Et tu, Klobuchar?
The rumor is that Amy Klobuchar will be stepping out of the race and throwing her weight (such as it is) behind Biden.
Interesting. Assuming that’s true, the winnowing is happening rather quickly – before Super Tuesday.
But it’s not that dissimilar to what happened to the GOP field in 2016. There was Trump, course, the eventual winner. Cruz, Trump’s final opponent, didn’t drop out till May 3. Rubio left March 15. Kasich stubbornly limped along till May 4. Carson left on March 4. The rest of the field left prior to Super Tuesday. So on Super Tuesday there were five major candidates.
The Democrats seem to be narrowing down to four candidates prior to Super Tuesday: Sanders, Biden, Bloomberg, and Warren. Is Tulsi still around? Was she ever? If she’s still officially in the running, it’s only de jure. De facto she’s really nowhere.
Warren seems to be finished, too, but she’s not admitting it. That would leave the three elderly white guys, two of them Jews (at least nominally) and from New York. But it does seem (at least for the moment) as though the Democratic “establishment” is throwing its considerable weight behind the flawed Biden rather than the flawed Bloomberg. They will not support the flawed Sanders; it he wins the nomination, it will be against their wishes and efforts.
Somewhat like Trump in 2016. I’m not comparing Trump to Bernie except in one way: the attitude of the respective party powers-that-be to their candidacies. Of course, in 2020, the GOP is quite staunchly behind Trump, so that is a big change from 2016.
Clearly the national party is panicking and quite effectively circling their wagons….around a decrepit, half senile old fart because…anything to stop a decrepit, half senile old communist.
Ladies and gentlemen: I give you the Democrat Party. The party of youth! The party of women! The party of minorities! The party of outsiders! Their nomination for the highest office will likely come down to two elderly white men who have each been running for office for a half century.
I can’t wait until the old senile commie loses at the convention again and his fellow travellers burn the joint to the ground like they have promised.
I’d much rather the final race be President Trump vs Comrade Sanders, but vs Gropey Joe with a side order of Dementia will do.
But…since these also-rans are bailing like good little lemmings in the hopes of a cabinet post…and there will be more by Super-Tuesday…Who’s the VP choice? Someone from the pack like Fauxcohontas or mini mike? HRC? Mrs 0 the evil lunch lady so they can put the band back together?
“HRC?”
Has to be deposed in person in Judicial Watch case, Judge Lamberth rules: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-orders-hillary-clinton-deposition-to-address-private-emails-there-is-still-more-to-learn
Oopsie.
I’m no fan of Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, or even Ted Cruz but those guys look like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Rossevelt compared to the non-Bernie options this time around.
Mike
I think I saw a poll showing Klobuchar might not even carry Minnesota. Bernie is running strong there. She may have dropped out to avoid the humiliation.
sdferr…that’s precisely the point.
If she’s a candidate, she’s off limits just like Gropey Joe and his crackhead son…Didn’t you read the articles of shampeachment?
😉
Both Buttigieg’s and Klobuchar’s late withdrawals make another showing why early voting should be outlawed. It’s just plain dumb.
And in other election news elsewhere: https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/03/breaking-netanyahu-projected-to-win-israels-election-today.php
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu succeeded in winning 60 seats for his bloc of right-wing and religious parties, one less than he needed for a majority in the Knesset in Monday’s election, according to exit polls on the three television networks.”
Time for Dennis Kucinich to make his move!
Glen Greenwald makes an interesting comparison of the Democrats’ potential 2020 machinations with the 1968 election.
https://theintercept.com/2020/03/02/democrats-craving-a-brokered-convention-including-elizabeth-warren-should-learn-the-lessons-of-1968/
Sure, might be coincidence but the velocity at which Amy and Mayor Pete exited is surprising
“If she’s a candidate, she’s off limits just like Gropey Joe and his crackhead son” – John Guilfoyle
Then again, maybe that’s no longer a working plan.
https://www.redstate.com/nick-arama/2020/03/02/first-subpoena-to-go-out-for-senate-investigation-into-burisma-and-bidens/
Not to hammer the nail too far into the wood, but if ANY of the Democrats win, ALL of these investigations will be shut down.
