# 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:** 25
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/481 "2019-02-04T20:44:42Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Hillary was doing better in the early states than the late states, by my memory, in '08. So, IIRC, her support was declining as the contests went on. Sanders was doing better and better, in general, IIRC, as the contests went on. > > But they’re two different circumstances, and ultimately both runners-up endorsed and campaigned for the winner. And there’s more to judge them on with regards to ego than their presidential runs. Your memory’s faulty :), so there’s that. In '08 you actually have it almost exactly backwards. Obama won the earliest primaries, so he had a lead after january; he won more delegates on Super Tuesday; he swept the rest of the February primaries. He added slightly to his lead in March. Clinton only won in April, when it was too late. (There’s an asterisk, which was that no one knew how to count MI and FL.) But Obama’s big push was in February, when he got about 125 more delegates than she did; and if there was momentum at the end, it was Clinton’s. As for Sanders, he did fall behind early thanks to all the Southern primaries, but he also fell behind late, losing pretty badly in most of the primaries, and all of the big-state primaries, beginning with NY in mid-April: NY by 15 points, MD by 30, PA by 12, CA by 7. His best streak was in late March/early April after Super Tuesday, in about the middle of the campaign, but then he fell off sharply after that. And yes, ultimately they did both endorse and campaign for the winner, but boy oh boy they got there in very different ways. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/482 "2019-02-04T20:46:37Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Your memory’s faulty :), so there’s that. In '08 you actually have it almost exactly backwards. Obama won the earliest primaries, so he had a lead after january; he won more delegates on Super Tuesday; he swept the rest of the February primaries. He added slightly to his lead in March. Clinton only won in April, when it was too late. (There’s an asterisk, which was that no one knew how to count MI and FL.) But Obama’s big push was in February, when he got about 125 more delegates than she did; and if there was momentum at the end, it was Clinton’s. > > As for Sanders, he did fall behind early thanks to all the Southern primaries, but he also fell behind late, losing badly in most of the primaries beginning with NY in mid-April. His best streak was in late March/early April after Super Tuesday, in about the middle of the campaign, but then he fell off sharply after that. > > And yes, ultimately they did both endorse and campaign for the winner, but boy oh boy they got there in very different ways. If my memory’s faulty, apologies. Based on the totatlity of their careers as I understand them, they both have large egos, IMO – probably about average for politicians at the senator/governor/cabinet level. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/483 "2019-02-04T22:00:00Z")
If Saint Bernie runs 3rd party will he be shredded like Schultz? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/484 "2019-02-04T22:03:19Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > If Saint Bernie runs 3rd party will he be shredded like Schultz? I hope so. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/485 "2019-02-04T23:10:43Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > His last name is hard to pronounce, but he impressed me too. So smart and sensible and calm. I hope he gets some more attention. There’s an easy fix for that. We’ll nickname him Bootsy. Then his campaign song can be “[Ahh… The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!](https://youtu.be/8abYLA5zEkM)” ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/486 "2019-02-04T23:32:34Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > His last name is hard to pronounce, but he impressed me too. So smart and sensible and calm. I hope he gets some more attention. I didn’t hear this interview. The most impressive/moving thing Buttegieg said when I heard him in person over the summer–and he said a lot of good things–had to do with Trump’s (and the Republicans’) desire to “go back in time.” Buttegieg said that a lot of people didn’t want to go back in time, back to the fifties or whenever we like to pretend that life was perfect, and that he didn’t either–but, he added, “In my case I CAN’T go back. It would mean the destruction of my family, in effect the destruction of my life as I know it.” It was an interesting–and sobering–perspective, well expressed. Wondering if he said anything like it in the interview… Maybe I should listen to it already! ---
