[Discussion] The (likely) Depressing Road to the 2020 Election Thread

It's going to be a circus.

Will 45 get impeached or step down or challenged? All 3? MAYBE.

Will the democrats eat themselves alive and hobble literally every potential candidate before the primaries are done? PROBABLY.

Talk about that junk here.

Honestly, anyone who is elected will spend most of their (first?) term trying to undo the damage that 45's administration has done. Whether their position is far-left or centrist, most of their efforts will be to revoke bullsh*t policies, implement rationality back into the Executive Branch, dealing with the humanitarian crisis caused by the immigration policies, and trying to repair the damage done to our ally relations.

As old as Biden, Bernie, and Warren are, I think that they will only have one term in them and they won't get to push any of their agendas when they are too busy righting the ship to even keel.

Nevin73 wrote:

Honestly, anyone who is elected will spend most of their (first?) term trying to undo the damage that 45's administration has done. Whether their position is center-left, moderate, or conservative, most of their efforts will be to revoke bullsh*t policies, implement rationality back into the Executive Branch, dealing with the humanitarian crisis caused by the immigration policies, and trying to repair the damage done to our ally relations.

FTFY.

There are no far-left candidates running. Far-left positions would include things like:
-Workers seizing all property
-Complete and utter dismantling of capitalism as an economic structure
-The eradication of class

We've gotten into a lot of trouble in this country by allowing the far right to define ideas that would be considered morally centrist or even conservative in any other country as "far left." I believe it is important that we start taking steps to diminish their strangehold on the framing of political discourse. One way we can do that is to start to utilize the language of left/right in a way that more closely matches the rest of the world.

Nevin73 wrote:

Honestly, anyone who is elected will spend most of their (first?) term trying to undo the damage that 45's administration has done. Whether their position is far-left or centrist, most of their efforts will be to revoke bullsh*t policies, implement rationality back into the Executive Branch, dealing with the humanitarian crisis caused by the immigration policies, and trying to repair the damage done to our ally relations.

As old as Biden, Bernie, and Warren are, I think that they will only have one term in them and they won't get to push any of their agendas when they are too busy righting the ship to even keel.

And the republicans will spend 4 yrs obstructing and complaining about all of it.

JC wrote:

And the Republicans will spend 4 yrs obstructing and complaining about all of it.

And then the world will burn as climate change murders us all. Billionaires will retreat to newly acquired Greenland with the pillaged resources of the world (thanks in part to all of the environmental deregulation Trump pushed through) to live rest of human existence in some comfortable bunkers. Sure, their children will run out of resources and die too, but at least they got to live out their lives in comfort and got to avoid doing the hard work of acknowledging their hand in the genocide of humanity and taking the necessary steps to fix the planet!

Spoiler:

I'm in a mood

Invest in boltcutters.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:
Nevin73 wrote:

Honestly, anyone who is elected will spend most of their (first?) term trying to undo the damage that 45's administration has done. Whether their position is center-left, moderate, or conservative, most of their efforts will be to revoke bullsh*t policies, implement rationality back into the Executive Branch, dealing with the humanitarian crisis caused by the immigration policies, and trying to repair the damage done to our ally relations.

FTFY.

There are no far-left candidates running. Far-left positions would include things like:
-Workers seizing all property
-Complete and utter dismantling of capitalism as an economic structure
-The eradication of class

We've gotten into a lot of trouble in this country by allowing the far right to define ideas that would be considered morally centrist or even conservative in any other country as "far left." I believe it is important that we start taking steps to diminish their strangehold on the framing of political discourse. One way we can do that is to start to utilize the language of left/right in a way that more closely matches the rest of the world.

Good point. I'll try to keep this in mind.

I think that World War Z (the book) did a good job of showing what would happen to the elites when the world ends. They will be turned on by the people they rely on for their safety and protection.

ruhk wrote:

Invest in boltcutters.

You're a fan of Robert Evans too, huh?

JC wrote:
Nevin73 wrote:

Honestly, anyone who is elected will spend most of their (first?) term trying to undo the damage that 45's administration has done. Whether their position is far-left or centrist, most of their efforts will be to revoke bullsh*t policies, implement rationality back into the Executive Branch, dealing with the humanitarian crisis caused by the immigration policies, and trying to repair the damage done to our ally relations.

As old as Biden, Bernie, and Warren are, I think that they will only have one term in them and they won't get to push any of their agendas when they are too busy righting the ship to even keel.

And the republicans will spend 4 yrs obstructing and complaining about all of it.

This is why we really need the Senate. It's a possible flip, but will be hard as hell. We could use some of the presidential candidates to drop out and run for Senate in red states that are close enough to flipping. Looking at you Beto, Hickenlooper, and Bullock.

Jonman wrote:
ruhk wrote:

Invest in boltcutters.

You're a fan of Robert Evans too, huh?

Don’t make me get the throwing bagels.

HIckenlooper announced his run for Senate this morning

Washington (CNN)John Hickenlooper will formally announce his Senate candidacy on Thursday, a friend of the former Colorado governor told CNN, a decision that comes a week after dropping out of the presidential race.
Hickenlooper's Senate website has already been posted, with the homepage reading: "I'm running to give Colorado's priorities and values a voice in Washington."

Inslee has also dropped out of the race. The winnowing begins.

ruhk wrote:
Jonman wrote:
ruhk wrote:

Invest in boltcutters.

You're a fan of Robert Evans too, huh?

Don’t make me get the throwing bagels.

Have we talked about the importance of good bolt cutters here yet?

David Koch has died. I wonder what impact this will have on election spending

JC wrote:

David Koch has died. I wonder what impact this will have on election spending

He had already personally retired from his political activity due to his health, so probably not much. I’m sure there was already a proxy organization in place to carry on destroying the planet/civilization in his stead.

