After months of campaigning, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates can do little other than wait for S.C. voters to go to the polls and then see the results. https://t.co/RpRXDCp4rm
— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) February 28, 2020
Seems like, after all the noise & chaos, South Carolina might be Joe Biden’s big day. Murphy the Trickster God knows he’s earned it the hard way!
The expectations game in politics is something. Two months ago I would have said a ten point win for Biden in South Carolina would be a devastating blow. Now it might jumpstart his candidacy.
— Sean T at RCP (@SeanTrende) February 29, 2020
3. Whether Clyburn's endorsement was well-timed.
4. Whether Republicans really turn out for Bernie
5. Levels of turnout, rural vs urban
6. Levels of turnout, under-30 vs over 65
7. How many voters decided in last week, and for whom?
8. Whether Steyer's money translates into votes— Wyeth Ruthven (@wyethwire) February 28, 2020
Got a hunch Biden's gonna do better in SC than most people think. https://t.co/F1mlJ4b6IF
— Peter Wolf (@peterawolf) February 28, 2020
If people underestimated how damaging a poor showing in IA could be for Joe Biden’s prospects in NH (33 delegates), could they also be underestimating how big a boost a strong win in SC could be for Super Tuesday (1,357 delegates)?
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) February 28, 2020
Reminder that five 2020 candidates who have withdrawn appear on the SC primary ballot: Michael Bennet, Cory Booker, John Delaney, Deval Patrick and Andrew Yang. Votes cast for these candidates do count. pic.twitter.com/qTY6JAM84p
— Andy Shain (@AndyShain) February 28, 2020
In a sign of the buzz generated from the 2020 presidential race, absentee voting in South Carolina’s Democratic primary surpassed 2016 numbers on Thursday.https://t.co/PdyI9j2ohZ
— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) February 27, 2020
It's important to note that South Carolina keeps such precise demographic election data because of the Voting Rights Act.
— Wyeth Ruthven (@wyethwire) February 29, 2020
Check out @TheRoot’s rankings for each candidate’s Black aganda. Scores based on a matrix of policy goals and plans.
Warren: 79
Biden: 70
Buttigieg: 66
Steyer: 62
Bernie: 50
Bloomberg: 43
Klobuchar: 22 https://t.co/uAgeZWImtn— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) February 28, 2020
Immanentize
Happy Saturday, All!
Immanentize
It makes me happy to see that Warren’s plans score best for Black America.
JPL
@Immanentize: Same!
Yesterday trump said he might limit travel to some countries, but he didn’t say which ones. hmmm What date do you leave?
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
rikyrah
@Immanentize:
Morning Imma.?
Hope that you and Little Imma get to take trip this year. How is he doing? How does he occupy his days? The diet all worked out now?
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
Jinchi
Is there any actual evidence that Republicans have been turning out for Bernie in significant numbers, anywhere? I know there are trolls who threaten this every election, but this is starting to sound like the Dem version of Trump’s illegal immigrant voter claim.
Baud
@JPL: Chad.
rikyrah
Go young lady ???
debbie
Apparently, today is the GOP’s Day of Action? Nationwide, they will be knocking on doors and spreading their message. I’m picturing something more annoying than JWs.
Universe help anyone foolish enough to knock on my door today.
Baud
@Jinchi:
Not really, unless illegal immigrants are actively trolling about voting the way Republicans are.
That said, I don’t think there’s solid evidence of it happening to a significant degree.
rikyrah
I don’t care if it’s South Carolina. This is the kind of candidate we need to get behind.??
debbie
@Jinchi:
To believe that, you’d have to believe that Rush Limbaugh works for the Democratic Party. ??
OzarkHillbilly
Warren: 79
I am not surprised.
debbie
@Baud:
You know, the thought that anyone would even do something like this just ticks me off.
Such patriotism. //
What has the Party of Lincoln turned into? //
JMG
@debbie: There will be campaigners knocking on my door today, but they won’t be Republicans. Our town election is the same day as the primary, so the good if doomed souls who are willing to do the work of governance (some of whom may be Republicans, but it’s all nonpartisan) will be out introducing themselves to their neighbors. As this is New England, one or more of them could live on my block and I would never know.
debbie
@OzarkHillbilly:
Pundits be gobsmacked! //
JPL
@debbie: Bless their hearts.
