CNN focus group rejects Biden

[DonViejo]

BY JOE CONCHA - 03/05/19 09:22 AM EST

A CNN focus group comprised of Democratic voters has rejected former Vice President Joe Biden as their nominee.

The focus group's dismissal of Biden is notable since the former vice president, who is expected to join the Democratic primary soon, has been leading a number of public opinion polls and is seen as the potential frontrunner.

The Democrats gathered by CNN, however, said they weren't interested in Biden. Some said they wanted a candidate who was further left-of-center.

“I think we need a bold, strong leadership and you’ll find that in the Progressives," Democratic voter Carol Evans explained.

“We had the standard bearer for the kind of pragmatic centrist candidate in Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Donald Trump is now president. He is not your average political candidate, so we really need to try to think outside the box because, you know, it seems like the dude is made of rubber. Anything you throw at him just bounces off, there’s nothing that sticks," said focus group member Michael Milisits.

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https://thehill.com/homenews/media/432611-cnn-focus-group-rejects-biden

[LongtimeAZDem]

1. Cool! That means he definitely needs to run.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. FOX once had a focus group on Trump after a Republican debate and everybody hated him.

Yet here we are...

[comradebillyboy]

3. CNN focus groups are meant to be entertaining not informative.

[workinclasszero]

4. Not really surprised

The party has moved left and it's not going back.

[WeekiWater]

7. I really hope this to be true.

I really don't want to see us take a step back to economic conservatism.

[Freddie]

5. I like Joe but

His ties to big banks, especially in regards to student loans, will hurt him big time. I would like to see a leftish-moderate but not him.

[Gothmog]

6. I like Joe Biden and I will likely support him if he run

Joe is the most electable candidate

[Garrett78]

8. They're not the only ones. See article:

https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/campaigns/article226007090.html

[R B Garr]

9. Questionable. That talks about Gillibrand being a leading contender,

but she is nowhere near that status. She has some questionable previous gun positions and her moves with Franken will not be be forgotten.

Sanders lost in 2016 and by proxy in 2018 when his groups failed to oust popular Democrats like Feinstein, so those facts should not be good reasons to elevate him.

Candidates are talking about some of his ideas because there are no political consequences in promoting them, like having a proven track record on one single thing he promotes. Why not join the fun.

Not every voter is going to want or tolerate arguing about Democratic socialism — again (see Hillary’s win and the losses in 2018).

Some “progressives” are already attacking Harris in the same way Biden will be attacked.

Just not sure that this is all about moving left. It might be about reliability and stability and experience.

[Garrett78]

10. The left vs moderate thing is overblown.

Sanders, I think, will essentially be done after New Hampshire.

And I agree that Gillibrand isn't likely to gain traction.

I think Biden's baggage and age will be a bigger problem for him than some believe. Name recognition polls don't mean diddly. Pre-Obama Biden was never considered presidential material.

I do think Biden has a better chance than most but I disagree with the notion that he's our best option and the notion that he's likely to become our nominee. We'll see.

[R B Garr]

11. Good points. I could be happy with most all of them

except Sanders. Even more in the past couple days, he’s shown no awareness that he was rejected by the majority of Democrats. They haven’t gone anywhere, and he would still need them. *edit-why I think you’re right he’ll be done early.

[Garrett78]

12. I just can't see him doing much, much better than last time among POC and non-millennial women.

And that means Sanders can't survive Super Tuesday. Not to mention there will be far fewer caucuses.

With Sanders not being in a 1-on-1 race against someone who millions had been conditioned to hate over a period of 25 years, he'll face more pressure than last time to drop out once the writing's on the wall.

And he won't be treated with kid gloves this time.

I do think he'll prevent Warren from having a real shot, as they seem to appeal to largely the same constituency.