Interesting, but the younger vote base has moved further left than your typical Obama profile politician (who I tend to agree Mayor Pete has an uncanny similarity to). He's a centrist Democrat, and while he is not going to lose many Democrat votes to Trump, I'm worried he might not inspire the left wing base either. Also not seen enough of him, but is he aggressive enough? There's always the worry about having another decent Dem President wanting to reach across the aisle, at a time when the Dems cannot afford to drop the ball again with regards a Supreme Court vacancy or two, should they win the presidency.
I don't think he's necessarily a centrist. I don't think we actually know that much about his core issues. If you have a look at his
wikipedia page, he's pro Green New Deal and pro-single payer healthcare. I think those are the two key issues. I don't think he needs to be any further left than he is on immigration because I think overcommitting in the primaries on Trump's signature issue is probably a very dangerous move. I think what he isn't though, is someone who has done the homework on the issues like a Warren has, which is why I think Warren would be a good running mate if he gets the nomination.
Is he aggressive enough? I think that remains to be seen. To be honest, I don't doubt any major candidate as far as their ruthlessness if they get into office. I think we've all learned a lot from the Obama years, and we've learned a lot more since then. The most moderate of moderates is going to to be hardened to battling McConnell's shenanigans.
But as far as the general election goes, I think having a bit of cut through with people outside of the social-liberal bubble is a very good thing, and I think along with Warren and Sanders (because of their focus on inequality), he's probably as good a bet as any for being able to reach through to the other side.
My guess is whoever wins the nomination, he'd be top of the pile in their consideration for VP - young, erudite, gay, gets the mid-west under the belt, and build a strong rep to run in 2024 or 2028.
Agree. Unless they're worried about a 'too much heat at the bottom of the ticket situation', but that seems secondary.
My larger worry though is how Trump seems to have normalised corruption, ineptness and set the bar so low for himself. I'm also pretty disappointed that the Dems have not been raking enough shit on the GOP/Trump after reclaiming the House. They're still playing decent politics with McConnell and Trump on the other side. I'm still very unclear on what the Dem strategy in 2020 is - if it was to go all out anti-Trump, they should already be turning the screws now with some major bombs closer to the election. They ran a pure policy/healthcare campaign for mid-terms but you cannot rely on that as your only strategy in a presidential election, especially given who is on the other side.
Not sure I agree to be honest. Trump is his own worst enemy with 52 per cent of the electorate (he hasn't had a disapproval rating under 52 per cent since May 2017). After 4 years of him (5 by next year), you don't need to convince people that can be reached at all of Trump's flaws. The Democrats need to run a strong campaign that convinces people to turn out for whoever they nominate, and not just not vote for the Republicans. Because Trump's approval rating has never sunk lower than 36.9 per cent, and you can bet your bottom dollar that whatever you manage to throw against him, his base is going to turn out.
My dream ticket would be Warren-Buttigieg or Buttigieg-Warren. Substance and cut-through, both.
