The 2020 Presidential Election Primary Thread

[Moliere]

Joe may want to lay off the booze and women sniffing... especially before a debate.

Otherwise I am guessing that Skateboard Jesus will roast him

Mini stroke?

[Uncle Ted]

On the subject of the economy...

Dems sweat Trump’s economy: ‘We don’t really have a robust national message right now’

One top Democrat fears that could be ‘a recipe for disaster in 2020.’

Republicans have long believed that if only the economy held up, President Donald Trump could win a second term.

Following another spate of positive economic news — and without a cohesive economic message of their own — many Democrats are starting to fear he might.

Anxiety on the left reached new heights last week, with the government reporting that the nation’s economy had grown at an unexpectedly fast pace in the first quarter of the year. While Trump took credit for the surging economy, Democratic presidential contenders were immersing themselves in the Mueller report and debating whether incarcerated felons should be allowed to vote.

By Thursday, prodded by former Vice President Joe Biden, they were revisiting the violence at a white supremacist rally in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. In his own campaign announcement video, Biden did not explicitly mention jobs or the economy once.

“We don’t really have a robust national message right now” on the economy, said Celinda Lake, a leading Democratic strategist and pollster. “We will tend to talk about things like paid leave and equal pay — and those things are all very popular policies. But they don’t add up to an economic message that is robust enough to win the presidency and beat Donald Trump, who talks about a very robust economic policy.”

She said, “You may agree or not with it, but you know what [his message] is. And Democrats, you don’t know what it is. And that’s a recipe for disaster in 2020.”
[...]

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/...-trump-1291371

Don't worry Dems... Sleepy Joe has the answer:

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The Dems just have to move the goalposts. Brilliant!

Edit:

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[Uncle Ted]

Biden has so much baggage it’s incredible. I guess that’s what happens when you are almost 100 years old and have spent 75 years as a senator.

Yeah, you would think the Dems learned their lesson with Hillary and all her baggage... Hey, maybe Hillary will be Joe's running mate!




The Dream Team!

[PaloAltoCougar]

I'd guess that Trump would win today no matter who the Dems put forth. But at this point in the '92 election cycle the incumbent had an approval rating approximately twice that of Trump's today, and yet GHWB lost just eighteen months later to a candidate who was relatively unknown at this point because of an economic downturn. Obviously, barring a major terrorist attack or other cataclysm, the economy will determine Trump's fate. I hope he loses, badly, but for other reasons. I just don't see any.

[Moliere]

I'd guess that Trump would win today no matter who the Dems put forth. But at this point in the '92 election cycle the incumbent had an approval rating approximately twice that of Trump's today, and yet GHWB lost just eighteen months later to a candidate who was relatively unknown at this point because of an economic downturn. Obviously, barring a major terrorist attack or other cataclysm, the economy will determine Trump's fate. I hope he loses, badly, but for other reasons. I just don't see any.

For me, it’s a catch 22. I’d love to see Trump lose, but the economy is humming along even better than how Obama left it. The tax cuts were created to be beneficial for the medium term and that is currently playing out nicely. Unemployment is at historic lows, growth is at a good pace and nothing seems too out of whack in any fundamental. If this holds for another 18 months then it’s likely we’ll have a second trump term. The Dems hands are tied on economic platforms and their social platform likely won’t cut it. As a great leader once said, “it’s the economy, stupid”

[beefytee]

I'd guess that Trump would win today no matter who the Dems put forth. But at this point in the '92 election cycle the incumbent had an approval rating approximately twice that of Trump's today, and yet GHWB lost just eighteen months later to a candidate who was relatively unknown at this point because of an economic downturn. Obviously, barring a major terrorist attack or other cataclysm, the economy will determine Trump's fate. I hope he loses, badly, but for other reasons. I just don't see any.

I was going to make a similar point. Seems a little early to be spiking the ball about the great economy going into an election. A lot can change in the economy in 18 months.

[SeattleUte]

I'd guess that Trump would win today no matter who the Dems put forth. But at this point in the '92 election cycle the incumbent had an approval rating approximately twice that of Trump's today, and yet GHWB lost just eighteen months later to a candidate who was relatively unknown at this point because of an economic downturn. Obviously, barring a major terrorist attack or other cataclysm, the economy will determine Trump's fate. I hope he loses, badly, but for other reasons. I just don't see any.

A moderate Democrat other than Biden would beat him (I'm assuming Biden will be the same dolt he always has been and will self-destruct, as in his two prior efforts). Trump's narrow path to victory depends on holding Florida and winning one of Michigan, Wisconsin, or Pennsylvania.

Somebody should pay me for this insight. Apparently it's so brilliant, the Democrats have yet to figure it out.

[Uncle Ted]

I was going to make a similar point. Seems a little early to be spiking the ball about the great economy going into an election. A lot can change in the economy in 18 months.

Yeah, I think the economy is a little overheated and due for a correction. Hopefully, the crash can wait until the dems take over at least the house and the senate so they get the large share of the blame.

