Who is the Dem 2020 pick?

[TheChefO]

And then there's this gem about it...

#Fakenews

Best thing about if Bern got the Nom, would be both him and Trump railing at the debate against fake news.

"So Bernie let me ask you about ..." | "NO WOLF, Let me ask YOU a few questions about the so called 'Free Press' in America".

[Mountaineer Buc]

And then there's this gem about it...

#Fakenews

Best thing about if Bern got the Nom, would be both him and Trump railing at the debate against fake news.

"So Bernie let me ask you about ..." | "NO WOLF, Let me ask YOU a few questions about the so called 'Free Press' in America".

I have relished in the thought of Bernie debating Trump for years.

[Jason Bourne]

Bernie is a nice libertarian, he should stop taking votes from the real Democrats

[bucfanclw]

Bernie is a nice libertarian, he should stop taking votes from the real Democrats

[Mountaineer Buc]

Everybody knows libertarians are wiiiiild about Democratic Socialism.

[Zarniwoop]

Hey last week AOC said she has lots of Libertarian friendly ideas ... so why not Bernie?

Lol

[Mountaineer Buc]

Hey last week AOC said she has lots of Libertarian friendly ideas ... so why not Bernie?

Lol

Yeah, if you could not infiltrate the DNC right now, that'd be greaaaat.

We're trying to elect Joe Biden right now so if you could just go sit over there.

Racist.

[Zarniwoop]

Hey last week AOC said she has lots of Libertarian friendly ideas ... so why not Bernie?

Lol

Yeah, if you could not infiltrate the DNC right now, that'd be greaaaat.

We're trying to elect Joe Biden right now so if you could just go sit over there.

Racist.

it's ok, the conservatives that are running your party don't like us either...so you are safe.

[Brazen331]

Bernie is a nice libertarian, he should stop taking votes from the real Democrats

This might be the most asinine observation you have made and that is saying something. Are you sure you’re 60 and not 6? Seriously JB, even babe is incapable of posting something this stupid.

[Jason Bourne]

Bernie is a nice libertarian, he should stop taking votes from the real Democrats

This might be the most asinine observation you have made and that is saying something. Are you sure you’re 60 and not 6? Seriously JB, even babe is incapable of posting something this stupid.

It’s accurate , doesn’t matter what you say . He will not ever win

And I’m like 52

[NavyBuc]

At this point in the race, I’d give the Dem candidates these odds to win the nom:

Warren 35%
Biden 25%
Bernie 15%
Harris 10%
Yang 10%
Someone else 5%

As for President...
Trump 60%
Dems 40%

[Mountaineer Buc]

Still going with the bookies, I see.

[NavyBuc]

Still going with the bookies, I see.

Nah, didn't even look at the odds. That's just my own percentages of how I see it.

[Mountaineer Buc]

Still going with the bookies, I see.

Nah, didn't even look at the odds. That's just my own percentages of how I see it.

Oh I see.


You're way off from where I'm sitting.

[NavyBuc]

Nah, didn't even look at the odds. That's just my own percentages of how I see it.

Oh I see.


You're way off from where I'm sitting.

That's what opinions are for. People see things different ways.

[TheChefO]

Yeah, if you could not infiltrate the DNC right now, that'd be greaaaat.

We're trying to elect Joe Biden right now so if you could just go sit over there.

Racist.

it's ok, the conservatives that are running your party don't like us either...so you are safe.

Said in jest, and well done btw, but back in the Ron Paul days, my view (as formed) was team R had been "taken over by the NEOCONS!" ... yet, the same foreign policy existed on both sides of the aisle ... the same **** trade deals were championed on both sides of the aisle ... The same laissez faire attitude on illegal immegration policy (not talking points) existed on both sides ... The same attitude on monetary issues ...

At that point is when I started putting two and two together and realizing, no it isn't "the neocon boogeyman that just showed up" ...

[TheChefO]

I have relished in the thought of Bernie debating Trump for years.

FTR ... Trump is horrible in debates ... his lack of specific instances to refer to in detail hurts his ability to attack and counter arguments. There were so many times during the Clinton v Trump debates I was either biting my tongue or screaming at the TV ... and then every one in a while ... he hits a home run:

[Mountaineer Buc]

Yeah, I predict Sanders will soundly trounce the President in the debates. Here's why:

Bernie comes as advertised. You can disagree with every single policy proposal Sanders has, but if you think he's posturing or hiding some hidden agenda, you're just being partisan. Right or wrong, Bernie genuinely believes he has the right prescription for the country and will defend it more aggressively than people give him credit for. Just ask Tim Ryan and John Delaney.

