Iowa Caucus 2020 - MegaThread

[Edge-]

They stopped the primaries this year because they feared Trump would lose some because there was actual candidates challenging him.

That's nonsense, there's no candidate for the Republican party that even hits double digit support from those that announced primary challenges.

Joe Walsh - Republicans hated him from the get-go and he's polled like garbage in the few polls I've seen. He's hardly a stand-up guy either, being the "YOU LIE" guy from the Obama SOTU

Bill Weld - Similarly, non-existent polling.

Rocky De La Fuente - Fucking who?

Mark Sanford - Similarly nonexistent polling, with a campaign kickoff that was apparently primarily attended by 1 local media reporter and a group of curious, confused French students who wanted to know why he had a gigantic check.

This is not an actual fear. The fear is insulting Trump or damaging his sensitive ego. There's no chance of any Republican primary challenger posing even the tiniest of threats to Trump. It's all about his ego.

[Xeones]

That's nonsense, there's no candidate for the Republican party that even hits double digit support from those that announced primary challenges.

Joe Walsh - Republicans hated him from the get-go and he's polled like garbage in the few polls I've seen. He's hardly a stand-up guy either, being the "YOU LIE" guy from the Obama SOTU

Bill Weld - Similarly, non-existent polling.

Rocky De La Fuente - Fucking who?

Mark Sanford - Similarly nonexistent polling, with a campaign kickoff that was apparently primarily attended by 1 local media reporter and a group of curious, confused French students who wanted to know why he had a gigantic check.

This is not an actual fear. The fear is insulting Trump or damaging his sensitive ego. There's no chance of any Republican primary challenger posing even the tiniest of threats to Trump. It's all about his ego.

Ah I wasn't suggesting they would win the primary, I was intending to mean individual primary votes. It would shame and damage him, he already attacks fellow republicans at the drop of the hat, it's hard to tell what he would do if he felt slighted by results.

[breadisfunny]

It's one week later.

Why hasn't the leadership of the Iowa Democratic party resigned in disgrace yet?

i haven't exactly been following events but what happened?

[Shadowferal]

i haven't exactly been following events but what happened?

Nothing.
I believe that's the problem.

[draynay]

i haven't exactly been following events but what happened?

If reading the thread you're posting in is too much trouble, there's always google.

[Edge-]

i haven't exactly been following events but what happened?

This entire shitshow from their decision to use an untested app with no training for staff, to their backup systems failing, to mass confusion for participants etc.

This entire shitshow as because the IDP is fucking incompetent, and refuse to accept responsibility for their monumental fuckups. It's all in this thread, give it a read.

[Cthulhu 2020]

Oh I’ve probably been insulting. I don’t respect them one bit. I think they represent - irrespective of their political ideology which isn’t the problem here - something incredibly offensive to American political norms. Tremendously popular politicians are nothing new. But the cult like following of Bernie and Trump? It’s a new and deeply un-American practice. American politics are almost always about the idea with the man as a vehicle. Not with Trump and not with Bernie. With them, their supporters very much are about the man. And it is revolting.

So I am very much disgusted with the BernieBros. But that’s largely because I’m allergic to their political extremism.

Notice what I haven’t mentioned though: the ideology. Democratic Socialism. I think they’re bad ideas. Not my cup of tea remotely. But they’re perfectly legitimate beliefs. I don’t fault the BernieBros for believing in what they are believing.

This comes down to the essence of America - compromise. It’s the only way all this works. He’ll our very constitution is built on a series of compromises. The problem with the BernieBros is that they don’t do that. They think their passion supersedes that. Should they ever actually make it into government, they will find themselves frozen by their inability to advance their agenda because of this.

And that is why I do not and will never take them seriously or respect them.

- - - Updated - - -



I’m conservative. I left the Republican Party in the summer of 2018. I will never go back to them. The Republican Party must be burned to the ground and it’s foundation uprooted.

This is EXACTLY how I feel on the issue. I actually want Democratic socialism, but when I see the Bernie Bros posting here, all I see is the cult of Bernie, the left wing version of the cult of Trump. Ideologically they are bankrupt. They prop up a man rather than an ideology. The Bernie Bros vehemently opposed Elizabeth Warren simply because she was slightly more center than Bernie. They support one man and one man only. They issue ideological purity tests and if you don't follow it, you will be attacked by a pack of rabid posters. They balk at the idea of political compromise - if they don't get their way, you are the enemy, you are not to be compromised with, and they choose to take political hostages.

[Dug]

That's funny you're accusing others of attacking in a "pack". It's the anti-sanders crowd that has nothing to do with their day other than hound a single poster for pages and pages from sunrise to sunset. Nobody is "attacking" you, weirdo. Support your boring centrist candidate we know you'll vote for Sanders anyways remember Blue No Matter Who™

[Telogrus]

This entire shitshow from their decision to use an untested app with no training for staff, to their backup systems failing, to mass confusion for participants etc.

This entire shitshow as because the IDP is fucking incompetent, and refuse to accept responsibility for their monumental fuckups. It's all in this thread, give it a read.

