# 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:** 36
**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:** [March 8, 2019, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/701 "2019-03-08T18:26:13Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Tulsi Gabbard might only be better by some very, very large finite quantity.🙂 LOL, agreed. I liked your subsequent post with the link to 538 as well. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/702 "2019-03-08T19:25:09Z")
Elizabeth Warren is proposing that Amazon, Google, and Facebook be broken up. > **[Here’s how we can break up Big Tech](https://medium.com/@teamwarren/heres-how-we-can-break-up-big-tech-9ad9e0da324c)** > > By Elizabeth Warren I don’t think this is the sort of message that’s going to help her beat Trump in the general election. I’ve posted before about my lack of support for Warren in the primary, and this is part of why I don’t think she would be the right person to go up against Trump. I don’t see why she’s choosing to emphasize this particular aspect of what I even hesitate to call the Democratic platform. Of all the ways that large corporations harm ordinary Americans, I think the size and market dominance of these three companies is way down the list of problems. She could be talking about climate change and what she would do about big oil or big coal. She could be talking about wages and going after a company like Walmart where many of the workers make minimum wage and rely on government benefits rather than a company that has a $15 per hour minimum wage. She could be going after the big pharma companies that contribute to the high cost of healthcare. Instead she goes after some IMHO benign to beneficial tech companies. I really hope she doesn’t get the nomination because the focus on these types of issues would lead to Trump eating her alive. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2019, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/703 "2019-03-08T22:55:44Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Elizabeth Warren is proposing that Amazon, Google, and Facebook be broken up. I think that it’s a smart move, though I still doubt that she’ll get the nomination. The big tech sector is a major driver of income inequality. It’s of concern to a lot of people. Facebook and Google have largely grabbed the advertising market away from local newspapers and other small companies. The movement to online music and TV through Youtube and the like threatens the careers of many artists. So Warren’s move might be attractive to a decent number of people who are already inclined to vote for Democrats. Plus, gotta’ preempt Trump [from doing the same thing](https://www.investors.com/news/technology/trump-executive-order-probe-google-facebook-twitter/). ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/704 "2019-03-08T23:05:07Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Elizabeth Warren is proposing that Amazon, Google, and Facebook be broken up. > > [Here’s how we can break up Big Tech | by Team Warren | Medium](https://medium.com/@teamwarren/heres-how-we-can-break-up-big-tech-9ad9e0da324c) > > I don’t think this is the sort of message that’s going to help her beat Trump in the general election. I’ve posted before about my lack of support for Warren in the primary, and this is part of why I don’t think she would be the right person to go up against Trump. I don’t see why she’s choosing to emphasize this particular aspect of what I even hesitate to call the Democratic platform. Of all the ways that large corporations harm ordinary Americans, I think the size and market dominance of these three companies is way down the list of problems. She could be talking about climate change and what she would do about big oil or big coal. She could be talking about wages and going after a company like Walmart where many of the workers make minimum wage and rely on government benefits rather than a company that has a $15 per hour minimum wage. She could be going after the big pharma companies that contribute to the high cost of healthcare. Instead she goes after some IMHO benign to beneficial tech companies. I really hope she doesn’t get the nomination because the focus on these types of issues would lead to Trump eating her alive. I agree with all of this. There are plenty of options for these three, including opting out. Facebook? It will be gone in 4 years regardless. I suppose an argument could be made for Amazon, but I find that one easy to ignore as well. I use it 2 or 3 times a year as a book seller (as it was meant to be) and buy other stuff from other companies. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/705 "2019-03-08T23:15:08Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I agree with all of this. There are plenty of options for these three, including opting out. Facebook? It will be gone in 4 years regardless. > > I suppose an argument could be made for Amazon, but I find that one easy to ignore as well. I use it 2 or 3 times a year as a book seller (as it was meant to be) and buy other stuff from other companies. Amazon is a much bigger company than just their store. Good luck opting out of [Amazon Web Services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Web_Services) ---
**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:** [March 8, 2019, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/706 "2019-03-08T23:40:51Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Amazon is a much bigger company than just their store. Good luck opting out of [Amazon Web Services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Web_Services) Why would that be difficult? Amazon has a big marketshare of cloud services but nowhere near a monopoly. [Microsoft No. 2 Behind Amazon in Cloud Market Share](https://rcpmag.com/articles/2016/08/02/microsoft-behind-aws-in-cloud.aspx?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjp7sOb2vPgAhXHk1kKHZ_GA0YQ9QEwAHoECAsQAg&m=) ---
**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:** [March 9, 2019, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/707 "2019-03-09T05:38:27Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Facebook? It will be gone in 4 years regardless. 😕 Seriously? ---
**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:** [March 9, 2019, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/708 "2019-03-09T05:44:45Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Obama would be considered as “from” Illinois in this context, though. Yes. He was an incumbent US senator from Illinois and had risen to political prominence in that state. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2019, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/709 "2019-03-09T10:55:34Z")
Anyone who doesn’t think Bernie has an electability problem needs to look at this, from the latest NBC/WSJ poll: [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-03/u-s-voters-don-t-want-socialist-or-very-old-president-poll](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-03/u-s-voters-don-t-want-socialist-or-very-old-president-poll) > [@](#): > > Only 25 percent of respondents ranked “socialist” as a desirable trait for a candidate. Only 37 percent said “someone over 75” was desirable, according to the survey, released on Sunday. More voters were accepting of candidates who were gay or lesbian, independent or under 40. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/710 "2019-03-09T16:03:52Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I agree with all of this. There are plenty of options for these three, including opting out. Facebook? It will be gone in 4 years regardless. Remember that Facebook is more than just Facebook; they own Instagram and myriad other investments as well. > [@Procrustus](#): > > I suppose an argument could be made for Amazon, but I find that one easy to ignore as well. I use it 2 or 3 times a year as a book seller (as it was meant to be) and buy other stuff from other companies. Amazon’s move to buy Whole Foods tells us the direction it’s going. It wants to be the go-to mega-marketplace for essentially online and in-store commercial activity. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/711 "2019-03-09T16:44:05Z")