Reaper81 wrote:

Literally, who?

Seth man! You remember him. He was dating that girl from .... where was it Quoqueton? Anyway, remember he used to have that Jetta that was always stalling?

Seth!

ruhk wrote:
JC wrote:

David Koch has died. I wonder what impact this will have on election spending

He had already personally retired from his political activity due to his health, so probably not much. I’m sure there was already a proxy organization in place to carry on destroying the planet/civilization in his stead.

It's called the "Koch network." It's a group of about 500 people who donate a minimum of $100,000 a year. I say minimum because between 2016 and 2018 the Koch network dropped over $400 million on "policy and politics" and millions more on "educational" initiatives.

It's basically a rats nest of shell companies, nonprofits, and dark money PACs designed to refashion our government in the Koch's vision. For example, there's a group called the State Policy Network which bills itself as a loose coalition of independent think tanks that are focused on helping state legislatures. It turns out it's really a Koch network front created in the image of ALEC which is powered by donations that the network runs through Donors Choice and Donors Capital Fund to obfuscate the source of the funding.

Supposedly the Koch network is revamping itself to be less partisan, but I doubt it. The Koch brothers have created a terribly successful political monster that no one is going to be eager to give up--neither the rich people who benefit from the policies it pushes to the politicians whose campaigns are helped.

OG_slinger wrote:
ruhk wrote:
JC wrote:

David Koch has died. I wonder what impact this will have on election spending

He had already personally retired from his political activity due to his health, so probably not much. I’m sure there was already a proxy organization in place to carry on destroying the planet/civilization in his stead.

It's called the "Koch network." It's a group of about 500 people who donate a minimum of $100,000 a year. I say minimum because between 2016 and 2018 the Koch network dropped over $400 million on "policy and politics" and millions more on "educational" initiatives.

It's basically a rats nest of shell companies, nonprofits, and dark money PACs designed to refashion our government in the Koch's vision. For example, there's a group called the State Policy Network which bills itself as a loose coalition of independent think tanks that are focused on helping state legislatures. It turns out it's really a Koch network front created in the image of ALEC which is powered by donations that the network runs through Donors Choice and Donors Capital Fund to obfuscate the source of the funding.

Supposedly the Koch network is revamping itself to be less partisan, but I doubt it. The Koch brothers have created a terribly successful political monster that no one is going to be eager to give up--neither the rich people who benefit from the policies it pushes to the politicians whose campaigns are helped.

Rooting out what the Kochs have built would take a literal revolution. They systemized political corruption in a way that’s very much like a hydra. If you cut off one head through legislation - no small feat in itself, the others can make it grow back again in a different copy

Former single-term Tea Party U.S. Representative turned conservative political commentator Joe Walsh announced he's primarying Trump and running to be the Republican nominee for president.

Walsh previously claimed Obama wasn't born in America and was a secret Muslim, though he says he doesn't believe those things anymore and has apologized. He also claimed that Obama only won in 2008 because he was a “black man who was articulate.”

Walsh was also a massive water carrier for Trump in 2016 even going as far a tweeting "...if Trump loses, I'm grabbing my musket. You in?"

There was another Republican governor on MtP this morning talking about running as well, mostly on economic grounds. Pointing out how Trump's "art of the deal" is a myth, and that these tariffs are a tax on Americans and not helping anything.

It would be the height of embarrassment for Trump to lose a primary and not even get to run. He deserves so much worse but it would be a start.

That would be the ultimate outcome for this timeline. Trump gets primaried while Democrats focus on nominating someone who can beat Trump.

Fast forward to election night as yet another Republican wins the presidency while losing the popular vote in spite of the whole party caving to Trumpism.

Gillibrand has dropped out.

Well, I was wrong. I do think in another year she might have had a shot, but her lane is fully occupied this time around. That senate seat is probably hers for as long as she wants it. She’d be a better Minority Leader then Schumer.

Zona wrote:

She’d be a better Minority Leader then Schumer.

Gawd, how soon can we get her there? 20 years? Ugh...

Gillibrand and I don't meet up eye-to-eye on everything, but I liked some of her angles/takes compared to, say, Biden.

I absolutely would take Gillibrand for (majority) leader over Schumer. I am hopeful on both fronts

I'll be honest, I really don't know what people see in her. My first exposure to her was really her interview with Maddow when she began her run. She just seems so superficial, making up for a lack of substance by constantly being the most outraged. She reminded me of a comment comedian Doug Stanhope once told me, that his job is to call everyone else an asshole for not knowing what he learned five minutes ago.

Never really disagreed with her on much, but would never want her arguing for me. For one, I have no idea when she will become "embarrassed" and revert to different views. I'm hesitant to support her in any larger role than Senator.

The Third Democratic Debate Will Be A One-Night Affair

The third Democratic debate will be a one-night affair, bringing all the front-runners to the same stage for the first time.

In a significant shift from the previous debates, the field of candidates participating will be cut in half, ABC News announced Thursday.

But only 10 candidates qualified by the Aug. 28 deadline. The candidates who will participate in the Sept. 12 event are:

Former Vice President Joe Biden
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas)
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro.

Those who failed to qualify include:

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D)
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D)
Former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.)
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam (D)
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio)
Former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.)
Hedge fund manager Tom Steyer (D)
Author Marianne Williamson
After failing to qualify for the debate, Gillibrand dropped out of the race

You know, I like Pete but goddamn if it isn't the height of American arrogance to have two mayors who feel like they have a shot at the Presidency.

Reaper81 wrote:

You know, I like Pete but goddamn if it isn't the height of American arrogance to have two mayors who feel like they have a shot at the Presidency.

an 11-time failed busisnessman turned gameshow host did it so...