Your next 2020 Democratic presidential primary thread: Now we're serious

the mechanics of it aside, it's just patently idiotic from a messaging standpoint because for like 30 years Republicans have been driving up the deficit when they were in power and then as soon as they were out of power, cowing Democrats into swallowing the line that NOW we need to start thinking about reducing the deficit. rinse, repeat.

i knew i shouldn't have read that NYT piece about iowa. infuriating

The D.N.C. approved Iowa’s delegate selection plan, but left the state party to determine on its own how to collect and tabulate caucus results, Mr. Perez said, adding that the national party did not test the state’s app or set standards for training or preparation.

Mr. Perez said he was not responsible for what state parties and their leaders do.

“I do not conduct a performance evaluation of every party chair,” he said.

Asked whether the D.N.C. would increase its scrutiny of other caucuses run by state parties, including Nevada’s in less than two weeks, Mr. Perez said he would “implement all of the lessons learned,” but did not specify how.

the buck stops somewhere below me, probably way below me

what app is Nevada using? based on slot machines i'm sure

Tinder

xp they aren't using the Shadow app afaik

i'm pretty sure Shadow also worked on the Nevada app! from the NYT story on Iowa mess:

Just days before the caucuses, precinct leaders received their first instructions for downloading an app they were to use to record and send results.

The app was created by Shadow Inc., a company recommended to Iowa party officials by Democratic leaders in Nevada, who were working with it as well.

The chief executive of Shadow, Gerard Niemira, was a veteran of the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign, where he oversaw tech products like an app the campaign used to take advantage of the quirky math of caucuses and track results in real time.

but the thing is, iowa was kind of a "soft launch" and now all the problems with it are completely ironed out. extensive user testing has identified the main issues, which will be addressed in a timely fashion!

They're runnin' with the shadows of the night. Baby count the votes, you'll be all right.

does anyone even give a shit about the disorganization of the Iowa caucus anymore, or should I start a different thread when I decide I feel like posting about it? there have been some good articles from alternative media that have popped up in the last few days but I'm conversing enough about it locally that I haven't posted

of course, the problems with Iowa went way beyond the app. it really does seem like the results have been unreliable for many years

I think the main takeaway, from a national-to-local organization level, is that part of the DNC's failing to support downticket races in the last decade was also a failing to provide guidance to state organizations and we're going to see these things continue to happen

just post 'em here mh! i give a shit

xp

just promise not to do it again

the problems with Iowa went way beyond the app. it really does seem like the results have been unreliable for many years

Uh, yeah, because it's 80% dependent on Mildred and her legal pad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBnO9dw3n6A

every paragraph of the nyt story is hilarious

In November, Iowa officials gathered in Des Moines with Harvard election security experts including Robby Mook, Mrs. Clinton’s 2016 campaign manager, to test processes involved in the caucuses. But the app wasn’t part of the exercise.

security is so much easier when you don't have to think about the whole "internet" thing

Yet in Polk County, where Democrats were preparing for 177 precinct caucuses, it had already been clear all week that the app had problems.

When precinct chairs reported issues, the state party referred them to a lone help-desk employee, who did not always respond to calls and emails.

RHOOOOOOOOOOONDA

does anyone even give a shit about the disorganization of the Iowa caucus anymore

I don't, but I am not going to object if people do! As far as I can see, the "fiasco" leads to an uncertainty in the numbers of, what, 2 delegates max? I'm not even sure it's that much. Building a system that doesn't have errors is impossible; seems like they built a system where there's a mechanism for fixing big errors and which is robust to the effect of small errors. If this is the biggest problem Democratic state parties have, the Democratic state parties don't have big problems. (Narrator: it is not the biggest problem Democratic state parties have.)

Wait until a few months from now when Sanders is short of a delegate majority by two delegates going into the convention so the DNC decides to pick their own candidate since "none of the the candidates have a majority, Sanders only has a plurality"

I can't wait!

“I do not conduct a performance evaluation of every party chair,” he said., rolling his eyes and making a “blah blah blah” motion with his right hand.

It's like the DNC is openly mocking the thread title.

America's favorite grandson

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/02/10/us/politics/10-live-curtis-1213/merlin_168729339_c840bb97-a14d-44a7-af36-8eab4b077d0f-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg

It only just occurred to me that Pete = first time in my life that I'm older than a presidential candidate.

i'm so glad the spectrum of our 2 parties has moved from Alvy Singer's "the horrible and the miserable" to "the apocalyptic and the horrible"

I can't imagine how dispiriting it must be to be a progressive woman and see Bloomberg literally buy his way into outpolling a smart, principled, accomplished female candidate who has been campaigning for a solid year and has put out shitloads of good policy proposals.

it was their choice not to become gazillionaires

I presume you're referencing Warren there, not Klochubar, but is Bloomberg really outpolling her now? Fuck's up with that?

some ppl equate visibility with electability I suppose

Especially when "getting big money out of politics" is one of her signature issues.

I presume you're referencing Warren there, not Klochubar, but is Bloomberg really outpolling her now? Fuck's up with that?

― A is for (Aimless), Monday, February 10, 2020 2:30 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

New Quinnipiac national poll:

Sanders 25
Biden 17
Bloomberg 15
Warren 14
Buttigieg 10

yeah i was referring to Liz.

is Bloomberg really outpolling her now? Fuck's up with that?

As a friend put it on Twitter, "Bloomberg’s whole campaign has been merciless mockery of the racist-pig bastard Trump and, by extension, his racist-pig supporters. Maybe people respond better to that than the promise to reach out to the white racist pigs and bring them home."

Seems like he is mostly picking off Biden supporters:

Multiple voters I spoke with at Bloomberg events this past week said they had initially thought they would support Joe Biden, but were now turned off by Biden’s struggling campaign. Into this breach steps Bloomberg, who presents a moderate alternative who to some voters feels more seasoned than Buttigieg.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rosiegray/michael-bloomberg-2020-democratic-primary-biden

"Bloomberg’s whole campaign has been merciless mockery of the racist-pig bastard Trump and, by extension, his racist-pig supporters."

next, call them 'deplorables'

nothing but proven losing strategies

I feel like the divide between the Buttigieg/Biden/Bloomberg contingent and the leftier candidates is also a generational one. Baffled by the elder generation in my family and their tolerance/enthusiasm for the former. Scared of losing money, I guess.

like, I don't know any millenials or Xers that aren't viscerally irritated by Mayor Pete

my closest gay friend calls him Eddie Haskel

you live in California, Οὖτις

fair point tbqh

Interesting stuff in the cross-tabs of that Quinnipiac poll:

1. Bloomberg is now #2 among black voters (Biden 27, Bloomberg 22, Sanders 19)
2. Bernie has a significant lead among white non-college voters... (Sanders 30, Warren 13, Biden 12, Bloomberg 12)
3. ...but it's a total toss-up among white college voters (Sanders 17, Warren 17, Biden 16, Bloomberg 16, Buttigieg 16)

wow #3 is def interesting

re #1, stop-and-frisk needs to become universally known

I use it at gay bars all the time, works for me

[Rupert Pupkin gif]

also his speech at the 2004 republican convention, and financially supporting republicans as recently as 2018, and spending $16K on sushi over six weeks

I do like sushi

do you like

booty with your sushi