And Another One Bites The Dust....

[Jed_]

In culinary school there was an entire class devoted to the potato, and a multitude of preparations were demonstrated and enjoyed.  The words tater and tot did not come up.

[msslave]

Here in Minnesota the "hot dish" went to a whole new level when "Tater Tots" were introduced.  Right into the casserole dish along with whatever else was handy. Yes, they called it a casserole dish, but the end product was and still is "Hot Dish".

So Miss B...beer and Tater Tots. Yum.

Tater Tots are one of the greatest inventions known to humankind.

And you can quote me on that.

[_priapism]

Billionaire Tom Steyer quits Democratic primary race

The announcement came after an underwhelming finish in the South Carolina primary and spending nearly $160M on his campaign.

Down to 1.5 billionaires now.

[joan1984]

 Chris Matthews has been removed from Democrat Primary coverage, by MSNBC, after a few Biden like gaffes, and accusations of sexist behavior by a GQ writer, who was a frequent guest on his show.

  So is this just alcohol, or sexism ala Matt Lauer, or retribution over Matthews remarks about Bernie Sanders "nazi like" invasion of Nevada? Or, because he misidentified a Democrat, for a Republican, when what they have in common is being black?

  Time will tell, and Chris Matthews is not the fair haired boy he once was.

  This is included in this thread, because Chris Matthews, Democrat, same/same.

[_priapism]

Back on topic...

Pete Buttigieg quits Democratic presidential race

The first openly gay major presidential candidate, Mr. Buttigieg rose to the primary’s top tier, but was unable to build a broad coalition of voters, and lost badly in South Carolina Saturday.

[_priapism]

Amy Klobuchar Drops Out of Presidential Race and Plans to Endorse Biden

Ms. Klobuchar made her decision hours before Super Tuesday. She shocked the primary field with a third-place finish in New Hampshire, but ultimately could not compete with better-funded rivals.

[watcher1]

The two promising young candidates have dropped out, leaving the voters the usual "if I actually worked for a living I would be happily retired" candidates to choose from. As usual, money talks.

[joan1984]

 Amy joins establishment Democrats, Obama, in the effort to deny Bernie Sanders the Nomination. I think we have seen this movie before... are there any remaining Bernie Sanders fans at KB? Who are the fans of Bloomberg, if any? Just curious to know who's votes will be ignored, to block Bernie again.

Amy Klobuchar Drops Out of Presidential Race and Plans to Endorse Biden

Ms. Klobuchar made her decision hours before Super Tuesday. She shocked the primary field with a third-place finish in New Hampshire, but ultimately could not compete with better-funded rivals.

[Lois]

I didn't know you were such a Bernie fan, Joan!

[watcher1]

 Amy joins establishment Democrats, Obama, in the effort to deny Bernie Sanders the Nomination. I think we have seen this movie before... are there any remaining Bernie Sanders fans at KB? Who are the fans of Bloomberg, if any? Just curious to know who's votes will be ignored, to block Bernie again.

The Democratic leadership's mantra is "Anybody but Trump", They figure Sanders is too far to the left to attract the more moderate Democrats, the Independents, and those Republicans who do not like Trump. It didn't take long for those dropping out of the race to throw their support for Biden. I would like to see Sanders sweep Super Tuesday and stick it to the so called Party of the People. I am not a fan of Sanders but wish him luck. 

[MissBarbara]

 Amy joins establishment Democrats, Obama, in the effort to deny Bernie Sanders the Nomination. I think we have seen this movie before... are there any remaining Bernie Sanders fans at KB? Who are the fans of Bloomberg, if any? Just curious to know who's votes will be ignored, to block Bernie again.

The Democratic leadership's mantra is "Anybody but Trump", They figure Sanders is too far to the left to attract the more moderate Democrats, the Independents, and those Republicans who do not like Trump. It didn't take long for those dropping out of the race to throw their support for Biden. I would like to see Sanders sweep Super Tuesday and stick it to the so called Party of the People. I am not a fan of Sanders but wish him luck. 

It's not just the Democratic leadership, it's also Democratic voters. Keep in mind that "Anybody by Trump" was also the mantra in 2016, and, as I recall, that didn't work very well.

Of course, Democrats are going to vote for the Democratic candidate, no matter who he or she is. There's nothing wrong with that, that's the way elections work. Following Miss Barbara's Theory of U.S. Presidential Elections^TM, in every election, 40% of the voters will automatically vote for the Democratic candidate, 40% will automatically vote from the Republican candidate, and the remaining 20% decides the winner.

