Quo Vadis, Democrats?

[Valmy]

Oh fuck him.

Agreed Embarrassing.

See? Sheilbh and garbon get it.

[Admiral Yi]

See? Sheilbh and garbon get it.

Shelf appears to be building his case on a different logical line than you, so I don't know what you want me to see.

[Josquius]

I know nothing of this guy, but not sure of the reaction here. He's trolling Trump by imitating him, he's not being serious there, I assume we all recognise this. The problem is then...him in general? or that he lowers himself to winding up trump?

[Valmy]

See? Sheilbh and garbon get it.

Shelf appears to be building his case on a different logical line than you, so I don't know what you want me to see.

What makes it embarrassing? I presume because it comes off as phony. Which is what I was attempting to get at.

I do admire his determination and his ambition. I wish we had more Democrats with those qualities. It is the phoniness that worries me.

[Admiral Yi]

What makes it embarrassing? I presume because it comes off as phony. Which is what I was attempting to get at.

I do admire his determination and his ambition. I wish we had more Democrats with those qualities. It is the phoniness that worries me.

I assumed it had to do with the immorality of lowering yourself to your opponent's level by gerrymandering.  But hopefully Shelf can speak for himself at some point.

[viper37]

Gavin Newsome wants to be President and be this big Democratic leader so bad. I kind of admire his hustle and determination. It is too bad he is so obviously a sleezy dude.

Who do you see as a good presidential candidate that can defeat the Forces of evil?

Sanders is a sleezy dude.  He gave his support to Chavez, and never condemned Maduro, only distanced himself.  Dictators from the left are good, dictators from the right are evil.

AOC is marching in the same path but only more energetic due to her young age.  She blamed the sanctions on Venezuela as root cause of the immigration crisis of the US.  That's at best a mixed bag to avoid condemning the far left Maduro regime.

I do like Tim Walz, he seems like a straight guy, and he took time to tour the US for town hall meetings.  But he's been sidelined by the party during the campaign, and after following the defeat.  Not going to win.


At this point, Newsom might be a sleezy dude, but he's one that's going to respect the Constitutional order of the country.

Centrist and leftist will need to avoid repeating past mistakes.

[garbon]

Gavin is a piece of shit who stands for nothing but Gavin. He has already been happy to throw trans people under the bus and frankly appears the sort to dispose of anyone if it helps him on his path to the Whitehouse.

His post was puerile as there's nothing interesting about mimicking Trumpian messaging.

I'll vote for him if I must (given it would vote for a paper bag over a Republican) but it won't because I expect great things.

[Valmy]

Gavin Newsome wants to be President and be this big Democratic leader so bad. I kind of admire his hustle and determination. It is too bad he is so obviously a sleezy dude.

Who do you see as a good presidential candidate that can defeat the Forces of evil?

Sanders is a sleezy dude.  He gave his support to Chavez, and never condemned Maduro, only distanced himself.  Dictators from the left are good, dictators from the right are evil.

Maybe Sanders is sleezy but he doesn't come off that way. People like him and think he is earnest.

Newsome comes off as sleezy to me. That potentially is a problem.

AOC is marching in the same path but only more energetic due to her young age.  She blamed the sanctions on Venezuela as root cause of the immigration crisis of the US.  That's at best a mixed bag to avoid condemning the far left Maduro regime.

I do like Tim Walz, he seems like a straight guy, and he took time to tour the US for town hall meetings.  But he's been sidelined by the party during the campaign, and after following the defeat.  Not going to win.

At this point, Newsom might be a sleezy dude, but he's one that's going to respect the Constitutional order of the country.

Centrist and leftist will need to avoid repeating past mistakes.

The mistake in this case would be putting up a candidate who is disliked and comes off as phony. That is one we have done a lot. So Newsome makes me nervous. I don't think he has it. AOC and Sanders, and their allies, have never been selected for or nominated for a national office or a leadership position in the Democratic Party so how could they be the mistake? That might be a new mistake, potentially, but certainly not a repeat of a past one.

But if he is the guy, then I will support him.

[Sheilbh]

I assumed it had to do with the immorality of lowering yourself to your opponent's level by gerrymandering.  But hopefully Shelf can speak for himself at some point.

No mainly the phoniness and shallowness.

I think gerrymandering is wrong - but as far as I can see it's just part of the warp and weave of American democracy.

[DGuller]

Frankly I don't care how phony and shallow you are if at the end of the day, you're bringing a gun to a gunfight.  Gerrymander is bad, but it's even worse when it's done only by GOP.  I'll start caring when Democrats have more people who take the fight to GOP than they need.

[Sheilbh]

I should clarify - I'm not commenting at all on the content or the issue.

I read those tweets (and everything he's doing) as part of a preliminary to a Presidential run. That's the context in which I'm saying phony and shallow - and won't work.

[garbon]

Frankly I don't care how phony and shallow you are if at the end of the day, you're bringing a gun to a gunfight.  Gerrymander is bad, but it's even worse when it's done only by GOP.  I'll start caring when Democrats have more people who take the fight to GOP than they need.

Newsom gave a platform to Bannon when he had him on his podcast. That doesn't seem like bringing a gun to a gunfight. More like their are plenty of fine people on both sides.

[DGuller]

Frankly I don't care how phony and shallow you are if at the end of the day, you're bringing a gun to a gunfight.  Gerrymander is bad, but it's even worse when it's done only by GOP.  I'll start caring when Democrats have more people who take the fight to GOP than they need.

Newsom gave a platform to Bannon when he had him on his podcast. That doesn't seem like bringing a gun to a gunfight. More like their are plenty of fine people on both sides.

People a lot worse than Bannon get a bigger platform when they get elected.  I'll prioritize avoiding that.

[Oexmelin]

Gavin Newsom strikes me as the kind of person who wishes to steal Trump's playbook, not fight it.

A political messiah will not save the US democratic decline.

[The Minsky Moment]

Newsom has been playing the Clinton triangulation game; trying to insulate himself against anti-woke narratives while still retaining some leftie street cred.  But he doesn't have Clinton's populist bio and Bubba charm.  Newsom is tall, speaks well, and has some movie star-like flash. Is that what America is looking for?  I have no idea anymore.  I'm resigned to the fact that I just don't understand many of my fellow countrymen.   I don't understand how GOP primary voters can compare the winsome Nikki Haley vs. the disgusting human train wreck that is Trump, and overwhelmingly opt for Trump.  What's left of my political gut tells me Newsom has an authenticity problem; the rise of Mamdani suggests that core Democrats may be looking for fresh and genuine faces.  But honestly, I just don't know jack anymore.  If Gavin is what people want, then great, I'll support that.