What The Hell is Going On Around Here?

[busterbrown]

I understand that Biden might not be the best or brightest straw in the pack.

But this guy has the best chance of bringing back the middle of the pack to our side in 2020..the same group which deserted Clinton in the last election..

And lets remember this clearly.. The popular vote as a whole doesn't matter.We all know that the final electoral vote is the only thing that counts.. " Sea of Red" Trump stated..

To Sum up.....I think that there are at least 5 Dem Candidates that I like ... Warren, Harris, Buttigieg etc..to mention a few

I would bet anything that the Repubs would just love to have one of the the three Dems. I mentioned above to win the Dem Nomination.

Our Fascist directed Repubs... would love to talk about Nanny States, Tax Increases,
Liberal Crime enablers... tax raising.... and every other lie which they could to pin on the the Dems.

Joe Biden does not fit in to their strategy.

So its Joe Baby for me big time.. A tough guy not the brightest or the best.. But the best candidate to slug it out with Trump and put him on his freaking ass!

[LibFarmer]

1. K&R nt

[we can do it]

2. Bots, trolls and assholes.

[TrunKated]

3. I agree with you wholeheartedly. n/t

[George II]

4. Biden is the best candidate for winning the rust belt, as well as some southern states.

They are vital in getting trump out of office and hopefully in federal prison.

[Voltaire2]

5. The gaffes have come home to roost.

“Our best candidate” is not only not “the brightest straw”, but he has a track record of imploding his own campaigns. Maybe we should reconsider who is the best to “slug it out”?

[DemocracyMouse]

36. I agree Voltaire.

We should also be realistic about increasing the enthusiasm among the swing state BASE who are instrumental in getting out the vote in that presumed "sea of red." They are increasingly excited by Elizabeth Warren who is campaigning with plans, facts and details.

Every successful candidate these days – every candidate with growing popularity – is pushing plans, detail and hard reality. It happens to be the exact opposite of the fake prez, and it works. Biden isn't going to win on looks and aw-shucks sparkle. People simply don't find that stuff convincing after Trump took office. In fact, the pendulum has been swinging towards honest, articulate candidates with actual plans in hand.

(And if anyone says its "extremist" to be realistic and informed, I'll eat my hat).

BOTTOM LINE: Inspire the Democratic base, not some wishy-washy notion of "red state people."

[BlancheSplanchnik]

40. I agree ☝🏾 I think she inspires many,

especially those who feel stepped on by the system (heh, that would be all of us, actually), which is a lot of independents and Bernie supporters, I would think.

[SCVDem]

43. How has You're online behavior

Been over the last 20?
Nobody gives you never mind so you're good.

Quit bashing Democratic candidates!
Close to an alert!

[saidsimplesimon]

54. Is this how a Democratic front runner wins?

This is a Democratic Primary forum, not a site dedicated to honest, thoughtful debate before declaring a winner? imo

[SCVDem]

83. The point being,

We the Democratic Party must cease feeding the RNC ammunition.

They can do their own (cough, cough!) oppo research.

They turn our own ripostes against us.

Keep slinging the crap and help the GOP win again.

[Voltaire2]

79. Wtf. I'm not running for President.

[Agschmid]

116. *your

And I’m pretty sure threatening an alert is not a great way to have a discussion.

[Progressive dog]

104. Joe Biden has never lost a general election.

He would be running in a general election against Trump. That's the one Democrats need to win.

[Voltaire2]

105. He has imploded two primary campaigns.

[Progressive dog]

106. Lots of people have lost in primaries.

Most haven't imploded and then been chosen to run for vice President on a winning ticket.

[marylandblue]

108. The kudos for that victory belong to Obama. Biden has trouble on his own.

He's making mistakes that Obama would not have made.

[Progressive dog]

109. Did I mention that Joe was chosen to run for Vice President

I thought that it was obvious that he was chosen by Obama, and Obama does deserve praise for his campaign and his selection of a running mate.

[marylandblue]

110. My point is that does not make him a good campaigner on his own.

He wouldn't be the first VP to go down in flames.

I don't dislike Biden. It's just that he is being treated like Our Savior and I just don't see it. He has a good long resume, he was a good sidekick to Obama but I'm just not that impressed with the argument that he and only he is electable. There are other level-headed moderates in the race who can't get the time of day because he's The One.

If we need a "safe" candidate he doesn't seem safe to me. Fortunately, if he stays true to form, he will implode in the primaries not after, so that we have a chance to recover with someone else.

[Progressive dog]

115. Joe won seven Senate races

out of seven.

