2020 Elections

[Vrede too]

SIGN NOW: DEMAND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FROM BOTH PARTIES DISCLOSE THEIR FUNDRAISING BUNDLERS

[Vrede too]

Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren close in on Joe Biden after sudden 2020 poll surge

... Ms Harris is up nine points in the latest CNN/SSRS poll to 17 per cent – leaving her only narrowly behind the former vice president. Mr Biden remains in first place on 22 per cent, but is down 10 points since the equivalent poll in May....

Ms Warren, who also deemed to have performed well in the TV debates, is up eight points to 15 per cent, pushing Senator Bernie Sanders – down four points – into fourth place in the poll.

Mr Sanders has struggled to distinguish himself as the party’s leading left-wing candidate. Ms Warren promised to scrap student debt before the Vermont veteran announced his own debt cancellation plan.

Support for the other candidates in the crowded field is largely unchanged, with Pete Buttigieg on 4 per cent, Cory Booker and Beto O’Rourke on 3 per cent, whilw Amy Klobuchar trails the field on 2 per cent.

The Democratic National Committee requires participants to hit 2 per cent in multiple polls and 130,000 individual donors to qualify for the September debate stage of the party’s contest to determine who goes up against Donald Trump next year.

Mr Buttigieg said earlier this week that he had raised $24.8m (£20m) during the second fundraising quarter, making him his party’s top White House fundraiser for the period.

The impressive haul tops the $18m (£14m) raised last quarter by Bernie Sanders, who previously led the Democratic field in fundraising....

Hmmm, old white progressive woman, younger multi-racial more conservative woman, crusty old white socialist man, bunch of also-rans - I'm still undecided. They'll all have to do without my money still. Big difference from 4 years ago when I was all in with Bernie! the day he announced.

[1 CAT FAN]

2016 Bernie Sanders vowed to stay in the race until the Democratic convention. He says he owes it all to his supporters, who need something to do. Despite Hillary Clinton clinching the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders vowed to stay in the race and told his supporters that the struggle continues. Maybe Bernie will have a deja vu in 2020, feel the Bern. Bernie got screwed by the Democrats, then gave his support to Hillary and they still took a loss.

[O Really]

Bernie got screwed by the Democrats, then gave his support to Hillary and they still took a loss.

Maybe Bernie should have actually been a Democrat instead of a cling-on. Anyway, his "support" was late and luke-warm and helped continue the story that Hillary was second-tier. But Bernie can't be blamed for Hillary's own campaign strategy mistakes.

[1 CAT FAN]

Bernie got screwed by the Democrats, then gave his support to Hillary and they still took a loss.

Maybe Bernie should have actually been a Democrat instead of a cling-on. Anyway, his "support" was late and luke-warm and helped continue the story that Hillary was second-tier. But Bernie can't be blamed for Hillary's own campaign strategy mistakes.

Psst... I don't care.

[Vrede too]

Biden's support from black voters cut in half after debate: poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the early front-runner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, has lost support among African-Americans after taking heat on racial issues during the party's first debate, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The survey, conducted from Friday to Monday in the days following the debate in Miami, found 22 percent of adults who identify as Democrats or independents said they supported Biden, down 8 percentage points from a similar poll conducted earlier in June.

Support for Biden among blacks, a critical Democratic voting bloc, was cut in half, with about two out of 10 saying they backed President Barack Obama’s former vice president, compared with four out of 10 in the June poll....

I'm not sure that it's fair to suggest that Biden is or ever was racist. However, his conservatism on the issue and willingness to compromise with racists, as is the case with other issues, is why I don't support him.

Harris' confrontation with Biden showed voters she could throw a figurative punch and effectively run against a revered figure within the Democratic Party, said Christopher Galdieri, a political scientist at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire.

“The main thing Democrats want in a candidate is someone who can beat Trump,” he said. “They’re not looking at the debates so much to hear about their positions on healthcare or the environment. They’re looking for someone who can go head-to-head with Trump.” ...

These Dem voters will have to decide whether a moderate like Biden is the best way to do that, like the choice they made in 2016, or whether it's better to have a candidate that inspires, like the choice they made in 2008.

To see the full poll results, click here: https://tmsnrt.rs/2Ypr9iS

Support for candidates is expected to fluctuate before Democrats begin holding their nominating contests early next year.

Twenty-one percent of all Democrats and independents said they did not know yet which candidate they would support. Among those who had picked a candidate, only about 35 percent said they were “completely certain” they had made up their minds....

Right now I would be content with Warren, Bernie!, probably Harris or Buttigieg, and maybe Booker or Beto. Guess I'm letting others winnow them down further.

Aside: I guarantee that Bernie! and Buttigieg will never be asked to be any other candidate's running mate.

[O Really]

Bernie got screwed by the Democrats, then gave his support to Hillary and they still took a loss.

Maybe Bernie should have actually been a Democrat instead of a cling-on. Anyway, his "support" was late and luke-warm and helped continue the story that Hillary was second-tier. But Bernie can't be blamed for Hillary's own campaign strategy mistakes.

Psst... I don't care.