Baud
Haha. I clicked through to look at the scoring.
Immanentize
@JPL: We are supposed to leave March 12. The coasts of Spain, France and Italy are on the itinerary.
OzarkHillbilly
@rikyrah: Got kinda dusty in here.
MazeDancer
It is uplifting to look forward to election results. To see Dems voting and representing the full panoply of the party.
To be able to watch the returns and not sob as teeny white states help Trump get reelected. Or see the absurdity of 100,000 people being the turnout in a state of 9 million, yet, now we have to have Bernie?
Of course, Super Tuesday CA sweep for unvetted Bernie is just days away. Do not understand why CA is for him, not Warren.
But tonight I will enjoy the peace. And hope for return to a semblance of normalcy. And how energized the Dems would be to trounce Trump if SC had been the first state.
OzarkHillbilly
@debbie: Who is this Elizabeth person?
Immanentize
@rikyrah: little Imma is doing well. His eating is not all sorted but much better. We found he has a minor lactose intolerance (most people do, it ends up) and he started taking lactase with milk stuff. This almost instantly helped and he gained 3 pounds after this discovery. (We are also trying all the milk substitutes — his current top of the list is oat milk which I find too bready.)
He can eat more at one sitting and is generally better. He is getting bored at home, which is good. The plan is to get him a job after we return.
Another Scott
‘morning all. I hope Uncle Joe does well, and that SP Warren does better than expected. Let’s go Democrats!
Repost of something I put in the dead thread downstairs…
Marwan Bishhara at AlJazeera on the Aghanistan peace agreement:
A summary that pulls no punches.
I have no confidence that Donnie’s people know what they’re doing, or that they will follow-up after the signing ceremony, but it is long past time for us to be out of Afghanistan. We cannot police and protect the cities there for the rest of time.
Cheers,
Scott.
Aunt Kathy
Here ya go
https://www.ifyoufuckingvoteforher.com/
Baud
@Another Scott:
Dems want out, and Republicans don’t dare challenge Trump. I suppose that’s a silver lining to our otherwise unfortunate political situation.
Betty Cracker
@Jinchi: Republicans really have encouraged troll-voting for the last couple of election cycles, but AFAIK, there’s zero evidence those shenanigans have had an effect. Not surprising since that would require Rush Limbaugh’s audience to get off their asses and go do a thing instead of running their yaps. My guess is it doesn’t amount to a fart in a whirlwind.
Shalimar
My only hope for South Carolina is that Steyer doesn’t break 15%. He had a good role as the shrill Impeachment guy. Switching his organization’s focus and money from Trump to himself was disgusting.
Another Scott
@Aunt Kathy: Thanks.
I ordered a couple of stickers. :-)
Cheers,
Scott.
Nicole
@Immanentize: Thanks for the recovery update on Immp, and interesting about the lactose intolerance. Also thank you for the review on oat milk; I don’t have dairy issues, but I’m a sucker for new things and I’ve been curious about it. Bready. Good to know. I tried an almond milk based yogurt recently, and maybe the sweetened kind are edible, but the plain flavor was not.
gene108
This is happening. Long article. Read the whole thing. Bolding mine.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/taliban-set-sign-deal-war-afghanistan-200228055452287.html
OzarkHillbilly
@Aunt Kathy: Heh.
Immanentize
On the question of Republican crossover voting — New Hampshire is 50/50 state, but many trustworthy Republican voters like to register as unaffiliated. There was no Republican primary to speak of, only 158K voted in that primary. Almost twice that number voted in the Dem primary, which meant more voted in NH Dem primary than either 2008 or 2016, BUT:
Or, more than 2 in 5 voters in the Dem. primary were not Democrats.
Immanentize
@Nicole: Almond milk is, so far, the least favorite. It actually somehow brings out the bitter in coffee, which Immp is fueled by. Also, it is environmentally just the worst, taking up massive amounts of water in drought-prone areas. So I’m glad it did not work for the Immp.
