It isn't certain yet, but it looks like Biden is going to be the nominee. He has strengths and weaknesses. Obviously it will be important to maximize one and minimize the other. The actual facts about policies and the candidates aren't as important as to how well the favorable facts can be communicated clearly. My meaningless take is... Biden Strengths 1. Has been loyal to blue-collar workers and the unions. They are happy to help support him. 2. Older generation African Americans know that he has been active with issues important to the issues they care about. He has been a champion for those issues for a long time and they are energetic in their support. 3. He doesn't scare people with a socialist label. Folks that weren't comfortable with the idea of Trump or Sanders won't have to worry about that. 4. He has a huge organization that has well-established contacts all over the country. He knows and has established relationships with governors, senators, mayors, etc. He can work with them to help organize a great turn out. 5. People are motivated to get rid of Trump. Biden Weaknesses 1. Very few people are excited about a Biden agenda. He brings nothing groundbreaking to the table in terms of policies. So there isn't much for people to attach their hopes. Voters that aren't excited on election day may decide the weather is bad, they don't want to wait in lines, that Biden's been around so long, he's corrupt too, like all politicians, and it just isn't worth leaving the house to go wait in line for a long time. 2. Younger voters aren't excited about him because he's an establishment guy who hasn't been able to connect with them or issues they care about. 3. He is prone to gaffes. 4. He may overreact when things appear to be going bad for him. We don't need him calling people out and challenging them to push-up contests all the time. 5. He is vulnerable to attacks from Trump even if they are without merit or completely false. Since he doesn't have a strong movement with policy, it will be hard to redirect towards the issues he's pushing. Unknowns 1. How will he be able to deliver a concise message and get a label to stick to Trump in the minds of the voters? 2. How will he be able to withstand the attacks coming at him from Trump, Russian hacks, and right-wing media?
I was very skeptical of Abrams. However, I have listened to a lot of what she has said and also have read quite a bit about her and she is exceedingly bright and ambitious. She also has shown the ability to work at a grass roots level and forge relationships. The crude question Biden has to ask is will moderates and independents care if he has a fat black woman on his ticket. It shouldn't matter but people are weird as we know. Also, if Abrams is chosen, be prepared for those on the far left to possibly not be satisfied. As she is liberal, but in a more traditional sense.
Your boy Trump obviously doesn't think so. Got a whole team to concoct some fantasy in Ukraine to tear down Biden's bid. Would have been thrown out of office for it if the Republicans hadn't pretended English was a foreign language to them. Well, I guess Trump can wipe the dust off the UKRAINE BULL**IT PLAYBOOK. It'll be back in play.
Oh Ukraine will be FRONT AND CENTER. As soon as he won SC and surged, WI Senator wrote a letter calling for witnesses in the Senate on Burisma lol.
The far left will never be satisfied of anything less than a revolution. Their supporters were booing Biden's mention at their rally last night. I know they're mostly young, but jeez. Spartacus came close, but not the happiest of endings.
Who cares what Jesse Kelly thinks. He is a two time loser running for congress and has zero political success.
So you were granted parole. Good for you. Just make sure you keep in touch with your parole officer and avoid hanging out with your old meth friends because all they will do if drag you down.
[Premium Post] I think it's telling that states where Biden spent the most time were states that totally rejected his candidacy... Iowa, New Hampshire... and some states where he barely step foot in, like Massachusetts, he won. It reveals that he won Super Tuesday on name recognition and the establishment's push (media, party elders, DNC)... This is a very dangerous candidate if you are a Democrat hoping to win in November... Biden is downright awful on the stump, very bad in debates, insulting and hostile towards anyone who challenges him... and let's be real, the man is declining mentally... these aren't called gaffes - these are called mental lapses, slurred speech, and memory loss. A gaffe is telling his story about black children petting his hairy legs in the pool or his battles with 1950's gang leader Corn Pop. When you completely lose your train of thought mid sentence, literally on a daily basis, that is not a gaffe. If you are real, then you will admit that Joe Biden's best is behind him. His past is far better than his future. Is that the candidate you want running? GOOD DAY
Agree on all counts. VP choices are generally overrated IMO, but in Biden's case due to his age it is WAY MORE IMPORTANT than usual because there is a statistically meaningful chance that person is the de facto nominee in 2024. It probably has to be a map-expander that makes the rust belt less relevant, though you could double down with a Sherod Brown type (though not brown himself, you'd lose a senate seat). Abrams, to put Georgia in play, or a rising Arizona star (is there such a thing?) or a Tejano (Castro, Beto) who can make the desert southwest a blue wall and make a run at the map-destroying white whale of Texas. There's a reason why Texas Republicans forced blacks and latinos to wait till midnight to vote last night.
I'd point out he's the only person that *didn't* overreact to his drubbings in Iowa and NH. He knew his strategy and stuck to it and it paid off. I curious about these. In theory, I agree with you. But I also feel like most people have tuned out Trump. He's like Bernie - he's no longer convincing anyone outside of his base about anything. He's made so many attacks against so many people that they kind of feel meaningless right now. Will be interesting to see if that changes when we get back into 100% campaigning mode.
I agree with that for the primary season. I am worried about that possibility in a general election. I think the primary and general two have different audiences.
[Premium Post] Dude thinks Robert Francis O'Rourke is a Tejano. Tricked by his fake nickname! Castro is one of the worst candidates in the history of the Democratic party. Purely an example of identity-based politics... hey, let's nominate a milquetoast, slow-witted guy because his last name is Spanish! Ironically, Castro's Spanish is atrocious, probably a first grade level at best. GOOD DAY
Don't know who that dude is, but it's no shade on Romney that he lost to an incumbent Obama. He was a good candidate. I doubt a risky candidate would have done any better. Losing that election isn't proof of anything.
I don't get the appeal of "status quo Joe" other then that he is not Trump. He is such a vanilla candidate who doesn't seem like he is substantively taking on the big issues. It's hard to imagine major healthcare reform, the student loan crisis, the military industrial complex or major gun reform. He seems relatively content with the "status quo" with some more minor tweeks.. raise some taxes, expand some Obamacare, minor tweaks to student loan programs, nothing on military, maybe some minor gun reform stuff... pretty unexciting. It just felt like the national pulse was a bit more motivated for major changes. I guess not.
