Right now they are the only ones who are established. If they dont run, its a huge problem for the Dems cause who ever then runs has to build their following base from scratch like Bernie. Can it be done? Sure. But will they have the same success? Prolly not. If you guys think Bernie has baggage, then some of these people definitely do and added to that they are inexperienced.
2020 US Elections | Biden certified as President | Dems control Congress
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I don't think Bernie or Biden are going to bequeath their energy to younger candidates. Everyone who runs is going to have to run on the strength of their own ideas and campaigns.
One thing for certain is we'll have a wide variety of candidates run for the nomination.
Bernie all the way for me. I wish he was British so he could be PM. He's the most complete and honest politician I have seen in my life. Liz Warren is another I admire. Biden is fine but I would much prefer Bernie with a young VP who he could mentor for 2024.
Not any that would disqualify though - had an affair. Clinton had all kinds of sex scandals through his Governorship and Presidency. In a lot of ways actually 'Slick Willy' actually foreshadowed a Donald Trump. Going back though there was famously Kennedy and the gossip about Marilyn Monroe and other actresses.
Will be interesting to see how this develops.
He's seen a bit as naive and unabashed socialist. Admittedly its not as bad as many others though it is something that must be taken into account strategically as "socialist" can still be a negative slur in the States.
If he runs against Trump I'm sure all will be forgiven. Although it will be interesting given that Gavin's ex-wife Kim Guilfoyle is now a Fox News personality, which I'm sure will cause all sorts of drama during a campaign.
If "socialist" in the only thing you can throw against a 75 year old as his negative, then he has done fecking well in his career.
It’s a cruel twist of fate that the moment when the Dems should be seizing power they don’t have a political celebrity needed to rally around in these times of social media.
Makes me think one will emerge before 2020, but recent history has me loathe to bet on politics.
Makes me think one will emerge before 2020, but recent history has me loathe to bet on politics.
that's what bernie is, the kids love him
Too old.
there is no maximum age to be elected POTUS
It was a Game of Thrones reference, you old fogey.
ffs
If he wins, that will take him out of the presidential race until at least 2024 though, wont it?
I like him as well. Having his career in and around San Francisco definitely shows him as a progressive and similar mould to Sanders. The downside to him is can he find ways to appeal to the rest of America? I think becoming governor will help him here. It will also be a nice stepping stone to a presidential run.
He could win this year and launch a Presidential campaign right away (around mid 2019). It actually works well for him since not winning would still allow him to retain his Governorship.
As for his appeal, he's a pretty photogenic guy who is on the right side of most issues and would be coming into the race as the Governor of the country's most populous state - so all things said - he would be considered in the upper echelon of candidates.
Didn't he get caught banging his friends wife... Trump would slaughter him about that on twitter
The wife of a campaign manager apparently about 11 years ago. I doubt it would be much of a factor if running against Trump, since Trump wouldn't want his own platoon of accusers paraded out in the media each time he went after Newsom for doing it once.
Well yea, Newsom going to be hammered by the paragon of virtue and faithfulness that is Trump.
Yeah... Because as we know the reality is trump's base don't care... But it might be enough to damage newsom with those that don't know him so well
Trump's base alone isn't enough to get him reelected. He needs independents and women, which will be turned off by this sort of thing.
A bit more gerrymandering and his base will see him through... He's gonna be fine... Ivankas gonna be his VP and then you have her for 8 years... Then don jnr then baron... Get used to it
Trump's base is not going to care anyway though.
Could be an issue for California. We all know how much time and effort goes into campaigning nowadays. Could he juggle both gargantuan tasks at the same time? Governing California is no easy task and the state has a lot of major issues to sort out.
Oh the irony.
It wouldn't be any different than previous governors like Reagan, Carter, Clinton, and Dubya running. Some of the tasks would get outsourced to the Lt Gov and the Gov / Pres candidate would obviously sign off on major policies.
Have to say I like the look of the guys profile after a bit of Googling.
Don't you think that would rather make him look bad, especially because it's right after the election?
Running for governor, so basically saying I have the right ideas for the coming 4 or what years, let me represent you. Then instead of actually working on implementing said things launch a presidential bid and tour the country talking essentially abandoning his job. I'd certainely feel a bit screwed there if it was to happen to my governor.
I don’t think CA voters will care if it means getting rid of Trump. I plan on voting for him as Governor with the hope and expectation that he will go higher as soon as possible.
That didn't bother Trump when he brought out Bill Clinton's accusers against Hilary. Obviously someone being accused of assault is a whole different level to an affair, but it can be guaranteed Trump will still try to use it against him all the same, and that it'll likely be lapped up by the Republican right who apply different standards to their own candidates than they do Dem ones. Obviously finding someone completely virtuous is somewhere between difficult and impossible but anyone thinking a previous affair will fly under the radar is underestimating Trump and the approach he opts for.
Biden, compared to Bernie and Warren is a bore.
The Bill Clinton situation is much worse as he had actual accusations of rape. Newsom having an affairs is obviously not anywhere in the same area as that.
No doubt, but it's just going to be a mud slinging exercise. And please no 'When they go low, we go high' nonsense. When they go low, tell them to go feck themselves. That said, I think if Bernie Sanders decides to run, I think he's the best candidate. I'm also invested in Sanders running because it is the sure shot way to decide if the Democratic party should go left or please centrists.
Of course not. But calling Trump's moral character into question will inherently be more difficult when he'll have ammo to hit back with.
I don't think most candidates will call Trump's character into question since that is already baked into his public record. All voters know that already so the candidate wouldn't have to do it. They would simply have to engage him on routine policy issues.
Trump will inherently attempt to personalise the debate because that's what he does, and because when it comes to policy he doesn't really have anything substantive to say that holds up to proper scrutiny. Obviously a solid candidate will try to divert it away from those issues but I think we're being naive if we think the personal affairs of a Dem candidate aren't going to be heavily discussed and debated over. Similarly...if Trump says/does things during the campaign which reflect poorly on his character - and he almost certainly will - then the Dem candidate will rightfully bring that up because attempting to ignore it and focus on policy alone won't work.
A smart candidate will know that getting into the mud with Trump will only result in moving the debate into an area that Trump is comfortable with. Where he isn't comfortable is in deep policy dives where he has to compete with someone who genuinely knows the numbers and can contextualize them in a way that average voters can digest. Talking about Trump's accusers, Stormy Daniels etc. would only backfire. It could be briefly glossed over, but whoever runs against Trump should be focused on policy and tangible ways their platform will help the country. The negativity that Trump brings to the table will have already been on full display for 5 years by then, so there's no use in wasting debate time over it. Trump and his base rely on the oxygen generated by negativity and so a distinctly positive candidate would deprive them of it.
That's your opinion, and I don't want to date her so I don't care how boring she is .
The news media will inherently bring up the more personalised aspects of the campaign though because it's something that gives them good ratings. Any Dem candidate can try to focus on policy all they want but they won't be able to completely control the narrative on their own.
Speaking strictly in Newsom's case, it would be rather dumb of him to attack Trump. If necessary, he can gloss over his own issue by vaguely referencing it and saying he has made mistakes in the past and then not attack Trump immediately after. This worked for Dubya back in 2000 when his cocaine use in the 70s was simmering below the surface of the campaign.
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