Bernie Sanders is running for President. Everyone else ...

[Laelth]

... in the field of Democratic candidates allegedly running for President are actually running for Vice-President, with one exception, and that's ...



For better or for worse, JOE BIDEN will, almost certainly, be our 2020 nominee, and, at this point, everyone else in the field is running for Vice President, with the notable exception of Bernie Sanders, as I mentioned, above.

Discuss.

-Laelth

[democratisphere]

1. Biden/Harris 2020

[Laelth]

13. Biden/Harris would not hurt my feelings at all.

Naturally, I would prefer Biden/Beto.
Cheers! 😎

-Laelth

[Demsrule86]

28. Beto makes sense geographically.

He could deliver deliver Texas.

[Laelth]

44. I adore Kamala Harris.

But Beto speaks Spanish, and we are going to win California, no matter whom we nominate.

These things matter.

Thank you for the reply.

-Laelth

[marylandblue]

2. I hate the presumption. Why bother with primaries if we already know the winner? nt

[Laelth]

4. I hate the presumption as well, ...

... but I can’t help seeing what I see.

Thank you for the reply.

-Laelth

P. S. I am a Beto supporter. 😎

[marylandblue]

6. I noticed that you support O'Rourke so I was confused by that.

But I am skeptical that Biden is really such a sure thing both in the primaries and the general. It is still early. Your candidate and mine both have campaigning and debating strengths that could allow them to the lead. I think Warren could shine in the debates too.

[Laelth]

9. Biden has consistently led in the polls ...

... and that was before he announced his candidacy. My sense of the party is that we want to beat Trump, no matter what, and that we would vote for the “yellow dog” to do so. The polls have consistently shown that Joe is our consensus “yellow dog,” and yes. I am a Beto supporter, but I admit that I am enthusiastic about Mayor Pete, as well.

Cheers!

-Laelth

[marylandblue]

14. Polls this early don't tell you much, especially in a crowded field.

I like Beto as well.

A lot of people won't decide until the debates, and a good ground game in Iowa and New Hampshire can create surprises. I'm not ready to call anyone a true frontrunner until at least the fall.

[Laelth]

17. I worry about Beto's ground game.

There’s a certain sense in which he feels he can do it all by himself—by sheer force of will and personality, but I see no way to beat Biden. Now that he has formally entered the race, I think he is a fait accomplis. We want to beat Trump. All we need to do is keep the electoral college map stable and then pull Pennsylvania (Biden’s home state), and we win.

I agree that early polling should be viewed with suspicion, but the early polls have been outrageously consistent—for quite some time. I think that Biden will be our nominee. I hope that Beto is our choice for V.P.

Thank you for the reply.

-Laelth

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

22. I can see beating Joe, but, no, it certainly won't be Beto.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[JaneQPublic]

5. Yep, having a "presumptive nominee" doesn't always end well (nt)

[Agschmid]

11. To be fair, we don't know the winner at all.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

3. I agree with you, with the exception of Elizabeth... she has a real shot in my view.

Do I think it ultimately will come down to Bernie vs. Joe? Yes, absolutely!

And, may the best Democratic candidate win... then, we should all rally around him or her and vote blue, no matter who!!


Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Laelth]

7. In a letter ...

I begged Elizabeth Warren to run against Hillary in 2016, but Warren, being who she is, made it clear that she would not run against Hillary Clinton—the most qualified and experienced candidate that the Democratic Party has ever fielded for the office of President of the United States. I respected Ms. Warren’s decision on that subject, and I adore her to this day, but I think that she would accept an offer from Joe Biden to join him on the Democratic ticket. In fact, I think that all the candidates currently running would be happy to serve as Vice President under a hypothetical President Biden ... except Bernie Sanders.

Thank you for the reply.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

10. I think Bernie WOULD accept the VP slot... fortunately, I don't think, as the Democratic nominee

Bernie will be faced with that decision.


Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[MrsCoffee]

15. I can't imagine Bernie accepting a VP spot.

That said, I can’t imagine any candidate offering it to him except Tulsi, so Bernie is unlikely to be faced with any such decision.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

16. Guess we'll see.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Laelth]

20. I adore them both.

I wish Bernie was more of a “team player,” but I am in line with his stands on most issues.

