Too Soon To Start Thinking About 2020? No, it's 2020!

[El Guapo]

Oh, I am sure you're right. I was just wondering if it was a real possibility that he decides to close up shop now and actually let the party unify behind Biden.

[Max Peck]

I wonder if there is any significance in the fact that Biden is giving a speech that included this, while Sanders is reportedly not giving a speech tonight.

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status ... 4726786049

Spoiler:

Joe Biden: "I want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion. We share a common goal. And together, we will defeat Donald Trump."

[Defiant]

Yang endorsed Biden. Presumably because Math?

[Defiant]

https://twitter.com/JonahDispatch/statu ... 8857499648

[Defiant]

https://twitter.com/melbournecoal/statu ... 7117947904

[Isgrimnur]

[El Guapo]

Oh, I am sure you're right. I was just wondering if it was a real possibility that he decides to close up shop now and actually let the party unify behind Biden.

This may age poorly for me.

[pr0ner]

Oh, I am sure you're right. I was just wondering if it was a real possibility that he decides to close up shop now and actually let the party unify behind Biden.

This may age poorly for me.

I mean, I was just throwing darts and hoping something would stick. All traditional signs pointed to you being right.

[El Guapo]

Oh, I am sure you're right. I was just wondering if it was a real possibility that he decides to close up shop now and actually let the party unify behind Biden.

This may age poorly for me.

I mean, I was just throwing darts and hoping something would stick. All traditional signs pointed to you being right.

I still don't totally believe it, though I'm not sure what else Sanders would be talking about it here. I suppose there's a chance that this is a defiant "people are pressuring me to drop out, but I'm fighting all the way to the convention, for the people" message. That *seems* unlikely, but wouldn't be entirely shocking. I suppose there's also maybe a 10% chance that he's going to talk about how he's going to conduct his campaign going forward in light of the coronavirus.

[LordMortis]

Oh, I am sure you're right. I was just wondering if it was a real possibility that he decides to close up shop now and actually let the party unify behind Biden.

This may age poorly for me.

I mean, I was just throwing darts and hoping something would stick. All traditional signs pointed to you being right.

+1. I had no faith that could happen, given the past. I'm glad my faith was misplaced.

[Defiant]

More appropriate version:

[pr0ner]

Oh, I am sure you're right. I was just wondering if it was a real possibility that he decides to close up shop now and actually let the party unify behind Biden.

This may age poorly for me.

I mean, I was just throwing darts and hoping something would stick. All traditional signs pointed to you being right.

I still don't totally believe it, though I'm not sure what else Sanders would be talking about it here. I suppose there's a chance that this is a defiant "people are pressuring me to drop out, but I'm fighting all the way to the convention, for the people" message. That *seems* unlikely, but wouldn't be entirely shocking. I suppose there's also maybe a 10% chance that he's going to talk about how he's going to conduct his campaign going forward in light of the coronavirus.

It's now 1, so unless Bernie runs on Trump time, we should find out shortly.

[pr0ner]

Saw a Tweet from about 20 minutes ago that said Bernie was planning on saying he's NOT dropping out.

[Defiant]

He's admitted he's had a bad night, and losing the electability debate, but says he's winning the ideological debate and generational debate, and he looks forward to the debate on Sunday.

[pr0ner]

Ahhh, Bernie, never change.

[Defiant]

Admitting he's losing the electability is a pretty big admission. It could be he's still trying to pull the party to the left, while setting himself up to exit after a bad night next week. But Sanders being Sanders, I'm not gunna get my hopes up.

[Kraken]

I was hoping to see the two of them go head-to-head, for entertainment value if nothing else. Ideally, Bernie will use the debate to extract a public commitment from Biden to advance the agenda, letting him declare victory and fold.

[Kurth]

When did he concede he was losing electability? I got this from CNN:

"We are winning the generational debate," he said. "While Joe Biden continues to do very well with older Americans, especially those people over 65, our campaign continues to win the vast majority of the votes of younger people."
"Last night obviously was not a good night for our campaign from a delegate point of view," Sanders said, noting his losses in the Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi and Idaho primaries. But he then pointed out that he won North Dakota and was leading the vote count in Washington. He also noted that he is losing the delegate count, but is leading in areas that "will determine the future of this country."

