The top three are white old men?

[question everything]

I still remember being envious of the Republican "clown car" in 2016 with so many in their 40s and 50s and 60s. I think that Trump was the oldest.

What happened to us? Why do the young support an old curmudgeonly candidate with no sense of empathy?

We know that during the Obama terms we lost about 1000 state and county offices. Was it his fault? Did he try to campaign on behalf of any? Or, possibly, tried and politely was told to stay away?

If we lose in November, I would say 50-50, it will be on Perez's head.

First, for allowing Sanders to be on the ballot without demanding that he change his registration. Will he, if the nominee? And if elected, will he, then, change back to Ind.?

Second, for allowing Sanders to dictate rules for the Convention and for the Iowa Caucuses that were part of the fiasco.

Third, for setting the debate rules that favored flamboyant candidates who excited the Social Media with unrealistic promises while leaving stable, centrists governors with solid track records.

[still_one]

1. That is really sad, but true

[Autumn]

2. I will never understand why one of the best candidates, Kamala Harris, could not get

traction.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

6. I would imagine she will get serious VP consideration.

I hope so, anyway.

[2naSalit]

35. Not the same.

[Botany]

3. If Bernie is the nominee we could lose @ least 45 states

This is insanity.

[CalFione]

5. To paraphrase Lindsey Graham's famous quote from 2016....

...

"If we nominate Bernie Sanders we will get destroyed... and we will deserve it."

[Cuthbert Allgood]

9. So I'm confused. Because I read that as being pro Sanders.

But I don't think that's what you're going for.

[CalFione]

12. Graham's quote had "Trump" instead of "Sanders" in it.

I was paraphrasing him from our perspective about Sanders.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

16. Yeah I get that. And Trump won.

So you're saying that Sanders will win?

[CalFione]

20. I'm saying he will destroy the Democratic party.

[Sloumeau]

18. I think what CalFione is saying is as follows:

1. If we nominate Sanders, Trump will beat Sanders badly.
2. It will be the fault of us Democrats because we nominated him.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

22. Probably not the best source quote to riff on then.

Since that wasn't the outcome with the original.

[katmondoo]

7. That is what I am afraid of.

[Lordquinton]

47. Based on no facts whatsoever

In fact, in spite of facts you claim this?

[Botany]

48. Bernie is on record for banning hydro-fracking for natural gas

Now, I agree it is dirty, pollutes ground water, the gas when burned is a greenhouse gas producer,
and we should get away from carbon based fossil fuels but 10s of thousand of jobs are based on the
production of that gas, its distribution, and its use to produce electricity. Now would Bernie carry OH,
WV, MD, + PA with a platform of vote for me and I will take your job?

[apcalc]

4. What the MSM wants, what they promote.

[yaesu]

8. everything will be alright. nt

[HopeAgain]

10. This what I don't understand

Everybody on here saying Sanders should not be allowed to run as a Democrat. Would you rather he ran as an independent? How would that work out in the General? Sanders has been consistent on his position on the left. He's as entitled to run for President like everyone else.

Nobody is really mad that Sanders is running as a Democrat, they are made because someone has the audacity to run from the left of all the moderates.

[question everything]

23. No, Sanders should not be allowed to run as an Independent in the Democratic primaries

and caucuses. Which is what he has been doing, in 2016 and now.

I will have no problem if he changed his registration to Democrat. After all he has been doing this in every Senatorial primary in Vermont.

Well, I will still have problem with his ideas and attitude but it will be about a Democrat.

He is not running as a Democrat. Some networks put a (D) behind his name, which really bugs me. Others put the (I).

[HopeAgain]

24. If he doesn't run as a Democrat he goes to the GE against Trump and a Democrat

What you people are saying is that it is either tow standard party lines or get out of the way. That is not a convincing argument in favor of the two party system.

[question everything]

26. Yes, he should run as a Democrat. But he should change his registration to one

[HopeAgain]

28. Maybe it's just intellectual honesty

And this compromise is the best that is available.

