The Democratic Candidates

PJPOWER

what dreams said:

Good for Beto for speaking with courage at whatever political cost. I happen to agree with him that nobody needs an assault rifle and I would love it if the government rounded them all up. It's not going to happen in the near future, but I hope he keeps pushing this envelope. I dream of the day I no longer have to practice lockdown drills with 12 year olds and lie to them that we are all safe at school. Just had to do it yesterday. Last week my 8 year old nephew recounted his school's lockdown procedures and we had to lie to him too. How is it that we'll accept a government ban on flavored e-cigs after 10 people die but tens of thousands die from mass shootings and we think it's impossible to ban guns. I'm fed up, and I applaud Beto O'Rourke for going big. 

I think everyone appreciates his “honesty”.  No doubt!

mrussel1

PJPOWER said:

what dreams said:

Good for Beto for speaking with courage at whatever political cost. I happen to agree with him that nobody needs an assault rifle and I would love it if the government rounded them all up. It's not going to happen in the near future, but I hope he keeps pushing this envelope. I dream of the day I no longer have to practice lockdown drills with 12 year olds and lie to them that we are all safe at school. Just had to do it yesterday. Last week my 8 year old nephew recounted his school's lockdown procedures and we had to lie to him too. How is it that we'll accept a government ban on flavored e-cigs after 10 people die but tens of thousands die from mass shootings and we think it's impossible to ban guns. I'm fed up, and I applaud Beto O'Rourke for going big. 

I think everyone appreciates his “honesty”.  No doubt!

Politically selfish is what it was. 

oftenreading

JimmyV said:

mrussel1 said:

JimmyV said:

what dreams said:

Good for Beto for speaking with courage at whatever political cost. I happen to agree with him that nobody itneeds an assault rifle and I would love it if the government rounded them all up. It's not going to happen in the near future, but I hope he keeps pushing this envelope. I dream of the day I no longer have to practice lockdown drills with 12 year olds and lie to them that we are all safe at school. Just had to do it yesterday. Last week my 8 year old nephew recounted his school's lockdown procedures and we had to lie to him too. How is it that we'll accept a government ban on flavored e-cigs after 10 people die but tens of thousands die from mass shootings and we think it's impossible to ban guns. I'm fed up, and I applaud Beto O'Rourke for going big. 

Couldn't agree more. I don't care that it might not play well politically. Democrats that are scared off by this kind of talk are on the wrong side of the present and the future.

I disagree because it's not happening any time soon.  So why create political damage by declaring for something not reasonably possible? BEto hung an albatross on everyone for no gain but to himself (if that). 

It will never happen at all if politicians are scared to talk about it. Someone needed to be first. Beto is almost certainly not going to be the nominee. Whoever is probably won't be echoing his sentiment...this time. But in 2024 or 2028? Maybe. We all know it's not going to happen now but it needs to happen sometime.

I agree. It needs to be talked about to be normalized, which is going to take time and the first people are going to take flak for it, but good for those who are willing to. The whole gun issue gets treated like it’s some sort of ridiculous sacred cow, and it’s time that people stop feeding in to the narrative. 

Hi!

What needs to be talked about? A buyback mandate? Or common sense gun reforms?

oftenreading

All of it. All of it. Stop making it so untouchable. 

oftenreading

All of this placating. “Don’t worry, no one is coming for your guns”.

Why the hell not? They certainly should be. 

Hi!

We cant even get a consensus on stronger background checks and we have a candidate talking about buyback mandates. That reflects back on all the candidates and pushes the narrative that “all dems are gonna take your guns!” I don’t think that is smart right now strategically for a general election. 

Hi!

😂

what dreams

People are dying every single day. I don't give a rat f@#% anymore about "common sense gun reform." What the hell does that even mean in this day and age? 

what dreams

Anything short of a ban on the manufacture and sale of weapons for personal use makes no sense to me. You honestly think a background check is going to stop this madness????

Hi!

what dreams said:

Anything short of a ban on the manufacture and sale of weapons for personal use makes no sense to me. You honestly think a background check is going to stop this madness????

