The Democratic Presidential Nomination 2020

[photon]

Debates are dumb in principle. They don't reward ideas with merit, they reward rhetorical tactics, and they inordinately punish otherwise meaningless mistakes.

If I'm being generous the rhetorical skill and ability to think on one's feet are nice qualities for a president, but obviously it's not a necessity.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

I'm not an expert in television production, but wouldn't it be possible for the producers to mute all candidates' irectional microphones and only turn them on when prompted by the moderator?

That would solve some of the problems as the audio system and TV would only broadcast whomever had the floor.

I mean, that would work wouldn't it?

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by photon

Debates are dumb in principle. They don't reward ideas with merit, they reward rhetorical tactics, and they inordinately punish otherwise meaningless mistakes.

If I'm being generous the rhetorical skill and ability to think on one's feet are nice qualities for a president, but obviously it's not a necessity.

What's the alternative though? Unchallenged campaign ads and rallies?

Candidates should have to defend their positions and policies in some kind of forum.

What qualities are necessary for a president? It's kind of an odd job in that they don't have nearly the power to implement policies as say a Prime Minister with a majority government.

A big part of the job is to be persuasive in guiding congress to move in their desired direction. They should be able to make good, quick decisions, and use good judgement.

[photon]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

What's the alternative though? Unchallenged campaign ads and rallies?

Candidates should have to defend their positions and policies in some kind of forum.

What qualities are necessary for a president? It's kind of an odd job in that they don't have nearly the power to implement policies as say a Prime Minister with a majority government.

A big part of the job is to be persuasive in guiding congress to move in their desired direction. They should be able to make good, quick decisions, and use good judgement.

Some kind of cross between Scientific journals and Lean Six Sigma

Imagine a world of evidence based political policies... who am I kidding...

But you're right, there probably isn't anything better, not with how our whole system of media and publicity and decision making works.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

I'm not an expert in television production, but wouldn't it be possible for the producers to mute all candidates' irectional microphones and only turn them on when prompted by the moderator?

That would solve some of the problems as the audio system and TV would only broadcast whomever had the floor.

I mean, that would work wouldn't it?

Its not a bad idea, but would put a great deal of authority in the hands of the moderator (and almost certainly lead to bellowing accusations of bias).

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Makarov

Its not a bad idea, but would put a great deal of authority in the hands of the moderator (and almost certainly lead to bellowing accusations of bias).

Yeah, Christ, you think conservatives are obnoxious now about "liberal media bias," just wait until Anderson Cooper mutes Trump's mic.

[Sliver]

Maybe do it Jeopardy style where the candidates have to press a button to get the mic and everyone else is cut off. Mic times out after 90 seconds or whatever. Let's see how those geezers do.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Maybe do it Jeopardy style where the candidates have to press a button to get the mic and everyone else is cut off. Mic times out after 90 seconds or whatever. Let's see how those geezers do.

Oooh, and let's also have the moderator give the candidates the answers and the candidates have to provide the question.

Something like this:

Moderator: "This candidate wants to put healthcare decisions in the hands of a government death squad which will secretly be culling American Christians and small business owners"

Biden (pressing his button furiously): "WHO IS BERNIE SANDERS?!!"

Moderator: You got it.

Audience: [polite applause]

[Ark2]

Originally Posted by d_phaneuf

Theres no reason a crowd is needed either, adds nothing

I would love it if there were no crowds. How many times does Bernie give a stupid answer, skirting the question, just hoping/knowing that the crowd will bail him out with completely unwarranted applause? Would be beautiful to see these applause seekers on their own up there.

[dobbles]

Originally Posted by photon

Debates are dumb in principle. They don't reward ideas with merit, they reward rhetorical tactics, and they inordinately punish otherwise meaningless mistakes.

If I'm being generous the rhetorical skill and ability to think on one's feet are nice qualities for a president, but obviously it's not a necessity.

They are dumb in this format as they are just a vehicle to drive media coverage not actually vet candidates. If they wanted something meaningful it would need to be longer form with fewer candidates so folks could have actual discussions and debates. There would also need to be better formats to keep the discussions on policy and not he said/she said gotcha journalism.

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

I'm not an expert in television production, but wouldn't it be possible for the producers to mute all candidates' irectional microphones and only turn them on when prompted by the moderator?

That would solve some of the problems as the audio system and TV would only broadcast whomever had the floor.

I mean, that would work wouldn't it?

As noted above, its about theater not issues. They don't want an orderly debate that explains positions, they want a free for all that creates drama and headlines for the evening news.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Makarov

Oooh, and let's also have the moderator give the candidates the answers and the candidates have to provide the question.