To my mind, Hillary Clinton failed because she gave us a very long list of reasons not to vote for Trump, and very few reasons to vote for her. Running as "Anyone but Trump" led her to fail to capture the bulk of that 20%.

Most to the point, Bernie Sanders is not the man to capture the needed majority of those 20-percenters. We hear constantly about how his campaign has created a lot of grassroots excitement among young voters, and while that it true, it belies one very important point: Young voters don't vote, and they don't vote in astonishingly high numbers.

[MissBarbara]

Most to the point, Bernie Sanders is not the man to capture the needed majority of those 20-percenters. We hear constantly about how his campaign has created a lot of grassroots excitement among young voters, and while that it true, it belies one very important point: Young voters don't vote, and they don't vote in astonishingly high numbers.

I feel like the train of thought hasn't quite reached the station here. Have you considered the possibility that younger voters will, in fact, be more motivated to vote when there is a candidate they care about?

The presidential election effectively has a binary result. A democrat will win or a republican will win. The margin is more or less irrelevant. To me, Sanders is the only viable option because he's the only remaining option that has a chance of actually winning. I think it's overall more likely that Biden will perform better, but I don't see that he has anything to offer that could possibly help him outpace Trump. Sanders comes with his own campaign that the American public may or may not be willing to invest in, but backing an outside chance seems more sensible than backing a guaranteed loss to me.

You are correct: I cannot conclusively demonstrate that, should Sanders win the Democratic nomination, young voters will not turn out in large numbers to vote for him, perhaps even propelling him into the White House.

But recent history backs my assertion, as does the data. In voter turnout analyses by age group, among all the different age groups, voters aged 18-24 have, by far, the lowest turnout rates. This graphic provides a snapshot:



More to the point, in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries, despite widespread enthusiasm for Sanders across the country among young people, those young enthusiasts did not become young voters. While I can't find a handy graphic like the one above to demonstrate this, while Sanders captured a greater percentage of the youth vote than Clinton in 2016, the turnout among young voters was still shockingly low.

And there's an additional salient fact. Bernie Sanders is 78 years old, and if nominated, he will be 79 on Election Day. For voters in the 18-24 demographic, that's the same age as their grandparents. At the risk of giving young voters more credit than they're due, these young Americans are very aware of what their grandparents can and cannot do, both physically and mentally. And I can readily imagine how this fact will give some young voters pause.

Finally, you may be correct that Sanders has a better chance of beating Trump in November than Biden (or Warren or Bloomberg). But there's little reason to believe that the youth vote will play any more than a minor roll, if any, in that determination. Biden isn't the most exciting guy, and he's only about a year younger than Sanders. But Sanders carries with him a small mountain of baggage -- real or perceived -- and that will weigh against him in a general election.

Most to the point, many Americans, especially those on the Left, refuse to study the reasons why Trump won in 2016. Assertions that he won because he captured the "conservative vote" or the "racist vote" or the "misogynist vote" or the "white supremacist vote" are aggressively short-sighted, yet very commonly stated (including here on KB). Trump succeeded because he (either alone or with the help of his advisors) put his finger on the sources of disaffection harbored by many Americans. The fact that it was all smoke and mirrors is, in context, beside the point.

[MissBarbara]

I'm sorry but I'm still struggling to follow the through line in your arguments. Earlier, you asserted that Sanders "is not the man to capture the needed majority of those 20-percenters" and my response is still that I basically think he has the best chance of what's left on the table.

You talked about his age. Biden is a year younger, Bloomberg is the same age and Warren is 70.

You talked about baggage, but do his rivals all not come with their own baggage? How does Sanders' baggage compare with Trump's in particular?

I posted about Sanders a few weeks ago and I still think the same. Just because he's not the best candidate for the job does not mean he's not still a better option than the alternatives.

Well, the topic under discussion -- and the posts I specifically responded to -- were not on the topic of which current Democratic candidate has the best chance of beating Trump in November. While that's an extremely germane discussion, and you very well may be right in your prognostications, I wasn't addressing that particular issue.

I mentioned Sanders' age (and Biden's and Bloomberg's and sure, throw in Warren's) strictly in context.

We clearly disagree on which is the best among the current candidates is "the man [or woman] to capture the needed majority of those 20-percenters." Nothing wrong with that, and that's what makes for interesting discussions. I'm not saying I'm right, and you may very well be correct. But, at this point, I am still unconvinced that an exciting Sanders might not be better than a boring Biden in swinging a sufficient number of voters into the Democratic column in November.

