# Democratic March Madness - East Semifinal 2 - McAuliffe/Hickenlooper
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [February 15, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605 "2019-02-15T16:27:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/1 "2019-02-15T16:27:09Z")
Pick one:
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### Author:  [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/2 "2019-02-15T16:54:14Z")
Who cares. Very poor seeding being done here.
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### Author:  [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/3 "2019-02-15T17:02:50Z")
Hick is who I’d like to win the nomination he’s not insane like most of the field and is a true moderate. Too bad he’s and old white dude so has no chance.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/4 "2019-02-15T17:03:09Z")
Everyone stop bitching about the seedings. No one’s forcing you to vote.
Let it be a fun distraction during the doldrums. We could do one every quarter or so until things get serious in January.
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/5 "2019-02-15T17:05:21Z")
I don’t know if Hickenlooper has much of a chance, but I heard him speak at length on the radio recently and was favorably impressed. He had some prior career that I forget, then opened a brew pub of some kind and became active in civic affairs in Denver. Became mayor, then governor. Seems smart, rational and “authentic.” People love authentic.
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### Author:  [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/6 "2019-02-15T17:12:31Z")
I suspect the seeding complaints may stem from somebody’s favorite son not getting a 1st round bye…
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### Author:  [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/7 "2019-02-15T17:40:59Z")
A toss up, I went with Virginia, I’m far more familiar with their politics than Colorado
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/8 "2019-02-15T17:42:59Z")
Eh, I went with Hickenlooper. He’s shown the ability to be a bit creative with his approaches. McAuliffe I’ve known since the Clinton years - the first set - and I wouldn’t trust him to pet my cat nicely. Great fundraiser, though, so he’s got that going for him.
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### Author:  [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/9 "2019-02-15T17:57:46Z")
I went with Hickenlooper, under the assumption that anyone tied to the Governor’s office in Virginia probably has something bad in their history that will come out.
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### Author:  [@llcoolbj77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llcoolbj77)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/10 "2019-02-15T18:42:43Z")
I watched McAuliff speak at an event for juvenile justice. The guy sounds like Donald Trump. I am not kidding. It was all me me me, bigly me. I was very unimpressed.
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### Author:  [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/11 "2019-02-15T19:54:54Z")
> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> He had some prior career that I forget
He was a geologist in the oil field if I remember correctly.
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### Author:  [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/12 "2019-02-15T21:40:15Z")
Don’t know a lot about either of them. I’m from the central USA, so I went with geographical affinity: Colorado over Virginia. That’s probably dumb.
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### Author:  [@pjacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjacks)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/13 "2019-02-15T22:21:44Z")
Pot legalization will get out the vote among millennials in 2020, so Hickenlooper.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2019, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/14 "2019-02-15T22:49:15Z")
Eh. I’d say that’s yet to be seen. While turnout among the young was up in 2018 - good for them - they still represented the lowest turnout age demo of all. There’s a long way to go before they even that playing field.
> **[2018 Midterm Election Sets Record as the First to Exceed Voter Turnout of 100...](https://fortune.com/2018/11/07/voter-turnout-2018-midterms/)**
>
> Nearly 48% of eligible voters exercised their right to vote, compared to almost 39% in 2014.
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2019, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/15 "2019-02-16T01:21:52Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#):
>
> Everyone stop bitching about the seedings. No one’s forcing you to vote.
>
> Let it be a fun distraction during the doldrums. We could do one every quarter or so until things get serious in January.
No one is forcing you to read their complaints either.
(Unless you meant that as a mod note, but not labeled as such.)
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### Author:  [@pjacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjacks)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2019, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/16 "2019-02-16T02:27:04Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#):
>
> Eh. I’d say that’s yet to be seen. While turnout among the young was up in 2018 - good for them - they still represented the lowest turnout age demo of all. There’s a long way to go before they even that playing field.
>
> [http://fortune.com/2018/11/07/voter-turnout-2018-midterms/](http://fortune.com/2018/11/07/voter-turnout-2018-midterms/)
Well, sure, but one way to get there is promising pot legalization.
> **[Cannabis legalization on ballot would drive 2020 voter turnout, says Michael...](https://www.thegrowthop.com/cannabis-news/cannabis-legalization-on-ballot-would-drive-2020-voter-turnout-says-michael-moore)**
>
> According to the documentarian, the strategy worked in Michigan
When pot legalization is on the ballot in a state, it drives up turnout among young people. A candidate like Hickenlooper who would presumably run on a platform of national legalization, and be able to point to his own state as an example of the benefits, would increase turnout everywhere. He would also pull in a lot of South Park Republicans and Libertarians.
I’m not enamored with Hickenlooper, but if he were to temper his moderate, centrist reputation with something like a full-throated embrace of pot legalization, he would win the election handily.
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### Author:  [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/17 "2019-02-16T15:04:24Z")
I really don’t know here. I was pleasantly surprised with how McAuliffe did in Virginia (I had seen him as kind of a “vote for the crook, it’s important” type) but I’m highly skeptical that his decades as a Clintonworld fixture will go down well, so I guess it’s Hickenlooper?
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### Author:  [@Pithily\_Effusive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pithily_Effusive)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2019, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/18 "2019-02-20T01:19:32Z")
Stop spamming the board. Thanks. :mad:
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2019, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-march-madness-east-semifinal-2-mcauliffe-hickenlooper/829605/19 "2019-02-20T02:20:19Z")
> [@Pithily\_Effusive](#):
>
> Stop spamming the board. Thanks. :mad:
You’re new so I’m going to give you a break on this one.
But on the SDMB, when a moderator tells posters to not do something, it’s generally a good idea to not do that thing.