But who's better?

Post #434,752 by pwhysall 6/25/20 4:28:48 AM 6/25/20 4:53:37 AM Reply	But who's better? I see this a lot with the Dems. So-and-so is problematic, they've got this or that history, they're not "weighty" enough, whatever. Newsflash: this is every candidate for every political party in the world, ever. Pick the least worst, and get on with it. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and all that. ETA: there are parallels with the Labour Party in the UK, only instead of picking someone who could win, the Party (due in no small part to an unwise decision to allow the broader Party membership to effectively control the outcome, effectively nullifying the ability of MPs to influence the outcome; MPs like to win, hence are more likely to pick a winning leader) selected the ideologically pure candidate, Jeremy Corbyn - a man who has achieved very little in his 34 years in parliament, having served on no committees, held no high office during Labour's 13-year run in the early 2000s, written no books, etc. - who went on to contest and lose two general elections; the first against the weakest incumbent government in recent history, and the second by a margin not seen since 1935. To howls of anguish from the purity ponies, Keir Starmer is now leader. He is a barrister, formerly the Director of Public Prosecutions, speaks well, eviscerates Johnson at PMQs every Wednesday, looks good in a suit, has good hair, doesn't have a shit beard, etc. Result: he's polling well above Johnson. Like, ten to fifteen points above. Bernie Bros would be wise to reflect on this. Edited by pwhysall June 25, 2020, 04:53:37 AM EDT But who's better? I see this a lot with the Dems. So-and-so is problematic, they've got this or that history, they're not "weighty" enough, whatever. Newsflash: this is every candidate for every political party in the world, ever. Pick the least worst, and get on with it. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and all that. Collapse All History
Post #434,762 by Another Scott 6/25/20 10:15:44 AM 6/25/20 10:15:44 AM Reply	dick_nixon likes Warren. dick_nixon is just some guy, but he makes a decent point now and then. Your points are well taken. As I said, it's not a big deal, but she should do better. It was an easily predictable, and reasonable question. Candidates go after each other at debates, then come together, all the time. There was nothing out-of-bounds about her comments, nor Biden's responses, during the debate. Politics ain't beanbag. They need to be able to explain themselves and talk about how their views have changed over time, etc. Laughing and saying, several times, "it was a DEBATE" wasn't good enough. I don't know who Biden is going to pick, and who he picks probably won't have a huge impact on the outcome in the presidential race. It might, or might not, affect enthusiasm for the rest of the races - who knows. I like Warren too, but I think she can and will do much more important work in the Senate. re Corbyn - Sometimes the party matters much, much more than the candidate. The UK is going to continue to suffer needless pain because it didn't see that. If you believe Tony Jay on Balloon-Juice, Corbyn was being undercut by Blarites (and the press) and others who would rather destroy the Labour party than see him win. Dunno. But regardless, tens of thousands have died under BoJo that probably wouldn't have died under Labour. My $0.02. Cheers, Scott.
Post #434,777 by pwhysall 6/25/20 12:24:34 PM 6/25/20 12:24:34 PM Reply	Re: dick_nixon likes Warren. If you believe Tony Jay on Balloon-Juice, Corbyn was being undercut by Blarites (and the press) and others who would rather destroy the Labour party than see him win. Dunno. But regardless, tens of thousands have died under BoJo that probably wouldn't have died under Labour. Heh, that's the opposite of what actually happened. Corbyn's enablers (a pressure group called Momentum, plus the purity ponies in the Party membership at large, whose jobs didn't depend on an effective leader) kept him there despite there being literally years of evidence that he was shit at every single aspect of being Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition. Party before country, writ large. And I don't have any confidence that a Corbyn government would have had a long-term better outcome. I think they'd have locked up so hard that the economy tanked completely, and whilst there would be short-term wins in terms of COVID-19 deaths, millions more would have shitty, shorter lives, because poverty is a motherfucker.
Post #434,785 by boxley 6/25/20 1:13:00 PM 6/25/20 1:13:00 PM Reply	I like bottoms Keisha Lance Bottoms "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman

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