The 2020 thread....

The DNC announced on Wednesday that it would double the requirements for candidates to reach the 2020 debate stage in September
After the first round of June and July debates, candidates will need to obtain 2% support in four approved polls over the summer and obtain contributions from at least 130,000 donors before Aug. 28 to qualify for the second debate round.

I noticed Gillibrand may not make it to the June stage…not sure what other big players might get dropped by a technical foul

Side-Exited wrote:
The DNC announced on Wednesday that it would double the requirements for candidates to reach the 2020 debate stage in September
After the first round of June and July debates, candidates will need to obtain 2% support in four approved polls over the summer and obtain contributions from at least 130,000 donors before Aug. 28 to qualify for the second debate round.

I noticed Gillibrand may not make it to the June stage…not sure what other big players might get dropped by a technical foul

Isn't the real headline out of this that Gillibrand isn't really a big player?  You cannot you be a big player if you cannot get support and raise money. 

gavroche wrote:
Isn't the real headline out of this that Gillibrand isn't really a big player?  You cannot you be a big player if you cannot get support and raise money.

I 100% agree…she looked like a contender early on when there were only 5 people running
heck I think Gravel has more support
Was never a big fan to begin with

Side-Exited wrote:

gavroche wrote:
Isn't the real headline out of this that Gillibrand isn't really a big player?  You cannot you be a big player if you cannot get support and raise money.

I 100% agree…she looked like a contender early on when there were only 5 people running
heck I think Gravel has more support
Was never a big fan to begin with

We dislike her for different reasons.  I actually think pushing Franken off the boat was the best thing she's ever done.  But in the end, that's why she's flailing, she's no one's first choice.

gavroche wrote:I actually think pushing Franken off the boat was the best thing she's ever done. 

Would like to hear more about this…

this never sat well with me "Gillibrand had an 'A' rating from the NRA"

Side-Exited wrote:

gavroche wrote:I actually think pushing Franken off the boat was the best thing she's ever done. 

Would like to hear more about this…

I wholeheartedly agree with gavroche and would love to see Julian name her his VP nominee (for the future).

Julian, wrote:

Side-Exited wrote:

gavroche wrote:I actually think pushing Franken off the boat was the best thing she's ever done. 

Would like to hear more about this…

I wholeheartedly agree with gavroche and would love to see Julian name her his VP nominee (for the future).

This is why I dislike her, she's a longterm moderate who decided to tack left but it just hasn't felt natural for her.

As for Franken, I think he needed to go and I am glad she pushed him.  There was a moment there when I thought he might survive and I think giving up that moral high ground is too costly.  I'm sorry that it felt calculating when she did it, but that is more about her move left.   

We cannot have any tolerance for sexual harassment.  Mock groping a sleeping woman, even as a joke, is not ok and there were pictures.  The woman in the picture said she didn't consent and that she felt harassed, and so you have to take her at her word.  I don't care that Republicans will never live up to that standard. Let them be the party of sexual harassment; we need to keep up a firm distinction

I don't care that Franken was charming and effective at taking on Trump.  The long term moral erosion from keeping him was too high.  Minor harassment cannot be excused just because the other sides' candidates are worse harassers.  In the end if we do that, we just end up in the same place.

I think the Northam Virginia thing is a good example of what happens when you worry too much about the immediate and don't maintain your moral compass.  The Dems will keep the Governorship in the short term, but I think it is going to have long term corrosive impact for the whole party, and hurt their chances of taking back the VA House and Senate. 

gavroche wrote:

Side-Exited wrote:

gavroche wrote:I actually think pushing Franken off the boat was the best thing she's ever done. 

Would like to hear more about this…

This is why I dislike her, she's a longterm moderate who decided to tack left but it just hasn't felt natural for her.

  Until you said it that way and I did more research…I kind of agree
when I saw she got an A from the NRA was about all I needed to know

We cannot have any tolerance for sexual harassment.  Mock groping a sleeping woman, even as a joke, is not ok and there were pictures.

So I don't know what the middle ground is here.  I just get concerned of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
I assume that your stance is there is no reconciliation for past bad behavior
I too struggle with this, but I felt his 'crimes' were pretty low level…but still offensive none the less…

The long term moral erosion from keeping him was too high.  Minor harassment cannot be excused

I don't think it should be excused, but not sure the punishment fits the crime
but you do have to take a stand at some point and say harassment is harassment and it has to stop. 

I think the Northam Virginia thing …. The Dems will keep the Governorship in the short term, but I think it is going to have long term corrosive impact for the whole party, and hurt their chances of taking back the VA House and Senate.

I don't know if I agree with this…although not sure
I really didn't think he'd survive that and he's out there getting shit done
stuff I'm glad he's there doing
"signs law to remove autism health coverage age cap" 
"Northam vetoed a bill that would have allowed the General Assembly to redraw legislative districts, apart from the redistricting process in the year following the census."

I'm hoping to see one where he gets his pledge to make community college free for VA residents too


The good thing for him is that VA is a one term Governorship…so he won't have to run for reelection
Will it hurt the Dems chances to take the house…I'm not sure
I think he has had a very documented history of doing things for the African American community and I think they will remember that
He definitely fumbled the response, but I'm glad he didn't resign
Just means he's going to have to do a lot more for the AA community and that's not a bad thing

Is wrote:

gavroche wrote:

Side-Exited wrote:

gavroche wrote:I actually think pushing Franken off the boat was the best thing she's ever done. 

Would like to hear more about this…

This is why I dislike her, she's a longterm moderate who decided to tack left but it just hasn't felt natural for her.

