# The 2016 Democratic Candidates **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 20, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400 "2015-01-20T18:50:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/441 "2015-07-13T18:54:17Z")
And lying. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/442 "2015-07-13T19:06:52Z")
Let’s not absolve Democrats of all responsibility. They made no effort to fight back against the non-stop lies about the ACA in 2009. By 2010 the well was quite effectively poisoned with no pushback from Democrats, and Republicans successfully used their lies to take control of the House but more importantly, targeted the right state house seats to seize control of redistricting. It was a perfect storm that led to this gerrymandered situation where Republicans have an enormous advantage in the House. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/443 "2015-07-13T19:19:17Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Let’s not absolve Democrats of all responsibility. They made no effort to fight back against the non-stop lies about the ACA in 2009. By 2010 the well was quite effectively poisoned with no pushback from Democrats, and Republicans successfully used their lies to take control of the House but more importantly, targeted the right state house seats to seize control of redistricting. It was a perfect storm that led to this gerrymandered situation where Republicans have an enormous advantage in the House. The Dems really, really need a nationwide refocusing on winning state elections. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/444 "2015-07-13T20:14:26Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > The Dems really, really need a nationwide refocusing on winning state elections. Hence the thread on the future of the Democratic brand. The need for the Democratic side is to focus on [purple districts](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2233142/The-purple-states-America-Red-blue-states-disappear-accurate-version-traditional-political-map.html). And to figure out how to appeal to White working class voters better, even White working class males, while also still motivating your core to actually show and vote in local elections even in mid-term years. Without that it is hard enough to win a majority of the popular vote in local and state level elections, let alone enough to overcome gerrymandering in Congressional districts. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/445 "2015-07-13T20:14:52Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > BTW, remember how I said there would be more stories of government failure? Sure enough, the OPM hack. Sure enough, we find that the President appointed someone incompetent to the job. And sure enough, Democrats aren’t really all that concerned. In fact, they keep saying that Obama has had an awesome week! Hard to reconcile that with actually caring about whether or not government actually works or not. [Republicans acknowledge to @evanperez they didn’t properly vet Archuleta’s qualifications](https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/619567525659947008) [Critics now call her a political hack who shouldn’t have the job, even though she got the job with bipartisan support](http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/10/politics/opm-director-resigns-katherine-archuleta/index.html) > [@](#): > > Support for Archuleta crumbled after her testimony. But she had never received a thorough vetting of her qualifications for the job. > > When she won Senate confirmation to lead the Office of Personnel Management, the chief objections from lawmakers who voted against her focused on Obamacare. > > That was October 2013, and the 62-35 vote reflected the political concerns at the time about how the agency, which serves as the federal government’s HR department, would implement parts of the health care law opposed by Republicans. > … > Less attention focused on the agency’s role in handling government security clearances and how it safeguards some of the most sensitive U.S. government databases. > … > Aides to Republican lawmakers who voted for her confirmation now acknowledge they didn’t pay enough attention to the importance of technology in the agency Archuleta was taking over. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2015, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/446 "2015-07-14T05:07:11Z")
Can we return to the topic of the thread now? ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/447 "2015-07-14T05:13:29Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Hence the thread on the future of the Democratic brand. > > The need for the Democratic side is to focus on [purple districts](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2233142/The-purple-states-America-Red-blue-states-disappear-accurate-version-traditional-political-map.html). And to figure out how to appeal to White working class voters better, even White working class males, while also still motivating your core to actually show and vote in local elections even in mid-term years. > > Without that it is hard enough to win a majority of the popular vote in local and state level elections, let alone enough to overcome gerrymandering in Congressional districts. Concentrating on purple districts is all well and good but ultimately not all that helpful as long as there continues to be a first-past-the-post system of deciding the “winner.” ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/448 "2015-07-14T07:32:12Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > 43% have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the executive branch, which is occupied by a Democrat. > > What do you suppose the number is for the Republican controlled Congress in that poll? 28% And in both cases, they are historic lows. I think you noticed that. Spin is not your friend, nor is it necessary on the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/449 "2015-07-14T07:33:28Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Yeah. Gerrymandering. The Republicans gerrymandered before they won in the census year? That’s some trick. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/450 "2015-07-14T14:13:08Z")
Google Trends on the candidates: [https://googledataorg.cartodb.com/u/googledata/viz/61090146-2213-11e5-bd23-42010a149c0c/embed\_map](https://googledataorg.cartodb.com/u/googledata/viz/61090146-2213-11e5-bd23-42010a149c0c/embed_map) ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/451 "2015-07-14T15:48:32Z")
Let’s keep a focus on the candidates, please. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/452 "2015-07-14T16:47:04Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Let’s keep a focus on the candidates, please. [Five, now](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2016#Declared), and I don’t think Webb or Chaffee count for much. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2015, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/453 "2015-07-15T03:18:50Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Google Trends on the candidates: [https://googledataorg.cartodb.com/u/googledata/viz/61090146-2213-11e5-bd23-42010a149c0c/embed\_map](https://googledataorg.cartodb.com/u/googledata/viz/61090146-2213-11e5-bd23-42010a149c0c/embed_map) Just noticed that the U.S. last acquired a state in 1912, according to that. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/454 "2015-07-16T14:53:52Z")
[Chafee has literally zero support.](http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2015/07/15/literally-zero-people-support-lincoln-chafee-new-poll/ZI57w89lKVvJJLWcE5vTLL/story.html?p1=feature_stack_1_hp) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/455 "2015-07-17T01:27:52Z")
It’s interesting that all of Clinton’s opposition were not Democrats when her husband was President. You’d almost think that Republicans were trying to get two shots at her, so they sent a couple of their moderates over to the Democrats to try to take her out. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/456 "2015-07-17T12:28:29Z")
O’Malley was in the Whig party in the 90’s. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/457 "2015-07-17T12:40:11Z")
Oh yeah, forgot about him, but can you blame me? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/458 "2015-07-17T13:39:51Z")
Will anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/459 "2015-07-17T15:02:53Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It’s interesting that all of Clinton’s opposition were not Democrats when her husband was President. You’d almost think that Republicans were trying to get two shots at her, so they sent a couple of their moderates over to the Democrats to try to take her out. So what is a dem to do if they’d like to see a female presidential candidate but they’re not so cra-cray about Hillary? She does rub a number of people the wrong way. She doesn’t have Bill’s charisma. Or is she the left’s answer to Trump? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400/460 "2015-07-17T15:11:43Z")
I don’t really like Hillary, but she’s nothing like Trump. He is impossible for anyone with two brain cells to take seriously - completely over the top. She’s unlikeable (IMO) but at least has some gravitas and legitimacy as a candidate. A female comparison to Trump would be if someone like Kim Kardashian ran for the Democratic nomination. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-democratic-candidates/710400.md?page=24)