And They're Off! The Democratic Candidates for 2020

[ritter]

I spoke with my brother and sister-in-law in NC last week and it's their POV as well.

But not Kyle's, which is what really matters...

https://www.youtube.com/v/eyhpHd4If4M
Don't waste your time watching this, because it's rubbish from start to finish. This chap achieves the impossible feat of being dogmatic and inconsistent at the same time. I was shocked to know he had 800.000+ subscribers to his channel, but then relieved to learn that ranks him 19.000th in YouTube. If this is what passes for political comment in America (or the world) these days, then we're really doomed. It's like a Fox News on a (very tight) budget, and at an even lower intellectual level (which is saying something)...

[71 dB]

Try to understand the left. The left has been pushed out of political discourse. The left has no say on anything. The left can't accept that. If you vote for blue no matter who, it means the Dems can be (and are) REALLY shitty, but just marginally better than the Reps. Better than Trump IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!!! That's still REALLY SHITTY!!! The only POWER the left has is not voting!!! That's the only leverage to force the Dems move to the left! Easy for you centrists to vote for Biden. Easy for you if you don't care about lefty policies. For the left BIDEN is REALLY shitty!! He doesn't advocate ANY lefty agendas! Not even one!! So why the fuck does he deserve lefty votes??

[Karl Henning]

But not Kyle's, which is what really matters...

https://www.youtube.com/v/eyhpHd4If4M
Don't waste your time watching this, because it's rubbish from start to finish. This chap achieves the impossible feat of being dogmatic and inconsistent at the same time. I was shocked to know he had 800.000+ subscribers to his channel, but then relieved to learn that ranks him 19.000th in YouTube. If this is what passes for political comment in America (or the world) these days, then we're really doomed. It's like a Fox News on a (very tight) budget, and at an even lower intellectual level (which is saying something)...

When the Fox News talking heads are intellects, in comparison . . .

[Karl Henning]

Obviously there are increasing calls for Andrew C. to jump in the race.

Even the VP spot would be very hard, since Biden foolishly committed to name a woman.

Today is the first that I've seen an actual news item on this theme:  in the New York Post, which is right of center, reporting on the results of a poll conducted 3-6 April by the conservative Club for Growth, "which generally supports Republican candidates."  an endeavor which has all the earmarks of trying to muddy the opposition's waters.

[Herman]

Try to understand the left. The left has been pushed out of political discourse. The left has no say on anything. The left can't accept that. If you vote for blue no matter who, it means the Dems can be (and are) REALLY shitty, but just marginally better than the Reps. Better than Trump IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!!! That's still REALLY SHITTY!!! The only POWER the left has is not voting!!! That's the only leverage to force the Dems move to the left! Easy for you centrists to vote for Biden. Easy for you if you don't care about lefty policies. For the left BIDEN is REALLY shitty!! He doesn't advocate ANY lefty agendas! Not even one!! So why the fuck does he deserve lefty votes??

It's really beyond that you're now gearing up to tell Americans they should stay home and not vote Trump out of office because your favorite dropped out. You really don't seem to understand USA elections are none of your business.
There is a lot going on in Europe right now that's really affecting your way of life. Why do you never talk about this? There are plenty of European GMG members. (I am one.) Is it perhaps because of the power and mass of the American media, so that it's easier, if one's lazy, to get excited about Trump than about Orban or Merkel or Spain?

[MusicTurner]

It's really beyond that you're now gearing up to tell Americans they should stay home and not vote Trump out of office because your favorite dropped out. You really don't seem to understand USA elections are none of your business.
There is a lot going on in Europe right now that's really affecting your way of life. Why do you never talk about this? There are plenty of European GMG members. (I am one.) Is it perhaps because of the power and mass of the American media, so that it's easier, if one's lazy, to get excited about Trump than about Orban or Merkel or Spain?

Nonetheless, a quick glance reveals that 23 of your latest 40 posts are dealing with US elections ... 

[Herman]

It's a topic. However, I'm not telling people whom to vote for.