Betty Cracker
@Immanentize: Interesting, but is there any reason to suspect a significant number of the non-Democrats were Trump Republicans intent on trolling the Democratic primary? Sanders actually does seem to attract a lot of independents, and although Trump has high support within the Republican Party, I’ve read that the number of Republicans is smaller overall, which implies there are more homeless Republicans who are looking for someone else to support.
debbie
@Immanentize:
The people I know who don’t like cow’s milk all seem to like soy milk, FWIW.
germy
debbie
@germy:
Oh, look! We caught Pence in a rare moment of truth! //
Zinsky
I may have posted this before, but my brother-in-law is an active Democratic political operative in Iowa. He has met all of the Democratic candidates personally and has had Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren out to his acreage. He says Joe Biden is “confused, pale and frail-looking”. He met him in 2008 when he was campaigning with Obama and says Biden is a shadow of the man he used to be. I trust his judgment a great deal and he asserts that if the Democrats nominate Biden, its all over in 2020. He isn’t up to the task, not to mention the non-stop battering of his son Hunter, that will inevitably follow.
Joe Biden is NOT going to save the Democratic Party!
Immanentize
@Betty Cracker: There was, as in South Carolina, an open effort to troll the Dem primary among Republicans by voting for Sanders. That is what they said they would do. And Republicans are pack animals who want to fuck our feelings. But who knows? Maybe that was all talk and no one really did what they said they would do and every vote was honest and above board.
Whether the primary was infected in any significant degree is unknowable. BUT, the primary rules and even the threat to mess with it undermine the integrity of the result. Which is really the brass ring, isn’t it?
Consider this — What would be the Sanders narrative about the NH primary if Sanders had not won? That it was all just peachy? The system no longer is believable and that is how Republicans and Sanders like it, IMHO.
Immanentize
@debbie: The Immp like soy, and it does froth well for a latte.
ETA we still need to test rice milk. As the Immp is turning Japanese in his culinary preferences (homemade miso soup, sashimi, edamame…) It seems like a potential pleaser.
Joe Falco
Tom Steyer’s strategy to get votes in a Democratic primary is to bash Obama? “That’s a bold move, Cotton! Let’s see if it pays off!”
Jinchi
This is not unusual in many places and doesn’t imply bad intent. Lots of independents lean Democratic, they just identify with the ideology, not the party. Having lived in places where the general election is non-competitive, I’ve registered as Democrat, Republican and No-Preference, in order to have a voice in the de-facto election. And considering where the Republicans end up whenever the pure partisans control the elections, I have no problem with crossover voting.
the Conster
@Zinsky:
Bernie Sanders is going to keel over dead of another heart attack any day now. So there’s that.
Another Scott
@Zinsky: In my view, Biden’s job is to
destroystop St. Bernard. If he does that, I’ll be happy.St. Bernard is in worse shape than Uncle Joe.
But, yeah, ideally both of them should have stayed home this time. :-(
Cheers,
Scott.
JMG
There are 15-20 states that don’t have party ID voter registration at all. You just ask for the Democratic or Republican ballot for primaries. Is South Carolina one of them?
MazeDancer
@Immanentize: Oat milk is pretty tasty. Though each brand has a different flavor. And least like to provoke an allergic reaction.
Also especially good if microwaved.
Jinchi
Ok. But we don’t actually vote against candidates. Who is going to save the party?
OzarkHillbilly
@germy: Well, I feel better now.
germy
@OzarkHillbilly:
Spanky
You’re clearly not a berniebro.
germy
Dorothy A. Winsor
Pet peeve: In that Hackett tweet, all the candidates are listed by last name, except Sanders. The implied friendly tone of that annoys me.
germy
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I see him referred to as “Bernie” in op-eds. I think writers believe readers will think of Sarah when they see just the name “Sanders”
(Especially now that she plans to run for office)
Jinchi
It’s even more concerning that the man who was put in charge of all messaging about the coronavirus hasn’t yet spoken to anyone else in the media.
Correction: He’s also spoken to Hannity.