[marylandblue]

117. Only the first election was remotely competitive, the remaining 6 he was the overwhelming favorite

as he ran as an influential Democratic incumbent of a small liberal state. The seventh election he won was in 2008, when he wasn't even trying, as he was running for VP at the same time and his opponent was most famous for denying she was a witch.


He lost badly in national primary elections twice. Whatever his other demonstrated abilities may be, running national primary elections is not one of them.

[Progressive dog]

118. There are no national primaries

so Biden didn't lose any.

[marylandblue]

119. Quit that. You know exactly what I meant.

[elleng]

6. Thanks, buster.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. I think we need to keep in mind that DU is probably not representative

of the entire national Democratic Party. There are maybe a few hundred active posters on DU, most of whom seem to be both more progressive and more obsessed with politics than the average person. I think it's safe to say that most people "out there" don't read The Guardian or the Washington Post and don't watch MSNBC's entire evening lineup, if they watch at all. They haven't read the Mueller report, don't pay attention to who's been indicted or ought to be, and probably won't choose a candidate until the primaries roll around. The toughest thing about deciding who's the most electable candidate is trying to figure out which one all those other people will prefer. I like most of our candidates for different reasons but haven't settled on a favorite. And I sure as hell don't know who all those people who don't post on DU will prefer.

[Thekaspervote]

28. Amen to that!!

[marylandblue]

51. Absolutely! I don't know who those people prefer, I don't know them at all.

Nobody else knows either. If they are like most people, they probably don't know themselves yet.

But I know what I want. So I'm picking the best sales rep for my point of view.

[saidsimplesimon]

64. Brava and Bravo

I agree.

[greatauntoftriplets]

56. I was going to post something to that effect.

Instead, I'll just agree with you.

[Honeycombe8]

63. This is very true. The average Dem voter is more moderate and not a political junkie like we are.

They will likely watch part of one of the debates, but certainly not the entirety of both debates.

Polls don't count for much right now. Biden has the name recognition, so it's a given he will be far ahead of the pack across the board, just from name recognition alone.

Later polls, esp after several debates, will be more telling.

This is one reason I'm undecided. It's just too early. (Plus, I'm not bowled over by any of them. So that's a WARNING WARNING...if i feel that way, there will be regular voters out there who feel the same way. We've been to this rodeo before...where the voting public isn't enthused.)

[pazzyanne]

68. You also speak for me.

I am looking at who has the best OVERALL chance of taking tRump down! Joe is the best person for that at this time.

[Demit]

14. "Some are simply rooting for Trump if their candidate does not appear to be winning"?

You are accusing people on Democratic Underground of rooting for Trump??

[mtnsnake]

9. Thanks for proving the point that Joe Biden is the worst possible choice that we could nominate

by virtue of your own words:

"I understand that Biden might not be the best or brightest straw in the pack."

"A tough guy not the brightest or the best"

You really didn't have to repeat it twice.

[oldsoftie]

32. Yet every poll has him doing better than the rest. Can that change? Of course.

But until it does, he is obviously NOT the "worst possible candidate". Thats just a load of bullshit

[pazzyanne]

69. Amen!

[MrsCoffee]

99. +1

[emulatorloo]

10. There appears to be some compelling need by some to damage our Democratic Candidates

[bornsunny]

13. It's about keeping them on their toes.

We need the brightest and most compelling candidate to be the Democratic nominee. Kissing everyone's ass all the time doesn't make them better and doesn't get the change America needs right now.

[UniteFightBack]

92. NO WE NEED SOMEONE WHO WILL BEAT RUMP. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS FOR FUCKS SAKE. NT

[busterbrown]

97. I'm telling ya...

It's just not that hard to understand.. Our country is at a crossroads and it's frightening as hell... Go get em Joe..

[marylandblue]

112. I DON'T THINK BIDEN CAN DO IT! AM I ALLOWED TO SAY THIS OUT LOUD?

[bornsunny]

113. YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM NOT THE SOLUTION!!!

[Bradshaw3]

17. Nonsense

Judging candidates by their words and deeds is exactly what we are supposed to do in choosing a candidate. Slurring forum users who are raising legitimate questions by saying they are trying to damage Democratic candidates is worse than anythign written about Biden. Rather it seems some don't want their candidate evaluated at all, which doesn't speak well for that candidate.

[emulatorloo]

21. I'm undecided. I see negative attacks on all of our candidates that aren't necessarily legitimate

A simple observation is not a “smear”, but thanks for your feedback.

I personally have chosen not to write anything negative about any of our Democrats.

Every one of them is dedicated to lifting up the most vulnerable in our society and doing what’s right for the 99%. So i like to discuss policy differences, who has the best plans overall.

