2020 Democratic Presidential Nominees

[JuiceCrewAllStar]

my gut is that Pete is setting himself for a governor or senate run and may circle back to a presidential campaign after a few terms, should he win

 

[WakeForestRanger]

I thought that about Obama as well, but he had the benefit of the economy collapsing to overcome that in 08. Is the Trump catastrophe enough to overcome that for Mayor Pete?

 

[ConnorEl]

What religious nuts didn’t come out to vote in 2016? I know the sample size is tiny, but he came out in his 2nd mayoral campaign and won with 80% of the vote. He’s more authentically religious than trump. I also wouldn’t sell the youth vote short.

Watch how he answers the question about Pence here:

https://youtu.be/u7SHQSGesyM

He also addresses the question/concern about his experience in that clip.

 

[Deacfreak07]

I thought that about Obama as well, but he had the benefit of the economy collapsing to overcome that in 08. Is the Trump catastrophe enough to overcome that for Mayor Pete?

Maybe I’m completely misremembering, but Obama’s momentum was well established prior to the collapse. His message primarily on Healthcare reform really drove his campaign until the bottom fell out of the economy.

 

[Gooner]

Bernie Bro bernie broing

Lol cville is not Bernie broing, those are all legitimate questions and I am happy to respond in just a second. Just wanted to note for the record your immediate reaction to make a dismissive joke.

 

[WakeForestRanger]

Maybe I’m completely misremembering, but Obama’s momentum was well established prior to the collapse. His message primarily on Healthcare reform really drove his campaign until the bottom fell out of the economy.

My memory is that the race was tightening significantly until the economic collapse finished McCain for good. Obama very well may have won without it. But I think it widened the margins to the point where those who said they would vote for a black man to pollsters but wouldn’t once they were actually in the ballot box weren’t a factor.

Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s my cynical opinion.

 

[Gooner]

Ph and ADT, I get that Buttigieg is refreshing. But a big part of our present dysfunction is that we elected a demagogue with zero political experience and who does not know how to get things done in Washington - thankfully for that last part. This guy is a small city mayor with no federal experience. At least with Inslee and Hickenlooper, they were governors of fairly large states, and we have a long history of electing former governors as presidents. And we've had a number of generals win as well, but they've at least had that experience of helping run the biggest agency of the government. Buttigieg also has no history of being in the national spotlight, unlike Trump. Literally no one this young and inexperienced has ever gotten a major party's nomination, much less won. The closest I can think of are Trump and William Jennings Bryan, though Bryan, like Trump, had been in the national spotlight for decades. What I care about most is counting to 270. How does this guy not only energize the base but also attract enough independents and a few Trump hating establishment Pubs so that he can win states like FL, PA, NC, MI, WI and IA? Because he'll also get all of Trump's gay hating base to the polls for the wrong reason.

I 100% get where you are coming from on this and I will try to post my thoughts on both the experience and get to 270 question.

1) Experience: Yes, Buttigieg does not have any federal experience, but it's not like he's a know-nothing outsider like Trump or Schultz who will be hostile toward how the bureaucracy works. I agree that Inslee and Hickenlooper are both qualified on paper, but at the end of the day, experience is only one part of it. I think openness to learning is equally as important and from all of the things I've heard from Buttigieg and read about Buttigieg, his desire and ability to learn new things is off the charts. Add in that he is possibly the smartest candidate that we've had in a long, long time, and experience is much less of a problem for me, specifically with Buttigieg though. A lesser mind and a less open mind would make me pause more, but that's the main reason why I don't think experience is really as big an issue for Mayor Pete (and I say this as someone who has always traditionally thought federal experience was a must). Bottom line: Trump's non-experience ≠ Buttigieg's alleged non-experience.

2) Counting to 270: Obviously this is all that really matters at the end of the day because 270 = President. For one, if Buttigieg gets the nomination, he does not have the anchor of having been dragged through the mud for 3 decades hanging around his neck like Hillary had. Additionally, he's from a Midwestern state that has had some extremely hostile politicians toward LGBTQ persons and he still managed to win 80% of the mayoral vote in South Bend after coming out. IMO, any Trump rube from a swing state was likely going to come out and vote for Trump anyway because it's like ambrosia for them, they get a huge dopamine rush by placing that vote because it owns the libs, so I don't think his being gay is going to energize the Trump rubes any more than they already will be. Maybe it turns a few independents or never Trumpers back towards Trump or third party, but I don't think it'll be a significant number.

