US The 2020 Campaign for US President

[Mischief]

It always amazes me when people assume that a candidate who can't win his party's nomination would somehow win the the general election. That's some magical thinking right there.

 

[Nekodaiden]

But enough with the personal attacks, let's look at issues instead.

View attachment 19964




But we had this earlier, did we not?



View attachment 19965

That's a pretty good diagram, but it's not US imperialism, per se. That nation, along with allies that participate (UK, Australia etc) are just acting on behalf of the international financeers who own the stock in the private central banks and control the mainstream media in these countries. Although the US is the biggest participant, as it controls the world's oil currency and through this dominance has been able to build up a very formidable military around most of the world.

The "let money rule politics" is a bit of irony. The so called "Federal Reserve Bank" (privately owned Central Bank in the US) was partly promoted to the public as a way to divorce money from politics. Just out of pure coincidence (wink wink), it just happened to be set up before world war 1 and funded both world wars as well as those that came after by issuing money as debt for ever gradual future generations slavery.

The people have not really had much real influence in politics since it's founding. It was the formal start of the US Fascist system (control by privately owned corporation/industry through the banks that are allowed to buy the corporate controlling shares through the Fed reverse ponzi scheme) that has grown ever since.

Presidential elections are a bit like a hose and pony show. It doesn't matter much except for maybe the short term whims of a president. The longer term goals remain the same.

 

[SapphireLightning]

It always amazes me when people assume that a candidate who can't win his party's nomination would somehow win the the general election. That's some magical thinking right there.

If winning the party nomination was democratic, I would agree with you. It is not, though. They go through all of these democratic-looking charades, but then just pick the one the party elite wanted anyways. Bernie had a larger fan base than Hillary, so at least statistically had a better chance of winning. Doubt he would have carried the extra electoral votes, though. Seriously, we need direct elections. This electoral college process has literally subverted the whole point of democracy for 2 of the 3 presidents this century alone.

 

[Andy_T]

Here is an interesting article:

Trump Beats Biden

The Democratic Party establishment has united behind the candidate who has failed at running for president for 32 years. Defender of banks and drug companies, Joe Biden is the swamp creature of Donald Trump’s dreams.

jacobinmag.com

Yes, that article rings very true, although the source might be suspect to many.

Some more:

A Biden Presidency Would Be a 'Death Sentence,' Climate Activists Warn

The former vice president's campaign has them very, very worried.

www.vice.com

 

[Andy_T]

TBH, what frightens me even more recently (as in ... the last couple of days) is the amount of articles mentioning that Biden is almost never seen on TV, and the reason might be that he could be suffering from dementia, as suggested by some of this statements

It's not as if Dump would not already eat him alive in a debate, even at the height of his cognitive abilities...

 

[Andy_T]

Also: This!

 

[Andy_T]

Did I ... just write I was most concerned that Joe Biden had dementia?

That was before I read this article about all the things he had supported when he had full mental clarity ...

Democrats, You Really Do Not Want To Nominate Joe Biden

We urgently need to remember who Biden is and think carefully about what would happen if he were chosen.

www.currentaffairs.org

Now, I am not so sure anymore ...

 

[Andy_T]

This is interesting!

There is quantitative evidence disproving the "Bernie Bro" myth

A computational social scientist's study shows Bernie's Twitter followers act pretty much the same as everyone else

www.salon.com

Now, to add to this qualitative assessment, there is quantitative evidence, too — reaped from studying hundreds of thousands of interactions online — that reveals the Bernie Bro myth as, well, a myth. Jeff Winchell, a computational social scientist and graduate student at Harvard University, crunched the numbers on tweet data and found that Sanders' supporters online behave the same as everyone else. Winchell used what is called a sentiment analysis, a technique used both in the digital humanities and in e-commerce, to gauge emotional intent from social media data.

"Bernie followers act pretty much the same on Twitter as any other follower," Winchell says of his results. "There is one key difference that Twitter users and media don't seem to be aware of.... Bernie has a lot more Twitter followers than Twitter followers of other Democrat's campaigns," he added, noting that this may be partly what helps perpetuate the myth.

 

[Mischief]

TBH, what frightens me even more recently (as in ... the last couple of days) is the amount of articles mentioning that Biden is almost never seen on TV, and the reason might be that he could be suffering from dementia, as suggested by some of this statements

It's not as if Dump would not already eat him alive in a debate, even at the height of his cognitive abilities...

Thanks for shilling for trump. If you need any more pointers from trump, you can get them here: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/10/trump-biden-clinton-age-senile-124797

Remember in 2016, when Sanders supporters helped out trump when he attacked Hillary's health? Strangely enough, health isn't an issue when their candidate has an actual heart attack.

