Old Bernie is Running

[YttriumNitrate]

Russians helping Bernie in the news today.  Makes sense, Bernie will loose and Trump gets in again.

Another possibility is that Sanders is an even bigger dove than Trump and the Russians know Sanders won't respond if they make moves in the old Eastern block states.

[Kris]

Putin does not want Sanders. But he is smart. So if he announces he does, he can damage him, help Trump and that all for not even doing anything.

And, just to say it again, the USA is the very last country that should say something about foreign interference.

I think Putin wants Sanders as the nominee because he knows it will cause more chaos, and because he strongly suspects Trump will beat Sanders in the general.

Looks like Putin may get his wish.

[Kris]

Russians helping Bernie in the news today.  Makes sense, Bernie will loose and Trump gets in again.

Another possibility is that Sanders is an even bigger dove than Trump and the Russians know Sanders won't respond if they make moves in the old Eastern block states.

Psh. Trump will let Putin do whatever he wants in the Eastern bloc states.

[YttriumNitrate]

Psh. Trump will let Putin do whatever he wants in the Eastern bloc states.

But will Sanders? My guess is yes. Sanders and Trump are probably the #1 and #2 picks (not sure who is #1) for the Russians in this election.

[pecunia]

Seems like the Russians still have a lot of troubles at home to deal with.  Russia is incredibly ethnically diverse.  There is long term generational friction between these different groups of people.  However, an invasion could be used as a diversion to unify those groups of people.

[Kris]

Psh. Trump will let Putin do whatever he wants in the Eastern bloc states.

But will Sanders? My guess is yes. Sanders and Trump are probably the #1 and #2 picks (not sure who is #1) for the Russians in this election.

As a pacifist, it is possible. But a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Trump is already a sure thing useful idiot.

[pecunia]

Looks like the momentum is no longer with Bernie Sanders.  He got it handed to him in South Carolina by Joe Biden.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/us/politics/sc-primary-biden.html

Maybe, the press will now turn their attention to Joe Biden.  Can he beat Donald Trump?  Is he the next hope for the Democrats?

It was older voters that made the difference.  These are the people that vote the most of any Demographic.  It is not just true in SOuth Carolina.  It may be a Biden Trump battle this Fall. 

Who would Biden choose as a running mate?  Hillary?

[wenchsenior]

Looks like the momentum is no longer with Bernie Sanders.  He got it handed to him in South Carolina by Joe Biden.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/us/politics/sc-primary-biden.html

Maybe, the press will now turn their attention to Joe Biden.  Can he beat Donald Trump?  Is he the next hope for the Democrats?

It was older voters that made the difference.  These are the people that vote the most of any Demographic.  It is not just true in SOuth Carolina.  It may be a Biden Trump battle this Fall. 

Who would Biden choose as a running mate?  Hillary?

Almost certainly not.  He'll choose someone young, more populist and liberal, and likely a woman or minority.  Think Stacey Abrams etc.

[HPstache]

There are so many videos of Biden inappropriately touching women out there.  I dont know how he could be taken seriously as the Democrat Nominee.

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

Looks like the momentum is no longer with Bernie Sanders.  He got it handed to him in South Carolina by Joe Biden.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/us/politics/sc-primary-biden.html

Maybe, the press will now turn their attention to Joe Biden.  Can he beat Donald Trump?  Is he the next hope for the Democrats?

It was older voters that made the difference.  These are the people that vote the most of any Demographic.  It is not just true in SOuth Carolina.  It may be a Biden Trump battle this Fall. 

Who would Biden choose as a running mate?  Hillary?

Almost certainly not.  He'll choose someone young, more populist and liberal, and likely a woman or minority.  Think Stacey Abrams etc.

What about Kamala or Klob?

[Slow2FIRE]

Looks like the momentum is no longer with Bernie Sanders.  He got it handed to him in South Carolina by Joe Biden.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/us/politics/sc-primary-biden.html

Maybe, the press will now turn their attention to Joe Biden.  Can he beat Donald Trump?  Is he the next hope for the Democrats?

It was older voters that made the difference.  These are the people that vote the most of any Demographic.  It is not just true in SOuth Carolina.  It may be a Biden Trump battle this Fall. 

Who would Biden choose as a running mate?  Hillary?

It has been expected from the beginning that Biden would dominate in SC.  It would have been more of a statement of the end of Biden if he didn't win big in SC, versus his win meaning much about the rest of the race.  Sanders is still likely to capture the most delegates on super Tuesday.

[maizefolk]

Who would Biden choose as a running mate?  Hillary?

Almost certainly not.  He'll choose someone young, more populist and liberal, and likely a woman or minority.  Think Stacey Abrams etc.

