2020 Democratic Primaries/General Election Thread

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Or when they POISONED a city's drinking water and tried to hide it.

Coming from the industry, the city engineer screwed that up. If anyone changes where they are getting their water, you test it with the infrastructure, it is common nearly everywhere else.

[Brian Swartz]

I'm torn on who I want to win, but if push comes to shove it's still Warren. The radical changes she proposes makes her a better candidate than Biden, not worse. It'll expose more people to needed ideas pushing us towards globalization and dealing with climate change, while less will actually get done. A moderate leader is more likely to get milquetoast agenda passed while not actually addressing the more vital issues, and I don't think that's good for anybody.

Oh, and in terms of who wins? The Democratic nominee if they run a remotely competent campaign, or if the economy tanks even if they don't.

[stevew]

If Trump loses we’ll get 4 years of “stolen election” and diarrhea tweets. He’ll probably run again in 2024. Claim unfairness in the primary and go third party. Election to the house and something horrible happens.

Also are we positive he’s not just going to run Ivanka as VP?

[Edward64]

If true, good move for Hillary. Biden-Hillary works for Biden. I am not sure about any other candidate though.

I did say I would prefer Biden with younger VP, but I can live with Hillary.

Is Hillary Clinton angling to become vice president?Â* | TheHill

That is, Clinton and/or her team could be negotiating with former Vice President Joe Biden, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg or the last candidate standing to join the ticket as vice president.
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There is no doubt that the former first lady, New York senator and secretary of State once again is raising her profile and stepping back into the spotlight to reengage in political discussions.
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Biden, still nominally the party’s front-runner, has a list of negative issues to overcome. Clinton could help him erase or mitigate all of them, in one way or another.

Bloomberg, though a former three-term mayor of New York City, is a political neophyte on the national stage and would benefit greatly by having Clinton — and her machine — at his side.

[Jas_lov]

Biden-Hillary works for nobody but Trump. Abrams should be the VP pick for Bernie or Biden.Warren could pick Booker, Castro or Abrams and Pete should pick someone older but not Hillary.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Jas_lov

Biden-Hillary works for nobody but Trump. Abrams should be the VP pick for Bernie or Biden.Warren could pick Booker, Castro or Abrams and Pete should pick someone older but not Hillary.

Yes agree. If I had my choice between Hilary as VP and even a. Moderate republican like Kasich I would go with the later for Biden or Abrams.

[JPhillips]

There is no possibility that happens.

But it got the clicks, so good job The Hill.

[Atocep]

Biden/Hillary would be the guaranteed way to lose an election the Dems should be winning, assuming we still have elections by November.

[Edward64]

Have to wait for the analysis but sounds promising. Also good that he will be participating in the debates. Want to hear more.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/01/bill...5-million.html

Billionaire Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg unveiled a tax plan on Saturday that would unwind corporate tax breaks granted by President Donald Trump and impose an additional 5% “surtax” on incomes above $5 million a year.

According to the campaign, the plan in total would generate roughly $5 trillion and would be sufficient to help fund Bloomberg’s initiatives, including his healthcare plan, education, combating climate change and more than $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
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Bloomberg, like fellow moderate candidate Joe Biden, thinks Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act went too far. Both want to hike the corporate tax rate up to 28%, after Trump lowered it from 35% to 21%. Both want to reverse the Trump tax changes that lowered taxes on high-income households from 39.6%. to 37%. Both propose raising capital gain taxes for high-income taxpayers.
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Bloomberg could take the debate stage for the first time in Nevada later this month. The Democratic National Committee on Friday unveiled new debate rules that dropped the requirement for candidates to obtain a minimum number of campaign contributors, opening a previously closed door for Bloomberg.

He is polling in fourth place in national surveys, earning approximately 8% support.

[Edward64]

I would be happy for workable medicare for all/public option from the next admin and playing offense/defense against China. I also like the idea of disrupting the energy industry to make it more competitive but would prefer subsidizing the private emerging/incubators (e.g. Elon Musk and like).

Bernie thinks big and that is good. Just not sure we need this just yet.

Power to the people: Bernie calls for federal takeover of electricity production - POLITICO

Sen. Bernie Sanders has put nationalizing health insurance at the center of his presidential campaign, but his proposal to fight climate change also calls for a government takeover of a fundamental segment of the economy — electricity production.

Sanders has laid out a $16 trillion climate change plan that would transition U.S. electricity generation away from fossil fuels to renewable resources like wind, solar and hydropower by 2030. That’s far faster than any other Democratic candidate's target and sets a pace that rivals like former Vice President Joe Biden say is unrealistic.
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A Sanders administration would pour funding into the four existing "power marketing administrations" that are overseen by the Energy Department, as well as the Tennessee Valley Authority and one newly created entity, to vastly expand their solar, wind and geothermal power production. Those organizations currently provide power from hydroelectric dams to 33 states, and would be able to sell the increased green energy to local utilities nationwide — creating a sort of "public option" that would compete with the coal, natural gas and nuclear plants owned by privately owned power generators.

