Democratic Primaries
Related: About this forumWe should pay more attention to the Democrats who pay attention to reality
COMING OFF one of the least-edifying debates of the campaign season, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) agreed in an interview Friday that the format has not tended to promote voter understanding of the candidates positions. Its been really hard for the candidates who are not Bernie Sanders to express their policies and their ideas, she said. The pattern: Mr. Sanders promises unlimited free stuff to everyone; other candidates propose smarter, more targeted approaches and then get slammed for lack of boldness. Making their case has been even harder for the pragmatic and straight-talking candidates in the race because two billionaires Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer have saturated the airwaves with incessant television advertising.
In reality, Ms. Klobuchars agenda like those of former vice president Joe Biden and former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg would be pathbreaking. Ms. Klobuchar wants to crack down on pharmaceutical companies, introduce a generous public health-care plan, scale up college affordability, invest in vocational training, pour money into infrastructure, enact public campaign financing and press states to shorten prison sentences. Tackling climate change by getting the country to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 would be her number-one priority.
So Ms. Klobuchar and others in her lane set ambitious goals. But they do not entertain the fantasy, sold by Mr. Sanders and, to a lesser degree, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), that bold change can be achieved with few-to-no hard choices or little care for the risks. On climate change, for example, Ms. Klobuchar wants to tax greenhouse gas emissions, among other proposals. A price on carbon would spur the transition to clean energy far more efficiently than having politicians arrogantly take it upon themselves to design a green economy in minute detail from Washington. She would help poor and middle-class children go to college but let the wealthy pay tuition. She recognizes limits on how much debt the government can take on.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-should-pay-more-attention-to-the-democrats-who-pay-attention-to-reality/2020/02/28/8864bd86-5a6f-11ea-9b35-def5a027d470_story.html
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
DanTex
(20,709 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
ehrnst
(32,640 posts)https://www.wbanewsroom.org/the-firehose-falsehood/
One of Dawes core pieces of advice was: Get used to being stigmatized as the opposition The basic idea is simple: to delegitimize accountability journalism by framing it as partisan. Why should anyone care about your investigation of the presidents conflicts of interest, or his tax bills, if they emanate from the political opposition? The scariest thing about fake news is that all news becomes fake. Yours too.
Chilling, right? As prognostication goes, it doesnt get much more accurate than this. Just weeks after Dawes piece published, Steve Bannon in an interview with the Times, to add insult to injury declared that the media here is the opposition party. They dont understand this country. As for dismissing investigations of the presidents conflicts of interest, or his tax bills, as fake news: Yep, and yep.
None of this is brand new; politicians have always sought to smear journalism they didnt like. Whats new is that the attack is no longer about this or that story, but about journalism itself. Its a challenge to the very notion of an independent accounting of facts. And in 2018, as tension builds on a host of stories from the Russia investigation to dozens of contested Congressional elections, well see this challenge mount.
https://www.niemanlab.org/2017/12/the-firehose-of-falsehood/
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
ehrnst
(32,640 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
LisaM
(27,830 posts)Of course, I see Warren is left out of the conversation, every candidate except her is mentioned in this excerpt!
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Mosby
(16,350 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
True Blue American
(17,988 posts)One debate. They are nothing but gotchas for the media to chew over for days.
I do enjoy the Town Halls where they are allowed to discuss what they plan to do.
Amy is one smart, level headed candidate. The attacks and insults do not impress me. We have heard enough of that for 4 years.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
highplainsdem
(49,034 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Response to Mosby (Original post)
democratisphere This message was self-deleted by its author.
Sloumeau
(2,657 posts)You decide.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
KPN
(15,650 posts)is not a sound defense, justification or mitigating in the least. Continuing to promote the means that created that past record is ignoring reality. Winning just for the sake of winning is not a solution. The mindset that we must win to keep the Rs and, yes, worse tRump in check (well, out of office and preferably, in jail) doesnt generate the sufficient trust among the diversity and breadth of voters needed to guarantee victory in my opinion. Every candidate carries risk. Im inclined to go with those who are most popular.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
bucolic_frolic
(43,281 posts)'newness' trumps policy, excitement is more important than practicality, stability is boring. McCain2008 and Romney2012 might well recognize this to a lesser extent.
Electing a president is not important. Ratings for media companies is what motivates media. Money for corporations and their shareholders, which is mostly Republicans.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
BComplex
(8,064 posts)So would Elizabeth. The democratic party seems to have decided that they aren't going to go with a female this go around.
That's a real pity, because they're both wicked smart and have a good head on their shoulders, as well as the ability to get things done.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden