# NYT: Senators Warren, Sanders, Klobuchar, and Bennet will be tied up in DC **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 17, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538 "2020-01-17T00:39:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/1 "2020-01-17T00:39:53Z")
[The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/us/politics/sanders-warren-klobuchar-bennet-impeachment.html) astutely observes that the rules for the impeachment trial could seriously hurt the four presidential candidates who are subject to them. "\*The rules for senators at the trial are firm: six days a week in the Senate chamber, no cellphones, no talking. It’s hard to overstate how big a problem this is for the candidates serving as jurors.\*" While Senators Warren, Sanders, Klobuchar, and Bennet are forced to sit still on the hill, Mr. Biden and Mr. Buttigieg will be out on the trail. In Iowa. Smart move on McConnell’s part, says I. Dirty move, too (whatever the actual justification). What does the Straight Dope think will come of this? ~Max ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/2 "2020-01-17T00:52:05Z")
Um, this in particular has nothing to do with McConnell; these the rules used in past impeachment trials. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/3 "2020-01-17T00:55:24Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Um, this in particular has nothing to do with McConnell; these the rules used in past impeachment trials. Oh, in that case I withdraw those two sentences. ~Max ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/4 "2020-01-17T01:05:51Z")
This is really going to kill Bennett’s momentum! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/5 "2020-01-17T05:13:06Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > What does the Straight Dope think will come of this? I don’t feel any of these four candidates are going to have a difficult time putting a positive spin on this. Their narrative will be that while some candidates were out making speeches, they were hard at work trying to remove Trump from office. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/6 "2020-01-17T05:34:16Z")
Good surrogates should help them fill in the gaps on the trail. Amy, it’s time to dust off Fritz! ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/7 "2020-01-17T05:41:02Z")
Rallies will be held wherever candidate senators can expose themselves on oversize video screens. Their voices will strongly resound from speaker systems, same as if they were there in person. Staffers will swarm about. I dunno if souvenirs will be distributed - how can they compete if Bloomberg and Steyer quietly pass out drinks at their events? Meanwhile this POTUS will attend his own rallies. He won’t even need to give supporters free fentanyl - they’re already hooked on him. Expect him to headline Really Big Shows to distract attention from the trial he won’t attend. And then a sudden crisis erupts. Danger! Danger! Presidential Action Time! Senators, the vulnerable GOPs and candidate Dems alike, will forcibly remain in session, trying to appear to be paying attention. All will be thinking of something else, mostly their own political survival. That’s their only standard. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/8 "2020-01-17T05:51:48Z")
Looks like big boon for Biden. He can use this, and the recent Warren-Bernie spat, to put all the more distance between him and his closest two rivals. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/9 "2020-01-17T06:03:35Z")
Was this part of the democratic party strategy to sideline Sanders and Warren and boost candidates like Biden and Buttijeig? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/10 "2020-01-17T07:16:12Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/11 "2020-01-17T16:14:20Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Looks like big boon for Biden. He can use this, and the recent Warren-Bernie spat, to put all the more distance between him and his closest two rivals. I wonder if Biden will send surrogates for himself while the others are tied up. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/12 "2020-01-17T16:51:30Z")
nm - double post ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/13 "2020-01-17T16:54:03Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Good surrogates should help them fill in the gaps on the trail. > > Amy, it’s time to dust off Fritz! Good Lord, is Mondale still alive?? [googles] Sonuvabitch, he is! I hadn’t heard of him for so long, I’d just assumed that he’d quietly passed away years ago. [checks Google again] And Gary Hart and Michael Dukakis are still alive as well - forgotten, but not gone. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/14 "2020-01-17T19:11:14Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Good Lord, is Mondale still alive?? It’s amazing that of the four men running in 1976 - Carter, Ford, Mondale, and Dole - three of them are still alive forty-four years later. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/15 "2020-01-17T19:15:42Z")
I don’t buy the argument that campaigning makes any difference. Two weeks out of the frenzy isn’t going to hurt anyone. “Gee, I kind of like Senator Warren, but she hasn’t been in Iowa for two weeks, perhaps I shall shift to Biden.” I don’t see that happening. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/16 "2020-01-17T19:24:27Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I don’t buy the argument that campaigning makes any difference. Two weeks out of the frenzy isn’t going to hurt anyone. > “Gee, I kind of like Senator Warren, but she hasn’t been in Iowa for two weeks, perhaps I shall shift to Biden.” I don’t see that happening. Except being there in person creates headlines, video clips and news. Those are all critically important, especially in a close race. For example: I’m torn between three candidates. However, when I read a positive news story or watch a campaign event with one of them, I’ll admit I start thinking “Yep, that’s the one. They’ve probably got my vote…” But then I’ll read or see something from one of the other two candidates I like, and I go “OK, that’s the one I’m gonna likely vote for.” The less I read or hear about one of those three candidates, the less inspired I feel to vote for them. This could be a real problem in close races, especially for Warren, but even Sanders. But I suspect it could really, really help Biden, Pete and Bloomberg. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/17 "2020-01-17T19:24:57Z")
Come on. Of course campaigning makes a difference. But they’ll still be able to do some, use surrogates and pump advertising. There’s also the opportunity for some serious grandstanding during the trial, lol. ---
**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 17, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/18 "2020-01-17T19:40:50Z")
Harold Stassen would run except in died in 2001. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/19 "2020-01-17T19:43:33Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > There’s also the opportunity for some serious grandstanding during the trial, lol. I’m not sure why people have this impression. AIUI, if there’s any grandstanding it’ll have to come from the House managers or from the defense lawyers, but it can’t come from a Senator. The Senators are jurors; they sit and listen. I don’t believe they can ask questions, make statements or call objections, and if they’re called to vote on things like allowed evidence or witnesses, these will be yes or no votes without floor debate. And at the end, each Senator gets one of two choices as a statement: “Guilty” or “Not Guilty”. Someone please correct me if I’m off base. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538/20 "2020-01-17T19:54:19Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Come on. Of course campaigning makes a difference. But they’ll still be able to do some, use surrogates and pump advertising. There’s also the opportunity for some serious grandstanding during the trial, lol. No there’s not. The senators can’t speak during the trial. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-senators-warren-sanders-klobuchar-and-bennet-will-be-tied-up-in-dc/846538.md?page=2)