  Until you said it that way and I did more research…I kind of agree
when I saw she got an A from the NRA was about all I needed to know

We cannot have any tolerance for sexual harassment.  Mock groping a sleeping woman, even as a joke, is not ok and there were pictures.

So I don't know what the middle ground is here.  I just get concerned of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
I assume that your stance is there is no reconciliation for past bad behavior
I too struggle with this, but I felt his 'crimes' were pretty low level…but still offensive none the less…

The long term moral erosion from keeping him was too high.  Minor harassment cannot be excused

I don't think it should be excused, but not sure the punishment fits the crime
but you do have to take a stand at some point and say harassment is harassment and it has to stop. 

I think the Northam Virginia thing …. The Dems will keep the Governorship in the short term, but I think it is going to have long term corrosive impact for the whole party, and hurt their chances of taking back the VA House and Senate.

I don't know if I agree with this…although not sure
I really didn't think he'd survive that and he's out there getting shit done
stuff I'm glad he's there doing
"signs law to remove autism health coverage age cap" 
"Northam vetoed a bill that would have allowed the General Assembly to redraw legislative districts, apart from the redistricting process in the year following the census."

I'm hoping to see one where he gets his pledge to make community college free for VA residents too


The good thing for him is that VA is a one term Governorship…so he won't have to run for reelection
Will it hurt the Dems chances to take the house…I'm not sure
I think he has had a very documented history of doing things for the African American community and I think they will remember that
He definitely fumbled the response, but I'm glad he didn't resign
Just means he's going to have to do a lot more for the AA community and that's not a bad thing

tl;dr

LOL Joe, come on man…

Greenpeace Gives Joe Biden a D- on Climate Change Report Card

Full report is here

hutch wrote:
I really don’t get the point of targeting Fox watchers
First of all it’s rather weak and pathetic…target them in the presidential debates or anywhere else…Fox is the enemy period…the sooner we get that the better

Upcoming Dem candidates on Fox town halls….little last gasp-y
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: June 2
Julián Castro: June 13

Harris and Warren steadfastly will not

poor Eric Swalwell told CNN he "would absolutely do a Fox town hall," but the network turned him down.

Biden has no comment on this issue

You make my point…only weak candidates

hutch wrote:
You make my point…only weak candidates

that was part of my point

Hey strong candidates like Bern, Butt and Klob all appeared and got a nice bump

("you've got the "Klob-Butt-Bern" sounds like something you don't want to hear from your proctologist)

Huh? Bern is getting clobbered

hutch wrote:
Huh? Bern is getting clobbered

he's still #2 by a long shot…with 22 people eating lots of his dust

Is wrote:
In somewhat good news
…looks like Nevada is just a signature away from adding it's 6 votes to the National Popular Vote interstate compact

Looks like I was being optimistic that a Dem gov would sign this :(

and Felons…

although he did give 70k felons the right to vote in the same day!

hutch wrote:
…Fox is the enemy period…the sooner we get that the better

Nice one slate!
Daughters Don’t Let Their Mothers Watch Fox News
How to use “parental lock” to prevent your parents from tuning in to cable news.

Is wrote:
So I don't know what the middle ground is here.  I just get concerned of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
I assume that your stance is there is no reconciliation for past bad behavior
I too struggle with this, but I felt his 'crimes' were pretty low level…but still offensive none the less…

Will it hurt the Dems chances to take the house…I'm not sure
I think he has had a very documented history of doing things for the African American community and I think they will remember that

I believe there should be no tolerance for sexual harassment in the workplace and that it should be doubly so for public servants.  Being a politician SHOULD require higher standards.  No individual politician is worth sacrificing the moral high ground for.

I think this is morally true, but also strategically so. The R's gain strength by breaking government (which proves their theory that government is broken) and double down on racism and misogyny.  The D's can only be successful by governing well and being strong against racism and misogyny. 

As for Northam, I do not see how having a racist Gov and a rapist Lt Gov can do anything but hurt turnout in an off year state wide election.  It just creates a sense that there are no good politicians, and that both sides are the same.  For a party thats base is women and minorities, that feeling is incredibly damaging in the long term.

I also think that the Dems push to attract corporate money (the Bill Clinton strategy) has undermined the party.  Same deal with Labour in the UK. Without the worker vs. capital dichotomy it was necessary to find a new "other" to explain inequality.  The D's haven't found one.  The R's are able to other immigrants, minorities, Muslims, etc… It was smart politics in the short term, but damaging long term.  That's how I feel about Biden (and his ilk).  He might be the best chance to win now, but long term I think his politics are unstable.

gavroche knows what's up

I like this idea
as we already know what the senate will do if we impeach any earlier

Impeach Trump on the day before the election

Rather than beginning impeachment proceedings tomorrow, Democrats should take the next year to continue investigating and litigating to obtain the documents and testimony they need. They then should summon the House from its regularly scheduled summer recess in 2020 to launch official impeachment hearings that would culminate during the Republican National Convention from August 24-27, 2020. Instead of proceeding to a vote after both sides have presented their cases, as would be customary in normal times, Speaker Pelosi could make up some smirking Mitch McConnell nonsense about how Democrats need to think about this for a really, really long time. Then, in the most devastating move possible, she should recall her caucus either the Friday or Monday before the November election to officially vote to impeach the president. Members can fly in and out of D.C. for the roll call vote and be back in their districts by mid-day. Good night and good luck.

President Trump would lose his mind. A sitting president has never run for re-election after getting impeached, let alone been forced to contest the election prior to a Senate trial. It would create absolute bedlam for his campaign. Contrary to the n-of-1 Clinton era conventional wisdom, getting impeached does not actually boost your reputation.


it would also remove the most common political objection to the process, which is that the Senate will never convict him, and that his acquittal will give him a huge boost heading into the election.