As for energizing the base, all you have to do is listen to him and you get all the fuzzy feelings that a lot of us got from Obama. He makes being smart seem cool and he's unapologetic about his knowledge, both extent and scope. And as I've said earlier in this thread, the Dem nominee will be the candidate that can take complex issue and distill them down into easily digestible soundbites. Buttigieg is great at this. He truly understands the issues, and his tenure as mayor has probably helped to nurture that ability. And this is where I think that the "experience" side of things actually goes in his favor. Governors and Senators and even Representatives occasionally don't have a lot of ground-level interaction with the general public. As a mayor, that is literally your day-to-day, and you have to be able to explain to the layman exactly how you view issues and how you will operate to fix them. That sort of interaction is impossible to fake and I think there will be a lot of points made regarding his pure, unbridled authenticity, especially as we get into debates. Buttigieg made a great point in the morning show interview with Charlemagne tha God posted above: Trump, whether real or not, made people think that he cared about them. He spoke directly to them. And in the absence of another candidate they felt that way about, they went with it. Turns out he's a fraud, but the point still stands. I think Buttigieg does the same thing and makes people feel like he genuinely understands what their issues are and wants to find ways to help them, and more importantly, include those people in the process.

Just my thoughts. I was an unabashed Kamala stan until about a month ago, but sometimes when you see the real deal, you just know it. I'm going to be supporting Buttigieg for the foreseeable future because I think he's the one candidate as of now that truly gets why he wants to be President.

 

[PhDeac]

Questions about Pete’s experience are good but his responses to those questions are good as well. What are the problems with his response?

Personally, I don’t think we should require a talented Dem in a red state to win statewide before considering him for president. Are people not asking these questions about Castro because he ran HUD for a few years or because San Antonio is larger than South Bend? SA may have a weak mayor system as well.

Also, I can’t think of anything specific most of the candidates have done specifically in the senate that make them more “qualified” except simply being in the senate.

One more thing, I seriously doubt anybody worried about Pete’s experience are automatically going for vote for Bernie simply based on his experience.

 

[ImTheCaptain]

it's weird how 8 years of actual executive political experience = zero political experience

 

[cville deac]

Thanks for the responses. I'm far from convinced, but I'm open. I'm just trying to figure out which contender presents the best shot in the EC, and I have zero idea at this point. Just have a good idea of the ones who would fare the worst in the EC.

 

[Gooner]

it's weird how 8 years of actual executive political experience = zero political experience

I mean I get what they are saying, it isn't "federal experience", but yes your point is right.

 

[Strickland33]

Questions about Pete’s experience are good but his responses to those questions are good as well. What are the problems with his response?

Personally, I don’t think we should require a talented Dem in a red state to win statewide before considering him for president. Are people not asking these questions about Castro because he ran HUD for a few years or because San Antonio is larger than South Bend? SA may have a weak mayor system as well.

Also, I can’t think of anything specific most of the candidates have done specifically in the senate that make them more “qualified” except simply being in the senate.

One more thing, I seriously doubt anybody worried about Pete’s experience are automatically going for vote for Bernie simply based on his experience.

I don’t think anybody considers Castro worthy of these questions. Pete seems legit, but mayor of a college town doesn’t do it for me on a national stage. That said, he has experience as a manager, which is a plus. He has good politics, which is a plus. His constituents love him, too, which is a plus. I’d just rather him win something a bit tougher before throwing my support behind him at this stage.

Also, it’s just insane that more people aren’t discussing Warren’s actual platform right now. For as many folks claim to be into wonky policy fixes, the silence is deafening.

She has moved up my power rankings into the #2 spot. She’s running on the most comprehensive housing policy/poverty prevention policy that I’ve seen in my lifetime. Truly impressive stuff, my issues with her aside.

ETA: Bernie currently sits at #4 and Pete at #5.

 

[cville deac]

it's weird how 8 years of actual executive political experience = zero political experience

Dude, it's South Bend mayor. We're not talking New York or LA. It's only twice the size of Cville. We're not even talking about practice. More like informal team meeting.