[Northwestcoug]

There is a clear moral case for voting for anyone but Trump (ABB), despite UT's constant laughable drumbeat that every other democrat is as bad as he is. He has corrupted everything in our national political discourse. He incites hatred against anyone who speaks out against him, from the media to other politicians. He skirts law and ethics almost every time he introduces a new policy. He can't even articulate the conservative viewpoint of any important political issue.

He. Is. The. Worst.

This is the clarion call. Are you worried that conservative policies are falling out of favor? How about America's image and stature in the world? Then vote for ABB. Better yet, vote for whoever the democratic nominee is, even if it's a 'socialist'. Because you are not going to get lasting conservative policies if Trump remains in power. Do not underestimate the damage he has done to the conservative brand with the younger generation. Show the GOP just how disgusted you are with Trump and whoever supports him. I'll nod to UT's political philosophy a bit. Burn it all down, but just the political right for now. Worry about cleansing the left later; the right is in so much worse shape now. They need to be sent to political purgatory for some time.

[SeattleUte]

There is a clear moral case for voting for anyone but Trump (ABB), despite UT's constant laughable drumbeat that every other democrat is as bad as he is. He has corrupted everything in our national political discourse. He incites hatred against anyone who speaks out against him, from the media to other politicians. He skirts law and ethics almost every time he introduces a new policy. He can't even articulate the conservative viewpoint of any important political issue.

He. Is. The. Worst.

This is the clarion call. Are you worried that conservative policies are falling out of favor? How about America's image and stature in the world? Then vote for ABB. Better yet, vote for whoever the democratic nominee is, even if it's a 'socialist'. Because you are not going to get lasting conservative policies if Trump remains in power. Do not underestimate the damage he has done to the conservative brand with the younger generation. Show the GOP just how disgusted you are with Trump and whoever supports him. I'll nod to UT's political philosophy a bit. Burn it all down, but just the political right for now. Worry about cleansing the left later; the right is in so much worse shape now. They need to be sent to political purgatory for some time.

This is silly. Get off your moral high horse. Whose morals are you talking about? Trump has ghastly moral failings, per my morals, but his enemies are responsible for their own reprehensible conduct. This disgraceful carnival of hate that we call politics requires participation from all sides.

Trump's enemies are responsible for propagating the Mueller wild goose chase based on the Steele dossier, an established fraud that was hatched as political propaganda and then legitimized by the FBI, our internal federal police force which attempted to criminalize politics. There is a case for voting against Bermie Sanders who has fawned over Cuba, the Soviet Union, Venezuela, et al. (it's all on tape). There is a moral case to be made against Elizabeth Warren, a purported radical leftist, who cynically lied her way to Harvard tenure and into the Senate with a fraudulent story that she was Native American. The radical left is as we speak spinning a multitude of moral grounds for rejecting Joesph Biden. The striking thing about these democrats' tax returns is how all of them give almost nothing to charity. They are happy to spend other peoples' money on their version of charity. There's your moral case for not voting for any one of them. There's a moral case to be made against vicious identity politics that has been the thread amid the impoverished political discourse that you decry. There's a moral case to be made against climate change hysteria used to rationalize any far left economic agenda on the ground that the sky is falling.

One refreshing thing about Trump is that he does not claim the moral high ground. He's honest about that much.

[Northwestcoug]

This is silly. Get off your moral high horse. Whose morals are you talking about? Trump has ghastly moral failings, per my morals, but his enemies are responsible for their own reprehensible conduct. This disgraceful carnival of hate that we call politics requires participation from all sides.

Trump's enemies are responsible for propagating the Mueller wild goose chase based on the Steele dossier, an established fraud that was hatched as political propaganda and then legitimized by the FBI, our internal federal police force which attempted to criminalize politics. There is a case for voting against Bermie Sanders who has fawned over Cuba, the Soviet Union, Venezuela, et al. (it's all on tape). There is a moral case to be made against Elizabeth Warren, a purported radical leftist, who cynically lied her way to Harvard tenure and into the Senate with a fraudulent story that she was Native American. The radical left is as we speak spinning a multitude of moral grounds for rejecting Joesph Biden. The striking thing about these democrats' tax returns is how all of them give almost nothing to charity. They are happy to spend other peoples' money on their version of charity. There's your moral case for not voting for any one of them. There's a moral case to be made against vicious identity politics that has been the thread amid the impoverished political discourse that you decry. There's a moral case to be made against climate change hysteria used to rationalize any far left economic agenda on the ground that the sky is falling.

One refreshing thing about Trump is that he does not claim the moral high ground. He's honest about that much.

Absurd on it's face. He does nothing but claim the moral high ground. Abortion, taxes, the 'deep state', and every other politicians' failings that he shares.

Hey, I'm a huge moral relativism homer. There's a moral case to be made for and against pretty everyone running for president right now. My call for the moral high ground is for those who ostensibly support ethical leaders and conservative policies. Trump is clearly neither.

