Thursday, June 20, 2019
Political Mayhem Thursday: The debates!
I love political debates.
Even when they are complete debacles (ie, the Gore/Quayle/Stockdale debate above), they are fascinating. I love hearing smart people talk about important things. And that sometimes happens.
The first round of Democratic debates among the 2020 presidential hopefuls has been broken into two groups. On Wednesday, June 26, we will see the following:
Bill DiBlasio (Mayor-NYC)
Tim Ryan (Rep.-Ohio)
Julian Castro (former mayor of San Antonio and HUD Sec'y)
Cory Booker (Sen.-NJ)
Elizabeth Warren (Sen.-Massachusetts)
Beto O'Rourke (former Rep.-Texas)
Amy Klobuchar (Sen.-Minnesota)
Tulsi Gabbard (Rep.-Hawaii)
Jay Inslee (Gov.-Washington)
John Delaney (former Rep.-Maryland)
Then the next night, Thursday June 27, we will hear from these characters:
Marianne Williamson (author)
John Hickenlooper (former Gov.-Colorado)
Andrew Yang (Business Guy)
Pete Buttigieg (Mayor, South Bend IN)
Joe Biden (former Sen.-Delaware & VP)
Bernie Sanders (Sen.-Vermont)
Kamala Harris (Sen.-Calif)
Kristin Gillibrand (Sen.-NY)
Michael Bennet (Sen.-Colorado)
Eric Swalwell (Rep.-Calif)
I added the explanatory parentheticals after I realized a lot of people have no idea who Tim Ryan and Eric Swalwell are (among others).
I suspect the first night may be the most interesting-- Warren, Klobuchar and Booker are all wicked smart and well-prepared for this battle, and Inslee, Castro, and O'Rourke all have important takes on specific issues, I think the second one may bog down a little because it is a mix of high-profile people (esp Biden) trying to avoid mistakes and a lot of people desperately trying to gain attention.
Who are you most looking forward to seeing?
Comments:
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I have tried not forming and sharing opinions about the candidates. First I do know who Tim Ryan and Eric Swalwell are as the are frequent guests of Morning Joe and The Rachel Maddow Show. The only one hard pressed to ever get my vote is Kristen Gillibrand after her rabid treatment of Al Franken. I can forgive but I won't forget.
I am really interested in hearing Elizabeth Warren and wish she would visit us in Durham, NC. That is a town hall I would love to attend. When you depart from the big ticket issues, health care and climate change (for me), they all bring something interesting to the table.
I think in the end we will be surprised who the nominee is. The polls have Biden ahead but everyone I know says the following. If Joe is the nominee I will vote for him BUT they are all talking about Warren, Buttigieg and Harris as first choices. I think we are looking for a more youthful Presidential candidate. And although many of us in my area supported Bernie in 2016 no one is talking about him at all.
The real problem I have is that unless the Dems can break the stranglehold in the Senate it really doesn't matter who the candidate is. I don't like the concept of a President governing by Executive Order as we are seeing right now.
I am really interested in hearing Elizabeth Warren and wish she would visit us in Durham, NC. That is a town hall I would love to attend. When you depart from the big ticket issues, health care and climate change (for me), they all bring something interesting to the table.
I think in the end we will be surprised who the nominee is. The polls have Biden ahead but everyone I know says the following. If Joe is the nominee I will vote for him BUT they are all talking about Warren, Buttigieg and Harris as first choices. I think we are looking for a more youthful Presidential candidate. And although many of us in my area supported Bernie in 2016 no one is talking about him at all.
The real problem I have is that unless the Dems can break the stranglehold in the Senate it really doesn't matter who the candidate is. I don't like the concept of a President governing by Executive Order as we are seeing right now.
Agree completely with Christine, especially about Kirsten Gillibrand. She is dead to me as a candidate, and she won't be the nominee.