**SlackerInc** , what’s that supposed to tell us? Of course nobody wants Sanders just because he’s old. Most just don’t care. The question is what people consider _relevant_ in a candidate. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2019, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/712 "2019-03-09T17:46:42Z")
Chronos, how do you figure that’s not precisely what the poll reflects? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/713 "2019-03-09T22:13:20Z")
If a person doesn’t care how old a candidate is, then they won’t rate being old as “something desirable”. Now, if a large percentage say that being under 75 is desirable, then that spells trouble for Sanders. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/714 "2019-03-10T02:30:07Z")
An interesting essay on aging, the brain and the Presidency: [Too old to be president? Science says yes. - The Boston Globe](https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2019/03/08/too-old-president-science-says-yes/oMgYxC6waKIIyKWuHciJCJ/story.html) Click on the upper-left button to close if you get a pop-up asking you to subscribe. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2019, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/715 "2019-03-10T03:32:25Z")
**Amy Klobuchar for President. (She’ll be only 60 in 2021.)** > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > An interesting essay on aging, the brain and the Presidency: [https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2019/03/08/too-old-president-science-says-yes/oMgYxC6waKIIyKWuHciJCJ/story.html](https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2019/03/08/too-old-president-science-says-yes/oMgYxC6waKIIyKWuHciJCJ/story.html) Thank you, **Elendil’s Heir**. Let me also quote myself: > [@Why do people like Joe Biden for President?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/53): > > [corrected] > Joe Biden would be 78 years old when inaugurated for his first turn. > > “Eighty is the new seventy”? Fine, but look at the history of 70-year old Presidents: > [ul][li] Before Reagan and Trump, Eisenhower was the very first President to ever be in office at age 70. And he was a young 62 when first inaugurated.[/li][li] Before Eisenhower, only five men aged 59 or more were ever elected to a first term of President. (Adams, Jackson, Harrison, Taylor, Buchanan.)[/li][li] When Bush-41 was inaugurated at age 64, he was older than all but three prior first-inaugurees (Harrison, Buchanan, Reagan). Removing the “first” stipulation adds only three names (Jackson, Eisenhower and, by just a few days, Truman).[/li][/ul] > > **Thus we’re _not_ being asked to believe “Eighty is the new seventy,” _We’re being asked to believe “Eighty is the new sixty.”_** @ Dopers implicitly arguing that, for Presidents, “Eighty is the new sixty”: — How many of _you_ are eighty? 🙂 (I’m approaching the big seven-oh myself and, although I keep smiling and pounding on the keyboard, it’s increasingly obvious to me that I’m not sixty anymore. :o ) Two of my own recommendations — Hickenlooper, Inslee — will be in their very late 60’s if/when inaugurated and I’m not too happy about that. But Bernie Sanders? Who’d be 79 when inaugurated? It is understandable that many voters would look at that age as a deal-breaker. _Supporting BS is doing the Kremlin’s work._ ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2019, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/716 "2019-03-10T04:55:11Z")
Hickenlooper was on Morning Joe (friendly venue) and asked a softball question: are you a capitalist? And bungled it. Repeatedly. He’s toast. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2019, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/717 "2019-03-10T06:21:01Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Hickenlooper was on Morning Joe (friendly venue) and asked a softball question: are you a capitalist? And bungled it. Repeatedly. > > He’s toast. Details? A link to video? A news article? I’m not trying to be difficult and have no particular loyalty to Hickenlooper but I don’t understand how you bungle a question like that. Particularly when you are CLEARLY a capitalist. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2019, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/718 "2019-03-10T06:29:28Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Details? A link to video? A news article? > > I’m not trying to be difficult and have no particular loyalty to Hickenlooper but I don’t understand how you bungle a question like that. Particularly when you are CLEARLY a capitalist. [https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-did-denver-brewer-and-presidential-candidate-hickenlooper-shy-away-from-this-c-word-2019-03-08](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-did-denver-brewer-and-presidential-candidate-hickenlooper-shy-away-from-this-c-word-2019-03-08) Apparently afraid that the C word is poison to today’s Democratic voters. Not a bungle but dumb. Embrace what you are even if you critique the system’s inequities in the same breath. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2019, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/719 "2019-03-10T06:35:37Z")
That’s embarrassing about Hickenlooper, but I’m not sure it’s entirely his fault. My mom was born the same year Bernie was. She is way too old to be president (and women have significantly longer lifespans). ---
**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:** [March 10, 2019, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/720 "2019-03-10T06:59:13Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Hickenlooper was on Morning Joe (friendly venue) and asked a softball question: are you a capitalist? And bungled it. Repeatedly. > > He’s toast. While I acknowledge the flub; it’s too bad interviews rely on little Gotcha questions. Hickenlooper was responsive in his answers and said he doesn’t like labels. The answer was clear enough for any intelligent voter. Should he have been more forthright, and emphasized that capitalism built America? Definitely. And with good debate coaching he’d have done so. He came to the interview with an agenda; the question didn’t fit the agenda; and he flubbed it. His team needs to make debate practice a high priority. But it’s hard to imagine this one interview will have much effect. Even the Right-Wing Lie Machine won’t be able to do much with it, will they? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415.md?page=35) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415.md?page=37)