Something like this:

Moderator: "This candidate wants to put healthcare decisions in the hands of a government death squad which will secretly be culling American Christians and small business owners"

Biden (pressing his button furiously): "WHO IS BERNIE SANDERS?!!"

Moderator: You got it.

Audience: [polite applause]

Not gonna lie, if that was the format, I'd totally watch it. They should have ALL debates like that lol.

[PsYcNeT]

Should end up being a pretty good show

[JohnnyB]

^^
That is kind of amazing and awesome. To think that a 78 year old white guy from Vermont could win over Public Enemy and gain their support for a political movement is actually really something.

Maybe they'll get to perform in Washington next January.

[GirlySports]

NSFW!

https://twitter.com/user/status/1233760250509111299

[AltaGuy]

Bernie Sanders is really making me have to check myself continuously. Even though I don't believe in much of what he's preaching, I find myself mimicking Trumpists and taking pleasure in the frothy-mouthed reactions this old, 60s hippy senator is garnering from conservatives. Even on this board.

Not a good look, and I don't enjoy the pettiness it exposes in me.

That said, anytime anyone wants to equate the relative moral standing of Sanders and Trump, I hope they're among the first to be coronavirused.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by AltaGuy

Bernie Sanders is really making me have to check myself continuously. Even though I don't believe in much of what he's preaching, I find myself mimicking Trumpists and taking pleasure in the frothy-mouthed reactions this old, 60s hippy senator is garnering from conservatives. Even on this board.

Not a good look, and I don't enjoy the pettiness it exposes in me.

That said, anytime anyone wants to equate the relative moral standing of Sanders and Trump, I hope they're among the first to be coronavirused.

Sanders policies are insane (to me) but he's genuine and that's everything in politics. This is something that Bloomberg's billions can't buy and he's finding that out very quickly. The Democratic party needs to more of that, it needs to take risks.


For as long as I can remember, the majority of Democratic politicians have been deeply, deeply afraid of taking strong stands on anything. McGovern’s loss still gets brought up constantly even though, for as bad as that loss was, the Dems were back in the White House four years later. You just don’t see that type of loss dwelling and fearful paralysis from the GOP.

So Pete’s robotic nature and carefully created (to the extreme) image is exactly what he was taught to do as a Democratic “rising star.” Kamala Harris, who was actually supposed to the “rising star” in 2020, killed her own campaign with a similar brand of contrived cautiousness, as her inability to take a stand on any issue reached absurd levels. The problems with this approach are that (a) it leads to watered down policy; and (b) a lot of voters see right through it.

Bernie is still the most popular candidate in the field, despite being a 78 year old heart attack survivor, because he projects the authenticity and genuine passion that is badly lacking in the Democratic Party. (And by virtue of him being NOT A DEMOCRAT, his staffers do too. AOC went from a bartender to one of the most visible politicians in America within a matter of weeks for the same reason. Maybe Bernie and AOC’s goals will prove to be too ambitious, but they at least have a vision for a better society, which has been sorely lacking from the Democratic Party as a whole.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Makarov

Oooh, and let's also have the moderator give the candidates the answers and the candidates have to provide the question.

Something like this:

Moderator: "This candidate wants to put healthcare decisions in the hands of a government death squad which will secretly be culling American Christians and small business owners"

Biden (pressing his button furiously): "WHO IS BERNIE SANDERS?!!"

Moderator: You got it.

Audience: [polite applause]

Repeated because this should have got a bunch of likes.

Great post

[CaptainCrunch]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/biden-...lina-1.5481362

Joe Biden scored a convincing victory in South Carolina's Democratic primary on Saturday, riding a wave of support from black voters and ending progressive rival Bernie Sanders's winning streak.


The victory came at a a crucial moment in Biden's 2020 bid as he bounced back from underwhelming performances in the first three contests and headed into "Super Tuesday," when voters in 14 states go to the polls and about a third of the delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination are at stake.


Biden hopes the South Carolina victory will be enough to establish him as the clear alternative to Sanders as the race quickly shifts nationwide. Standing in Biden's way, in addition to Sanders, is former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, one of the world's richest men, who has spent more than half-a-billion dollars courting voters in dozens of states yet to vote.

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Should end up being a pretty good show

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Should end up being a pretty good show

I am pretty ant Bernie but it’s pretty impressive a 78 year old can rally in Virginia Beach intobthe night and in California with public enemy tomorrow. That would exhaust me at my age.