon find out, one way or the other.

[Mister Mets]

That makes two of us. If memory serves (a dicey proposition in my advanced years), Warren didn't join the campaign out of concern her seat would be taken by a Republican, but, I could be mistaken. In any event, Warren certainly has loads of credibility along with experience, plus the stones to take on anybody.

I thought the explanation was that she didn't feel ready in '16 as a newcomer to elected office. Now, she has served more than a full term as Senator, with several years as a prominent member of the opposition party.

[BeastieRunner]

In my humble, though uninformed opinion, I tend to think all the support for Biden mostly boils down to perhaps the oldest of adages:

"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

People know Joe from eight years riding shotgun for Barack Obama, people are comfortable with Joe (and, to an extent, Sanders) and know what to expect from him. Meanwhile, perhaps as much as eighty percent of the now overcrowded Democratic field voters never heard of and aren't familiar with, maybe they don't want to take a chance on an unknown, maybe they think only an experienced old hand like Biden can topple Trump and worry that too much is at stake to risk everything on a neophyte. And while I admire Elizabeth Warren and believe she's more than capable of being president, let's face it, she's no spring chicken either (she turns 70 next week), perhaps younger people have lumped her in the "Get off my lawn!" category with Biden and Sanders, who knows. I guess we'll soon find out, one way or the other.

I will still vote for the Dem but I want somebody like Harris, Warren, Pete ...

[Michael Watkins]

Biden might be too proud to be vice president again. so i guess my ideal ticket would be...

Warren-Harris (not sure that she'd accept 2nd place either, tbh)
or
Warren-Buttigieg (sp? i like his speaking style and i think that he'd savage Pence)

Beto kind of flamed out for me. i never really trusted Booker (although he can be fiery). and i don't know enough about the others. Bernie should stick around as long as possible. he's helped drive everyone to the left. and his ideas deserve to be heard. i'm just not as sold on him as i would have been last time around. i hate to say it. but it's entirely an age thing.

[SquirrelMan]

Well, the younger are the better ones. Everyone's younger than Joe and Bernie.

Not true, Mike Gravel is making those two look like spring chickens.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Biden should drop out and stump for younger people.

Same with Sanders.

Why?

People kept staying this in regards to making room for Beto like a month ago and we found out he was a total dud

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Why?

People kept staying this in regards to making room for Beto like a month ago and we found out he was a total dud

Beto should never have thrown his hat in the ring from jump. Maybe he thought his charisma would carry the day for him like it had for Barack Obama in 2007, clearly that wasn't the case. I don't know if he got bad advice from his advisors, or if his eyes got to big for his stomach, but if Beto couldn't beat someone as vulnerable as Ted Cruz during the midterms, what in hell made him think he had even a puncher's chance of competing for the highest office in the land? Hopefully the first round of debates will separate the wheat from the chaff and thin the herd of all the pretenders in the running.

[InformationGeek]

Biden should drop out and stump for younger people.

Same with Sanders.

I always felt they were better hype men anyways. Good people to pump everyone up, big personalities, and such.

[Gray Lensman]

Beto should never have thrown his hat in the ring from jump. Maybe he thought his charisma would carry the day for him like it had for Barack Obama in 2007, clearly that wasn't the case. I don't know if he got bad advice from his advisors, or if his eyes got to big for his stomach, but if Beto couldn't beat someone as vulnerable as Ted Cruz during the midterms, what in hell made him think he had even a puncher's chance of competing for the highest office in the land? Hopefully the first round of debates will separate the wheat from the chaff and thin the herd of all the pretenders in the running.

Ted Cruz isn't as vulnerable as people like to think he is. The man is a very disciplined campaigner in a state that is set up to favor whoever the Republican is - Cruz almost never goes off message, even when asked to find something about Beto he liked in a debate, he managed to turn it into an attack. Nobody seems to like him, but by the time people go to the polls, they will like his opponent even less most of the time.


In other news - New study shows that how much welfare money goes to cash payouts in any given state is decided by the percentage of brown people who live in it above any other factor.

[BeastieRunner]

Why?

People kept staying this in regards to making room for Beto like a month ago and we found out he was a total dud

Biden is out of touch and is just slamming his old-world views at, and sometimes literally, ON people. He keeps giving the GOP easy targets to avoid talking about his policy.

Bernie is out of touch and would rather watch his pocket book get fat than actually affect his changes he wants. Some of his stuff is REALLY good but he has way too much out there policies that the GOP can easily blow him up.

Warren, Harris, and Pete have got it going on.

I always felt they were better hype men anyways. Good people to pump everyone up, big personalities, and such.

They can be the Flava Flav to the current Dem's Public Enemy.

[Robotman]

In my humble, though uninformed opinion, I tend to think all the support for Biden mostly boils down to perhaps the oldest of adages:

"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

People know Joe from eight years riding shotgun for Barack Obama, people are comfortable with Joe (and, to an extent, Sanders) and know what to expect from him. Meanwhile, perhaps as much as eighty percent of the now overcrowded Democratic field voters never heard of and aren't familiar with, maybe they don't want to take a chance on an unknown, maybe they think only an experienced old hand like Biden can topple Trump and worry that too much is at stake to risk everything on a neophyte. And while I admire Elizabeth Warren and believe she's more than capable of being president, let's face it, she's no spring chicken either (she turns 70 next week), perhaps younger people have lumped her in the "Get off my lawn!" category with Biden and Sanders, who knows. I guess we'll soon find out, one way or the other.

People being comfortable with Biden is what will probably get him the nomination. The keys to the kingdom are currently in the hands of an imbecilic mad man. People are looking for a return to normalcy after this nonstop chaos. Biden is a familiar face who was the Vice President to one of the most popular presidents ever. I recall one of my history teachers saying that Gerald Ford’s clumsiness was kind of a pallet cleanser after Watergate. Old smilin Joe may be in a similar position.

I also think a lot of people are considering his “electability”. I know many are saying that’s terrible and we should vote for candidates based on issues. But we’re operating in a broken system that allows a handful of swing states to choose the president. We basically have to think about which candidate has the best chance of winning the Midwest. I know it’s an unpopular opinion but I really think that’s Biden. I totally prefer Warren but a Biden-Harris ticket would be incredibly strong.

Biden is a moderate like Hillary was but her platform was the most left learning in history. I’m just hoping that Biden follows suit if nominated.

[PaulBullion]

I'm just worried that Bernard will ride coming 3rd and 4th place in primaries all the way to a contested convention.