# Obama's got 9 days to show some guts and save the republic **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 23, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393 "2020-02-23T15:09:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/101 "2020-02-25T03:15:47Z")
Is it just me or does anyone else find it odd that a distinctly conservative website is being used by the OP as the central argument on what Democrats need to do to save their party? Good points may or may not have been made in the article but anyone should find it deeply suspicious that a [self described](https://thebulwark.com/about-us/) conservative publication seems so intent on making Democrats a better party. All of your bullshit meters should be twitching pretty strongly and the prescriptions offered should be eyed with deep suspicion. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/102 "2020-02-25T04:18:15Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > why is Bernie allowed to bring out AOC to persuade voters to support him, but more moderate candidates are not allowed to do the same? : Because kidnapping is a federal offense? Not sure I get your point, aren’t the other candidates free to collect endorsements from other elected officials and have them stump for them? Bloomberg has Lucy McBath’s endorsement, after all. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/103 "2020-02-25T04:32:54Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Is it just me or does anyone else find it odd that a distinctly conservative website is being used by the OP as the central argument on what Democrats need to do to save their party? > > Good points may or may not have been made in the article but anyone should find it deeply suspicious that a [self described](https://thebulwark.com/about-us/) conservative publication seems so intent on making Democrats a better party. > > All of your bullshit meters should be twitching pretty strongly and the prescriptions offered should be eyed with deep suspicion. Yes, it’s a conservative website–a NeverTrump conservative site. Its raison d’etre is to oppose Trump, and to seek any way possible to remove him from office. Examples: > **[We Already Know What Trump Will Do Next - The Bulwark](https://www.thebulwark.com/we-already-know-what-trump-will-do-next/)** > > In the 1940s, Graham Greene entered a contest to write the best Graham Greene parody. He finished third. None of us likes to think we’re predictable—the highest compliment you can get is to be told that you are independent of thought, able to dash... > [@](#): > > The president’s behavior was boorish and childish, but also predictable. Entirely, completely predictable. > Trump is the most imitable human being on the planet. His beats and phrases have become so familiar that anyone can do a passable imitation and actually predicting what he’ll say is as easy as consulting anyone who has ingested bath salts in the past twelve hours. > If, during his post-impeachment speech, Trump had claimed he had once been the punter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or that he had invented seedless oranges, or that he had recently signed a trade deal with Wakanda, no one in America would have been surprised. And his Republican supporters would have nodded intently and clapped, like the trained seals they are. > **[Inside the Trump Bubble - The Bulwark](https://www.thebulwark.com/inside-the-trump-bubble/)** > > In a moment of weakness and jet-lagged naïveté I found myself musing that maybe, possibly, the new revelations about Donald Trump’s fleecing of taxpayers by charging the Secret Service exorbitant rates might make a difference with some of Trump’s... > [@](#): > > In a moment of weakness and jet-lagged naivete I found myself musing that maybe, possibly, the new revelations about Donald Trump’s fleecing of taxpayers by charging the Secret Service exorbitant rates might make a difference with some of Trump’s base. > When I said this aloud, a younger and wiser colleague lowered his eyes, and shook his head. I think he was embarrassed for me. > Because of course it wouldn’t matter. > Just like the evidence about Trump’s meddling in Ukraine didn’t matter, or last week’s dual meltdowns at the Prayer Breakfast and in the East Room didn’t matter. You think the new budget and deficit numbers will move the needle? Or the fallout from the trade war? Or the 15,000-plus false statements he’s made since taking office? The probability of any of this mattering to Trump’s base ranges from “impossible” to “no effing way.” > **[Trump, Justice, and (What Used to Be) the American Way - The Bulwark](https://www.thebulwark.com/trump-justice-and-what-used-to-be-the-american-way/)** > > The post-impeachment president’s pardon spree and his interference with the judiciary. > [@](#): > > Trump has never made any secret of his predilections for rule-breaking, irrationality, and revenge. The difference now is that he knows for certain that the constitutional system of separated powers will not function to slow him down—let alone stop him.[…] > It is no exaggeration to say that we are in a dark and dangerous phase of American democracy—one that challenges our system of justice and many of the norms and protections we have long taken for granted. Like a troubled alcoholic, America may need to hit rock bottom before we can begin the long process of becoming a nation of integrity again. Then again, not every alcoholic is so lucky. These are the kinds of allies we should be welcoming with open arms. They have the most credibility of all, because like Mitt Romney, they can’t be dismissed as partisan Chicken Littles. They have burned many professional bridges because of their “disloyalty”, and their predilections are shared with many of the educated suburban voters–who were for many years rock-ribbed “Main Street Republicans”–who swung the House so dramatically in 2018. And they are not swayed by dreams of gaining this progressive advance or that one (you may consider that a bug, I call it a feature). Their contempt and white-hot hatred for Trump and singleminded determination to get him out of office, uh, “trump” all other considerations. I feel sure that if they thought Bernie was the one most likely to take him down, they would be all for it. But like James Carville and Jonathan Chait (and, supposedly, most Democratic primary voters), they just want to maximize the chances of defeating him, whatever it takes. ETA: > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Because kidnapping is a federal offense? > > Not sure I get your point, aren’t the other candidates free to collect endorsements from other elected officials and have them stump for them? Bloomberg has Lucy McBath’s endorsement, after all. I’m quite sure you don’t get my point, because I (and the author in the OP) are advocating just that: a collection of powerful, well-timed endorsements. The person I was responding to saw these as illegitimate “back room deals and bigwig machinations”. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/104 "2020-02-25T04:40:43Z")
Oh, look, it’s Sam! > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Bernie will be a disaster in the general. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > For example, his promise to ban fracking. I guess Democrats didn’t need Pennsylvania, or Ohio, or Indiana, or Michigan, or… I live in a party of the country that gets fracking-induced earthquakes. Some people have serious water supply contamination from fracking. _You don’t know what you’re talking about._ You know what the Plains have lots of, & have lots of even when the market shifts & the oil & gas cease to be profitable? WIND. Renewables are the future. Fracking was a desperate grab for continued relevance by a dying fossil fuel sector. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/105 "2020-02-25T04:42:44Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Yes, it’s a conservative website–a NeverTrump conservative site. Its raison d’etre is to oppose Trump, and to seek any way possible to remove him from office. So you are suggesting “The Bulwark” is trying to get a democrat elected? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/106 "2020-02-25T04:49:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You’re factually wrong about Gore and Clinton losing the general election. Both of them won the general election (which was part of my point). They lost the Electoral College election. (Kerry may have won the general election also but it’s late in the day to be arguing that point.) This just demonstrates what I’ve already said; we have a system that favors Republicans. They can lose the general election and still win the Electoral College election because their base gets more votes. Been a while since I looked at a new Pew Typology. But the GOP base has probably been significantly larger than the base of the Clinton Democrats for a generation. Maybe 9 or 10 points larger? Someone has to expand that base. Maybe someone who did Spanish-language ads in Iowa, instead of assuming that the latino 6% of that state wasn’t worth picking up? What do you want to bet Bernie does Spanish ads in Kansas (12% latino), Nebraska (11%), etc.? I mean, the old boy’d better, I want to win. I don’t just mean the nomination, I mean the general. You add that many new voters, you can flip the Senate with coattails. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/107 "2020-02-25T05:01:50Z")
Foolsguinea, where was this tsunami of new voters in 2018, when none of Bernie’s candidates flipped seats? What about in the primaries so far? > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > So you are suggesting “The Bulwark” is trying to get a democrat elected? Yes, absolutely! In 2020. Then I assume they are hoping to bring the GOP back to sanity eventually (or create some new center-right party that believes in respecting small-d democratic norms). They’re not behind the Democrats for the long haul. But in this fall’s election? You better believe it. ---
**Author:** ![pjacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@pjacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjacks)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/108 "2020-02-25T05:10:29Z")
Yes, the path to victory will rely on creating new lifelong young democrats, not by trying to court fickle Never Trump conservatives or moderate republican suburbanites. These people will immediately go back to voting for the GOP once Trump is gone, or they will split their tickets and vote R downballot this November. Obama brought new young folks into the party, and Sanders has the potential to do the same. _Someone_ has to expand the eloctorate anyway- boomers are finally starting to die out and need to be replaced in the voting booth. Just bite the bullet and step aside- we are in a new era of partisan populism and the old way is dead. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/109 "2020-02-25T05:13:14Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > So you are suggesting “The Bulwark” is trying to get a democrat elected? From the second-oldest piece on the site, in early January 2019 (the oldest was still nursing a dream of getting Trump out via GOP primary challenge): > **[The Road Ahead - The Bulwark](https://www.thebulwark.com/the-road-ahead/)** > > “I don’t think he’s capable . . . He knows very little about the legislative process, hasn’t learned anything, hasn’t surrounded himself with people that can get it done, hasn’t done all the things you need to do, so it’s mostly his fault that he... > [@](#): > > The grifters will tell you that if Trump loses in 2020 it will be an enormous loss for conservatism. This is false. Gerald Ford’s defeat rejuvenated conservatism. (John Kerry’s defeat did the same for liberalism.) ETA: > [@pjacks](#): > > Yes, the path to victory will rely on creating new lifelong young democrats, not by trying to court fickle Never Trump conservatives or moderate republican suburbanites. These people will immediately go back to voting for the GOP once Trump is gone, or they will split their tickets and vote R downballot this November. I’m not disputing that they may well do that. But the first order of business is getting rid of Trump ASAP, while we still have a democracy. Then you can run AOC or whomever in 2028 and good luck to you. Maybe with eight more years of replacement of the oldest voters with the youngest, that might actually work. It’s too soon now though, and the danger is too great to take a flyer on it this time. Again: those young progressive voters went 0-41 in targeted House races in 2018. They aren’t ready yet. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/110 "2020-02-25T05:18:19Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Foolsguinea, where was this tsunami of new voters in 2018, when none of Bernie’s candidates flipped seats? What about in the primaries so far? Bernie has always been an independent, & he’s not a great party leader. The other Democratic candidates are, right now, doing worse at bringing in previously unreached minority demographics. Both things can be true. Btw, I don’t actually expect Bernie’s campaign to flip the Senate, because I think he’s actually kind of bad at party politics. I do think his popularity offers a chance to do it with coattails that no one else has right now. ---
**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 25, 2020, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/111 "2020-02-25T05:19:32Z")
A problem with a Stop Bernie Movement is: WHO should the Ds coalesce around? Each of the other candidates still on the stage is also deeply flawed. _The Bulwark_ makes another suggestion: Romney-Bloomberg running together as an independent “unity” ticket. It would be interesting to predict the results. Would anyone get an electoral college majority? How would the House of Reps vote, given that many Congresspeople would have been asked to endorse this “third way”? (Instead of Romney-Bloomberg can a pairing be found more palatable to liberals? Nah — the whole premise is that liberals won’t get off their train to Fantasyland.) I have mixed feelings about this idea — it seems like the way to suddenly re-invigorate the Republican Party. OTOH, if it’s true that, as seems very likely, Sanders has no chance in November — _times are very desperate._ ---
**Author:** ![pjacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@pjacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjacks)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/112 "2020-02-25T05:29:15Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Yes, absolutely! In 2020. Then I assume they are hoping to bring the GOP back to sanity eventually (or create some new center-right party that believes in respecting small-d democratic norms). They’re not behind the Democrats for the long haul. But in this fall’s election? You better believe it. Lol. Nobody wants these Never Trump losers, thanks. These people are a vanishingly small part of the electorate. Why do you think they were never able to stop Trump, who remains wildly popular among his party? Because despite being overrepresented in the pundit class and among urbane millionaires, Never Trump republicans are so few in number that they have way less influence then they’d like to admit. They failed to stop their own party’s descent into madness (and in fact used and cultivated the madness for their own plutocratic, Christian supremecist desires for decades before it got out of their control) and now they want to fuck with another political party? Hard pass. These people are not allies. They are enemies looking to hijack the opposition and use them to remove the lunatic in charge of their old party, and then they will simply turn around and remold the GOP back into the cheerful, polite pack of authoritarian scumbags it used to be, instead of the more vulgar, overtly evil cabal of weirdos that we have now. What a victory. I’ll take finally activating the youth & Hispanic vote over making a pact with these losers any day, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/113 "2020-02-25T05:40:38Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Yes, absolutely! In 2020. Then I assume they are hoping to bring the GOP back to sanity eventually (or create some new center-right party that believes in respecting small-d democratic norms). They’re not behind the Democrats for the long haul. But in this fall’s election? You better believe it. Then it is reasonable to assume they want to elect the most conservative leaning “democrat” possible. Also, Jerry is spinning in his grave with you using that avatar. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/114 "2020-02-25T05:49:27Z")
He’s really not. I’ve listened to his candid conversation so many times on the Pizza Tapes that I almost feel like I know the guy, and I feel confident that he and I would get along splendidly. > [@septimus](#): > > A problem with a Stop Bernie Movement is: WHO should the Ds coalesce around? Each of the other candidates still on the stage is also deeply flawed. > > _The Bulwark_ makes another suggestion: Romney-Bloomberg running together as an independent “unity” ticket. It would be interesting to predict the results. Would anyone get an electoral college majority? How would the House of Reps vote, given that many Congresspeople would have been asked to endorse this “third way”? (Instead of Romney-Bloomberg can a pairing be found more palatable to liberals? Nah — the whole premise is that liberals won’t get off their train to Fantasyland.) > > I have mixed feelings about this idea — it seems like the way to suddenly re-invigorate the Republican Party. OTOH, if it’s true that, as seems very likely, Sanders has no chance in November — _times are very desperate._ I \*wish \*something like that could work, but the most likely outcome is an immediate overwhelming Electoral College victory for Trump. The second-most likely outcome is that the House votes to reelect Trump. Any other outcome strikes me as vanishingly unlikely. Right now, we need to try to stop Bernie, even if the chances are slim. If that doesn’t work, downballot Dems need to run against Bernie and try to hold on. An analysis at RCP the other day gave me hope that even if suburban moderates vote against Bernie, they may still vote for moderate House Democrats–especially if they see Trump as highly likely to win, in order to provide a check against his having too much power. That’s probably our best case scenario. It sucks if we don’t have the Senate and he can keep getting judges confirmed, and obviously the House investigative power is increasingly toothless; but as long as Trump depends on the House for the power of the purse, he can still be kept somewhat at bay. (Still, I’ll be glad to be in a blue state where the entire executive branch is run by DFLers, and I’d recommend others take refuge in such places to the degree possible.) ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/115 "2020-02-25T06:01:54Z")
