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2020 Democratic Presidential Nominees

Over the past few weeks, Democratic candidates for president have been diverting from the campaign trail for an unusual stop: Santa Barbara, Calif. It’s home to Ady Barkan, 35, who is slowly dying from ALS and who has become an iconic figure on the activist left, protesting and speaking out for Medicare-for-all even as his condition literally robbed him of his voice.

“I’m trying to host a different kind of conversation: one that pushes candidates beyond talking points and to get personal and specific about one of the biggest crises in our society,” Barkan said in a statement. “I’m honored that all but one of the candidates in the third debate have agreed to have serious, in-depth conversations with me about health care.”

“Health Care Conversations with Ady Barkan,” co-sponsored by NowThis News and Crooked Media, will consist of short video interviews between Barkan and at least nine Democratic candidates. Many of the interviews took place at Barkan’s home; all are being edited for time, as Barkan speaks through a computer that tracks his eye movements, translating that into a synthetic voice.
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cville deac said:
But he ain't wrong. The 3 leaders are old, and the field overall is weak. Reminds me of the 2004 field. Ain't no Bubbas (in his prime) or Obamas in this field. If Obama were eligible and ran, he'd win north of 350 EVs and win by 10%.
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Obama was down double digits to Hillary at this point.
 
PhDeac said:
Obama was down double digits to Hillary at this point.
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That's so not the point - stop obfuscating. I'm not making a comparison to 2008 - I'm talking about here and now. If the 22nd amendment said you couldn't serve more than 2 consecutive terms (instead of 2 terms period), and Obama in fact was running, he'd annialate Trump in both the EC and popular vote.
 
Yeah, but we're talking about people who haven't been president for 8 years, so 2008 Obama would be a better comparison.
 
PhDeac said:
Yeah, but we're talking about people who haven't been president for 8 years, so 2008 Obama would be a better comparison.
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No, we're not. You may be. What I explicitly said was, if the 22nd amendment permitted someone a 3rd non-consecutive term as president, and the current gray haired, less naive Obama, not the 2008 less aged Obama, were currently running, he'd crush Trump in the general. I do not accept your unfriendly amendment to my hypothetical.
 
cville deac said:
That's so not the point - stop obfuscating. I'm not making a comparison to 2008 - I'm talking about here and now. If the 22nd amendment said you couldn't serve more than 2 consecutive terms (instead of 2 terms period), and Obama in fact was running, he'd annialate Trump in both the EC and popular vote.
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Obama would win in a landslide, and is one of the most popular presidents of all time. Yet 2020 dems are in a race to see who can go farther away from his policies.
 
WFcatamount22 said:
Obama would win in a landslide, and is one of the most popular presidents of all time. Yet 2020 dems are in a race to see who can go farther away from his policies.
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3 of the top 5 apparently are, and 1 slobs Obama's knob at every opportunity. At his age, you'd think all that kneeling would be hell on his knees. Though at least Warren is complimentary and civil. This is part of why I prefer Buttigieg.
 
WFcatamount22 said:
Obama would win in a landslide, and is one of the most popular presidents of all time. Yet 2020 dems are in a race to see who can go farther away from his policies.
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The people. They clamor for more wedding drone strikes.
 
Presented without comment

 
Or was it the mass deportations, extension of the Bush tax cuts, and failure to jail any bankers that people love so dearly?

His policies were pretty meh. Should have made climate change the focus of the first term when he had Congress on his side but wanted Obamacare.

He was popular because he was charismatic and good looking and had a Kennedy-esque family. Not because of any huge policy wins for the bulk of the electorate. Look at how many voters showed up in 2012 for him. I give him some credit for steering us out of the ditch in 08, but I straightforwardly don't like his middle of the road politics. We're allowed to differ in that opinion, but the electorate likes good policy.

I can appreciate that we're clamoring for normalcy, but it can also be ok to look back and criticize. Fact is that Bill's criminal justice policy and Obama's drone state are not and were not good policy.
 
ImTheCaptain said:
yeah, the only thing that happened in 8 years
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Yeah, and Obama deporting mainly people with criminal records = Trump on immigration and killing kids in detention. Let's run on forgiving all student loan debt, letting incarcerated prisoners vote and abolishing ICE. Game changer.
 