[71 dB]

It's really beyond that you're now gearing up to tell Americans they should stay home and not vote Trump out of office because your favorite dropped out. You really don't seem to understand USA elections are none of your business.
There is a lot going on in Europe right now that's really affecting your way of life. Why do you never talk about this? There are plenty of European GMG members. (I am one.) Is it perhaps because of the power and mass of the American media, so that it's easier, if one's lazy, to get excited about Trump than about Orban or Merkel or Spain?

I'm not telling anyone who to vote. I'm trying to make people here understand WHY some lefties won't vote for Biden. I rather see Biden as the president than Trump, but then again the only thing Biden offers to lefties is he is not as abyssmal as Trump.

If you say people must vote for Biden to get Trump out YOU TELLING THEM WHO TO VOTE!

The US elections aren't my business in the sense that I can't vote on those elections, but of course everyone in the World can comment on the elections. You can comment on Finnish elections if you want. The US elections have a huge impact on the whole Word. The president of Finland doesn't start global trade wars. The president of the USA does. The president of Finland doesn't start wars unless absolutely necessory, instead uses all his powers trying to make the World a safer place. The president of the USA starts wars because oil companies and the military industry complex want it to increase their profits. The US is a superpower with military strenght of almost the next 10 biggest militaries combined. It's quite understandable people in other countries are interested of what happens there.

Most of the time I find European politics boring. Everything is just so much more rational than in the US. Hungary lost it's democracy which is very sad. Maybe they get it back in 100 year. Maybe not. Time tells.

Right now corona virus is affecting my life the most.

[Karl Henning]

Most of the time I find European politics boring.

You might consider your blessings.

[Madiel]

The aim of politics is not supposed to be to entertain you.

That podcast link I posted is pertinent.

[71 dB]

You might consider your blessings.

In Europe there is not much money to be taken from the rich because they are already taxed hard. So, you can't do progressive politics because there's no money to do it! On the other had we already have most of the progressive policies so it doesn't matter much. UBI is something we need, but it's almost impossible to make people understand why UBI is a good idea. Just ask Andrew Yang!  I tried to promote UBI some 10-15 years ago myself online for a while until I realized people are just too stupid to get the idea: People just think UBI is bad because it's "free" money, but so is current social security. UBI is just a smarter and better way to give "free" money and mathematically equivalent to the model of negative income tax if you think you can tolerate the concept of negative taxes better than free money. The reduction of jobs in the future due to automation, robots and artificial intelligence will force countries to adapt UBI, but we could have had it decades earlier (in Finland UBI should have been implemented around 1995) and have a better functioning society. That's the cost of human stupidity and inability to adapt new ideas fast.

In the US the rich pay insanely low taxes because they have rigged the system and pushed the tax burden to the lower income classes, people like you yourself. That's why in the US the rich can be easily taxed more to pay for progressive policies. Also, the progressive policies are lacking compared to Europe. No single payer healthcare. No paid vacation/sick leave by law. No tuition free higher education to mention a few.

In that sense Europe is already doing almost as well as it can. There isn't much rigging to be unrigged. No oligarchy to be replaced by democracy. Of course some countries in Europe can have some problems, but this is the overall picture. Simply put Europe is much closer to it's full potential than the US.

[Herman]

I depends whether you're interested or not, if you find European politics boring.

In reality there is a lot of epochal stuff going on in Europe. Your neighbour, Russia, for instance, is now making the last steps toward a permanent Putin rule. Poland: lotta stuff going on. Germany: what's going to happen after Merkel. Italy on the brink of collapse. Greece, how is it recovering from its collapse. The list is endless, and it's really more interesting, because it's not imprisoned in a stale unvarying dichotomy such as in the USA.

The only difference is Europe's politics are not being chewed out for you in a pseudo-exciting horse race good vs bad guy format. (Though that was the format chosen during the Brexit years in the UK.) So one might say that for all your complaining about the 'corporate media', you don't seem to see what's happening around you unless it has been mediated by corporate media.

