The Match Cut Presidential Dog and Pony Show

[Dukefrukem]

There certainly needs to be some revision in healthcare. I'm not educated enough to make the call, but I think medicine is insanely priced in that it only benefits the corporation. There should be some type of mark-up max % or something in that regard.

Mental health could probably be looked at too, which is a whole other can of worms. Many of the free help that's out there could certainly be advertised easier.

And it's confusing as hell to get a simple check-up which could probably catch a lot of things ahead of time for people.

Those are my callouts for the health system...

Bernie actually has a decent plan for this; It's tax corporations (some kind of tiered tax) instead of having corporations pay for private health care. It would be cheaper for the companies, and (I think) it would help pay for a portion of the system. I don't hate that plan. I hate everything else he is proposing.

[baby doll]

No it's from the same book. It's why Trump is getting so much attention with his military budget today.

And I'm aware we still in the Middle East. My point was Bush started Desert Storm 2. That takes a considerable spending hike to kick-start that effort.

I did some Googling, and interestingly the base budget for the Department of Defence shows a steady but not dramatic increase between 2000 and 2010, followed by a slight falling off until 2018, rather than a sudden spike in 2001-2003. Of course, these numbers don't include (among other things) Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), which is effectively a slush fund for the military (to quote Mick Mulvaney). (The 2020 OCO sets aside 9.2 billion dollars for Trump's wall, which will not be built overseas.) According to one estimate (see previous link), the annual budget for the US military runs to about 1.2542 trillion dollars a year, or about a quarter of government spending.

According to the Atlantic, if Bernie Sanders got everything he's promising, the federal budget would balloon to 50-60 trillion over 10 years, or 5-6 trillion per year. Is that number unsustainable? In 2018, the US took in 3.3 trillion in taxes, inflation is low right now, and the US Treasury can't run out of money, so why not?

[baby doll]

I think the major takeaway here is not that neither party is fiscally conservative (something everybody seems to agree on), but that when inflation is low, there is no reason for them to be fiscally conservative. It's not the 1970s anymore. In the current climate, fiscal conservatism would be economic suicide, slowing growth without providing any material benefit. The fundamental difference between the two parties is that the Republicans want to give money to the rich (the whole point of spending so much on the military is to create favourable conditions for American industry abroad) and the Democrats want to invest in things that benefit the domestic population at large (e.g., healthcare and education).

[Dukefrukem]

Incredible real time updating. Tech rules.

https://graphics.wsj.com/election-20...ults/?mod=e2tw

[Ezee E]

Biden has a very Trump-like presence as far as votes are going.

[Peng]

From this outsider whose intermittent glimpse into this give the impression of it being Sanders vs Warren before, Biden seems like a big surprise wild surge. I guess the "good" ol’ days wistfulness in that country is strong whether which side of political spectrum huh.

[MadMan]

I think I'll write in Gritty and just wash my hands of this entire trashfire of an election if it's Biden vs Trump. Get ready for the senile old men debates. Well I guess I can look for a leftist third party but the Greens will probably go with another moonbat like Jill Stein again.

[baby doll]

It's easy to see why Biden is surging: He's done extremely well with black voters, especially older black voters, whom Bloomberg, Buttigieg, and even Sanders have struggled to appeal to. Once this became overwhelmingly apparent, the party establishment coalesced around Biden virtually overnight, and there probably aren't enough young people and Latinos to get Sanders even a plurality of delegates.

Too bad, because Biden looks like another low-energy establishment candidate with tons of baggage who will crash and burn in the general election (think Al Gore, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton). In my lifetime, the Democrats have only won when they pick relatively young, charismatic candidates like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Get ready for four more years of Trump (at least).

[Irish]

It's easy to see why Biden is surging: He's done extremely well with black voters, especially older black voters, whom Bloomberg, Buttigieg, and even Sanders have struggled to appeal to. Once this became overwhelmingly apparent, the party establishment coalesced around Biden virtually overnight, and there probably aren't enough young people and Latinos to get Sanders even a plurality of delegates.

It's a primary. The olds always turn out in force, regardless of race.

I suppose it doesn't matter, but I think you have this the wrong way 'round. The DNC fell in line and endorsed Biden on the eve of Super Tuesday. Warren stayed in and mysteriously received a shit-ton of SuperPac money. (Hmmmmmm.)

Too bad, because Biden looks like another low-energy establishment candidate with tons of baggage who will crash and burn in the general election (think Al Gore, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton).

He's worse than a low-energy establishment candidate. He's a lifelong corporate shill with a terrible voting record. Personally, I think he's a hair's breath away from Trump. Not as openly vulgar or racist, but pretty damn close.

Putting these two in a room for a "debate" will be like a bad SNL skit.

In my lifetime, the Democrats have only won when they pick relatively young, charismatic candidates like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Get ready for four more years of Trump (at least).

Outside 2000, which was contested, they've largely gone for the candidate who promised systemic change. This includes Trump and remains a large part of his appeal.

[baby doll]

I suppose it doesn't matter, but I think you have this the wrong way 'round. The DNC fell in line and endorsed Biden on the eve of Super Tuesday. Warren stayed in and mysteriously received a shit-ton of SuperPac money. (Hmmmmmm.)

