US Politics XII: shutting down Interference until @U2 agrees to pay for a firewall

[LuckyNumber7]

Cory Booker was groomed for the post-Hillary presidency long ago.

 

[womanfish]

Cory Booker was groomed for the post-Hillary presidency long ago.

Very true. I like him from what I've seen, but with such a huge field this time, it remains to be seen how he will hold up.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

 

[Hewson]

Cory Booker was groomed for the post-Hillary presidency long ago.

So does that mean we have to elect Hillary first?

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Yes

 

[womanfish]

So just a question to everyone. What states that Trump won in 2016 do you think will definitely flip to blue, will probably flip blue, or have an outside chance of flipping to blue.

I know it depends on the candidate, but

I think WI will flip back to blue
and PA will flip back.

I think AZ and MI are possibilities

I think NC, GA, and OH are outside chances

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona. Probably Ohio.

I don't predict Florida, which should be given back to Spain.

 

[womanfish]

Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona. Probably Ohio.

I don't predict Florida, which should be given back to Spain.

wow, can't believe i forgot FL. I just moved from there after being there 11 years. It truly never fails to disappoint. But I'll put it as an outside chance. The fact that i put them in the same chance as GA, is mind-boggling.

 

[Hewson]

Florida, which should be given back to Spain.

Option B:

 

[BEAL]

Very true. I like him from what I've seen, but with such a huge field this time, it remains to be seen how he will hold up.

WALL STREET!!!!!

I think he backed some legislation that was favorable to WS, so that'll lose the progressive vote. I believe he also backed some Big Pharma bills too.

He's out. My candidate has to be pure of heart and soul

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

WALL STREET!!!!!

I think he backed some legislation that was favorable to WS, so that'll lose the progressive vote. I believe he also backed some Big Pharma bills too.

He's out. My candidate has to be pure of heart and soul

See????

What if Mitch McConnell's long term plan was to make the Republican party so terrible that all of the moderates jumped ship to the Democrats, and the Democratic party destroys itself from within arguing over moderates vs leftists? Then the Republican party remains like cockroaches after the nuclear holocaust?

It's working!!!

 

[anitram]

So just a question to everyone. What states that Trump won in 2016 do you think will definitely flip to blue, will probably flip blue, or have an outside chance of flipping to blue.

I know it depends on the candidate, but

I think WI will flip back to blue
and PA will flip back.

I think AZ and MI are possibilities

I think NC, GA, and OH are outside chances

WI, PA, MI, all three will flip back. I actually think MI and PA are safer bets than WI but all three look good.

Florida is a gong show and from now on anyone running should only design a path to victory without Florida. It's a large state that sucks up a lot of time and $ with some pricey ad markets and for what...

I don't have a good feeling about OH.

If there is a black candidate on top of the ticket, NC and GA look decent.

Cory Booker already saying that he isn't going to go down in the gutter, he's going to uplift. My God, is he so delusional about who he is running against? Trump knows nothing about anything but you CANNOT go into debates with him singing Kumbaya. It's beyond absurd.

 

[womanfish]

WI, PA, MI, all three will flip back. I actually think MI and PA are safer bets than WI but all three look good.

Florida is a gong show and from now on anyone running should only design a path to victory without Florida. It's a large state that sucks up a lot of time and $ with some pricey ad markets and for what...

I don't have a good feeling about OH.

If there is a black candidate on top of the ticket, NC and GA look decent.

Cory Booker already saying that he isn't going to go down in the gutter, he's going to uplift. My God, is he so delusional about who he is running against? Trump knows nothing about anything but you CANNOT go into debates with him singing Kumbaya. It's beyond absurd.

thank you. That's been my annoyance with Booker for the last year with his Social media posts. Come on man. The Obama playbook is OVER. You have to be a fighter, you have to be able to strike first and strike back with facts, with truth, with deconstructing Trump from top to bottom. Saying - We have to fight for our values, we're all in this together... Oy.

Truly why i keep thinking Biden will be the guy that SHOULD be on top of the ticket. He inspires in a different way than anyone else in the prospective field. A way that is more tough talk and less hold hands and skip into the sunset. 35% of this country is certifiably insane and delusional. That's been settled. The only way to crack into any of that is to bring some toughness on the Democratic side.

Also, I agree with you on OH. It has continued to slide in an Indiana like direction. It has huge bases of African American vote, so possibly Harris or Booker may have more success there. But beyond that, I've written it off for the most part.
I am a WI native. Its a moderate state with bastions of liberalism. Add that with the fact that it had the smallest number of difference in the vote last time, I feel confident it will flip.

 

[anitram]

thank you. That's been my annoyance with Booker for the last year with his Social media posts. Come on man. The Obama playbook is OVER. You have to be a fighter, you have to be able to strike first and strike back with facts, with truth, with deconstructing Trump from top to bottom. Saying - We have to fight for our values, we're all in this together... Oy.

Truly why i keep thinking Biden will be the guy that SHOULD be on top of the ticket. He inspires in a different way than anyone else in the prospective field. A way that is more tough talk and less hold hands and skip into the sunset. 35% of this country is certifiably insane and delusional. That's been settled. The only way to crack into any of that is to bring some toughness on the Democratic side.

I honestly don't think ANY of the other big name candidates who have declared so far are as delusional as Cory Booker. The reality is that "we" (Americans) are NOT in it together. There are totally separate factions and he will never, ever reach about a third of the electorate if he promised them that baby Jesus would be hand delivering them suitcases of cash and guns.

Gillibrand and Harris both come across as far more shrewd and ruthless, particularly Harris who seems to have a no-prisoners attitude to getting to the top. I think that Elizabeth Warren would be excellent in calling Trump out on his bullshit but he seems to fluster her which then leads her to make missteps. Julian Castro also hits back hard.

Other than Beto O'Rourke who is chugging the kumbaya kool-aid even harder than Booker, the rest of the field gets it.

 

[womanfish]

I honestly don't think ANY of the other big name candidates who have declared so far are as delusional as Cory Booker. The reality is that "we" (Americans) are NOT in it together. There are totally separate factions and he will never, ever reach about a third of the electorate if he promised them that baby Jesus would be hand delivering them suitcases of cash and guns.

Gillibrand and Harris both come across as far more shrewd and ruthless, particularly Harris who seems to have a no-prisoners attitude to getting to the top. I think that Elizabeth Warren would be excellent in calling Trump out on his bullshit but he seems to fluster her which then leads her to make missteps. Julian Castro also hits back hard.

Other than Beto O'Rourke who is chugging the kumbaya kool-aid even harder than Booker, the rest of the field gets it.

Yeah, just heard Booker's press conference... sigh.

This is why there are only two names to me that stand out far above the rest.
Biden and Harris. And of those two. It really is Biden who would be the lock.

Yep, he's an old white guy. Big negative off the bat. But beyond that - What used to be a problem for him, being gaff prone and saying things that might seem a bit off color, now is no longer a problem in a post Trump world. In fact it may be a positive. Doesn't always seem scripted and blah (Booker)

No one comes close when it comes to experience. No one comes close in being a lock for bringing back PA, MI and WI, no one comes close in name recognition, in being able to take it to Trump like someone needs to (except for Harris)
in making people genuinely feel like he understands them and would fight for the every day voter, in his personal life story that shows someone of integrity, hard work and devotion, who has the association with Obama and everything that brings - and as of recent polling, blows away every other candidate in who African Americans would vote for in a primary (33% to 6% for Booker) On top of that he has a good history with gun control and women's issues.

There just isn't a comparison. It's great to have a big field of new people, but at this time - to take back the White House from Trump. I don't see anyone stronger.
My dream ticket as of now (way early I know) Biden/Harris. It just seems bulletproof.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I want the candidate I'm going to vote for to stand up to Trump.

I don't want my candidate to stand up there and say "some of y'all suck" (even if they do)

That would be a dumb thing to do. Sorta like calling large swaths of the electorate a basket of deplorables (even though they were)

 

[anitram]

Can you imagine a debate where you have Trump up against somebody who is there to "build bridges"?

