The “Who is running in 2020?” tea leaves thread, Part 3

[ViaActiva]

Dunno if we caught this, but

https://twitter.com/petebuttigieg/status/1075031309632892930?s=21

The Mayor is headed to Iowa!

I don't understand Buttigieg hype.  The guy was mayor of a city of 100,000.  South Bend isn't in the top 10,25,50, or even 100 cities.  According to Wikipedia it's ranked 301 in the US.  And he's not even like Ojeda, who has a message that's especially different from the party mainstream.  Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the guy, but Pete Buttigieg just doesn't seem like Presidential material at this time.

But if this is how we're going to do things, Boulder Mayor Suzanne "Zan" Jones 2020!  She runs the 280th largest city in the US.

I think Trump's win has really eroded the idea that a president needs tons of prior experience.

This I really do not understand - are we seriously taking Trump as the benchmark of credibility now?

[ViaActiva]

Bloomberg campaign will be largely self-funded:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/26/mike-bloomberg-likely-to-spend-over-100-million-on-a-2020-campaign-for-president-if-he-chooses-to-run.html

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Won't accept any money from PACs but, in the unlikely event that he wins the nomination, I assume he'll still take individual donations.  Because running in the general election costs ~$1 billion, and I assume he doesn't want to come up with that all by himself.

He's worth ~$50bn and has already given at least $8bn to charity, so not really a big sum for him.

[ViaActiva]

V. much doubt she is thinking of 2020, but could be on the trail.

BBC: Angelina Jolie hints at move into politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-46699457

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[ViaActiva]

Atlanta is the de facto capital of black America, it makes sense from that standpoint.

Yep, makes sense for Kamala to lay a claim to the early Southern primaries.

[ViaActiva]

Washington Post has just published an op-ed from Senator-elect Mitt Romney:

"The president shapes the public character of the nation. Trump’s character falls short."

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So he wants to be an independent critic of Trump in the Senate like McCain or Flake, but like Kasich, is he considering one step further? He may feel he has a duty to primary Trump.

[ViaActiva]

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Haha. The word 'leadership' is doing a lot of work here...

[ViaActiva]

I like how so many people here are opposed to Brown seeking the Presidency instead of keeping his seat in Ohio, but no-one is complaining about the idea of the Democrats' best candidate in Texas running for President and not the Senate. Not inconsistent at all...

[ViaActiva]

I like how so many people here are opposed to Brown seeking the Presidency instead of keeping his seat in Ohio, but no-one is complaining about the idea of the Democrats' best candidate in Texas running for President and not the Senate. Not inconsistent at all...

One's a senator and one's a hypothetical. How you can't differentiate that idk.

But surely if Beto O'Rourke is so great 'the next Obama' he should be the Democrats' best chance of taking a Democrat trending state in 2020? Not just a 'hypothetical'?

[ViaActiva]

There was way too much hype and expectation of Beto from people who should have known better. He should try running for Senate in 2020 if he wants to stay in politics.

[ViaActiva]

Beto stopped raising money after he lost and hasn't met donors yet.

I think it's fair to say now that he is very likely not running.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/29/opinions/beto-orourke-is-driving-the-political-class-nuts-axelrod/index.html

Axelrod thinks he might be, but he's just being "Beto" and taking a completely unconventional approach with his road trip. There's still his Times Square interview with Oprah next week, which makes me think he's not out of the running just yet.

Sarah Palin 2012 comes to mind...

[ViaActiva]

I doubt that Beto and Biden run, maybe Biden.