What a choice: an old commie versus a senile pol versus a nanny state billionaire.
sdferr on March 2, 2020 at 4:39 pm said:
Both Buttigieg’s and Klobuchar’s late withdrawals make another showing why early voting should be outlawed. It’s just plain dumb.
* * *
Not disagreeing with you, but in this case it means any support for the now-leading candidates is watered down, since it wasn’t firs-choice, second-choice balloting (which is why the Democrats DO want to go to that system; it makes it a lot easier to know what ballot-boxes to stuff & whose car to find ballots in later).
Here’s some speculation on both the drop-outs.
https://www.redstate.com/nick-arama/2020/03/02/breaking-amy-klobuchar-is-out-puts-out-her-endorsement/
I guess we’ll know tomorrow if a failed candidate’s endorsement has any effects.
streiff puts the situation better than I can, or at least at more length (he could hardly do it shorter!)
https://www.redstate.com/streiff/2020/03/02/bernie-sanders-is-a-threat-to-democrats-incorporated-and-thats-why-hell-not-be-allowed-to-have-the-nomination/
To me, the most interesting similarity about Trump and Sanders is not particularly their outsider (threat) status — although that is very important; it is the correspondence in their spoken priorities, and yet the completely opposite means they would take in policies to reach those goals.
All of this is totally true, and yet the socialist agenda Sanders would impose will result in NONE of the problems of the poor being solved.
The door of the Democrat party has always been open to the poor, and they have thronged inside the beautiful building of the establishment, and then been thrown out the back door into the mire — over, and over, and over again.
Conservatives finally got tired of getting that treatment from the GOP, and their President Trump has made significant advances (sorry, Manju, but you know that’s true).
Progressives think Bernie will be their champion.
They don’t know much about history, or economics; and what they do know ain’t so.
Now, Biden can’t remember the Preamble to the Constitution.
Quote, “We hold these truths to be self evident. All men and women created by the go, you know, the thing…”
See https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/joe-biden-jumbles-preamble-of-declaration-of-independence-all-men-and-women-created-by-go-you-know-the-thing-video/
I’m waiting for Biden to visit some voters in a restaurant, grab a diner’s plate, and start shoving spaghetti up his nose.
The guys just not all there, and getting worse by the day.
This is kind of an election thread, so I think it’s important to put this out, because I strongly disagree with Ms. Davis on one point of her otherwise estimable article:
https://www.redstate.com/kiradavis/2020/03/02/791997/
Yes, Kira, they do.
All of the “help” they (not you; we understand that) have voted for over the decades of California’s decline have come with “unintended” but NOT unforeseen consequences.
People were warned, and warned, and warned again, about the likely results of the bills put forward by their allegedly “well-meaning” progressive legislators and governors.
And city councils and mayors. And school boards. And dog catchers, for all we know.
They voted for the same people, or at least the same party, anyway.
When the results came in negative, just as predicted, they continued to vote for the same people and the same party.
There’s an old saying about the road to hell being paved with good intentions.
There’s a reason that old saying is still known after thousands of years: it didn’t get repealed just because people love California, but can’t be bothered to actually look at facts before they vote.
Scorn is the least of what they deserve.
If the AB5 debacle finally wakes some of them up, then more power to you and others in getting California turned around.
But the odds are good that, even if AB5 is repealed, and even if the actual legislators that passed it are thrown out, they will go right back to voting for the same Democrat party as before, having learned nothing about the reason why they got AB5 in the first place.
There’s another old proverb about that kind of blindness:
You cannot pick up one end of the stick without getting the other one as well.