[2naSalit]

37. Nope.

Please refrain from telling me what I think.

He is NOT a democrat so why is he running in our party's primaries? SO that he can get on the ballot on our dime so to speak. He's a freeloader and a spoiler. I am not looking forward to any progress in his campaign.

[Sloumeau]

11. I don't know how much of the blame we can lay at the feet of Perez.

It seems like every 16 or 32 years, a number of young Democrats convince themselves that the solution that the Democrats need is to run some Left Wing/Progressive/Liberal Presidential candidate because they are sure that the real problem is that those Moderate Democratic candidates are just too much like the Republicans. Then, inevitably, the Democratic candidate gets slaughtered, and those people keep mostly keep quiet for another 16 or 32 years until another group of young Democrats makes the same mistake.

Do you ever feel like you are watching a train wreck in slow motion?

[question everything]

29. Yes. And on occasions I am glad that I am old enough (but still younger than the three)

to not fully live the results of such a train wreck.

Several years ago a professor of political sciences showed how until the mid 70s, I think, political ideas and politicians were on a traditional Bell curve. Most were in the wide ranging middle with fringe groups on both sides. And then we became a two peaks curve. Very few in the middle, most are on the sides.

More, elected officials used to live in D.C. and would socialize with opposing representatives. Al Franken worked hard to establish friendly relations with Republican senators, even would sit next to one during the State of the Union address. Heck, Mrs. Sessions knitted a baby garment when Franken had his first grandchild. (This was before Franken, of course, caused Sessions to recuse himself about Russia..)

Not anymore. The Obamas never moved to D.C. until 2008, of course. So when you sleep in your office, or share an apartment with three others and on Thursday catch the first flight, or train, home, you will never see the opposition as real human beings.

[apcalc]

13. Hillary scared the shit out of the MSM. AND THEY DID WHAT THEY COULD TO PROMOTE Trump.

Dontcha get it....old white men is their comfort zone. That is the STATUS QUO.

[stopdiggin]

31. that's a real stretch

HRC was widely seem as "stiff" and "not approachable" -- and the media has certainly always been willing to ride (and promote) a horse race. But -- asserting that the Hillary "scared the sh**" out of the media? No -- try to remember how it really went down -- a lot of them were pretty confident that she would win -- and plain giddy at the thought of a "first" in a female president. Scared? Don't think so.

[apcalc]

39. Media bias...she was not stiff and unapproachable....not by a long shot...needs to smile more...

Shrill

Total
Bull

[stopdiggin]

40. agreed. no, she wasn't. she just wasn't Bill.

And .. with all the acknowledged bias .. most of the media wanted her to win. Badly.

[Dem2]

14. Americans are petrified of having an insecure narcissist in the WH another 4 years

They believe the old formula involving an older white man is the safest way to prevent an all out disaster in this country.

This analysis that we've probably all heard by now has a ring of truth to it I think.

[evertonfc]

15. agree

Sanders has hijacked our party. Hes unelectable as well.

[Baked Potato]

17. Agreed. There is a desperation to get rid of Trump.

This desperation is causing a turmoil in the process. But, I think it will work out for Democrats.

[lonely bird]

19. Why is this surprising?

It shouldn’t be. This country is provincial and xenophobic. In addition, it is conservative. Not conservative as the psychotic Republican Party but conservative as in afraid of change. In particular, wealth is afraid of change so change that is dramatic happens extremely slowly.

[whathehell]

30. Not everyone here sees the country

in such negative terms.

[lonely bird]

43. I understand

You are certainly entitled to your opinion.🙂

That being said we have an electoral system that rewarded the provincial xenophobia and we are far behind other countries in the west in terms of electing women/persons of color.

[whathehell]

44. I'm not sure you do.

"The United States is "far behind other weestern countries in electing women and persons of color"

Huh?

Women, yes, what "other western countries" have elected a person of color to their highest office, as we did with President Obama?

