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The 2nd Democratic National Primary Debate

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WaffleTaco

Wants to outlaw technological innovation.
Work with the repub? Hate to break it to you, but the Repub has moved so far to the right that they would be unwilling to work with any of the democratic presidential candidates. They are so dysfunctional that Boehner said "screw this I resign".

I think Hillary has better chance than Sanders at this.

So I take it you think Obama should have also dropped out last election

The 2012 election? Or are you comparing this to the 2008 election where people are comparing Sanders to Obama? I cannot answer that because I do not know much about that election.
 
Younger people, who make up a large majority of Sanders supporters, didn't grow up in a Red Scare type of world where socialism was misrepresented as some kind of evil ideology.

They're also smart enough to understand we are a capitalist nation with many socialist programs already in place and working.
Sounds nice, but clearly those smarts don't come into play when it is time to show up to vote.
 

Tarkus

Member
I don't know how you can think this.

A far left democratic socialist is really the only person that can challenge Hillary and make her uncomfortable like we saw tonight

A debate with a puppet GOP candidate like Cruz would be like pitching nothing but soft ball after softball for her. They wouldn't be able to take positions that highlight her weaknesses.

I mean ffs they are advocating for flat taxes and the gold standard in the year 2015
As crazy as Cruz is, if you don't think he could demolish these passive candidates, then you haven't paid attention to his career. The dude can throw down.
 
My feeling is Hillary was not at all as dominant as the last debate. She muddled through because she's a good debater and can recover after a hit, but Bernie was on point 90% of the time. So Bernie probably won it by a slim margin. His numbers will probably go up, but not enough to turn the tables on Hilldawg.

I do agree that Bernie is giving too many vague platitudes about a "revolution". Yes, Obama was all about "change" in his first election, but the difference is Obama had the ability to give soaring speeches that inspired people in abstract terms. Bernie is good on the policy, and that plays to his base, but if you can't elucidate how you plan to revolutionize the political system, you have to be able to rouse people with emotional speeches. Obama was the king of that. Bernie is passionate, but that passion comes from him. He's not as good as putting that passion into the general populace. If people can't get inspired by the passion, it can quickly turn to 'crazy' like what happened to Howard Dean or Ross Perot. Bernie's got to figure out a way to get middle-of-the-road Democrats to believe in the cause.
 

FiggyCal

Banned
I don't get the too idealistic criticism. Both Sanders and Hillary would have to compromise, the difference is that Sanders takes a more liberal starting point. If both of them half to come to a 50% compromise, Sanders is getting better stuff done. Even if they had to compromise the same amount, I don't see how the starting point makes it worse. Is the implication that we need a cynical politician who has already compromised before they even deal with the opposing side? C'mon.

It's way too early for Hillary to be the only one left, we still have 4 more debates! The election isn't for some time...

This is part of it too. Please tell me more about how practical Hillary Clinton's proposals are when the opposition is just as opposed to them. She hasn't committed to even a 12 dollar minimum wage. What is it exactly about her that makes me think she'll be great at negotiating my interest? At least Bernie has more room to negotiate at 15 dollars -- even if he doesn't get that particular number passed. She's not even starting at 12 or really taking a stand for it -- it's just any one of the minimum wage proposals being passed around congress that she would endorse. But I'm sure if a 15 dollar minimum wage bill was being talked about; she'd go on about how impractical it was.
 
I don't understand the "too idealistic" criticism against Bernie given that he used the "biggest crises" question solely to focus on his ability to get something done even when his ideal plans can't garner enough support. He seems to have a pretty clear grasp on the importance of pragmatism to me. That said, if nothing else, the democratic debates continually convince me that any of the three on stage would make at least decent presidents and I'll back any of them against anything the GOP has to offer.
 
I'm sorry but I'm really tired of Sanders pie in the sky idealism. He's been in government long enough to know he can never keep the vast majority of his 'campaign promises'. It's almost insulting.

Bernie is saying he will "work for" or "fight for" those initiatives. Obviously he won't admit how impossible it would be to guarantee his proposals will be implemented. He would be a terrible politician if he did. But where he and Hillary differ is that his resolve doesn't sway based on lobbyists. He addressed this well in talking about the VA bill he passed, where he didn't get everything he wanted - but what was passed served as a big step in the right direction.
 

ItIsOkBro

Member
I don't get the too idealistic criticism. Both Sanders and Hillary would have to compromise, the difference is that Sanders takes a more liberal starting point. If both of them half to come to a 50% compromise, Sanders is getting better stuff done. Even if they had to compromise the same amount, I don't see how the starting point makes it worse. Is the implication that we need a cynical politician who has already compromised before they even deal with the opposing side? C'mon.

Obama tried to work with republicans. Republicans can't be worked with. Each election season more Republicans enter the senate/congress who are unwilling to negotiate anything. Ability to work with Republicans is irrelevant to the current political climate.

It's way too early for Hillary to be the only one left, we still have 4 more debates! The election isn't for some time...