Kira suggested that Trump could make real inroads in California because of the anger at both the law and the party’s response to complaints, and she may be right — I hope she is — but she still agrees with me that the voters won’t make a lasting change in their habits.
The best we can hope for is that some of those leaving the state do actually learn something, and don’t poison the new states they are moving to.
Biden does appear to be getting worse. What if he gains the nomination and then 6 weeks later is unable to continue? What do the democrats do then? Imagine the chaos that will ensue.
On the other hand, Sanders has now publicly embraced the elimination of imprisonment… everybody deserves a second chance, right? Imprisoning murderers doesn’t bring back the victim, right?
Senile, dirty old man and serial liar VS lifelong committed communist and apologist for brutal, murderous dictators. Who now supports letting every imprisoned rapist and serial killer go free.
Hell, faced with that choice… Biden is the lesser evil.
The establishment that talked Biden into running, and Klobuchar & Buttigieg into folding to support him, may wonder if they are backing the wrong horse.
Which we could have told them in the beginning.
https://www.redstate.com/nick-arama/2020/03/02/biden-starts-quoting-the-declaration-of-independence-but-it-goes-all-kinds-of-wrong/
And all women – they fixed that later in the Constitution – but I digress
He also forgot that the Super Primary happens tomorrow.
BTW, the Democrats (at least the loud ones) seem determined to move more black believers into the Republican column in 2020, so maybe its’ a good thing Joe got all those votes last week.
https://www.redstate.com/alexparker/2020/03/02/white-house-prayer-trump-pence-coronavirus-criticism/
More leftist responses follow.
If there are any conservative, or even liberal, religious black voters who had not yet learned that the Democrat party hates them, they might be finding that out now.
PS I understand Mr. Brewer’s sentiment, but we really need to quit this sort of symbolism. Bill Clinton was not the first black president and neither is Donald Trump. Sadly, for everyone, Barack Obama was.
While I’ll agree that Bernie, Biden and Bloomberg are old, odd and possibly ‘senile’ let’s not forget that Trump falls right into that category as well. The ‘best and brightest that America has to offer?’ Nope.
The Glen Greenwald article that T links to is somewhat accurate but notably incomplete, in that it leaves out the most compelling reason why the democrat’s establishment leadership abhors the prospect of Sanders as the nominee.
Reverse coattails. The democrat’s establishment leadership realize that Sanders as the nominee won’t just lose, there’s a great risk that he’ll create a disaster downstream with the loss of the House and a real reduction in democrat Senate seats.
As currently composed, the democrats can continue to rein in Trump. But if they lose the House and republican hold on the Senate significantly strengthens, the damage Trump will do to them in a second term is potentially too high to calculate.
Greenwald points out the damage the 1968 brokered convention did to them but ignores the restoration that Nixon brought to a limited attention public.
But most of all, the democrat’s establishment leadership may well be calculating that the damage stealing the nomination from Sanders will do to the democrat party will, in the long run be less than the damage resulting to the party by supporting Sanders. A lifelong communist with economy wrecking proposals, a serial apologist for murderous dictators and supporter of ending the imprisonment of rapists, murderers and serial killers.
The difficulty for democrats is that a Sanders nomination attaches Sanders’ positions to the party and every congressional candidate will be tainted with that brush.
Montage, within the last fifty years, name a democrat who has accomplished as much for their side as Trump has for our side.
Greenwald points out the damage the 1968 brokered convention did to them but ignores the restoration that Nixon brought to a limited attention public.
Hubert Humphrey won the nomination on the 1st ballot. He won more than twice as many votes as did Eugene McCarthy and more than 7x as many as did George McGovern. What ‘brokered convention’?
Maybe it’s best to leave Montage and his ilk to their illusions? Trump doesn’t seem to be the sort who flags his actual devices for his enemies and adversaries to read. Teasing them, sure, but revealing his inner most self, plans, etc. isn’t his thing. No, the show’s the thing. Until it isn’t. And then, for the adversary, it’s too late.
