The Name You Don't See on the First Four Primary Ballots

[MineralMan]

is going to be on all the rest. It will be interesting to see if all those ad buys put that name in the headlines on March 4.

I'm guessing they will do that. But, we'll see.

[AmericanGraffiti]

1. It will be a big mistake

if our party nominates Bloomberg.

Let's hope he isn't able to buy the nomination!

[MineralMan]

3. Yes, some people feel that way.

I'm not so sure, though.

I'm very sure that Bernie Sanders isn't going to like it, though.

[pandr32]

4. You didn't say why.

I am interested in hearing your opinion.

[PatSeg]

6. I agree

It would undercut everything Democrats are suppose to stand for. I'm all for him spending a fortune to bring down Trump, but buying a presidency shouldn't be what we are about.

Welcome to DU!

[jimfields33]

12. +1

[Demsrule86]

13. I am voting for Biden through Super Tuesday and beyond if he starts winning as I think may

happen, but if it doesn't and it's between Sanders and Bloomberg...I will vote Bloomberg. He can beat Trump. Sanders won't.

[Thekaspervote]

14. Right there with ya!!

[PatSeg]

18. I have to agree with you

I'm not thrilled with the idea of Bloomberg as our nominee, but I have no doubt he can beat Trump. Don't feel that confidence with Sanders.

[madibella]

20. This is where I am too. But, Let's Go Joe!

[Demsrule86]

26. Yes, we can still win the primary with Joe and the general too... more importantly.

[AmericanGraffiti]

15. +1000

And thanks for the welcome!

[PatSeg]

19. You're welcome!

A lot of newbies lately. I wonder sometimes how they find us. Before Twitter, DU was a lot bigger presence on the Internet. I really don't care for Twitter, so I come back here for political discussions, much more civilized and informative.

[Celerity]

30. Twitter and Facebook are sewers when it comes to politics. nt

[PatSeg]

32. Very unhealthy

and not very productive. I belong to a few private political groups on Facebook and things stay civil. There aren't real discussions there like DU though. I only go to Twitter when someone posts a Tweet that I want to read, but the comments are a nightmare. I can't imagine what people get out of that. I'm too exhausted to battle trolls and bots.

[Celerity]

33. Twitter trolls rely on the MSM picking up the spewage and running with it

It also is used to keep the radical bases on all the sides (MAGATs, fundie Xian haters, and White Nationalists most definitely included) in the same mind-bubble, as is Facebook. They get fed the same self-reinforcing agitprop over and over.

I was 6 when Friendster was founded in 2002, 7 when Myspace launched in 2003, I had just turned 8 a few weeks before Facebook launched in February 2004 (it was called TheFacebook back then, until late 2005 when it went to just Facebook, and opened up to all people, not just uni students, on September 26, 2006.) I was 9 when the first YouTube video went up in April 2005, 10 when the first Tweet was sent in March 2006, and 14 when Instagram launched in October 2010.

That personal history laid out, you can see most of my truly cognitive life has been in the age of social media, but I know more than enough older (than me) people in real life and online that I can see and understand what life was before the rise of it. I have had innumerable conversations about this very thing over the years. Bottum line, I do not find it to have had a net positive effect overall, but I am not foolish enough to think that the genie can be placed back into the bottle. I simply choose to not take part in most of it, other than I do love YouTube for its music videos and SOME of its news, informational, and political videos. I detest FB, and deleted my account after a few months, back over 10 years ago now.

[PatSeg]

35. It is so disappointing

that the MSM reports tweets as if it is actual news, though now that we have a tweeter-in-chief, I suppose it is inevitable.

There are so many positive things to be gained from the Internet and the availability of so much knowledge, but for many it is just a mindless addiction. Meanwhile, education in this country is devolving rapidly, but that is a discussion for another time. However, it does sound like you have had the advantage of a good education and have cultivated the ability to use critical thinking.

[First Speaker]

34. If Bloomberg buying the Presidency is the price we have to pay to get rid of Trump...

...then it's the greatest bargain in US history...

[Talitha]

36. "...then it's the greatest bargain in US history..."

Amen to that!

[Fresh_Start]

7. Many of us feel the same about your candidate

for different reasons.

Is it persuading you?