Sanders is idealistic to the point of nonsense sometimes.

Case in point, $15 minimum wage. That is absolutely too high for some rural areas.
 

DietRob

i've been begging for over 5 years.
I'd be really curious to find out how many Sanders supporters have ever even voted in a midterm election.

(i'm just now at the part of his 'political revolution') good point by the moderator that it's already taking place on the other side of the isle
 
Why do we blame the voters? If they really wanted to vote for you, they'd vote for you. The Democrats didn't make them want to vote. Time and time again. Look at what happens at the state level. This party is not competent.

The Republican tactics are grotesque, but there is something to be said for understanding the importance of getting people involved. (they just go the easy route: fear politics)

Are you saying Bernie shouldn't try to engage millenials?

No I'm pointing out the complete disregard for history that Sander's 'revolution' appeals to as if Obama never existed. Sanders is no Obama and even Obama couldn't change the system. He even delivered on health care reform but like all policies, that meant negotiating and compromising. Did his supporters show up again in Midterms to help keep things going? No he got utterly destroyed and that was after getting something done. Are voters going to suddenly show up in droves to vote for Dems in the midterms when Bernie fails to get any of his proposals enacted or enacted with compromises/changes? Of course not. It's not an argument to say "well things will be different this time" but completely ignore the how and why of it. Sanders is not a better Obama.
 

Arkeband

Banned
Sounds nice, but clearly those smarts don't come into play when it is time to show up to vote.

I think going forward, this is becoming a parroted point enough over social media where this problematic voting block will start to change their behavior in this regard. 2015 is really a huge year for activism and social movements, and it might not just be a temporary spike due to the upcoming election.

Sanders is idealistic to the point of nonsense sometimes.

Case in point, $15 minimum wage. That is absolutely too high for some rural areas.

Receipts.
 

Cipherr

Member
You guys are all fooling yourselves if you Think Hillary or Bernie have a leg up on the other when it comes to working with the fucking lunatics on the right.

Neither of them will have any easier a go than the other. Those motherfuckers are far beyond reason. They see only one thing, the opposition's political affiliation. They don't give a fuck about how far left your starting point is, or how close you are to the center right. That this is even a discussion shows how naive we all are about these goofballs.

Any meaningful progress will be done in spite of them. All of them; unless something strange happens, but I wouldn't count on it.
 
As crazy as Cruz is, if you don't think he could demolish these passive candidates, then you haven't paid attention to his career. The dude can throw down.

Yeah, across both parties I would say Cruz likely has the strongest oratory skills. While I vehemently disagree with him on just about everything, his Shakespearean background shows during debates. Count the number of times across an entire debate the he says "umm" or "uhh". It's kind of astonishing how low the number is.
 

FiggyCal

Banned
You guys are all fooling yourselves if you Think Hillary or Bernie have a leg up on the other when it comes to working with the fucking lunatics on the right.

Neither of them will have any easier a go than the other. Those motherfuckers are far beyond reason. They see only one thing, the opposition's political affiliation. They don't give a fuck about how far left your starting point is, or how close you are to the center right. That this is even a discussion shows how naive we all are about these goofballs.

Any meaningful progress will be done in spite of them. All of them; unless something strange happens, but I wouldn't count on it.
Tbh, I'm worried that being able to work with Republicans is considered a selling point.
 
I don't get the too idealistic criticism. Both Sanders and Hillary would have to compromise, the difference is that Sanders takes a more liberal starting point. If both of them half to come to a 50% compromise, Sanders is getting better stuff done. Even if they had to compromise the same amount, I don't see how the starting point makes it worse. Is the implication that we need a cynical politician who has already compromised before they even deal with the opposing side? C'mon.

Your calculations seem a bit...off. If Sanders is further ledte to start with he's going to have to compromise more, meaning more of what he intended will be mangled in the process. So it'd be more like Hilary compromises 50% and we get something close to what she intended versus Bernie compromising 75% and we end up getting something far from what he hoped for.
 
I think this is laughable. Conservatives hate Hillary. Even those who hate the modern GOP will hold their nose and vote to stop Hillary from taking office. It'll only be worse if she's elected.
you overestimate the hate.

Bill spent 8 years with the GOP hate wagon day in and day out. Bill's favoribility ranks higher than any Bush amomg Americans
 

SeanTSC

Member
Younger people, who make up a large majority of Sanders supporters, didn't grow up in a Red Scare type of world where socialism was misrepresented as some kind of evil ideology.

They're also smart enough to understand we are a capitalist nation with many socialist programs already in place and working.

Yeah, I'm not even that young (32) and I never had the whole "Communism is the enemy of mankind! Socialism is EVIL!" bullshit indoctrinated into me. I'm extremely embarrassed by my older relatives who don't understand that and it's shameful how they plug their ears and go "LA LA LA" anytime you point out how much better other countries are compared to America on many things. Thankfully I don't have to deal with them much and my 65 year old mother, who I'm around the most, is pro Bernie. Probably helps that we've lived on the West Coast our whole lives.
 
