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

[PwrdOn]

We keep talking about what voters want when it's not in evidence that voters /don't/ want Biden, given his commandng lead in the primaries. We're a microsm and Biden is up 50 or 60 points in South Carolina and we can't say that it's 'just' name recognition. I'm not, I'm not in disagreement about Dems occupying rightwards spaces abandoned by an ever more extreme Republican party and Biden is hardly my ideal candidate, but he appeals to a wide swath of voters.

This is just a gut thing, but I get the sense that Biden is polling well among people who see him as the only sane candidate in a sea of left wing loonies, but these people are probably more likely to stay home or even vote Trump on election day anyway. As the saying goes, Republicans fall in line and Democrats fall in love, and I just don't think people love Biden like that.

[Tendrin]

This is just a gut thing, but I get the sense that Biden is polling well among people who see him as the only sane candidate in a sea of left wing loonies, but these people are probably more likely to stay home or even vote Trump on election day anyway. As the saying goes, Republicans fall in line and Democrats fall in love, and I just don't think people love Biden like that.

Or maybe he's very connected to the very popular Obama presidency. A lot of folks aren't gonna forget who stood by Obama as torrents of racism were hurled at him. Say what you want but Joe was there. Add in the Onionification of Biden and you've got a recipe for a guy who's image is pretty defined, popular, and enduring, even if Joe Biden the Myth isn't Joe Biden the candidate.

We shouldn't see the presidency as the be-all, end-all for a progressive policy agenda, however. That is congress. All we need is a guy who'll sign most of our legislation and not nominate right wing loonies to the Supreme Court.

[worstblogever]

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019...texas-poll/amp

Wow a Quinnipiac poll shows Biden leading Trump in Texas.

Soundly, at that. All of the top 5 Democratic candidates poll either ahead of, or are in a virtual dead heat with Trump... in TEXAS.

Now imagine that the economists predicting a recession is about to come full force in the next 12-16 months and have the data showing things are trending down... predict what happens then. Because history says it means a one-term presidency.

[SquirrelMan]

This is just a gut thing, but I get the sense that Biden is polling well among people who see him as the only sane candidate in a sea of left wing loonies, but these people are probably more likely to stay home or even vote Trump on election day anyway. As the saying goes, Republicans fall in line and Democrats fall in love, and I just don't think people love Biden like that.

He's the most popular politician in America.

[mogwen]

Well, I'm watching all your questionning about the best democrat to beat Trump in the next election, wether it is Biden, Warren, Sanders or whoever. I'm french, I don't live in the US, and my take is simple: it's the one who will beat him provided it's still possible, that your democratic system has not been completely rigged in the perspective of 2020.

[jetengine]

Even if people dont like Biden he'll be a good palate cleanser after Trump.

[PwrdOn]

Well, I'm watching all your questionning about the best democrat to beat Trump in the next election, wether it is Biden, Warren, Sanders or whoever. I'm french, I don't live in the US, and my take is simple: it's the one who will beat him provided it's still possible, that your democratic system has not been completely rigged in the perspective of 2020.

Any of the candidates is capable of beating Trump provided that voter turnout is sufficient. The problem is that the Democrats are prone to ignoring their base and trying to reach for moderates, meaning that lots of voters just become disillusioned and don't bother voting because "both sides are just as bad" or whatever.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Mexico Agreed To Deploy National Guard Months Before Deal With Trump: Report

Mexico promised to deploy troops throughout its country and to the border wall months before Trump threatened a tariff, according to the New York Times. So, how do you say "The fix is in" in Spanish? Meanwhile....

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Nancy Pelosi Lashes Trump’s ‘Threats And Temper Tantrums’ In Dealing With Mexico

Game on — again. Indeed!

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‘Central Park Five’ To Trump: Death Penalty Ad Put A ‘Bounty On Our Head’

While the falsely accused men were honored this week, a publisher dropped one of the prosecutors from the botched case. If Trump had his way, he'd STILL want those men put to death rather than apologize to them for being wrong.

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Trump Administration Denies U.S. Embassies Permission To Fly Pride Flag: Reports

Embassies had previously flown the rainbow flag in June in support of LGBTQ Pride Month. Can't say I'm surprised about the turnaround. Hey there, Log Cabin Republicans, how ya liking your homophobic president?

