• Current Events & Politics
    Welcome Guest
    Please read before posting:
    Forum Guidelines Bluelight Rules
  • Current Events & Politics Moderators: deficiT | tryptakid | Foreigner

Election 2020 The 2020 Candidates: Right, Left and Center!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Updated except Tulsi Gabbard is running, as aihfl mentioned:

2020 presidential election: Track which candidates are running

[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]
We're less than 400 days out from the Iowa Caucuses, and even a casual observer can see a ton of action on the Democratic presidential primary front.[/FONT][/FONT]
Click to expand...
IMG-2065.jpg
[FONT=.SF UI Text]
[/FONT]​
IMG-2066.jpg

[FONT=.SF UI Text]
[/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]The Democrats who have already taken their names out of the running after speculation that they'd join the pack: Michael Avenatti, Deval Patrick, and Tom Steyer. [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]The latest:[/FONT][/FONT]


[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]The big picture: Expect an arms race of big ideas over the coming year.[/FONT][/FONT]

  • [FONT=.SFUIText]There's a groundswell of Democratic support for candidates who will push socialized health care, major action on climate change and break with centrism on immigration and social issues.[/FONT]
  • [FONT=.SFUIText]This will extend to campaign finance, racial justice, drug legalization, voting rights, and how to dismantle the Trump administration's legacy (as Trump did to Obama.[/FONT]

[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]Be smart: Every single indicator is going off that this will not be a friendly election to milquetoast or moderation.[/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]Go deeper:[/FONT][/FONT]

Click to expand...
  • [/FONT]
 
Kamala Harris sets the stage for a 2020 run

1547311431855.jpg


Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images

As 2020 inches closer ? with Sen. Elizabeth Warren spending a weekend in Iowa, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard throwing her hat in the ringand former Vice President Joe Biden telling friends he's "definitely running" ? Sen. Kamala Harris is getting closer to making a decision.

The big picture: The New York Times reportsthat Harris is believed to be "well positioned to create electoral coalitions among Democrats desperate" to beat Trump in 2020. But some worry that in a crowded field of Democratic candidates, Harris may not be liberal enough for voters, and could be in a tough spot if other progressive challengers "try to to move the debate to the left in ways that could force difficult choices for her," the Times explains.

Driving the news: On Friday night, Harris laid "the groundwork for a national profile" on a book tour stop in New York, where she discussed criminal justice reform, standing up to the White House, bipartisanship and more, the Times' Astead Herndon reports.

  • Herndon notes that Harris "speaks less about Wall Street corruption and economic populism" than potential 2020 challengers Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

  • Harris has gained supporters for her notorious grilling of Trump administration officials on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but continues to face criticism from criminal justice activists because of policies she put in place as California's attorney general.
  • One woman who came to Harris' book tour stop on Friday, 33-year-old Sarah Weiss, said: ?She keeps saying there?s more that connects us than divides us, but at this time in politics, it seems like that?s not enough.?
  • Another woman at the event, 50-year-old Vaolree Celona, said: "Her message of unity, that's the key. If she can get people to have that hope again, that's what's important. That's what President Obama did."
Go deeper: Our 2020 election tracker.
Click to expand...


The field is shaping up to be interesting.






 
Anyone notice NBC has already started sniping Bernie? They're still not over HRC blowing it in 2016, apparently.
 
I forgot about Yang, but his universal basic income plan makes a lot of sense to me because I don't believe in 15-20 years that many of the jobs we have today will still be done by people.
 
VP is just to inject enthusiasm to the ticket, no? They don't really do anything all that important. If they do have to make any policy decisions such as breaking a tie vote or something, they'd follow the Presidents lead.
 
mal3volent said:
VP is just to inject enthusiasm to the ticket, no? They don't really do anything all that important. If they do have to make any policy decisions such as breaking a tie vote or something, they'd follow the Presidents lead.
Click to expand...
Usually they're used as the "attack dog" on the campaign trail. Mike Pence appears pretty useless to me, but Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Joe Biden seemed much more involved in policy decisions than past veeps. Dan Quayle was definitely useless.
tathra said:
Sanders/Ocasio-Cortez would truly be the best.
Click to expand...

Ocasio-Cortez's schtick may play well in certain quarters, but she's playing with fire. She's already openly criticized Stephanie Murphy and Darren Soto, two centrist Central Florida Democrats who are both members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers caucus. Her veiled threats of "move left or get primaried" shows a woeful lack of knowledge that the Democratic Party is not a monolith and different messages need to be tailored to different regions. It's a recipe for a future losses, especially in a state like Florida where we managed to flip two South Florida seats (Murphy herself pulled off a pretty stunning upset in 2016 against 12 term incumbent John Mica). Plus AOC has a tendency to run off at the mouth (not unlike the current occupant of the White House). When the Washington Post gave one her tweets "Four Pinocchios" for a false claim on Pentagon spending her indignant response was "People are more concerned about being precisely, factually and semantically correct than morally right." Hmmmm...sounds like another iteration of "alternative facts."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/13/nyregion/ocasio-cortez-democrats-congress.html
 
Last edited:
mal3volent said:
VP is just to inject enthusiasm to the ticket, no? They don't really do anything all that important. If they do have to make any policy decisions such as breaking a tie vote or something, they'd follow the Presidents lead.
Click to expand...