Betty
@Zinsky:
I have mentioned his frailty over and over on Twitter. It is physical, emotional and mental. And then you have Bernie with his health issues. Why the MSM insist on wanting a race between these two old geezers makes me wonder. A healthy woman with great plans and a pragmatic approach is a reach too far for the US in 2020? Why?
germy
@Jinchi: Everything other than Limbaugh and Fox is fake news.
Benw
@Baud: lol! Michael Harriot is one of the best writers out there. Always on point
trnc
But won’t actually inform anyone about it because it’s Warren.
Hoodie
@Zinsky: I guess the Joe Biden that stood on stage taking an hour of questions at a town hall on CNN the other night was a different Joe Biden. This kind of nonsense is not helpful.
OzarkHillbilly
@germy: Great! I get all my talking points from the Hurried redundant TreeBranch. Now I’ll know just what to say to keep this Covid hoax at bay!
trnc
@JMG: SC has an open primary, so any voter can vote in any party primary. I don’t know if the voter registration is tracked when the ballot is taken.
JMG
@trnc: Here in Mass. it’s a little different. Registered as D or R, you can’t vote in the other party’s primary. But Unenrolled (no party preference) can vote in either. That’s about half of all voters.
trnc
@germy:
That would be a useful reason to do it because it would show intent to actually inform dem voters, so I’m guessing that’s not it.
ETA: Especially since the list is democratic presidential candidates.
Geminid
I’ve always thought crossover voting to mess up the other party was something a lot of people talked about but few did. This year may be different though, on account of hyper negative partisanship and the power of social media as an organizing tool. I know Hew Hewitt has been talking up his vote for Sanders in Virginia’s primary. Another screwy factor in a very screwed up primary process. I haven’t read The Root candidate ratings, but I will. The previous ones are great. Very incisive humor, but dead serious.
trnc
@JMG: That makes sense. Totally open primaries that allow voters from the opposite party does not.
Of course, any voter can change their registration whenever they want, and since DT has the republican primaries locked up, there’s no reason republican voters couldn’t do that if they want to engage in vermin copulation. However, like in person voter fraud, that would require some work with little likelihood of changing the outcome.
OzarkHillbilly
JeanneT
re crossover voting: if there is any, I would guess it only shows up in districts with uncontested congressional and legislative races. Luckily this year in my congressional district, there’s a bunch of candidates running to get the nomination to run as a trump-loving candidate against Justin Amash, so I don’t expect any serious crossover voting in the primary here.
trnc
@JeanneT: Good point. The down-ballot races are probably too important to a lot of people to sacrifice them all just to ratf*ck the other party.
Brachiator
@gene108:
No matter how this is framed, the GOP is going to sell the shit out of this as a major accomplishment by Trump.
And it will work for a lot of voters.
Note:
The opening paragraph of the story calls the agreement a “peace deal.” The nuance that comes later is already undermined.
And the article contains Trump’s second favorite word. HIs first favorite word, of course, is “me, me, me, me.” And is second favorite word is “deal.”
Of course, the Taliban may have learned that all they have to do is play Trump like the fool he is. They can wait to accrue the benefits.
Elizabelle
Good morning, jackals.
Do the right thing, South Carolina!
phdesmond
@Nicole: i’ve been looking for a substitute for almond milk, because i’ve read about all the bees that die during the industrialized process of fertilizing almond trees. tried oat milk for the first time last week. seemed okay.
MomSense
@Immanentize:
I messed up my thyroid by eating too much soy when I was changing my diet because of high cholesterol.
kindness
South Carolina will be like a glass of wine. Calms the nerves after Iowa & NH. Super Tuesday will be the stiff jolt that brings everything into focus. My hope is much of the intra-party bullshit goes away after that. Well, I guess that will depend on how well mannered the Bernie contingent goes. But that’s my hope. Right now the media is playing up the chaos the same way they did in 2016 which allowed the illiterate to vote Republican for stability. We can’t do that again. Not now.
Immanentize
@JeanneT: sadly, unlike your district, the cancellation of many Republican primaries this year has enabled just the kind of strategic cross over voting we are discussing.