They’re literally refusing to correct math errors because it would “hurt the integrity of the caucus”

[Endus]

This is EXACTLY how I feel on the issue. I actually want Democratic socialism, but when I see the Bernie Bros posting here, all I see is the cult of Bernie, the left wing version of the cult of Trump. Ideologically they are bankrupt. They prop up a man rather than an ideology. The Bernie Bros vehemently opposed Elizabeth Warren simply because she was slightly more center than Bernie. They support one man and one man only. They issue ideological purity tests and if you don't follow it, you will be attacked by a pack of rabid posters. They balk at the idea of political compromise - if they don't get their way, you are the enemy, you are not to be compromised with, and they choose to take political hostages.

It's a simple concept; help push the needle. If you want things to be more democratically-socialist, vote for the candidate that will take you more in that direction. If a candidate is too extreme for the populace, and has basically no chance at election, vote for the viable candidate who comes closest.

Throwing a fit because you didn't get your preferred candidate, and refusing to vote, means you stop pushing the needle. So when it slips further away, because the opposing candidate won, you bear part of that blame. If you'd voted, you could say you'd done your best, but instead, you stood by and watched.

It's like saying "but I didn't stab the guy!" to justify why you stood there filming as he bled out in the street, rather than calling 911 and trying to staunch the bleeding until the ambulance arrived. Sure, you're not the stabber, but you're not helping, either, and that says a lot about you as a person.

[Telogrus]

That's funny you're accusing others of attacking in a "pack". It's the anti-sanders crowd that has nothing to do with their day other than hound a single poster for pages and pages from sunrise to sunset. Nobody is "attacking" you, weirdo. Support your boring centrist candidate we know you'll vote for Sanders anyways remember Blue No Matter Who™

Ignore them. They will tell you that Tom Perez trying to “drive a fork” in Bernie’s Latino support in 2016, Donna Brazille leaking debate questions to Hillary, DNC elites talking about bringing up Bernie’s secularism in religious states to drive down his support, MSM showing Hillary with a 700 delegate lead because they’re counting superdelegates even though they’re not pledged for a certain candidate until the convention, forcing the vice-chair (Tulsi) to resign in disgrace for endorsing Bernie, and all the other nonsense the DNC pulled during 2016 is not proof that the DNC is unfair to Bernie. The facts are right in front of them, but they’d rather stick their head in the sand and ignore that they see.

[Shadowferal]

Sounds like a lot of sour grape Hillary supporters still exist

[Flarelaine]

I mean, nominally there are primaries, but that's because there's never a full fledged primary when there's an incumbent. Including for Democrats.

Untrue. There were primaries against the incumbent in 1992, 1996, 2004 and 2012 (I did not dig back further). While none of these challenges were serious, primaries were properly and dutifully held.

God-Emperors brook no challenge, though. Perish the thought.

[Edge-]

Untrue. There were primaries against the incumbent in 1992, 1996, 2004 and 2012 (I did not dig back further). While none of these challenges were serious, primaries were properly and dutifully held.

God-Emperors brook no challenge, though. Perish the thought.

I meant functionally, not literally.

Yes, there are nominally still primaries with an incumbent, but they're a matter of show and not anything serious. There has not been, to my knowledge, any serious primary challenger for a presidential incumbent in modern history.

Which is why I don't have big issues with Republicans giving up the dog and pony show, especially considering we know not a one of their candidates has a shred of support from the party.

[Flarelaine]

I meant functionally, not literally.

Yes, there are nominally still primaries with an incumbent, but they're a matter of show and not anything serious. There has not been, to my knowledge, any serious primary challenger for a presidential incumbent in modern history.

Which is why I don't have big issues with Republicans giving up the dog and pony show, especially considering we know not a one of their candidates has a shred of support from the party.

Going through the motions is still an integral and arguably important component of democracy.

[Edge-]

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...ed/4741566002/

And we finally have some closure. IDP chairman Troy Price has resigned.

[Drutt]

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...ed/4741566002/

And we finally have some closure. IDP chairman Troy Price has resigned.

Better late than never I suppose.

[Elegiac]

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...ed/4741566002/

And we finally have some closure. IDP chairman Troy Price has resigned.

The real winner of the Democratic Primary is the push to cut the early voting states down to size.

[Cthulhu 2020]

I'm voting for whoever is running on the Democrat ticket, regardless of who it actually is, because at this point I'm really just voting against Trump. The Bernie crowd is getting extremely toxic on Twitter, it seems even MORE so than in 2016, if you even believe that possible. I'm not counting on any one particular candidate winning. But I will say, the Democrat primaries are shaping up a lot to look like 2016's Republican. Too many players on the field, splitting the vote. We need a centrist candidate and a progressive candidate and that's all.

But regardless of whoever wins, I hope the Bernie or Bust folks realize one thing: Their dreams aren't coming true. They put too much weight on the power of the president, and while Trump is truly making me question this, according to our laws the president actually has very little authority over laws. Bernie facing down a Senate and Congress that will either be majority Republicans or centrist Democrats is not going to get anything done. If you want change, you have to do it in the legislature. Otherwise they're going to whine and moan for 4-8 years about how stonewalled Bernie is.