Election 2020

[The Feral Slasher]

Need Biden to crater hard today so the moderate vote can rally around Bloomberg (speaking for myself).
The parallels between Trump and the RNC establishment in 2016 and Sanders and the DNC establishment this year are striking. RNC never collectively found an establishment candidate. The main difference as I see it for the Democrats is Bloomberg can buy his way to legitimacy and relevance in a way that Cruz, Rubio et al couldn’t.

This gave me a chuckle. It certainly could happen, the relevance part anyway

[B-Fly]

This gave me a chuckle. It certainly could happen, the relevance part anyway

I don't see a basis to question Bloomberg's legitimacy as a candidate for the presidency, either. I don't think Trump should have been viewed as legitimately qualified, or that guys like Steyer or Yang are legitimately qualified (though I'd vote for either in a heartbeat over Trump). But Bloomberg was Mayor of New York City for 12 years. Mayor of New York City, given the City's extensive executive government apparatus, its school system, its police force, its finance sector and its globalism, is probably a better testing ground for the scope and stresses of the presidency than any other job in the country.

[The Feral Slasher]

I don't see a basis to question Bloomberg's legitimacy as a candidate for the presidency, either. I don't think Trump should have been viewed as legitimately qualified, or that guys like Steyer or Yang are legitimately qualified (though I'd vote for either in a heartbeat over Trump). But Bloomberg was Mayor of New York City for 12 years. Mayor of New York City, given the City's extensive executive government apparatus, its school system, its police force, its finance sector and its globalism, is probably a better testing ground for the scope and stresses of the presidency than any other job in the country.

My legitimacy comment is not based on his experience, but rather the whole concept of using ones fortune to buy an election. I'm sure others feel differently about this

[B-Fly]

My legitimacy comment is not based on his experience, but rather the whole concept of using ones fortune to buy an election. I'm sure others feel differently about this

I do feel like its an unfair advantage, albeit a constitutionally-protected one. I don't think it "de-legitimizes" him or his experience/record, both positive and negative.

[The Feral Slasher]

My legitimacy comment is not based on his experience, but rather the whole concept of using ones fortune to buy an election. I'm sure others feel differently about this

I also question if he has any hope of flat out winning the nomination after skipping the early states. So is he just using his wealth to make sure there is a contested convention ? I don't know, it's just disappointing and troubling for me to think that billionaires have the ability to affect elections merely by spending a very small amount of their wealth, something they won't even miss.

[B-Fly]

I also question if he has any hope of flat out winning the nomination after skipping the early states. So is he just using his wealth to make sure there is a contested convention ? I don't know, it's just disappointing and troubling for me to think that billionaires have the ability to affect elections merely by spending a very small amount of their wealth, something they won't even miss.

The math certainly would allow Bloomberg to flat out win the nomination. It all comes down to whether and how quickly the race narrows to two viable choices. I hope that happens sooner rather than later, because if there are three or four candidates still collecting delegates after Super Tuesday, then I think the risk of a contested convention is high. The Bloomberg path opens if Biden drops out after losing three or four of the first four states and Sanders wins Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada plus winning or coming embarrassingly close to Biden in South Carolina. I think those results through the first four states could ultimately elevate Bloomberg to second in the national polls behind Sanders heading into Super Tuesday while catalyzing Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Warren and potentially also Biden, Yang and Steyer to drop out.

[The Feral Slasher]

The math certainly would allow Bloomberg to flat out win the nomination. It all comes down to whether and how quickly the race narrows to two viable choices. I hope that happens sooner rather than later, because if there are three or four candidates still collecting delegates after Super Tuesday, then I think the risk of a contested convention is high. The Bloomberg path opens if Biden drops out after losing three or four of the first four states and Sanders wins Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada plus winning or coming embarrassingly close to Biden in South Carolina. I think those results through the first four states could ultimately elevate Bloomberg to second in the national polls behind Sanders heading into Super Tuesday while catalyzing Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Warren and potentially also Biden, Yang and Steyer to drop out.

Lol, the math allows me to flat out win too. Granted, he has a much better shot

[The Feral Slasher]

Lol, the math allows me to flat out win too. Granted, he has a much better shot

Unlike John Kerry I would not need to resign from Bank of America's board or quit giving speeches for lots of money. So I have that going for me anyway.

[nots]

My legitimacy comment is not based on his experience, but rather the whole concept of using ones fortune to buy an election. I'm sure others feel differently about this

Is it any worse than using the fortunes of Koch Bro’s or Soros or (insert preferred bogey man here) to buy an election? I can think of worse things than a guy using his own money to run for office. At least he wouldn’t be beholden to anyone else ( in theory)

[The Feral Slasher]

Is it any worse than using the fortunes of Koch Bro’s or Soros or (insert preferred bogey man here) to buy an election? I can think of worse things than a guy using his own money to run for office. At least he wouldn’t be beholden to anyone else ( in theory)

I don't think it is any worse, and it may be marginally better as you noted. That doesn't mean it is a good idea

[Teenwolf]

Holy shit! Biden could finish 4th!

Des Moines Register poll results leaked:

Sanders 22%
Warren 18%
Buttigieg 16%
Biden 13%(!!!!)

The entire media have already largely discarded the entire field in favor of Bloomberg before the caucus results even come in. I'm loving it!

[The Feral Slasher]

Lol. I suspect it is incompetence rather than corruption, but what a Charlie Foxtrot

https://twitter.com/DNC/status/1224456542478462977

For three years, we’ve been preparing for the process that officially kicks off tonight in Iowa: the Democratic presidential primary. Today our chair, @TomPerez, reflects on the reforms we’ve made to make this the most transparent primary in our history:

[DMT]

Their incompetence is staggering.

[B-Fly]

Biden may actually finish fifth. But we may not know it for a few weeks. Ugh.

Trump won both the Iowa Republican Caucuses and the Iowa Democratic Caucuses because this level of chaos and the lack of confidence/trust it generates play right into his little baby hands.

[revo]

Well that went over well!


Watching the caucuses last night was a comedy show in itself. I can't believe Caucuses still exist, to be honest. Who dafuq has three+ hours to spend in some livestock auction facility or YMCA playing musical chairs? Clearly only the political diehards do. Just cast your vote and get out! This debacle should be the end of "caucuses," or if Iowa DNC officials are stubborn, move them back on the calendar to ensure that if this happens again, no one will care.

My friends and I were joking that why wouldn't some dude just follow a hot chick around to score some points? "Yeah, I'll just vote for whatever candidate she supports, what do I care? As long as I have a shot of getting in there!"

The "drama" was ridiculous, too. The CNN guy at one location exclaiming "The Pete Buttigieg sector has collapsed!!" was pure comedy gold. So were the troupe of pimpled college kids screaming for them to join up with them. What a farce.