 

[Mischief]

If winning the party nomination was democratic, I would agree with you. It is not, though. They go through all of these democratic-looking charades, but then just pick the one the party elite wanted anyways. Bernie had a larger fan base than Hillary, so at least statistically had a better chance of winning. Doubt he would have carried the extra electoral votes, though. Seriously, we need direct elections. This electoral college process has literally subverted the whole point of democracy for 2 of the 3 presidents this century alone.

Clinton won 55.2% of the popular vote in the 2016 Democratic primaries. Sanders won 43.1%. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Results_of_the_2016_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries

Please explain to me how Sanders had the "larger fan base", and how "giving" the nomination to Clinton was undemocratic, when she not only won the popular vote, but did so with a twelve point spread over Sanders?

 

[Mischief]

I find it interesting how many people who are not trump supporters nevertheless choose to echo trump talking points and even cite pro-trump sources.

I also find it interesting that so many people who don't support trump choose to ignore which Democratic candidate trump obviously wants to run against and which one is constantly being promoted by Russian bots. Doesn't that ever give you pause to wonder why? Do you really think trump promotes Sanders because he thinks Sanders will be his toughest competition?!

 

[Mischief]

This is interesting!

There is quantitative evidence disproving the "Bernie Bro" myth

A computational social scientist's study shows Bernie's Twitter followers act pretty much the same as everyone else

www.salon.com

So is this, about the dirtbag left, who are loud and proud and very public: https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiED9yjmf-I8Q-WrikxLidaugqGAgEKg8IACoHCAowlOzSATCaiDUw1aKsBQ?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

 

[SapphireLightning]

Clinton won 55.2% of the popular vote in the 2016 Democratic primaries. Sanders won 43.1%. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Results_of_the_2016_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries

Please explain to me how Sanders had the "larger fan base", and how "giving" the nomination to Clinton was undemocratic, when she not only won the popular vote, but did so with a twelve point spread over Sanders?

I meant by political momentum early on, until the DNC took him seriously and tried to squelch him just like they are doing now. It is not beyond reason that Sanders could have won if the DNC had been neutral instead of backhandedly promoting the candidate they already chose themselves.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Hm I hope this thread isn't typical of the democratic infighting.

Some polls have now come out and Biden now has a 90%-95% chance to get the nomination, according to betting markets. I think this is before any results today are in.

I think it's perfectly logical to see Biden as your friend for now and passionately campaign for him (IF and when he gets the nomination) on an anti-Trump basis, and then after he wins immediately become someone who doesn't support him in the slightest and calls him to account on everything and demands more.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Did I ... just write I was most concerned that Joe Biden had dementia?

That was before I read this article about all the things he had supported when he had full mental clarity ...

Democrats, You Really Do Not Want To Nominate Joe Biden

We urgently need to remember who Biden is and think carefully about what would happen if he were chosen.

www.currentaffairs.org

Now, I am not so sure anymore ...

Although this article is long, it is worth reading. Thanks for this article.

 

[Mischief]

A majority of white men with a college degree in Missouri supported Biden on Tuesday night, a group that Sanders won by nearly 30 percentage points, 64 percent to 36 percent, in the 2016 primary. Among whites overall, Biden led by double digits, a reversal from Sanders' nine-point lead in 2016.

Black voters delivered yet another commanding win for Biden in the South, where he swept on last week's Super Tuesday. Nearly two-thirds of primary voters in the state of Mississippi were black, and they said they supported Biden by a more than six-to-one margin, with around 8 in 10 saying they voted Biden vs. only a little over 1 in 10 for Sanders.

Exit polls show Biden drawing key groups away from Sanders

Former Vice President Joe Biden expanded his winning coalition on Tuesday night, delivering another commanding win in the South with black voters and moderates while also winning over groups that went for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016, according to preliminary exit polls.

amp.cnn.com

 

[Andy_T]

As I already said in the other thread, all we can now hope for is that there will be so much overwhelming sentiment against Dump in November that the much-echoed sentiment "A roomba would win over Trump" becomes a reality.

 

[Andy_T]

They have even already printed election posters based on that strategy ....

 

[Andy_T]

Also, this has to be said, regardless of how much I hope the Dem candidate can kick out Dump in November.

 

[Andy_T]

Another very good and informative read!

Everything Has Changed Overnight

The Democratic primary is no longer over. This is a historic crisis requiring nothing less than FDR-style ambition and leadership. We’ve got just the guy.

www.currentaffairs.org