As Johnny Cash would say-One piece at a time.
So, just curious, you’re in line with no guns for anyone including hunters?

what dreams

And speaking out for the people in El Paso who lost their children, parents, brothers, and sisters doesn't make Beto selfish. It's heroic.

Hi!

what dreams said:

And speaking out for the people in El Paso who lost their children, parents, brothers, and sisters doesn't make Beto selfish. It's heroic.

I agree, everyone does, but he went on to talk about buyback mandates.

what dreams

I know nothing about guns. I couldn't tell you what hunters use. I couldn't tell the difference between handguns, a glock, an AR, or whatever else they're called. What I do know is that there are currently more guns than people in this country. Why the hell does anyone need any more? Yes, there should be an immediate end to the manufacture and sale of new weapons of all kinds. The people who hunt already have all the rifles they need.

Hi!

what dreams said:

I know nothing about guns. I couldn't tell you what hunters use. I couldn't tell the difference between handguns, a glock, an AR, or whatever else they're called. What I do know is that there are currently more guns than people in this country. Why the hell does anyone need any more? Yes, there should be an immediate end to the manufacture and sale of new weapons of all kinds. The people who hunt already have all the rifles they need.

Lol, I feel ya and completely understand your frustration. I’m a 39 WMA and I’ve never even held a gun. BB gun doesn’t count, lol. I live in a maga county and these people ain’t handing shit over. I do feel like they could, not necessarily get behind, but at the very least not vote against things like stronger back ground checks, mental health evaluations, smaller magazine sizes, gun show loophole, ect, but even that’s a stretch. Could be a starting point though.

PJPOWER

what dreams said:

I know nothing about guns. I couldn't tell you what hunters use. I couldn't tell the difference between handguns, a glock, an AR, or whatever else they're called. What I do know is that there are currently more guns than people in this country. Why the hell does anyone need any more? Yes, there should be an immediate end to the manufacture and sale of new weapons of all kinds. The people who hunt already have all the rifles they need.

That all great and all that you feel that way...The thing is, the majority of voters most likely do not.  And Beto spouting that nonsense will do nothing more than gain Trump votes.  I appreciate his honesty, even though I do not align and would not vote for him due to that stance.  Problem is, it paints the whole Democratic Party with that same brush and gives the Republicans an easy, and valid actually, talking point; “See, the Democrats really do want mass confiscation”.  He is totally undermining the Democrats with his hardcore stance that most of the others probably don’t align with.  I, and many many other voters, will not vote for a candidate touting mass confiscation...something that would most likely never hold up in courts anyway.  It is political suicide on the state and federal level...Beto will definitely not get far in TX with his “imma gonna take em” stance.

benjs

PJPOWER said:

mrussel1 said:

Hi! said:

benjs said:

what dreams said:

So then let's all eliminate Sanders and Warren from our prospective candidate pool as well, if we're going to say that we don't want an elderly candidate to win the office. 
I agree it's difficult to listen to Biden bumble his way through a debate or speech. But I'm not going to jump on the ageism train in explaining it away. If you don't like Joe Biden because of his policy positions, his record, etc., then just say that. But if I go back through this thread and see a person applauding Warren or Sanders but crapping on Biden's age (which I won't because who has time for that), I will only conclude that you're using his age as an excuse to bash his candidacy instead of bashing his positions/record.
All three of them are old. When they're not trying to get through the god-awful grueling physical marathon of running for office, when they're actually sitting in the office with their cabinet and staff making decisions, I'm way more comfortable with Biden than the other two because I'm not a fan of the free-stuff-for-everybody approach to governing. 
You know who is also old? Pearl Jam. On three recent past tours, EV has busted his knee, his back, his voice is shot -- he should just retire from rock and roll. It's embarrassing watching an old guy try to be what he used to be. Right?