I think the dissatisfaction with Obama is four fold. First, he compromised a lot and got little for it. Even ACA was a compromise. Most Democrats realize Republicans aren't good faith actors so there's no point in compromising with them, so why run to the middle. Second, yes the party has moved to the left in the last 10 years. It's not unusual for parties to change over a period of time. Third, building on anything people like from Obama would require more than just doing it again. Fourth, much of what Obama did was be a bulwark against Republicans. Dems want to do that and move things forward.
 
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TownieDeac said:
Or was it the mass deportations, extension of the Bush tax cuts, and failure to jail any bankers that people love so dearly?

His policies were pretty meh. Should have made climate change the focus of the first term when he had Congress on his side but wanted Obamacare.

He was popular because he was charismatic and good looking and had a Kennedy-esque family. Not because of any huge policy wins for the bulk of the electorate. Look at how many voters showed up in 2012 for him. I give him some credit for steering us out of the ditch in 08, but I straightforwardly don't like his middle of the road politics. We're allowed to differ in that opinion, but the electorate likes good policy.

I can appreciate that we're clamoring for normalcy, but it can also be ok to look back and criticize. Fact is that Bill's criminal justice policy and Obama's drone state are not and were not good policy.
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Other than things like Lily Ledbetter, saving the economy, getting rid of don't ask/don't tell, doing more for healthcare other than LBJ in US history and much more.

Please explain exactly how anyone could have gotten the Grim Reaper/Turtle McConnell to do anything?
 
PhDeac said:
I think the dissatisfaction with Obama is two fold. First, he compromised a lot and got little for it. Even ACA was a compromise. Most Democrats realize Republicans aren't good faith actors so there's no point in compromising with them, so why run to the middle. Second, yes the party has moved to the left in the last 10 years. It's not unusual for parties to change over a period of time. Third, building on anything people like from Obama would require more than just doing it again. Fourth, much of what Obama did was be a bulwark against Republicans. Dems want to do that and move things forward.
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Yes, the ACA was a compromise - within the Dem party. I was told back in 2009 they could tackle health care or immigration reform in that term, but not both. Looks like we chose incorrectly in retrospect. But that wasn't just Obama, that was the general feeling among Dems. Then after the 2010 midterms he couldn't get anything done that needed legislation because wasn't going to pass. Add to that Boehner had zero control over the crazies in his party. He had solid judicial appointments and did what he could by EO. This is what pisses me off about your and other posters' criticisms of him. Exactly what more would a President Warren or Sanders have gotten done that he wasn't able to do by appointment or EO between 2011-16? Add to that he set his successor up well with a high departing approval rating, but unfortunately, she sucked as a candidate and lost the EC. And exactly what is a President Warren or Sanders going to get done that needs legislation from 2020-24 with a Pub senate? This is provided they actually beat a historically unpopular Trump, which is no given.
 
ACA was bigger than any POTUS had done since Teddy Roosevelt first started trying. Without it, tens of millions wouldn't have coverage and millions would have lost everything to their bills. Dems were too scared to even give a full public option.

ACA was more important than immigration.
 
cville deac said:
Yeah, and Obama deporting mainly people with criminal records = Trump on immigration and killing kids in detention. Let's run on forgiving all student loan debt, letting incarcerated prisoners vote and abolishing ICE. Game changer.
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First, the border conditions now didn't start when Trump got in office. The detention centers were active five years ago. Trump is just saying the quiet parts out loud because he's a moron and a racist. Parents were separated from their children and people were sleeping on cement floors for months under Obama, too.

Forgiving student debt is popular.

And the fact is no candidate is going on about abolishing ICE, it's just the subject of Republican attack ads.

Letting incarcerated prisoners vote is the morally correct thing to do as well, but I don't suspect that factors in with your calculations (or know your thoughts on it personally).

What kills me about this is we'll regularly get Republican candidates talking about like...abolishing the Department of Education or dismantling the EPA. Trump has more or less gutted the administrative state. Yet Dems are utterly terrified to do anything that isn't cravenly technocratic and incremental. They'd rather court the 2% of the electorate who went from Obama to Trump than the 40% of non-voters who might get off the couch for a candidate with ideas.
 
cville deac said:
This is what pisses me off about your and other posters' criticisms of him. Exactly what more would a President Warren or Sanders have gotten done that he wasn't able to do by appointment or EO between 2011-16?
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These are decent points, for which I do not disagree. DNC must focus on winning back the Senate. Maybe some of these 25 pres candidates who've gotten their names out there?
 
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