# Hee-haw, y'all. The 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 12, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415 "2018-11-12T17:52:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 135
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2019, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2681 "2019-10-06T11:10:16Z")
> [@pjacks](#): > > He doesn’t look at all presidential, which is a shame because he is probably the only person running who has a genius-level IQ. I’m not sure the difference between a genius-level IQ and the level of intelligence exhibited by most of the candidates is really all that useful. Per Byler: > [@](#): > > Warren and Buttigieg are the real-life images of that version of success, in which ambitious, academically accomplished, culturally refined people work extremely hard within institutions to achieve “meritocratic” recognition. Other Democrats fit the bill, too: Cory Booker was a Rhodes scholar, as well; Amy Klobuchar is a Yale- and University of Chicago-educated lawyer; and Julián Castro interned in the Clinton White House while at Stanford University. And even the brightest among us would be reluctant to take on Kamala Harris in a battle of wits. Sure, all other things equal, it’s better to be really really smart than to be just really smart. But other things are usually not equal, and there are distinct skills and attributes that help officeholders and candidates function well in a political environment. So give me candidates like Warren or Harris or Booker or Klobuchar who are really smart and have demonstrated many of those attributes, rather than a genius-level IQ guy who still has a ways to go. He’s having a good rookie season, but he’s still a rookie. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2019, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2682 "2019-10-06T12:34:25Z")
NYT: [ **Top Biden Donors Gather Amid Storm Clouds Over Campaign** Now fourth in the Democratic money chase and under fire from President Trump, Joseph R. Biden Jr. is increasingly dependent on his top donors, many of whom met in Philadelphia.](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/05/us/politics/biden-donors.html) That’s just the header and sub-hed, but that pretty much says it. Dependent on the kindness of big donors. > [@](#): > > PHILADELPHIA — Leading donors for Joseph R. Biden Jr. convened this weekend for their first donor retreat since he announced his candidacy “Donor retreat”? The things we peons didn’t even know were a thing. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2019, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2683 "2019-10-06T14:05:19Z")
Well from the last quarter numbers it does seem like a good amount of donors have retreated … ---
**Author:** ![Fentoine\_Lum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b77776/32.png) [@Fentoine\_Lum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fentoine_Lum)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2019, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2684 "2019-10-07T18:17:00Z")
> [@pjacks](#): > > These words don’t mean what you think they mean, and twinks and flamers are usually one and the same. BTW, I have not heard the latter word since high school, how retro. > > Anyway, Pete is not either. Maybe his husband is, but Pete is probably on otter judging by the beard he sported in college. Although who knows how much body hair he has these days. Well we need to know. Look, these things are really just pageants anyway, why not add a swimsuit round of questioning in the debates so the citizens can be informed? ---
**Author:** ![Fentoine\_Lum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b77776/32.png) [@Fentoine\_Lum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fentoine_Lum)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2685 "2019-10-07T18:18:17Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > NYT: [ **Top Biden Donors Gather Amid Storm Clouds Over Campaign** > Now fourth in the Democratic money chase and under fire from President Trump, Joseph R. Biden Jr. is increasingly dependent on his top donors, many of whom met in Philadelphia.](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/05/us/politics/biden-donors.html) > > That’s just the header and sub-hed, but that pretty much says it. Dependent on the kindness of big donors. > “Donor retreat”? > > The things we peons didn’t even know were a thing. _“It’s a big club, you ain’t in it.”_ George Carlin ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2686 "2019-10-15T20:09:55Z")
Is Ohio still a swing state? Hell, yes!: [Is Ohio still a swing state? | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/15/politics/ohio-swing-state-2020/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2687 "2019-10-16T03:39:45Z")
But not a tipping point state. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2688 "2019-10-16T15:04:07Z")
Joe Biden is showing a deep, fundamental misunderstanding of how health care is currently funded in this country by this idiotic tweet sent this morning arguing against M4A: "Let’s put this in perspective: if you eliminate every single solitary soldier, tank, satellite, nuclear weapon, eliminate the Pentagon and it would only pay for 4 months of Medicare for All. 4 months. Where do the other 8 months come from? Your paycheck. #DemDebate" > Joe apparently is unaware that current health insurance premiums are funded by personal income, usually via a deduction made at work. IOW, they’re funded from our “paychecks”. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2689 "2019-10-16T15:55:21Z")
Here’s a crazy scenario that Just Might Happen: 1. Elizabeth Warren gets a plurality of the votes at the Democratic National Convention - but, in part because of a vote split with Sanders and others, she doesn’t have the majority required for the nomination. 2. Even though a number of progressive candidates release their delegates, enough Superdelegates (who are allowed to vote on the second ballot) side with Biden that he ends up getting the nomination. 3. The progressives, thinking that the party has shafted them out of the White House in favor of “more of the same” again, stay home and/or write in Warren in droves in November. 4 More Years! There is one way out of this; if it is clear that nobody has a majority, then all of the candidates besides Biden have to get together, agree on a candidate, and then the others all drop out and release their candidates - and hope that their delegates vote for this person rather than enough of them saying, “Sorry, but it’s either (my candidate) or Biden.” And if Biden does get the nomination, writing in someone else (in #3) may not be such a bad idea for the progressives; it gets the voters into the voting booth, where they can vote for progressive candidates for the House and, where applicable, Senate, which is where they are really needed; the budget the President sends to Congress is not necessarily the one sent back to the President to be signed. Note that, for example, [California Elections Code Section 8650](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=ELEC&division=8.&title=&part=3.&chapter=2.&article=) allows a group of “write-in electors” to align themselves with a write-in candidate even without the candidate’s approval. (There is a way to get put on the ballot itself as an independent, but anyone who appeared on any party’s ballot in the primary is ineligible.) ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2690 "2019-10-16T16:45:56Z")
