US Elections 2020 thread

[Vitalstatistix]

She's brilliantly eloquent, knowledgeable and interesting on the latest Chapo. I could listen to her talk for days. 

[kngen]

Bernie's campaign declared dead and buried by the people that most want it to be dead and buried - never-Trumpers and the centrist commentariat, despite him still being second in RealClearPolitics polls. As predicted, the Anyone But Bernie contingent have abandoned Warren for Harris - think we'll see a lot of hopping between them in the coming months.

This is a cracker though - WaPo Republican troll recast as 'moderate voice of common sense' Jennifer Rubin says Biden can revive his campaign with some simple suggestions. Bernie can't though because ... waaaah, old and socialist and people actively want to be bankrupted for seeing their doctor! Utterly craven.

[Twed]

Kamala seems to be the current Chosen One by the media & DNC. She's really chancing her arm with the most textbook "something called Medicare For All that in fact guarantees its destruction" policy (https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1155783806391115776) and her version of student debt relief, which is so restrictive it's hard to fathom what real person it could ever apply to (https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1155592269006868489)

It's all so blatantly done in bad faith that it's scary to consider that they know that many of us know, but also that very little can be done about it.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

The Dem debates certainly put the requirements to win into sharp contrast

- The offer needs to be big
- The offer needs to be simple to explain and not a weasel halfway house
- The offer needs to be confrontational to Trump politics
- No-one can win by simply being against everything, no one is going to win with a tinkering around the edges policy

My gut feeling is that Bernie speaks in the simplest terms and can cut through to swathes of the rust belt voters Trump won and expose him as a fraud.

Of course like Corbyn he would have virtually everyone against him and you can see how the media have poisoned the well over there too. I've met entirely sane people whose specific needs would be met with Sanders' policies who think he is some sort of bald Satan. I hope he brandishes them with hot tongs.

Warren, stylistically rather than politically, doesn't have the streetfighting presentation of Sanders which on this occasion seems to be a prerequisite.

It would be worth it just to see Sanders bellow the truth in Trump's 'face' and America's face. At least for once they'd get the truth.

[Urinal Cake]

Kamala seems to be the current Chosen One by the media & DNC. She's really chancing her arm with the most textbook "something called Medicare For All that in fact guarantees its destruction" policy (https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1155783806391115776) and her version of student debt relief, which is so restrictive it's hard to fathom what real person it could ever apply to (https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1155592269006868489)

It's all so blatantly done in bad faith that it's scary to consider that they know that many of us know, but also that very little can be done about it.

Gabbard even if she doesn't stick around has shown Harris can bleed. Harris seems just as prone as Biden on attacks on their record. Further Biden had a good go at her about her Helathcare plan as well. Harris is no Buttigieg when it comes debates and creating plausible defenses.

If you wanted a younger centrist candidate with a veneer of progressiveness you'd go Booker or Buttigieg.

[Mister Six]

My gut feeling is that Bernie speaks in the simplest terms and can cut through to swathes of the rust belt voters Trump won and expose him as a fraud.

...

Warren, stylistically rather than politically, doesn't have the streetfighting presentation of Sanders which on this occasion seems to be a prerequisite.

Same here. Sanders as the two-fisted battlin' prez and Warren as the bookish, policy-forming, hands-on VP would be ideal, I think.

But we're probably going to get a Biden/Harris ticket and another Trump presidency.

AOC 2024!

[Armin Meiwes]

Same here. Sanders as the two-fisted battlin' prez and Warren as the bookish, policy-forming, hands-on VP would be ideal, I think.

But we're probably going to get a Biden/Harris ticket and another Trump presidency.

AOC 2024!

Was about to say she literally wouldn't even be old enough but looks like she just makes it by like 3 months so it is basically ordained.

[Cuellar]

Is there a lower age limit on running for Pres? Is there in the UK? I have no idea.

[Mister Six]

You have to be 35 upon taking office. AOC would be 34 when running, but 35 by the handover. I do think she'll run, but not till 2028 at the earliest. Got to wait for the Pelosis to die off a bit first.

