Democratic Party Presidential Candidates for 2020

[Cristalle]

I don't see how anyone can make that claim. Biden has his faults like anyone, and is definitely prone to self-inflicted wounds, but he's a genuinely good person who cares about this country and has served it well. Trump is a fucking monster and absolute human garbage. There is no way Biden would not be exponentially better.

This is only true regarding civil rights. If he's just as beholden to the Military Industrial Complex and billionaires, we'll get a better version of Trump before his 1st term is over.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

I don't see how anyone can make that claim. Biden has his faults like anyone, and is definitely prone to self-inflicted wounds, but he's a genuinely good person who cares about this country and has served it well. Trump is a fucking monster and absolute human garbage. There is no way Biden would not be exponentially better.

I don't disagree with you here. He is miles away from Trump, character-wise. But his flaws make me seriously question his suitability to lead this country, particularly in the shape it's in right now. He may mean well, but I really don't feel he can relate to the bottom 98 percent.

 

[Eunoli]

This is only true regarding civil rights. If he's just as beholden to the Military Industrial Complex and billionaires, we'll get a better version of Trump before his 1st term is over.

He has lots of flaws, not the least of them being foot-in-mouth syndrome. But, he's not and never will be a Trump. None of these candidates will be. There's not a single one of them that I would worry about the rule of law and the future of democracy with. We can't lose sight of the fact that if Trump wins (and considering how we're doing little to stop foreign powers from helping him, that's a good probability), that may be the last free election we ever have. Trump has been openly talking about a third term or extending his second. He doesn't follow norms and he doesn't follow laws.

 

[Eunoli]

Personally, I more and more want to see a Warren/Bennett ticket in either direction - though I am still concerned with how Trump is going behave with any woman running this time and how naturally sexist our country can be at times. I had high hopes for Corey Booker - the man is a damn hero and he's been willing to go as far as hunger strikes to stand up for what he believes. But, for some reason he's not breaking out of the pack so far.

 

[NyteWytch]

But, he's not and never will be a Trump. None of these candidates will be. There's not a single one of them that I would worry about the rule of law and the future of democracy with.

With his wishy washy views...how can you not? He's stated multiple times because of his religion that he is not pro-choice and demonstrated that by changing his answer many times. He was responsible for those that did Anita Hill dirty. So me personally, no thanks he is very trump-lite. He does many of the shenanigans, posturing and creep-o-tastic moves. Yes I certainly understand the need and want to oust fuckface. I honestly do not feel Biden is the answer in any way shape or form. And by people already showing him support is troubling *to me* as I feel there are much better candidates than to try to win with *old* establishment. Biden should be berated and kicked to the curb.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Biden is not our only hope, and I really resent the assumption -- this early in the race -- that it is in the best interests of the country that we elect Biden as the Dem candidate. No, just no. Biden has a history of self-sabotage, and I could easily see him losing to Trump due to a series gaffes on the campaign trail.

Meanwhile, Warren has pulled ahead of Sanders in the polls.

 

[Zaida Gearbox]

I'd think about voting for Warren. I think most people don't care about the "Pocohantas" thing that I'm sure Trump will beat into the ground. I never saw what the big deal was - lots of people have family lore that doesn't hold up upon closer inspection.

 

[Eunoli]

To be clear - I'm not saying Biden is our only hope. I'm just saying that if it goes to him, he's a HELL of a lot better than Trump, not some close comparison.

Trump scares me, so much. I am somewhat terrified that the same people who peeled off to vote for him instead of Hilary due to all the Russian efforts will peel off and vote for him again due to their next efforts.

Biden is no angel, but he's also not as bad as he's being portrayed by those who want to knock him out. I'm ok with people growing and changing with the times. I care about what happens next more than the past right now. I am heartened that others are doing well in polling against Trump. But, if it comes down to him, I'm on board. My biggest concern with him is he has /always/ had a tendency to stick his foot deeply into his mouth. He did it as VP, too.

I think we have better options in Warren, Bennett and Booker - though even though she's been my favorite for years, I still worry about Warren's winnability. I used to like Harris, but she's said things about what she would do right away with her presidential powers that make me balk. It isn't that I don't agree with her views, its that I think its far past time to have presidents acting unilaterally and for us to go back to working through Congress for our laws.