I honestly cringe at the thought this far out.

My concern with Biden is that younger voters won't feel inspired by him. Or anyone who just wants a new start. Yeah, yeah I know, they don't vote anyway. The other thing is he'd have zero and I mean ZERO room for error when it comes to his VP pick.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Can you imagine a debate where you have Trump up against somebody who is there to "build bridges"?

I honestly cringe at the thought this far out.

My concern with Biden is that younger voters won't feel inspired by him. Or anyone who just wants a new start. Yeah, yeah I know, they don't vote anyway. The other thing is he'd have zero and I mean ZERO room for error when it comes to his VP pick.

But he's not at a debate. He's announcing a run for office. I don't exactly think that's the time for fire and brimstone.

 

[namkcuR]

For all the talk about medicare-for-all, of the candidates that have announced and some of the big names that may announce, few of them have given full support to the idea.

So far only Warren of the declared candidates is fully on-board, and we know Sanders would be if he got in. But I think that's kind of it so far.

Even Harris quickly backtracked on her full-throated support of it after the CNN thing.

It seems like for all the buzz around the issue, people are still afraid to run on it full-throttle.

 

[namkcuR]

I know the news is about Booker today, but can we talk about Sherrod Brown of my state of Ohio? This is a pretty good interview to read:

https://news.yahoo.com/sherrod-brow...re-for-all-or-a-green-new-deal-195128102.html

He's a progressive in a red-ish state. I find him to be one of the most 'real' (potential) candidates of the bunch.

He doesn't fully support m4a, but I feel like his answer is more honest than a lot of others - basically that he likes the idea but doesn't think it's politically realistic:

Well, I'll start with this: I fought for universal coverage my whole career. I promised to pay my own health insurance until we got universal coverage — and I did. Now my wife and I are in the Obamacare exchanges, like millions of other people. I wrote the original Medicare at 55 voluntary buy-in. I wrote the public option, with Sheldon Whitehouse, that was originally in the Affordable Care Act.

I want to get something done. I see too many 58-year-olds and 62-year-olds whose plants have closed going without insurance; they just have to stay alive until they're 65 to get it. I mean, I can do the talking points. I want to get to “Medicare for all.” But I think we can get Medicare at 55, and 55's OK with me too. Then we move towards “Medicare for all.” But I just don't know how it happens in this political climate.

And his answer to whether he considers himself a populist:

I think so, yeah. I start with this: Populism is not racist. It's not anti-Semitic. It doesn't divide people. Populists don't advocate tax cuts for the rich. To me, populism is lifting people up, and bringing people together, and giving them a chance in life. If you're working hard, you ought to be able to get ahead. If you play by the rules, you ought to have a decent standard of living. And if you love your country, you'll fight for the people who make it work.

When I see some fascist dictator called a populist, or I see Donald Trump called a populist, it just rankles me. Because they're not. Phony populists go to meetings of rich donors to figure out their message — to figure out how to sound like populists. Well, nice try.

I mean, why does anyone even describe Trump as a populist? Because he says he's “for people” and he has big rallies? So did Mussolini.

I like the guy a lot, and he might be one of the most genuinely left-ish candidates in the field. That said, as a resident of Ohio, it's getting more and more difficult to elect a Democratic senator here, and I'd hate to lose him. I fear his seat would turn red for the foreseeable future.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Every Democrat should stop with the huge promises until they're ready to present an actual plan on the who, what and how.

 

[BEAL]

The issue with that thinking is

What’s the who, what, and how with Tax Cuts

We throw trillions away on that yet we can’t fund healthcare ?

I know you’re not saying that, but i do feel like the left gets hit harder on having to prove things

And with the GOP/Trump, details and facts mean nothing anymore

 

[Irvine511]

Every Democrat should stop with the huge promises until they're ready to present an actual plan on the who, what and how.

but then you apparently become uninspiring and unlikeable, like Hillary. who had an actual plan about pretty much everything.





also, Booker's video was super-slick, got me slightly choked up, and was fairly cunningly calculated to make the white people feel good.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

The issue with that thinking is

What’s the who, what, and how with Tax Cuts

We throw trillions away on that yet we can’t fund healthcare ?

