2020 Democratic presidential primary

it is overlong but solid

The problem with "this guy is flawed beyond consideration" pieces like this is that it ignores the core issue of whether or not he'd listen, acknowledge, and then act on issues brought to him directly by members of this or that community. I've seen no evidence that Buttigieg is the kind of politician who'd say something was impossible because of x, y, or z. Just because he hasn't yet tackled something doesn't mean he doesn't believe it's a problem worth addressing. Nathan Robinson's central conceit seems to be "this guy has not turned South Bend into an equitable nirvana, so he's a fucking loser."

not as sharp as Birds of Passage

like Warren, good but not flirting with greatness

If you want an actually cringey Mayor Pete take to discuss instead of the vets one above, he's here for you.

“Donald Trump got elected because, in his twisted way, he pointed out the huge troubles in our economy and our democracy,” Buttigieg says. “At least he didn’t go around saying that America was already great, like Hillary did.” -- @PeteButtigieg https://t.co/5alThtNbw9

— The Washington Post Magazine (@wpmagazine) January 27, 2019

Whats cringey about that quote?

yeah I think that's right

What's wrong is the part about why Trump was elected. He got elected because enough racists in three key states finally had a candidate who thought like they did.

Donald Trump didn't point any of those things out. We knew them already. All he did was drive wedges between subgroups of poor people, and affording him the standing of doing anything more than that is nagl.

make America great again was powerful because it at least acknowledged the general feeling that this country sucks

that's kind of the fascist playbook, the feeling is then wielded as a racist weapon but part of the appeal is the acknowledgement of the feeling

What's wrong is the part about why Trump was elected. He got elected because enough racists in three key states finally had a candidate who thought like they did.

― recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, March 30, 2019 1:40 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i don't think this is incompatible w/ what buttigieg said, tbh.

During the now famous "Morning Joe" interview, Buttigieg said he wants to reach out to those voters, which may be platitudinous because he has to be.

Trump got elected in those states not just because of the racist voters, but also because the Obama voters stayed home.

Go county by county through the Rust Belt. It's always something like 08-D54, 12-D51, 16-D39. The R votes were always there. It's just last time, the D votes weren't.

(Hell, it's crazier when you see things like 88-D56 all over the place...)

I couldn't get through that Nathan J Sanders piece right after he goes off about people from Harvard when...Nathan J Sanders is currently at Harvard.

Or Nathan Robinson. I have no clue who Nathan J Sanders is.

I have no clue who this guy is? But after I have looked at his facebook I seem to know exactly who this guy is.

I just watched Elizabeth Warren on Colbert. I really like her.

love Warren

Whats cringey about that quote?

He conceded that Trump won and he did not call Trump's supporters racists and deplorables.

I suppose this comes from his having to live in Indiana and win elections there rather than in an overwhelmingly Democratic state. Come to think of it, the next president may need to win some states that are not overwhelmingly Democratic, so this might be a credible strategy.

has Mayor Pete yet offered to get the Russians to help get the Irish a championship? real issues.

I was in South Bend last week & he does some of the (automated) announcements in the airport & I've already forgotten how he pronounced his name. people there are really excited by him so uh you can count on him winning one county in the primary.

He conceded that Trump won

He’s careful not even to say this, just that Trump was elected.

Or Nathan Robinson. I have no clue who Nathan J Sanders is.
― Yerac, Saturday, March 30, 2019 3:52 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

nephew of col. sanders

Once more, @PeteButtigieg talks about how his faith informs his politics and the need for a stronger religous left, this time to someone not too friendly to faith (h/t @GuthrieGF for the video) pic.twitter.com/02cBxdhNrv

— Michael J. O'Loughlin (@MikeOLoughlin) March 30, 2019

I think I’m a buttigieg bro

dang, mayor pete. solid answer

Buttigieg seems to be using the exact same book of meaningless platitudes as Beto now.

xp but he said, and i quote, 'our conservative friends'???.... lmao what! smh! gtfoh! uh, mayor butt, you done fucked up! cancelled! bye bitch! thank u, next! *does the leftist victory dance*

Buttigieg seems to be using the exact same book of meaningless platitudes as Beto now.

― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Saturday, March 30, 2019 5:21 PM (ten minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

So far you seem to be the only one who finds meaningless in Buttigieg's rhetoric.

Plus, I'd rather have platitudes than idiotic populism but to each their own I suppose.