Some reminders at the end that Democrats used to believe in praying – or, at least, there was a time when they believed in not mocking prayer.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2020/03/02/the-left-mocks-pence-for-praying-n2562641
Another crack in the Democrats’ plantation wall.
https://bearingarms.com/cam-e/2020/03/02/interview-scaring-anti-gun-leftists/
}}} They will not support the flawed Sanders; it he wins the nomination, it will be against their wishes and efforts.
The DNC probably does not want Bernie because he has no chance whatsoever against Trump (not that the others are all that much better).
And the DNC has already shown itself willing to ignore the primary results to push the backroom-deal candidate… and won in court over their right to do so.
DNC Lawyers Argue DNC Has Right to Pick Candidates in Back Rooms
https://observer.com/2017/05/dnc-lawsuit-presidential-primaries-bernie-sanders-supporters/
The court acked their corporate bylaws allow them to ignore the primary results.
Yes, the Democratic Party is not actually a democracy.
Montage:
Somehow the Democrats couldn’t find anyone younger than 65 to make it to the final round of our jeopardy (it’s is an existential thing with Bernie and Joe, Nanny Bloomberg maybe not so much). So don’t talk about the young sharp leaders that you don’t have. Oh, I forgot the “Gang” green in the house, they’re existential threats too.
Geoffrey Britain,
Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Anyway, accomplishments? ‘Changes’ yes but time will tell if they are accomplishments. Here’s some: Changing the judiciary. This is simply his job. It’s moving to the right as expected. Changing the tax code remains to be seen if it’s anything other than a tax cuts for the very rich. The First Step Act isn’t bad. Old Republicans would have called it more criminals on the street but time will tell if it works. Ending the war in Afghanistan. This is a good one. But his stance on Iran and Syria is questionable. He has increased military spending but that’s not an accomplishment.
He still hasn’t built the wall but his illegal immigration policy is definitely aggressive. That is an accomplishment – granted one that is not something all Americans will agree on.
The economy is very good but the GDP Growth Rate Is only 0.3% greater than Obama’s so far. And 1.3 million more jobs were created under Obama in his last three years than Trump’s first three. So it’s more like the economy is holding steady [if you believe a president’s actions have much to do with the economy. Some don’t]. I’ll give Trump credit for not sinking us into the mess we had under Bush. We do have a very large debt but Republicans suddenly don’t care about debts and Democrats do – always interesting to see that fiscal conservatism is nothing more than two words.
What about Obama’s first (five) 5 years. Crickets. And Obama’s legacy, OopsieCare, which is up before the Supreme Court again. His other legacy to be, Nukes for Tehran? Kids in cages? Do tell us more of BHO’s “accomplishments.” Or just don’t.
Oh I forgot that President Obama was hounded by the press, resisted by the bureaucracy, decried as a racist, and of course threatened with impeachment from his first day in office. It weighed down his first five years. So much to apologize for he had.
T on March 2, 2020 at 5:35 pm said:
Glen Greenwald makes an interesting comparison of the Democrats’ potential 2020 machinations with the 1968 election.
* * *
Greenwald says, and backs it up:
I noted on another thread that the Democrat leadership is a criminal racket masquerading as a political party. We’ll have to see if Sanders & his Bros can prevail where McCarthy’s did not in 1968.
And is there anything that Tom Lehrer hasn’t written a song for?
Whatever became of Hubert?
Has anyone heard a thing?
Once he shone on his own,
Now he sits home alone
And waits for the phone to ring.
…
Does Lyndon, recalling when he was VP,
Say “I’ll do unto you like they did unto me”?
Do you dream about staging a coup?
Hubert what happened to you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUnHZAUR6hE
Humphrey was Johnson’s VP at the time, which may be why he was so intent on being next in line, but he has been even more forgotten today.