I know you’re not saying that, but i do feel like the left gets hit harder on having to prove things

And with the GOP/Trump, details and facts mean nothing anymore

So you're saying you want to elect a Trump, minus the racism. Heavy on promises that they couldn't possibly deliver on because eh, fuck it, that's why.

It's also much easier to sell/sucker the public on a tax cut than it is on a tax increase.

You can't spend 4 years complaining that facts are important only to throw it out the door.

 

[dazzledbylight]

I am glad to see that there is no global waMing going on! The president said so! Too bad there is still global warming happening!

Excuse me... It's climate change, because we have too many stupid people who think that it it isn't got every day that there's no warning

Hais is right, dab.

The term" global warming " is a major reason that Rush Limbaugh ? got away with turning people into climate change deniers; back in the mid -90's every time there was big snow here in NYC he would go on about it this is global warming!?! Har, har! <insert RL polar bear jokes here> £
We had a several years of Major snow storms in the 90's!

 

[trojanchick99]

It's a cool house.

They sold it for only $1.7M? Is it in a crappy part of LA or are prices that affordable there for a house with that much property as well? Or am I totally brainwashed by living in a crazy real estate market?

It's still gentrifying. The hipsters who can't afford to live in Silver Lake are now moving to Echo Park.

Cory Booker is running for President

That video was fantastic. He's a bit center for my taste, but I'd still be happy to cast a vote for him.

 

[BEAL]

So you're saying you want to elect a Trump, minus the racism. Heavy on promises that they couldn't possibly deliver on because eh, fuck it, that's why.

It's also much easier to sell/sucker the public on a tax cut than it is on a tax increase.

You can't spend 4 years complaining that facts are important only to throw it out the door.

Me personally, nope. I want a plan.

What I’ve seen from the new crop of Dems like AOC is this reasoning. “Where was the plan to pay for tax cuts?” So then they don’t have to answer how to pay and plan for Medicare for all.

It’s a smart reply but it’s still spin.

And this is what I’m afraid the primaries will turn into. Instead of policy it’ll be bombastic statements

The issue is that the GOP own the media and perception. Raise taxes on the Uber rich and the GOP will change the narrative to socialism and Dems will take your hard earned $$$$

Talk about climate change and it’s the Dems will regulate so much it’ll be impossible to have a strong economy.....and COAL JOBS ARE THE BACKBONE OF MERICA

Dubya started this trend with his aw shucks i don’t know about this fuzzy math stuff, but i do know america likes beer and cowboys !!

Palin really lowered everything

Trump is a black hole

Booker or any other Dem will lose badly if they go with the “we go high” mantra.

We need someone who can connect with their message and have the weight behind policy.

No clue who that is. Maybe Hillary comes back as an extrovert

 

[dazzledbylight]

,

I do not 'know fine well' that's what he is. I wouldn't have asked if I already knew the answer. If there are specific policy positions that bother you, say them.

I don't think Hilary would win. That's the point.

I tend to think she wouldn't; but oh, the poetic justice!

You literally called him “too centrist for most” like two posts ago. I’m on my phone and don’t really want to text out a whole Cory Booker schpeel, most of which is documented but some of which is impression-based from how he presents himself on challenging issues, and on his timeliness.

Would Hillary win? Anything can happen. I don’t think the democrats stand any better of a chance with Booker, or honestly any of the current candidates that aren’t named Joe Biden minus ten years in age but plus the vice presidency.

Much like a re-up on a Brexit vote, I think all we need is another election to fix this. Doesn’t really matter who the candidate is. It just matters that Obama was in office for 8 years and that’s enough for opposition to collect themselves. As with Bush-to-Obama.

The difference here is incumbency. Something we can do nothing about.

Incumbency may not be as strong a factor as it usually is, especially because a portion of trump base has eroded.