That bolded bit suggests to me that he is still arguing he is the best person to beat Trump. Also, WTF is he talking about? What areas of the country is he leading that will likely decide the election? In which swing states does he actually think he has an advantage over Biden?

Also, fuck Bernie.

[El Guapo]

I was hoping to see the two of them go head-to-head, for entertainment value if nothing else. Ideally, Bernie will use the debate to extract a public commitment from Biden to advance the agenda, letting him declare victory and fold.

The debate is one of the reasons why I was so shocked to contemplate Bernie dropping out. He's come a long way over many years, and this is now his chance to press his case one-on-one versus Biden. If he has a strong debate and Biden has a weak one, it wouldn't be shocking if the race swung sharply in Bernie's direction (particularly since the media has a self-interest in a competitive race). I don't see much of a disincentive to taking a shot at the debate.

And anyway, even if Sanders is going to drop out and not drag this thing on, he has every incentive to negotiate with Biden's team on the terms of withdrawal. I would think it would be feasible for him to extract concessions along the lines of: (1) Democratic platform planks; and/or (2) a Biden VP nominee that's acceptable to Sanders and/or that Sanders feels that he can pitch to his supporters.

[El Guapo]

When did he concede he was losing electability? I got this from CNN:

"We are winning the generational debate," he said. "While Joe Biden continues to do very well with older Americans, especially those people over 65, our campaign continues to win the vast majority of the votes of younger people."
"Last night obviously was not a good night for our campaign from a delegate point of view," Sanders said, noting his losses in the Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi and Idaho primaries. But he then pointed out that he won North Dakota and was leading the vote count in Washington. He also noted that he is losing the delegate count, but is leading in areas that "will determine the future of this country."

That bolded bit suggests to me that he is still arguing he is the best person to beat Trump. Also, WTF is he talking about? What areas of the country is he leading that will likely decide the election? In which swing states does he actually think he has an advantage over Biden?

Also, fuck Bernie.

That's such a sad argument. Sure, we're losing in terms of *not winning the election*, but we're winning in terms of getting a majority of votes from people and areas that are not a majority of voters.

[stessier]

(1) Democratic platform planks

I've always been curious - why does anyone care about these? They are forgotten as soon as they are written.

[ImLawBoy]

I'm hoping this will lead to a relatively civil debate on Sunday. Yes, Bernie wants to get his message across, but he should do so without undermining Biden's chances in the general. Focus on policy issues, not on perceived mental competence.

[Isgrimnur]

I think they should simulcast a debate between Jason Sudeikis and Larry David and see if anyone notices.

[Defiant]

When did he concede he was losing electability? I got this from CNN:

Sorry, he said he was losing the electability argument with the voters, even though he disagrees with this assessment.

[Defiant]

I'm hoping this will lead to a relatively civil debate on Sunday. Yes, Bernie wants to get his message across, but he should do so without undermining Biden's chances in the general. Focus on policy issues, not on perceived mental competence.

Agreed.

I would also like to see questions on foreign policy and how their administrations would respond if, hypothetically, the country were hit with, oh, I dunno, a pandemic.

[Holman]

In a sane world, this debate could be a win-win: Bernie insists that his core campaign values are in fact central to the Democratic Party; Biden agrees and suggests that they disagree on implementation, not ultimate goals; Biden offers Bernie a hand in shaping the platform (including especially something high-profile like student-debt reform); Bernie endorses Biden and bows out gracefully.

Of course this is the Upside Down, so Bernie will probably declare war on the Democratic Establishment and attempt to take Tom Perez hostage on live TV.

[Kurth]

In a sane world, this debate could be a win-win: Bernie insists that his core campaign values are in fact central to the Democratic Party; Biden agrees and suggests that they disagree on implementation, not ultimate goals; Biden offers Bernie a hand in shaping the platform (including especially something high-profile like student-debt reform); Bernie endorses Biden and bows out gracefully.

Of course this is the Upside Down, so Bernie will probably declare war on the Democratic Establishment and attempt to take Tom Perez hostage on live TV.

I like your sane world scenario, but I'm not optimistic. Not at all.

