2020 Democratic candidates

[MuppetsRule]

Thoughts on each:

• De Blasio rubbed me the wrong way on certain issues (like healthcare), but his bringing up raising a black son brought me a bit back to him. I don’t think he’s one of the best here though.
• Delaney started strong (keep what’s working and get rid of what’s not, or whatever he said to that effect, was a great line) but didn’t come back with the same effect later on.
• Ryan was solid until Tulsi annihilated him with the Afghanistan stuff. I doubt he’s coming back.
• Inslee was solid but never really grabbed my attention.
• Klobuchar was also solid and I liked her quite a bit. Certainly her abortion line, knocking on Inslee’s thing, was great. I just don’t think she stands out quite enough her.
• Castro may have been the breakout star here. His aggressive stance on policy was a strong move on his part. I didn’t like him quite as much as others did but I could honestly back him. He’s good.
• Beto is... well... I dunno. Definitely wasn’t the strongest one tonight.
• Booker really impressed me. I thought he did a great job at being articulate with his thoughts, at discussing his own life and how it’s impacted his policies... I really like him.
• Warren also grabbed me tonight. I disagree on stuff like healthcare, but I admire her spirit and I really think she has a strong grip on what’s important for the country.
• And finally, Tulsi. Gotta say, she shot herself in the foot with her first question by not even answering it. But she came back later on to smack down on Ryan and I think people may start looking at her more because of that and her discussing her service in the military. I still like her a lot, personally.

Ultimately I didn’t truly dislike anyone here. Gabbard and Booker are my current favorites and none of these would be any worse than Trump, for sure.

I do like Amy Klobucher but don't think she has that wow factor. Ryan hurt himself and agree, he won't be back. De Blasio brought up his black son and how he doesn't feel safe. But he's mayor of the city his own son doesn't feel safe in. Not exactly a good talking point. Beto hurt himself. Never liked Warren much and last night didn't change that. She really didn't answer any of the questions directly and comes across too much like a school marm. She seems to be the one NBC pushed though and I think that is who the Democratic establishment wants as well. I can see it ultimately being a Warren/Castro or Warren/Booker ticket though. The big winner was Joe Biden as none of the candidates attacked him. We'll see if that changes tonight.

Overall, I wasn't impressed with the field. Hope that changes tonight.

 

[MWoO]

De Blasio using his son to continue racial division is terrible. When actual facts show one thing, how hisson feels does not matter. Again, democrats thinking how one feels means more than reality.

 

[fuzzygobo]

I remember a year or so back when DeBlasio put both feet in his mouth over saying his son doesn't feel safe, which ****** off the cops. He gave a speech in front of the cops and they all turned their back on him. There are 45,000 cops in New York, and that is a big voting constituency, so it's not a good idea to alienate them.

It was also telling that in the Iowa polls , out of 400 plus votes, he couldn't get even one.

 

[D'Snowth]

I mean, heck, even @Pig's Laundry has expressed concerns over his own safety and well-being ever since Trump "won" the election . . . you can argue all you want that it's all hyperbole, and that people who aren't of color can't speak on behalf of people of color, the but sad reality is these are dangerous times for non-white people in America, and yes, the police are part of the problem. And again, you can argue about statistics and numbers, but the fact is far too many innocent black or brown people have lost their lives to police who abuse their authority and act out of their own hatred, bigotry, or irrational race-based fear instilled in them ("Oh, a big scary black man! He looks like he'll hurt me! I better shoot to save myself!")

 

[fuzzygobo]

Do you also believe if a white fireman sees a black house burning down, he won't put the fire out?

 

[MWoO]

I mean, heck, even @Pig's Laundry has expressed concerns over his own safety and well-being ever since Trump "won" the election . . . you can argue all you want that it's all hyperbole, and that people who aren't of color can't speak on behalf of people of color, the but sad reality is these are dangerous times for non-white people in America, and yes, the police are part of the problem. And again, you can argue about statistics and numbers, but the fact is far too many innocent black or brown people have lost their lives to police who abuse their authority and act out of their own hatred, bigotry, or irrational race-based fear instilled in them ("Oh, a big scary black man! He looks like he'll hurt me! I better shoot to save myself!")

More white people than black people are killed by cops each year. The number is almost double. I think the actual stats matter here, more so than how one feels.

The number of fake hate crimes went up when Trump was elected. Why? Because people needed to prove that reality reflected how they feel.

You know why minorities feel unsafe? Because the media says they are in danger of being shot just for innocently walking the street. Nothing supports this, but you hear it constantly.

Its safer for minorities than it has ever been, but that news doesnt generate clicks and views.

 

[Old Thunder]

Thoughts on these candidates:

• Jesus Christ, they gave Yang less time than anyone else from either night. Wow.
• I liked the Marianne lady. She seemed to have a good grip on things when the mods came to her.
• I don’t like Swalwell. He came out swinging at Biden at the beginning but never seemed to be able to back anything up. Sure, handing the torch to the young people is good and all, but what makes them better than the boomers? Meh.
• Hickenlooper, Bennet, and Gillibrand all seemed solid enough but didn’t truly stand out.
• Bernie was cool, although a tad too fervent for my liking.
• I really like Pete. He’s one of my favorite candidates now. I think he’s got a firm grip on what’s important for our country in moving forward. He did really well tonight.
• Biden was more solid than I expected but I think he’s gonna lose more and more momentum as time goes on. Kamala was tonight’s dominatrix without a doubt, and she slaughtered Biden with absolutely no restraint whatsoever. I can see her as becoming the candidate and I could probably back her for POTUS status.

Of these ten, my favorites were Pete and Kamala. Tulsi is still my preferred pick out of the twenty as a whole but if she gets crushed underfoot then those two would be pretty good. In my opinion.

 

[Old Thunder]

I liked the Marianne lady. She seemed to have a good grip on things when the mods came to her.

Given a few hours of reflection and I already disagree with myself. I thought Marianne was solid with her first two responses, trailed off afterwords, and from what I’ve read about her... yeesh.

 

[MuppetsRule]

I'm not sure how Marianne even got on stage to be quite honest. Too bad SNL isn't in season. They would have a field day with her performance.

Mayor Pete and Harris were definitely the winners and stars of the night. Bernie is, well, Bernie. More and more he just comes across as an angry old man. I thought he started showing his age a bit. With all the young talent on stage in the two nights I think it's going to be very hard for an angry old guy. Biden didn't have a good night and stumbled around quite a bit. He's hitched his wagon to President Obama and what his administration did. That only goes so far and voters give credit to President Obama for it's accomplishments and not Biden. Here's Yang's campaign summed up: Free tuition, free healthcare, everybody gets $1000 a month. FREE FREE FREE.

I though it was interesting when they were asked if they supported free healthcare for illegal immigrants. They all raised their hands. That has to **** off many Americans who are paying for their healthcare or are struggling with their high premiums. People like D'Snowth. That's not goingto be a winning position.

Overall I don't care for this format. Too many candidates on stage which doesn't allow enough time for in-depth answers. As a result, they all seem to be shooting for that great soundbite as opposed to a good answer.

 

[D'Snowth]

The sad thing is even though my premium was actually far more affordable this year, as I mentioned before, dwindling finances because of the Trump economy crushing lower class have made me fall months behind, and I'm on the verge of losing my coverage for the rest of the year again - in spite of my most deligient efforts to get caught up.

But I totally agree about how terrible the format is: you almost feel like you need an adult in there to say to them, "Now, now, children! One at a time, and use your indoor voices!"