 

[Gooner]

I don’t think anybody considers Castro worthy of these questions. Pete seems legit, but mayor of a college town doesn’t do it for me on a national stage. That said, he has experience as a manager, which is a plus. He has good politics, which is a plus. His constituents love him, too, which is a plus. I’d just rather him win something a bit tougher before throwing my support behind him at this stage.

Also, it’s just insane that more people aren’t discussing Warren’s actual platform right now. For as many folks claim to be into wonky policy fixes, the silence is deafening.

She has moved up my power rankings into the #2 spot. She’s running on the most comprehensive housing policy/poverty prevention policy that I’ve seen in my lifetime. Truly impressive stuff, my issues with her aside.

ETA: Bernie currently sits at #4 and Pete at #5.

I mean, mayor of the town that is home to Notre Dame in a state that is on average R+7 isn't the easiest win of all time as a gay man. Again, I get what you are saying, but I think it's more of a molehill.

And at the end of the day, if the only true knock against Buttigieg's candidacy at this point is that he maybe has a little lack of experience, to me that says a lot about his actual politics and ideas.

 

[Strickland33]

I mean, mayor of the town that is home to Notre Dame in a state that is on average R+7 isn't the easiest win of all time as a gay man. Again, I get what you are saying, but I think it's more of a molehill.

And at the end of the day, if the only true knock against Buttigieg's candidacy at this point is that he maybe has a little lack of experience, to me that says a lot about his actual politics and ideas.

College towns, in general, trend blue. I’ll give him credit for managerial experience while acknowledging the limitations of that experience. He’s running for POTUS, just fyi. It’s reasonable criticism if you’re not in a cult.

 

[Gooner]

College towns, in general, trend blue. I’ll give him credit for managerial experience while acknowledging the limitations of that experience. He’s running for POTUS, just fyi. It’s reasonable criticism if you’re not in a cult.

Lol I literally said that I understand your point and offered a counterpoint from my own perspective.

 

[PhDeac]

I don’t think anybody considers Castro worthy of these questions. Pete seems legit, but mayor of a college town doesn’t do it for me on a national stage. That said, he has experience as a manager, which is a plus. He has good politics, which is a plus. His constituents love him, too, which is a plus. I’d just rather him win something a bit tougher before throwing my support behind him at this stage.

Also, it’s just insane that more people aren’t discussing Warren’s actual platform right now. For as many folks claim to be into wonky policy fixes, the silence is deafening.

She has moved up my power rankings into the #2 spot. She’s running on the most comprehensive housing policy/poverty prevention policy that I’ve seen in my lifetime. Truly impressive stuff, my issues with her aside.

ETA: Bernie currently sits at #4 and Pete at #5.

I would argument most of the policy discussion is essentially about Warren’s platform. I like how the PSA bros put it. Warren is basically writing policy for the whole party. I like that role for her.

 

[Strickland33]

I would argument most of the policy discussion is essentially about Warren’s platform. I like how the PSA bros put it. Warren is basically writing policy for the whole party. I like that role for her.

I guess I don’t listen to PSA or watch cable news, so I’m probably unfit to have made that comment in the first place.

I wish Warren could find a niche doing that, but nobody would listen to her. The only way to get her platform on the agenda in this political climate is probably to win the presidency. Same with (actual) M4A and Sanders. Most (legit) candidates have already backed off their sweeping proclamations for M4A.

 

[avalon]

Also, it’s just insane that more people aren’t discussing Warren’s actual platform right now. For as many folks claim to be into wonky policy fixes, the silence is deafening.

She has moved up my power rankings into the #2 spot. She’s running on the most comprehensive housing policy/poverty prevention policy that I’ve seen in my lifetime. Truly impressive stuff, my issues with her aside.

hard agree

 

[Gooner]

I would argument most of the policy discussion is essentially about Warren’s platform. I like how the PSA bros put it. Warren is basically writing policy for the whole party. I like that role for her.

I feel like there should be an executive branch position for just that. Policy Czar, or something like that. Someone whose sole job is to dive into the weeds of solutions to big policy issues and recommend those solutions to appropriate bodies.

I know that there are policy teams in every administration and in every Congressional session for each member, but I am talking on a bigger, more independent scale. I feel like Warren and those like her were made for such a role in government.