Who you like 2020 Dems — Page 3

I think that Mayor Pete has time to recover in time for 2024 which could feature Eric Swalwell, CA governor Gavin Newsom, and him in the mother of all battles for the party nomination, if Trump is somehow re-elected in 2020. I'm anxious to see how the 2024 Dem nominee counters Nikki Haley. A Senate seat would be a safer bid for at least two of the gents but they seem to have designs on the White House. As shattering as a loss in 2020 would be, momentum would be on the side of the Dems going into 2024.

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I can’t emphasize enough how many millennials will not turn out for Biden. He is all of ours last choices for the democrats right now

Mike Barrett said: "I can’t emphasize enough how many millennials will not turn out for Biden. He is all of ours last choices for the democrats right now "

Do you really dislike him so much that you’d be willing to give Donald Trump another four years in the White House? I can understand why you may prefer other candidates vying for a primary win ... I do as well ... but supporting him, and supporting him enthusiastically, is the only option if he’s the choice of our party. To do otherwise has implications that can’t be undone for decades.

I used to like Biden, but he's become creepy Joe. He's too hands on with little girls and there's video evidence of it that will be shown in ads 24/7 if he gets the nomination. He's far too old school and I don't see younger voters voting for him.

Harris is great with the debates. Unfortunately, her past is troublesome. I expect a lot of her stuff from her prosecution days will come back up.

Mayor Pete seems great and I really do like him. However, I think that much of America may have an issue voting for a gay man and I'm not sure he's tough enough to take on Trump directly. He'd be a phenomenal VP however.

Booker and Castro are good, but will make better VP picks.

Bernie, unfortunately, is far too old and a bit too neurotic. He's great, but I can't see middle America and the south going for his whole Larry David yell at everyone thing. He also has a past as a straight up, hard core communist that I could see really hurting him.

And then we have Warren. A terrific, tough, brilliant woman. The only dirt on her is that Donald Trump likes to call her a racial slur because she had a moment of bad judgement when filling out some paper work when she was super young. She's brilliant and I see her taking on Trump directly.

I have nothing but respect for Elizabeth Warren. She is smart, passionate, and has creative solutions to tough problems. I disagree that the Native American thing is her Achilles Heel, however. I think she sealed her fate when she bought into the Sanders single-payer insurance plan. For those in the middle and on the right who fear government intrusion in what they perceive to be a private function, it’s a non-starter in the general election. There is no way to convince hundreds of millions of people with private insurance through their employers that their families would be better off if they give up what has worked for them for years in exchange for something new and potentially worse. And what about the millions who work at least indirectly for the health insurance companies? (I just did a quick search that returned the number 2.6 million. That’s a lot of people who flinch when they hear a candidate extoll the virtues of taking away their jobs.)

I don’t understand it because the alternative described by the more pragmatic candidates would allow her to express support for a theoretical single-payer solution in the long-term without taking anything away from those who are happy with what they have. If we add a government-sponsored plan to the list of Obamacare options, we address one of the primary issues with the current system (the geographic areas where viable options are unavailable) without disturbing the peace for the majority of the population who get their insurance through their employers. If the government option is the best choice, market factors will either push prices down across the board. It’s a theoretical win-win.

I understand the benefits of single payer, but I want the Democrat to win. We can’t have both.

"I disagree that the Native American thing is her Achilles Heel, however. I think she sealed her fate when she bought into the Sanders single-payer insurance plan. For those in the middle and on the right who fear government intrusion in what they perceive to be a private function, it’s a non-starter in the general election."

I find that to be a very fair assessment.. It also shines a light on the electoral college hurdle that she at the top of the ticket would have to overcome. I'm willing to jump on the single-payer/medicaid-for-all bandwagon which is the left's contribution to this election cycle's zeitgeist. That's just how desperate I am to see Trump sent packing.

However, all the math I've seen incident to the costs of implementation has generated more questions than answers. I'm not even going to be coy about my position that vesting "illegal immigrants" in the plan is D.O.A in the general election. There has to be another suitable alternative. Finally, I'd still like the option of keeping my employer-provided health insurance and retaining it in retirement.

All this leaves me thinking out loud, "you'll get my vote Liz but good luck with that".

