2020 Democratic presidential primary

Can anyone make a strong policy or character argument for any one of the following over the others: Klobuchar, Gillibrand, Harris, Beto? I've pretty much ruled out supporting Booker or Biden, and while I'm very much a Berniebro I'm kind of dreading how nasty the primary is going to get if he enters (and I don't think he will win, especially in a split field). I probably like Warren better than any of those four on policy, but she is showing herself to be kind of an inept politician from the campaign side of things and I'm afraid she would get destroyed by Trump. Among the four I named, I kind of just have no idea. They all basically seem like centrists with some progressive trappings. I thought maybe Klobuchar was further to the left until she tweeted about her "bipartisan" tax advantaged savings account legislation which just makes me break out in fucking hives.

The whole prosecutor thing makes Harris a tough sell for me too, but I don't know much about her beyond that.

Harris’ voting record and stated positions are decidedly more liberal than the other three

Supports the GND, M4A, legalized weed, free college, higher taxes on the wealthy. None of the other three can say all that.

And she is a sharp campaigner/public speaker

for booker to break out as a candidate he would probably need to work on being able to speak for more than two minutes without putting an entire room to sleep.

Is Harris *really* for M4A?

here let me google that for you
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/29/politics/kamala-harris-medicare-for-all-eliminate-private-insurers-backlash/index.html

"Medicare-for-all is the plan that she believes will solve the problem and get all Americans covered. Period," Sams told CNN. "She has co-sponsored other pieces of legislation that she sees as a path to getting us there, but this is the plan she is running on."

Their description of Harris' views is backed up by her record in the Senate, where she co-sponsored Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' "Medicare for all" bill, which would phase out for-profit insurers, but also the less aggressive approaches proposed by Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, whose bill would effectively create a "public option" by allowing certain Americans to buy-in to Medicaid, and a plan from Sens. Jeff Merkley and Chris Murphy that would allow individuals to enroll in a new form of Medicare and employers to purchase it for their workforce.

(Sams is her adviser/nat'l press secretary)

I'm not really worried about Harris moving into progressive territory on M4A, college, taxes, whatever, but she should really start prepping a big meaningful criminal justice speech in front of an optically useful audience because otherwise extremely online leftists are gonna be filling the vacuum there entirely

amusingly Bernie could distinguish himself from Harris pretty well by supplementing his economic message with a criminal justice reform push and lining up some surrogates to attack her record. Assuming he becomes indistinguishable from the crowd on M4A and college and taxes.

I think it's looking unlikely that most of the "crowd" is really going to run on M4A, more likely use weasel words like "affordable health care solutions" which just mean slight tweaks to obamacare and (shudder) more tax advantaged savings accounts.

Warren, Harris, Booker and Bernie will all run on it, Klobuchar won't cuz she's a little weasely/not as progressive

so that's already most of the crowd

Gillibrand too, I forgot about her already

Gillibrand too, I forgot about her already

Maybe she needs better... Gillibranding

(CSI Miami shades.gif)

Gillibrand votes against Trump more than literally anyone else in the senate, unless I’m misreading this: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/

Warren, Sanders, Booker, and Harris all also vote against Trump more than almost anyone else.

I’d happily vote for any of them, with any other of them as VP, although I think Booker would lose at the top of the ticket.

i like the tardy slips. people should fucking show up to work on time. what a bunch of goddamned slackers.

Heh

Pretty remarkable pic.twitter.com/ejS4eGociz

— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) February 7, 2019

https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/policy/healthcare/428865-2020-dems-walk-fine-line-with-support-for-medicare-for-all%3famp

Plz spare us from AMP links

Politicians who have any ambitions for the presidency got a good look at the Bernie phenomenon in 2016, then at the groundswell midterms, but especially at AOC and the excitement she inspires, and they all want to claim a bit of her lightning-in-a-bottle for themselves.

otoh, Pelosi has no presidential ambitions and will remain skeptical until the voters hand power to a large number of GND-compliant candidates. I don't expect her to stick her neck out very far on GND in this Congress, unless she's pushed pretty hard on it.

what is wrong with AMP links? they render immediately if you're on mobile. that's what they're for.

also i'll go on record as saying there's absolutely nothing wrong with policy-bandwagon jumping as long as they're going to be committed to it. That's where AOC (and Sanders) are succeeding; in setting aspirational, high level goals that this party should actually reach for. I'm pretty surprised so many have gotten on board. Good for them.

spoiler: they aren't committed to it, but it's still net better to have them bandwagon jumping than not

AMP is a Google initiative to wring further value out of its web advertising oligopoly and should be viewed with suspicion and disdain

I am surprised that people are surprised that this specific slate of candidates would be afraid to jump on a progressive bandwagon.

xp: well it's good to know that man alive is a mind-reader

No one criticizing the Green New Deal -- not a single person -- has an alternative plan for transitioning the American energy economy in the timeframe climatologists say we must. Nobody. If you don't think it's realistic, put out something else. What should be done instead?

— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) February 8, 2019

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/amy-klobuchar-staff-2020-election

also i'll go on record as saying there's absolutely nothing wrong with policy-bandwagon jumping as long as they're going to be committed to it. That's where AOC (and Sanders) are succeeding; in setting aspirational, high level goals that this party should actually reach for. I'm pretty surprised so many have gotten on board. Good for them.

― akm, Friday, February 8, 2019 7:39 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hell yea

it would be even more inspiring to me, if more of the announced candidates also renounced PAC money and big individual contributions. but some habits are harder to break than others.

also i'll go on record as saying there's absolutely nothing wrong with policy-bandwagon jumping as long as they're going to be committed to it. That's where AOC (and Sanders) are succeeding; in setting aspirational, high level goals that this party should actually reach for. I'm pretty surprised so many have gotten on board. Good for them.

― akm, Friday, February 8, 2019 7:39 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is a very hard thing to get across to the many folks on my social media feeds for whom a very indie rock notion of personal credibility and authenticity is the lens through which they assess politicians.

(these people often voted for jill stein.)

those people can eat my indie rock poo

i feel like we've spent the last two years eating their indie rock poo tbh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9oE9IAO6rk

The Klobuchar tardy slips and berates staff in ALL CAPS is so strange.

Not that she did it but that that is what people are going with.

Most people don't understand Congressional staff work, but they can relate to a boss giving out tardy slips and berating her underlings in ALL CAPS.

Also binder-flinging

i'm probably out of step but i didn't think the tardy slips thing was that bad. i mean, if someone ever made the mistake of putting me in charge of something, i wouldn't give anyone tardy slips, but maybe a bunch of her underlings were late all the fucking time and that was the minnesotan way she decided to let them know it wasn't cool? i dunno

Every decent boss I've ever had never gave a shit about tardiness as long as stuff got done and it wasn't obstructive.

i mean yeah, but at the same time, would you give a shit about klobuchar giving out tardy slips if she got stuff done?

I don't really give a shit either way in terms of politicking, that was more directed at ppl itt who thought it was fine/cool behavior generally

yeah, it's definitely in passive-aggressive note territory

I don't care about the tardy slips per se, but the reports suggest a general level of mistreatment and chaotic behavior.

i must admit i didn't actually read much past the headlines. i'd be more concerned about mistreatment & chaotic behavior then an episode involving tardy slips, but tardy slips make for a better headline, i suppose

Klobachar made multiple staffers shave her legs so.... there's that