Cheers! 😎

[marylandblue]

21. Even for a committed Sanders supporter, you have an unusual amount of faith in him.

Whatever good points he has, being a good follower is not one of them, and he knows he that. A VP has to do what he's told, so why would he suddenly shut his mouth and play nice?

[Laelth]

31. Agreed.

He’s never been a team player, and that’s why I don’t think that he would ever settle for being V.P.

Cheers!

-Laelth

[empedocles]

53. Can't imagine anyone offering VP slot to Sanders, no safe net gain of votes

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

52. Bernie's ego wouldn't let him. But it wouldn't happen anyhow, especially if Biden is the nominee.

Because of Biden's age he would probably serve only one term, and his VP would be set up very nicely as the Dem nominee for 2024. Nobody is going to want a running mate who will be 83 in 2024.

[Laelth]

56. +1 n/t

-Laelth

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

60. I agree, I doubt Joe would offer the VP slot to Bernie, and vice versa.

But, if Joe did make the offer, I could see Bernie accepting, given his devotion to serving his country and the defeat of trump his presence on the ticket would guarantee.


Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

61. Biden would have a much better shot with a young female VP,

like Kamala Harris. One old white guy might manage (if it's Biden) but two old white guys is a recipe for disaster. Women and PoC would stay home in droves.

[Laelth]

63. How about Stacey Abrams?

Joe met with her in DC recently.

🤔

-Laelth

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

64. I don't know who. Just not another old white guy.

[Laelth]

65. Agreed. n/t

-Laelth

[Cosmocat]

62. Yeah, not a chance

the guy can't even stand to be a democrat when he isn't running for POTUS.

[honest.abe]

8. Yes, very likely.

I didnt think he was going to run at first but now that he is officially in I think he's unstoppable

I will totally support him even though my preference would have been Kamala. I think Biden/Harris would be a very strong ticket against any Repub opponent.

[Laelth]

38. For better or for worse.

We must beat Trump, and if JOE is the best vehicle we have to do so, so be it. “Electability” remains the primary consideration of Democratic Party voters, and Joe is perceived as being electable.

Thank you for the reply.

-Laelth

[tiredtoo]

12. if my memory serves me correctly

Hillary was the presumptive candidate when she ran against Obama.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

19. Yeah, that does sound vaguely familiar.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Laelth]

24. Point.

We will see what we see, but an open election is a different thing from running against a sitting President. Trump must go, and I think that the party will make “the safe choice” (i.e.Biden), for better or for worse, in order to insure that Trump is evicted from office in 2020.

Thank you for the reply.

-Laelth

[honest.abe]

34. I dont see any Obamas in the current list of candidates.

[Laelth]

39. LOL.

Well said.

-Laelth

[brooklynite]

23. No.

They are definitely RUNNING for President whether they'll accept VP or not, and there's not certainty one of them will be the VP choice.

[Laelth]

27. It's nice to hear from a Hickenlooper supporter.

This is democracy in action. Thank you. 😎

-Laelth

[Laelth]

29. Thank you for letting me know.

I am astounded that this thread was alerted upon. We are all on the same team. In my mind, this is a discussion among people who care and who are interested in the political dynamics of the Democratic Party. We ALL want Trump to lose in 2020. What’s the problem, here?

🤔

-Laelth

[honest.abe]

37. I think we need an option to alert on an alert.

Some of these people here are off the wall on alerting.

[honest.abe]

36. Huh?? That's crazy this would be reported as bashing.

[Demsrule86]

26. Agreed. Go Joe!!

[yaesu]

30. Great! Now that the primaries are over we can convert the primaries forum to

best cat pics of the day forum

[Laelth]

41. Cat pics are cool ...

but discussing the primaries is even more fun. LOL.

🤣

Cheers! 😎

-Laelth

[BlueFlorida]

33. +1000 nt

[Laelth]

48. I just want to win.

If Joe is the person who can throw Trump out of office, I am all for him, but I hope he chooses Beto as his running mate. Beto speaks Spanish, and his presence on the ticket might flip Arizona. It might even flip Texas, and, without Texas, the Republicans are doomed.

Thank you for the reply.
-Laelth

[Mike Nelson]

35. I don't think it's certain...

… for Biden or Bernie... a couple of the others will have exciting debate appearances.

[Laelth]

42. I look forward to the debates ...

... but I would rather have the election tomorrow. Recent polling says that Biden beats Trump by 10 points if the election were held now.

TRUMP MUST GO!

-Laelth

[Maven]

40. And yet no one is speaking derisively about Joe being "coronated"

I wonder why that is.

[Laelth]

43. Biden is not my first choice.

But Trump must go, and my sense of the party (as expressed in polls, consistently, for months) is that Joe Biden has the best chance, of all our excellent candidates, to defeat Trump. I think that the party will choose the safe route ... Joe Biden ... for better or for worse.

Thank you for the reply.

-Laelth

[Maven]

46. He isn't my first choice, either, but I will gladly vote for him if he's the nominee

And I agree that as of now, he looks like the most solid candidate against trump polling-wise (although there is a long campaign ahead).

I'm just pointing out that the "inevitability" factor seems to be a turnoff for certain candidates and not others.

[Laelth]

49. Point taken.

Thank you for engaging me on this topic.

Cheers! 😎

-Laelth

[LongtimeAZDem]

45. They will; that or "annointed". Put money on it.

[BlueStater]

47. You have right to your opinions, although I think this one is nonsense. n/t

[Laelth]

50. It's excellent to hear from an Inslee supporter. Thank you.

But I would very much like to hear why you feel that the opinion I expressed is “nonsense.” Would you care to elaborate?

🤔

-Laelth

[BlueStater]

51. That Biden will "almost certainly" be our nominee.

What leads you to believe that? Early polls based on name recognition mean absolutely nothing. The debates haven't started yet and a lot the candidates are still virtual unknowns.

I've heard this sort of thing way too often in the past to ever take it seriously. Hillary Clinton will "almost certainly" be the nominee for the Democratic Party in 2008. Jeb Bush will "almost certainly" be the nominee for the Republican Party in 2016. How did that end up panning out?

I don't think Biden is a very strong candidate at all. He has a tendency to say dumb things and his record is much worse than virtually every other candidate. There doesn't seem to be much substance to his campaign other than "Vote for me because I'm better than Trump" and that's not remotely inspiring.

Obama rescued Biden from spending the rest of his life as a senator and that's the only reason anyone is still talking about him. Running on his own merits has never worked out for him in the past and I don't think that will change.

Sorry, but I find these predictions irksome. I didn't like it when I heard it about Hillary Clinton and I don't like it now.

[Laelth]

57. Please hear me. I HOPE you are right.

Joe Biden is NOT my first choice, nor is he my second or third choice, but I have a sense that the party, in its focused and intense desire to defeat Trump, will take the “safe choice,” and that’s Joe Biden, for better or for worse. We will see what we see. Anything can happen, but my sense of the party is that we are agreed (and the polls have shown for months) that Joe is our favorite, and that we think he has the best chance of beating Trump.

Thank you for the reply.

-Laelth

[BlueStater]

58. You're welcome.

Again, I see him as just coasting on name recognition. People aren't supporting the Joe Biden who was a senator for 35 years, they're supporting the image he projected as Obama's right-hand man. Once he reminds people of his time as a senator, which he'll have to do, I fully expect him to drop in the polls.

Name recognition isn't enough to save a candidate if they're flawed. Hillary had 100% name recognition in 2007 and Obama had almost none. He still beat her.

[Laelth]

59. True. n/t

-Laelth

[abqtommy]

54. There's an apt saying that "It ain't over till the fat lady sings."

There's no certainty for Joe or any other candidate.

[Laelth]

55. True. n/t

Thank you for the reply.

-Laelth

[robbedvoter]

66. Wiminz - there to bring the coffee

"Sje doesn't look like a president" - the thing 🍊 said that many here share. Also,

Link to tweet