So what that means is Trump would immediately have to debate differently than in 2016. Against Clinton, he got to sit back and watch Hillary word vomit a bunch of empty promises and reply as follows:

Spoiler:

Worked like a champ against Clinton because we all knew that assessment is/was correct. Not the case with Bernie because he comes as advertised, so attacking his credibility is the wrong strategy...or at least the least effective.




If I'm on the Trump 2020 team, I'm hammering 3 points nonstop:

1. It's working and it needs to keep working.
2. The country cannot afford radical left wing tax and spending right now.
3. democrats will **** up on immigration, abortion, and guns

#1 is the only one he has to play defense on. But he has the markets and unemployment figures to support his premise and plenty of talking heads across the media will parrot it.
#2 is an easy sell to everyone over 40. Only Joe Biden would be immune to this line because he's not going to pivot left in the general, but he's not getting the nod anyway.
#3 These are the three tried and true bugaboos for the GOP. When they are getting their asses kicked in the news cycle, the conversation will almost always shift to one of these 3 topics.

We'll see what they actually do, but I think this would be a solid approach for Trump to take on Sanders over and above the predictable red-baiting we'll hear.




If I'm on Bernie 2020, I stay on message no matter what Trump says. Nobody in Washington diagnoses the issue better than Bernie does so I have him stay on message and keep swatting away the republican talking points he's been swatting for the last 30 years. Trump is not going to come at Bernie with any sort of detailed talking point to try and get a "gotcha" like the media does. That's just not how Trump argues. You let the idiot spew whatever he's going to spew and stay on target. He's going to lob insults, he's going to try and derail the discussion, he's going to try and get a soundbyte for the base...But unless you have a "I wrote the damned bill" teed up for him, default disregard and stay focused on the voters.

Spoiler:

We don't do this because we're scared to get in the mud with him, and we don't completely ignore the man (Our base loves meat too), but the goal would be to take the election away from being a referendum on Trump.

Spoiler:

That's right, DNC strategists. You DO NOT make this election a referendum on Trump. I'm betting the majority of the country is already Trump fatigued and wants to consider alternatives. Give them that. Give them something to vote FOR.

You make the campaign about how much a shitbag Donald Trump is and the country turns the channel because they do not need to be told how much of a shitbag Donald Trump is. They already know. So give them something to chew on. Policy, policy, policy. How it should work, how we're paying for it, why it's the right thing to do, who does it help. And while they chew on that, you put America's Dad/Grandpa out there being his wholesome self. Next thing you know, the country is talking about whether or not we should do all this stuff instead of talking about how much we hate Donald Trump as President.

You do that between the convention and the first debate in a full court press. This is the tiny little window the press will give you to make your case to the country. After that, you're getting stress tested. So you walk into the debates with the country fully aware of who you are and what your intentions are as President with 2/3rds of the electorate (or more) already having made up their minds.

After that, it's all about getting people aboard the hype train.

[Zarniwoop]

While I disagree with a few of the smaller points, i agree with your overall premise that Bernie would do best by simply acting like an adult and talking about his positions.

That goes for every candidate though for the Dems as far as I'm concerned. None of them can beat Trump in the pigsty.

anyway, good post.

[Mountaineer Buc]

While I disagree with a few of the smaller points, i agree with your overall premise that Bernie would do best by simply acting like an adult and talking about his positions.

That goes for every candidate though for the Dems as far as I'm concerned. None of them can beat Trump in the pigsty.

anyway, good post.

It doesn't with every candidate because most of them are still doing the Hillary style word vomit. Tees up Trump to be Trump.

[Zarniwoop]

trump will do his trump crap regardless of who is across the stage.

[Mountaineer Buc]

trump will do his trump crap regardless of who is across the stage.

But can he afford to?

[bucfanclw]

trump will do his trump crap regardless of who is across the stage.

But can he afford to?

Of course. He has home field advantage, so to speak. The Dems need to focus on policy and show they are the adults in the room. I'm not sure many of them can do that, however.