I’m approaching this like a scientist or a lawyer might. Is there crossover voting to mess with the Democratic primaries? Unknown. But what is the evidence that there is? Well, there is very clear direct intent evidence. Republicans have said they were going to, urged other people to do so, even funded campaigns to that end as in South Carolina. And nationally, you have Hugh Hewitt on FOX explaining the strategy and what to do. So the intent evidence is clear that the Republicans want to tilt the Democratic primaries to Sanders.
What other evidence is there that it does happen? Well, people have already announced that as Republicans they cast ballots in the Dem primary for Sanders (Hewitt). Also, people in South Carolina have claimed the same (woman running the campaign there). Also, stats indicating decreased republican voting in the meaningless Trump coronation while we see meaningful increases (as I noted above) in Democratic primary voting by independents.
Does this mean it is having any effect? No, but what is the evidence that there is no meaningful cross-over strategic evidence? Hope, hand waving and … Crickets.
As I said before, I don’t know what is happening. But I am not going to ignore what people say they will do, have done, and are funding campaigns to do.
And, as I said above, even if the effects are not meaningful in the vote — they are effective at undermining the selection process. Which is an important part of fascist goals.
Immanentize
@MomSense: That’s interesting. I did not know that could happen
germy
@MomSense: Soy products always give me a headache. I don’t know why.
Geminid
@JeanneT: Unluckily, in Virginia the down ballot congressional primaries will be in June, leaving this Tuesday free for mischief. The Republicans think they have a shot to unseat freshmen Elaine Luria (VA 2nd) and Abigail Spanberger (VA 7th). The Tea Party/”Christian” faction is trying to knock out Denver Riggleman (R 5th) in my district. They are going the caucus route, the Dems are going primary. A pick up opportunity for the Democrats. Luria and Spanberger are hard workers and I believe they will be reelected.
Jinchi
This is also what we would expect if Trump’s support were collapsing, which is what we’ve seen since his election. Democrats have been lobbying for independent and swing voters over the last several years. A simple read of your numbers would be that the work is paying off.
NotMax
First, wishing all a most pleasant intercalary day. (Don’t get to dust off that word very often.)
Second, FYI (emphasis added).
Baud
@Jinchi:
I’m not sure why we should take the risk though. We liberals usually like to be proactive when we see a vulnerability.
Benw
For all the running aficionados, the US marathon Olympic trials are on NBC starting at noon! Watch people run really fast for a long time!
debbie
@MomSense:
Soy is also very high in Vitamin K which can increase the blood’s clotting factor, should that be an issue.
Buckeye
@germy:
I’m allergic/sensitive to soy, so no soy milk for me.
My cow milk alternatives are goat milk, oat milk and hemp milk.
trollhattan
@JPL: Two categories that helpfully have some overlap: shitholes and countries that have lots of mosques. Remember that Sawdi Arabia and Russia will always be a-ok.
Geminid
Rachel Bitecofer’s Wason Center did a post election survey of registered voters last December. One question was party identification (self described; Virginia has no party registration). Republicans- 31%; Democrats- 34%; Independants-30%. The successful Democratic candidates know they need independents and campaign accordingly in the general election. And they’ve been kicking ass.
Jinchi
What is the risk is though? I worry about Dems starting to get pulled in by conspiracy theories without evidence. Leave the Pizzagate, Birther, and QAnon fantasies to the Republicans.
MomDoc
@NotMax:
That’s good because it was out of control! As a kidney transplant recipient, I always have masks but this past week, I went to Amazon to buy some more. Most were sold out. But the ones that weren’t had inflated prices (4-5x regular prices).
The biggest issue was the shipping costs. I saw several listings with shipping costs in the $100s — one company was charging $300 for shipping one box of masks!
I just looked for that listing again and it wasn’t there. Maybe Amazon kicked them off.
Anya
@germy: we are doomed.
Anya
Joe Biden is an awful campaigner and his campaign is terrible. How else do you explain that the Vice President of a very popular president is running out of money to the point that he might not be able to compete in California. I know he’s projected to win SC big but how is his campaign this bad? Also, he doesn’t have any of former Obama/Biden organizers and campaign staff. Why is that?
