You’re right. I propose a bill to allow middle-income homeowners to refinance the loans they take in order to purchase carbon-offset trees, with a rider tacked on to guarantee the construction of 500 new coal-firing plants.
As has been pointed out by smart AP congressional reporters…pretty much anyone running for President for the Democrats who serves/served in the House or Senate has an Aye vote on the Hyde Amendment.
So there’s that.
Thought this was interesting.
Menzo
2715
Pete should go on Hot Ones on YouTube.
KevinC
2716
I know it’s been said multiple times before, but I’m always struck by what a great communicator he is. I’m paraphrasing, but I liked how he described the issues with gerrymandering as voters aren’t choosing politicians, instead politicians are choosing their voters. We all know what gerrymandering is and how it is used, but I love that phrasing of it.
And it’s on the fly too, which makes me lean toward him being that way as a person, not just great prep and speechwriting. Even compared to Obama, he doesn’t um and uh that much and very clearly communicates things with seemingly no prep.
magnet
2718
Well, he is hardly the first to phrase it that way.
Perhaps but he excels in the direct question format. Not just the one question. For what it’s worth, candidates can spend weeks prepping for what can happen during a debate.
So this tells me Pete not only thinks well on his feet, he communicates extremely well under pressure. Now that I’ve said this, he’s gonna disappoint me during the first debate. :(
I hope that doesn’t happen but the rest of the pack will be well prepared for him.
Agree 100%
The difference in ideology among the presidential candidates matters a lot less than people think. They are running with different strategies, different headline issues. But once one of them is in office, the question will be what Congress is willing to support.
Not that a president is meaningless in determining that. A candidate with coattails might have some extra votes in Congress. A party unifier might convince Senators from less blue states to go further. A charismatic communicator might sway the nation as a whole while in office, making it a bit safer for people in Congress to support his or her ideas.
Which is why, at this point, I lean towards Buttigieg. I’m thinking that he might do the best in these areas. To my ear, he speaks the language and makes the arguments of broader America, which has little to do with his actual policy priorities. (Hoping for a Reagan in reverse here.)
Though to be honest, I am a lot more certain about the qualities needed, than I am about which individual candidate is most likely to fulfill them.
What are his actual policy priorities, if one can’t discern them from his language and arguments?
I think that discerning policy priorities in a campaign is a pretty limited undertaking. Running for office and holding office are two distinct things, however that might rub our idealistic streaks the wrong way. On the whole, I suspect that in office, the policy goals of any of these people would be far more similar than dissimilar, and would reflect the situation in Congress as much as anything. (Moving left will depend more on winning Congressional seats than on the identify of a Democratic president.)
But that said, I think Buttigieg is somewhat more likely to address meta issues compared to some others whose instincts might be more granular.
So two nights of 10 candidates each? That sounds like it’s going to be craziness. The best we can hope is a serious narrowing of the pack post-debate.
On the upside, the GOP had the crazy clown car last time, and then they won.
ShivaX
2726
And we got the best they had to offer. Oh wait.
As an aside, its clear that
Well what Republican primary voters wanted - turnout was huge for Trump in Republican districts where i live, like longest lines seen in my lifetime. I mean i don’t know they were all Trump voters, but i strongly suspect as much.
I voted in the Republican primary that time as well - i had to try to stop the flood. Thanks, Kasich.
ShivaX
2728
Well he got momentum with like 30% support, because everyone else was spread among 6 other people.
If it had been him head-to-head with Rubio, we’d be bitching about President Rubio’s tax policies.
We could see Bernie get a lead because his followers are similarly dedicated, even if he himself can’t muster more than 25%.
MikeJ
2729
Weren’t there some democrats voting for Trump in the primaries in order to saddle the GOP with an obviously unelectable candidate?
CraigM
2730
Yup. And some of those who reside here later expressed regret over this.
It is tempting to vote twice for Joe Biden, just for spite.
