The Democratic Candidates

I don't know.  I think it is way too early to tell.

Not too early for me to know which two candidates will make me put stuff in my ears and stop listening to the news again.
They are not as bad as Trump because they are good people....but they both want to yell and scream their ultra agenda at/over everyone.

I thought many of the candidates last night, and a few the night before, came off as well spoken, reasonable, and electable.

Look forward to more discussion

Cory Booker is a fucking weasel.


Ahhhh, I feel better now. 🙂

cincybearcat said:

So I was able to watch the last 1+ hours. So my opinion based only on that:

1) Biden is a terrible candidate. He will get eaten up in the General election. He may still win but only because he isn’t trump. I’m not just parroting Trump here...he legit seems really old and tired. Like he doesn’t really want to be there. Weird.

2) Harris - she should not be the nominee at this point. She has some things going for her but she seems to only fall back on being a prosecutor...and she was explosed on that as well last night. Again - she could beat trump but she hardly seems like the best candidate (at this point).

3) Booker was far better than he has been. Still don’t see it.

4) Gabbard - she was pretty impressive from my view point. She seemed tough, sincere and ready for the spotlight. Like Harris and her always bringing up being a prosecutor...her playing the soldier card as much as she does is going to get old over time.

5) Yang - not a fan, but he did well for what he believes in.

Some others had a few moments here and there but nothing spectacular. I felt the Gellibrand questioning of Biden on his old op Ed was weird. Too much rambling to make a solid point. Seemed very “gotcha”...and people change and I’m not sure the full context was given. Weird.

i could barrow this down to 8 candidates right now. Would be willing to throw in 2 more if it had to be 10

Did you do something like this for night#1? Would like to read it.

PJNB said:

F Me In The Brain said:

Anyone but Trump....and Bernie, and Warren.

Think anyone can beat Trump? Seems like Biden is the only one that has a chance. I am not sure he can handle a Trump debate that will go off the rails though. 

Biden is too polite and too concerned about correcting himself.

Especially troubling because he will have to go up against someone who doesn't give a flying phuck about the truth.

cincybearcat said:

2) Harris - she should not be the nominee at this point. She has some things going for her but she seems to only fall back on being a prosecutor...and she was explosed on that as well last night. Again - she could beat trump but she hardly seems like the best candidate (at this point).

You really think so? I think she's more unlikeable than Hillary. Way more unlikeable. And let's face it, being a minority candidate is no easy thing. Now if you're charming and likable like Obama, it shouldn't make a difference. But there's not many Obamas out there. And as far as likability goes, she couldn't be further away from Obama. At least for me. I know she's polling alright in the primary. But in a general election? Could be tough. 

In fact, for my vote, she's kind of like this year's Trump. I wanted to vote Republican in 2016, but couldn't because I disliked Trump, so I voted for Hillary. This year, I want to vote Democrat, but Harris is the one I don't want to vote for. Not a big fan of Warren or Harris either but I'd vote for them over Trump if it came to it. Biden and Pete would have my vote no question. But if Harris is the candidate, I may have to recast my 2004 vote: a write-in for Les Claypool from Primus. 

Spiritual_Chaos said:

cincybearcat said:

So I was able to watch the last 1+ hours. So my opinion based only on that:

1) Biden is a terrible candidate. He will get eaten up in the General election. He may still win but only because he isn’t trump. I’m not just parroting Trump here...he legit seems really old and tired. Like he doesn’t really want to be there. Weird.

2) Harris - she should not be the nominee at this point. She has some things going for her but she seems to only fall back on being a prosecutor...and she was explosed on that as well last night. Again - she could beat trump but she hardly seems like the best candidate (at this point).

3) Booker was far better than he has been. Still don’t see it.

4) Gabbard - she was pretty impressive from my view point. She seemed tough, sincere and ready for the spotlight. Like Harris and her always bringing up being a prosecutor...her playing the soldier card as much as she does is going to get old over time.

5) Yang - not a fan, but he did well for what he believes in.

Some others had a few moments here and there but nothing spectacular. I felt the Gellibrand questioning of Biden on his old op Ed was weird. Too much rambling to make a solid point. Seemed very “gotcha”...and people change and I’m not sure the full context was given. Weird.

i could barrow this down to 8 candidates right now. Would be willing to throw in 2 more if it had to be 10

Did you do something like this for night#1? Would like to read it.

Not a summary...but I can. This is from a moderate...so I may not be the target audience for the debates in a democratic primary.

1) Bernie - He is who he has been.  He is not a democrat, he is a legit socialist.  Free everything.  He hasn't moved off his point of view in any direction.  Which is good and bad.  He will win the votes he already has and not many more.  He may beat Trump...but its a vote that as a moderate I cannot make.  I won't vote for trump or Bernie.  His yelling and hand raising is getting really annoying.  Less tough and more angry grandpa.

2) Warren - she's what Bernie wants to be.  She has many of the same plans.  She comes across as tough.  She doesn't back down. She yells too...but the bad traits are toned down a bit.  This she is too far to the left for a moderate like me.  But she would be terrific in a debate with trump and could energize the voters in the Dem party.  She would have headwinds (like Hillary) but she will actually campaign.  It was a strong performance and I really think set her apart from bernie some. Her free everything campaign will face significant hurdles and it would be tough for someone like me to vote for her though.  It would be interesting how she defends her plans in front of a moderate or mixed crowd and not a primary. 