I don't care if you're 20 or 70 - for three and a half years we've watched incredulously as Trump delivered statement after statement making no sense. I'm sorry if others disagree with me, but Biden's response about health care - factoring in record players, not telling parents how to parent, repeating "look" at the beginning of his long-winded explanations, Venezuela, and embarrassingly asking for more time to continue to speak in a meandering nonsensical way - was as bad as many of Trump's speeches. I don't know if it's dementia or "just Joe", but he hasn't instilled any confidence in my mind over these three debates. Even on script, I find him a very bad speaker. To those who believe Biden is the best bet for a Democratic president, I'd love to hear what they're seeing which I'm not. 

If not Joe, better not be Sanders or Warren, I don’t think they can win. 
I think in the polling that there’s a percentage of people that won’t admit to supporting Trump. It’s going to be hard to beat Trump regardless, a liberal or self admitted socialist is going to lose. 
Losing Ideas:
1.) Gun confiscation 
2.) Medicare for all

Yeah, gun confiscation is just a terrible idea on which to campaign nationally.  It doesn't even matter what I think about the merits, it's too easy of a leap to say "the gov't will take this from you, what's next?"  

Are we sure that Beto is not actually a NRA operative using reverse psychology to get Trump votes?  Because that is all he is actually accomplishing by using his confiscation rhetoric. If you want to rile up the Republican base, go ahead and blatantly talk about “taking their guns”.  Talk about undermining the Democrat platform...

I was listening to Pod Save America and they were talking about "what Beto was trying to do", and I almost chuckled listening to these guys desperately trying to figure out what the angle was, whether he over or undersold it, what he was trying to do... it seems to me they just didn't recognize a politician being authentic because it's been so long since we've seen it.

That said, I think it'll almost certainly negatively impact him this time around (and unfortunately likely the DNC at large), but it'll become a great soundbite for 2024 for Beto. 

PJPOWER

benjs said:

PJPOWER said:

mrussel1 said:

Hi! said:

benjs said:

what dreams said:

So then let's all eliminate Sanders and Warren from our prospective candidate pool as well, if we're going to say that we don't want an elderly candidate to win the office. 
I agree it's difficult to listen to Biden bumble his way through a debate or speech. But I'm not going to jump on the ageism train in explaining it away. If you don't like Joe Biden because of his policy positions, his record, etc., then just say that. But if I go back through this thread and see a person applauding Warren or Sanders but crapping on Biden's age (which I won't because who has time for that), I will only conclude that you're using his age as an excuse to bash his candidacy instead of bashing his positions/record.
All three of them are old. When they're not trying to get through the god-awful grueling physical marathon of running for office, when they're actually sitting in the office with their cabinet and staff making decisions, I'm way more comfortable with Biden than the other two because I'm not a fan of the free-stuff-for-everybody approach to governing. 
You know who is also old? Pearl Jam. On three recent past tours, EV has busted his knee, his back, his voice is shot -- he should just retire from rock and roll. It's embarrassing watching an old guy try to be what he used to be. Right?

I don't care if you're 20 or 70 - for three and a half years we've watched incredulously as Trump delivered statement after statement making no sense. I'm sorry if others disagree with me, but Biden's response about health care - factoring in record players, not telling parents how to parent, repeating "look" at the beginning of his long-winded explanations, Venezuela, and embarrassingly asking for more time to continue to speak in a meandering nonsensical way - was as bad as many of Trump's speeches. I don't know if it's dementia or "just Joe", but he hasn't instilled any confidence in my mind over these three debates. Even on script, I find him a very bad speaker. To those who believe Biden is the best bet for a Democratic president, I'd love to hear what they're seeing which I'm not. 

If not Joe, better not be Sanders or Warren, I don’t think they can win. 
I think in the polling that there’s a percentage of people that won’t admit to supporting Trump. It’s going to be hard to beat Trump regardless, a liberal or self admitted socialist is going to lose. 
Losing Ideas:
1.) Gun confiscation 
2.) Medicare for all

Yeah, gun confiscation is just a terrible idea on which to campaign nationally.  It doesn't even matter what I think about the merits, it's too easy of a leap to say "the gov't will take this from you, what's next?"  

