pacino wrote:Biden's run would essentially be about identity and bereft of any policy aims or appeal.

Maybe true. But it would also be about attempting to heal a fractured country with empathy and kindness and dignity. That kind of nonsense still matters to me

Squire wrote:Tim Ryan, Representative from Ohio announces he is running for President.

rim tyin’

Elizabeth Warren, bereft of substance

Ah yes, Joe Biden’s role in the Anita Hill testimony, the rise of for-profit prisons, and scaling back of bankruptcy protections really gives me confidence in his ability to infuse his restoration of the nation with empathy, kindness, and dignity.

pacino wrote:Biden's run would essentially be about identity and bereft of any policy aims or appeal.

There is plenty of appeal in beating Trump in WI, MI, and PA and I am convinced that Biden is the only candidate who can pull that off. This is all about keeping RBG's seat in liberal hands.

NEVER lose sight of that!

I have my preferences concerning policy, but, somewhat like Trent, that will take a back seat to me. I will be watching the electability polls, and will vote to the top of that. Only if there's no real difference will I revert to policy to select my primary candidate.

there are different ideas around electability

pacino wrote:there are different ideas around electability

Dunno...Election Night 2016 and Trump's consistent approval rating are harsh reality checks imo.

06hawkalum wrote:

pacino wrote:there are different ideas around electability

Dunno...Election Night 2016 and Trump's consistent approval rating are harsh reality checks imo.

If you were on the other end of the political spectrum, this line of thinking would’ve kept you away from Trump in the 2016 primary and then who knows what would’ve happened in the general.

I hate it when voters act like pundits. Vote for whose vision you believe in and who you think would be the most effective in the role. If someone isn’t electable, they won’t get elected in the primary.

TenuredVulture wrote:Second, there's a perception among some on the left that going hard right hasn't hurt the Republicans at all, and in fact may be helping them. People like AOC, for all her faults, seem to be bringing an energy that most see as necessary. They reject the centrism and old fashioned style of compromise championed by people like Biden and Schumer (and to be honest, HRC).

This, as I'm, sure you are aware, is what's called a race to the bottom.

To the extent the Republicans going hard right has "succeeded" it has done so only based upon ignorance, fear, hatred, division, suppressions of rights and undoing whatever good we, the people, have done collectively with our government.

If we as Democrats adopt some sort of fundamentalist, intolerant, ideologically pure strategy and tactics as the progressive/liberal version of the Tea Party whether in form, substance or both we will, as the old saying goes, most assuredly get the government we deserve.

Gimpy wrote:If someone isn’t electable, they won’t get elected in the primary.

You are too smart to believe this.

JFLNYC wrote:

Gimpy wrote:If someone isn’t electable, they won’t get elected in the primary.

You are too smart to believe this.

Lol...yep, Christine O'Donnell says "hold my beer."

06hawkalum wrote:

JFLNYC wrote:

Gimpy wrote:If someone isn’t electable, they won’t get elected in the primary.

You are too smart to believe this.

Lol...yep, Christine O'Donnell says "hold my beer."

I agree with gimpy. And there are sound reasons for doing so. To be sure, sometimes primary vogers get it wrong, but oundits have a much worse track record. Voters figured out Obama was electable before pundits caught on.

JFLNYC wrote:It looks to me as if he bent down, whispered something nice to a colleague’s daughter and then gave her a peck on the head. The girl even thanked him. If you want to see monsters under the bed I can’t stop you but, honestly, people’s reactions (“young girls,” “creepy Uncle Joe” trope) to all this stuff says more about them than it does about Biden.

I could be totally wrong about it and I would vote for him because he's never been accused of anything really indecent, but my comments in no way indicate I am uncomfortable with, disapprove of, or dislike physical attention. Like you, I am very affectionate and I seek that out in others. If there was some random person holding a "hug me" sign on the street, I would be the first person to run over and hug him/her.

At the very least, he's on the far end of the spectrum when it comes to touching and kissing. Maybe/probably it's totally innocent, but it is actually pretty unusual at this degree, even in his age group. There are lots of reasons people are like that, some good some bad, and I don't think any of us know which one it is. But like I said, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt when he has no complaints of groping or whatever. I do think, however, that a few of the videos are a bit creepy without the context of knowing he has no history of complaints..

Sarah Sanders slams Democrats on Fox & Friends: “I think they’re a sad excuse for a political party"

If only there was a press secretary who spent time conveying information about the government.

I think that there are too many new, qualified, good, electable candidates running to waste time on Bernie and Joe. Running Bernie and Joe out there would also promote the "it's their turn" narrative that was part of the perceived problem with Hil's campaign.

Give me Warren\Pete ticket, please and dispense with the old, white guys who have already been part of the establishment for decades.

Bernie and Biden really aren't of the same cloth.

I like Mayor Pete. A VP role would be a good training ground for him to experience the political machine, but I do worry that it will catch him in its gearing and grind him into dust. Say what you will about the ineffective system, there is little changing it quickly or easily.