2020 Presidential Candidates

[frugal-one]

I agree Trump is a scumbag too. That is why I am voting for Howie Hawkins. I saw many good candidates in New Hampshire. It is sad who the major parties settled on.

Never heard of Howie Hawkins. He probably won't even be on my ballot????

[catherine]

Never heard of Howie Hawkins. He probably won't even be on my ballot????

He should be. He's the Green Party candidate, and they usually manage to get their candidate on most ballots. I'm pretty sure Jill Stein did. There may be a bunch of disgruntled Bernie supporters who would find Howie to represent the progressive left.

[rosarugosa]

Please tell me that simply came out meaner and ruder than you intended. If not, I think you're out of line.

I agree. Come on, JP, you are better than that.

[jp1]

You’re right. That was an undeserved knee jerk reaction. My intent was to point out the absurdity of worrying about Biden’s morals given the obviously non-moral and non-ethical current resident of the White House.

[Teacher Terry]

I live in a state where my vote counts. I won’t be wasting it on people with zero chance.

[LDAHL]

I’ve been wrong before, but it seems increasingly apparent to me that this election will not hinge on character. The record seems to provide plenty of evidence of low behavior for both candidates. Even this latest Atlantic story doesn’t seem to be getting much attention outside Chatterville.

I think victory will depend on a sort of pin the tail on the donkey (or elephant, as the case may be) for COVID, or the rash of riots, or the recession. Are the riots instigated by the Republican’s systemic racism or the Democrats’ laxity? That kind of thing.

[nswef]

My fear is that the Dems will blow it again. Trump supporters care nothing about his character, only the thought that he is somehow helping them. The Dems need to reiterate the death toll, the systemic racism and how it affects his borderline supporters, the unemployment, the so called new jobs which only benefit the corporations, corporate welfare...but they need to find one or two to just ramp up over and over the way Fox news does. Just say the same thing over and over. I do think this denigration of veterans could be a turning point...but after all it is fake news.

[Yppej]

Don't forget when Tara Reade made her allegations Trump defended Biden, because they are two peas from the same pod.

[catherine]

I agree that character means nothing. Trumpers love Trump. They have not been dissuaded by lies, cheating, hypocrisy, narcissism, meanness, bullying, and bias for the wealthy at the expense of the middle class and the environment. It all means NOTHING to them. I think he represents an icon of who they would want to be, oddly--to be so in control of their environment and their destiny that nothing could shake them. Biden has to prove that he can get their lives back in control. That COVID will pass, that the economy will secure their futures, and that they can pick and choose the "Trump" they want to be--not the lying cheat, but the King of Mar-a-Lago and all things bright and shiny.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Truthfully character means very little to me in this one. I mean if I really felt a politician was promising me something I could believe in, I'd try to evaluate their willingness to deliver, which one might call their character, based on past record,following the money (who is funding their campaign), and personality characteristics (and maybe still be wrong because it's often *still* hard to know!).

But few can seriously believe Biden is the next FDR or whatever they think they can push now (I suppose circumstances force greatness on some but). We have a centrist (and further right than most Dem candidates) politician versus an openly corrupt narcissist. The Dem establishment types he will appoint versus the incompetents Trump appoints. The argument against Trump are in large part conservative Lincoln project type arguments, that he is destroying institutions, and HE IS: the CDC, the FDA, nevermind the EPA etc.. People who trusted such institutions like those in public health scream in anguish. This guy is just tearing apart what somewhat functional institutions we have in this country, it's a lurch toward Latin American style tin pot corruption and deciding that *that* is the future we want in this country. To what degree does a Biden admin have the will to rebuilt as that is where we are at, I don't know.

But what about progressive arguments? The primary was the election. It often is. And well ..

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
EVERYBODY KNOWS THE WAR IS OVER
EVERYBODY KNOWS THE GOOD GUYS LOST
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

(for the Republican convention who had the nerve to play Leonard Cohen but not Everybody Knows, or Democracy, or The Future).