That dastardly populism lurking in every dark corner, eh?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D27V6icX4AUyYF5.jpg

Platitudes are populism

Just because it's centre left doesn't mean it can't be populist

But let centrists just push technocracy and "I'm a wonk" stuff and let's enjoy living in hell forever

look I didn’t love obama but there’s something to be said for intelligence and competence, which which effuses from buttigieg like a fragrance

Lots of centre/centre left I would describe as idiotic populism too, Biden is going to run on that for sure. At this point I don't really care on where you stand on the spectrum of the Dems' big tent, moreso are you smart about what you propose.

Well, arguably Biden has run on that his whole career.

effuses from buttigieg like a fragrance

effuses from buttigieg like a fragrance

effuses from buttigieg like a fragrance

that was my most alfred post

The right had an easier time connecting its philosophy and values to politics because it is pretty much "be white and collect hymens".

look I didn’t love obama but there’s something to be said for intelligence and competence, which which effuses from buttigieg like a fragrance

― k3vin k., Saturday, March 30, 2019 3:05 PM (thirty minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Obama's 08 campaign was also very populist

i think Beto saw milo question his dominance in meaningless platitudes just upped his game

Let us be clear: we will not be defined by our fears or the smallness of our differences; we will instead be known by our ambitions, our aspirations and the resolve, the creativity, the service and sacrifice by which we will have achieved them.

— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) March 30, 2019

Let us be clear:

Weirdly easy to imagine W saying that

He's also running for El Paso High School Jr Class Treasurer.

I didn’t love obama but there’s something to be said for intelligence and competence

very smart to leave all those new drone & surveillance powers in the hands of DJT

also doing as little as possible with yr full Dem control in '09-10

btw in '88 Dukakis opened one of the debates saying the election was about "competence" and guess how that turned out

Mayor Pete can use semicolons!

The fact that all this shit is going on at the border at El Paso and Beto has not become a clear voice/leader re: all this shit going on at the border at El Paso is imo the biggest strike against him as a presidential candidate. Again, don't have a huge problem with him, any more than most, but his campaign so far as been fully coasting on ad hoc platitudes as ineffectively as Clinton's was. All reaction, no strong indication of direction.

Well...it’s not at all surprising that among these 24 or however many candidates there seem to be only two whose stated priorities give a “strong indication of direction.”

this is depressing

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/31/us/politics/elizabeth-warren-fundraising.html

But as the first fund-raising deadline arrives at midnight on Sunday, Ms. Warren — who last year was widely considered a would-be front-runner — finds herself in a political vise. Her rivals on either ideological flank will raise substantially more money in the first quarter than she does, and her focus on policy has not yet translated in the polls.

I never donate this early, even if I already know who my favorites are, but I just threw her a few bucks.

This early on the polls mean nothing, unless it is name recognition. The media is searching for storylines so they know what to say about candidates. Counting money raised is a cheap, easy story to write - let's hope it doesn't get twisted into the storyline that Warren is a struggling, failing candidate. Still, I may throw a few dollars into the kitty, so she can pay campaign staff and build an organization.

I just threw in for her.

Ms. Warren’s most immediate challenge, though, may be money. She raised only $299,000 in the first day of her candidacy, far below the $5.9 million and $6.1 million Mr. Sanders and Mr. O’Rourke brought in for the same period and also less than Ms. Harris. In emails to supporters, asking for as little as $3, her campaign flatly says her rivals will post “fund-raising figures we won’t be able to match.”

And after demonstrating little capacity to raise cash online, Ms. Warren effectively doubled down on small-dollar contributions, announcing last month that she would no longer hold big-money fund-raisers or seek wealthy donors to bundle hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks.

She cast it as a decision long in the making that will offer her more time with voters. In truth, she made the choice only after a robust debate inside her campaign that led to the resignation of her finance director, Michael Pratt, who strenuously objected to the idea.

At a Valentine’s Day meeting at Ms. Warren’s Washington condominium that began with a heart-shaped cake but soon grew heated, Mr. Pratt noted that campaigns often collapse when they run out of money and pleaded with her not to cut off a significant cash stream, according to Democrats briefed on the conversation. He pointed out that winning over wealthy fund-raisers across the country helped build networks that could translate into political support, not just checks.

But Mr. Pratt lost the argument to two of Ms. Warren’s closest advisers, Dan Geldon and Joe Rospars, who made the case about standing apart from the field and freeing up her schedule.

this is the depressing part, imo. it's not that she's not doing better at raising money, it's that winning candidates are forced to suck up to rich douchebags as a litmus test