3) Pete - While I don't like all his policies, he was great again that night.  He was calm, collected, smart and able to articulate his answers and even the small details at times.  He is an inspiring candidate without relying on the HATE vote that Bernie does.  I really think he has a very slim shot at this nomination...but his career is going to be promising.  It wouldn't surprise me if he is elected president in in the next 12 years.  

4) Amy K - she had a strong night for her.  She really is the candidate that comes the closest to matching my views.  She is strong, tough and poised.  I think she improved herself in her debate.

5) Williamson - the bar was low for her, but she was impressive on stage that night.  She made some great comments regarding the Dem party and seemed to be saying the things that some others should say to defend their plans.  It was a really strong debate for her.

The rest - mostly throwaways.  Some nice things, but not enough their to energize the base or win a general election.  Perhaps if it was a 2 way race between on of them and like a Bernie.  But too many other options that are similar in ways a better candidates.

Ledbetterman10 said:

cincybearcat said:

2) Harris - she should not be the nominee at this point. She has some things going for her but she seems to only fall back on being a prosecutor...and she was explosed on that as well last night. Again - she could beat trump but she hardly seems like the best candidate (at this point).

You really think so? I think she's more unlikeable than Hillary. Way more unlikeable. And let's face it, being a minority candidate is no easy thing. Now if you're charming and likable like Obama, it shouldn't make a difference. But there's not many Obamas out there. And as far as likability goes, she couldn't be further away from Obama. At least for me. I know she's polling alright in the primary. But in a general election? Could be tough. 

In fact, for my vote, she's kind of like this year's Trump. I wanted to vote Republican in 2016, but couldn't because I disliked Trump, so I voted for Hillary. This year, I want to vote Democrat, but Harris is the one I don't want to vote for. Not a big fan of Warren or Harris either but I'd vote for them over Trump if it came to it. Biden and Pete would have my vote no question. But if Harris is the candidate, I may have to recast my 2004 vote: a write-in for Les Claypool from Primus. 

I'd love to get more insight from voters that like to bounce between parties and also why the Harris dislike (I did not like her busing attack fwiw).

The 2 parties are either trust the corporation and "free" markets to make the country better for all or have the govt provide specific guidance and set up systems where capitalism falls short.

Those are two vastly different approaches and it seems any of the dem candidates would fit the standard dem approach despite all the back stabbing this week.

Lerxst1992 said:

Ledbetterman10 said:

cincybearcat said:

2) Harris - she should not be the nominee at this point. She has some things going for her but she seems to only fall back on being a prosecutor...and she was explosed on that as well last night. Again - she could beat trump but she hardly seems like the best candidate (at this point).

You really think so? I think she's more unlikeable than Hillary. Way more unlikeable. And let's face it, being a minority candidate is no easy thing. Now if you're charming and likable like Obama, it shouldn't make a difference. But there's not many Obamas out there. And as far as likability goes, she couldn't be further away from Obama. At least for me. I know she's polling alright in the primary. But in a general election? Could be tough. 

In fact, for my vote, she's kind of like this year's Trump. I wanted to vote Republican in 2016, but couldn't because I disliked Trump, so I voted for Hillary. This year, I want to vote Democrat, but Harris is the one I don't want to vote for. Not a big fan of Warren or Harris either but I'd vote for them over Trump if it came to it. Biden and Pete would have my vote no question. But if Harris is the candidate, I may have to recast my 2004 vote: a write-in for Les Claypool from Primus. 

I'd love to get more insight from voters that like to bounce between parties and also why the Harris dislike (I did not like her busing attack fwiw).

The 2 parties are either trust the corporation and "free" markets to make the country better for all or have the govt provide specific guidance and set up systems where capitalism falls short.

Those are two vastly different approaches and it seems any of the dem candidates would fit the standard dem approach despite all the back stabbing this week.

I don't really have a concrete answer to this myself. You know how it is with some people you see on TV...some ya like and some ya don't. She's just one that I don't. But politically speaking, there's two moments with her that just turned me off. 

-Like you said, the busing attack on Biden. I can't stand the constant calls of racism from the left. It minimizes actual racist things when you suggest everything is racist. If she wants to call Trump racist.....fair enough. But to have that busing attack in her back pocket prepared to jump on JOE FREAKING BIDEN and imply he's racist is ridiculous. Dude fought for civil rights his entire career. And Obama's no dummy. There's a reason he picked Joe as his running mate.

-There was a congressional hearing maybe six months ago where her grandstanding was nauseating. She was questioning the director of ICE and she asked him  "Are you aware of the perception people have likening ICE to the KKK?" Two things here. First off, it's very Trumpian (why the hell did my spellcheck allow "Trumpian"???) to talk about the perception people have. He words it as "a lot people are saying" but it's the same thing. And secondly, its sounds like SHE thinks ICE is comparable to the KKK. So she should say it. Don't hide behind "poeple have a perception." Hell, there's a perception by people that the Earth is flat. Would Harris say that in a hearing? Of course not. Because she doesn't believe it. But I think she does believe ICE is comparable to the KKK so she's happy to bring up that perception. And while I disagree with that perception, at least I'd respect her a little if she said it rather than doing Trump's "a lot of people are saying...." shtick.

She's just not for me. 

I'm less confident about these democrats' chances than I was a month ago.