2020 US Election (Part One)
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metalhead
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Granting that they're appealing to distinctly different groups of voters, they're going after the same voters? Someone ought to pay you for such brilliant insight.
Gori the Grey
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There's good work available in the world of jurisprudence these days for people with exactly that talent for reasoning. See "otherwise blameless life." Maybe J can get Ellis' seat when he retires.
Timsup2nothin
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The odds on offer are based on balancing the action, and have nothing to do with what anyone thinks about who will win. It's pretty easy to get people to bet on Biden or Sanders, because they are easily recognized names. To get someone to bet on anyone else you have to give them odds, so the house gives odds.
SupremacyKing2
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I like Beto O"Rourke. If the general election were between Beto and Trump, I would happily cross party lines and vote for Beto. But if the Dems nominate a super progressive like Bernie, I would have to sit out the election. I could not vote for either Trump or Bernie. If Dems want a non-partisan/independent republican like me, they can't nominate a far left candidate.
Zkribbler
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SupremacyKing2
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For me, he is because he is much further to the left than I am.
SupremacyKing2
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It does since I consider myself center-right. So if I am center-right and he is much further to the left than me, then that would place him on the far left. Besides, he self-describes as a progressive and a democrat socialist. So based on his own labels, he would be far left.
Berzerker
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I think it'll come down to Biden and Sanders, but who will be the VP nominee? Probably a woman, the one who gets along best with the presidential nominee and is still in the running deeper into the season. I think Gillibrand, Klobuchar, and Gabbard will drop fast so that leaves Warren and Harris. Maybe that Atlanta mayor will get in, she seemed qualified. Two senators lose even more appeal.
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Lexicus
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Ah ha! Someone wise enough to know elections are won in the middle.
Ah ha! Someone gullible enough to believe a Republican telling him the Democrats can only win if they act like Republicans
Berzerker
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Is Biden a Republican?
Estebonrober
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SupremacyKing2
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Here is Bernie's voting recording in Congress. He is pretty far to the left, I would say.
Ajidica
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Whether or not that is true, the Democrats need a platform beyond "We'll do what the Republicans do, just a bit less heartless toward the poor and we are fine with the gays".Ah ha! Someone wise enough to know elections are won in the middle.
Plus, as has been pointed out any number of times, the polling on some sort of universal health care and on raising taxes on the wealthy are widely popular, something like 70% of the country is supportive of those concepts.
While Sanders is 'far left' by American standards, that only shows how far right American politics have swung in the last 40 odd years. It speaks volumes that his core policies - breaking up the 'too big to fail' banks so they cannot hold the world hostage over their recklessness and a staunch opposition to monopolistic industries- are decried as 'far left'. Richard Nixon imposed wage and price controls, Sanders has to my knowledge never spoken of imposing price controls.
Americans don't know what far-left means. Sanders, as far as I am aware, has at no point advocated for nationalization of industries, unilateral nuclear disarmament, or for any other traditional 'far left' proposals. Instead, we have a variety of solidly centrist/ pro-market proposals revolving around staunch opposition to concentration of economic power in a handful of monopolistic companies and the tendency of those companies to use their economic and political influence to privatize the gains while socializing the losses. Universal health care and free or reduced price higher education are generally supported among contemporary right-wing European governments as making solid economic sense.
Heck, compared to Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath, Sanders is solidly to the right of him. Sanders barely speaks of national economic policies and when he does, he does so in a general sense as opposed to hitting specific industrial or growth targets like Heath did.
Once Sanders starts talking about nationalization of industry, mandatory profit sharing, or employee ownership, then calling him far left makes sense. Until then, he is at his farthest left a cranky Social Democrat.
Berzerker
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This Beto dude talks too loud and keeps waving his hands or fingers. Too hyper... No Drama Obama had the right demeanor for the job.
Berzerker
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A quote from a politician trying to shed the liberal label in 1974? Does he still think Roe v Wade was wrong?
Timsup2nothin
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While this is clearly true, it falls so deeply into "well known fact" territory as to be not really worth repeating. When someone says "Sanders is far left" you just have to silently append "as USian politics is measured" and let it go.
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