The irony of that is Carter is a superdelegate.
Not Hillary, not Al Gore, not John Kerry. But it might as well be. Democrats still can’t learn to pick someone that people want to vote for. And they still act like winning the popular vote means something, which it doesn’t.
B Clinton and Obama won 4 times but they were helped by a down economy in their first runs.
Democrats have won the popular vote in six of the last seven elections. As a trend that has to count for something.
The two Republican presidents in that time got in by a razor thin margin. George W Bush by about 600 votes in Florida and a 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court. Donald Trump by 70,000 votes across three swing states in the most unprecedented election ever. Comey’s decision to reopen the investigation into Hillary’s emails a week before election day was huge because it added fuel to the fire for Trump. Russian interference and hacking did happen.
The people were clearly split between Bush/Gore and Clinton/Trump.
They certainly weren’t enamoured at all by Bush Sr in 92’, Bob Dole, John McCain and Mitt Romney. Why didn’t Republicans pick someone the people wanted to vote for? I only ever hear this criticism about Democrats.
Which surprises then me that you’d put Bernie as your number 2. Bernie can probably win the popular vote against Trump, but I really don’t see how he wins the electoral vote (places like Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin are going to have a harder time voting for Bernie than they would Biden).
The industrial midwest is often the first place to feel economic turmoil when it hits. I don’t see people there voting in the general election for the guy basically campaigning on turning the economy upside down. Guys like Biden and Bloomberg? Sure, they’re the stable choice. And I think after four years of this current roller coaster, people (in those places where the electoral college is in the balance) may just be seeking out stability.
It’s not the Deep South that is a concern re: the black vote, but the Rust Belt north. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin primarily. Also to a slightly lesser extent the purplish south of North Carolina and Florida.
When it looked like Trump would win the nomination in 2016, I got very scared because I thought neither of the Democratic choices were the right candidate against Trump. My concerns about Sanders have only gotten stronger this time around. I’m definitely not of the opinion that Sanders would have beaten Trump in 2016.
Seriously!
Depending on the course of the pandemic, Dems might get the same advantage this time. Even if it doesn’t take a big toll here, there could be ongoing economic effects between now and November, or even a turn back toward normalcy in the summer but then another hit from renewed outbreaks in the fall. I’m not hoping for that – just noting that it could break in Democrats’ favor, plus there is well-deserved criticism of Trump’s handling of it. If it creates drag on the economy, Trump could take some blame for the poor response.
Exactly. That’s obviously why Bernie getting an extra ten million votes in California and New York means nothing, while Biden getting an extra ten THOUSAND votes in Wisconsin or Pennsylvania means EVERYTHING.
ETA: Ninja’d by Happy L
Joe didn’t unite Amy and Pete. Amy and Pete were (I’m sure) offered tons of incentives to drop out. Maybe the democrats said they’d prioritize pet projects they have, or that they’d help them with future campaigns, or that they’d get very cushy high ranking private sector jobs.
They didn’t fall to their knees and realize uncle Joe would save America.
Also Biden is dangerously naive which is a serious problem. He thinks republicans will work together with democrats in good faith to solve Americas problems. Thats like the leader of the NAACP thinking he can work with the KKK to work towards civil rights in Mississippi in the 1940s. Its pretty pathetic. I ‘wish’ the GOP would work with democrats to solve problems, but the GOP is a party that is beholden to their reactionary, neofascist white nationalist base.
He can’t unite America. The GOP will hate whoever is put up and half the democratic party will vote for him but they’ll do it assuming he will be incompetent and gullible as president. That isn’t even adding in the fact that Biden will probably win fewer votes and delegates in the primary, but the DNC will give him the nomination anyway.
Yes, the Democratic party just sucks at picking a strong candidate. They must check off all of the required issue boxes first. This is why there was such a large field of candidates. Appeal to all, disagree about nothing.
And as these candidates drop out and throw their perceived support to Biden they are clearly showing a distain for Bernie. Saying that you endorse a previous rival does not mean that your former supporters are going to listen to you. The votes do not move in regards to your wishes. It is not like Pete or Amy’s voter support will go with their endorsement of Biden.
Bernie will be shut out again and the conventional wisdom is that in the end his supporters will all suck it up and vote for the DNC party candidate. I think that this expectation is wildly optimistic. Bernie’s supporters are going to be even more pissed than the last time they perceived a shut out.
What we are seeing is the re-election of Donald Trump. Biden is a very weak candidate. Bernie supporters are going to leave him high and dry. And he will get trounced in the election.
I am voting for Dukakis.
I’m pretty sure what you’re responding to there was a joke.
You guys are acting like Biden has this thing won now.
Probably not. Biden would likely to be able to turn Bloomberg’s votes into more delegates than Bloomberg could.
This is because there is a minimum threshold of 15% of the vote to get any delegates. It applies to both congressional districts and state level delegates so things can be complicated.
Bloomberg is hovering near that threshold nationwide. Where he manages to break threshold he will have delegates. Where he doesn’t those votes are counted but irrelevant. They might as well have been dropped in a shredder for all that they affect the convention. Bloomberg is likely to turn a good chunk of his votes into nothing unless the race dramatically changes.
The rules are only nominally proportional. The popular vote is only slightly more relevant to the Democratic nomination than it is to the general election.
I’ve already voted in the primary - I did early voting out of necessity, I’m out of state this week, and I stuck with Bloomberg. I would’ve still voted for him anyway, though.
I’ll make up my mind about the general as things get closer. But it’s not so much that I am optimistic about Sanders, it’s that I’m an endless black hole of pessimism when it comes to Biden.
Besides, he isn’t handling the Ukraine stuff well. Now that he’s ahead again, it’s in the news that Ukraine is investigating the Bidens.
What happened is some corrupt ass managed to force an investigation and it’s all over the conservative media - they’re acting like he’ll be arrested any second now. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they managed to get Joe or Hunter or both them indicted in Ukraine.
Democrats keep acting like this is normal election where no cheating is allowed. But the Republicans are going to openly and publicly cheat and they’re going to get away with it and win.
You doubt the power of the Klob bump? clutches a [del]stapler[/del] binder
Amy was my favorite in this race, and she just showed why — she puts the country ahead of herself. Good on Pete, too, although I’ve never liked him.
I know Bernie won’t get out any time soon, and that’s why I don’t like him. Sure, he has a right to run, just like Nader did in 2000, but too much is at stake this year for him to indulge his vanity. And that’s what he’s doing — he knows there’s not a chance in hell that his programs will get through a Republican Senate, and a Republican Senate is what we will still have if Bernie is the Dem candidate, even if he wins.
dup
I would vote for Caligua’s horse if it were running against the Orange Menace, but I cannot choose between Biden and Sanders. The only criterion is electibility. Neither is going to get anything done is Moscow Mitch controls the senate. He will come up with a new doctrine of no appointments can be approved in the first year of a presidency. Then the second, then third, then fourth. Then they can campaign that the president has done nothing.
Of course a court has now ruled, in effect, that congress cannot oversee the administration. As soon as this is confirmed by SCOTUS by 5-4, the president will not be controllable.
And winning the popular vote does mean something. It’s a reflection of the actual will of the actual people. A president who wins by the Electoral College alone ought to govern in some recognition of that fact. Something that trump has manifestly failed to do.
Good points, DinoR.