[malchior]

That bolded bit suggests to me that he is still arguing he is the best person to beat Trump. Also, WTF is he talking about? What areas of the country is he leading that will likely decide the election? In which swing states does he actually think he has an advantage over Biden?

He literally is talking about people under 50. People 40-49 are split. Everyone below 40 breaks massively for Bernie. 50+ breaks massively for Biden. So essentially the young who don't vote. It has been his argument the whole time. Unfortunately, they historically don't vote but he argued he'd bring a surge of excitement. What a strategy. That he is standing on it when it predictably failed is as Guapo said...very sad and pathetic.

Also, fuck Bernie.

Big time. Biden is a flawed candidate but so is Bernie and at this point he cannot win. That means he is sapping resources that could be used to combat Trump.

[LordMortis]

Oh, I am sure you're right. I was just wondering if it was a real possibility that he decides to close up shop now and actually let the party unify behind Biden.

This may age poorly for me.

I mean, I was just throwing darts and hoping something would stick. All traditional signs pointed to you being right.

+1. I had no faith that could happen, given the past. I'm glad my faith was misplaced.

WahWah

[El Guapo]

(1) Democratic platform planks

I've always been curious - why does anyone care about these? They are forgotten as soon as they are written.

It's not that the policy platform matters per se. What matters is what's considered to be 'mainstream' democratic policy ideas, what's being debated but considered aggressive / difficult to pass, etc. What's in the party platform is more likely to be debated and considered among academics and policy experts. That debate and body of knowledge is what the cabinet members of the next Democratic administration are going to draw from.

[stessier]

(1) Democratic platform planks

I've always been curious - why does anyone care about these? They are forgotten as soon as they are written.

It's not that the policy platform matters per se. What matters is what's considered to be 'mainstream' democratic policy ideas, what's being debated but considered aggressive / difficult to pass, etc. What's in the party platform is more likely to be debated and considered among academics and policy experts. That debate and body of knowledge is what the cabinet members of the next Democratic administration are going to draw from.

Ah, thanks.

[Scoop20906]

In a sane world, this debate could be a win-win: Bernie insists that his core campaign values are in fact central to the Democratic Party; Biden agrees and suggests that they disagree on implementation, not ultimate goals; Biden offers Bernie a hand in shaping the platform (including especially something high-profile like student-debt reform); Bernie endorses Biden and bows out gracefully.

Of course this is the Upside Down, so Bernie will probably declare war on the Democratic Establishment and attempt to take Tom Perez hostage on live TV.

It would be quite a capper for Bernie to announce his endorsement at the close of the debate.

[malchior]

(1) Democratic platform planks

I've always been curious - why does anyone care about these? They are forgotten as soon as they are written.

It's not that the policy platform matters per se. What matters is what's considered to be 'mainstream' democratic policy ideas, what's being debated but considered aggressive / difficult to pass, etc. What's in the party platform is more likely to be debated and considered among academics and policy experts. That debate and body of knowledge is what the cabinet members of the next Democratic administration are going to draw from.

Also, those planks are often translated into actual policy documents that the incoming administration tries to implement or target for legislation if need be.

[malchior]

Senate committee cancels Hunter Biden subpoena vote.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) canceled a vote scheduled for Wednesday afternoon on a subpoena stemming from his months-long probe into Hunter Biden and Burisma Holdings.

"Out of an abundance of caution, and to allow time for you to receive additional briefings, I will postpone a vote to subpoena records and an appearance from former Blue Star Strategies consultant Andrii Telizhenko about his work for the lobbying firm," Johnson said in a note to committee members, a copy of which was obtained by The Hill.

Tl:Dr version. Too much Corona virus signal. Can't inject enough election shenanigans noise. Will circle around in a month.

[Defiant]

https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/statu ... 1945275393

[Defiant]

https://twitter.com/FiveThirtyEight/sta ... 5879370754

[Unagi]

Is Gabbards little thumbnail 'cartoon' picture on 538 , one of her winking ?

[Smoove_B]

If states aren't doing everything they can right now to get vote by mail up and running, there's going to be problems.

[Kurth]

If states aren't doing everything they can right now to get vote by mail up and running, there's going to be problems.

Umm . . .

Spoiler:

they're not.

[Defiant]

https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/stat ... 3978212352