2020 US Elections | Biden certified as President | Dems control Congress

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Raoul

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Wouldn’t it be Bloomberg or Mayor Pete?
Can't seeing it being Bloomberg. He ruffled a lot of feathers by attempting to buy his way in, and in the process, squeezed many of the contenders out of competing in various media markets, which in a way accelerated Biden's ascent. Pete may have a distant shot, although he's probably too young. They would probably wind up going for someone like Gavin or Cuomo since they have a lot of positive momentum from how they messaged on COVID.
 
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nimic

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It would come down to the DNC, who would obviously choose an appropriate centrist replacement who supports Biden's positions to reflect him beating all other candidates in terms of delegates.
I think if Biden were to drop out for any reason, the pressure to pick Sanders would be immense. If people are afraid that Bernie voters are going to stay out of the election with Biden was the nominee, they haven't seen anything yet.
 

Raoul

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I think if Biden were to drop out for any reason, the pressure to pick Sanders would be immense. If people are afraid that Bernie voters are going to stay out of the election with Biden was the nominee, they haven't seen anything yet.
It would be from Sanders supporters, but not from a majority of Dems nor the party hierarchy, who are the ones who would actually make the selection.
 

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Wait, how do the mechanics of that work? I guess I could research it, but after the headache from delving into Constitutional law about what happens if we don’t have an election I don’t have the stomach for it at the moment.

We keep getting into the specter of uncharted territory.
 

nimic

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It would be from Sanders supporters, but not from a majority of Dems nor the party hierarchy, who are the ones who would actually make the selection.
Sure, but if they want to actually win the election they do need the Sanders voters to vote for their candidate. And while the vast majority will bring themselves to voting for Biden, who was (is, will be) the winner and all, I think that could change very rapidly if Biden drops out and the Sanders people get the very legitimate sense that Sanders was skipped over. They might vote for candidate Warren at that point, but... Buttigieg? Klobuchar? I don't know.
 

Raoul

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Wait, how do the mechanics of that work? I guess I could research it, but after the headache from delving into Constitutional law about what happens if we don’t have an election I don’t have the stomach for it at the moment.

We keep getting into the specter of uncharted territory.
There are multiple scenarios in terms of if the candidate gets sick, dies, or has to withdraw before the actual nomination. The conventional wisdom is that the party and/or its superdelegates would pick the replacement, so there's a very good chance that would be a regular Democrat and not a lefty. The other scenarios involving an already nominated candidate dropping out would be a bit murkier.
 

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There are multiple scenarios in terms of if the candidate gets sick, dies, or has to withdraw before the actual nomination. The conventional wisdom is that the party and/or its superdelegates would pick the replacement, so there's a very good chance that would be a regular Democrat and not a lefty. The other scenarios involving an already nominated candidate dropping out would be a bit murkier.
I believe that Bernie's supporters (most of them anyway) would vote for Biden. However, if Biden withdraws, and the party nominees someone who is not Bernie, then some of them might decide to stay home.

If Biden withdraws, I think the best thing would be to nominate Bernie for party's unity. Nominating someone who got significantly less votes than him (or wasn't in the election at all) might be very dangerous.
 

sun_tzu

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I believe that Bernie's supporters (most of them anyway) would vote for Biden. However, if Biden withdraws, and the party nominees someone who is not Bernie, then some of them might decide to stay home.

If Biden withdraws, I think the best thing would be to nominate Bernie for party's unity. Nominating someone who got significantly less votes than him (or wasn't in the election at all) might be very dangerous.
Whilst voting in somebody who isn't even in the democratic party and has lost to both clinton and biden would somehow be good for party unity?

Not sure what the best solution is but it's not Bernie for the majority of democrats... hence he lost and lost again
 

Raoul

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I believe that Bernie's supporters (most of them anyway) would vote for Biden. However, if Biden withdraws, and the party nominees someone who is not Bernie, then some of them might decide to stay home.

If Biden withdraws, I think the best thing would be to nominate Bernie for party's unity. Nominating someone who got significantly less votes than him (or wasn't in the election at all) might be very dangerous.
That's entirely possible and the same could be said of the opposite scenario where a lot of ordinary Democrats stay home if Sanders were to be the nominee, so there wouldn't be any benefit for the Dems to go that route. So there wouldn't be unity in either case.
 

Revan

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Whilst voting in somebody who isn't even in the democratic party and has lost to both clinton and biden would somehow be good for party unity?

Not sure what the best solution is but it's not Bernie for the majority of democrats... hence he lost and lost again
That's only on name though. Bernie has caucused for Democrats in all his career and has been a very reliable vote both in the congress and in the senate.
That's entirely possible and the same could be said of the opposite scenario where a lot of ordinary Democrats stay home if Sanders were to be the nominee, so there wouldn't be any benefit for the Dems to go that route. So there wouldn't be unity in either case.
With Biden out, Bernie is the candidate with most votes (by far). I am not saying that he should be the nominee cause I like him (which obviously, I do), but because it would be the fairest thing in that situation. Fairness brings unity (I think more Sanders voters will vote Biden than they did for Hillary).
 

