2020 Candidate Speculation

[AmyG]

Mar 23, 2019 21:23:27 GMT -6 stringy said:

Mar 23, 2019 9:24:06 GMT -6 milano said:

That does sound much better!

Ok. Honest question here though. Can/will we elect a married gay man to the White House? I’m in a bubble here in my New England gay community- and I don’t know how it is in the rest of the country (besides not as good). Can people really see getting the swing states behind this? More or less so than a woman or a WOC? Because personally I see people freaking out. But again, skewed POV here.

In my heart and mind I want a gay married man as president and a vice president as a black woman or vice versa.
In my heart and mind that is where we need to be, open to all the different peoples of our country, whole new slate, new faces, embrace the historical precedent and jump head on into a new reality of where our country should be, instead of being stuck in the racist, judgemental, shitty past of who our country used to be.

I'm just so, so, so afraid that where I am,
is not where the rest of the country is,
is just not where enough of the rest of the country is.
And I'm ashamed of that, but I'm afraid that if we push hard to be RIGHT-- to where we SHOULD BE-- we will fail and end up with Trump again just as bad. Because I'm not sure our whole country can be yet what I need and want it to be right now.

And that is disheartening.

I'm afraid that the Democrats are going to look fractured, and not be all together behind too 'different' of a candidate.
We will infight, not put a combined effort. 
While the Republicans will run circles around us with their strategy and cohesive backing of the orange cheeto.

I'm afraid to win we need someone more of a middle of the ground appeals to more/all/olds kind of candidate.  Not sure who that would even be?
Probably doesn't actually exist as a human.

Like I said I'm ashamed of that thinking.
People say that it's stupid to think that way, that the young people, the new voters, the women, the black, the LGBT, the whatever won't put up with that. 
I'm just soooo afraid to wake up the day after elections with another loss.
I can't take it.
Our country can't take it. 

[oreobitsy]

Spent part of my Saturday night trying to figure out if Mayor Pete is a Phish fan. Either way we have hopped on the bandwagon at my house.

[jenna]

I’m a little surprised he only has 70k Instagram followers.

I have such a hard time saying boot-edge-edge 😆

[misspatty]

Mar 23, 2019 21:23:27 GMT -6 stringy said:

Mar 23, 2019 9:24:06 GMT -6 milano said:

That does sound much better!

Ok. Honest question here though. Can/will we elect a married gay man to the White House? I’m in a bubble here in my New England gay community- and I don’t know how it is in the rest of the country (besides not as good). Can people really see getting the swing states behind this? More or less so than a woman or a WOC? Because personally I see people freaking out. But again, skewed POV here.

I think we are more likely to elect a white gay man than a woman. Trust that I very much do not like that answer, but that’s what I truly think. Also anyone who won’t vote for Pete because he happens to be gay was going to vote for Trump anyway.

I am in Indiana, so these opinions are formed by my red state observations. Also, Pete won re-election for mayor with 80% of the vote. South Bend is less red than a lot of the state, but that still says something significant to me.

[misspatty]

Mar 24, 2019 0:46:47 GMT -6 jenna said:

I’m a little surprised he only has 70k Instagram followers.

I have such a hard time saying boot-edge-edge 😆

Just call him Pete! Problem solved. Lol.

[dc2london]

Mar 22, 2019 10:58:25 GMT -6 misspatty said:

Mar 22, 2019 9:54:17 GMT -6 justkeepmoving said:

My H is jumping on the mayor Pete wagon. He says he wants to do some more research on him but he’s leaning into him.

Well then tell him welcome to the train, because more research on Pete will turn up nothing but good things. That's the best part about all this. He's only an underdog until people learn more about him. 

We have an absolute neophyte in the WH right now.
I'm not discounting anyone on 'experience. '

I made that mistake with Obama in 07. Never again.

[dc2london]

Mar 22, 2019 19:39:29 GMT -6 richard said:

I formally apologize in advance for sharing something from The Free Beacon but this is pretty good. Especially the Bernie one.

(They've got nothing to roast Mayor Pete with.)

That was awesome.
Kinda lazy on Pete and Harris though. From a party that cages babies.

[milano]

Mar 24, 2019 5:28:36 GMT -6 misspatty said:

Mar 23, 2019 21:23:27 GMT -6 stringy said:

Ok. Honest question here though. Can/will we elect a married gay man to the White House? I’m in a bubble here in my New England gay community- and I don’t know how it is in the rest of the country (besides not as good). Can people really see getting the swing states behind this? More or less so than a woman or a WOC? Because personally I see people freaking out. But again, skewed POV here.

I think we are more likely to elect a white gay man than a woman. Trust that I very much do not like that answer, but that’s what I truly think. Also anyone who won’t vote for Pete because he happens to be gay was going to vote for Trump anyway.

I am in Indiana, so these opinions are formed by my red state observations. Also, Pete won re-election for mayor with 80% of the vote. South Bend is less red than a lot of the state, but that still says something significant to me.

I am here too.

Also, from my experience. There are some people who will not see past mayor Pete's sexual orientation. The hardcore trump voters, who would never vote for someone who isn't a straight, white man. They are excluded from the following because I run think they are a hopess cause.

There is another, I think, large, group of people who haven't had much interaction with gay people in their lives, so they may be uncomfortable at first but with more exposure, they understand that being gay changes nothing about someone's ability to lead (or do/be anything else for that matter). They aren't bigots, they are simply unfamiliar and may have some preconceived notions. The more they get to know mayor Pete, I think his sexual orientation becomes less of a factor. The fact that he got re-elected by such a high margin after coming out helps solidify this for me, because those voters knew he was a damn good mayor and therefore the fact that he was gay didn't matter.

[jkjacq]

Mar 24, 2019 5:28:36 GMT -6 misspatty said:

Mar 23, 2019 21:23:27 GMT -6 stringy said:

Ok. Honest question here though. Can/will we elect a married gay man to the White House? I’m in a bubble here in my New England gay community- and I don’t know how it is in the rest of the country (besides not as good). Can people really see getting the swing states behind this? More or less so than a woman or a WOC? Because personally I see people freaking out. But again, skewed POV here.

I think we are more likely to elect a white gay man than a woman. Trust that I very much do not like that answer, but that’s what I truly think. Also anyone who won’t vote for Pete because he happens to be gay was going to vote for Trump anyway.

I am in Indiana, so these opinions are formed by my red state observations. Also, Pete won re-election for mayor with 80% of the vote. South Bend is less red than a lot of the state, but that still says something significant to me.

Also The hypocrisy of not voting for him because he’s gay while you fully support a philanderer is astounding.

I think he could sway some people with his military service tha wouldn’t otherwise consider him because of orientation. A vet who has three tours under his belt looks a lot better than bone spur boy.

[elle]

Mar 24, 2019 5:54:54 GMT -6 dc2london said:

Mar 22, 2019 19:39:29 GMT -6 richard said:

I formally apologize in advance for sharing something from The Free Beacon but this is pretty good. Especially the Bernie one.

(They've got nothing to roast Mayor Pete with.)

That was awesome.
Kinda lazy on Pete and Harris though. From a party that cages babies.

Castro too. So his only defining quality is speaking Spanish? 🙄

[sctiger]

Mar 24, 2019 7:19:25 GMT -6 jkjacq said:

Mar 24, 2019 5:28:36 GMT -6 misspatty said:

I think we are more likely to elect a white gay man than a woman. Trust that I very much do not like that answer, but that’s what I truly think. Also anyone who won’t vote for Pete because he happens to be gay was going to vote for Trump anyway.

I am in Indiana, so these opinions are formed by my red state observations. Also, Pete won re-election for mayor with 80% of the vote. South Bend is less red than a lot of the state, but that still says something significant to me.

Also The hypocrisy of not voting for him because he’s gay while you fully support a philanderer is astounding.

I think he could sway some people with his military service tha wouldn’t otherwise consider him because of orientation. A vet who has three tours under his belt looks a lot better than bone spur boy.

In SC we had a Democratic gubernatorial candidate who started basic training at the age of 37 and served in Afghanistan and won military awards but that wasn't enough for the assholes here who are fiercely loyal to the Republican party. I honestly don't know how much Mayor Pete's sexual orientation would impact his perception here because they think all Democrats no matter what are socialist baby killers.

[misspatty]

Mar 24, 2019 8:08:09 GMT -6 sctiger said:

Mar 24, 2019 7:19:25 GMT -6 jkjacq said:

Also The hypocrisy of not voting for him because he’s gay while you fully support a philanderer is astounding.

I think he could sway some people with his military service tha wouldn’t otherwise consider him because of orientation. A vet who has three tours under his belt looks a lot better than bone spur boy.

In SC we had a Democratic gubernatorial candidate who started basic training at the age of 37 and served in Afghanistan and won military awards but that wasn't enough for the assholes here who are fiercely loyal to the Republican party. I honestly don't know how much Mayor Pete's sexual orientation would impact his perception here because they think all Democrats no matter what are socialist baby killers.

But that kind of hammers home my point. Those people aren’t going to vote for the Democrat no matter who it is. His sexual orientation is irrelevant in that scenario. Those aren’t the voters we’re trying to win over in 2020 anyway.

[sctiger]

Mar 24, 2019 8:13:27 GMT -6 misspatty said:

Mar 24, 2019 8:08:09 GMT -6 sctiger said:

In SC we had a Democratic gubernatorial candidate who started basic training at the age of 37 and served in Afghanistan and won military awards but that wasn't enough for the assholes here who are fiercely loyal to the Republican party. I honestly don't know how much Mayor Pete's sexual orientation would impact his perception here because they think all Democrats no matter what are socialist baby killers.

But that kind of hammers home my point. Those people aren’t going to vote for the Democrat no matter who it is. His sexual orientation is irrelevant in that scenario. Those aren’t the voters we’re trying to win over in 2020 anyway.

Agreed. I think we need to accept that if someone still supports Trump at this point, we can't change their mind. We need to focus on anti Trump Republicans and those who felt left out in 2016. Plus a more unified Democratic party.