[Brian Swartz]

I think Bernie's going in the right direction but with the wrong solution. The future of energy isn't in solar/wind/geothermal, much as I favor using them where possible. It's in fusion, preferably with our current cleanest alternative nuclear fission to bridge the gap with better alternatives such as TerraPower hopefully coming soon. I'm all for whatever needs to happen to ameliorate climate change, but I just think Sanders is backing the wrong horse here.

[GrantDawg]

Entrance polls have Sanders and Mayor Pete nearly tied at the top in Iowa.

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[Edward64]

The CNN coverage with guest pundits is horrible, filling in time with nothingness.

[Edward64]

MSNBC guys seem frustrated at some sort of delay in reporting results. Wonder what's going on.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Edward64

MSNBC guys seem frustrated at some sort of delay in reporting results. Wonder what's going on.

According to Bernie Bros/Russian Bots on reddit (it's tough to tell the difference), Sanders is winning and the DNC and media are trying to figure out a way to cover it up.

[larrymcg421]

Just one more reason to tell Iowa to fuck off with their entitled 1st primary status. If we have to tell New Hampshire to fuck off as well, then all the better.

[Coffee Warlord]

Fox is thoroughly enjoying this fiasco.

[bronconick]

The state Democratic Parties are almost always fuckups and this is why the GOP dominates at that level.

[Edward64]

I guess the new system wasn't tested well enough before moving into Production. Think I'll just read about it in the news tomorrow.

[Young Drachma]

Elena Schneider on Twitter: "On those technical difficulties...

"We are on paper in many cases," not the app, as was planned, said one Iowa Democrat. "The whole system largely broke.""

[Jas_lov]

What a clusterfuck. Iowa needs to go to a primary and lose its 1st in the nation status.

[Coffee Warlord]

Now, I understand that you just can't ever replicate a production environment when testing something.

That said....this ladies and gentlemen, is why you don't skimp on QA.

[RainMaker]

Just vote like normal people you fucking idiots.

[RainMaker]

Also Tom Perez should be forced to retire tomorrow.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Now, I understand that you just can't ever replicate a production environment when testing something.

That said....this ladies and gentlemen, is why you don't skimp on QA.

Voting Machines: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - YouTube

This is a great time to take this all in for our upcoming elections in every state. One large batch of voting machines we never QA'd internally before being shipped and used in our elections. Touch screen machines that offer no paper trail so there's zero way to deal with potential problems. A story about a very small election where one of those machines literally flipped the overall results, and it was only dealt with because the local area was so small that the candidates knew every single voter and got affidavits from them showing that the reported vote total was impossible.

What a time to be alive

[Brian Swartz]

I seriously don't get why everyone's so upset about this. The count's just going to take longer. That's all. So what?

What Radii's talking about is different - a system with no backup is a horrible idea. But I don't see that being the case in Iowa.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I seriously don't get why everyone's so upset about this. The count's just going to take longer. That's all. So what?

What Radii's talking about is different - a system with no backup is a horrible idea. But I don't see that being the case in Iowa.

Oh I don't think its related either. Just a good thing to have awareness of related to voting results, and anyone staying up til this is sorted out has time to kill now

[Coffee Warlord]

No matter what the results eventually show, there's one thing I about guarantee will happen - there's going to be a shit-ton of candidates challenging the results.

[molson]

Buttigieg claims victory, maybe figuring, "why not?"

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by molson

Buttigieg claims victory, maybe figuring, "why not?"

Seems likely he's 1st or 2nd and either way, and that's a victory for him.

[Jon]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Also Tom Perez should be forced to retire tomorrow.

States run these, not the national parties.

We're watching the slow death of the Iowa caucus.

I suspect (1) the problem is math and (2) inconsistencies have always been an issue and they are now deciding to deal with it.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Just vote like normal people you fucking idiots.

This

[GrantDawg]

We don't know who won, but we definitely know the losers. 1) Iowa, who was already on the verge of losing first vote status. They is well dead now. 3) The Democratic party. This is going to be a talking point for a long time. How can you be so stupid as to not have a functioning system when the eyes on the whole world is watching? The DNC needs to clean house.

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[Edward64]

Woke up and still no results. Supposedly sometime today but wouldn't be surprised if its later. Poor Bernie and Pete, but probably good for Biden and Warren.

Russian hacked the app maybe? Whoever developed and tested the app will have a lot of explaining to do.

