Time to go all in.

[TidalWave46]

I have had a serious problem deciding who I will support. I really do like a couple of the candidates. If I could wave a magic wand right now and choose the President out of our field Amy Klobuchar would be sitting in the oval office. I think she is the real deal and as tough as nails. I see no downside to her outside of the fact that her campaign cannot get moving in any major way(yeah, pretty major downside ). I could go on about why I think that is but it would just be more of a distraction.

Buttigieg: The future. He has done nothing but impress me.

Warren: Fucking rock star. Wouldn't just vote for her for President. I would work for her. I think she is better suited as a member of the house or senate. She is the exact person we need putting legislation together and fighting for it in congress. I am taking no swipe at her here. I believe she is fully Presidential and qualified for the job.

Booker: What has gone wrong? The guy is brilliant and very deep. He can get a message across. He cares passionately about all of the things we care about. I have enormous amounts of respect and admiration for the man. Maybe he should have gone on a soul searching mission before running.

Castro: No one knows systemic governmental oppression like he does. His on the ground perspective combined with his government experience has made him a big player. He was in the Obama Administration and will continue to be moving forward. Castro, you rock.

Yang: I find him to be a man of great character, intelligence, and understanding. I greatly appreciate him elevating the conversation around a UBI. He is also doing so with a great smile and is really putting himself out there.

Williamson: I really don't care what other people think. I love her. I love her platform. I love how she has challenged her own community, notorious for not voting, to show up and vote whether she wins the nomination or not. She also has one of the best platforms out there. She was the master of the platform before Yang showed up. That is not a shot at Yang. I just hope people see how serious Williamson was out of the gate. Her platform is extremely robust and speaks to our needs. She has pushed that very hard in her own community which she does have influence in. And here is a little love love love for her haters.

Sanders: If you vote for someone trashing the media and journalism, while espousing populist rhetoric, you are a part of the problem.

Biden: Clearly has staying power. He is uniquely qualified to start running before day one. That is what we need. Someone who can assess the destruction of departments and agencies and be ready to get them heading in a different direction on day one. This is not going to be a smooth transition of power no matter how it goes down, assuming we beat Trump. He will immediately be given respect by our allies. Biden was a pretty active VP. He knows the players and they know him. Many of the foreign relationships are established.

Electability plays no role in my decision. I get that it is major for some. Out of those I listed above, I only feel Sanders and Williamson would lose in a landslide against Trump. The rest I believe would have a very similar shot as Biden. I cannot take electablity polls this far out with any seriousness. The polls themselves are almost a complete bastardization and abuse of statistics, and few seem to understand what they actually mean. Very little. That's is what they mean at this point in time. You have to think your way through it far more than looking at polls that by nature have almost zero significance or connectability to actual election day.

Since I am choosing Biden I will also tell you why it took me this long to jump on the Biden train. His history on the economy is very clear. He is so much more conservative than I am when it comes to how things should work. I fully understand that a lot of this has to do with the state he was elected to represent. Still, some of his proposals and things he has supported when it comes to the economy are unacceptable to me today. I have come to the realization that Biden is still far more conservative in this area than I am. I also think the Biden of today would find some of the things he did back in the day as being unacceptable today, specially if he is representing us at the national level.

At one point Biden mentioned he would be a one termer. That still bothers me. Such a thought should not cross his lips for the remainder of the campaign.

Biden is not my ideological match. That doesn't mean he doesn't lean in my direction on almost every issue or that he isn't toward my side of the equation when looking at society as a whole.

I don't hate your candidate because I am going all in for Biden. I think our field, overall, is amazing. Most of you who have read my posts know that I speak very highly about almost every single candidate. I will continue to do so.

[lapfog_1]

1. I've listened to Mayor Pete a lot

and he just might be the smartest person in the field... which is saying a lot considering that Warren and Yang are on the same stage.

That said, the smartest person doesn't always make the best candidate or even President.

[Uncle Joe]

2. The way I view it anyone that trashes someone for

exercising their First Amendment Right of free speech "is part of the problem."