[71 dB]

Joe Biden's Olive Branch To Progressive Voters

Biden would lower the Medicare eligibility age to 60 (Hillary Clinton proposed 55 in 2016) and forgive federal student debt for low-income and middle-class people who attented public colleges and universities, historically black colleges and universities (HBCU), and underfunded minority-serving institutions (MSI).

Should progressives get excited about this? To be honest, while the medicare propose being better than nothing, it's incrementalism, a tiny start.

Fifty-five to sixty-five year olds have the highest median incomes* and sixty to sixty-five year olds have the highest household wealth. For the medianworker, the period immediately before retiremetn represents the peak of their earings and wealth. Biden unveils this plan in the midst of a pandemic-induced recession that has kicked millions off their health insurance, with a recent poll finding 35 % of those under forty-five have lost health coverage.

This excites older people rather than young people, the ones Biden struggles with the most.

As for the debt forgiveness proposal, it leaves out those who went to for-profit schools or trade schools. For mass appeal Biden needs universal debt forgiveness plan.

As these incremetal steps are only the openings proposal, by the time he has negotiated with the Republicans he will get nothing or an even more watered version of the proposals.

___________________
* Annual median earnings (Bureau of Labour Statistics):
16-19 years: $23,920
20-24 years: $30,628
25-34 years: $43,524
35-44 years: $53,144
45-54 years: $53,300
55-64 years: $57,148

[71 dB]

I depends whether you're interested or not, if you find European politics boring.

Boring compared to the US politics. Of course European politics can be interesting at times.

In reality there is a lot of epochal stuff going on in Europe. Your neighbour, Russia, for instance, is now making the last steps toward a permanent Putin rule.

If you feel there is something to talk about permanent Putin rule by all means create a tread for it.

Poland: lotta stuff going on. Germany: what's going to happen after Merkel. Italy on the brink of collapse. Greece, how is it recovering from its collapse. The list is endless, and it's really more interesting, because it's not imprisoned in a stale unvarying dichotomy such as in the USA.

It's not clear what should be done. What should Italy do? I don't know. Ideas?

The only difference is Europe's politics are not being chewed out for you in a pseudo-exciting horse race good vs bad guy format. (Though that was the format chosen during the Brexit years in the UK.) So one might say that for all your complaining about the 'corporate media', you don't seem to see what's happening around you unless it has been mediated by corporate media.

Yeah, yeah I do everything for the wrong reasons I know... ...I never said I am perfect.

[SimonNZ]

Well? Who would you pick?

Sarcasm and snark aside, that is. Who would you pick?

[Karl Henning]

Well? Who would you pick?

Sarcasm and snark aside, that is.

Let me know how that goes...

[SimonNZ]

I'm asking the unmatched experts on US politics that can be found only on this forum.  You know, like people who prattled on about Faithless Electors in 2016.  I simply cannot match such wisdom.

To me, a sensible politician would consider walking back a vacuous promise that the Veep would be a woman.  The world has literally changed in the last month.  See, that is why I seek enlightenment on this forum.

Sarcasm and snark detected. Any chance of a serious, considered reply?

Why shouldn't the VP be a woman? Especially as for the most part the women acquitted themselves better in the primaries and there seem to be strong contenders and some that help with the electoral math.

[JBS]

I'm asking the unmatched experts on US politics that can be found only on this forum.  You know, like people who prattled on about Faithless Electors in 2016.  I simply cannot match such wisdom.

To me, a sensible politician would consider walking back a vacuous promise that the Veep would be a woman.  The world has literally changed in the last month.  See, that is why I seek enlightenment on this forum.

There's no reason not to pick a woman for the VP slot. The world is remarkably the same as last month in that respect.

[JBS]

Unfortunately, you missed the point as well.

And you certainly haven't changed in the least.

[71 dB]

There's no reason not to pick a woman for the VP slot. The world is remarkably the same as last month in that respect.

This time I totally agree with you.