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Former White House Ethics Chief Proposes POTUS ‘Golf On Your Own Damn Dime Act’

Walter Shaub thinks Donald Trump’s nearly $106 million golf tab is getting way out of hand. Remember, Trump said back during the campaign that, if elected president, he'd be too busy to play golf. That was bullshit then, and it's bullshit now.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled Tom Ganley, a former used car salesman and candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Ohio’s 13th Congressional District back in 2010. The GOP named him one of their “Young Guns” despite of the fact that he had a history of his car dealerships being sued for age, race, and gender discrimination and an African American employee who won a lawsuit against him in a racial discrimination case. His poll numbers were holding up fairly well though, until five weeks before the election, when a woman reported that she was sexually assaulted by Ganley at one of his car dealerships while she was dropping her van off for repairs, while giving her $100 and telling her to buy lingerie and high-heeled shoes and to come back so he could “dominate her, parade her on a leash”, and have sex with her in front of his “play friends”. Four weeks after that, and within a week of the election, a second woman came forward to report a similar incident of Ganley acting like Jabba the Hutt. Before all was said and done, Ganley was the first (but not last) of the Republican “Young Guns” to be indicted for a crime, and that was 7 counts that included kidnapping, abduction, solicitation, and menacing by stalking. And that… is definitely a way to end a political career.


In 2016, 2017, as well as 2018, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” presented its original profile of Georgia State Senator Fran Millar, who has served in the state legislature since 1999, making the jump from the Georgia House to Georgia Senate back in the 2010 elections. In his time in office, he has voted for the death penalty to be applied even in non-unanimous jury rulings, voted for welfare drug testing, voted for a requirement that the Georgia State Capitol needed to have a monument of the Ten Commandments, voted to try and make picketing a corporation illegal, voted for bills to require English to be the official language of the state, and voted for a law to allow for Christians to legally discriminate against gay people. Pretty much, he’s supported any and all the unconstitutional ideas that conservatives have pitched for the past fifteen years or so. But Millar arrived on CSGOPOTD’s radar a few months prior to the 2014 elections, when he decided to volunteer some interesting opinions about African Americans using their legal right to participate in early voting on Facebook when he wrote:

”Now we are to have Sunday voting at South DeKalb Mall just prior to the election. Per Jim Galloway of the AJC, this location is dominated by African American shoppers and it is near several large African American mega churches such as New Birth Missionary Baptist. Galloway also points out the Democratic Party thinks this is a wonderful idea — what a surprise. I’m sure Michelle Nunn and Jason Carter are delighted with this blatantly partisan move in DeKalb.

Is it possible church buses will be used to transport people directly to the mall since the poll will open when the mall opens? If this happens, so much for the accepted principle of separation of church and state.
Interim CEO May says this election decision is an administrative matter and he can unilaterally make this decision. I don’t think this is necessarily true and we are investigating if there is any way to stop this action.”

When called out on trying to disenfranchise African American voters by shutting down early voting that they (and anyone else in the state) use for convenience and insinuating they were somehow violating the Constitution to do so, Fran Millar found a way to say something even worse:

“I would prefer more educated voters than a greater increase in the number of voters. If you don’t believe this is an efort [sic] to maximize Democratic votes pure and simple, then you are not a realist. This is a partisan stunt and I hope it can be stopped. Furthermore I don’t control where people are allowed to vote but am glad Brookhaven has been added for the last week.”

So, he would prefer EDUCATED voters, and the African American ones simply can’t be educated, so they should be disqualified. Well, nothing racist about that, right? Well, let’s just say that Fran Millar doesn’t think much of the intelligence of any voter, as can be shown here where he commands a constituent trying to ask him simple questions to sit, as if they were a dog.

Our main update on Fran Millar as a CSGOPOTD again seems to revolve around the fact that the man outright admits he doesn’t care about American democracy anymore, only that the Republican Party wins. Because on April 15th, 2017, Millar gave the game away again with this quote about the special election to replace the Congressional seat vacated by Tom Price, and how Jon Ossoff was leading in the polls:

“I’ll be very blunt: These lines were not drawn to get Hank Johnson’s protégé to be my representative. And you didn’t hear that. They were not drawn for that purpose, OK? They were not drawn for that purpose.”

For those who didn’t get that… HE ADMITTED TO THE FACT THE GOP GERRYMANDERED A CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT SO DEMOCRATS CAN’T WIN IT.
(Sorry, had to put that in all caps, for those in the back that couldn’t hear. The laugh's on him, though, because Lucy McBath won it in 2018.)

Millar voted for a “religious liberty” bill in an attempt to prevent gay adoptions, and also voted for a highly unconstitutional measure to make Georgia adopt English as its official language (which the Supreme Court ruled was a no-go back in 1999.) With the 2018 Blue Wave coming for him, and reports that Millar allegedly engaged in money laundering with Congressman Buddy Carter… he was defeated by Democrat Sally Farrell, earning only 45% of the vote.