Everyone one of them would undo the egregious things Trump has done to destroy our country and our citizens.

Thanks for the reply

[Kitchari]

74. I agree with your stance

Because even the worst of the Democratic candidates is better than any Republican

[Skittles]

47. correct

[emulatorloo]

50. I stood up for Beto when there were false attacks on him, claiming he was "in the pocket of big oil"

That was not a legitimate claim, it simple isn’t true. That’s what i’ll continue to do for all our Democrats.

[elleng]

19. Yes, thanks, an impressive 'divide the dems' movement happening today,

here certainly.

[FakeNoose]

25. The weasels have gotten into the hen house

Is anyone surprised? We've known they were coming and they don't have much else to do.

[FloridaBlues]

37. Dems love to eat their own. We don't need republicans to do that for us.

[Shanti Mama]

11. I think Mayor Pete would garner a lot of middle America votes

I don't think Trump would want to run against him.

I love Biden but won't make up my mind until I have to. Very much looking forward to the debates coming up.

[Butterflylady]

70. By middle America,

Do you mean " the bible belt"? Ahhhhhh, I don't know about that!

[Ron Green]

12. If your OP describes the kind of election and the kind of country you want to see,

I strongly disagree with you and hope your sort of politics is doomed.

[DrToast]

15. People have different opinions. Film at 11:00.*

*

[yaesu]

16. it wasn't desertion, it was lack of inspiration, very low voter turnout, Centrists just don't

inspire the base and the middle of the pack isn't going to save the day, We need a truly progressive candidate that goes back to the FDR roots of the party if we plan to beat trump.

[emulatorloo]

24. HRC got nearly as many votes as Obama. And won voters most concerned with jobs/economy

It’s important to get our facts straight.

[Sugarcoated]

49. Not in Pennsylvania

[MrsCoffee]

100. It took treason to beat her.

[Sugarcoated]

111. True

But she didn't connect with enough blue collar Pennsylvanians, they didn't come out in the urban areas in big enough numbers for her. Joe is loved by those types of folks.

[MrsCoffee]

102. No it was treason.

There was no low voter turnout. There was nothing centrist about Clinton’s platform. She won by millions of votes.

This is an abysmal rewrite of history.

[Kaleva]

18. It's going to get worse.

[earthshine]

20. I want the "best" and "brightest" -- and that's who is best to go up against Trump.

> But this guy has the best chance of bringing back the middle of the pack to our side in 2020

I don't agree at all.

[SCVDem]

85. The best and brrightest

Against a moron and a traitor!

[earthshine]

87. I want the "best" and "brightest" to lead this country.

That's who will make the best candidate. That's who will make the best president.

And frankly, that's not Biden.

Trump is not a moron. He's quite shrewd.

[SCVDem]

88. So was P. T. Barnum!

This way to the Egress!

Trump has a cognitive disorder. So did Reagan.

Makes you a moron.

[earthshine]

91. Excuse me?

You write in non-sequiturs. Moron? Who?

[SCVDem]

94. Sorry, not directed at you.

It was also misdirected at those with a mental illness, to whatever drives Trump.

I posted while having one of those bad moments.

I apologize for any offense.

[moonseller66]

22. Centrist just really don't care...

They are of two kinds:
1. They are willfully ignorant of what's going on in politics and probably the world.
2. They are comfortable in their own little world and since what happens doesn't directly affect them (yet), they see no reason to get involved.

Anyone who claims to be an independent or centrist (concerning Trump vs ANY Democrat) and bitches about any government or political issue is lying.

I've heard so many of these so-called independents and Centrists bitch and complain about everything from "their" taxes to infrastructure to college debt to police thuggery to...you name any issue people are pissed about. Yet they still think they need to learn more to make up their minds? Learn what? That America is run by Russia and maybe it's not that bad because it doesn't affect them?

These people are, in a way, worse than the MAGAts. At least the MAGAts are willing to take a stand, uninformed or not.

I am I said...to no one there....

[oldsoftie]

33. Yet the self described Independents/centrists are who wins elections

like it or not. And if you swing one way too far, they'll go the other

[pazzyanne]

71. As a "centrist with a progressive streak" I am offended by your post.

I have been a political activist for 50 years of my adult life. I want someone who will fight and beat the orange orangutan. ALL Democratic candidates are progressive, it is just a matter of the style in which they project themselves. I agree, as a person who lives in a red county, that the people we like the most will not win over Independents or centrist Republicans who are not happy with tRump. Take a page from what tRump is doing with his pandering to his base. He is driving centrist Republicans out of their party by his rhetoric. That is the flip side for Democrats. Looking at the entire picture is necessary as we are not in "normal" times. tRump has got to go down, and I will do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal. I hope all Democrats are on board with this.