No surprise there. Maybe if the candidates wore Clemson hats or painted tiger faces...

[1 CAT FAN]

Bernie got screwed by the Democrats, then gave his support to Hillary and they still took a loss.

Maybe Bernie should have actually been a Democrat instead of a cling-on. Anyway, his "support" was late and luke-warm and helped continue the story that Hillary was second-tier. But Bernie can't be blamed for Hillary's own campaign strategy mistakes.

Psst... I don't care.

No surprise there. Maybe if the candidates wore Clemson hats or painted tiger faces...

Sticking with the lousy liberal game plan I see. Wait... I mean liberal-like game plan.

[O Really]

Sticking with the lousy liberal game plan I see. Wait... I mean liberal-like game plan.
[/quote]

Well, that would be nice, but it looks more like middle of the road same-ol same-ol that, true, used to work when there was a large group of moderate voters that could be influenced by candidates platforms/personalities. But if you take the labels off the issues and just ask people if they think, for example, "health care should be affordable and accessible" you get a lot of "conservatives" who'll make the "liberal" choice. Too much labeling/sloganing/demonization, not enough thinking.

[Vrede too]

"lousy liberal game plan" in 2018:

The Dems won big in the US House.
The Dems should have lost more US Senate seats given how many seats they were defending. The very few losses made zero difference since the Repugs already had a majority.
The Dems won many governorships and legislatures.

All parties would love that kind of "lousy”.

[1 CAT FAN]

Too much labeling/sloganing/demonization, not enough thinking.

Well, you did say Hillary had a failed strategy.

[Vrede too]

2020 Vision: Post-debate polls show new shape in Democratic race

Last Thursday’s debate found Biden challenged from all sides — on his age, on his vote for the Iraq War,

Good!

on his claims he will work with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

The intent is laudable, but he must be high. Besides, he should be saying that he will work with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

— but no blow landed harder than Harris and Biden’s back-and-forth on his work with segregationist senators. (That fight continued through the candidates’ Fourth of July visit to Iowa.) Harris raised $2 million in 24 hours after the debate and was crowned the night’s big winner by pundits.

• Quinnipiac found Biden tumbling down 8 percentage points to 22 percent from its June survey, while Harris leapt from 7 percent to 20 percent.

• CNN found Biden at 22 percent (down from 32 in late May), Harris at 17 percent (up from 8 percent) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 15 percent (up from 7 percent). Sen. Bernie Sanders slid from 18 percent to 14 percent.

• A survey conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post is a bit of an outlier, as it still shows Biden (29 percent) and Sanders (23 percent) at the front of the pack, with Harris and Warren tied at 11 percent.

• A Suffolk University/USA Today poll found a fluid race in Iowa, with Biden at 24 percent, Harris at 16 percent, Warren at 13 percent and Sanders at 9 percent. Perhaps more important, 21 percent of respondents were undecided and 60 percent said they might change their mind before the February caucuses.

Iowa and NH are less important than they once were. Still, everyone wants to win them.

... According to a HuffPost/YouGov poll, that advantage is slipping away, as respondents believed in a number of candidates when asked which Democrats were capable of winning in November 2020. Biden led with 57 percent saying he was capable, but that number is down from 70 percent in May.

That tightened the spread considerably, as Warren jumped to 51 percent from 40 percent, Harris jumped to 49 percent from 39 percent and Sanders ticked up to 46 percent from 45 percent. (Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rouke had the second-biggest fall behind Biden, going from 30 percent to 18 percent, while his fellow Texan Julián Castro, the former Housing and Urban Development chief, climbed from 9 percent to 21 percent after what was seen as a strong performance.)

... It’s still more than 200 days until anybody actually casts a vote, but the current snapshot shows a race with four clear contenders for the nomination: Biden, Harris, Sanders and Warren....

I can live with that, even Biden.

A congressional race that was set to be among the most watched in 2020 got a little more interesting earlier this week: In a July 4 Washington Post essay thematically tied to the holiday, Michigan Rep. Justin Amash announced he was leaving the Republican Party, blaming the extreme partisanship in Washington. Amash had stood as the only sitting GOP legislator to call for an impeachment inquiry against Trump and in doing so made a host of enemies in his now-former party, including a pro-Trump primary challenger who appeared to have the backing of Donald Trump Jr.

... After the announcement, nonpartisan analysts moved the race for the Third Congressional District from a rating of “Likely Republican” to “Toss-up,” as the door now opens for the Democrats to steal a three-way race.

But, I thought he might run for POTUS. Is that now off the table?

[Vrede too]

Eric Swalwell Exits 2020 Presidential Race

He got mentions here in Gun Legislation and The Global Warming thread., but never once in this thread, and I never would have remembered to include him on a list of candidates.

[Vrede too]

Tom Steyer for president? There's a web domain for that.

I'm still seeing the ads on other networks. Love them, don't need another billionaire with zero political experience as POTUS.

Didn't need the first one - even if it had been somebody other than Trump.

‘If no one else is going to do it, I am going to do it’: Billionaire Tom Steyer on a possible presidential run

His politics MIGHT be okay, but we've seen that a fat cat with zero political experience does a crappy job. No thanks.

