# 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:** 153
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3041 "2020-01-09T23:02:03Z")
> [@Paranoid\_Randroid](#): > > If that’s true it’s true for Warren, it’s true for Sanders, it’s true for everybody. We don’t live in a world where Biden couldn’t prevent obstructionism from McConnell but another democratic candidate could. So how does this count against Biden specifically? Or does Sanders/Warren/someone else have some magic anti-senate-obstructionism power that I’m unaware of? > [@CarnalK](#): > > He thinks Warren’s magic power is wanting to get rid of the filibuster. I know it seems weird, but if the Dems should win control of the Senate this November, I think there’s at least a chance they’ll get rid of the filibuster if the President is pushing them to do so, but I think there’s pretty much no chance they will if nobody of importance is pushing them. So yeah, I prefer ‘a chance’ that the Dems can pass the legislation they want to pass, to their having ‘no chance’ of doing so. You can argue over how big a chance ‘a chance’ is, but it’s damn sure more than ‘no chance.’ ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3042 "2020-01-09T23:08:48Z")
[Biden and the bankruptcy bill](https://prospect.org/politics/bidens-votes-on-the-bankruptcy-bill-middle-class-joe/): > [@](#): > > [The bankruptcy bill’s] passage was one of Biden’s long-sought goals as a senator. Not only did Biden vote for the legislation four times between 1998 and 2005, but he was so singularly committed to its success that he inserted it into a foreign-relations bill in 2000, and later was the sole Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote for the bill. > > Biden also consistently voted against efforts to soften BAPCPA’s blow on vulnerable populations. He voted against three amendments to ease bankruptcy requirements for consumers whose financial troubles stem from medical expenses. He voted against an amendment that would have helped seniors keep their homes. He voted against exempting servicemembers and widows of servicemembers killed in action from the law’s eligibility restrictions. He voted against an amendment to exempt women whose financial troubles stemmed from deadbeat husbands’ failure to pay child support or alimony. And Biden even voted against an amendment that would have ensured that children of debtors could still be given birthday and Christmas presents. Biden also voted against allowing debtors to pay their union dues during bankruptcy, potentially imperiling their employment and ability to achieve financial rehabilitation. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3043 "2020-01-09T23:46:17Z")
Steyer in 2nd place in new SC poll > > > Sean Langille @SeanLangille ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3044 "2020-01-10T00:01:12Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > People will say 2004 was the same and look what happened. Well the difference is Bush at one point was extremely popular in his first term poll wise (after 9/11). Trump has never cracked 50% average … the only president in the history of polling not to at some point in his first term. But that’s exactly how he was elected: he was elected with 48% of the country feeling he was either woefully unqualified or a total jackass. The electoral college gives him a chance to win again for the same reason he won the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3045 "2020-01-10T00:05:19Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > [Biden and the bankruptcy bill](https://prospect.org/politics/bidens-votes-on-the-bankruptcy-bill-middle-class-joe/): The implication of your post, I believe, is that Biden is a crazed ideologue, as determined to harm struggling Americans as John Bolton is to go to war with Iran. What you’re failing to note is that Biden represented Delaware: a state with an economy dominated by banks. A large proportion of the voters who sent Biden to the Senate worked for banks or worked in jobs that support the banking industry. Biden’s championing of bills that help banks is not evidence of bad character; it’s evidence that he represented constituents who want to see banks given Congressional support. Again, I’m not a Biden fan. But fair is fair, and leaving out this important factor in his support of the bankruptcy bill is dirty pool. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3046 "2020-01-10T00:22:50Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Steyer in 2nd place in new SC poll > > [https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1215408241997438982](https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1215408241997438982) And 12% in Nevada, which qualifies him for the January debate. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2020, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3047 "2020-01-10T00:32:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Because you are bring up lies they ARE using against Biden. > > In other words, you are attacking Biden. > > I am simply mentioning that Sanders hasnt been attacked yet, so we dont know what will happen if he ever is the nom. How in the world am I attacking Biden? Both my post and the article I linked clearly state that the attacks on Biden are bullshit and lies. Seems to me we are doing the exact same thing, saying “one reason to not nominate candidate X is that he might be vulnerable to attack Y in the general election.” Which IMO is entirely legitimate. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3048 "2020-01-10T00:52:02Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > But that’s exactly how he was elected: he was elected with 48% of the country feeling he was either woefully unqualified or a total jackass. The electoral college gives him a chance to win again for the same reason he won the first time. There are two distinctions to me: 1. He would need a perfect storm to replicate another electoral college win / popular vote loss. 77,000 voters in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan decided that election in 2016. With the influence of Russian interference (there is no doubting they meddled, even if collusion is unproven), the twenty-five year smear campaign against the Clintons, and that historically a two-term presidency isn’t followed by a third term for that party, those were factors that aided him. Yet he only squeaked in. 2. In 2016 there was a feeling of “what have we got to lose” even among the left hence the frequent commentary over who exactly was the lesser of two evils. Trump was an outsider riding on a wave of bombastic populism. Now he’s had three full years on the job and a lot of the warnings Clinton made have come to fruition from the cry-baby foreign policy tantrums to the roll back of Obama era progress to the rise in hate crime. Turn out will be higher among democrats because they’ll have seen the courts take a right-wing swing, the supreme court have two right wing faces added and Ginsburg can’t possibly get through to 2024. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3049 "2020-01-10T01:45:34Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > The implication of your post, I believe, is that Biden is a crazed ideologue, as determined to harm struggling Americans as John Bolton is to go to war with Iran. > > What you’re failing to note is that Biden represented Delaware: a state with an economy dominated by banks. A large proportion of the voters who sent Biden to the Senate worked for banks or worked in jobs that support the banking industry. > > Biden’s championing of bills that help banks is not evidence of bad character; it’s evidence that he represented constituents who want to see banks given Congressional support. > Again, I’m not a Biden fan. But fair is fair, and leaving out this important factor in his support of the bankruptcy bill is dirty pool. Do you think it is generally “dirty pool” to criticize politicians for doing things that are popular with their constituents? Most of the Senate Republicans who are refusing to impeach Trump are doing exactly what their constituents want in that regard. Do they, on that account, not deserve to be called a barrel of treasonous motherfuckers? In 2005, Biden was IIRC a seven-term Senator from a deep blue State, five years from re-election. Unlike those Republicans, the chance of him facing any meaningful political consequences for doing the right thing was basically zero. Granting for the sake of argument that the bankruptcy bill was actually less popular in Delaware than it was in other States, all that would prove is that the people of Delaware have economic interests which are diametrically opposed to the interests of the nation at large, and that politicians from Delaware should not be trusted. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3050 "2020-01-10T02:39:24Z")
I think Biden is no better a candidate than Mondale, Kerry, Gore and Dukakis. And I’m not a Bernie guy. Don’t see Biden beating Trump but I never saw Trump beating Clinton so I’m no expert. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3051 "2020-01-10T16:06:42Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > The implication of your post, I believe, is that Biden is a crazed ideologue, as determined to harm struggling Americans as John Bolton is to go to war with Iran. If you want to interpret it that way, I can’t stop you. But it was certainly not my intention. Not at all. The way ‘centrism’ has been defined for awhile now on the Dem side of the aisle is: liberal on social issues, but corporate-friendly on economic issues. While I certainly believe this is a malign force in our politics, it’s also unfortunately a very normal one, and it’s glossed over so well in the mainstream press that it took me many years to recognize it for what it is. In this sense, Biden is your standard centrist Democratic politician. > [@](#): > > What you’re failing to note is that Biden represented Delaware: a state with an economy dominated by banks. A large proportion of the voters who sent Biden to the Senate worked for banks or worked in jobs that support the banking industry. No, I remember quite well how he was (quite fairly, IMHO) characterized as “the Senator from MBNA.” > [@](#): > > Biden’s championing of bills that help banks is not evidence of bad character; it’s evidence that he represented constituents who want to see banks given Congressional support. Yeah, his constituents would have had his hide if he hadn’t voted against every one of those amendments. AYFKM?? They would have barely noticed, the way most of us barely notice votes on minor amendments even on bills that really matter to us. Not to mention, you’d have a hard time convincing me that the bankruptcy bill mattered all that much to the people who weren’t in the upper echelons of the banks’ and credit card companies’ hierarchies. Especially given that the bill had come up and failed in several previous years, and the effect of the bill’s repeated failure on the jobs of most of those employees had surely been negligible. > [@](#): > > Again, I’m not a Biden fan. But fair is fair, and leaving out this important factor in his support of the bankruptcy bill is dirty pool. In response, I must say this: you can choose who and what you want to represent. 1. If he felt he was being true enough to his ideals while representing MBNA et al. as much as he was, then that’s fine for him, but the rest of us should take into account that that’s who he is. 2. If he felt like it was causing him to make too-significant moral compromises, then he could have moved to (quite nearby) Pennsylvania, a state that he brags about his kinship with, and run to represent _them_ in Congress. 3. If he felt like it was causing him to make too-significant moral compromises but he kept on doing it anyway, then he was a moral coward. He didn’t open Door #2, and neither of the other two choices speaks well of him. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3052 "2020-01-10T17:55:31Z")
Williamson quit the race. Her supporter cannot be reached for comment. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3053 "2020-01-10T18:25:40Z")
