USA Democratic party 2020 candidates and primaries thread

[Knight of Heaven]

On a side note, the old fiscal austerity mantra sold to us in Europe (2008) failed completely. In fact, my country was the first in Europe to cast out austerity.It's a convenient myth that the social welfare state coupled with labor protections are burdensome and discourage growth. Completely false.

We kinda still live with austerity. camouflaged but it is still very much there. And we feel it in the degradation of public services. Including healthcare, social, registration services. Have you tried to renovate your ID lately? It is chaos, it didn't used to be that way.
If it wasn't for the economic tourist boom, and its affects, austerity would be much more visible.

Anyhow i see sanders, as a Social democrat, with a few extreme difficult to apply ideas. Some im totally for it, and others i have plenty of doubts.

Him wanting to tax the fossil industry for 3 trillion, for example. I do get it, but how that would work, and wondering even if its the right move in the first place. And how this affects the common people who are dependent on Gas, for transport.
This is a complex issue, to merely be solved with taxes. Paris burned for a long time when Macron tried something similar.

[Love Mountain]

Maybe stop voting them in then. Though I suppose people prefer austerity to the perceived "open-border" Left.

[RedGuard]

Him wanting to tax the fossil industry for 3 trillion, for example. I do get it, but how that would work, and wondering even if its the right move in the first place. And how this affects the common people who are dependent on Gas, for transport.
This is a complex issue, to merely be solved with taxes. Paris burned for a long time when Macron tried something similar.

I just imagine how great it would be if we just cut off the billion dollar subsidies to the oil industry for a single year. Imagine if for one year that money instead went to say, tax incentives to get an electric car, build electric infrastructure, etc, instead of going into the oil industry. I imagine it would also shock the industry enough that they began to diversify into other fuel sources.

but the ones whose minds Bernie would actually have to change would be the investors. In a way its already happening. Oil stocks are rich atm, but they are more and more becoming a toxic stock to have. Pressure should be put on both the investor and the industry to change its ways, something the green new deal addresses.

[Ludicus]

Maybe stop voting them in then.

Not a chance. Progressives are winning here. The right is weak, demoralized, feeling helpless.
Tourism? Why Choose Portugal for medical tourism - Treatment Abroad
"Top standards of healthcare at low prices"
--
Economy?
European Union grew only 0.1 percent during the last three months of 2019 compared with the previous quarter. Almost zero.European Economic Growth Slows Almost to Zero - The New Y Times
Here? the Government passed first surplus budget since restoration of democracy.The Portuguese economy in 2020: a positive economic

Will it be a good year?
To do this, we make a small model to predict GDP growth in 2020 based on the expected trend of consumer, industry and services confidence indicators.³ In this regard, the prediction exercise indicates a GDP growth of 1.8% in 2020, very much in line with our forecast (1.7%). Furthermore, we estimate that the probability of growth exceeding 1.5% stands at 72%, while the probability of growth being below 0.6% is estimated to be less than 5% (0.6% would mean nil quarter-on-quarter growth in the four quarters of the year).
In short, the Portuguese economy is currently more resilient than it was in previous episodes of global slowdown.

Not bad at all. What the Right Gets Wrong About Socialism – Foreign Policy

As Scandinavia shows, it does feature plenty of public ownership - but also a thriving economy.

Sanders: 331 days until the inauguration day
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healthcare and social security were also praiseworthy achievements intrinsically linked to Marxist ideology.

I must slightly disagree with you. "Universal" healthcare was started by Hippocrates, and he was not a marxist. Hippocrates oath,
"I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick."

Universal healthcare, historically speaking, is a conservative initiative, a compulsory health insurance established by Bismarck in 1884. Bismarck wanted a way to "break the hold of socialists" on the loyalty the German workers. Bismarck's health insurance and its impact on mortality - Vox EU

Bismarck’s original intentions were not genuinely social. His health insurance was a reluctant reaction to upheavals among the working class in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, and a way to secure a political advantage against the Socialist Worker’s Party in the Reichstag, Germany’s parliament. Bismarck’s clever design ensured that the imperial budget was not affected. It was jointly financed by employers (one third) and employees (two thirds).

Everyone has the right to life. So, health care is a human right.

[Akar]

Yes, god forbid the fossil fuel industry finally pay for their decades of intentionally and maliciously denying climate change to further their own profits.

