- Joined
- Jan 17, 2013
- Messages
- 8,582
- Reaction score
- 8,521
- Location
- The Seattle suburbs
- Website
- www.reneedominick.com
Hope whomever the candidate ends up being of those two, I hope he picks a running mate who is both younger and not white. I say there's a much better-than-average chance of a VP taking the helm in the next 4 years, no matter who wins the election.
This is it. This is what we're going to be looking at. Three white male septuagenarians (assuming Bloomberg's ego remains his primary motivator and he sticks around rather than bow out and put his money to good use elsewhere). I'm so tired of the entrenchment of the patriarchal system in this country.
Washington state votes next Tuesday and I left my ballot until the last minute. Things will shake out today and while my heart is with Warren, if she's out after today, my calculus will be all about who can bring down-ballot wins. And honestly, there's only one person (IMO) who can do that among the three old white dudes: Biden.
Jaime Harrison is running a close race against Lindsey Graham in SC. Can Bernie get him over the top, or is Biden more likely to after the turnout he inspired last week? What about Amy McGrath in Kentucky? If Sanders is the candidate, can he bring her voters in that state? Highly doubtful. Bernie might help in Colorado, possibly in Maine, but to me, this decision is now about who can reliably help secure additional Senate seats and ensure Dems hold the House. Bernie is too divisive for my taste, and he's ramping up the populist rhetoric to uncomfortable levels. His attacks on "corporate media" and the Democratic apparatus (the benefits of which he is happy to take, while continually punching them in the face) are unhelpful in the extreme if we want to boot Trump out.
Jennifer Rubin summed up my feelings in her opinion piece today:
And finally, when convinced that you have a monopoly on virtue, you are likely to resort to arguing that your opponents are “corrupt” (as a prominent supporter said of Biden, without evidence) and that you do not need to adhere to the rules others abide by — such as sticking to promises to release health-care records or showing your math on a health-care plan. Indignant and thin-skinned when challenged yet ready to assume the worst of others is a tried and true formula for rebuffing criticism and escaping accountability. When your motives are pure, aides and supporters who viciously attack others on social media get a pass.
Sanders has not just started behaving this way; he has operated this way for years, as do many firebrands who essentially play the role of backbencher. You know the type: Never responsible for accomplishing much of anything, ever the attack dog and determined to impugn others rather than argue on the merits. Aside from the substance of his views, Democrats need to decide if this Trumpian tone is one they want to mimic.
I want to be in a situation where I can rely on a candidate to stump for not just themselves, but Democrats running locally. Biden and Warren I could rely on, Bernie not so much. I can also envision one helluva cabinet if Biden won, with so many of the excellent candidates we had early on, filling posts with experience and deep expertise. Bernie has always been a lone wolf. I haven't a clue who he'd tap to work with him. I've never seen him actually work with anybody. I've never seen or heard any mention, across two presidential campaigns, of who he might pick as a running mate. I half think he'd pick his wife.
Yes, I'll vote for him if he's the candidate (grudgingly), but I'll never believe he's the best person for the job.