Who will challenge Trump? Who you like?

[fortyfour]

Kris, thanks for the link above. I had read it but it had slipped my mind while watching the town hall. That said, I still think some, or most, of what I was picking up on was him losing his train of thought. That ability to land the punch, so to speak.

Yeah, sometimes it's him working through a stutter and other times, it's him losing his train of thought. From what I've observed, it's most pronounced when he gets excited or emotional and I'm sure it's gotten worse to work with as he has aged too. Which all goes back to reasons why a lot of our politicians need to hand power over to a new generation of lawmakers. I'm thankful for their service, but seriously: It's time to relinquish power and control, help train/mentor the next generation of politicians and help rally support around down ticket candidates.

The podcast piece linked from the New Yorker earlier was incredibly interesting.

[jclay]

Nobody said our system of government is perfect. This grand experiment of the USA is far better than any other systems out there.
Over passage of time sunlight is a great disinfectant. Reports are now being published Russia is promoting Senator Sanders election.

Other countries are going to attempt do that. It is what they do. We must maintain our safeguards.
I am sure the USA has had a hand in how other nations select leaders over the past 100+ years, too.

What just happened in the Senate isn't trivial; it was a serious dereliction of duty, not an accusation of the lack of being perfect.

Far better than any other systems out there? Do you actually know enough and have enough relevant experience to make such a statement? That sounds like typical US hubris. You know, European countries haven't been sitting on their political evolutionary hands in the period since 1776. They've learned a thing or three in the interim.

[Matthew Strongin]

Yeah, sometimes it's him working through a stutter and other times, it's him losing his train of thought. From what I've observed, it's most pronounced when he gets excited or emotional and I'm sure it's gotten worse to work with as he has aged too. Which all goes back to reasons why a lot of our politicians need to hand power over to a new generation of lawmakers. I'm thankful for their service, but seriously: It's time to relinquish power and control, help train/mentor the next generation of politicians and help rally support around down ticket candidates.

The podcast piece linked from the New Yorker earlier was incredibly interesting.

Completely agree!

[BBB]

It’s offical...Australians trying to influence the outcome of the election...

Primary school: the Australians volunteering in Democratic campaigns | US news | The Guardian

[mzilliox]

Nobody said our system of government is perfect. This grand experiment of the USA is far better than any other systems out there.
Over passage of time sunlight is a great disinfectant. Reports are now being published Russia is promoting Senator Sanders election.

Other countries are going to attempt do that. It is what they do. We must maintain our safeguards.
I am sure the USA has had a hand in how other nations select leaders over the past 100+ years, too.

One major problem here is instead of getting angry and lashing out at these countries, or election interference in general, trump is instead lashing at out the life long servants of our country who are issuing warnings he doesnt want to hear (dictatorial behavior). yes, we must maintain our safeguards, so lets get captain "i dont understand the danger, my enemies are here working for me" out of the office, right? and yeah, of course we have had a hand in elections, and resources, and everything else that requires our ridiculously large Military. that doesnt mean anything at all though when we want to elect our leaders, does it? except that we can be a hypocritical nation at times.

and are reports that russia is for his presidency? or for his campaign, because they think he will be the weakest opponent for their previous choice? and this is bad too, all the more reason to stop throwing out the serious adults who have been serving our country and start behaving with some dignity and perhaps show a bit of ability to prioritize, again, this guy has to try and make enemies out of fellow Americans, whats his issue with that? your polite paceline analogies dont apply to the president??? he gets to sprint at all the signposts, pass on the right, skip his pulls, and ride like an asshole pissing off motorists and you give him a free pass? cmon.

[Corso]

You folks are insistent to make this threat all about Trump and not who may beat him, aren't you?

[Colinmclelland]

Can you guys really keep up this level of enthusiasm until the election?

I mean i felt like our election campaign went on forever because it started way before it “started” but even so it was probably about half the length yours is going to be.

It would seem the Australian public makes poor decisions in a more timely and cost effective manner.

I know there are links explaining the primaries, but can anyone point me at something that explains why they are a good idea? Seems like a tonne of energy and money just to be selected to compete. Seems like asking people to do their PB’s in the semi-final...but I’ve been wrong before

[theflashunc]

You folks are insistent to make this threat all about Trump and not who may beat him, aren't you?

Russia should not interfere in our election for the benefit of any candidate, or to sow chaos, division and discord.

Only one person in charge of the entirety of the intelligence community and self proclaimed chief law enforcement officer refuses to acknowledge Russia monkeyed with the 2016 election for his benefit and refuses to acknowledge they're doing it now. Sucks because he and the Senate GOP beholden to him are the only ones who can do anything about it.

Hell, he's on tape openly courting outside influence in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, multiple times. He doesn't care about the integrity of the system, only what will benefit him.

