Someone Has To Do It: US Elections 2020

[Tactical Genius]

Harris will of course be the toast of yer Centrist wanks, whatever the US version of Chris Deerin/Nick Cohen is. She depresses the shit out of me, please god the momentum against her continues.

It will, the new black media have been digging her out the last two years and have really turned on the heat in the last few days.
And Harris trying to act "black" by dancing to Cardi B, her faked favourite play list of black music and talking about her love of Converse trainers convinces nobody and disgusts all right thinking black people.

Look at the crowd in her campaign launch. It was all white, in a city that's nearly 30% black.

[Lang Spoon]

Don't think AHC has been on here in a while, but his cynicism toward US prosecuting attorneys seems wholly justified.

[Flynnie]

AOC is 29 years old, she can’t run in 2024. you have to be at least 35 to be President.

[anton pulisov]

Birthday October 89, inauguration Jan 2015. She's be 35

[Tactical Genius]

Is that 35 to run or 35 to take office?

[Sporting]

I have the same doubt.

[ad hoc]

It must be on inauguration, since there is no set date when you start running

Mind you, I think trying to project who might be electable and what the situation will be like in 2024 is somewhat premature.

[anton pulisov]

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

The founding slavedrivers uttered thus

[ursus arctos]

It is interpreted as applying as of the date the office holder is sworn in.

Senators have to be 30, and there was a guy who was elected at age 29 in the 1930s who couldn’t take his seat for several months, but did so on his 30th birthday.

[anton pulisov]

I don't think the presidency is necessary important anyway, long term. The Republicans have slowly taken over many branches of state and federal government since the 1990s and dragged the Overton window to the far right.

Bernie Sanders started pulling that window back to the left, which inspired the likes of AOC to run. I think her main value is to keep repeating the message and normalising it in public discourse, as Bernie Sanders has been doing. Then she will enable many more people like herself to get into office and encourage more people to come to the polls. And that's when the real change happens: when the mainstream opinion changes, presidential politics will follow suit.

[ursus arctos]

Yes, though the one thing that is truly important about Presidential and Senatorial politics is appointments to the Supreme Court, which can act as a serious barrier to change.

[Incandenza]

And Harris trying to act "black" by dancing to Cardi B, her faked favourite play list of black music and talking about her love of Converse trainers convinces nobody and disgusts all right thinking black people.

It should come as no surprise that the Harris campaign hired one of Hillary's social media people, who was responsible for the tragic "I'm just CHILLING in Cedar Rapids!" video.

[Satchmo Distel]

Yes, though the one thing that is truly important about Presidential and Senatorial politics is appointments to the Supreme Court, which can act as a serious barrier to change.

It can also turn the clock backwards, e.g. allowing the Voting Rights Act to be gutted.

Harris is not going to drop out until she starts to lose primaries, I fear. She'll be a tedious presence for a year or so yet.

[Tactical Genius]

It can also turn the clock backwards, e.g. allowing the Voting Rights Act to be gutted.

Harris is not going to drop out until she starts to lose primaries, I fear. She'll be a tedious presence for a year or so yet.

Which means she is in it for the money.

Maybe her "plutonic friend" Willie Brown might be of help. Their relationship has been raised in the last few days and her supporters have labelled them as sexist and misogynistic. These people have no shame.

[Flynnie]

As a San Franciscan, I'm with Harris on this one. It wasn't a secret they were dating and it's pretty much impossible to do anything in San Francisco without Willie being involved somehow, to this day. Whether she was attracted to him (and Brown's list of conquests is Wilt-esque at this point, he can charm the pants off a nun) or did it for political expediency doesn't really matter to me.

[Tactical Genius]

As a San Franciscan, I'm with Harris on this one. It wasn't a secret they were dating and it's pretty much impossible to do anything in San Francisco without Willie being involved somehow, to this day. Whether she was attracted to him (and Brown's list of conquests is Wilt-esque at this point, he can charm the pants off a nun) or did it for political expediency doesn't really matter to me.

That's a fair point, and I agree with you that ones bedroom liasons should have no bearing in whether you are fit for public office.
However, If you achieve public roles as a result of who you share your bed with should be looked on dimly.

Willie Brown has admitted freely that he helped Harris' career whilst they were dating by getting her high paying do nothing roles at the council, one of which was clearly breaking the law. He also turbocharged her political career by hooking her up with important people and big money.
This nugget of information puts some of her decisions whilst in office into perspective.

[ursus arctos]

Willie Brown is one of the most fascinating figures to have appeared in US politics in the last 50 years. He could write an incredible memior, but never will.

Cory Booker has formally announced his candidacy.

[NHH]

That 'black neoliberal democrat' space in the field is getting kind of crowded.

[Flynnie]

Literally ran into him in the Fairmont after the Grace Cathedral Christmas concert last year. I was getting a glass of water and he had just drunk his. "Sorry, Mayor" said I. He stumbled by and then like a light switch he went into politician mode. "Oh, that's quite alright young man, nice to meet you," said Willie.

He had a red tailored suit on and proceeded to join a discussion with Wilkes Bashford.

[San Bernardhinault]

Cory Booker has formally announced his candidacy.

I feel like there's a "running into burning building" metaphor to be used here, but can't quite pin it down.

[caja-dglh]

But there's no substance? It's pure DC-media fluff about a "cuddly" centrist who the idiot-media decide is "reasonable" because he's somewhere on the spectrum between the right of the Democratic Party and Donald Trump.

He is working on the substance. Hell, he got people to pay $5 for a coffee instead of $1 from a bodega. The man can create some substance, just give him a bit of time to work out what the people want.

[San Bernardhinault]

Having read a bit more yesterday, it appears that his substance on policy has two strands:

- Make sure tax on the rich doesn't go up. That AOC is scary for us American billionaires.

- Get lots of wealthy business people in a room to make decisions about any and all policies, because they're obviously the very best people who are best qualified to think about anything.

[ursus arctos]

Schulz is right in thinking that Hooverism currently lacks a champion in US politics.

[Tactical Genius]

Having read a bit more yesterday, it appears that his substance on policy has two strands:

- Make sure tax on the rich doesn't go up. That AOC is scary for us American billionaires.

- Get lots of wealthy business people in a room to make decisions about any and all policies, because they're obviously the very best people who are best qualified to think about anything.

Sounds like the return to the 1890's when the US was run by the Robber Barons like Rockerfeller, Carnegie and J.P Morgan.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

well we're heading for 1890's levels of inequality, lack of regulation and institutional racism so why the hell not.