It's not clear to me that Warren is eating into Sanders' support. Most of her supporters are college-educated whites--i.e., the same people who like Kloubuchar and Buttigieg.

[[ETM]]

Biden is senile. I keep seeing "bring back kindness and decency" and a parasocial relationship with the Obama era among his voters. They just want things to be "normal again", while the other half of the Democratic electorate is screaming in agony for real change.

Sent from my Mi 9 Lite using Tapatalk

[Lazlo]

Biden is senile. I keep seeing "bring back kindness and decency" and a parasocial relationship with the Obama era among his voters. They just want things to be "normal again", while the other half of the Democratic electorate is screaming in agony for real change.

Sent from my Mi 9 Lite using Tapatalk

Totally agree with you, the problem is that the half that's screaming isn't voting. Under 30 turnout was abysmal yesterday. I don't get it.

[[ETM]]

I was talking about the Sanders camp and, to an extent, Warren supporters.

[Lazlo]

I was talking about the Sanders camp and, to an extent, Warren supporters.

Yeah, so was I. I'm not sure how much Warren damaged Sanders' chances yesterday, but they also represent different degrees of change. I voted for Warren, would have had Sanders as a second choice on a ranked ballot. But if we go with the idea that Sanders is the candidate of the youth, their voices are just louder than their numbers are large, I guess.

[Irish]

Joe Biden. Good God. It's like the DNC wants to lose.

[Mal]

Well. The only good thing I can say about Joe Biden is that thankfully he's not Mike Bloomberg. There are still a number of states to go, frankly it's not over til its over. But ugh... Biden is the frontrunner. And I think fear drove a lot of people to vote that way. I know my mom wants and craves that so-called "normalcy" I'm hearing about, which is why she went Biden when NH voted last month.

Totally agree with you, the problem is that the half that's screaming isn't voting. Under 30 turnout was abysmal yesterday. I don't get it.

I was hearing something today about the divide between Sanders and Biden being even bigger than most will admit -- like Sanders' overall message has little to no resonance with people over 45 or so. My parents find him unrealistic. Personally I like ideas a lot better than no ideas. A lot of people are also really fucking scared of new ideas vs. Trump- and that likely drove the wedge even further between the demographics.

[Wryan]

If the country goes Biden, I'll be relatively happy in a practical sense (SC vacancy selections, judges, non-hard-right policy decisions) but so disheartened philosophically. After four years of Trump's far-right chaos, asking if we can pretty please go back a little closer to the middle (not to the middle, mind you, or even sorta left of it) is just about the most Democratic Party thing imaginable.

[MadMan]

The DNC loves to lose as long as they appear calm and respectable about it. Biden vs Trump isn't even Turd Sandwich vs a Giant Douche. It's two senile Giant Douches.

[DavidSeven]

There is no “DNC” or “establishment” at play. You have a single moderate candidate who finally got on level ground with the liberal candidate and blew him up. So far, Sanders has shown no ability whatsoever to break past a 30% threshold of democratic voters. He is losing massively among black voters, older voters and suburban, college-educated whites. He and Biden are on par among the workings class. Educated women are with Warren. Sanders then underdelivered on the one group he promised on — young voters, derailing his argument that he could deliver youth turnout in a general election.

To win an election, you have to build a coalition among a lot of disparate groups. If Sanders can’t deliver young voters to make up for the other groups that aren’t excited about him, then he has no business being the Democratic nominee.

I’m not bashing his ideological platform. A far left candidate can win with the right messaging. His insistence on pitting himself against a completely fabricated notion of “establishment democrats” is what’s killing him and putting off voters who have identified as Democrat their entire voting lives, like black voters in the south and suburban women. He is not breaking that 30-35% threshold until he learns that lesson or there is otherwise a seismic shift in youth voting trends.

[Irish]

There is no “DNC” or “establishment” at play.

Yeah. Sure. The DNC: Does it even exist?

It's just a total coincidence that Pete and Amy dropped out and endorsed Biden right before the vote. Ditto Beto, who hasn't been heard from in months.

A far left candidate can win with the right messaging.

Any truly leftist message will never be heard on corporate networks. It's increasingly clear that if cable news doesn't back you, you're fucked.

The country has swing so far right that "let's tax corporations and regulate them" sounds radical, as does "let's provide our citizens with the same basic services that other industrialized countries do."

The current DNC line-up makes Franklin Roosevelt look like Eugene Debs.

[Ezee E]

Maybe it's just me, but I'm noticing the Democratic Race is very much like the Presidential Election in which blue states are going for Bernie, and Red States for Biden.

With Biden likely to win the nomination, I think this bodes well in the actual election for those looking for a Democratic return to President... or at least the removal of Trump.

[Milky Joe]

Forget it. Trump will win in a landslide of Reagan proportions.

[Skitch]

I cant get much of a read this year. Literally any outcome wouldn't surprise me. If gun to my head...dems lean moderate and pick Biden. Dem voters are pissed or bored by the move. Trump wins again by a slim margin.

I think Tulsi was the only pick that couldve maybe beat Trump, but we'll never know.

[kuehnepips]

Trump gets the virus and dies before June, yeah!

[Ezee E]

Think it's pretty funny that I'm starting to see some Bernie/Warren supporters share that they're going to either not vote or vote for another non-Biden nominee because their person isn't in the race anymore.