Mainly I'm excited that we have such a wealth of choices in a nominee. I can see how the second debate could get bogged down, but mainly I think the tone could get more anxious with so many huge names and big intellects in that mix. I think Biden will get a serious run for his money. If he's the nominee I'll vote for him, but I predict he won't be.
Mainly I'm excited that we have such a wealth of choices in a nominee. I can see how the second debate could get bogged down, but mainly I think the tone could get more anxious with so many huge names and big intellects in that mix. I think Biden will get a serious run for his money. If he's the nominee I'll vote for him, but I predict he won't be.
# posted by 
: 8:58 AM
: 8:58 AM
Conservative writer Kevin Williamson ran an interesting article in National Review yesterday. His thesis, in broad strokes, is that our two "party system disincentives fanaticism by requiring cooperation," and that because our "political parties as institutions are too weak at the moment" there's no one to "keep the kooks and the demagogues in the faculty lounge where they belong." I'm not sure I'm fully on board with that argument--I'm more Washington than Jefferson when it comes to political parties, at least where factionalism is concerned, and the 2016 Clinton campaign illustrated something like the opposite problem--but I think Williamson has a point.
As we saw in the 2016 Republican primary, lack of party leadership and institutional control can have unfortunate consequences. Extreme elements within the parties wield outsized power in primaries, and once a kooky candidate (say, a reality TV star) gets momentum, things can really go off the rails. The 2020 Democratic slate is beginning to take on the same flavor. There's a physics to politics--political actions may not have equal and opposite reactions, but there's good reason to consider what might happen if the Democrats nominate their own kook. And it's hard to imagine anything less inspiring than a Trump - de Blasio general.
As we saw in the 2016 Republican primary, lack of party leadership and institutional control can have unfortunate consequences. Extreme elements within the parties wield outsized power in primaries, and once a kooky candidate (say, a reality TV star) gets momentum, things can really go off the rails. The 2020 Democratic slate is beginning to take on the same flavor. There's a physics to politics--political actions may not have equal and opposite reactions, but there's good reason to consider what might happen if the Democrats nominate their own kook. And it's hard to imagine anything less inspiring than a Trump - de Blasio general.
God bless Admiral Jim Stockdale--American hero.
I agree with Christine and Amy that Sen. Gillibrand is the worst. I too am interested in what Sen. Warren has to say and how she says it. And, like Christine and Amy, I do not expect Vice President Biden to ultimately prevail. I suppose Mayor Buttigieg is the most intriguing (and Mayor DiBlasio is perhaps the least). As many have noted, and ostensibly against the intentions of the Party, the first night looks like the undercard (although Wednesday may possess a distinct height advantage). Conventional wisdom wants to know if Senator Warren can emerge as a giant among lesser mortals on the first night and whether the other heavyweights on Thursday will actually slug it out and inflict any damage. Very early. Nobody know anything--and no one more so than me. Good luck. Come out swinging. And may the best Democrat win.
I agree with Christine and Amy that Sen. Gillibrand is the worst. I too am interested in what Sen. Warren has to say and how she says it. And, like Christine and Amy, I do not expect Vice President Biden to ultimately prevail. I suppose Mayor Buttigieg is the most intriguing (and Mayor DiBlasio is perhaps the least). As many have noted, and ostensibly against the intentions of the Party, the first night looks like the undercard (although Wednesday may possess a distinct height advantage). Conventional wisdom wants to know if Senator Warren can emerge as a giant among lesser mortals on the first night and whether the other heavyweights on Thursday will actually slug it out and inflict any damage. Very early. Nobody know anything--and no one more so than me. Good luck. Come out swinging. And may the best Democrat win.
Farmer-- Perot never should have chosen Stockdale, and you are right about his history. Of course, Bush should not have chosen Quayle either. And Gore sounded like he was narrating a filmstrip. BUT.. back to the future. My hope is that someday we can get back to the kind of choice between two great candidates that we had in 2008.
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