[LongtimeAZDem]

76. Hear, hear!

[LongtimeAZDem]

78. Offensive, inaccurate, and insulting. IMO

[onetexan]

23. Far as im concerned Joe IS the best & brightest

[Raster]

26. I will vote for a ham sandwich, if that ham sandwich is able to defeat tRump*...

...even if that ham sandwich is named Joe Biden.

[FiveGoodMen]

35. Then the public -- uninspired by the ham sandwich -- acts like a pendulum again and ...

[samnsara]

27. hes brighter and better than I am so hes the brightest and the best for me....

....hes got my vote all the way...

[pnwmom]

29. Your whole theory is based on misinformation. Hillary didn't suffer from lack of turnout.

In the country overall, she won only 70,000 votes fewer than Obama in 2012, DESPITE the SCOTUS having dismantled the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2013 -- which led to the suppression of millions of Democratic votes.

Hundreds of thousands of those votes got suppressed in the critical states that Hillary lost by a combined total of only 80,000 votes.

And there was Russian interference, and there was the Comey memo, 11 days before the election -- at which point her numbers in the polls plummeted.

And despite all of that, she won by 2.9 million votes.

[marylandblue]

61. This all about locus of control. There are a million factors we can't control or that don't matter.

We can't fix voting rights and we can't stop Russia. And it doesn't matter that we ran up the score in blue states. Our only hope is to pick the smartest, most convincing, most inspiring candidate who will turn out enough white, black and brown voters in swing states. That's all we can do. Oh, we can also #GOTV2020, Russians or no Russians.

[pnwmom]

75. Then we, as a party, need to spend more time helping those voters get re-registered and getting

their new voter ID's.

Not blaming our candidates -- whoever they are -- because the voters the R's targeted for voter suppression didn't vote in as high numbers as they did before the 2013 SCOTUS decision to dismantle the Voting Rights Act.

[marylandblue]

81. Yes, we can do that too.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

30. Divided over nominee and impeachment. Sucks

[oldsoftie]

34. MORE leeway? They'll hide a post just for being unpopular, regardless of facts.

And i've seen a few long timers get the boot because they were 'alert swarmed".

[Autumn]

38. The middle of the pack deserted Clinton in the last election? I thought it was those

Bernie bros and the far left that fucked up? Pick one and stick to it. No more of not the brightest, please. The last few years of the dim bulb Trump have been depressing. I'm going to go with the best or brightest straw in the pack, and we have several others of those to chose from.

[amuse bouche]

41. It's depressing to have to settle and that people think this is the best we have

[Skittles]

46. I AGREE

very depressing indeed

[Demit]

59. It depresses me too.

[The Wizard]

42. Too many insecure white guys

can't bring themselves to vote for a woman. They see it as self castration.

[murielm99]

44. The front runner,

or any candidate moving up in the rankings, is always going to be attacked, especially by supporters of a certain candidate.

[Skittles]

45. I think we can do better

I KNOW we can

[PatrickforO]

48. Yeah, I like a bunch of them too. Warren is my fave, followed by Buttigieg,

but you know what?

If Biden wins the primaries and is our nominee, he'll be an order of magnitude better than Trump. In fact, my 3 month old Siamese kitten would be better than Trump.

But Biden's fine. If the voters pick him, by golly, he's got my support. Same for Harris, Warren, Buttigieg or ANY of the others.

Biden does have to pick someone for his running mate, though, that could take over and hit the ground running if need be. And he needs to be diverse in his selection here - a woman, a person of color, a gay person...all those are fine. But our ticket needs to look like the people who live in our country.

[SouthernProgressive]

52. A lot of people don't like that logic in a primary.

I think what’s interesting this time is that we have a number of people who are really tough also down to earth and easy to like. Combine that with hard work and a solid effort and I think a couple of our people could win.

I’ll still probably be voting along your line of thought.

[Politicub]

53. A primary is what is happening here. Shocker... some people may not have Biden as their first choice

And that's okay. It's what a primary is all about.

Biden has served in government for a long time, so there's naturally going to be a lot of baggage. Some of that baggage rubs people the wrong way, and they're being vocal about it. Better it get aired now so it can be dealt with instead as an October surprise.

BTW - I don't agree that Biden has the best chance of bringing back the middle -- several of the candidates, Klobuchar comes to mind, have a strong chance, too -- but I can understand why a lot of people feel the way they do about Biden.

