All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[kidfresh512]

We were saying it the other day. He had no choice, hes young he has bolstered his national name somewhat. He can bow out now and work on his weaknesses as a candidate and build his resume for his future. I said before he should build up a resume of work to show that he has something substantive to offer the backbone of the Democratic party.

Reach out in a more organic way to helping lift up communities whose vote he wants to ask for in the future

[Gray Lensman]

It'll be interesting to see how those "second choice" polls bear out now that people are starting to be forced to make that choice. I'm just curious if they hold up or not.

Make no mistake, this is a "We have to stop Bernie" decision by Buttigieg.

The problem with that is if runs into two things. The first, and most obvious is that might piss off the most hardcore Bernie backers into sitting out if they see everyone lining up against him. The second is Bloomberg's game of chicken happening on Super Tuesday, although that might be answered sooner than we think or Mikey wants.

[TriggerWarning]

Probably. But it’s also a “he’s the youngest guy in the race, tremendously booster his profile for a run as governor or Senator, and he’s beholden for big donors who are probably telling him that he can’t win and it’s smarter to get out now before he pisses people off” decision.

Here’s thing, he was on life support anyways.

From the start I never really felt he was running for the president with any thought he could win, rather he was running to get name recognition so that he could in the future run for senator, governor, or the House. Then improbably his candidacy took off. Unless he gets tabbed for the vice president slot he is in excellent shape next time Indiana has an opening for major state seat.

[Gray Lensman]

From the start I never really felt he was running for the president with any thought he could win, rather he was running to get name recognition so that he could in the future run for senator, governor, or the House. Then improbably his candidacy took off. Unless he gets tabbed for the vice president slot he is in excellent shape next time Indiana has an opening for major state seat.

Not unless demographics change in that state. But Pete is positioned well for any appointment level jobs depending on the results in November.

[Kieran_Frost]

I'm glad Buttigeig is dropping out. He and Klobuchar are my favorites amongst the dems but right now all the sane moderate dems are doing is guaranteeing a Sanders nomination which means 4 more years of Trump. The moderates need to coalesce around one candidate and Biden or Bloomberg seem to be the only realistic candidates. Both have their warts but they are better than Sanders.

Agreed on all points (minus the dropping out, cos I liked hearing him talk on Twitter).

And I would bet Biden had a conversation with him about a place in his cabinet if he wins. No other reason to do this today and not Wednesday.

I'd be surprised if he doesn't back Biden. So... what position would you imagine? I don't think Secretary of State, he's too young. Oddly I think he'd be a better VP than Secretary of State, I don't know why??? He's not going to get that, but isn't that odd... that I feel his age is more a hindrance for the 4th biggest job than the 2nd?

The problem with that is if runs into two things. The first, and most obvious is that might piss off the most hardcore Bernie backers into sitting out if they see everyone lining up against him.

They're angry and p*ssed off anyway. What more could they do? Get even more p*ssed off???

[Theleviathan]

The problem with that is if runs into two things. The first, and most obvious is that might piss off the most hardcore Bernie backers into sitting out if they see everyone lining up against him. The second is Bloomberg's game of chicken happening on Super Tuesday, although that might be answered sooner than we think or Mikey wants.

I think Bloomberg realizes it's already over. At least, I would hope so.

And yes, it could irritate Bernie backers, but this was going to be an eventual outcome. It's just happening earlier than a Bernie supporter would like. Even worse if Warren stays in just on the outside shot of a contested convention she wins.

[Theleviathan]

Agreed on all points (minus the dropping out, cos I liked hearing him talk on Twitter).


I'd be surprised if he doesn't back Biden. So... what position would you imagine? I don't think Secretary of State, he's too young. Oddly I think he'd be a better VP than Secretary of State, I don't know why??? He's not going to get that, but isn't that odd... that I feel his age is more a hindrance for the 4th biggest job than the 2nd?

Probably a lesser position, not even sure what he'd be qualified for. Dept. of Ed?

[kidfresh512]

Probably a lesser position, not even sure what he'd be qualified for. Dept. of Ed?

He needs to just do state election now imo. Senator, or Governor. Get experience and see whats after that.

[Gray Lensman]

Probably a lesser position, not even sure what he'd be qualified for. Dept. of Ed?

He is a Rhodes scholar. The media couldn't say his name for a while without mentioning that, even when he was standing next to Cory Booker, who never had his own background mentioned by those same media people.

[TriggerWarning]

I'd be surprised if he doesn't back Biden. So... what position would you imagine? I don't think Secretary of State, he's too young. Oddly I think he'd be a better VP than Secretary of State, I don't know why??? He's not going to get that, but isn't that odd... that I feel his age is more a hindrance for the 4th biggest job than the 2nd?

He won't get the VP nod. Biden is going to pick a VP candidate who will help win a state or draw a lot of voters to him. The gay demographic is already going to vote for the dem regardless of who the candidate is so he doesn't really help there. Indiana is very red so he probably can't swing the state.

Sherrod Brown is my bet. A lot of dems are already floating his name out there as an alternative candidate in a contested convention. As a senator from Ohio he could flip Ohio to Biden and Brown is very popular with blue collar workers, the demographic that went for Trump in 2016.

[Kieran_Frost]

Probably a lesser position, not even sure what he'd be qualified for. Dept. of Ed?