I think I made at least a fairly decent argument why Sanders likely will not energize a sufficient number of young voters into the polling places should be be the candidate in November, and, correspondingly, why the youth vote will likely not swing the election one way or another. But, as I noted, I might be wrong, and I'd be happy to red an argument to the contrary -- and perhaps even change my mind.

More to the point, virtually every discussion of the youth vote focuses on the Democratic Party alone. It's worth noting that my graphic outlines youth voting n general, and not by party. In the almost four years since the 2016 presidential election, don't think I've ever read anything or seen any data about young people voting for Trump, and the effect that might have had in his winning the election.

[_priapism]

GB, I’m not going to insult your intelligence, because your comments are usually spot on.  I understand your perceptions from the outside looking in.  But trust me, as an American in the inside, Bernie Sanders will be an absolute disaster for progressive politics and the Democratic Party.  The very reason Putin’s troll farms, and Trump himself, are promoting his candidacy.  Not only will he lose badly, he’ll probably cost the Dems the House majority they worked so hard to gain in 2018.

Bernie’s embrace of the term “socialism,” his Jewish heritage, his age, his health, his expensive proposals (none of which he can pass without a democratic majority in both sides of Congress), all spell trouble.  Trust me, it will be a train wreck that will make 2016 look like a cakewalk.

Americans are not particularly bright.  We’re isolated geographically, a xenophobic nation of immigrants.  We elected Trump.  That should tell you what we are up against.  Just saying “well maybe enough kids will turn out to vote” to offset the lost minority votes, the lost moderate votes, the lost suburban votes, the lost Rust Belt votes, is crazy talk.  Trust me, it won’t happen in America.

[joan1984]

  The Democrat Party has no worries about which aging incompetent may win, so long as one of them wins. A suitable behind the scenes elite will pull the strings, no matter which of them the Party drags across the finish line.

  Same as in 2016, when Donna Brazil was with CNN, feeding correct answers to Hillary Clinton in Democrat Primary debates, and eventually Bernie Sanders was flushed out of the Primary race, the same game plan is working now. The mistake last time was the choice of an incompetent and lazy Nominee, who could not be dragged across the only finish line that counts, the Electoral College as so many Americans want nothing to do with her.

  Seems Hillary is waiting even today, in the wings... with Bloomberg, Judge Judy and who knows what else they may conjure up, should Biden take the fall he has been working hard to take, prior to the Democrat Convention.

[_priapism]

Reading a script from Glavset.  How does it feel to be working for the Trolls from Olgino?  Who’s the traitor now?  You, or your con man idol?

[watcher1]

A Slurring Trump Calls For Buttigieg and Klobuchar To Be Impeached For Endorsing Joe Biden

Donald Trump was in regular form on Monday night, slurring his way through another MAGA mob rally by ramping up attacks on Democratic candidates, particularly the surging former Vice President Joe Biden.

At one point during his ramble, he accused Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar of a quid pro quo because the two candidates dropped out and endorsed Biden.
“Sounds like they made a deal, ya know?” Trump said. “Quid pro quo! They made a deal! Impeach them! They should be impeached! They should be impeached! Quid pro quo!”

[Jed_]

A Slurring Trump Calls For Buttigieg and Klobuchar To Be Impeached For Endorsing Joe Biden

Donald Trump was in regular form on Monday night, slurring his way through another MAGA mob rally by ramping up attacks on Democratic candidates, particularly the surging former Vice President Joe Biden.

At one point during his ramble, he accused Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar of a quid pro quo because the two candidates dropped out and endorsed Biden.
“Sounds like they made a deal, ya know?” Trump said. “Quid pro quo! They made a deal! Impeach them! They should be impeached! They should be impeached! Quid pro quo!”

He might not make it to the election.  He should think about his health and just resign.  Fat chance I guess.

[joan1984]

  "Quid Pro JoE", with a screaming crowd yelling "4 More Years"...

Just heard some of the Deep State endorsed Biden today, Susan Rice, Brennan and Comey... sounds like Joe was less than welcoming of some of them.

[_priapism]

It's official...Mike Bloomberg has pulled the plug.
 
http://www.startribune.com/ap-source-bloomberg-to-reassess-after-disappointing-results/568465422/

Add this news to Biden's success on Super Tuesday and Bernie's head must be spinning.  He was looking good a couple days ago and now there's a complete reversal. 

Maybe it's just the voters coming to their senses. That's right, I don't like Bernie.