What do people think of this candidate guide?

[Lefta Dissenter]

https://qz.com/1536793/your-guide-to-the-2020-democratic-presidential-candidates/

I am not familiar with “Quartz,” but when I was looking for a list of the candidates to date, this was one of my early hits. I’d be interested in what the supporters of individual candidates think of the description of their man/woman in this summary.

Thanks for any input!

[yaesu]

1. interesting

[mtnsnake]

2. Very nice. Here's some links to a few more that I've been checking out

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/politics/2020-presidential-candidates.html
https://ballotpedia.org/Presidential_candidates,_2020
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/05/2020-candidates-president-guide/582598/

[Lefta Dissenter]

3. Ooh, thanks for those links! 🤗

I had forgotten about the existence of ballotpedia, so that’s a good reminder.

I know it will be winnowed down by the time I get to vote here in Wisconsin, but I’m sort of getting the bug to start to refine my list of first and second tier candidates. I also want to figure out if there are any more candidates I want to donate to, just to try to help get them to the 65,000 so I can see them on the debate stage.

It’s so interesting. I just wish there weren’t so much at stake. 😳

[left-of-center2012]

4. Quartz

Media Bias Fact Check https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/ says about Quartz:

“Overall, we rate ‘Quartz’ Left-Center Biased based on story selection that slightly favors left and High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing of information and a clean fact check record.”

A lot more at:
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/quartz/

[Lefta Dissenter]

5. Hey!

Thanks for that, left-of-center! (I like your name, too! )

[PatrickforO]

6. Well, I read it and am not particularly impressed. Seems a bit lightweight

to me. Consider the section on Gillibrand. In the 'who will hate her' portion (not real crazy about the word 'hate'), it says:

Who will hate this candidate: Progressive voters—Gillibrand’s work defending the tobacco industry and her anti-immigrant platform a decade ago raise questions about where her loyalties lie

OK, now, what's missing from this description? It is a giant elephant in the room, yet is strangely absent.

Now, consider the section on Elizabeth Warren:

Who will like this candidate: Detail-oriented voters who like her mix of east-coast academic know-how and midwest roots.

Who will hate this candidate: Voters who distrust the intellectual elite, people who doubt she has enough personal appeal and can lure centrists

That just seems...weak to me.

But then I'm a wonk - an economist who regularly writes position papers and is quite familiar with a whole variety of things monetary and fiscal. Plus I have a counseling background, so I'm also well aware of other issues, and I spent the whole decade between 2000 and 2010 teetering on the edge of bankruptcy - had to purchase and run an office cleaning business in addition to my regular job just to make ends meet. It was horrible. And, I grew up poor, we were even homeless once when I was a kid, so I kitchen table issues are where I live.

I want to know how you are on fiscal and monetary policy. What your position is on the giant tax cut for billionaires and corporations. Where you stand on health care and Social Security. Since I've got kids and grandkids, I also want to know what you're planning to do around college costs, reducing new student debt and mitigating the current student debt crisis.

And, while we're at it, where do you stand on the military budget and the forever wars? If you want to reduce military spending, what is your plan? (Do it too fast and hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose their jobs - this is totally a GOP jobs plan).

How about trade? Agriculture?

What kind of record do you have supporting unions?

And finally, most importantly, WHAT IS YOUR PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD AGGRESSIVELY IN A GLOBAL LEADERSHIP ROLE IN MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE AND REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS?

As a grandparent, and someone who is decently-read, I am utterly convinced we need a form of Green New Deal NOW. Remember Obama's fierce 'urgency of now?' Well, that's where we are with climate change.

So, instead of watching lightweight talking heads on the corporate owned media, I usually dig. See, to me, the biggest issue in this upcoming election is how stupid the American public generally is. I mean, whole segments of our population embrace that 'ignorant and proud of it' persona, and that is utterly destructive to us moving forward as a species.

I want substance. Can it be done? You bet. Consider AOC. She has begun the process of educating people about issues. EVERY SINGLE CANDIDATE NEEDS TO BE DOING THAT. The American people are NOT too stupid to understand complex issues!

So, my verdict on this site? I won't be going on there again. It is lightweight and does a disservice to Americans who are genuinely trying to understand the issues. You just cannot summarize someone's positions in one or two sentences with plenty of white space. And, if we are going to pull out someone's 'big idea,' who gets to choose what that is? Because this author did a piss-poor job of it.

[Lefta Dissenter]

7. Thanks for that, Patrick!

I agree it is a lightweight approach. I was looking for an overview of each candidate - “who are you?” I’m going to admit that my reality is that I won’t end up diving into the details of every candidate’s policies. I’ve done quite a bit more reading about my top tier (your candidate included), but felt like I was doing a disservice to the other candidates to not even have a clue who they are.

But I appreciate your feedback, and also appreciate your wonky support of Mayor Pete. 😊