2020 Democratic presidential primary

being anti immigration is shitty but plz let's not forget that she used the word "rightsize"

talk about corporate Dems

i mean the idea that there should be a limit on immigration and that number should be finite is not a completely indefensible position, but expressed in that kind of language and with her history she honestly seems like a MF with some dark secrets

She was pro “abolish ICE” iirc

Shakey I don't agree with your oft-repeated thesis that seems to be basically elect anyone with a (D) after their name and they will somehow read your (and the rest of the voters of your district) mind and do your bidding once elected...

Good congressional representatives listen to their constituents. That's the job, representing the people in your district, state, whatever. every single one of them knows this is their number one priority, because they know who votes them into office. If they are bad at managing their constituent interests, handling complaints, responding to inquiries, etc., they tend to get voted out. that's all I'm saying. And that's what you want - a rep that listens to the voters! One that doesn't is either dangerous (ie, says one thing to get elected, then takes office and does some totally different stuff because of "deeply held beliefs", for ex.) or stupid. So it's weird to criticize someone like Gillibrand for representing a fairly conservative District by saying shit that would appeal to that District and getting an A+ rating from the NRA or whatever. Those aren't things I like about her, by any means, but y'know, I think it's pretty clear that's why she did it. And now that she represents a different constituency, she's saying and doing different things. There's nothing inherently wrong with her changing her positions to suit her constituency. I know if I vote for someone for President my number one priority isn't that they agree w me about everything in their heart of hearts, it's that they will do what the voters tell them to. That's how representative democracy is supposed to work.

Or are you just arguing for calling your representatives more?

absolutely! This is always a good idea.

xp

I prefer heart-of-hearts agreement. Much harder to corrupt!

so you never would have voted for FDR or LBJ eh - ie a plutocrat and a thoroughly corrupt racist, respectively - who nonetheless passed the most significant liberal legislation ever and basically reshaped America.

Probably not in the primary!

^^^

especially since if we ARE trying to get the other politicians to shift in the wind, a strong primary showing by a candidate w/ different positions is one lever to make that happen. it's not a super reliable level sure but c'mon, makes more sense than voting for the person who's further from your values and hoping they'll realize how conflicted you were about it and change their positions despite winning in a landslide.

this is why we should all be rooting for an absolute ideological bloodbath and encourage as many distinct candidates to enter the fray as possible imho

(just not Hillary lol)

right-size immigration

the kind Goldilocks chose

Goldilocks got eated doe

Granted that it shouldn’t even require a response but this is pretty good

Here is Kirsten Gillibrand's full response to an Iowan's question about calling for Al Franken to resign after a series of allegations were leveled against him: pic.twitter.com/VUWfm29rgp

— Dan Merica (@merica) January 19, 2019

I like that statement

Good statement but I hate that we're still at the stage where you have to insert some anecdote about being a parent in order to make this sort of statement palatable to the pricks

She didn’t have to. If she was cool she’d just say “fuck everyone, i advocated what i thought was best. No one forced franken to resign.”

The “fuck everyone” part is key

Here's Cory Booker at a charter school rally in New Orleans today, testing out what sounds like a stump speech, quoting poetry and talking about his father. Needless to say he's one of few prospective 2020 Dems who would keynote a charter rally right now https://t.co/r0boPKntbM

— Eliza Shapiro (@elizashapiro) January 18, 2019

Same lines he did at Netroots. I snoozed there too.

getting the feeling this crowded field is gonna thin out pretty quickly

can someone put AOC in a flash-forward machine

Weigel's further coverage of Gillibrand events in Iowa has been more reassuring. That "right-size immigration" shit was a huge gaffe, but perhaps all is not lost.

there's of course the MSM horse-race coverage which considers actual policy a subsidiary issue

I just googled "right-size immigration," and apparently Gillibrand has been using that line for more than a decade. I found examples from 2007, 2009, and 2018. My guess is that it's such a stock phrase for her at this point that she hasn't stopped to reflect on how it sounds in 2019.

harris

here we here we here we fuckin go

lord

I'm running for president. Let's do this together. Join us: https://t.co/9KwgFlgZHA pic.twitter.com/otf2ez7t1p

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 21, 2019

tbh if I were a betting man my $$ would be on her at the moment

I don't get how it happened, but somehow that's become the conventional wisdom in my twitter feed as well.

Vox says she's going to run on criminal justice, among other things, so there should be plenty of time to discuss her record as prosecutor.

(so far) she has no big obvious gaffes or robot lines and no one in the MSM is going to give a fuck about her prosecutorial record except to swoon

Not really a fan of the “country over party” line here.

Beto refused to endorse the Democrat in a House race last year because he had "to put country over party."

When he said this, 538 was giving the GOP a 25% chance of keeping the House -- and *George Will* was imploring voters to back Ds everywhere, for the sake of the republic. pic.twitter.com/sCuuij6gtv

— Eric Levitz (@EricLevitz) January 20, 2019

Harris can/will be a good candidate on a technical level down the road, but that announcement video is dullllllllllllllll

it's early but no climate mention here is a headscratcher

Key @KamalaHarris 2020 policy agenda, per campaign aides:
-- $2.8 trillion middle class tax cut ("LIFT Act")
-- ~$76B in tax credits for low-income renters
-- Bill to encourage states to reduce cash bail
-- Elections security
-- Reduce racial disparity in childbirth deaths
-- M4A

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) January 21, 2019

She's Californian. She can't ignore it for long.

Harris can/will be a good candidate on a technical level down the road, but that announcement video is dullllllllllllllll

What exactly do you want from an announcement video? Should she have leapt out of a cake shaped like Donald Trump's severed head? Screamed her announcement through a bullhorn while wearing a black leather jacket and waving an antifa flag? Seriously, what should she have done differently that would have made you - specifically you - say "Wow, that was an exciting announcement!"

Warren's video had *some* substance at least

'elections security' is a good idea but not one that resonates with people, strangely

how about election REFORM?

xp

substance nearly as unimportant to some ilxors as it is to the MSM

“Kamala Harris: For the people,” is not just her campaign slogan, it’s how she used to announce herself as a prosecutor, in the courtroom. She’s leaning into the experience that’s become a target of critics on the left.

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) January 21, 2019

politically speaking, that's the thing to do - embrace it and try to make it a positive rather than something to run away from or explain away

but yeah. :-/

I assume there be something about climate change

Just to be clear about this is: I asked Harris' staffers for their key campaign policy proposals, and these are the 6 they emailed me in a response. They did not say this was an exhaustive list

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) January 21, 2019

*will be

still feel like Harris is inevitable and she's my preferred candidate; but if you thought the right wing was over the top in calling HRC unlikeable, wait until they have a stern black woman. Girding myself for the racist and sexist memes now.

haha yeah I have often thought about how crazy (brave?) it is for Harris to willingly step into that line of fire, she has to know what's coming

I may be dense, but I fail to see how I'm supposed to hold her prosecutorial background against her. It's her positions now that matter to me. If anything, the legal background makes me more confident that she understands the system. I'm not leaning toward her, but she's never not impressed me as a Senate inquisitor.

because when she becomes president she will defy the will of her party and constituents and secretly institute her dastardly plan to continue incarcerating as many black and brown people as possible duh

because truly that is within her heart of hearts as a policy goal

shit that's right

lol

He isn't the most natural fit for the Democratic Party of 2020, but @MikeBloomberg can claim leadership on climate change and gun control like no other. Pundits and activists are underestimating the potential of a campaign focused on those issues. https://t.co/HAbncaeBhj

— Ben Ritz (@BudgetBen) January 21, 2019