Raoul

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That's only on name though. Bernie has caucused for Democrats in all his career and has been a very reliable vote both in the congress and in the senate.

With Biden out, Bernie is the candidate with most votes (by far). I am not saying that he should be the nominee cause I like him (which obviously, I do), but because it would be the fairest thing in that situation. Fairness brings unity (I think more Sanders voters will vote Biden than they did for Hillary).
I don't think it would be viewed as particularly fair given that he has starkly different policies than Biden (many of which I agree with). What would be more fair is the will of the voters who voted for Biden actually being recognized by way of a replacement who closely resembles Biden's policies and general centrist demeanor. There's no magic rule that says if the winner has to drop out, that the 2nd automatically gets the nomination because they were second. That may make a lot of sense at first glance, but not when you factor in that most Democrats didn't vote for progressive policies in the Sanders or even Warren mold. Far more voted for a combination of Biden, Pete, Klobuchar, Bloomberg et al, so that would be a primary consideration when selecting a replacement, especially given what's at stake in November.
 

Revan

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I don't think it would be viewed as particularly fair given that he has starkly different policies than Biden (many of which I agree with). What would be more fair is the will of the voters who voted for Biden actually being recognized by way of a replacement who closely resembles Biden's policies and general centrist demeanor. There's no magic rule that says if the winner has to drop out, that the 2nd automatically gets the nomination because they were second. That may make a lot of sense at first glance, but not when you factor in that most Democrats didn't vote for progressive policies in the Sanders or even Warren mold. Far more voted for a combination of Biden, Pete, Klobuchar, Bloomberg et al, so that would be a primary consideration when selecting a replacement, especially given what's at stake in November.
I guess it is a fair point of view (yours) too, so I guess different people will see it differently. If Bernie doesn't endorse some arbitrary Democrat choice, then it could cause a lot of problems.

And if the choice is Bloomberg, then Democrats are essentially suicidal.
 

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That's entirely possible and the same could be said of the opposite scenario where a lot of ordinary Democrats stay home if Sanders were to be the nominee, so there wouldn't be any benefit for the Dems to go that route. So there wouldn't be unity in either case.
I thought they wanted to defeat Trump at any cost? or was it something to just scapegoat Bernie supporters?
 

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I thought they wanted to defeat Trump at any cost? or was it something to just scapegoat Bernie supporters?
If the primary results are any indicator, most of them do want to beat Trump, but a good portion of them don't think Sanders would be viable. This is why the DNC and SuperDelegates would choose a replacement who reflects policies more in line with Obama/Biden.
 

Amarsdd

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If the primary results are any indicator, most of them do want to beat Trump, but a good portion of them don't think Sanders would be viable. This is why the DNC and SuperDelegates would choose a replacement who reflects policies more in line with Obama/Biden.
I was talking from your initial pov of if Bernie was chosen.
 

Raoul

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I was talking from your initial pov of if Bernie was chosen.
I'm sure a lot would still turn out for Bernie. Unfortunately, the power and center of voter mass in the Dem party is still in the old Obama coalition crowd, so even if a small amount don't show up it would kill his chances. The same can't be said of Biden - if a small amount of progressives don't show up, he can still win because he has a better chance of carrying the rust belt states.
 
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Sweet Square

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Due to this pandemic it's possible for anyone to beat Trump, so Bernie would of course stood a chance but before the outbreak I think he would have lost.

1)Bloomberg or someone similar would have ran as a 3rd party candidate

2)As the labour party leaks showed anything to the right of social democracy is more than happy to lose. The Democratic Party had Bernie won would have been no different.

3)Bernie just can't get the numbers out. He has now lost 2 primaries and lost by some distance both times, his ''theory'' of change doesn't work. To put it simply if you can't win the primaries then the chances are you can't win the general.
 

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The only question you can ask on election day (in a two party system) is if you believe candidate x will best represent your priorities over candidate y. There is no realistic third option.
Neither of them represents my priorities in any fashion.
Maybe you believe that another four years of Trump will finally push the US towards the correction it needs - I can understand that logic - but a straight choice between Biden and Trump just seems obvious if you have any progressive leanings whatsoever, and equating the two is juvenile.
Kinda/sorta but also no. It will take much more than a mere 2nd Trump term. And what it would take — not even sure right now.
 

Foxbatt

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If Bernie had won, you can bet alot of centrists would stay home or even vote for Trump.
I agree with you. They would rather have Trump as the President instead of Bernie. This Tara Reid business is going to get interesting. Should someone who has an allegation that may be proved run for the presidency? If there is enough evidence then obviously he should not even at this moment in time it has not been proven in a court of law. I didn't think or knew there was evidence like her mother calling CNN. This changes the situation a lot.
If more of this is true Biden should withdraw himself and I don't think he is that averse to doing so but would be under tremendous pressure by the centrists not to withdraw. If he does then Bernie should get the nomination as he is the runner up. But knowing how Dems operate they will probably nominate Hillary Clinton again.
 
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