All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[PwrdOn]

We can only look back to 2008. Through 2007 if someone said this Barack Obama guy is gonna become President we would have laughed. In fact I said in 2004 after his DNC speech and how he whipped up that crowd ; I said hey he would make a good candidate in 2008. People told me he was too young and not ready for it.

In 2007 everyone thought Hillary Clinton would get the nomination. They didn't see Obama coming from out of nowhere to capture the crowd as we saw. How he exploded on scene n took office. By 2008 his momentum was fully KICKED IN after he won some primaries and the party realized they couldn't stop him.

No one is destined to win anything. People can change the course of these nominations.

Buttigieg trying to position himself as the next Obama has to be the biggest joke of this whole campaign. Even his most ardent supporters can't say that they buy that with a straight face. I mean, if the strategy wast to lose the election on purpose to make Trump own the economic fallout from his terrible policies, then I'm all for it, but I don't buy that anyone actually wants him to be president, because seriously, him?

[JackDaw]

So, in an interview with Chuck "yuck!" Todd today, Bernie walked back the promise of releasing more medical records.

That's a good look.

Blimey. Even the Donald was competent enough to find a doctor to lie for him.

[JCAll]

Buttigieg trying to position himself as the next Obama has to be the biggest joke of this whole campaign. Even his most ardent supporters can't say that they buy that with a straight face. I mean, if the strategy wast to lose the election on purpose to make Trump own the economic fallout from his terrible policies, then I'm all for it, but I don't buy that anyone actually wants him to be president, because seriously, him?

Pete pushed himself heavily as a young fresh-faced progressive when he first entered the race. He was lying, that was all marketing, but he's going to ride that first impression all the way to the bank.

[Celgress]

Facebook, Twitter Refuse To Remove Edited Trump Video of Pelosi Ripping Up State Of The Union Speech

by Yahoo News

https://ca.yahoo.com/news/pelosi-cla...163011039.html

The more time passes the more I wish she hadn't have done that. She was so clever up until now but she has played right into Trump's hands.*sigh*

[JCAll]

Facebook, Twitter Refuse To Remove Edited Trump Video of Pelosi Ripping Up State Of The Union Speech

by Yahoo News

https://ca.yahoo.com/news/pelosi-cla...163011039.html

The more time passes the more I wish she hadn't have done that. She was so clever up until now but she has played right into Trump's hands.*sigh*

Trump's goons have been running a harassment campaign on Pelosi for years, she knows there's a hate campaign against her. I remember after the last election I saw people congratulating Pelosi on letting other democrats run on an anti-Pelosi platform to take advantage of the hate campaign to win voters. I don't know if that's true, but some people were certainly speculating about it at the time. I wouldn't worry about it.

Twitter and Facebook continue to be a sewer though. That sucks.

[Steel Inquisitor]

Buttigieg will not be president, period. The centrists are trying to make a show of uniting behind him to take down Bernie, but once he wilts in the spotlight they'll abandon him just like they abandoned Biden, mostly likely switching their support to Bloomberg, who also has no chance of winning. At the end of the day they see Bernie as a bigger threat to their way of life than Trump, and so they'll find whatever excuse they can to make him out to be enough of a bad guy to justify either putting up a weak nominee that will lose badly in the general, or even flat out just voting for Trump because Bernie is even worse by some twisted logic.

Buttiege isn't a candidate that is appealing to centrists, he got progressive voters from Warren. Centrists are able to do that since they have more room to choose their candidate, they're not reliant on one or two to win. Voters switching candidates in primaries is normal, as well. Centrists, and other people who don't like Bernie Sanders, and there are numerous reasons to do this, don't hate Bernie more than Trump simply because they had the audacity not to switch to him, but this is a primary Sanders has to earn their votes. In '16 it was frowned upon Clinton getting a coronation, when you're upset we're not doing the same to Sanders. For the record, Clinton wasn't coronated back then, either. Many Democrats will vote for Sanders in the general over Trump, and Sanders is a risk that will depress others - that's a burden every candidate won wins the nomination has to bear. You don't have to make excuses for not liking Sanders, it's frustrating when those opinions are reduced to hyperbole and creates more hostility between the factions of the party for no reason as though everyone is obligated to vote for Sanders because he showed up in the primaries.

[Zauriel]

The nominee will have to unite the Centrists, the progressives and other factions in the Democratic Party and get all of them rally behind him/her.