NotMax
@MomDoc
Indeed. Much as people get jollies from dissing them, it’s nice to to see a massive company making a sustained effort at being timely and proactive.
mad citizen
Standing down after Jim’s comment–sorry
Biden is not my main choice, but still I’d vote for him alive or dead if he is on the ballot. :)
Geminid
The Wason poll of Virginia voters is worth looking at. Its findings regarding gun safety issues cited by a BJ commenter. I found the self-described ideological identification very interesting. Strong conservative- 11%; conservative- 22%; moderate, lean conservative- 16%; moderate, lean liberal- 23%; liberal- 13%; strong liberal- 7%.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@mad citizen: I have one ambivalent foot in the Biden camp, but Zinsky and Anya have both been here a long time, and I think Anya’s comments especially are valid
ETA: also, too, a counterpoint: You never hear about Republican or foreign rat-fuckers promoting a Biden candidacy
Immanentize
@Jinchi: Why are you so invested in the idea that there is no strategic cross over Republican dirty tricks? Berner?
Anya
@mad citizen: dude, I am not new here. I’ve been posting here since 2008, albeit not that frequently. I am for Warren but I would happily choose Biden over anyone else running. I am just mystified by how bad his campaign is. Everything is not a conspiracy or sinister motives. People might just have opinions different from yours, even when you want the same thing.
Anya
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: let’s be real, the GOP will savage any Dem candidate and accuse them of socialism and all manner of things and the MSM will dutifully act as their stenographers. Still, I think Warren and Biden are the strongest candidates against Trump. Biden, specially will be good for down tickets. But I am just frustrated how he’s here with all the built in advantages he’s got.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Anya:
I agree with all of that. The O’Bros often let little things slip on their podcast that Biden was always kind of rambling and unfocused, and that was both several years ago, and before his son died.
I just wish Warren and Harris hadn’t let themselves get sucked into the Bernie hype, especially on healthcare
Baud
@Jinchi: You’ve lost the plot if you’re comparing this situation to those things.
There’s no dispute ratfuck voting happens. It’s only a question of scale.
Geminid
I would posit that Virginia is ideologically very purple. It has voted blue the last few cycles because the Democrats have a big tent strategy and the Republicans a small tent. The preacher politicians and Tea Party cranks have thoroughly alienated moderate Republicans and independents.
mad citizen
@Anya: Truly sorry with my post (that I deleted). I’ve only been here since Dec. 2016 when I was depressed and looking for somewhere to go.
I guess I’ve been trying to look on the bright side of the Biden train, so sorry I was seeing nefarious things in the posts pointing out his and his campaign’s deficiencies.
Baud
@Anya:
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Thirded.
Immanentize
@Baud: Fourthed?
Another Scott
@Geminid: Virginia is blue, but not especially left-wing, is the way I look at it. E.g. Northam won over Perriello, and it wasn’t close. Virginia is trending the right way, but it’s going to be a long time before it’s some liberal paradise. ;-)
Still, I hope SP Warren does well here on Tuesday. She has my vote.
Cheers,
Scott.
Anya
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Absolutely. It’s what did them in. It was the biggest misstep for both of them. There was no chance they would attract ardent Bernie supporters so they should’ve stayed in their lanes. It cost KH big because she came off pandering. I think the other thing that impacted Warren’s campaign is her million proposals. There was no coherent message. Our electorate is lazy and for some reason we operate on sound bites. Her extensive proposals just were too hard to grasp. And let’s not forget misogyny. We expect so much from our women candidates and they are saddled with the “likability” expectation.
Anya
@mad citizen: No worries. The times are hard and there are so many dishonesty and tricks so I think we’re all spooked. I hope you are at a better place.
I literally grew up (politically) on this blog. I’ve been consistently reading it since I was 17 so I get little surprised when people think I am new. Fun fact, the first time I posted the late General Stuck accused me of being a troll. I guess there is something that makes people think I am trying to wind people up or something.