[DallasNE]

55. I Have A Different Assessment - Doesn't Make Me Right; Makes Me Different

We will be facing huge challenges come 2021 so I am looking for mental fire power. In that group are Mayors Pete and Bill along with Sen Harris. I also like passion and that means I'm also looking at Sen. Booker. Technically, Sen. Warren also fits the bill but she will be 70 by election time - that is a strike against her but it still leaves her with 2 strikes. Obviously, I am very much undecided at this point.

I'm not worried about Trump right now because I fully expect the economy to be in recession by years end. That will bend the curve all by itself. Indeed, May 2019 may prove to be the month we slip into recession. But it is still premature to say that with certainty. But there are a plenty of signs that we are headed there. War with Iran could alter that but that has a lot of downside for Trump.

[True Dough]

57. Warren, Buttigieg, Harris

They've all shown a willingness to "slug it out" with Trump. The difference so far is that Biden has been the early leader in the polls and Trump has targeted him because he's most familiar with Biden.

There's a whole primary process to play out before we know who ultimately gets to take down "the Donald" in 2020. Let the chips fall where they may...

[randr]

58. If we end up with Joe he will have our support

He needs to hear that there will be a new and improved world after he is gone. If he does make the cut I hope he hears the future calling

[True Blue American]

60. Thank you for that!

We seem to be getting much of the hate Democrat today! Trolls? Or are the names familiar?

[Honeycombe8]

62. Maybe you're right, but the facts show that any of several Dems will beat Trump in Michigan...

and the other rust belt states.

So your whole premise to begin with (that only Biden can win those lost states) is wrong. Biden wins by more, for sure (at this early time, anyway), but the other Dems ALSO beat Trump.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/Michigan.html

[Laffy Kat]

65. I. Don't. Care.

Any Democratic nominee for me. If it is Biden, I hope to god he selects a woman for VP but nothing is a deal-breaker at this point. I will get 100% behind any Democratic candidate. Period.

[WinstonSmith4740]

67. What's got to end is the circular firing squads.

Candidate A is not perfect, and you support Candidate B, so let's slime A as much as possible. As soon as Candidate B takes the lead, the same thing is done. Lather, rinse, repeat. Are we ever going to learn? WE supply the crack the Republicans and now Russians, use to break us apart.

Personally, I'm a Biden supporter. Not because I've agreed with everything he's ever said or done, but because I truly feel right now, we need an experienced, steady hand on the ship of state. We need someone our allies know and trust. Also someone Putin and cronies know can't be bought with flattery. Has he said stupid stuff? Yep. Has he had positions I don't like? Of course. The only person I'd ever agree with 100% of the time is me, and I'm not running.

We have to be willing to put our vaunted "conscience" away...if only for this one election. If Joe doesn't get the nomination, I'm sure as hell not going to tear down whoever does.

For once, we have to think outside of ourselves, and think about our country.

[pazzyanne]

77. Thank you!

[saidsimplesimon]

72. I admire your loyalty.

However, I disagree.

[EveHammond13]

73. prong 1 of the 3-prong GOP strategy: "Smear as socialist"

Very hard to do with Biden.

[Perseus]

80. The Trolls must be loving this infighting and lack of liberalism

Why are we called 'Liberal'? Because we say what we believe in and we accept what other people believe in, even if we don't agree with it.
We all have to be able to exchange ideas, thoughts, facts on candidates we like and those we prefer they would not be running. This is not bashing anyone, it is honest opinions.
This 'bashing' thing has to stop, we must educate each other to make sure we can influence those outside of DU who lack the knowledge.

[Docreed2003]

82. +1

[saidsimplesimon]

84. YES

[SCVDem]

86. My post #83

We agree!

[Skittles]

90. OMG we don't all agree 100% for one candidate

whatever will we DO?

[dsp3000]

89. I like Pete the best

But let's face it. No one and I mean no one above the age of 50 is going to vote for a gay man. There are swaths of homophobic elderly people and minorities in swing states that will stay home if my preferred candidate wins the nomination.

We democrats need to keep this simple. Get the orange asshole out of the white house!!!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

93. I beg to differ! Both me and my husband are waaaay above 50!

If Buttigieg shows up on any ballot we get to vote on, we will vote for him!

[Skittles]

95. ???

a lot of us over age 50 would vote for a gay man

[dsp3000]

98. The majority of church going elderly arent. they voted for trump and they will vote for him again.

Of course you would you are on DU. but compare yourself to the average church going senior that usually votes. they will stay home or worse vote for trump.

[Skittles]

107. a lot of people said a black man could not be elected

[Scurrilous]

96. K&R

[beachbum bob]

101. called primary season and just ignore all the noise from exteme end of our party

[hughee99]

103. How many Dem candidates do you think can't beat Trump? Nt

[Scurrilous]

114. ...