[mojo filters]

Is there a lower age limit on running for Pres? Is there in the UK? I have no idea.

In the UK, the Electoral Administration Act of 2006 reduced the eligibility age for prospective MPs from 21 to 18 years old.

By constitutional convention, the UK Prime Minister must be a sitting member of Parliament - though only members of the lower chamber have ascended to this office since 1902.

There is no presidential office (akin to that of the USA) in the UK. The Queen remains Head of State, albeit effectively wielding no partisan power since King Charles II.

To officially run for president in the US, the lower age limit is 35*. Federal Representatives must be at least 25 years old, whilst Senators have to be 30 or older. These age limits were specified in Articles I and II of the constitution.

Unsurprisingly there is no Pelosi death reference in respect of these rules.

However through common sense, common courtesy, and sheer strategic political utility - Democratic members of the House and Senate of all political persuasions are respectful of the most effective Speaker, since the 1994 Gingrich revolution - when the Democratic Party lost the majority they had held and taken for granted in the House, for over 40 years.

[Edit] *obviously voters are free to write-in candidates of any age they choose at the ballot box, where such free text fields are provided

[Suki Bapswent]

Watched the Dem debates. There's nobody I think could currently beat Trump. There are plenty I think would make better Presidents, but for as long as he's dictating the narrative by driving it into the gutter with exaggerations, distortions and lies, and for as long as that resonates with voters in swing States, he's a two-termer.

It doesn't matter what the Dem's say - he's characterised them already. He's provided the context to ignore them. Same goes for media - who cares what anyone but Fox says when everyone but Fox is fake news?

Americans will get the President they deserve.

[Urinal Cake]

Nah the Dems have plenty of candidates that can win. Sanders has a simple and forceful anti-establishment message much like Trump. Booker has the humour and aptitude to fight to make Trump feel like an idiot (as opposed to showing he's an idiot which doesn't work- Trump loses heart privately bit becomes defiant publicly). Gabbard on the foreign policy front can prove she's the isolationist his base always wanted and has shown enough fight as the underdog. Buttegieg is a good debater so he can come up with a good strategy to counter Trump. Warren will do well as long as there aren't personal attacks but hopefully her team is preparing her for a dirty fight.

Harris though is a disappointment. As a hero and as a 'big bad' one easy to deflect attack and she's on the backfoot. Not even Biden after the first debate seemed to have stumbled so badly.

[Twed]

Harris though is a disappointment. As a hero and as a 'big bad' one easy to deflect attack and she's on the backfoot. Not even Biden after the first debate seemed to have stumbled so badly.

It's not disappointing that her performance is bad. She was a terrible prospect before she was even running. So much evil done by her hand, and "it was my job" is no excuse (top-level jobs are a fucking choice).

[Urinal Cake]

Her record is one thing but the rhetoric was another. Harris was supposed to be this 'bad bitch' prosecutor that was going to nail Trump's ass to the wall. Especially after the first debate and setting-up Biden.
But she was unprepared and her defense during and after the debate were lacking. Saying you're 'top-tier' is very Trump-esque but then accusing Gabbard of being a Russian agent and dictator apologist are things Trump are accused of and repeatedly deflects everyday. It's not exactly a winning strategy.

Big money is probably going back to Biden, Booker and Buttegieg etc.

[chveik]

and how's the mighty beto doing?

[Twed]

Her record is one thing but the rhetoric was another. Harris was supposed to be this 'bad bitch' prosecutor that was going to nail Trump's ass to the wall. Especially after the first debate and setting-up Biden.

Which is why it's a good thing that she failed, because winning the primaries based on being good at the theatrics but with terrible intentions/policies/corruptibility is the last thing the general public needs.

[The Culture Bunker]

The thing is, Trump will just approach the contest in the same way, no matter the opponent: open mouth and spew shite everywhere so that the whole debate stinks. He's an expert at dragging everything to his level, and reducing the other to an insult that gets played on the news on the hour, every hour.