Billionaire anti-Trump activist Tom Steyer launches presidential bid

California billionaire Tom Steyer on Tuesday morning announced his bid to join the two dozen Democrats running for president....

The 62-year-old fervent anti-Trump activist has been a prominent backer of Democratic candidates and causes such as climate change and, in the past year, impeachment....

Just what we need, another old white guy. Hopefully, his money will push his issues - anti-45SHOLE, anti-corporate, Climate Action - without threatening the pols with actual experience.

Weird that he announced on the exact same day that our other billionaire POTUS candidate with zero political experience died, H. Ross Perot. Political reincarnation?

[Vrede too]

Home Depot shoppers threaten to boycott after learning the co-founder gave millions to help elect Trump
Bernie Marcus gave $7 million to spending groups and PACs supporting Donald Trump in 2016, and will also support his re-election campaign.

... the former Home Depot chairman also revealed in the same Atlanta Journal-Constitution interview that he will be donating to Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, as well. Indeed, he donated $7 million to help elect Trump in 2016, according to the Center for Responsive Politics....

Sadly, there are no independents left in Hooterville, but we've got Ace, Lowe's and the general wares big box stores.

[neoplacebo]

Home Depot shoppers threaten to boycott after learning the co-founder gave millions to help elect Trump
Bernie Marcus gave $7 million to spending groups and PACs supporting Donald Trump in 2016, and will also support his re-election campaign.

... the former Home Depot chairman also revealed in the same Atlanta Journal-Constitution interview that he will be donating to Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, as well. Indeed, he donated $7 million to help elect Trump in 2016, according to the Center for Responsive Politics....

Sadly, there are no independents left in Hooterville, but we've got Ace, Lowe's and the general wares big box stores.

I once had a fine acquaintance with a woman whose father owned several hardware stores in FL when she was growing up; she told me he sold his stores to Home Depot in the 70's. She was cool, though, and we shared all our tools in a sort of independent way.

[O Really]

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics ... &ocid=iehp

This is one of the best - and scariest - analysis/commentary on the rise of populism. It's even worse than we thought. "The majority of Canadians obviously reject the orientation toward populism but they’re diffused across four centre-left political parties while populists fall almost entirely within the ranks of the Conservatives and Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party. That is why their political influence is likely to be felt in the forthcoming election."

Substitute "Americans" for Canadians, substitute "...diffused across an unfocused and uncoordinated Democratic party, while populists fall almost entirely within the ranks of the Republicans and Trump's devotees."

Arrrrgh!

[Vrede too]

Just saw a little part of this. He seemed persuasive.

Biden Defends Civil Rights Record After Harris Blasted Him Over Segregation, Busing

He got in a good zinger in response to Harris during the debate by saying that he had only been a public defender, never a prosecutor like her.

Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren close in on Joe Biden after sudden 2020 poll surge

Hmmm, old white progressive woman, younger multi-racial more conservative woman, crusty old white socialist man, bunch of also-rans - I'm still undecided. They'll all have to do without my money still. Big difference from 4 years ago when I was all in with Bernie! the day he announced.

Kamala Harris Has a Distinguished Career of Serving Injustice

Ugh.

SOUTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

Interviews were conducted July 7-10, 2019 among a random sample of 701 South Carolina Democratic primary voters contacted on landlines (271) and cellphones (430). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ± 3.5 percentage points.

I’m going to read a list of potential candidates for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. Please tell me which one you would like to see as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Joe Biden 35%
Bernie Sanders 14
Kamala Harris 12
Elizabeth Warren 5
Cory Booker 3
Pete Buttigieg 2

I'm going to read a list of potential candidates for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. Please tell me which one you would like to see as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Joe Biden White 25%, Black 41%
Bernie Sanders White 12%, Black 15%
Kamala Harris White 13%, Black 12%
Elizabeth Warren White 11%, Black 2%
Cory Booker White 1%, Black 4%
Pete Buttigieg White 5%, Black 1%

60% of South Carolina Democratic primary voters are black. If Harris and Booker can't win there or take a very strong 2nd, I think they're done. Voters elsewhere will ask why they should support them if even blacks won't.

[Vrede too]

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford mulls 2020 challenge to Trump

POSPOTUS should have challengers if Repugs weren't such cowards, but Sanford is a laughingstock. I suspect that this is really a pro-POSPOTUS ruse.

Mark Sanford extramarital affair

From June 18 until June 24, 2009, Republican South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's whereabouts were unknown and there was media coverage of what was described as his disappearance. Subsequently, the Governor reappeared and admitted that he had been in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair....

During the six days of absence, one of the excuses offered by Sanford's spokesperson was that Sanford was hiking the Appalachian Trail. As a result, "hiking the Appalachian Trail" or "hiking the Appalachians" became a euphemism for a sexual scandal in the English language.

[1 CAT FAN]

Kamala Harris Called Young People “Stupid”

What else do we know about this population, 18 through 24? They are stupid,” Harris said.

https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/qv7 ... id-in-2015

Liberals reap what they sow.