VP is typically who will run as that party's candidate next, so think "who do i want to be president next after this candidate" for who the VP should be

aihfl said:
Ocasio-Cortez's schtick may play well in certain quarters, but she's playing with fire. She's already openly criticized Stephanie Murphy and Darren Soto, two centrist Central Florida Democrats who are both members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers caucus. Her veiled threats of "move left or get primaried" shows a woeful lack of [/COLOR]knowledge that the Democratic Party is not a monolith and different messages need to be tailored to different regions. It's a recipe for a future losses, especially in a state like Florida where we managed to flip two South Florida seats (Murphy herself pulled off a pretty stunning upset in 2016 against 12 term incumbent John Mica). Plus AOC has a tendency to run off at the mouth (not unlike the current occupant of the White House). When the Washington Post gave one her tweets "Four Pinocchios" for a false claim on Pentagon spending her indignant response was "People are more concerned about being precisely, factually and semantically correct than morally right." Hmmmm...sounds like another iteration of "alternative facts."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/13/nyregion/ocasio-cortez-democrats-congress.html
Click to expand...

you're arguing in favor of the rachet effect, to block any movement back towards the actual center while the right continues to push us harder into fascism. the halfway point between conservative and reactionary isn't centrist or moderate, the halfway point between authoritarian and totalitarian isn't centrist or moderate, left of fascism isn't actually left
 
tathra said:
you're arguing in favor of the rachet effect, to block any movement back towards the actual center while the right continues to push us harder into fascism. the halfway point between conservative and reactionary isn't centrist or moderate, the halfway point between authoritarian and totalitarian isn't centrist or moderate, left of fascism isn't actually left
Click to expand...
No I'm a pragmatist. Almost all urban Florida except redneck Jacksonville (SE Florida, Greater Orlando and Tampa/St. Pete) is now represented by Democrats. I'd rather not have a neophyte loudmouth from a totally different part of the country undo the gains we've made here. Would you rather have centrist Democrats, or stick to rigid ideology and have those seats go back to being Republican? Which, ironically, would allow the right to push us further into fascism. Your logic, sir, is flawed.

She clearly knows NOTHING of the political landscape here. This ain't the Bronx. We fought hard for those gains and unlike New York, those gains can easily be undone.
 
Last edited:
im a pragmatist too, and settling for fascist sympathizers isn't progress. i'll settle for liberals, but not republicans with a D by their name

im not sure how her possibly going for a higher office in 5 years has to do with representatives in your state tho. can you explain how other democrats being progressives and getting elected in their areas specifically because they're progressives and not neoliberal conservatives is somehow a threat to your area?
 
tathra said:
VP is typically who will run as that party's candidate next, so think "who do i want to be president next after this candidate" for who the VP should be
Click to expand...

The last time a VP ran for president was 2000...last time a VP became President was 1974, and that wasn't from an election.
 
tathra said:
im a pragmatist too, and settling for fascist sympathizers isn't progress. i'll settle for liberals, but not republicans with a D by their name

im not sure how her possibly going for a higher office in 5 years has to do with representatives in your state tho. can you explain how other democrats being progressives and getting elected in their areas specifically because they're progressives and not neoliberal conservatives is somehow a threat to your area?
Click to expand...
Bullshit you're a pragmatist. And you clearly didn't read the Times article I referenced where she is already strutting around the Capitol threatening members of her own caucus. So yeah, I do consider her a threat to my area. I never thought I'd live to see the day where that crusty old fart John Mica was voted out, and I don't want to return to having a US Rep. the likes of him.

Let's examine some of Rep. Murphy's record:
- F rating from the NRA
- Introduced the Gun Violence Research Act in 2017, to reverse the 1996 federal ban on gun violence research
- Introduced legislation requiring a federal background check on every firearm sale (HR Eight)
- Co-sponsor of the DREAM Act
- Vocal opponent of the Trump travel ban

Now some of Rep. Soto's record:
- D rating from the NRA
- Introduced the Foreign Spill Protection Act, which removed the $1B cap on damages for foreign oil drillers in the wake of the 2010 BP spill
- Introduced ban on petroleum drilling in the Arctic Ocean (HR 309)
- Introduced legislation to close a loophole in the Billfish Conservation Act, making it illegal to sell billfish (marlin, spearfish, sailfish etc.) in the United States
- Working on legislation for debt reduction for Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria

Yeah, they really sound like Republicans 8)
 
Last edited:
aihfl said:
Bullshit you're a pragmatist. And you clearly didn't read the Times article I referenced where she is already strutting around the Capitol threatening members of her own caucus. So yeah, I do consider her a threat to my area. I never thought I'd live to see the day where that crusty old fart John Mica was voted out, and I don't want to return to having a US Rep. the likes of him.
Click to expand...

