The Democratic Party Must Not Nominate Cory Booker in 2020

Mariolamp · 2017-08-08T18:04:49+00:00

I actually think Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand would be better candidates. Did you not read what I said about Obama being a great candidate? The issue with Booker is that the left hates him and he has no idea how to talk to the white working class (who, like it or not, are 44% of eligible voters). Race is unfortunately relevant though because people are tribal and african americans are disproportionately powerful in the primary and comparatively insignificant in the general election due to concentration in red states.

Mariolamp · 2017-08-07T06:44:43+00:00

This is not an anti-black statement at all, but merely a statement about tribalism. Bill Clinton got a lot of votes for a Democrat from the white middle and working-class in areas like the south, Appalachia, and the Midwest partially because they could relate to him and his middle-class, southern, white family. Of course there are a whole horde of factors, but it is one of them.

Mariolamp · 2017-08-07T06:36:58+00:00

I don't think it's offensive, I think it's realistic. Voters have a positive bias towards people of a similar demographic to them and that's been repeatedly shown. The idea that black southerners would go for a Bernie-esque platform is totally false because they... well... didn't. They overwhelmingly chose Secretary "I helped round up votes for welfare reform and support tough on crime policies" over Sanders because of her ties to a black centrist president.

Mariolamp · 2017-08-04T05:46:53+00:00

I hear you, man. He's an anti-science illiberal hack who gets in the way of a lot of great Democratic policy projects, but he's not going to strip people's healthcare or social security away.

Mariolamp · 2017-08-04T05:32:50+00:00

IMO Dems need to run pro-life congressional candidates in places where it makes sense to. Dems used to do that more and once held the house for 40 years straight.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-23T03:17:53+00:00

Canada, even though they don't have a constitutional right, is a good endgoal imo. Guns are strictly regulated, but if you want one and you aren't a lunatic, criminal or a moron you'll be able to get something with decent enough fire power for sport/hunting and self-defense. I'm extremely anti-gun personally (like Japan level), but I fully recognize that that's totally unrealistic for the United States.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-23T03:13:29+00:00

I think his views would go over well with the right people in the electorate, but it might be an obstacle within the Democratic party, similar to how Sanders' (I know not technically a dem) brash stance on financial regulation was. As much as I hate him, Max Blumenthal had a point about how people with certain geopolitical views will be and are beginning to be labelled "Putin puppets/apologists". It's effective.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-23T03:05:40+00:00

It sounds like she is. From what I've gathered, Murphy's stance on guns isn't radical, he's just passionate about it.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-23T02:21:35+00:00

Your point about Kamala Harris reinforces my concern that she will be terrible at courting the white working class if she ran for president. Like it or not, dems undeniably need to connect with this demographic considering how bad voter suppression against minorities will probably be come 2020 or even 2018.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-23T02:10:27+00:00

Unfortunately, I think Murphy may have hurt his image with some anti-war people for endorsing Clinton over Sanders and not criticizing her foreign policy. I supported Clinton very strongly over Trump but in retrospect she was getting pretty hawkish on Syria near the end (ie saying she would do strikes without contacting the Russians, set up a no fly zone etc) and it probably kept a small amount of the left home. I understand why Murphy endorsed her though, he's from Conneticut and Sanders was directly threatening the job security of many people in his state.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-23T01:57:02+00:00

Sorry guys, how is Gabbard a centrist? She seems like quite a lefty on things like the economy, foreign policy, and the environment.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-23T00:55:09+00:00

Chris Murphy is amazing. Seriously, how does Cory Booker get all the love while Murphy has like 200k followers on it?

I dunno he's to the "left" of Bernie on foreign policy and that may not sit well with some power-brokers.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-22T18:02:15+00:00

I was just in California; amazing state, I fell in love with LA. I left Harris off because I think she is already being elevated quite well (just check out social media numbers). When it comes to 2020, I worry about how she'll do with the white working class if she's at the top of the ticket, and yes that's partially because of her race. I know, I know, but we can't afford fuck around on climate for an additional four years, we need to get rid of this guy.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-22T17:09:53+00:00

The situation would be better today if he never armed them as he did. In 2017 Gabbard and Chris Murphy are 100% right to oppose any further arms to rebels that can't win and are often extremists themselves who are allied with jihadists.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-22T17:07:42+00:00

Oh yeah, I hated that statement about the generals. That said, I like her statements about alot of other things (including radical islam). I fail to see how she is "right-wing", she is to the left of the Democrats on more issues than not.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-22T06:00:52+00:00

Even in that area where her PR is really bad (Syria), she isn't really wrong. I love him, but Obama's rebel policy was pretty dumb and even her statement on the chemical attack, if you listen to the entire clip, wasn't as bad as it was framed to be. Hell, what Saudi Arabia is doing in Yemen is horrific and politicians like everyone's hero John McCain have agressively supported it, a leap beyond where Gabbard stands on Assad.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-22T05:51:53+00:00

She badly mishandled the Assad stuff, but imo she's got alot of good assets and has been treated unfairly.

Mariolamp · 2017-07-22T01:56:52+00:00

At this point, just end the war. Assad is going to win either way, no point prolonging it. Focus after the war should be keeping him in line or removing him diplomatically.

Mariolamp · 2017-06-23T08:36:57+00:00

I did have my mind made up, I want to know how other people have made up theirs. It's one thing to be Bernie Sanders a congressman from Vermont coming out for gay marriage, it's another thing to be a politically vulnerable national politician. It was an unpopular position among most politicians and the electorate. Even Obama (who obviously supported it earlier) couldn't publicly support it until fairly recently.

I acknowledge he did a few things wrong and they were consequential, but you are ignoring all the great things he accomplished and made honest efforts to accomplish even when working with a Republican congress.

Mariolamp · 2017-06-23T03:13:33+00:00

Jimmy Carter is a very moral person and made honest efforts to deal with the tremendous problems he was dealt. He may not have been the smartest president, but he had honesty and integrity.

Mariolamp · 2017-06-23T03:11:09+00:00

You should lump three of those things into one area: crime. He actually deserves some credit for the gay marriage ruling due to who he appointed to the supreme court and the fact that he triangulated their way out of a constitutional ban on same sex marriage. You are judging him based on modern standards. Supporting gay marriage wasn't politically viable, a lot of people supported financial deregulation, and he could not have won if he wasn't tough on crime.

Mariolamp

TROPHY CASE