Thanks for the thread TidalWave.

[TidalWave46]

5. This really doesn't make any sense at all.

I don't see where free speech is a part of any of this. I must be missing something. Can you show me where anyone is requesting that anthers right to free speech be infringed upon.

Secondly, it as absolute nonsense that we should not trash people for speech. No one in their right mind thinks otherwise. I don't think you understand the concept of free speech. At all. In any way. Your post makes that clear.

[Uncle Joe]

8. Yet you do it with your OP.

You had the good grace to praise every candidate running but you made an exception with Bernie because he and his supporters, including me have been critical of the corporate media conglomerates.

"Sanders: If you vote for someone trashing the media and journalism, while espousing populist rhetoric, you are a part of the problem."

Our criticism is your "trashing."

If you can't criticize the press in defense of your candidate or what one believes is dysfunctional media conglomeration, you're inhibiting free speech.

[TidalWave46]

9. You have zero clue about the concept of free speech.

Zero. Both of your posts here confirm that.

"Sanders: If you vote for someone trashing the media and journalism, while espousing populist rhetoric, you are a part of the problem."

Sing that one loud.

[Uncle Joe]

13. I understand you have the right to your opinion and we have the right to ours.

[TidalWave46]

15. The concept of freedom of speech is not an opinion.

It is a well understood concept in most political circles and conversations.

Pretty horrifying you think that there is some form of infringement going on because of my post. Laughable, actually.

[Uncle Joe]

18. The First Amendment is totally about opinion, expressing one's conscious whether it be the press

or the individual.

You simply don't have the power to infringe on anyone's First Amendment rights but you trash Bernie and his supporters for expressing their's.

P.S. Freedom of speech is not a "concept" it's an American Right.

[LanternWaste]

27. So free speech versus free speech is a bad thing to you, eh?

So free speech ("trashes someone&quot versus free speech ("exercising their First Amendment Right of free speech&quot is a bad thing to you, eh? Seems your sentiment is inherently flawed by its very nature. Again.

I get it... just as the really rich ain't really rich, some free speech is "part of the problem".

I really dig the situational ethics you adhere to.
I can only guess how convenient that is.

[LongtimeAZDem]

31. +1

[highplainsdem]

3. When did Biden say he would serve only one term? I don't think he's ever said that...though I've

heard that from a lot of Dems who want him to choose a more progressive VP and then step aside after four years instead of running for re-election.

[TidalWave46]

10. He originally hedged when asked the question.

It was a pretty simple question and he would not outright answer it. He didn't say "I have to win the first term, first." He was hedging. More recently he seems to have stopped hedging.

My most sincere apologies if I am wrong on this one.

[cilla4progress]

4. You had me until

you trashed Bernie. I wonder if you've actually been listening to HIM, or only to what others say about him...the caricature.

His is the original and consistent passionate voice for decades on progressive values. Has he made mistakes? Yes. Do I agree with all his positions? No. And young people are inspired by him. What do they see that oldsters don't? He deserves respect and serious consideration as do theothers.

[TidalWave46]

7. I have listened to and read a lot about Sanders.

Are you saying he doesn't espouse populist rhetoric and trash the media? He clearly does both. It is historically one of the most dangerous combinations seen. It was the cornerstone of Trumps campaign.

[cilla4progress]

11. I'm not going to do your Bernie research for you.

Many people around the nation and here on DU disagree with you equating Bernie with drumpf.

If don't see that by now, I'm clearly not going to change your mind.

[TidalWave46]

12. I made no request for you to do anything for me. You replied to me.

And I did not equate Bernie with Trump. I equated two aspects that are front and center in both of their campaigns.

[cilla4progress]

14. From completely different

angles. Is Warren a "populist"?

[TidalWave46]

17. They do not come at that aspect from completely different angles.

They come at it from the same angle. The history is clear. From working to block a pathway to citizenship and claiming it is because of the concern of foreigners and visa's to wanting to go all in on Trump like tarrifs. That is then met with absolutely laughable attacks on the media that are a part of a campaign strategy designed to do nothing more than pull angry outsiders into the fold. Then there is his appreciation for failing and oppressive leaders who shit on their own people.