What about Kamala or Klob?

I hope not Klobuchar. She's gone from a senator I respect to someone I'd like far away from the nuclear launch codes over the course of the debates I watched before giving up.

Harris would be fine.

However, I'd feel more confident in guessing Stacey Abrams (a woman, black, and from an emerging swing state (GA). Likely to help the ticket in NC and FL) will be the vice presidential nominee than I would be in guessing who will be in the presidential nominee.

[American GenX]

Looks like the momentum is no longer with Bernie Sanders.  He got it handed to him in South Carolina by Joe Biden.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/us/politics/sc-primary-biden.html

Maybe, the press will now turn their attention to Joe Biden.  Can he beat Donald Trump?  Is he the next hope for the Democrats?

It was older voters that made the difference.  These are the people that vote the most of any Demographic.  It is not just true in SOuth Carolina.  It may be a Biden Trump battle this Fall. 

Who would Biden choose as a running mate?  Hillary?

Almost certainly not.  He'll choose someone young, more populist and liberal, and likely a woman or minority.  Think Stacey Abrams etc.

What about Kamala or Klob?

I like Klob, but it's anyone's guess.

[Kris]

Looks like the momentum is no longer with Bernie Sanders.  He got it handed to him in South Carolina by Joe Biden.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/us/politics/sc-primary-biden.html

Maybe, the press will now turn their attention to Joe Biden.  Can he beat Donald Trump?  Is he the next hope for the Democrats?

It was older voters that made the difference.  These are the people that vote the most of any Demographic.  It is not just true in SOuth Carolina.  It may be a Biden Trump battle this Fall. 

Who would Biden choose as a running mate?  Hillary?

Almost certainly not.  He'll choose someone young, more populist and liberal, and likely a woman or minority.  Think Stacey Abrams etc.

What about Kamala or Klob?

Biden did drop Kamala’s name a few days ago.  I think he would likely choose her.

[pecunia]

Looks like the momentum is no longer with Bernie Sanders.  He got it handed to him in South Carolina by Joe Biden.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/us/politics/sc-primary-biden.html

Maybe, the press will now turn their attention to Joe Biden.  Can he beat Donald Trump?  Is he the next hope for the Democrats?

It was older voters that made the difference.  These are the people that vote the most of any Demographic.  It is not just true in SOuth Carolina.  It may be a Biden Trump battle this Fall. 

Who would Biden choose as a running mate?  Hillary?

Almost certainly not.  He'll choose someone young, more populist and liberal, and likely a woman or minority.  Think Stacey Abrams etc.

What about Kamala or Klob?

Biden did drop Kamala’s name a few days ago.  I think he would likely choose her.

He would get a two for one.  She's a woman and she is black.  She is also a centrist Democrat with a background in law and order.

She was a favorite until Tulsi Gabbard kind of ripped her apart.

[Slow2FIRE]

Looks like the momentum is no longer with Bernie Sanders.  He got it handed to him in South Carolina by Joe Biden.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/us/politics/sc-primary-biden.html

Maybe, the press will now turn their attention to Joe Biden.  Can he beat Donald Trump?  Is he the next hope for the Democrats?

It was older voters that made the difference.  These are the people that vote the most of any Demographic.  It is not just true in SOuth Carolina.  It may be a Biden Trump battle this Fall. 

Who would Biden choose as a running mate?  Hillary?

Almost certainly not.  He'll choose someone young, more populist and liberal, and likely a woman or minority.  Think Stacey Abrams etc.

What about Kamala or Klob?

Will Kamala be able to walk back her criticisms of Biden, early on, for Biden's support (or maybe inaction) wrt segregation?  Her "that little girl was me" statement directed towards Biden was pretty memorable.

[LennStar]

General observation:

It is intersting how much the US elections - and I explicitly include you here now - are concentrating on exclusion.
"He did X so he could never be the candidate!" sort of thing.

Have you ever wondered why?
Have you ever thought about how much that is used (from "friend" and foe equally) to narrow the field? (And you can find some "can't be!" about everyone if you dig deep enough.)
Have you ever thought about how important that stuff is in light of where the decisions are really made?

Granted, the US president has quite some power. But he still does not rule alone (see Trump impeachment).
Remember Obama and single payer health care? Why did it not happen?
The answer is (according to Obamas own words): It would mean 3 million people in the insurance industry losing their job.

[sherr]

Granted, the US president has quite some power. But he still does not rule alone (see Trump impeachment).
Remember Obama and single payer health care? Why did it not happen?
The answer is (according to Obamas own words): It would mean 3 million people in the insurance industry losing their job.