**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:** [February 5, 2019, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/487 "2019-02-05T07:34:16Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > There’s also a \*possible \*view among moderates that the right has pulled us so far back in recent years that a round of leftism is necessary to correct it and get us back to moderation. That’s me. I might join a right-of-center party in one of the rational democracies. In the U.S. I’m happy to root for leftists like AOC because the most radical of her proposals ain’t happening anytime soon anyway. Of course the #1 left-v-right issue: _Should the government act to protect citizens and consumers from the worst excesses of corporate greed?_ is no longer controversial in the rational democracies, nor among _voters_ in the U.S.A. The big "left-v-right issue around the world is _Hatred_. I spoke with an old man from England two days ago. He _hates_ Jews; he _hates_ blacks; he _hates_ Muslims; he _hates_ gays; he _hates_ “liberals”; and he _hates_ people who speak truth about Trump. (Our discussion got a little animated.) The present Italian government is a coalition of a left-wing party and a right-wing party. What issue unifies them? Trump supporters are not opposed to consumer finance protection, and not opposed to subsidized education for white children. Recently Trump supporters in Utah and Idaho — the very epicenter of homophobic Flyoverland — carried pickets asking for Medicaid expansion. No; the big left-v-right issues for today’s American voters aren’t economic. They’re about _ **Hatred.** _ ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/488 "2019-02-06T19:48:36Z")
Amy Klobuchar will be making [“a big announcement”](https://twitter.com/amyklobuchar/status/1092998324020563968) on Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/489 "2019-02-06T19:52:05Z")
Yay Klobuchar! ---
**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:** [February 6, 2019, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/490 "2019-02-06T21:14:14Z")
Klobuchar and Biden are the only two candidacies I feel happy about. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2019, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/491 "2019-02-06T21:19:46Z")
I suppose this many people in the race shows they think Trump is very vulnerable to being beaten. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/492 "2019-02-07T04:52:05Z")
It seems the field won’t be as big as people were anticipating. [Landrieu won’t be in.](https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/06/mitch-landrieu-2020-run-1151238) ---
**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:** [February 7, 2019, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/493 "2019-02-07T11:21:06Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Klobuchar and Biden are the only two candidacies I feel happy about. OTOH, [It seems Amy abuses her staff.](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/amy-klobuchar-abuse-staff-2020_us_5c5a1cb1e4b0871047588649) :o ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/494 "2019-02-07T12:02:04Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > OTOH, [It seems Amy abuses her staff.](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/amy-klobuchar-abuse-staff-2020_us_5c5a1cb1e4b0871047588649) :o I’m skeptical of anonymous reports like that that just so happen to echo some of the ugly stereotypes about powerful women. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/495 "2019-02-07T17:37:39Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > OTOH, [It seems Amy abuses her staff.](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/amy-klobuchar-abuse-staff-2020_us_5c5a1cb1e4b0871047588649) :o > [@](#): > > But some former Klobuchar staffers, all of whom spoke to HuffPost on condition of anonymity, Wake me when someone goes on the record. My boss sometimes wakes up on the wrong side of bed, too. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/496 "2019-02-07T17:51:25Z")
Is she really abusive to her staffers, or just “Minnesota abusive?” ---
**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:** [February 7, 2019, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/497 "2019-02-07T18:00:16Z")
I’m not surprised that none of the former staffers cared to commit professional suicide by commenting on the record. The fact that her staff has one of the highest turnover rates in the Senate does suggest there might be an issue here. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/498 "2019-02-07T18:24:07Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > I’m not surprised that none of the former staffers cared to commit professional suicide by commenting on the record. The fact that her staff has one of the highest turnover rates in the Senate does suggest there might be an issue here. OTOH, several of her former staffers have gone on the record speaking rather glowingly of her. So, unless you have something to counter that… ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/499 "2019-02-07T18:32:57Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > OTOH, several of her former staffers have gone on the record speaking rather glowingly of her. So, unless you have something to counter that… He did - the high staff turnover. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/500 "2019-02-07T20:05:47Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > He did - the high staff turnover. Not quite the smoking gun we’re looking for here. More like a leaky water pistol. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415.md?page=26)