[thollandpe]

It would seem the Australian public makes poor decisions in a more timely and cost effective manner.

Post of the day, mate.

[gregl]

It’s offical...Australians trying to influence the outcome of the election...

Primary school: the Australians volunteering in Democratic campaigns | US news | The Guardian

I have spoken with upstate NY Republicans who plan to volunteer on Election Day - in Pennsylvania - assisting the Democratic Party by driving voters to polling places. They know New York will vote blue, so they want to help in a swing state that is a key to removing Trump from office. I may just have to volunteer in PA myself.

Greg

[Bob Ross]

I have spoken with upstate NY Republicans who plan to volunteer on Election Day - in Pennsylvania - assisting the Democratic Party by driving voters to polling places. They know New York will vote blue, so they want to help in a swing state that is a key to removing Trump from office. I may just have to volunteer in PA myself.

The missus and I, though neither upstate nor Republicans, have discussed doing exactly the same thing this year. Rent a van, dress up like Uncle Sam, make a vacation out of it.

[jclay]

Full disclosure: I'm biased towards Bernie's issue positions; but it's an interesting analysis and covers how I've felt on my optimistic days since the run up to the 2016 election.

Why Bernie Can Win

[fastupslowdown]

Was thinking about Bernie's ascension. Heard a talking head last night saying he's polling the same as four years ago but this time round he's not running against Hillary but several other candidates who are splitting the remaining votes. Makes him look stronger than he would otherwise be. Looks like 25% of the DNC likes him and his progressive and socialistic agenda. The problem is in the general he'd be running against one person and then you must factor in independents and republicans. I think if Bernie is the candidate we're virtually assured of a 2nd Trump term. Too many people don't want to lose their private health insurance and would be afraid he'd wreck the economy further. Bernie's an honest and sincere man, but that doesn't necessarily make him a good leader. Just my two cents. I'd prefer Bloomberg, Biden or Klobuchar and privately hoping for a Bloomberg/Klobuchar ticket


And my biggest issue and this is where I have and had issues with the candidacy of not only Sanders and Trump but also Obama is that they lacked any real executive experience before assuming office . I prefer seeing governors who have at least run a government. Bloomberg by having been a three term mayor of the largest American city and ran a successful company for decades has the experience to run an organization. Biden at least was Vice President. And as good as Warren and Buttigeg talk the talk they've never really managed anything significantly. I don't remember Bernie even sponsoring and getting any legislation passed or even heading a Congressional committee -Mike G

[davids]

Thomas Friedman has an idea: Opinion | Dems, Want to Defeat Trump? Form a Team of Rivals - The New York Times

"... if progressives think they can win without the moderates — or the moderates without the progressives — they are crazy. And they’d be taking a huge risk with the future of the country by trying."

This is intriguing to me. Discuss.

[King Of Dirk]

Create Your Own Thomas Friedman Op-Ed Column - McSweeney’s Internet Tendency

Despite his incessant douchebaggery, based on the provided quote Friedman is right on this one. (I'm not creating a free account or logging in to read it).

My moderate democrat in-laws reside near you, David, and find Senator Warren hard to take. They (like me) admire Senator Sanders for his sincerity, but struggle to support a candidate who has no clue what his proposals will cost. That's not a Faux News talking point - that's rabid conservative Anderson Cooper this Sunday on 60 Minutes:

"How much will that cost?” Cooper asked.

“Obviously, those are expensive propositions, but we have done our best on issue after issue – in paying for them,” Sanders responded.

“Do you know how all – how much though?” Cooper pressed. “I mean, do you have a price tag for all of this?”

“We do. I mean, you know, and, and, the price tag is – it will be substantially less than letting the current system go,” Sanders responded. “I think it’s about $30 trillion.”

“That’s just for Medicare for All, you’re talking about?” Cooper continued. “Do you have a price tag for all of these things?”

“No, I don’t,” Sanders responded. “We try to – no, you mentioned making public colleges and universities tuition free and cancelling all student debt, that’s correct. That’s what I want to do. We pay for that through a modest tax on Wall Street speculation.”

“But you say you don’t know what the total price is, but you know how it’s gonna be paid for. How do you know it’s gonna be paid for if you don’t know how much the price is?” Cooper pressed.

“Well, I can’t, you know, I can’t rattle off to you every nickel and every dime,” Sanders responded. “But we have accounted for, you – you talked about Medicare for All. We have options out there that will pay for it.”

Jesus wept.

Friedman is right that the progressives can't win without the moderates, and the moderates won't win because if Sanders isn't the nominee the progressives will feel (again) slighted by the DNC, and a small but significant number of them will "punish" the DNC by refusing to turn out for a nominee they consider to be a sell-out.