But a public option very nearly did pass, which would have also (IMO) meant the death of the private medical insurance industry, just in a slower and more drawn-out fashion.

If your point here is that single-payer is politically difficult because of those 3 million job cuts, then I agree (but a strong economy with close to 0% unemployment like the one we have now is the best possible time to make that transition, so that those people can find work somewhere else).

If your point is that it should not be done because of those 3 million jobs, then I disagree. The free market can and should be steered in directions that are actually beneficial to society. The medical insurance industry is not only not-beneficial, it is actively harmful and we should do better.

[pecunia]

Granted, the US president has quite some power. But he still does not rule alone (see Trump impeachment).
Remember Obama and single payer health care? Why did it not happen?
The answer is (according to Obamas own words): It would mean 3 million people in the insurance industry losing their job.

But a public option very nearly did pass, which would have also (IMO) meant the death of the private medical insurance industry, just in a slower and more drawn-out fashion.

If your point here is that single-payer is politically difficult because of those 3 million job cuts, then I agree (but a strong economy with close to 0% unemployment like the one we have now is the best possible time to make that transition, so that those people can find work somewhere else).

If your point is that it should not be done because of those 3 million jobs, then I disagree. The free market can and should be steered in directions that are actually beneficial to society. The medical insurance industry is not only not-beneficial, it is actively harmful and we should do better.

Only 3 million.  Seems like a lot less than the job losses in manufacturing that have occurred due to American businessman fleeing the nation for those in countries with less expensive labor.  If our businesses were freed from having to pay for health insurance, they should be more competitive.  I think there is a chance that we get 3 million jobs back due to there being a more competitive stance.

https://www.autonews.com/automakers-suppliers/automakers-aim-curb-health-care-costs

From the old article linked above.

"Ford Motor Co.'s annual cost to provide health care to its hourly workers and their dependents will surpass $1 billion next year, according to a source familiar with the situation. Costs at General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are increasing to similar figures.

[LennStar]

If your point here is that single-payer is politically difficult because of those 3 million job cuts, then I agree (but a strong economy with close to 0% unemployment like the one we have now is the best possible time to make that transition, so that those people can find work somewhere else).

That one. Every politician is obsessed with jobs. Even Trump!

And that is why I don't think it will work easily even in the best of economic times.

[jim555]

Bernie needs to drop out now if he really cares about Democrats winning the election.  But he won't since he isn't a Democrat.

[pecunia]

Bernie needs to drop out now if he really cares about Democrats winning the election.  But he won't since he isn't a Democrat.

Why?  Many polls show him beating Donald Trump.  Joe Biden has not been too impressive with his rhetoric. 

If he obtains many delegates, this gives him bargaining power with the establishment Democrats to push the party towards some of the more progressive ideas.

- Health Care for All
- A livable minimum wage
- Equity in the taxation system  (Make the rich pay their "fair share.")
- End to endless foreign wars
- Address global warming

Otherwise, the Democrats will run on just beating Trump because he is a bad president.  They will not be steadfastly for an agenda the improves the general welfare.

[2Birds1Stone]

We're getting 4 more years of the Donald, the DNC is a joke since Obama left office.

[maizefolk]

If he [Sanders] obtains many delegates, this gives him bargaining power with the establishment Democrats to push the party towards some of the more progressive ideas.

- Health Care for All
- A livable minimum wage
- Equity in the taxation system  (Make the rich pay their "fair share.")
- End to endless foreign wars
- Address global warming

Otherwise, the Democrats will run on just beating Trump because he is a bad president.  They will not be steadfastly for an agenda the improves the general welfare.

The problem I have with this argument is that in 2016 Sanders obtained a lot of delegates but did not win the nomination. The democratic nominee still ran on just beating Trump because he would be a bad president.

Why should we think Sanders getting a lot of delegates, but not winning the nomination, would produce a different outcome in 2020 than it did last time?

[American GenX]

Bernie needs to drop out now if he really cares about Democrats winning the election.  But he won't since he isn't a Democrat.

Why?  Many polls show him beating Donald Trump.  Joe Biden has not been too impressive with his rhetoric. 

If he obtains many delegates, this gives him bargaining power with the establishment Democrats to push the party towards some of the more progressive ideas.

Oh, all of Bernie's big ideas that are part of a revolution........   that will never happen after the democrats lose a bunch of down-ballot races with Bernie at the top of the ticket and candidates that don't support most of Bernie's agenda.

It's ironic.  People see Bernie as wanting to make big progressive changes, yet in reality, the Bern would likely accomplish less than Biden.

[pecunia]

Well - Let's hope Biden accomplishes a lot because a lot is needed.  There are worse choices than Biden.