Secretary of Veteran Affairs??? Or at this point would holding out to be governor be better? Or maybe do Secretary then run for Governor?

[Mister Mets]

Probably a lesser position, not even sure what he'd be qualified for. Dept. of Ed?

Mayors are often selected for Housing and Urban Development.

Secretary of Veteran Affairs??? Or at this point would holding out to be governor be better? Or maybe do Secretary then run for Governor?

The party in the White House tends to do poorly in statewide elections, so if Democrats win, his best move would be to serve in a cabinet post. If they lose, his best bet might be to run for statewide office.

He won't get the VP nod. Biden is going to pick a VP candidate who will help win a state or draw a lot of voters to him. The gay demographic is already going to vote for the dem regardless of who the candidate is so he doesn't really help there. Indiana is very red so he probably can't swing the state.

Sherrod Brown is my bet. A lot of dems are already floating his name out there as an alternative candidate in a contested convention. As a senator from Ohio he could flip Ohio to Biden and Brown is very popular with blue collar workers, the demographic that went for Trump in 2016.

I'm betting on Biden or Sanders picking someone who isn't a white guy.

Biden's likeliest pick might be Tammy Duckworth of Illinois.

I could see Sanders going with Stacey Abrams. She strikes me as a terrible choice given the lack of traditional qualifications, but it makes sense. A younger woman of color is a good match for an old white guy. She doesn't upset the establishment or seem like a sellout pick. And her current emphasis on voting reform fits his message of a political revolution to get as many people to the polls as possible.

[Kieran_Frost]

He won't get the VP nod. Biden is going to pick a VP candidate who will help win a state or draw a lot of voters to him. The gay demographic is already going to vote for the dem regardless of who the candidate is so he doesn't really help there. Indiana is very red so he probably can't swing the state.

That is true, though his military background would help with gaining Republican fence sitters/undecides. That could chip away support. Plus it would p*ss Mike Pence off SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH in the VP debate!!! HAHAHAHAHA!

Sherrod Brown is my bet. A lot of dems are already floating his name out there as an alternative candidate in a contested convention. As a senator from Ohio he could flip Ohio to Biden and Brown is very popular with blue collar workers, the demographic that went for Trump in 2016.

Oh I hope not. I'd like whoever these str8, white male candidates are, to pick a non-straight, white male as their VP. Give a little love to minorities that are carrying the party.

[Steel Inquisitor]

One of the biggest reasons that the conversation about communism is so skewed in the US, is that we have lots of people who moved here to escape communist regimes, but these people are in NO WAY representative of the general public in those places. Broadly speaking, defectors tended to come from privileged backgrounds and likely had their family property seized by the government, we almost NEVER hear the voices of the poor peasants and workers who benefited from these redistributive policies. For example, while the mainstream is largely clueless to this distinction, Cuban-Americans tend to be largely white, educated, and middle class in contrast both to other Latinos in America as well as to the general population of Cuba, both of whom tend to comprise racially mixed folks primarily of indigenous or African descent with a sprinkling of European DNA, and overwhelmingly working class at least in the first generation. Because most of the Cubans living in America fled precisely because Castro seized their assets, we tend to get this impression that communist governments are just these spiteful entities out to screw EVERYONE for no good reason, when of course this isn't the case at all. Cuba under Batista was a far more terrifying place to live than under Castro, because it had all of the repression and trampling of rights, but none of that revolutionary fervor, because all of the oppression was done for the benefit of foreign corporations and a small circle of local elites that monopolized nearly all the gains without giving any consideration to the needs of the common people.

That is true, however, this doesn't make Castro's Cuba not a dictatorship or Good. It's not a deep dive into the problems Castro's regime on the country, or their partnership with the USSR. Russia was horrible with the Tsar's, this didn't make the USSR any less monstrous - they didn't start massacring and purging with Stalin.

Speak about Cuba and Communism in the full context, not simply a narrow view which feds into Communist propaganda that They Were Right.

By and large, the biggest gripe that the average folks in Russia and China have against their government is that market-oriented reforms have hollowed out a previously robust system of safety nets while most of the gains have gone to enrich a small circle of oligarchs. And in fact, although if you read the (failing) NYT all you see is columns written by dissidents, there are in fact a lot of recent immigrants, mostly students and professionals, mostly from China but also some from Russia, who have moved here for purely economic reasons and don't really much in the way of bad things to say about their governments. However, because this doesn't fit the generally accepted narrative we tend to just treat them as being brainwashed ideologues rather than listening to what they have to say.

This is immensely tone deaf given what we know about both of those governments recently. Putin and Xi don't deserve praise or omission from the conversation. This ignores a large swath of recent history, of them hurting their own citizens and acting badly abroad (Ukraine, Belt and Road Initiative, Trump, Brexit). Both countries have troubles with oligarchs of their own, and authoritarian tendencies (press and opposition leaders being assassinated, Muslim genocide).

Should go without saying that Scarface isn't really an accurate picture of the Cuban immigrant experience.

Except people don't need to do that to have a poor opinion on Castro's Cuba.

[kidfresh512]

Mayors are often selected for Housing and Urban Development.

That's actually a good position if he were to skip State government. And it would give him an opportunity to work with minority engagement on a national scale.

He's more qualified than the current secretary