Don't get it twisted; I'm a conservative and some part of me enjoys this. But I am being honest when I say I wish the DNC were better organized. A strong DNC makes the GOP wary of going too far off the rails, and when there's no viable threat from the DNC the GOP can run idiots like the Current Guy with no fear of losing. Even if they lose, a strong DNC makes for a moderate Republican administration. A shitshow DNC results in President Trump. For the love of all that's good and decent, please put James Carville in charge of something ASAP.

[fastupslowdown]

This is an interesting tid-bit on Sanders. He's only sponsored 7 pieces of legislation, 2 of which were for post offices

[thollandpe]

A shitshow DNC results in President Trump.

I'm glad you limbered up before throwing that knuckleball.

[thollandpe]

This is an interesting tid-bit on Sanders. He's only sponsored 7 pieces of legislation, 2 of which were for post offices

Your tidbit is bullshit.

Sponsored Legislation = 934
Cosponsored Legislation = 6,246

Verified at senate.gov.

[theflashunc]

Create Your Own Thomas Friedman Op-Ed Column - McSweeney’s Internet Tendency

Despite his incessant douchebaggery, based on the provided quote Friedman is right on this one. (I'm not creating a free account or logging in to read it).

My moderate democrat in-laws reside near you, David, and find Senator Warren hard to take. They (like me) admire Senator Sanders for his sincerity, but struggle to support a candidate who has no clue what his proposals will cost. That's not a Faux News talking point - that's rabid conservative Anderson Cooper this Sunday on 60 Minutes:

"How much will that cost?” Cooper asked.

“Obviously, those are expensive propositions, but we have done our best on issue after issue – in paying for them,” Sanders responded.

“Do you know how all – how much though?” Cooper pressed. “I mean, do you have a price tag for all of this?”

“We do. I mean, you know, and, and, the price tag is – it will be substantially less than letting the current system go,” Sanders responded. “I think it’s about $30 trillion.”

“That’s just for Medicare for All, you’re talking about?” Cooper continued. “Do you have a price tag for all of these things?”

“No, I don’t,” Sanders responded. “We try to – no, you mentioned making public colleges and universities tuition free and cancelling all student debt, that’s correct. That’s what I want to do. We pay for that through a modest tax on Wall Street speculation.”

“But you say you don’t know what the total price is, but you know how it’s gonna be paid for. How do you know it’s gonna be paid for if you don’t know how much the price is?” Cooper pressed.

“Well, I can’t, you know, I can’t rattle off to you every nickel and every dime,” Sanders responded. “But we have accounted for, you – you talked about Medicare for All. We have options out there that will pay for it.”

Jesus wept.

Friedman is right that the progressives can't win without the moderates, and the moderates won't win because if Sanders isn't the nominee the progressives will feel (again) slighted by the DNC, and a small but significant number of them will "punish" the DNC by refusing to turn out for a nominee they consider to be a sell-out.

Don't get it twisted; I'm a conservative and some part of me enjoys this. But I am being honest when I say I wish the DNC were better organized. A strong DNC makes the GOP wary of going too far off the rails, and when there's no viable threat from the DNC the GOP can run idiots like the Current Guy with no fear of losing. Even if they lose, a strong DNC makes for a moderate Republican administration. A shitshow DNC results in President Trump. For the love of all that's good and decent, please put James Carville in charge of something ASAP.

If this were at all the case, then we wouldn't have had frankly the last 30 years of Republican nonsense. The moderates these days in the Democratic primaries are screaming for a return to Clinton Third Way Neoliberal politics, as if that was somehow anything resembling a moderating force on the GOP's slow descent into madness these last couple decades. Ye Gods, Obama was essentially an Eisenhower Republican in policy and demeanor, and still brought out apocalyptic lunacy from McConnell et al.

It is not on the Democratic Party to fix what ails the GOP. It's on the GOP to reckon with the Frankenstein monster they've finally set loose that Lee Atwater, Karl Rove and all the rest started cooking up nigh on 40 years ago.

I'm not a Bernie supporter, but I do give him a lot of credit for not rehashing the same tired ideas Democrats have been trying to run on since McGovern got trounced that all they've largely accomplished is slowly drag the country further right and further off the rails towards vast economic inequality, and now pretty blatant and open government corruption.

I will give the GOP total credit for cutting bait with candidates that can't win elections, and being fairly ruthless about it. Scott Brown ain't still hanging around trying to cling onto a House seat. Jesus H, the next primary Joe Biden wins will be his first, and he's run for President three times now. At a certain point the party needs to stop with the retreads and look to new blood.

[fastupslowdown]

Your tidbit is bullshit.

Sponsored Legislation = 934
Cosponsored Legislation = 6,246

Verified at senate.gov.

You're just flat out wrong

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bil...#enacted_ex=on