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Updated On: 6/29/19 at 08:34 PM

Never said I wouldn’t vote for Biden in the general people, relax. Doesn’t mean he can’t be the absolute worst possible choice for the democrats right now. He has too much baggage to go up against Trump in my opinion, Hillary partially lost because he can rally his base against someone like that. Could he do that for Warren, Pete, and Kamala? Of course, but the stuff for Joe is right there right infront of him. Joe doesn’t represent the democracts anymore and we seriously, desperately, need some change in the WH. I really pray Joe is not our nominee as I fear that spells 4 more years of trump. Young voters will turn out for a candidate they like (I vote in every local/general election but I can’t speak for everyone). Dems need the millennial turn out to be huge for them, and Joe inspires no confidence in me that he can get people to turn out for this election. Shakey last, too old, too much baggage, let’s please move on if we want to win. Everyone thought Hillary would be a potential slam dunk for the Dems as well and let’s see how that turned out. Change it up!

I loved Harris’s performance in the second night of debates, but she has a troubling history too. Just read this New York Times summary of her prosecutorial history. Granted each of her reported slights only gets about a paragraph each so it’s difficult to capture the nuances of each case, but it would make her attack on Biden seem a bit hypocritical. As a person who actively supports criminal justice reform, it concerns me. Still, I’m not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We would all be well advised to remember that our favorite candidates all have their Achilles heels. Harris would still be 1000% better at the job than our current imposter-in-chief.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/kamala-harris-criminal-justice.html?login=facebook

Of course all candidates have their Achilles heel, I understand that. My issue is Joe can’t handle it. He was horrible in the debate the other night in my opinion, and did NOT seem like someone who could handle Donald trump in a debate at all. His track record is sketchy, he doesn’t cover himself well, just agreed with evrryone at the debate, idk, I’ll vote for him but I want a candidate that will inspire people to go out and vote. I’m glad you did Miles, we just need more like you! Joe I really fear may not bring that, regardless of if he’s against a Trump. It’s sad, but it’s true. Hillary clearly didn’t bring enough of the crowd like we thought and hoped, but it’s because no one was excited for her. Kamala made me feel the most confident the other night

Mike Barrett said: "Never said I wouldn’t vote for Biden in the general people, relax. Doesn’t mean he can’t be the absolute worst possible choice for the democrats right now. . . . "

Thanks for clarifying.

I’m sure you understand that so many of us still licking our wounds from the last election are scared $hitless that Democrats and Independents will once again stay home because their preferred candidate doesn’t advance in the race or because they aren’t in love with either of the choices. I can’t get past my anger with the people in my circle who didn’t vote in 2016 or voted the third party because of issues they had with Clinton that, in my opinion, paled in comparison to the alternative. (To my friend, a woman, who could not support Clinton because she “stood by her man” in the face of infidelity . . . I still don’t understand.)

I am not supporting Biden today. I am personally inspired by the stories of candidates such as Buttigieg, Harris, and Castro, and am listening carefully to the policies of a handful of others (such as Warren and Klobuchar) before casting my vote. But I will knock on doors from here till November 3, 2020 if Biden is our party’s choice.

Quite predictably, Harris now has other troubles. Trump's birther brigade and the racial purity trolls are out in full force. I can't even bring myself to post any related links.

I don't think the Dems can use "it's still early" this time around. Too much is at stake. For all the talk of Biden & Bernie's ages, they are eclipsed in that department by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. It's time for the Dems to bite the bullet and start thinning the herd by hook or crook. Hyperbole aside, this is the most important general election of my lifetime.

I readily admit that I'm not always the most patient person when it comes to dealing with Millennials & Gen Z. However, I'll do my part to encourage them to broaden their scope a bit to include issues that impact all our lives, while I show a wee bit more enthusiasm for a few that they've honed in on. Perhaps its not obvious to some younger voters that there's a huge and active voter block that regularly tackles child care, school bullying, marriage, in laws, divorce, child support, alimony, domestic violence, college expenses, medical care deductibles, every tax imaginable, business startup/closing, bankruptcy, unemployment, foreclosure, and/or elder care, sometimes simultaneously.

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The question Lester Holt asked on Wednesday was "who would abolish their private health insurance in favor of a government run plan?" The fact that Warren raised her hand could means several things. She could be talking personally about her own private health care, or she thinks it's a good idea to have a government run plan. I think too much is being made of this, she could qualify what she meant by raising her hand. I think as long as she lays out how she will hit the brakes on the health care and pharma industries her position will be made clearer.

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