[AmericanGraffiti]

17. Sanders

is a committed progressive who has fought for progressive ideals his entire political career. I think it would be a great accomplish for our party to nominate a progressive in the mold of Franklin Roosevelt once again!

[PatSeg]

21. Franklin Roosevelt

was responsible for a lot of progressive change, but that was often because he was also a pragmatist, not an ideologue. He was a masterful and persuasive politician who knew how to get his programs through congress.

All the great ideas in the world are worthless without the political skills to bring them into reality. That takes compromise and deal making, often the ugly side of government, but a necessary one. Abraham Lincoln was also a master at it.

Actually the progressive voice in the FDR administration often came from his wife Eleanor. They made a great team.

Bernie Sanders has been a powerful voice for progressive change for decades, but he has never demonstrated the political skills to make those changes reality. In Bernie, I see an activist, but not a president. I am grateful that he helped to pull our party back to the left however.

[Fresh_Start]

22. Bernie is no FDR...and today is not 85 years ago

but my question was does other peoples objections to your candidate persuade you?

[pandr32]

2. I agree

It is fascinating at this point because so far this primary contest has been quite a ride.

[MineralMan]

5. 2020 is the last presidential election where those four early states

will be first or matter. I guarantee it. The Iowa debacle accomplished that, if nothing else.

Bloomberg's presence on Super Tuesday will drive the last nail in that coffin.

[Iamaartist]

9. I think I am begining to see the pic I could be wrong..but will remain quite.

Last edited Mon Feb 10, 2020, 08:17 AM - Edit history (1)

[pandr32]

24. I say "good riddance"

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Will he be on the ballot in Minnesota?

I won't be voting for him myself but if he's on the ballot it will be interesting to see how well he does here. I found a Sanders leaflet in my door just now when I went out to dig my Sunday paper out of the snow. The leaflet immediately went into the recycling bin. I won't be voting for him either.

[MineralMan]

10. Yes, he will.

I'll be voting for Biden.

Looks like my wife will vote for Bloomberg, though, if the yard sign she brought home from the opening of his St. Paul campaign office is any evidence. It's sitting behind our living room picture window right now, facing the street. I'll put a Biden yard sign next to it, if one becomes available before the election.

The ground in the yard is frozen, so I can't stick them in the front lawn.

Right now, though, it's time to go shovel and blow the snow away.

[pandr32]

25. Sounds like here!

I have liked Biden since day 1 and so has some in the family, but Bloomberg is looking viable and like he could take on DT. My pledge has been to watch how it plays out and then go all-in on the nominee and really start working. Primaries have become so ugly. It looks like Bloomberg and Biden will net the four votes around this family.

[MineralMan]

27. Many people in the Super Tuesday states are thinking about this.

They're watching the antics in Iowa and New Hampshire, and will watch in Nevada and South Carolina, too. They can change their minds at any time, and that's something the candidates and their campaigns need to think about very carefully. They're in everybody's view, whatever they do.

The voters this year in Super Tuesday states probably don't want to see a bunch of shenanigans from the candidates, their campaigns, or their supporters. What is happening now will affect votes later.

[pandr32]

29. Agreed!

[Cha]

37. Brrrr!

[denem]

11. Biden has opened the door on poison pill ads.

Expect Bloomberg to follow when the time is right.

[ismnotwasm]

16. I figured when I start seeing his ads all over the place

And I mean on TV, YouTube etc., just everywhere. He criticizes Trump and follows the Democratic Party platform on them. Interesting times

[MineralMan]

28. Yes. Bloomberg's ads follow the Democratic Platform right to the letter.

He's attacking nobody but Trump. Meanwhile, we have the rest of the candidates doing other things in New Hampshire, bickering and backstabbing. I don't think that has a strong appeal to Super Tuesday voters. Meanwhile, Bloomberg ads just keep appearing, with new ones showing up regularly. They're playing during network news hours, which are covering the foolishness going on in the earlier primaries. It's not a good look for the rest of the field.

Bloomberg is smart. Very smart. I like that in a presidential candidate, frankly.

[blueinredohio]

23. Money talks and you know the rest.

[Retrograde]

31. Bloomberg? He's on the CA ballot

which went out last week. Remember that voting has already started in several states that aren't in this "first four"!

ETA: I'm not voting for him in the primary, though.