That heckler is literally all of us.

I don't like Cory Booker for policy reasons and personality reasons. His school reforms were concerning, his very public vote against the affordable pharmaceuticals bill, whatever it was called a couple of years ago, was wrong, IMO. I have not found him at all impressive on the judiciary committee (again, I've watched more than any normal person should) and got the sense that he was preening more than anything. It's interesting because you had at least two others (Harris and Klobuchar) on the same committee clearly trying to test the waters and score some points in the event they eventually declared as nominees but neither of the women came across as so grossly theatrical and obvious about it. Finally, he's not a fighter but this I'm somewhat less concerned about because he is not the biggest offender in that regard. That would be Beto O'Rourke, who to this day espouses the complete nonsense of "when they go low we go high." The guy has literally learned absolutely nothing from the last 2 years (and how many before that when McConnell and Ryan barely allowed Obama to govern). He endorsed a Republican, albeit a more moderate one, over a Democrat running for a congressional seat close to his district when he was running last fall and again did that based on this grandiose "what's best for my country/unity" crap. He does not get it. And that's to say nothing of his wishy washy policies, which you couldn't nail down if your life depended on it. Hard pass.

That's quite disappointing. He's not my first choice, anyway. He talked about disenfranchisement over the a several years since het got elected senator on wnyc public radio.

It matters a lot whom she slept with 30 years ago.

How could she run against the paragon of virtue we have in the White House now??

Does Senator Harris still get a period? Is she a witch? These questions need to be answered. Probably unfit for office.

I was impressed by her and most of her answers in the town hall last night. I'm always impressed when she speaks. So intelligent and natural. She most definitely has the brains and demeanor to be President. Will wait to see how the rest unfolds.

You are correct about that. The standard for women is different, no matter how much some people try to deny that.

Still soooo much sexism!

What channel was this town hall meeting on for KH? H Hopefully on yt!

I think that this time, unlike in most elections, the VP pick will actually matter. First because you can provide someone for everyone in a way. I fully expect the democratic ticket will have one man, one woman. If pressed, I'd be more likely to guess 2 women than 2 men. No way no how will we have 2 white men on the Dem ticket. So the VP pick lets you be a bit more flexible if you choose a person who is charismatic enough and good enough of a campaigner to deliver something of value. Tim Kaine was a horrific pick for Hillary, I said it here a million times. How they were able to go out and find the only man in America with less charisma than Mike Pence is quite the achievement.

Watched the Harris town hall as well, not all of it, but she passes the most important test IMO, which is electability. She's what that dinosaur Orrin Hatch would describe as "pleasing to the eye", well-spoken, confident, not stiff with regular people/audience, and looks good on TV. Many of these are very superficial but those are the times we live in.

Yes, the Veep will play a major balancing role .

Every time I hear a new Uncle Howie soundbite, I lose more respect for him. I guess I shouldn't be surprised - I should have known that just because someone runs a business a certain way (i.e., super passionate about making sure people can get health coverage, for example), that doesn't mean that translates to the government.


I'm also completely over tired coffee-related jokes in response to him. Super original, geniuses.

NYC for the win on reflecting our feelings!

Because people will look for any reason to “but her emails...” a female candidate.

Also, and it is getting better, but female politicians, especially conservative ones, often have had to couch their political positions with “as a mother, I ...”

Definite point. But i think the only the core of drumph's base - the 15 - 25?% (20%?) would react to that now. Hoping i' m right. They' re the most of all the isms we reject, and many many may be the most Christian and Catholic Right and we pretty much all know how that goes.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I received a survey in the mail from the Democratic National Committee this week. One of the things I wrote in the comments section was that they go low we go high will not work. I'm sure those are sent out mostly as a fundraiser, but I hope the responses are being looked at.

 

[DaveC]

speaking of surveys, here's one that was mailed out by the trump campaign today. i encourage you all to send your opinions of the president to him using the "official state of the union prep survey": https://action.donaldjtrump.com/sot...m_content=gop_surveys_text_take_top_other_all