If New Hampshire primary doesn't yield satisfactory results, I'll hold my breath until Nevada primary.

[PwrdOn]

Buttiege isn't a candidate that is appealing to centrists, he got progressive voters from Warren. Centrists are able to do that since they have more room to choose their candidate, they're not reliant on one or two to win. Voters switching candidates in primaries is normal, as well. Centrists, and other people who don't like Bernie Sanders, and there are numerous reasons to do this, don't hate Bernie more than Trump simply because they had the audacity not to switch to him, but this is a primary Sanders has to earn their votes. In '16 it was frowned upon Clinton getting a coronation, when you're upset we're not doing the same to Sanders. For the record, Clinton wasn't coronated back then, either. Many Democrats will vote for Sanders in the general over Trump, and Sanders is a risk that will depress others - that's a burden every candidate won wins the nomination has to bear. You don't have to make excuses for not liking Sanders, it's frustrating when those opinions are reduced to hyperbole and creates more hostility between the factions of the party for no reason as though everyone is obligated to vote for Sanders because he showed up in the primaries.

It's not that I want everyone to just bend the knee to Bernie, it's just that I see people rallying around these objectively awful candidates and I just can't really comprehend why other than because they just need anyone that can stop Bernie from getting the nomination. Buttigieg is definitely no progressive, because he isn't selling any progressive ideas, or any ideas of any sort if you really think about it. He's exactly the sort of empty suit that conservatives always assume all liberals are, and unless the Democrats are planning to lose the election on purpose I don't really see why anybody would be voting for him.

It is actually a bit sad because a lot of Democrats have already ruined what could have been promising political careers by jumping the gun on a presidential run, when they would've been far better off just staying in their lanes. Someone like Beto would've been far better off going for a Senate seat and doing good work there, instead of putting themselves in front of a national spotlight and exposing themselves as lightweights and frauds. Part of me is surprised that Buttigieg actually lasted this long, but that's really only because he's ran just about the most inoffensive campaign possible and avoid any direct confrontations, that isn't going to be possible now that the field has narrowed and it certainly won't be possible in the general. Buttigieg should've run for governor this time around, and if he can do good work there and build up a meaningful resume then he'd have a much better chance of a successful presidential run than he does now.

The nominee will have to unite the Centrists, the progressives and other factions in the Democratic Party and get all of them rally behind him/her.

If New Hampshire primary doesn't yield satisfactory results, I'll hold my breath until Nevada primary.

The centrists have declared repeatedly that they will vote for whoever has the best chance of beating Trump, and so if they think that Bernie voters will stay home in the general if they nominate someone else, they'd better think long and hard before throwing their support behind Buttigieg.

[Malvolio]

Curios and curioser.

I know this is rather obvious, but I would say he's there to dig up dirt on Mayor Pete for the Trump campaign.

[Steel Inquisitor]

It's not that I want everyone to just bend the knee to Bernie, it's just that I see people rallying around these objectively awful candidates and I just can't really comprehend why other than because they just need anyone that can stop Bernie from getting the nomination. Buttigieg is definitely no progressive, because he isn't selling any progressive ideas, or any ideas of any sort if you really think about it. He's exactly the sort of empty suit that conservatives always assume all liberals are, and unless the Democrats are planning to lose the election on purpose I don't really see why anybody would be voting for him.

You need to understand your opposition inside the party. You don't have to agree with them, but you need to grasp why they're doing what they're doing ad that they're not the enemy. You need to accept that not everyone likes Bernie and that there are good reasons for it, otherwise it comes off as being upset that people aren't inside his sub-group. This isn't about what you think Buttiege is, it's about what other people think and they clearly do. I don't understand, either, but it is what it is. Being a Sanders supporter is not a universal truth in the Democratic party, there are numerous wings in the party and he is speaking for only one of them.

It is actually a bit sad because a lot of Democrats have already ruined what could have been promising political careers by jumping the gun on a presidential run, when they would've been far better off just staying in their lanes. Someone like Beto would've been far better off going for a Senate seat and doing good work there, instead of putting themselves in front of a national spotlight and exposing themselves as lightweights and frauds. Part of me is surprised that Buttigieg actually lasted this long, but that's really only because he's ran just about the most inoffensive campaign possible and avoid any direct confrontations, that isn't going to be possible now that the field has narrowed and it certainly won't be possible in the general. Buttigieg should've run for governor this time around, and if he can do good work there and build up a meaningful resume then he'd have a much better chance of a successful presidential run than he does now.