[frank ryan]

This is silly. Get off your moral high horse. Whose morals are you talking about? Trump has ghastly moral failings, per my morals, but his enemies are responsible for their own reprehensible conduct. This disgraceful carnival of hate that we call politics requires participation from all sides.

Trump's enemies are responsible for propagating the Mueller wild goose chase based on the Steele dossier, an established fraud that was hatched as political propaganda and then legitimized by the FBI, our internal federal police force which attempted to criminalize politics. There is a case for voting against Bermie Sanders who has fawned over Cuba, the Soviet Union, Venezuela, et al. (it's all on tape). There is a moral case to be made against Elizabeth Warren, a purported radical leftist, who cynically lied her way to Harvard tenure and into the Senate with a fraudulent story that she was Native American. The radical left is as we speak spinning a multitude of moral grounds for rejecting Joesph Biden. The striking thing about these democrats' tax returns is how all of them give almost nothing to charity. They are happy to spend other peoples' money on their version of charity. There's your moral case for not voting for any one of them. There's a moral case to be made against vicious identity politics that has been the thread amid the impoverished political discourse that you decry. There's a moral case to be made against climate change hysteria used to rationalize any far left economic agenda on the ground that the sky is falling.

One refreshing thing about Trump is that he does not claim the moral high ground. He's honest about that much.

What's silly is your rebirth as SeanHannityUte.

[frank ryan]

Some people from Ted's Twitter have been busy:


Far-Right Smear Merchants Try to Slime Pete Buttigieg with Bogus Sex Assault Claim

A pair of right-wing provocateurs are being accused of attempting to recruit young Republican men to level false allegations of sexual assault against Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.

The details of the operatives’ attempt emerged as one man suddenly surfaced with a vague and uncorroborated allegation that Buttigieg had assaulted him. The claim was retracted hours later.

A Republican source told The Daily Beast that lobbyist Jack Burkman and internet troll Jacob Wohl approached him last week to try to convince him to falsely accuse Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, of engaging him sexually while he was too drunk to consent.

The source who spoke to The Daily Beast said Burkman and Wohl made clear that their goal was to kneecap Buttigieg’s momentum in the 2020 presidential race. The man asked to remain anonymous out of a concern that the resulting publicity might imperil his employment, and because he said Wohl and Burkman have a reputation for vindictiveness.

But the source provided The Daily Beast with a surreptitious audio recording of the meeting, which corroborates his account. In it, Wohl appears to refer to Buttigieg as a “terminal threat” to President Donald Trump’s reelection next year.

Neither Burkman nor Wohl responded to repeated requests for comment on this story. But after The Daily Beast contacted them last week, traces of the scheme disappeared from the web and social media.

....

On Monday, a separate individual using the name of Hunter Kelly published a post on the site Medium in which he alleged that Buttigieg sexually assaulted him in February. That post was tweeted out by David Wohl, Jacob’s father, and quickly re-written by the site Big League Politics, which is known as a landing ground for right-wing conspiracy theories.

Kelly’s supposed Medium and Twitter accounts both say they were created this month. His Facebook page includes several posts lauding Trump and criticizing Hillary Clinton. He appears to have responded to Jacob Wohl’s posts on Instagram in the past.

The Daily Beast reached out to Kelly on a cellphone listed to him in the student directory at his Michigan college. Told we were reporting on apparent efforts by Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman to drum up false sexual assault allegations against Buttigieg, Kelly replied, “I was unaware this was happening. But yes it is true.”

Kelly wrote that he did not control the newly created Medium and Twitter accounts that posted the allegations under his name. When asked if he could verify his identity, he texted the Daily Beast a selfie that matched the photo seen on Medium and on Kelly’s longstanding Facebook accounts.

“Here is a selfie of me, sorry I have been crying,” he wrote. “Today and the promises made didn’t go as planned.”

Kelly declined to provide more details. But two hours later he posted a message to his Facebook timeline headed, “I WAS NOT SEXUALLY ASSAULTED.”

“It's important for everyone to know that I was not sexually assaulted and would never falsely accuse anyone,” he wrote. “To keep it brief for now, I was approached by a political figure to come to DC to discuss political situations from the standpoint of a gay Republican. When I arrived they discussed Peter Buttigieg and started talking about how they would be working a campaign against him.”

“I went to bed and woke up to a fake Twitter @RealHunterKelly and an article that I in no way endorsed or wrote. I have since left and am working on a formal statement to give to everyone including the Buttigieg family.”

The statement sent to The Daily Beast from the Facebook account on Tuesday said that Wohl and Burkman flew him to Washington, D.C., and showed him a statement detailing the bogus accusations against Buttigieg—which they then posted without his permission.

He went on to say that they also tried to get him to sign off on a script for a press conference—over his protests—but he called his family to come get him and then fled.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/far-ri...laim?ref=wrap2

[SeattleUte]

What's silly is your rebirth as SeanHannityUte.

You seem to be an expert on Sean Hannity. I, on the other hand, have never watched Fox in my life, and I would not know him if I saw him.

[snowcat]

This disgraceful carnival of hate that we call politics requires participation from all sides.

Candidate for a new signature quote.