I basically agree with you, but . . . This election is absolutely (and hopefully) transitional. Most of America is simply looking for someone sober to drive us home. I'm with Tom, in that my first, second, third, fourth and fifth choices are all gone now. Bernie had his shot. He has never shown a desire or an ability to expand beyond his base, and regardless of how you feel about him from a policy position, if you can't build a coalition, you can't govern. m4a looks fantastic on a piece of paper, but that paper won't do jack shit for you when you need a doctor. He would never get Democratic support for it, let alone a few Republicans. It is a fantasy. Hell, a public option would be a wonderful advance, but THAT will be incredibly difficult to get. At least it is within the realm of the possible. I also take your point that Democrats have lost when they went with the safe bet and won when they took a chance on someone young and fresh. While Bernie is certainly not young, he is different and attracts the young vote. But, this election is different. It's not just about policy and ideology. The very institutions that have made us a strong country are being dismantled before our very eyes. 700 positions unfilled at CDC, because Trump doesn't want people sitting around doing nothing when there is no epidemic. Intelligence agencies that get tossed aside for a Putin narrative. Courts being ignored by an AG who is a puppet for the President. This is serious shit. Mark me down as someone who is not a massive Biden fan, but if most of the party, indepenedents and moderate Republicans are willing to coalesce around him, then count me in. Like Tom, if he picks the right VP (who I think will be a very strong COO in his administration), then I could actually get excited and work for his election. Bernie had his shot. After the first three contests, he could have opened up more. Invited people into his tent. He doesn't want us there. Not unless we are a true believer. I like Bernie. I like him a lot. But he is a movement leader, and those are typically not the types who make good executives. They are laser focused and help move the conversation in positive directions. Not to compare them directly, but as an example, MLK would have likely been a horrible President. He was driving a message. Greta Thunberg is another. Bernie is most valuable in the Senate where he can keep pulling the party in a more progressive way. If you like Bernie policies and wanted a candidate who had the possiblitiy of being able to deliver on some of his platform, then Elizabeth Warren was your candidate. I wish she was still an option.
For Sanders, I would go with: Along with Ro Khanna, Senator Harris would be the obvious choice (but would not happen). Governor Kate Brown (Oregon). She would be terrific and bring executive experience to the ticket. Senator Mazie Hirono Senator Tammy Duckworth Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Jennifer Grandholm (former Governor of Michigan). Again, very experienced and probably ready to step up if called upon to do so. How about Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL 2nd)? She may not be famous enough. Plus, Illinois would be in the bag for the eventual Democratic nominee. Maybe Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan. Make Donald Trump's head explode and pick: Maxine Waters Ihlan Omar
One quick example of why Bernie is a horrible candidate. There are videos out there of Bernie being very complimentary to Castro while saying that JFK made him nauseous. Fine. How do you deal with that. He could get past that for sure. So, they ask him about Castro and Cuba. I'm not a politician, but if I feel like Castro did a good job with literacy in his country, then when asked about Castro, my answer would be . . . "he was a murderous dictator who turned his back on democratic principles, and therefore, he was an awful messenger for democratic socialism." That's it. "Bernie, you are Jewish, how do you feel about AIPAC?" "Their policies are racist." Swell. You just lost 90% of the Cuban American vote, and likely all of the old Jewish vote in Florida. Florida. Is Florida imporant? Let me think about that [cough] W [/cough]. I know that his unothodox strategy is what makes him attractive to his base, but come on. Not only would he get flattened in Florida (and he will in the primary), but he would drag down every rep/state legislator/dog catcher running as a Democrat.
That's very flattering, and I am glad you could excited for my election, but I don't think I am ready to be a VP Candidate (or COO) quite yet! Oh, wait, I think I misread that.
I don't find him scary, but I find him a pretty awful candidate. All the more reason why his pick for VP is so vitally important.
Granholm is a naturalized citizen IIRC, so she'd not be eligible for the presidency. She also had the unfortunate timing of being governor of Michigan just as the national economy collapsed and the auto industry took the brunt of it just as she left office. Fair or not, that pretty much killed her future as anything more than an operative.
Yes, I looked up her wikipedia and saw that. Actually, I was looking up the name of the current Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer first. Then, I saw her on your list. Good choice.
I find the prospect of a debate with Trump scary. Trump has no morals and is well schooled in the dark arts. I pray that Joe can simply get through those debates. He was never that good, at debate. I felt the same in the VP debates in 2008 and 2012. He survived. Good enough. Now, he is . . . welll . . . old.
It remains to be seen what her political ceiling is, but she has a lot of that Midwestern retail politics skills that Klobuchar had, but without the binder throwing.
It's amazing to me how much my attitude has changed towards Klobuchar since her mistreatment of staff came to light. I feel comfortable in saying that gender does not play a role in this either. I would find it abhorant if a man did the same things. Making a young staffer go to a Senator's office and say, "Senator Klobuchar will be late for the meeting because I am not very good at my job," is totally demeaning and an inexcusable use of personal power. I really used to like her and now, I am completely annoyed every time I see her.
I found her absolute hatred towards Mayor Pete pretty telling, as well. It was pretty clear in the debates (and, just as much, in the interviews after the debates) that she despised him. All of that being said, I would have preferred her to Joe Biden.
100% true. If only they were debates, Joe Biden would be much better (but still awful). In the current format, they are going to be "must watch" "trainwreck" television. It will not go well, for either of them. Biden, at least, knows what to expect. I am not sure he will be able to actually debate, though. I can see Joe Biden "challenging" Donald Trump "to a fight." like he did a couple of years ago.
My boomer dad actually brought this exact point up as for why he switched from Warren to Biden after voting last Tuesday in CO. He's been a single payer healthcare guy since before it was cool, and actually stood in the very front row of Bernie's rally in Denver a couple weeks ago,* but said basically "if he can't keep himself from climbing up stupid hills to die on, instead of keeping his eye on the ball, Trump is going to murder him". *He also went to rallies for Warren, Pete, and Klobuchar. Try as you might, you will never out politics the boomers.
If this is what people want, then we deserve whatever we get regardless of who wins in November: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/03/10...-coronavirus-focuses-attention-on-health.html
Biden is a sack of shit, and I didn't need this to figure that out . He's a dirty ********ing warmongering chicken hawk who helped create a mess on scale with W''s crimes. He also is in bed with Ukrainian neo nazis enriching his deadbeat junkie son.
Three things: 1) Biden's speech was good. 2) Congress is dealing with it as a crisis. 3) Williamson is f'n nuts.
Bernie has Abdul El-Sayed who actually is a lecturer in epidemiology. You'd figure the internet trolls who run his campaign could have got a message out that "everyone not named Abdul needs to STFU about the pandemic".