President Biden: The NEW one and only politics thread

Comey was a big, big factor, I think, as was some general Hillary fatigue, which, as Inky mentioned, came, in part, from a 30-year vilification campaign by the right. Her resume was as good as any presidential candidate's in history, but too many people couldn't overlook that alleged baggage, or that she was a woman, or that she was a Clinton, or that she seemed too ambitious or too entitled (not just to be President but also Sec. of State and Senator from NY, etc. ... as if she was the first politician to seem that way). Or they just didn't like her because ... reasons.

Sprinkle in some very poor campaign choices, especially late, by her and/or her team and their and the Dems' underestimation of how seriously Trump would be taken by the electorate when push came to shove. Then factor in the coverage of Trump that normalized hundreds of things that each alone would have sunk a normal campaign, as well as drumbeat coverage of Trump over everything and everybody else. (Remember CNN showing an empty Trump lectern for several minutes after the Florida primary, even as Hillary was giving a speech live, because they feared people would turn the channels to find Trump?)

And yet, even with all of that going against her, she won the national vote by almost 3 million votes. Trump wins Wisconsin by 23K votes, Pennsylvania by 44K and Michigan by 11K -- 78,000 votes in swing states -- gets to be president and dramatically changes our country.

 

78,000 votes in precisely selected swing precincts which flipped in the matter of 20-40 minutes. Almost like somebody flipped a switch.

 

Paging Gary Johnson and Jill Stein.... paging Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Stein.

 

Yeah, but it's big-boy politics, a public acknowledgement that you lost, that you're an adult, and that it's time to move on. Three things many republicans have been unable to master in the era of the fat orange Cheeto.

 

Not worth refighting this battle again, for the umpteenth time since 2000, so allow me to simply say.

Wrong.

And I don't think anyone other than MAGA freaks minded seeing a third-party candidate's influence in this year's Georgia senate race. Most of the people voting for the Libertarian candidate probably would have held their noses and voted "R." Walker would have topped 50%.

 

Well, let's see. The Senate race in Nevada now has the incumbent D trailing by 8,988 votes.
Third party votes total 27,885. Tell me that doesn't play a part. In fact, 10,861 people in Nevada have literally voted for "none of these."

 

We can keep going.

Bill Clinton was elected president twice despite a very popular third-party candidate running both times.

In 2010, Pat Quinn was elected governor in Illinois despite a Green Party gubernatorial candidate who had double-digit support.

Bottom line for Dems: If they nominate a good candidate who appeals to a broad spectrum of supporters, they can win.

If they don't ... well, you have what happened to the Gore-bot.

 

This guy was 92,000 people away from being lieutenant governor.

https://defector.com/matt-birk-eats-shit-then-compares-himself-to-jesus/

 

Look, there's not a member of the Green Party (or a Democratic left-winger) out there who would say 2016 wasn't a disaster for our country.

But third parties have been part of U.S. elections for a long, long time, and to say someone like Jill Stein or a handful of third-party candidates in Nevada this year ruined American politics is a big, big stretch.

 

Neither Al Gore nor Hillary Clinton have anybody to blame for losing but themselves

 

John Kennedy was a northern Catholic senator who excited the Democrats because of his charisma and family.
Jimmy Carter was a southern Baptist governor who excited the Democrats because of his charisma and family.
Bill Clinton was a southern governor who excited the Democrats because of his charisma and family.
Barack Obama was a midwestern senator who excited the Democrats because of his charisma and family.

Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, Al Gore and Hillary Clinton might have been four of the smartest politicians America has produced over the past 75 years. They lost.

Joe Biden is none of those things, except he wasn't Donald Trump. He won.

 

Clinton was helped by Perot because he pulled votes from Bush.
Gore lost by 535 votes in Florida where Nadar got almost 2.9 million votes. (Not winning his home state certainly was a difference, too.)
Wilson won in 1912 because of Theodore Roosevelt running as a third party against Taft.

Third parties act as spoilers. It's a fact.