[stringy]

I guess the people I’m also worried about are the same people who take a hard line on abortion. Their church/pastor or whoever declares it a sin and that’s all they need. I feel those are more numerous than current trump supporters. Based on zero data. I admit.

Let’s also add the caveat that a lot of this is my own fears/issues/trauma.

[jkjacq]

STOP
TALKING
ABOUT
Joe Biden

[jkjacq]

How about we talk about the candidates who are out there right now chuckles

[doublestuf]

[enchanted]

C&Ped from where I posted in the wrong thread.

I also think that if we (Democratic we) can encourage and drive up youth voting numbers, his sexual orienation won't be a disqualifying factor. Are there younger homophobic bigots? Yes, but by and large, younger people don't see orientation as anything but what it is.

[jkjacq]

Mar 24, 2019 9:21:52 GMT -6 enchanted said:

C&Ped from where I posted in the wrong thread.

I also think that if we (Democratic we) can encourage and drive up youth voting numbers, his sexual orienation won't be a disqualifying factor. Are there younger homophobic bigots? Yes, but by and large, younger people don't see orientation as anything but what it is.

As much as I don’t want to put the burden on young people, they are the ones who are going to change this nation dramatically. From thoughts on orientation to climate change to a more sustainable health care system. They are smart and most aren’t boxed in like previous generations.

*speaking broadly

[dc2london]

Mar 24, 2019 7:04:27 GMT -6 milano said:

Mar 24, 2019 5:28:36 GMT -6 misspatty said:

I think we are more likely to elect a white gay man than a woman. Trust that I very much do not like that answer, but that’s what I truly think. Also anyone who won’t vote for Pete because he happens to be gay was going to vote for Trump anyway.

I am in Indiana, so these opinions are formed by my red state observations. Also, Pete won re-election for mayor with 80% of the vote. South Bend is less red than a lot of the state, but that still says something significant to me.

I am here too.

Also, from my experience. There are some people who will not see past mayor Pete's sexual orientation. The hardcore trump voters, who would never vote for someone who isn't a straight, white man. They are excluded from the following because I run think they are a hopess cause.

There is another, I think, large, group of people who haven't had much interaction with gay people in their lives, so they may be uncomfortable at first but with more exposure, they understand that being gay changes nothing about someone's ability to lead (or do/be anything else for that matter). They aren't bigots, they are simply unfamiliar and may have some preconceived notions. The more they get to know mayor Pete, I think his sexual orientation becomes less of a factor. The fact that he got re-elected by such a high margin after coming out helps solidify this for me, because those voters knew he was a damn good mayor and therefore the fact that he was gay didn't matter.

I think this helps us with soft Trump voters too, bc they've characatured the left as shrieking "RACIST!!!!" at everyone who disagrees with them, but Pete has demonstrated that he can talk to those voters about the things they care about, but also maybe help them see the problems the America they don't know is facing.

[dc2london]

What do Bernie supporters think if Mayor Pete?

[enchanted]

Mar 24, 2019 10:00:04 GMT -6 dc2london said:

What do Bernie supporters think if Mayor Pete?

The two I know are saying, if not Bernie, then Gabbard. I can't even get them to discuss other candidates except for Gillenbrand whom they are mad at because of Franken, so really, they are just a lost cause.

I'm hoping, though, there are other Bernie supporters who have learned from 2016 and won't be throwing the whole country under the bus again.

[Uncaripswife]

Gabbard?! Good lort, who is taking her seriously?!

[notblanche]

Mh and my brother still like Bernie. They like Pete too.

[notblanche]

Mh and I agree on Biden and I think maybe he won’t run? If he hasn’t announced yet... maybe that’s wishful thinking.

[Dr. Cox]

Well, I finally watched Pete’s town hall and I’m all in on the Mayor Pete train. He’s my new favorite. You win, misspatty. 😜

[Dr. Cox]

I don’t see Tulsi Gabbard making it much longer, honestly. Everything I’ve seen has her at the bottom.

[enchanted]

Mar 24, 2019 10:23:59 GMT -6 Uncaripswife said:

Gabbard?! Good lort, who is taking her seriously?!

These two are deeeeeeeeeeeeeep in the Bernie love. To the point that they posted smug "Told you so" posts as soon as it was clear HRC wasn't winning. I don't think they went as far as voting for 45 to prove a point, but I do know they refused to vote for Clinton.

And for some reason, they like Gabbard almost as much as Bernie.

[enchanted]

Mar 24, 2019 10:51:08 GMT -6 Dr. Cox said:

I don’t see Tulsi Gabbard making it much longer, honestly. Everything I’ve seen has her at the bottom.

I don't think she will either.

[enchanted]

Mar 24, 2019 10:40:13 GMT -6 notblanche said:

Mh and I agree on Biden and I think maybe he won’t run? If he hasn’t announced yet... maybe that’s wishful thinking.

I kind of get the impression his heart isn't in it. Losing Beau hurt him (as one would expect).

All the speculation is out there because polls like him, but not a lot of it is coming from him. It's all "sources close to" and he never says anything unless directly asked.

I don't know. Like Biden, a lot. I think he was a great VP for President Obama and I think he could have been a great POTUS, but I just get this sense that he isn't into it.