If you can’t decide whether to prefer Julian or Joaquin, it really doesn’t say much about their individual appeal. We can’t put them forward as an either/or - if one can’t rise above his own brother and stand out, he ain’t gonna rise above other candidates in either the primary or the general.
Because liberals don’t want a left-wing version of FoxNews? It was a stupid idea.
That’s what we’ve got now, except the current guy isn’t very funny. Remember that Trump spent his entire campaign talking about how crap America was and mocking vast swathes of the population, including doing so on Russian media.
How does one appeal to the wilfully uninformed without simply pandering to their prejudices? And how does one pander to their prejudices without running a negative and unconstructive campaign?
I like Al and it’s easy to overlook the fact that he’s actually a very hardworking politician who does his research and does try to do his best for both his constituents and the country. I wouldn’t mind him as President but he doesn’t seem to want the job and he’s doing good work where he is. I’d rather have him in a Senate leadership role at some point than in the WH. Plus, you know, he’s getting old.
The problem is that I’m not seeing anyone I do want as President (well, maybe Elizabeth Warren, and the age issue continues to be a problem there too).
He’s the only Democratic governor in a red state and his policies look reasonably attractive to a Trump voter, it’s all “Montana first” / “blue collar worker” specific.
The Wikipedia article also says that he’s the 4th most popular governor in the country, and the three above him are Republicans, so that makes him the most popular Democratic governor in the country.
It was turnout that won the recent Virginia elections, not reaching out to the middle or trying to persuade swing voters. Democrats actually came out and voted in big numbers, which they didn’t in WI, MI, and PA, in 2016. I don’t even think the VA campaign mattered much – VA Democrats were pissed about Trump and Charlottesville and the like and voted as such.
Which, in my mind, reinforces that we Democrats should have a Presidential candidate who excites and motivates Democrats to want to come out and vote for them. That’s how Obama won – Democratic turnout was very, very high. He appealed to many crossover/swing voters too, but he didn’t need them – if working class white voters had voted like they did for Trump in '08 and '12, Obama still would have won (albeit more closely) based on the very high Democratic voter turnout (I don’t have a cite handy for this – it comes from my memory of various past analyses).
I’ll add the caveat that an exciting and charismatic candidate who also has appeal to middle and swing voters would be ideal, but between “motivating high turnout for Democrats/progressives” and “appealing to middle/swing voters”, I think the former is more valuable and important and vital.
Cory Booker is the only Democrat not totally unwilling to run who can capture the public imagination. I like Franken, but let’s face it: he’s a stand-up comic temporarily doing serious work. I suspect there are more than enough drug and alcohol related skeletons in his closet to doom a presidential campaign (and I’m sure that’s why he’ll never run).
Ugh… Cory Booker. I like his stances on a lot of issues (single payer in particular), but so many things about him rub me the wrong way. He plays it up for the media too much (Oprah, the whole “feud” bit with Conan); he’s got these odd libertarian stances on some things (charter schools and vouchers); and it seems to me an open question as to whether he actually did any good as mayor of Newark, which remains a mess.
Not that I think he’ll run, but the one who’s impressed me in the admittedly little I’ve seen/read about him, is Washington governor Jay Inslee.
Given that Joe Biden has recently been aloof on running, it feels like he’s going to toss his hat into the ring shortly after the mid-terms. He’s doing all the normal things: book tour now, being “coy” about running, but strategic leaks about it happening that show up in Huff Post and so on.
Given that, I’d love to see a Biden/Booker ticket. Until this point, Cory Booker’s been my first choice, but he could still use a little seasoning. So, given Biden’s age - he announces he’s doing 1 term to “save the US from Trump” (add your own Biden-esque foot-in-mouth phase here), with the explicit goal of getting Booker the experience he’d need to run at the top of the ticket in 2024. Yeah! That’s it!
Of the governors, I’m thinking either Bullock or Hickenlooper. I agree with adaher’s thinking in his thread about McAuliffe. The same things that make Cuomo unpopular upstate are what would kill him nationally. Just watching him try to defend the SAFE act would drive a lot of voters away.
Kamala Harris is an excellent choice for president–in 2024 or later. She needs more time on the national stage before running for president. Not because she needs more experience (I have no doubt she’d be a good president right now), but because she needs time to make more connections and build wider support. And she’s smart enough to know a premature run won’t help her. Give her a few more years and she will run when she’s ready.
But 2020 is going to be a Democratic wave year. She needs to catch it by being the vice presidential candidate. It’s the perfect spot for her and will help whoever’s the presidential candidate (assuming they’re not from the West Coast).
If true, I hope more such accusations come out. This is the right time for this kind of thing – let’s get it all out in the open, and move on from the abusers for good.
Meh, National Enquirer publishes a bunch of shit too, and yet they managed to break the story about John Edwards’ affair. A selection of their headlines today:
KAREN CARPENTER — TRAGIC POP STAR’S AUTOPSY SECRETS!
ROYALS PANIC OVER PLASTIC SURGERY SECRETS
KIM CATTRALL: BITTER STAR SAYS ‘SEX AND THE CITY’ COST HER A CHILD
CHEVY CHASE HEALTH CRISIS AS FRAIL STAR SLIMS DOWN