[TheChefO]

Yeah, I predict Sanders will soundly trounce the President in the debates. Here's why:

Bernie comes as advertised. You can disagree with every single policy proposal Sanders has, but if you think he's posturing or hiding some hidden agenda, you're just being partisan. Right or wrong, Bernie genuinely believes he has the right prescription for the country and will defend it more aggressively than people give him credit for. Just ask Tim Ryan and John Delaney.

So what that means is Trump would immediately have to debate differently than in 2016. Against Clinton, he got to sit back and watch Hillary word vomit a bunch of empty promises and reply as follows:

Spoiler:

Worked like a champ against Clinton because we all knew that assessment is/was correct. Not the case with Bernie because he comes as advertised, so attacking his credibility is the wrong strategy...or at least the least effective.




If I'm on the Trump 2020 team, I'm hammering 3 points nonstop:

1. It's working and it needs to keep working.
2. The country cannot afford radical left wing tax and spending right now.
3. democrats will **** up on immigration, abortion, and guns

#1 is the only one he has to play defense on. But he has the markets and unemployment figures to support his premise and plenty of talking heads across the media will parrot it.
#2 is an easy sell to everyone over 40. Only Joe Biden would be immune to this line because he's not going to pivot left in the general, but he's not getting the nod anyway.
#3 These are the three tried and true bugaboos for the GOP. When they are getting their asses kicked in the news cycle, the conversation will almost always shift to one of these 3 topics.

We'll see what they actually do, but I think this would be a solid approach for Trump to take on Sanders over and above the predictable red-baiting we'll hear.




If I'm on Bernie 2020, I stay on message no matter what Trump says. Nobody in Washington diagnoses the issue better than Bernie does so I have him stay on message and keep swatting away the republican talking points he's been swatting for the last 30 years. Trump is not going to come at Bernie with any sort of detailed talking point to try and get a "gotcha" like the media does. That's just not how Trump argues. You let the idiot spew whatever he's going to spew and stay on target. He's going to lob insults, he's going to try and derail the discussion, he's going to try and get a soundbyte for the base...But unless you have a "I wrote the damned bill" teed up for him, default disregard and stay focused on the voters.

Spoiler:

We don't do this because we're scared to get in the mud with him, and we don't completely ignore the man (Our base loves meat too), but the goal would be to take the election away from being a referendum on Trump.

Spoiler:

That's right, DNC strategists. You DO NOT make this election a referendum on Trump. I'm betting the majority of the country is already Trump fatigued and wants to consider alternatives. Give them that. Give them something to vote FOR.

You make the campaign about how much a shitbag Donald Trump is and the country turns the channel because they do not need to be told how much of a shitbag Donald Trump is. They already know. So give them something to chew on. Policy, policy, policy. How it should work, how we're paying for it, why it's the right thing to do, who does it help. And while they chew on that, you put America's Dad/Grandpa out there being his wholesome self. Next thing you know, the country is talking about whether or not we should do all this stuff instead of talking about how much we hate Donald Trump as President.

You do that between the convention and the first debate in a full court press. This is the tiny little window the press will give you to make your case to the country. After that, you're getting stress tested. So you walk into the debates with the country fully aware of who you are and what your intentions are as President with 2/3rds of the electorate (or more) already having made up their minds.

After that, it's all about getting people aboard the hype train.

Excellent post, wish I had more time for back and forth, but spent too much time here already today I'll try and get to this later.

[Zarniwoop]

But can he afford to?

Of course. He has home field advantage, so to speak. The Dems need to focus on policy and show they are the adults in the room. I'm not sure many of them can do that, however.

agreed...unless there is an economic crisis, Trump starts at an advantage and it is up to Dems to show how they would make things better than they currently are. Trump has the status quo on his side

[Mountaineer Buc]

Of course. He has home field advantage, so to speak. The Dems need to focus on policy and show they are the adults in the room. I'm not sure many of them can do that, however.

agreed...unless there is an economic crisis, Trump starts at an advantage and it is up to Dems to show how they would make things better than they currently are. Trump has the status quo on his side

[PrimeMinister]

MB, that ****ing fantastic post.

MB while typing that out:

Spoiler:

Afterwards:

Spoiler:

[Mountaineer Buc]

MB, that ****ing fantastic post.

MB while typing that out:

Spoiler:

Afterwards:

Spoiler:

The star wars gif was my favorite part of putting that post together.

[PrimeMinister]

I liked the courtroom gif the most. It perfectly illustrates your point.

[beardmcdoug]

Lol! Awesome page. Great post MB. I think you’re spot on.