AesopFan quoting Greenwald: “lose their monopoly over the apparatus of an out-of-power Democratic Party and all the consulting contracts, funding opportunities, and lobbyist openings that go along with it”
I don’t see it mentioned much but it’s actually pretty hard to make money as a Dem I think. It’s hard to get campaign donations because you favor Drag Queen Story Hour at the local library. So … how do you get money? How do you get donations?
Well, you get a job at a non-profit. You get a job in state, local or federal gov’t. You force workers to contribute to you by controlling unions. You use gov’t power to force corporations to “donate” to community groups. You use gov’t funding for Planned Parenthood, which is then funneled back to the Party. Graft and corruption in gov’t projects of course. “Make-work” jobs like voter registration where unemployed Dems are paid per registration and wind up registering cartoon characters cause no one’s checking on them.
And so on and so forth.
Because so many of the issues are toxic to normal people.
Art Deco,
“Hubert Humphrey won the nomination on the 1st ballot. He won more than twice as many votes as did Eugene McCarthy and more than 7x as many as did George McGovern. What ‘brokered convention’?”
Greenwald’s article gives an entirely different impression. Greenwald maintains that Humphrey’s winning the nomination on the 1st ballot was the result of back-room political maneuvering.
In 1968, I was 20 yrs old and had only a cursory interest in politics. So I didn’t pay much attention to that convention, but I remember that, even as a disinterested observer I had a strong impression of considerable resistance to Humphrey, as he’d supported Johnson. That despite my impression that Humphrey was basically a nice guy. I also remember being a bit disappointed that Humphrey was the nominee, as it promised more of Johnson. Yet, I wasn’t enamored with either McCarthy, McGovern or Nixon.
Greenwald maintains that Humphrey’s winning the nomination on the 1st ballot was the result of back-room political maneuvering.
Well, he’s wrong. At the time, most delegates to the convention were slated by esoteric means. About 1/3 were chosen during 1967. About 15 states held primary elections, and in some of them the primary was a ‘beauty contest’ detatched from the process of delegate selection and in at least two, there was only one slate entered (Indubitably, there were some competitive caucuses). With some exceptions, the body of delegates consisted of platoons loyal to local Democratic sachems. Whether it was Johnson, Humphrey, McCarthy, Kennedy, or McGovern, any aspirant would have had to win these people over. As it was, the overwhelming majority favored Hubert Humphrey.
The important question about Amy and Pete dropping out is — did Mini-Mike cut them checks or use wire transfer?
“Senile, dirty old man and serial liar VS lifelong committed communist and apologist for brutal, murderous dictators. Who now supports letting every imprisoned rapist and serial killer go free.
Hell, faced with that choice… Biden is the lesser evil.” – GB
Faced with those choices, Hillary still might be the lesser danger — though never the lesser evil.
On the other hand, every time Bernie moves the Overton Window, the Democrats all think they have to jump through it.
did Mini-Mike cut them checks or use wire transfer?
LOL
ICYMI, this is what GB was alluding to, although he might have read a different story.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/03/02/sanders-campaign-embraces-radical-group-that-wants-to-abolish-prisons-promoted-palestinian-terrorists/
The main reason ’68 Humphrey lost was because of the ’64 Civil Rights Act and the resultant racist Dems of the South leaving to vote for ex-Dem racist George Wallace. The last 3rd party candidate who got multiple state electoral college votes (46) and won some ex-Dem Southern states. (American Independent Party).
The ’68 Dem convention was, literally, a riot. In Chicago. After RF Kennedy and ML King had been assassinated.
The establishment Dems are desperate to stop Sanders to avoid losing too much in the House. But I don’t think their old white men with non-enthusiastic establishment support can match the clueless SJ Fanatic true believers who “believe” in Sanders and stupid socialism. Helped a LOT by their college indoctrination centers, which have often proven to be less a ticket to cushy upper class life than “promised”.