Jinchi
Scale is the difference between something mattering and not mattering. If a couple of guys in MAGA hats show up to vote, then they’re trolls and we don’t need to waste time worrying about them.
Brachiator
A good sign. Despite all the hoopla and crappy punditry, people seem to be engaged and ready to be heard.
Jinchi
I’m not invested at all. I asked a question – is there evidence that there is a significant effort by Trumpsters to actually swing the Democratic primaries? You mentioned a couple of exit polls that are within the margin of error of one another (40% independents voting in the Dem primary in 2016, 43% in 2020), and that don’t even speak to motive.
Why are you so invested in the idea that it is going on?
Baud
@Jinchi:
So we have to wait before they re successful before we even talk about our options?
Jinchi
I’m not sure what options you’re thinking of, but we can discuss whatever you like. Part of that discussion should include answering whether this is even a problem. There are plenty of serious voting rights issues to deal with right now. Voter purges, gerrymandering, closing polling places, ballot tampering and voter intimidation being some of the more obvious. Another big one is trying to call into question the legitimacy of the results of the election. That’s what Trump is trying to do, convince everyone that the elections are rigged. Does it concern you that this plays into that at all?
Baud
@Jinchi: Nope.
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us
@Zinsky: I have a friend who saw Biden up close in NH and said he was cringe worthy bad. Like he just did not seem to be all there. It’s concerning that others are saying it too. I’m also concerned that Biden is struggling to raise funds and put together an top notch organization. Those two things will be important for the general election campaign.
I really, really frickin wish Warren would catch fire. If she can’t I guess my next preference would be Buttigieg, I guess. Klobuchar would be OK but she finished third in NH, worse than that in IA, and also tanked in NV. If she’s well back in SC I don’t see her gaining any momentum.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us: I have a similar wish with Warren, but she seems really stuck on this idea that Big Bold Ideas will carry the day!
I’m always tempted to suggest an “express your unpopular non-political/pop-culture opinion” thread, but even those can turn into shit storms, but my unpopular opinion in this case is I think EW is making/made mistakes on:
Single-payer
Student debt cancellation (what about the debts I already paid off? What about my medical debt? what about the house I’m still underwater in? etc)
embracing Julian Castro and decriminalizing border crossings. I’m not talking about the policy, I’m talking about politics and winning EC votes
Just as I think Harris and Warren would have done much better if they had picked Obama as a lodestar rather than Sanders, Warren would have been better off courting Cory Booker as a hinted running mate than Castro. And I don’t like Cory Booker.
Uncle Cosmo
@Immanentize: Meh. The key fact yinz miss is that no one in the broader electorate trusts plans – they’ve been disappointed or screwed over by too many of them, even the best-intentioned.
The only ones who care are policy wonks (e.g., Warren & her brain-trusties) & our own unique contribution to evidence for the Dunning-Kruger effect, “progressive activists” whose understanding of practical politics is far short of what they fancy it to be.
(ETA: BTW Imm, what’s on the cruise itinerary? E-mail me if yinz could use any last-minute advice, & safe travels!)
Geminid
@Another Scott: what I found interesting in the Wason Center was that strong liberals 7% and liberals 13% together were less than the moderate lean liberals 23%. Tends to support your analysis.
Uncle Cosmo
Wouldn’t be insane at all if terminal lung cancer was contagious.
Geminid
@Anya: a lot of people think commenters here are trying to wind them up. That’s because they are wound up. People ask themselves “what is this commenter implying?” Would be better if they just asked, “what is this commenter saying?”
Geminid
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I wish Warren had made climate change a principal issue. Her clean energy and conservation plan is superior. Detailed and comprehensive. And her use of well directed free market solutions combined with enhancement of existing government initiatives contrasts well with Sanders’ aspirational plan. Clean energy and conservation are positive issues, I think winning issues, and Warren is best when she is positive.
Geminid
rikyrah
@Immanentize:
I don’t know if this will reach you, but,go to youtube, and put in Sweet Potato Soul.
She’s a Black vegan vlogger, and she loves Oat milk
Her favorite brand is Califia Farms.
Have you tried that?