Those two aspects are much more similar than you understand.

[cilla4progress]

20. Please don't presume

to know what I understand.

Bye, now.

[mr_lebowski]

21. A great deal of hyperbole involved in claiming the motivations, or the SEVERITY are anywhere near

Trump's in terms of being evil and scary.

Also, typically in terms of whining about the media, it's Bernie supporters, not the man. But either way 'he' is not bashing the media to NEARLY the extent Trump does. It's not even close. Trump would jail the media if he could for saying mean things about him. Bernie would not. EVER.

Tariffs were generally a Democrat-supported idea (typically because Unions wanted them) for LONG before Trump. They are traditionally something the GOP has been against for 50 years or so at least.

The argument about not being particularly immigrant friendly is the one I'd grant you, although I believe the motivation is entirely different on Bernie's part, and it's also NEVER been a huge 'rallying cry' of his. He's never campaigned on building a fucking WALL, okay?

I have my issues with Bernie, and I LOVE your OP ... but this is kinda bullshit, IMHO.

[TidalWave46]

23. I appreciate your response.

I don't think it is bullshit but you did make a case. Of course Trump is more evil and scary. He actually became President. I do not want that power in anyone's hands that espouses populist rhetoric and trashes the media.

I never stated or insinuated that Sanders wants to build a wall. No clue where that comes from.

[mr_lebowski]

28. I didn't mean to say that you did, I'm using Trumps desire to do so as an example

of how much more extreme his anti-immigrant position is vs. Bernie's.

You did bring up an equivalency between them re: immigrants in your post, or I would not have mentioned it.

To the extent that Bernie has taken positions that could be construed as anti-immigrant over the years, these positions flow directly from his responding to the desires of US Union workers (you know, huge Dem party constituencies) desiring to protect their Jobs. He's also done so in a very low-key way, not making being anti-immigration a prominent part of his platform(s).

Trump is OTOH has totally demagogued the issue, responding to a rabid constituency of outright racists and xenophobes consumed with fear about 'Mexican Voters coming in and voting Democrat (and maybe taking some jobs)' and crying for a giant Wall along our Southern border.

And RE: the Media, there's 'criticizing' it ... and then there's calling it 'an Enemy of the People' and whining about changing libel laws in order to silence it.

It's kinda a cheap-shot to equivocate Bernie and Trump in this regard as you've done.

Again, JHMO.

[TidalWave46]

25. Sanders is one hundred percent outlining the media as an enemy of the people.

And a personal enemy of his.

[Act_of_Reparation]

30. This might come as a shock...

...but the news media in this country is fucking awful.

Or are you going to sit there and tell me chuckleheads like Chuck Todd, peddling this absurdist "both sides do it" horseshit, aren't part of the reason we are where we are today?

[mr_lebowski]

29. Agreed (except some Bernie supporters have pulled/said some lame shit), and welcome to DU!

[Mike 03]

6. Thanks for this great post.

A lot to think about. We can be extremely proud of just about every one of our candidates. They are not going away just because they are not the nominee. They have, and will do, very important work in the future. Many of them are, to use your phrase, "rock stars." We are all enriched by their participation in this process. I'm grateful so many incredible people ran and are running.

[BannonsLiver]

16. Terrific OP, especially the part about Bernie

Spot on.

[BootinUp]

19. Great post. Nt

[Demsrule86]

24. Yes you always have spoken highly of all candidates...I felt ashamed after I posted some articles

about Kamala Harris after the first debate and vowed not to do it again...I mostly discuss electability which is very important to me.

[TidalWave46]

26. I really do try. Sometimes I fail.

I simply have a lot of respect for them. Well, except for one or two. Don't mind being clear about that, either.

[Demsrule86]

32. I respect them also...and try to post things that if that candidate was in the general could the

orange monster use it against them? If the answer is yes...I hit delete.