 

[Pamela]

I don't see how anyone can make that claim. Biden has his faults like anyone, and is definitely prone to self-inflicted wounds, but he's a genuinely good person who cares about this country and has served it well. Trump is a fucking monster and absolute human garbage. There is no way Biden would not be exponentially better.

This, a thousand times, and exponentially is the right word. Trump is among those worldwide whose aim is to destroy democracy and dismantle government. He, McConnell and most R’s are supremely evil, driven by greed. Biden is nothing like that.

On top of that, it will be the non voters, minorities, millennials, and independents who choose. Whoever they want, I want.

This is what Obama meant not long ago when he warned not to let the good become the enemy of the perfect.

Anybody but Trump.

 

[Cristalle]

He has lots of flaws, not the least of them being foot-in-mouth syndrome. But, he's not and never will be a Trump. None of these candidates will be. There's not a single one of them that I would worry about the rule of law and the future of democracy with. We can't lose sight of the fact that if Trump wins (and considering how we're doing little to stop foreign powers from helping him, that's a good probability), that may be the last free election we ever have. Trump has been openly talking about a third term or extending his second. He doesn't follow norms and he doesn't follow laws.

You are not addressing my point. Biden will not address the conditions that brought us Trump. Any one of these candidates is better than Trump, that's true. However, if the Democrats do not put forth a candidate that will get to the underlying reasons why we have Trump to begin with, whether it is Biden, Buttigieg, O'Rourke, Harris, Hickenlooper, Delaney, etc. we will find another demagogue who will be even better than Trump not long after Trump is gone, if Trump happens to lose. Or Trump will win again. Remember: he ran to Hillary's left on a number of issues in the Rust Belt. That is the part of the country that is going to decide this race. You have to have a candidate that gets real with these people and advocates positions that will materially make their lives better. Civil Rights is not that issue except for a significant minority. People can blame racism all they want, and racism is a factor, but the overall economic malaise of this region is why we have Trump.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

I know Biden might be better than Trump, but... his attitudes to women, the poor [ie, most of the population], people of colour, women.... look, he can't genuinely care about this country if he's going to screw over most of the population. And because he's got a better face for it, he's likely more dangerous, because he'll be able to keep helping those wealthy donors rob the rest of us; help prevent any sort of medical reform at all; be 'civil' to racists; support denying women the right over our own bodies; etc. ad nauseum.

I just really hope he does not get the nomination at this point because unlike with HRC [whom I respect and didn't have an issue voting for, even though I supported Sanders], I don't have any reason to vote for him outside of 'He's not Twitler'. But he's more likely to get cooperation to continue turning this country into a cyberpunk future, too.

 

[Kara Spengler]

No comment.

Joe Biden Promises Rich Donors He Won't 'Demonize' The Wealthy If Elected President

"No one’s standard of living will change, nothing would fundamentally change,” the former vice president said at a New York fundraiser on Tuesday.

www.huffpost.com

Then he wonders why progressives just laugh if someone suggests they support him in the primaries.

 

[Kara Spengler]

This is exactly what I expected him to be: the middle class Joe candidates of the establishment. Didn't took him long to drop his facade!

Yeah, Biden is the old shmoozing style of a politician that you could have a beer with. The fact is, he and the DNC have yet to realized people do not WANT that anymore.

 

[Kara Spengler]

I'd think about voting for Warren. I think most people don't care about the "Pocohantas" thing that I'm sure Trump will beat into the ground. I never saw what the big deal was - lots of people have family lore that doesn't hold up upon closer inspection.

If Warren wanted to show him up (not that his supporters would care) she would ask donnie to tell the story of Pocahontas and for her reply pass the mic to pretty much ANY first nations person.

Spoiler alert: that story was sanitized for the colonists' protection.

 

[Han Held]

Yeah, Biden is the old shmoozing style of a politician that you could have a beer with. The fact is, he and the DNC have yet to realized people do not WANT that anymore.

I doubt the DNC gives a fuck, to be quite honest. They figure people will take what they're given "because trump"

 

[Jolene Benoir]

It's going to be decided in the primaries. I personally am leaning very heavily toward Warren. I do have some hesitations though they have absolutely nothing to do with her quailfications nor her platform. We can argue all day about how/why Clinton was selected and how/why she lost, but I do believe that misogyny played a large role in addition to the usual litany of reasons that she lost. I saw the depth of the misogyny in the last presidential election and it sure hasn't gone anywhere.

