The great 2020 election thread....

[Yukaphile]

But then, my mom watches MSNBC. And I still remember how they swiftboated Clinton. Mark my words, they're gonna do the same thing now with any female candidates we got, if they're already succeeding in turning MY MOTHER, who likes Harris, against her... because of fucking Wall Street...

[CmdrKing]

Oh, snap, Castro. Wasn't sure he'd go for it.
Absolutely NO ONE is surprised at Harris in the running. Warren I'd have bet was a coinflip but she announced several days ago (probably for exactly that reason).

That leaves... Gillibrand, Booker, Biden, and Sanders from the set who've given really obvious "they're running" signals without formally announcing yet. I'm' going to assume we're a few weeks into the future and they have for the rest of this post.

If we had ranked choice primaries like civilized people, based just on right now, what they've done in the past year or so...

1) Elizabeth Warren- As a national narrative, we badly need the traitor in office to be the last baby boomer to hold it. Generational turnover is where we're at, and the grasping at power by the older generation is doing a bigger number on us than we're acknowledging. BUT. I can't argue with her total package in spite of it. She knows her stuff, she's down in the nitty gritty, she's a complete DORK and I kinda love it, and she's consistently shown the spine to stay focused on results.

2) Kirsten Gillibrand- Definitely more moderate policy wise than ideal, but... she's hungry, she's got her head on straight, and the sheer contrast with the last idiot makes me happy.

3) Corey Booker- I have been genuinely impressed by his taking charge on decriminalization. It's a soft target to win brownie points, but he took the lead and that's worth something.

4) Julian Castro- Honestly I just have never heard much about him one way or the other. So it's fitting he's middle of the pack, y'know?

5) Bernie Sanders- Sanders' has a lot to like about him, I was quite happy to vote for him in the primary (heck, he rather surprisingly won my state (Michigan), so that was a moment) in 2016... now? His dogged insistence on 1960s era socialism without recognizing the need navigate how it interacts with modern social movement gets less forgivable by the day.

6) Kamala Harris- I say this as pejoratively as I can muster: Kamala Harris is a cop, and she refuses to stop being a cop now that she's a legislator. I've been hot and cold on her as a candidate since 2017, but her being a primary cheerleader for FOSTA/SESTA? Yeah, nope, she gets my vote against any Republican to be sure but that's about it.

7) Joe Biden- 'cept this guy. Just... look there is no good attribute to a president Joe Biden except as measured against a Republican.

[Yukaphile]

1) Warren is a billion times more qualified than Sanders, with actual accomplishments to her name, and you talk age? Sanders is old enough to be Methuselah. If you think she's too old, Sanders is too old, period.

2) Gillibrand I'd take in a heartbeat if she won the primary.

3) Brooker, I guess, so long as the bastard doesn't choose a female Vice-President and cheat them out of the chance to enter the White House on their own terms.

4) Castro. He was making big waves among my Clinton moderate center-of-the-road voters back in 2016. Many of them wanted him as her VP, and I think she should have chosen him, assuming Warren said no.

5) Sanders. FUCK NO. Too old. Too stubborn and set in his ways. Plus he's as greedy and narcissistic as Trump is. It's about the spotlight with him, the perpetual need to lecture people, and he's NOT a Democrat. I don't want that slimy bastard dividing anyone else like he did in 2016. He isn't even a Socialist, anyway. He's a grifting con man who stole enough money to be part of the rich he claims to hate.

6) IS SANDERS THE ONLY GUY YOU LIKE?! Harris actually signed on to some of his "feel-good, do-nothing" legislation that she tried to pass in her own blue AF state that failed! If it ain't getting done in Vermont or California, single-payer ain't getting done, period. Harris and Warren are both saints compared to that lecherous old pig.

7) Too old. Nuff said.

[CmdrKing]

That was ranked choices. So Warren would be my first pick, then Gillibrand, and so on, with Biden last.

[Yukaphile]

Oh...

[Yukaphile]

Yeah. I'd love if Warren won too, though...

[Draco Dracul]

I do know the idea of embracing Sanders and his brand of politics is poison. I saw this in 2016, and it's why Clinton rode the wave to victory. If he tries to run again, he'll lose. They need to back off from that, or we'll lose again. Many older voters I knew who are still around compare him to Trump, a greedy old con man.

Hillary is not poison?

Compared to Sanders? No. I mean despite being in my 20s I have a deep distrust of Sanders because I have a feeling that he's willing to throw minorities, like myself, under the bus. I also feel that in practice his policy on immigration would be little different from Trump's.

On a personal note, I'm hoping that a Gen-Xer like Beto, Castro, or Duckworth comes out on top, because a narcissistic sack of crap like Trump being the last Baby Boomer president would be a perfect closing statement on that generation.

[Karha of Honor]

I do know the idea of embracing Sanders and his brand of politics is poison. I saw this in 2016, and it's why Clinton rode the wave to victory. If he tries to run again, he'll lose. They need to back off from that, or we'll lose again. Many older voters I knew who are still around compare him to Trump, a greedy old con man.

Hillary is not poison?

Compared to Sanders? No. I mean despite being in my 20s I have a deep distrust of Sanders because I have a feeling that he's willing to throw minorities, like myself, under the bus. I also feel that in practice his policy on immigration would be little different from Trump's.

He would throw minorities under the bus based on?

[Draco Dracul]

I do know the idea of embracing Sanders and his brand of politics is poison. I saw this in 2016, and it's why Clinton rode the wave to victory. If he tries to run again, he'll lose. They need to back off from that, or we'll lose again. Many older voters I knew who are still around compare him to Trump, a greedy old con man.

Hillary is not poison?

Compared to Sanders? No. I mean despite being in my 20s I have a deep distrust of Sanders because I have a feeling that he's willing to throw minorities, like myself, under the bus. I also feel that in practice his policy on immigration would be little different from Trump's.

He would throw minorities under the bus based on?

Based on the fact that he views class as a more important factor than race. And every time we tackle poverty simply based on class without factoring in race we see it leave poor minorities in no better a position than they were before. And while I don't think he realizes it, I think a significant minority of his support base (Bernie-Trump voters) do and support him in part or in whole for that reason.

[Yukaphile]

Yeah, my own Socialist friend from Peru admits Sanders is "too conservative" to be a real comrade. And that you need to focus on "intersectionality." I also like how your list was two men and one woman. God, with attitudes like this, we are never going to get a female President. I also hate the blatant age-ism that's on display. Yes, Sanders and Biden are both too old, but it's not that they're bodies are old, it's that they themselves have a very "old" attitude. Some people are old men in their twenties. Being "old," as I define it, is being stubborn, inflexible, and set in your ways, which they are. I wouldn't mind if Warren or Harris won. It's also interesting you didn't include Harris in that list despite being a minority, but then you didn't include Brooker either. Are you a Latino by chance? I'm afraid I'm as white Caucasian as I can get, and live a privileged life, so as poor as I get, Trump's policies don't hurt me, sad to say.