You’re giving the opposite of good advice, **SlackerInc**. I wrote the following just to say the opposite of what you’re saying: You want the coattails of the man with the votes. The Dems should be nominating Berners everywhere. Not “everywhere they can.” EVERYWHERE. The big knock against Bernie is not that his ideas are bad. They’re mostly good ideas, actually. The big knock against him is that he can’t get them past the present Congress. So he needs like-minded candidates running up and down the ballot (everywhere) so he has a chance to succeed. This makes him more credible because he has support; it makes the Democratic nominees more credible because they are with the leader of their party. And nothing succeeds like success. Is that the ideal advice? I’m not sure. But I bet my way would work better, if only because of that word EVERYWHERE. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/116 "2020-02-25T06:07:51Z")
Dude. Bernie’s Our Revolution PAC tried that in 2018. They \*utterly \*failed. Not a single GOP incumbent was defeated by one of the candidates they backed. They can win in deep blue districts like AOC’s, but without the moderates that’s a ticket only to being a permanent minority in the House. And in the House, if you’re in the minority you ain’t got shit. ETA: So let’s say they managed to win in every deep blue seat (they wouldn’t, particularly not in many CBC seats, but just for the sake of argument). The moderates in swing seats would \*\*never \*\*go along with anything those progressives wanted to do. And without the moderates, the progressives wouldn’t be able to do anything. So what’s the point? ---
**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 25, 2020, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/117 "2020-02-25T06:27:24Z")
The biggest knock against Bernie is that his core supporters are really want to tear down the traditional power centers. Maybe not the best allies for a voting block that wants to govern. I laugh when I see people thinking Bloomberg is the Dem version of Trump. That’s obviously Sanders. The not really party guy who gets the fringe people out voting for him. Yeah, he’s better than Trump but catering to the demanding “enthusiasm” of Bernie supporters is going to bite the Dems in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![pjacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@pjacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjacks)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/118 "2020-02-25T06:30:05Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Dude. Bernie’s Our Revolution PAC tried that in 2018. They \*utterly \*failed. Not a single GOP incumbent was defeated by one of the candidates they backed. > > They can win in deep blue districts like AOC’s, but without the moderates that’s a ticket only to being a permanent minority in the House. And in the House, if you’re in the minority you ain’t got shit. > > ETA: So let’s say they managed to win in every deep blue seat (they wouldn’t, particularly not in many CBC seats, but just for the sake of argument). The moderates in swing seats would \*\*never \*\*go along with anything those progressives wanted to do. And without the moderates, the progressives wouldn’t be able to do anything. So what’s the point? Okay, and democrats like Donnelly & Mccaskill lost while cosplaying as Republicans. There is no magic formula- but ultimately Sanders has a wildly enthusiastic base of support, something the other candidates lack. His Hispanic outreach will pay dividends in the general election, and the youth vote turnout be will be at it’s highest level in years. I voted for him in 2016 but he was not my favorite or even 2nd favorite candidate this time… and yet I see that has run a good campaign and his base just seems to grow & grow. The writing is on the wall and he will be the nominee. And the point is to invest in the future. Again, Sanders creates millions of newly-minted young Democrats. These are people who will continue to vote D once Sanders is long gone. Maybe he won’t get much done, but no Democratic president would under Mcconnell’s reign anyway. People just want an advocate for normal people in the White House until the boomers finally die out and we can start fixing the mess they’ve left us. A Sanders nomination is a high risk / high reward strategy sure, but at this point there’s not much left to lose. The planet is one fire, the fake economy will collapse soon, and white Christian supremacists & their oligarch allies will continue to destroy our norms & institutions even if one of the other democrats manage to win. It’s time for something radically different, and if it doesn’t work oh well at least we tried. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/119 "2020-02-25T06:42:12Z")
Well, Mondale was a safe choice. Like Dole, Kerry, McCain or Romney. In this election, the safe choice is the losing choice. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393/120 "2020-02-25T06:56:26Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Well, Mondale was a safe choice. Like Dole, Kerry, McCain or Romney. In this election, the safe choice is the losing choice. Mondale was running against Reagan. The nominee this year will be running against Donald Trump. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-got-9-days-to-show-some-guts-and-save-the-republic/848393.md?page=7)