This will come as a great shock to those who had forgotten she was still in the race. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3054 "2020-01-10T18:26:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Mike Bloomberg will pay for the nearly 500 staffers on his presidential campaign to continue working through November to support whoever wins the 2020 Democratic nomination, even if it’s not him, NBC News reports. > > Why it matters: The former New York mayor is focused on getting President Trump out of the White House, and his vast operation — focused beyond the traditional early states — could provide a strong foundation in key battleground states, like North Carolina and Pennsylvania. > > The billionaire has also established a large tech operation, which will help the future nominee compete with Trump’s digital prowess. > Bloomberg has pledged to spend $15 million on efforts to drive voter turnout, and his staffers could help that push effort in key states. > > The catch: Bloomberg’s staff won’t directly work for the Democratic nominee’s campaign since the cost of operations would exceed federal contribution limits on his behalf. > > The group would instead operate as an independent group privately funded by Bloomberg. Good on him. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3055 "2020-01-10T19:15:21Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Mike Bloomberg will pay for the nearly 500 staffers on his presidential campaign to continue working through November to support whoever wins the 2020 Democratic nomination, even if it’s not him, NBC News reports. > > > > Why it matters: The former New York mayor is focused on getting President Trump out of the White House, and his vast operation — focused beyond the traditional early states — could provide a strong foundation in key battleground states, like North Carolina and Pennsylvania. > > > > The billionaire has also established a large tech operation, which will help the future nominee compete with Trump’s digital prowess. > > Bloomberg has pledged to spend $15 million on efforts to drive voter turnout, and his staffers could help that push effort in key states. > > Good on him. _ **Bravo!!** _ Donating mosquito nets is all fine and dandy for charitable billionaires, but helping finance political change is the important key today to improving the future of America and the entire world. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3056 "2020-01-10T22:46:54Z")
going to see Tom Steyer in town tomorrow mainly for the free food. Hoping for Filet Mignon and lobster and champagne. Probably get pizza and coke. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3057 "2020-01-10T23:07:36Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > going to see Tom Steyer in town tomorrow mainly for the free food. Hoping for Filet Mignon and lobster and champagne. Probably get pizza and coke. 🙂 I’ll be interested to hear about this. After the food review, I’m interested in hearing about his policies. I looked at his website. [https://www.tomsteyer.com](https://www.tomsteyer.com) Would he do anything about wealth inequality? I thought I heard him say something about that in the last debate but can’t find anything on his website. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3058 "2020-01-10T23:17:55Z")
I don’t expect many people show up to see Steyer , they just announced the visit yesterday. But it’s right near the NC State campus so maybe students show up for the free food. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2020, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3059 "2020-01-10T23:48:29Z")
Wealth inequality is one of Steyer’s plus points as a candidate. That and climate change are the two subjects he’s driven on. For wealth inequality Steyer being a billionaire gives him that unique edge whether you like it or not. He is positioning himself as someone who has the best position to debate the economy against Trump and beat him on it because he’s been a job creator and wealth creator. Those fancy buzzwords corporate America loves applies to him. Therefore the republican tactic of focusing on corporate America doing well reflecting the rest of America is nullified. Trump will talk about how unemployment is very low, the stock market is doing great, consumer confidence is high etc. But Steyer can talk about the numbers behind those numbers: how the pockets of the 1%, of which he belongs to, benefits from this economy. But the average worker is having to live paycheck to paycheck, the middle class is not expanding, many people are holding multiple jobs to make ends meet, young people not having a foot on the career ladder leading to the housing ladder etc. He can speak about it from the point of view of it being a democratic party and liberal talking point but also that he has the experience of seeing it first-hand. One of the best lines of the debates imo is when Warren made a straw man comment of candidates defending billionaires shortly after Steyer had made a pitch on how he plans to deal with income inequality to which Klobuchar responded to Warren saying “not even the billionaire is defending billionaires”. He’s not my candidate as I don’t want the presidency to be a play thing for billionaires, he doesn’t really have anything to contribute on foreign policy and his ad spending is obscene, but he makes some solid points on wealth and climate change. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/3060 "2020-01-11T00:01:34Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Mike Bloomberg will pay for the nearly 500 staffers on his presidential campaign to continue working through November to support whoever wins the 2020 Democratic nomination, even if it’s not him, NBC News reports. … > > Good on him. > [@septimus](#): > > _ **Bravo!!** _ Donating mosquito nets is all fine and dandy for charitable billionaires, but helping finance political change is the important key today to improving the future of America and the entire world. I agree, and this pledge is also going to serve as an example to those egotists who may be considering 3rd-party runs if they fail to win the Dem nomination. They now have an extra reason to feel ashamed of themselves, as well they should. It is possible to have a positive impact on the nation (and world) without being President, after all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415.md?page=152) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415.md?page=154)