[lonely bird]

45. I put women and persons of color together as they are underrepresented.

I certainly get that they are not the same. But the point remains. One person of color and a resulting backlash for which we are paying and no women.

So, yeah, I do understand.

I understand that 40% of the electorate couldn’t be fucking bothered to vote. I understand that the system established by the constitution is designed to give more weight to regional, reactionary, xenophobic states.

I understand that whoever (whomever, I cannot get that right) is nominated had better be ready to get in the sewer with Trump because that is where he will be.

This is bloody warfare with nothing less than the future at stake. I understand that I don’t give a shit who the nominee is (to a point) as long as they get elected and Trump is ground into the sewage where he belongs. I would prefer a woman but I will take a three-legged hermaphrodite if said candidate wins.

[whathehell]

46. Then I'm afraid you're making an egregious error of fact.

Both may be "under-represented", but they're obviously not the same and you can't conflate them and their histories just to fit your narrative. That's what's called "making up.your own facts" and none of us gets to do that.

However you choose to view it, fact is, America is the only western nation to elect a Person of Color to it's highest office. Period, full stop.

[msongs]

21. the not-white men (and women) chose to quit. they coulda stayed in but didnt nt

[question everything]

25. Agree. Or, they should have changed their campaigns

Instead of spending a lot of time in, say, Iowa, or NH, or Nevada, they should have just traveled to Super Tuesday states from, say, Maine to Texas with stopovers at Minnesota, and Utah and Colorado. Just stay in the airport. The media would be there and it would not cost more than a price of a ticket.

[whathehell]

32. That is correct. n/t

[MFM008]

27. Old white mens egos

OWME

[ismnotwasm]

33. Yeah I am really, really disappointed

[Act_of_Reparation]

34. I was just told we can't have purity tests.

[Blue_Tires]

36. There should be a rule that says

you can't parrot that old moldy "Obama lost us 1000 seats!" trope without immediately mentioning that we've since taken almost 800 of them back.

[question everything]

41. Thanks, I did not know. And I hope that we are not in danger of losimg some

if we have a self described "socialist" at the top of the ticket.

[Ace Rothstein]

38. Too much of our leadership (Senate and House) are older people.

Need some younger blood in leadership positions so the masses become more familiar with them.

[totodeinhere]

42. Mayor Pete exceeded expectations in both Iowa and New Hampshire.

And he is young. Yes he is white but at least he is young if you are looking for a younger candidate to vote for. And Amy is both young and a woman, so you can also vote for her.

[Autumn]

49. Why did so few Dems support younger POC who were in the race? Solid Dems

like Harris, Castor, Booker and Yang? Even here, where the battle cry has been "no more old white men" as soon as Biden jumped in they flocked to him and the others never gained traction. Biden has slipped and now it's on to Bloomberg.

[question everything]

50. Goes back to the DNC. The above mentioned did not qualify for the debates

because to qualify one had to be flamboyant, to come with all those freebies idea that gained traction on "Social Media" without bothering to explain the details.

The ones who wanted a steady plan to return the ship of state to a stable position were ignored, drowned in the hyper.

Granted, I did not follow Castro, but I thought that Booker and Harris could not find their footings. Harris was first for Medicare for all, then was not.

I really liked Booker appearance during the 2016 Convention, was ready to support him but somehow he could not expand his appeal.

[Autumn]

51. Pete's not flamboyant, he hasn't promised those so called "freebies" and he has traction and

more support here than any of them ever had.

[question everything]

52. Because he is different.

A Rhode scholar, a vet and yes gay. We, Democrats, like to show our affinity to ones who are not the basic straight white man. This is why we chose a Black candidate and later a woman. (Am I putting myself in a line of fire?)

But I wanted to add that when I first expressed my support for Booker, before he declared, a friend expressed their uncertainty about his sexuality, not being married that may hinder his candidacy.

If nothing else, these primaries showed the world that a gay man, perhaps some day a gay woman, cen compete effectively.