This is a group stage match up for our Democratic Primary World Cup. Everyone is invited to vote in the poll. Feel free to add comments about why you chose one of these candidates over the other one.
Mayor Pete is my number one choice at this time.
Well, I just said in the other thread that most of these matchups were no-brainers for me, but this is actually a really tough one.
I like Buttigieg, but I’m worried about his youth and gaiety from an electability perspective, and his very thin resume from an actually-doing-the-job perspective. So even though he’s probably closer to me on policy than Hickenlooper, the experience factor just barely tilts the scales to Hickenlooper for me.
Just don’t run these two on the same ticket or people will need magnifying glasses to read the bumperstickers.
Buttigieg has plenty of time ahead of him to build a political career. Once he does, I’m likely to support him. But he hasn’t yet. Between a governor and a mayor, I’m going with the governor.
Neither of them have the experience I would like to see. I think voting for either is inviting obvious disaster. But Buttigieg is offensively under-qualified, so Hickenlooper gets a vote.
I abstain. This choice is a strategic one that should be made above my pay-grade.
foolsguinea, what experience would you like to see, if a governor isn’t enough? I mean, my ideal candidate would have been some combination of governor, federal legislator, and cabinet member, but that’s going to be awfully rare.
Pete! He’s at the very top of my list.
This was a tough one for me too. I like Mayor Pete, and I think he adds something really different to the mix (and that’s not just that he’s gay, although that also adds another dimension for the voters to be exposed to). I like the way he answers questions and responds–or doesn’t respond–to heckling/name-calling by the R’s. On the other hand, Hickenlooper has been doing the TV circuit and I like a lot of what he says. I especially like the way he handled women’s health issues when he was governor–furnish more access to health care/contraceptive care and that equals a huge decrease in pregnancy and/or abortion rates while still allowing the woman to make her own healthcare decisions.
Mayor Pete just squidges by. I want to see how he does during the debates. I think he will do very well.
Where’s Hickenlooper on climate change? I get the impression that he’s pretty centrist, so I’m kinda nervous about whether he’d bother to push through anything halfway ambitious to deal with global warming.
Hell, I’ll go with Mayor Pete just because Hickenlooper ought to be prepping his run against Cory Gardner. We need the Senate, you mofos, and if Hickenlooper were running for Senate, this would be our most likely pickup.
Public service announcement…
Hickenlooper was mayor of Denver for eight years.
Of those kinds of experience, I rate governor pretty low, because the job doesn’t actually deal directly with federal budgets or responsibilities. Inslee has at least served in Congress; Hickenlooper hasn’t, and would have a rough start at least.
I think that literally the only thing that matters in Presidential elections is charisma. Nothing - not facts, not policies, not experience, not even basic competence - is remotely important. If you’re more charismatic than the other guy, you win. End of story.
Mayor Pete has charisma to burn. He could beat Trump. I think Hickenlooper might struggle. Therefore, I’m voting for Mayor Pete.
Six of one, half dozen of the other. I went for the less pronounceable name, because I’d rather see a Butt than a Hick in the White House (not that either has a snowball’s chance in Miami).
I wonder about the “Mayor Pete” nickname. It’s better than expecting people to remember how to pronounce his name, but it also reminds people that his strictly political qualifications are having been mayor of a medium-sized city.
Still, “Mayor Pete for President” is marginally better than “Hickenlooper, Schmickenlooper - At Least He’s Not Trump”.
Regards,
Shodan (but it’s pronounced Throat-Wobbler Mangrove)
This is so, so, so true. Well, at least the first part: I agree that charisma is supremely important, and I agree that Mayor Pete has charisma to burn. As for the last few sentences?
Could he beat Trump? I don’t know. I mean, if they were aiming for the same voting bloc, and one was doing a better job of reaching them, this’d be true. But I don’t think he’d pull votes away from people who previously voted for Trump; he’d have to inspire people who stayed home/didn’t vote for a major party last time around to vote for him. And could he do that? Maybe, but I have my doubts. (Though to be fair, I have my doubts for all the Democratic candidates, so this isn’t a knock against him in particular. Just saying I suspect Trump is going to win reelection.)
Would Hickenlooper struggle? Tbh, I’ve actually never seen Hickenlooper speak, so I have no clue what his charisma factor is. So you may be right, but I can’t actually say I agree because I have no clue.
Therefore, you’re voting for Mayor Pete. Well, I agree that YOU voted for him. But I haven’t made up my mind yet, so I’m abstain for now. Not clicking abstain, just still thinking about it.
I feel he’s triangulating towards the right by criticizing other Democratic candidates for promoting “Socialism.” Is that the pragmatic thing to do for 2020? Maybe it is, but I fear this would lose more liberal Democratic votes than gain moderate votes.
Buttigieg seems to be doing a much better job of threadling this line.
However, Mayor Pete seems to have little appeal for the black vote, so that’s a potential problem unless he changes his approach. And I don’t believe it’s mainly because of his sexual orientation.
Does Hickenlooper?
I also think that branding himself as “Mayor Pete” is a mistake, but for a completely different reason: He’s throwing away a valuable asset. He has a weird name, and that’s a political advantage. People talking about “how do you pronounce Buttigieg” are raising his name recognition, but in a way that can’t possibly come back to bite him.