O'Malley's Trump-slam was awesome. He needs to keep coming at him though.

He backed off immediately and really didn't do much except drop a #blacklivesmatter tip that seemed a little patronizing.
 

Cronox

Banned
Sanders is idealistic to the point of nonsense sometimes.

Case in point, $15 minimum wage. That is absolutely too high for some rural areas.

It probably won't be $15, maybe $12. Hillary's $12 will be more like $10. This is what I'm talking about when I wrote about Sanders' idealism being a "problem." Better to start with the higher goal.
 

Josh7289

Member
CBS's presentation of this debate was far more respectable than CNN's presentation of theirs. Less like a movie trailer and more professional.
 

davepoobond

you can't put a price on sparks
Felt like Clinton came off a bit weak here, sanders was better but also didnt feel too substantive. He had the best points when it came to Wall Street campaign funds.

I think Omalley has the most to gain here.
 

East Lake

Member
No I'm pointing out the complete disregard for history that Sander's 'revolution' appeals to as if Obama never existed. Sanders is no Obama and even Obama couldn't change the system. He even delivered on health care reform but like all policies, that meant negotiating and compromising. Did his supporters show up again in Midterms to help keep things going? No he got utterly destroyed and that was after getting something done. Are voters going to suddenly show up in droves to vote for Dems in the midterms when Bernie fails to get any of his proposals enacted, or enacted with compromises/changes? Of course not.
He got something done while the economy was in shambles*

Sanders is basically telling people they need to do the job, not him, which is a good thing. If you want to cast away all the elements that created 2010 that's fine, but it's not pragmatic or realistic, it's cynical.
 
It probably won't be $15, maybe $12. Hillary's $12 will be more like $10. This is what I'm talking about when I wrote about Sanders' idealism being a "problem." Better to start with the higher goal.

Or they both end up at $10 and the person who had planned around $12 is in a much better position than the one who had planned around $15
 

Arkeband

Banned
It probably won't be $15, maybe $12. Hillary's $12 will be more like $10. This is what I'm talking about when I wrote about Sanders' idealism being a "problem." Better to start with the higher goal.

10.10 is already a minimum being fought for on many state levels, and it's already too low.

In all honesty, 15 will be too low by the time it actually rolls around at a federal level.

The moral of the story here is don't make up arbitrary baby step numbers based on gut feelings.
 
Sanders isn't for the most part a socialist. He's largely a capitalist, who believes in market based solutions for most things, but which is reigned in by government intervention towards addressing potential excesses and inequalities i.e. a social democrat. There are a few issues on which he can probably be considered a democratic socialist.
 

ChaosXVI

Member
Pretty much got what I expected from this debate...3 very rational, very electable candidates spouting most of what they had been saying up until now. With O'Malley continuing to look like someone worth voting for if Bernie and Hillary weren't already pretty firmly in the picture. I'd vote for any of them, even if I still prefer Sanders.

Unless she does something to seriously fuck up, like use a racial slur on live television or something, I'm expecting Hillary to win with minimal effort.
 

dramatis

Member
Sanders is basically telling people they need to do the job, not him, which is a good thing. If you want to cast away all the elements that created 2010 that's fine, but it's not pragmatic or realistic, it's cynical.
The elements that 'created 2010' are not going to be fixed by the words of Bernie Sanders.

If the people needed to be told to vote and how much it matters in the first place, the failing is not on Obama's or Hillary's or the Democratic party's shoulders. It's on the people.
 

Cronox

Banned
Your calculations seem a bit...off. If Sanders is further ledte to start with he's going to have to compromise more, meaning more of what he intended will be mangled in the process. So it'd be more like Hilary compromises 50% and we get something close to what she intended versus Bernie compromising 75% and we end up getting something far from what he hoped for.

What? No, I'm saying even if they end up at the same place, it's better to start further to the left. Bernie's whole "biggest challenge" moment was about having to compromise after an idealistic bill didn't go through. I'm not concerned about Bernie somehow being too idealistic to get anything done. And honestly, good if idealistic bills get shot down over and over, it'll mobilize the base and make Republicans look bad.
 

FiggyCal

Banned
10.10 is already a minimum being fought for on many state levels, and it's already too low.

In all honesty, 15 will be too low by the time it actually rolls around at a federal level.

The moral of the story here is don't make up arbitrary baby step numbers based on gut feelings.

"15 now!" is a great slogan. It's better than "17.50 at some point in the near future".
 

East Lake

Member
The elements that 'created 2010' are not going to be fixed by the words of Bernie Sanders.

If the people needed to be told to vote and how much it matters in the first place, the failing is not on Obama's or Hillary's or the Democratic party's shoulders. It's on the people.
I don't even know what you're saying, are you even following the exchange at all?

Are you saying Bernie shouldn't encourage people to vote and get involved. If that's a correct characterization, do you think he should stop running ads and campaigning as well?
 
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