We wish him the finest of “GOOD RIDDANCE” salutations.

[aja_christopher]

Any of the candidates is capable of beating Trump provided that voter turnout is sufficient. The problem is that the Democrats are prone to ignoring their base and trying to reach for moderates, meaning that lots of voters just become disillusioned and don't bother voting because "both sides are just as bad" or whatever.

The "base" of the party is more than just "progressives" and basing your opinion on an election where illegal Russian interference constantly pushed "both sides are just as bad" and "progressives like Sanders are the only option" on an unprepared public in order to damage Hillary is biased.

Clinton and Obama were both "moderates" who won both election and re-election -- the problem isn't "moderate" nominees.

Moreover, most of the Democratic "base" is supporting Biden at this point -- by your own logic that's who should be the nominee.

[aja_christopher]

I'm not saying this is the most effective strategy, nor am I endorsing Biden -- I'm waiting for the debates and I'll support the eventual nominee, regardless.

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"Former Vice President Joe Biden's frontrunner status has been remarkable steady in a broad field of 2020 candidates so far and INSIDER data suggests this is because Democrats think he's the best option by far to defeat President Donald Trump... INSIDER polling found 68% of likely Democratic primary voters believe Biden can beat Trump. Comparatively, just 47% of Democrats think Sanders — Biden's closest contender — can defeat the current occupant of the White House.

But what most sets Biden apart among contenders for the 2020 nomination is the loyalty he has among his supporters. INSIDER data shows that while the supporters of many Democratic candidates would be comfortable with a wide number of the other candidates ultimately becoming the nominee, Biden's supporters are far more picky.

In short, Biden voters tend to be more skeptical of non-Biden candidates than your typical Democrat. For Booker, we could find a number of other candidates where his supporters were more likely to be satisfied with them than your typical Democratic respondent. Among Biden supporters, no such other candidate existed. Every single other candidate is, polling-wise, underwater.

Biden fans are satisfied with Sen. Sanders as nominee at a rate 4 percentage points lower than Democrats overall (49% satisfaction among Biden fans vs. 53% among all Democrats)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has a 6-percentage point deficit (40% vs. 46% overall)
Sen. Kamala Harris has a 12-percentage point deficit (37% vs. 49% overall)
Rep. Beto O'Rourke has a 9-percentage point deficit (34% vs. 42% overall)
Sen. Cory Booker has a 10-percentage point deficit (30% vs. 39% overall)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg has a 23-percentage point deficit (29% vs. 52% overall)

Among the remaining Democratic primary contenders we polled, the difference between the percentage of Biden fans that would be happy with them as nominee and the percentage of overall Democrats was 13 percentage points."

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-...-steady-2019-5

[Tendrin]

A lot of Catholics don't like Biden due to his pro-choice stance. No Catholic was elected president since JFK.

51% of Catholics support abortion rights, which is a higher rate than white evangelicals protestants. While anti-papism is alive and well, additionally fueled by the sex abuse scandal in the church, it is unlikely to figure in 2020 in any way given that those susceptible to anti-Catholic messaging on a political level are already well to the right.

[Tendrin]

Then what about the Catholic church leaders, particularly Bishops? They denied communion to Biden and other pro-choice Catholic politicians

It wasn't universal across the parishes. Catholic bishops might make a stink about it but Biden was, previously, able to receive communion in different parishes. The church is not a monolith, and frankly, it's leadership has precious little moral authority left to it at the moment.

[ed2962]

The "base" of the party is more than just "progressives" and basing your opinion on an election where illegal Russian interference constantly pushed "both sides are just as bad" and "progressives like Sanders are the only option" on an unprepared public in order to damage Hillary is biased.

Clinton and Obama were both "moderates" who won both election and re-election -- the problem isn't "moderate" nominees.

Moreover, most of the Democratic "base" is supporting Biden at this point -- by your own logic that's who should be the nominee.

I'm not so sure that's what the Russian bots were pushing.

[aja_christopher]

I'm not so sure that's what the Russian bots were pushing.

Admittedly, I forgot to add that they promoted Jill Stein as well -- but I didn't mean to imply that they said Trump was just as bad as Hillary.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...gns/348051002/

The "both sides are just as bad" argument was used to decrease voter turnout amongst progressives who might vote Democrat -- the anti-Sanders DNC email leaks being a primary example of this. They promoted a split within the party that they are still taking advantage of on various message board forums -- it's pretty much the same thing I saw play out last election, only there are more players this time around.

To this day, you still have people on the left who claim Hillary is "just as bad" as Trump because she's a "corporate" Democrat and the same narrative is being promoted about "moderate" Biden in those same circles.