again, how are representatives from another district over a thousand miles away a threat to your district?
 
tathra said:
again, how are representatives from another district over a thousand miles away a threat to your district?
Click to expand...
You're the one who called them "fascist sympathizers." I've more than explained my beef with AOC and posted legit news sources to support my positions. It's on you if you don't choose to read them. I'm done with this exchange.
 
i don't care about your personal distaste of her, i'm asking you to explain this:

aihfl said:
No I'm a pragmatist. Almost all urban Florida except redneck Jacksonville (SE Florida, Greater Orlando and Tampa/St. Pete) is now represented by Democrats. I'd rather not have a neophyte loudmouth from a totally different part of the country undo the gains we've made here. Would you rather have centrist Democrats, or stick to rigid ideology and have those seats go back to being Republican? Which, ironically, would allow the right to push us further into fascism. Your logic, sir, is flawed.

She clearly knows NOTHING of the political landscape here. This ain't the Bronx. We fought hard for those gains and unlike New York, those gains can easily be undone.
Click to expand...

how does a representative from another state across the country put the progress made in your state at risk of being undone?
 
Can Beto out-rally Trump? Will Beto run?

Dueling Rallies in Texas for Trump and O?Rourke

merlin_150238506_89a41d0e-5bc2-475d-93d7-061f86f80eca-jumbo.jpg

Migrants crossed a river near where a new section of border fence was being installed in El Paso. President Trump will visit El Paso on Monday.
Credit Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters

WASHINGTON ? President Trump?s confrontations with potential Democratic challengers in 2020 have mostly been limited to sniping on Twitter. But on Monday night in El Paso, he will engage in his most direct conflict with a possible rival ? former Representative Beto O?Rourke, a native of the city that shares a border with Mexico.

Mr. Trump?s rally in El Paso is his most significant since the midterm elections that delivered the House of Representatives to Democrats. It will provide the president with a backdrop that he will use to again argue for a border wall to stop what he said is a surge of crime and drugs being brought into the country by migrants seeking illegal entry.

[TWEET]1094948909657542656[/TWEET]

Mr. O?Rourke has been among those who have strongly rebutted the president?s case that El Paso serves as an example of where building a wall has indeed provided a solution to crime.

[TWEET]1079884786653634561[/TWEET]

?If immigrants are good for the country, the border is secure and walls end lives instead of saving them, then why does the president try to scare us about immigrants and the border and take our land to build a wall we don?t need?? Mr. O?Rourke said on Twitter.

Mr. O?Rourke has also used Twitter to make his own case, fact by fact, that Mr. Trump?s argument is flawed and inaccurate.

[TWEET]1094786430155612161[/TWEET]

When and where?

Mr. Trump is scheduled to begin speaking at a Make America Great Again rally at the El Paso County Coliseum at 7 p.m. Mountain time (9 Eastern). Mr. O?Rourke and his supporters will meet up at Bowie High School at 5 p.m., then march to Chalio Acosta Sports Center, about a half-mile away. He will also begin speaking at 7 p.m.

What are the facts on the border?

During his State of the Union address last week, Mr. Trump falsely cited El Paso as an example of a city where building a wall worked to deter crime.

?The border city of El Paso, Tex., used to have extremely high rates of violent crime ? one of the highest in the entire country, and was considered one of our nation?s most dangerous cities. Now, immediately upon its building, with a powerful barrier in place, El Paso is one of the safest cities in our country,? he said.

But before the border barriers were completed in El Paso, in 2008, the city had the second-lowest violent crime rate among more than 20 similarly sized American cities. In 2010, after the fence construction, it retained its ranking. Also, El Paso was never one of the most dangerous cities in the United States.

How directly will Trump go after O?Rourke?

Mr. Trump relishes political combat and this is the first time in the 2020 election cycle that he will be on a dueling, if separate, stage with a Democrat who may try to unseat him. Mr. O?Rourke told Oprah Winfrey that he would make a decision about running for president by the end of February.

It seems a near certainty that Mr. Trump will try to counter the protest in El Paso and its unofficial leader, Mr. O?Rourke. How frontally he criticizes the former congressman, and whether he tries to brand him with a derogatory nickname will be measures of how seriously he takes Mr. O?Rourke?s potential candidacy.

What tone will O?Rourke use, fighter or healer?

Mr. O?Rourke is the near opposite of the president in tone. During his losing senate campaign last year, he offered himself as a candidate who could bridge divides and wanted to go beyond convenient party labels. That modulated approach is seen as part of his larger appeal. He was able to attract donations nationwide and build a following even as he lost his race.

Now he will face a different test in an opponent whose first instinct is to fight.

How will television cover the event?

Cable news outlets are expected to cover the rallies, and the president almost always takes priority over the words of someone who does not even hold elective office. This time may be different. At a minimum, prepare for a split-screen approach that will offer the freshest soundings of what promises to be a long and bitter presidential campaign.
Click to expand...

Can Trump resist being himself if it's rally vs rally? Mano a mano? We'll have to see. Who will get better coverage? Ratings?

This should be interesting.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top