[Twed]

That works great against candidates that have so much baggage that they can hardly speak in debates for fear of reminded people what they are actually like (e.g. last night). Trump is fucked against Sanders, who is consistent, liked and has policies that speak to the people who Trump tricked in the last round.

Sanders would easily beat Trump. The only obstacle is seeing if the Democrats allow that to happen.

[The Culture Bunker]

Sanders would easily beat Trump. The only obstacle is seeing if the Democrats allow that to happen.

I do really hope they do, and you are right. But I can just see Trump banging on about "Bumblin' Bernie" or "Shaky Sanders" or making out that he's somehow the second coming of Joe Stain based on his heritage - and it going over well with the masses.

[Monsieur Verdoux]

If Bernie gets the nomination and Trump still beats him, then we really would have to accept that we live in hell, all the stars are dead, and there's no light beyond

[chveik]

I couldn't agree more Monsieur.

[rjd2]

https://twitter.com/IanSams/status/1156741869621133318

Tulsi still has zero chance of winning this, heck may not even make the next debate. However the reaction from the media has been hilariously predictable,,basically ASSAD..PUTIN~! etc.

Harris would have used that attack line for sure last night, but was clearly to shocked to remember it.

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

Eric Holder
@EricHolder 20h
To my fellow Democrats. Be wary of attacking the Obama record.  Build on it.  Expand it. But there is little to be gained - for you or the party - by attacking a very successful and still popular Democratic President.

"Actually it is against the law to criticize anything we did or to ever hold politicians accountable."

[Twed]

https://twitter.com/IanSams/status/1156741869621133318

Tulsi still has zero chance of winning this, heck may not even make the next debate. However the reaction from the media has been hilariously predictable,,basically ASSAD..PUTIN~! etc.

Harris would have used that attack line for sure last night, but was clearly to shocked to remember it.

The mental gymnastics and histrionics in response to criticising the foul establishment Dem way is pretty chilling.

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

David Frum
@davidfrum 23h
Parties used to have mechanisms to prevent 16 people who will never be the nominee from doing damage to the 2 or 3 who might be the nominee.

Preet Bharara
@PreetBharara 23h
A debate is a debate but I'm not enjoying this. These are all good people. Trump is the one who's not.

Bit of a conspiracy theory here, but it's interesting that I have a Twitter account for following people, which as far as I know follows zero purely political accounts and is certainly not tied into this stuff, and yet I keep getting these "recommended" pro-establishment tweets in my feed.

What's the algorithm doing?

[Twed]

CNN & co seems to want to plant the idea that Obama's legacy is being trashed and this is an unacceptable thing and you wouldn't want to vote for somebody who is doing that now would you?

[Pdine]

Bit of a conspiracy theory here, but it's interesting that I have a Twitter account for following people, which as far as I know follows zero purely political accounts and is certainly not tied into this stuff, and yet I keep getting these "recommended" pro-establishment tweets in my feed.

What's the algorithm doing?

One of the takeaways from the Cambridge Analytica evidence to that committee was that you can make surprisingly accurate predictions about people's political beliefs from a few non-political data points about them. Cure fans between 40 and 48 from Bicester are 80% likely to favour green issues <- made up, but the kind of thing.

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

One of the takeaways from the Cambridge Analytica evidence to that committee was that you can make surprisingly accurate predictions about people's political beliefs from a few non-political data points about them. Cure fans between 40 and 48 from Bicester are 80% likely to favour green issues <- made up, but the kind of thing.

My following list would definitely paint me as left-wing, but I don't follow a single account that would be interested in hearing what David Frum has to say about the Dem debates.

[rjd2]

What a superb take by Joy Reid.

https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/1156820372093845504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1156820372093845504&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fjoy-reid-and-new-york-times-writer-float-theory-that-russian-bots-are-boosting-tulsi-gabbard

https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/tulsi-gabbard-russia-kamala-harris/

[rjd2]

https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1157016595232894982

https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/1157249872929722375


LOL.