Agreed.

The centrists have declared repeatedly that they will vote for whoever has the best chance of beating Trump, and so if they think that Bernie voters will stay home in the general if they nominate someone else, they'd better think long and hard before throwing their support behind Buttigieg.

"The centrists" aren't that solidified behind Mayor Pete. This isn't a two person race between Sanders and Buttiege. I could argue the same for Sanders when it comes to moderates, progressives and conservatives in the party.

[numberthirty]

Yes, because I seriously thought there were only 6 POCs in Idaho.

Are you denying that Idaho is one of the whitest contests in the primary?
A few refugee communities that Sanders reached out to do not change that. Except maybe under Bernie Math Rules.

So...

Idaho already had it's primary?

[numberthirty]

Facebook, Twitter Refuse To Remove Edited Trump Video of Pelosi Ripping Up State Of The Union Speech

by Yahoo News

https://ca.yahoo.com/news/pelosi-cla...163011039.html

The more time passes the more I wish she hadn't have done that. She was so clever up until now but she has played right into Trump's hands.*sigh*

Trump's goons have been running a harassment campaign on Pelosi for years, she knows there's a hate campaign against her. I remember after the last election I saw people congratulating Pelosi on letting other democrats run on an anti-Pelosi platform to take advantage of the hate campaign to win voters. I don't know if that's true, but some people were certainly speculating about it at the time. I wouldn't worry about it.

Twitter and Facebook continue to be a sewer though. That sucks.

First, you've got a primary that was an issue.

Now, it's "I Wouldn't Worry About That..."

While it would be great if none of that amounted to anything, having anything like "A Plan..." in case they do might not be a bad idea.

[aja_christopher]

It's not that I want everyone to just bend the knee to Bernie, it's just that I see people rallying around these objectively awful candidates and I just can't really comprehend why other than because they just need anyone that can stop Bernie from getting the nomination.

It's not your place to claim the choices of others are "objectively awful" nor to assume that the only reason people choose other candidates is to "stop" Sanders.

When people say those who support Sanders are "cult-like" this is what they mean -- the election is not all about Sanders.

Many people simply don't like him or his policies -- just because you do doesn't mean everyone should see him in the same light.

Likewise, when you fail to address the fact that he couldn't even beat Hillary due to his lack of appeal to most black voters, you are likewise denying the fact that the vast majority of black -- and non-progressive -- voters don't see Sanders as you do.

Assuming everyone is just out to get Sanders is ridiculous: what "got" Sanders last time was that millions more people voted for Hillary, his only competitor.

It's not a conspiracy when you lose by that many votes -- the fact is simply that he's not as great a candidate as his supporters believe he is, which is why the majority of us keep pointing out his actual record both with regards to legislation and last year's primaries.

[numberthirty]

We're actually just continuing to do the same thing: Point out the mostly baseless smears of Bernie Bros. As their targets change, it looks like we're defending other people. I've always been a Kamala kid and am still hoping she'll be Veep.

Again...

If everyone gets that Mayor Pete is clearly a "Wall Street"-friendly candidate, you are going to have to do better than "Well, He Isn't Actually The Most Wall Street-Friendly Candidate..." if you want to point out an actually "Baseless..." smear.

[Zauriel]

It is actually a bit sad because a lot of Democrats have already ruined what could have been promising political careers by jumping the gun on a presidential run, when they would've been far better off just staying in their lanes.
Someone like Beto would've been far better off going for a Senate seat and doing good work there, instead of putting themselves in front of a national spotlight and exposing themselves as lightweights and frauds. Part of me is surprised that Buttigieg actually lasted this long, but that's really only because he's ran just about the most inoffensive campaign possible and avoid any direct confrontations, that isn't going to be possible now that the field has narrowed and it certainly won't be possible in the general. Buttigieg should've run for governor this time around, and if he can do good work there and build up a meaningful resume then he'd have a much better chance of a successful presidential run than he does now.
.

Beto already did go for a Senate seat and lost the race to Cruz.

John Edwards threw away his senatorial career when he jumped on the presidential ticket with Kerry. Edwards' tenure expired in 2004 when he was campaigning for the presidency so he couldn't run for senate reelection.

Tulsi Gabbard had to give up her House seat so she could focus on a presidential campaign with little chance of success

"When you want to climb a mountain, why not start with Mount Everest? Because it is better to start with a small hill."