[Lord Thesaurian]

Joe Biden told a crowd of supporters in South Carolina on Monday that he is running for a "United States Senate" seat, drawing ridicule from critics who said the latest flub is evidence he is too out of touch to run for president.

https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-s...ay-its-1489034

I like Joe. He was my first choice. But he’s just not all there IMO. He should have retired with Obama. This is just embarrassing. Getting old must suck. Not looking forward to it.

[Cope]

In a world of your own and revenge on the kids.

What's not to look forward to?

[Love Mountain]

Oil companies will be the first to switch to renewable energy once oil is no longer profitable.

[Ludicus]

This is just embarrassing. Getting old must suck. Not looking forward to it.

Indeed,he is showing his age more than he was,he is beginning to slow down.That said, Trump is making America embarrassing, not Biden.

[Lord Thesaurian]

In a world of your own and revenge on the kids.

What's not to look forward to?

I suppose each of us will find out sooner or later. At this point I think we can say the Dem VP choice will be of unique importance this round given the slate of front runners.

[Akar]

Who do you guys think is a likely pick for Bernie's VP if it comes to that? I'd like to see someone who wasn't already on the electoral stage get the nod, but I would be totally down with a Bernie/Warren ticket.

[Prodromos]

https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-s...ay-its-1489034

Several campaign journalists and Biden supporters argued that his "Senate" remark Monday has been taken out of context. They say he is simply offering a rhetorical comparison to voters—between his decades as a U.S. senator versus the presidential candidate he is today.

"This is how @JoeBiden often closes out his events; he tells the crowd that some things about campaigning haven’t changed since he first ran for Senate when he was 29, he goes on to recite his old pitch —including what’s said in the video below— before circling back."

"I’ve personally seen it probably a dozen times."

- Politico reporter Natasha Korecki

This concern trolling over Biden's age is really annoying. I doubt the average 20-something mocking Biden could give even one speech, let alone hundreds, without stuttering and uh'ing and misspeaking their way through it.

Biden's been campaigning every day for about 8 months now; he's bound to misspeak every once in a while. It doesn't mean he has some sort of mental defect, unless you want to argue that Barack "57 States" Obama was cognitively defective too.

[Heathen Hammer]

Sanders is older then Biden, and he is still making speeches without constant gaffs. Let's admit it, Sleepy Joe is no longer "there". Heck, even Obama refuses to endorse him for a reason.

[Prodromos]

I'm watching the debate right now and Biden seems pretty sharp and quick-witted. Even made the audience laugh a few times.

[reavertm]

In case anyone wondered why audience generally cheered Bloomberg and booed Sanders during the debate, below article, from a couple of weeks ago, might offer some possible explanation:

https://www.live5news.com/2020/02/06...accessibility/

“But there’s no access to tickets on any Democratic site that we could see,” Kiley said.

That's because tickets aren't readily available. The Charleston County Democratic Party website says "The only guaranteed way to get a ticket is to become a sponsor of the debate."

Sponsorship ranges from $1,750 to $3,200 each for attendance to multiple “First in the South” events.

These billionaires.. just can't help themselves but want to share their money with other people. What a time to be alive!

[Prodromos]

The reviews are in

Biden looks to be in a pretty good spot.

[RedGuard]

The reviews are in

Biden looks to be in a pretty good spot.

I have a hard time believing any poll with Steyer at 13%

[Akar]

Yeah I haven't even seen him polling above like 3% anywhere else. Very strange.

[Cope]

I think he's poured a lot of resources into S. Carolina.

Who is your VP pick Akar?

[Akar]

Like I said a few posts above I think a Bernie/Warren or Warren/Bernie ticket would be exciting to see in the white house. For a long time out Vice Presidents have just been tie breaking votes in the senate or a bone thrown to the mid west states of a minority community. There's actually no real outline or limitation to the Vice Presidents powers aside from those that the President delegates to them. I think it would be cool to see a Vice President start taking an active roll in politics for the country and become a guy who goes to bat for the President rather than a guy who sits around and waits for his turn after 4 or 8 years. I don't want to see it be some moderate who's just picked to appease the Republican or Moderate voters, we need party unity now more than ever. I also don't really want it to be someone who ran for office this year, give me someone who's picked for their qualifications and their ability to put their head down and do a good job running the Senate and backing up the Presidents policies.

South Carolina seems to be the "Hail Mary" state for a lot of these moderates. Biden, Bloomberg, and apparently Steyer all appear to be hedging their bets on getting enough of a boost to lead into Super Tuesday and hopefully get a brokered convention.