[Jas_lov]

Bernie and Pete should be livid. One of them probably won and now it will get swept under the State of the Union and impeachment coverage. And the other campaigns can brush off a poor performance and question the cloudy results. Someone needs to be fired for this. What's so hard about counting people?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

We don't know who won, but we definitely know the losers. 1) Iowa, who was already on the verge of losing first vote status. They is well dead now. 3) The Democratic party. This is going to be a talking point for a long time. How can you be so stupid as to not have a functioning system when the eyes on the whole world is watching? The DNC needs to clean house.

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And this is the party running “The Deep State”...

[bob]

Just realized i never actually posted my prediction.

Iowa: Sanders
Primary: Biden
Presidency: Trump

Not my preferred choices, but what I think will happen.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

We don't know who won, but we definitely know the losers. 1) Iowa, who was already on the verge of losing first vote status. They is well dead now. 3) The Democratic party. This is going to be a talking point for a long time. How can you be so stupid as to not have a functioning system when the eyes on the whole world is watching? The DNC needs to clean house.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

What happened to two?

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I seriously don't get why everyone's so upset about this. The count's just going to take longer. That's all. So what?

What Radii's talking about is different - a system with no backup is a horrible idea. But I don't see that being the case in Iowa.

The issue is that Iowa is hardly at all about the delegates (41, a trivial number) and almost entirely about the media narrative it generates. People who have campaigned around that truism and banked on it are going to be absolutely screwed by the lack of media coverage. Most likely it's Pete Buttigieg who gets hurt the most, while the early reports of Biden underperforming hugely means his candidacy gets an inherent boost from the lack of coverage.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

And this is the party running “The Deep State”...

Come debate time, every time the Dem nominee brings up some massive government program and promises the world, Trump will say that they can't even count votes. And that will resonate with people.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

The issue is that Iowa is hardly at all about the delegates (41, a trivial number) and almost entirely about the media narrative it generates. People who have campaigned around that truism and banked on it are going to be absolutely screwed by the lack of media coverage. Most likely it's Pete Buttigieg who gets hurt the most, while the early reports of Biden underperforming hugely means his candidacy gets an inherent boost from the lack of coverage.

Not to mention it makes the party look horribly incompetent. Imagine if the Iowa Democratic Party tried to reach out for money right now.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by molson

Come debate time, every time the Dem nominee brings up some massive government program and promises the world, Trump will say that they can't even count votes. And that will resonate with people.

Nah. By that time we will have lived through a thousand other crises and nobody will quite remember Iowa.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

What happened to two?

The Dem app lost it.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I seriously don't get why everyone's so upset about this. The count's just going to take longer. That's all. So what?

Plus it is 40 delegates out of an eventual 4,000. A movement of 2-3 to/from any candidate from the initial reports isn't going to change things. It is like in a basketball game in the first half when they go to the monitor for 5 minutes to put 2 seconds back on the clock.

[albionmoonlight]

Good long term news is that this might finally be the thing to break the Iowa stronghold.

Bad short term news is that this gives every candidate's supporters an excuse to feel aggrieved.

[molson]

Registered Iowa Democrat stunned to learn Mayor Pete is gay and wants her vote back.

https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreak...m_medium=web2x

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Good long term news is that this might finally be the thing to break the Iowa stronghold.

Bad short term news is that this gives every candidate's supporters an excuse to feel aggrieved.

But how would that happen? Are democrats going to tell Iowa to move their caucus back so they're not first anymore? Are they going to tell another state to go first? What if Iowa doesn't comply?

The way I see it is the only stick the national party has is to not count their delegates like they did with Michigan a few years back. That won't make them very popular in the state.

[Edward64]

I bet the "hanging chad" folks in FL are happy. This will bump them down to second place for the foreseeable future.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by cartman

Plus it is 40 delegates out of an eventual 4,000. A movement of 2-3 to/from any candidate from the initial reports isn't going to change things. It is like in a basketball game in the first half when they go to the monitor for 5 minutes to put 2 seconds back on the clock.

Momentum matters a lot. 538 indicated that a win in Iowa is worth quite a bit. And if it turns out it's as rumored: Sanders-Buttigieg 1-2 and Biden was a distant 4th, then the race would be completely changed... if there wasn't this snafu. Now Biden can claim Iowa was screwed up so no one look at it and Buttigieg is denied a bump (esp after he claimed victory and it seems like Sanders may actually be the winner).

[molson]

I wonder if Bloomberg gets a bump if Iowa is seen as basically not counting. Not just with the delay, but with the multitude of ways the results could be interpreted when and if they're released. New Hampshire and South Carolina seem like races for 2nd, Nevada is small, then there's Super Tuesday which Bloomberg is all-in on.