Are we sure that Beto is not actually a NRA operative using reverse psychology to get Trump votes?  Because that is all he is actually accomplishing by using his confiscation rhetoric. If you want to rile up the Republican base, go ahead and blatantly talk about “taking their guns”.  Talk about undermining the Democrat platform...

I was listening to Pod Save America and they were talking about "what Beto was trying to do", and I almost chuckled listening to these guys desperately trying to figure out what the angle was, whether he over or undersold it, what he was trying to do... it seems to me they just didn't recognize a politician being authentic because it's been so long since we've seen it.

That said, I think it'll almost certainly negatively impact him this time around (and unfortunately likely the DNC at large), but it'll become a great soundbite for 2024 for Beto. 

Ha, it’s much better than being lied to.  I don’t think Beto is going too far politically though.

benjs

PJPOWER said:

benjs said:

PJPOWER said:

mrussel1 said:

Hi! said:

benjs said:

what dreams said:

So then let's all eliminate Sanders and Warren from our prospective candidate pool as well, if we're going to say that we don't want an elderly candidate to win the office. 
I agree it's difficult to listen to Biden bumble his way through a debate or speech. But I'm not going to jump on the ageism train in explaining it away. If you don't like Joe Biden because of his policy positions, his record, etc., then just say that. But if I go back through this thread and see a person applauding Warren or Sanders but crapping on Biden's age (which I won't because who has time for that), I will only conclude that you're using his age as an excuse to bash his candidacy instead of bashing his positions/record.
All three of them are old. When they're not trying to get through the god-awful grueling physical marathon of running for office, when they're actually sitting in the office with their cabinet and staff making decisions, I'm way more comfortable with Biden than the other two because I'm not a fan of the free-stuff-for-everybody approach to governing. 
You know who is also old? Pearl Jam. On three recent past tours, EV has busted his knee, his back, his voice is shot -- he should just retire from rock and roll. It's embarrassing watching an old guy try to be what he used to be. Right?

I don't care if you're 20 or 70 - for three and a half years we've watched incredulously as Trump delivered statement after statement making no sense. I'm sorry if others disagree with me, but Biden's response about health care - factoring in record players, not telling parents how to parent, repeating "look" at the beginning of his long-winded explanations, Venezuela, and embarrassingly asking for more time to continue to speak in a meandering nonsensical way - was as bad as many of Trump's speeches. I don't know if it's dementia or "just Joe", but he hasn't instilled any confidence in my mind over these three debates. Even on script, I find him a very bad speaker. To those who believe Biden is the best bet for a Democratic president, I'd love to hear what they're seeing which I'm not. 

If not Joe, better not be Sanders or Warren, I don’t think they can win. 
I think in the polling that there’s a percentage of people that won’t admit to supporting Trump. It’s going to be hard to beat Trump regardless, a liberal or self admitted socialist is going to lose. 
Losing Ideas:
1.) Gun confiscation 
2.) Medicare for all

Yeah, gun confiscation is just a terrible idea on which to campaign nationally.  It doesn't even matter what I think about the merits, it's too easy of a leap to say "the gov't will take this from you, what's next?"  

Are we sure that Beto is not actually a NRA operative using reverse psychology to get Trump votes?  Because that is all he is actually accomplishing by using his confiscation rhetoric. If you want to rile up the Republican base, go ahead and blatantly talk about “taking their guns”.  Talk about undermining the Democrat platform...

I was listening to Pod Save America and they were talking about "what Beto was trying to do", and I almost chuckled listening to these guys desperately trying to figure out what the angle was, whether he over or undersold it, what he was trying to do... it seems to me they just didn't recognize a politician being authentic because it's been so long since we've seen it.

That said, I think it'll almost certainly negatively impact him this time around (and unfortunately likely the DNC at large), but it'll become a great soundbite for 2024 for Beto. 

Ha, it’s much better than being lied to.  I don’t think Beto is going too far politically though.

Lied to? What fewer gun rights do you have today than ten years ago? 

what dreams

Okay, well the next time dozens of people are killed in a mass shooting, you can all just shrug your shoulders and say "But the Democratic nomination . . . " Good for all of you.