Whomever takes the primary will be getting my vote, regardless. I will not be one of those who says, "He/she isn't going to satisfy my every political fantasy so I'll abstain or vote third party or write in someone who has no chance to win. I'm with Eunoli here in terms of Biden. Trump is apparently already confident enough that he can steal this election like he did the last that he is speaking of a third term. This should terrify everyone.

I'm unfortunately already fairly resigned to the fact that he indeed will be successful at stealing it again. He openly stated, again, that he's more than willing to take foreign assistance (mind you a FEC chairman already has said that is illegal, but Trump does not care about that, nor do any other Republicans). As far as I'm concerned we experienced a soft coup in 2016, committed by the likes of the Mercer family and Cambridge Analytica. Trump was the beneficiary of it and did his own traitorous part to get there, with help from Russia of course, but the same people who helped him last time are doing it again. Now, they are just cementing their stranglehold on our democracy.

They have made efforts to ensure that this election will be anything but fair and free. I will do my part. I will help others do their part, but my faith in the process and faith in my fellow electorate is going on nil.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Apparently we need a rubberstamp disclaimer at the top of every single fucking post in this thread that says: Yes, if Biden is the Democratic nominee, I will vote for him. Until that time, I wish to debate his qualifications for that nomination in a more meaningful way than "He's better than Trump".

So this happened….

What Joe Biden said (of a viciously racist Senator): "I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland. He never called me boy, he always called me son."

What Joe meant: "I can work with anyone, even someone I disagree with, to get things done."

What I heard: "Back in the day, the Senate was a great Old Boys Club, and I was really good at getting things done. Of course they respected me, because I was a white guy. And I've never given much thought to how they would have treated me if I was black instead, because it just wasn't relevant to me back then. Can we have those days back?"

Then this happened....

What Joe Biden said (of a black man): "Apologize for what? Cory should apologize to me."

What Joe meant: "I'm right. Back off."

What I heard: "Sit down and stop interrupting me when I'm Whitesplaining racism to you, a black man."

How the fuck does someone work so closely with one of THE most prominent black men of our century and not learn from that? Beats the hell out of me.

 

[Eunoli]

Biden used to say really stupid things back when he was VP, too. Its just that the Obama administration would smooth them over. While I still believe he has good intentions, he is displaying over and over that he's tone deaf and doesn't have the communications and/or social skills necessary for these times. He was a hundred percent behind all the great things the Obama administration did to pull us forward. The problem is that he is literally awful at getting his points across and comes across as "racist grandpa" at times like this. It doesn't matter so much that he's not. To voters who are listening, he is.

I'm not hoping Biden wins the primary. I'm just saying that if he does, I'll be donating and volunteering as much as I can - just like any other candidate. I /DO/ hope we choose someone electable and I would /LOVE/ for someone who can work both sides of the aisle and not be unwilling to talk to anyone not 'on our side'. We need someone strong and smart enough to put an end to this stagnation and hate in DC. I think that Warren, Booker and Bennett are all people who could work toward healing the divide.

One thing that no one here has been paying a lot of attention to is the platform. It is going to be /radically/ different this election, no matter who gets chosen as candidate. With Warren and Sanders as top runners, we can expect to see consumer rights and income equality rising to the top. If the Dems are smart, they will showcase the hell out of these issues that are tearing the US apart and sending us hurtling toward Banana Republicism.

This election being about who cares about the bottom 90% is pretty much the only hope I see of getting around the oncoming Russian (and all the others that are getting what they want from Trump) interference. It is almost a 100% guarantee that by November 2020, there will be shouts of "Lock them up!" about whoever the Dem candidate is - and an accompanying made-up scandal being pushed by bots and other means. That or there's a secret cadre of CIA and FBI agents who are going to save us and keep the election fair without recognition and in the face of an ungrateful nation - and I somehow doubt that's the case.

 

[Eunoli]

Apparently we need a rubberstamp disclaimer at the top of every single fucking post in this thread that says: Yes, if Biden is the Democratic nominee, I will vote for him. Until that time, I wish to debate his qualifications for that nomination in a more meaningful way than "He's better than Trump".

Beebo, my apologies if you thought I was diminishing yours or other arguments. It is when I see posts that say "XYZ is the same as Trump" that I panic - because that's how he wins again. I do very much see that being a message that the Russians and others will be pushing out over social media in the next many months. You haven't done that.

 

[Cristalle]

This out of touch relic needs to go tf home to his family and leave people who care about the future to clean this shit up.