Why are the progressives always the boogeypersons in these scenarios? You don’t think moderates would be inclined to stay home if Biden gets a plurality but doesn’t win the nomination? Have you forgotten that **25%** of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 primary voters defected to McCain after not getting their way? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2691 "2019-10-16T16:57:28Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > But not a tipping point state. Tru dat. If the Dems win Ohio next year, the Dems will have won the election with room to spare. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2692 "2019-10-16T20:29:08Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Have you forgotten that **25%** of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 primary voters defected to McCain after not getting their way? I, for one, have either forgotten that or never knew it. **It’s a _frightening_ stat** — but perhaps not surprising if you think about it. I hugely admire Barack Obama — the best natural President since LBJ or Ike. However [SPOILER]Obama was a black man(\*). He was able to win election _only_ because voters were very ready for a change, GWB having made shambles, the economy desperate, and McCain bonkers with the Palin pick. He’d have had no chance except after the dismal eight Dubya years. Any Democrat would have won, so it was a good gamble to send in the Negro. Don’t make me dig out the cite again, quantifying the _several percent of votes_ lost automatically with the black nomination. - - I don’t recall Obama’s supporters trying an “only half black” meme but the Tea Partiers were ready for it: “You either are or you aren’t. And he aren’t.” [/SPOILER] ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2693 "2019-10-17T00:04:53Z")
It’s true. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2694 "2019-10-17T13:01:22Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Why are the progressives always the boogeypersons in these scenarios? Because I don’t remember any “Hillary or Home That Day” memes making the rounds in 2016 - meanwhile, “Bernie or Bust” was all over the place. Okay, maybe that could have been because the Sanders supporters are far more vocal, at least in social media. Also note that there is a way around all of this: if, after the last primary, it is obvious that nobody has a majority, then the progressive candidates can get together and agree on a single “standardbearer” “for the good of the party and the country,” then the others can withdraw their nominations and release their delegates (presumably; there is nothing in the Democratic Party Bylaws or the Call for the Convention that describes what happens to pledged delegates if their candidate withdraws, other than, “All delegates to the National Convention pledged to a presidential candidate shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.”) The problem with this is, this assumes there aren’t enough “my candidate or Biden” delegates to hand him the nomination anyway. Besides, even if #1 and #2 do happen somehow, the progressives should counter with: 3 - if you live in a “state in play,” hold your nose and vote for Biden, but make sure you vote for the progressive for your House (and, where applicable, Senate) seat; if your state is not in play, there is no law against leaving the choice for President blank (or, you can write in someone else anyway, even if it won’t be counted), but still, vote for the progressive House and Senate candidates. Remember, the budget that the President sends to Congress and the one sent back to the President to be signed are not necessarily the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2695 "2019-10-17T13:50:19Z")
Oh, so you must just not be old enough to remember [these people.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_United_Means_Action) Fair enough. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2696 "2019-10-17T13:51:32Z")
Forget 2016. Progressives were arguing in the 2000 election that Al Gore and George W Bush were the same. How’d that work Ralph Nader, Michael Moore and co? ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2697 "2019-10-17T14:49:08Z")
\*Some \* progressives made that argument. The vast majority did not. I don’t recall a single Democratic member of Congress or big city mayor endorsing Nader. [But they were happy to stab the progressives in the back when the shoe was on the other foot.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrats_for_Nixon) ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2698 "2019-10-17T14:55:48Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Oh, so you must just not be old enough to remember [these people.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_United_Means_Action) Fair enough. Personally, I remember the acronym PUMA standing for “Party Unity, My Ass!” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2699 "2019-10-18T17:15:37Z")
LOL, Hillary with zero fucks left to give: > **[Hillary Clinton Appears to Claim Russians ‘Grooming’ Tulsi Gabbard to Run as...](https://www.thedailybeast.com/hillary-clinton-appears-to-claim-russians-grooming-tulsi-gabbard-to-run-as-third-party-candidate?via=twitter_page)** > > She made the remark on Campaign HQ with David Plouffe, calling 2016 Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein “a Russian asset.” > [@](#): > > Hillary Clinton appeared to claim in a podcast interview this week that Russians will support Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as a third-party presidential candidate—and called Jill Stein “a Russian asset.” > > Clinton made the remark on Campaign HQ with David Plouffe. **“I’m not making any predictions, but I think they’ve got their eye on someone who’s currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate. She’s the favorite of the Russians,”** said Clinton, apparently referring to Rep. Gabbard, who’s been accused of receiving support from Russian bots and the Russian news media. **“They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far.” She added: “That’s assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not because she’s also a Russian asset. Yeah, she’s a Russian asset—I mean, totally.** They know they can’t win without a third-party candidate. So I don’t know who it’s going to be, but I will guarantee you they will have a vigorous third-party challenge in the key states that they most needed.” > > Clinton spox Nick Merrill later clarified, when asked if Clinton was referencing Gabbard: “If the nesting doll fits.” (Emphasis mine, JT) ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/2700 "2019-10-18T19:54:09Z")
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