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Joe Biden Winning means?…Things we’ll no longer have to worry about…Open Thread for 3/7/2020

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I couldn’t say this better than Bret…..

By Bret Stephens Opinion Columnist @ NY Times….

If Joe Biden wins the Democratic nomination, I’ll worry that his candidacy might be doomed. Doomed by Sanders supporters who, out of pique, will sit out the election; doomed by a throwback messenger with no particularly stirring message; doomed by hints of infirmity that many voters find worrisome and that Donald Trump will exploit with crass efficiency.

If, despite this, Biden wins the presidency, I’ll worry that, as a potential one-termer, he’ll bend too far to appease his party’s progressive wing. That he’ll do so in order to cut a figure for history. That he’ll over-empower federal agencies, overregulate business and overtax individuals. That he’ll appoint judges with cramped views of religious liberty and free speech. That he’ll resume a policy of appeasement toward Iran.

Then again, if Biden wins, there will be other things that, for a change, I won’t have to worry about. And most of these will be the things that really matter.

If Biden wins only the nomination, I won’t have to worry that there’s a fair chance that, in Bernie Sanders, a man could be elected president who, without nuance or discrimination, demonizes entire sectors of American industry. I won’t have to worry about getting my health insurance taken from me, or watch my savings shrink to nothing thanks to monetary policy on the Weimar Republic model. I won’t have to worry that the self-described “dirtbag left” will become to the Democratic Party what the Hannity-Carlson-Ingraham right is to the Republican Party.

I won’t have to worry that not one, but both, major U.S. parties have become unrecognizable from what they were just five years ago; that they’ve succumbed to their respective extremes; that nowhere in American politics do centrists have sway; and that on nothing is compromise possible.

And if Biden wins the White House?

In that case, I won’t have to worry about the president trying to criminalize his political opponent. Not with demagogic chants of “Lock her up,” nor with quiet attempts to strong-arm an ally for the sake of digging up dirt on an American citizen. I won’t have to worry about White House officials being forced to choose between their ethical obligations and their loyalty to the president. I won’t have to worry about an attorney general who chooses loyalty over obligation — and, a year later, is bluntly reprimanded by a Republican-appointed federal judge for doing so….

More…

image…Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times

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    • The site’s sidebar has been updated….

      Biden is now 9.5% points ahead of Sanders in National polling average at RCP….

      • In relation to sidebars, here is the countdown to contests in the rest of this month:
        3 day[s] or 0 weeks & 3 day[s] until
        Hawaii (GOP),
        Idaho
        Michigan
        Mississippi
        Missouri
        North Dakota (DNL [Democratic-Nonpartisan League])
        Washington &
        Democrats Abroad
        on Tuesday, March 10

        7 day[s] or 1 weeks & 0 day[s] until
        Northern Mariana Islands (D caucus)
        on Saturday, March 14

        10 day[s] or 1 weeks & 3 day[s] until
        Arizona (D)
        Florida
        Illinois &
        Ohio
        on Tuesday, March 17

        17 day[s] or 2 weeks & 3 day[s] until
        Georgia
        on Tuesday, March 24

        22 day[s] or 3 weeks & 1 day[s] until
        Puerto Rico (D)
        on Sunday, March 29

        (Original, official, data from the FEC; other, less-official, sources — such as RealClearPolitics.com, Electoral-Vote.com, ElectionProjection.com, Dave Leip’s Atlas, Wikipedia, Ballotpedia and TheGreenPapers.com — may have better or more up-to-date calendars.)

        There’s a very rough theme to next Tuesday’s Democratic primaries: (a) Mississippi & Missouri and (b) a disconnected string of Northern states with Canadian borders, from Washington to Idaho to North Dakota to Michigan (Minnesota having already voted).. My guess is that Sanders will do reasonably well in Wash., Idaho & N.D., but have a close race in Michigan while losing Miss. & Missouri.

        • Biden again has a best chance pick up to 200 delegates .:..
          Sanders less than 50 ….

          • Is sanders support collapsing

            Harry enten
            Second Washington poll in 2 days showing Biden with a slight (within MOE) edge. Sanders should be crushing here.

    • A shout to Jared Arnold @ (WP Engine Support) for his hands on work helping to keep this place running on all 8 cylinders!….

      Thanks!

  2. Beautiful morning in St. Louis. The line to get into Biden’s rally that starts in an hour is 2 and a half blocks long. Glad I got here early!

    • Enjoy Scott!….

      Sure wouldn’t a post from ya to post up here later or tomorrow ….

      • Apparently about 2000 attended. Joe did great and lots of enthusiasm from the crowd. A few of the “let dairy die” weirdos protested but they were quickly drowned out and Biden just said “they are like the worst of the Trump supporters. Ignore them”

        • Glad you had a good time…

          I watched some of his speech on cable…

          Good Morning everyone i hope u ser ur clocks AHEAD A HOUR..,..

        • Bernie Sanders had about 10,000 people yesterday at Grant Park in Chicago. No, I was not among them.

          What was that statue behind Biden?

          • ThisWeekABC

            Sen. Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday results: “One of the things I was kind of not surprised by was the power of the establishment to force Amy Klobuchar, who had worked so hard, Pete Buttigieg who had really worked extremely hard as well out of the race.” abcn.ws/2W1ezbr

  4. A Nikki Haley interview that might interest Jack, among others — with Margaret Hoover on PBS’s Firing Line, which I saw today but is listed as having been recorded last December 19th.

    Her apologies for Trump’s attacks on multilateralism and international organizations seemed a bit muddled (maybe I was too muddleheaded to appreciate some subtle nuance), but she did admit (under pressing from Margaret Hoover) that the U.S. should not have cancelled a U.N Security Council meeting on human rights in North Korea. She also said that America should stick by her allies, but seemed to say that Trump somehow compensated for abandoning the Kurds by leaving 8,000 GI’s in northern Syria, for some unclear purpose or other.

    She was much clearer about her actions to remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Statehouse (emphasizing that criticizing retentionists’ motives would have made it harder to do so), and her experiences growing up brown in a black-&-white world.

    http://www.pbs.org/wnet/firing-line/video/nikki-haley-tpu9tf/

    • Nate Silver
      @NateSilver538
      I don’t get why prediction markets think there’s a ~60% chance of a recession this year but that Trump is a ~55% favorite for re-election. One of those forecasts is almost certainly wrong.

      • Good Morning People….

        Bernie Sanders is NOT gonna have a good day tomorrow….

        His campaign is all but over….

        It will go on….

        But it’s done….

        Donald Trump and Bill Barr are going after another Biden and it’s gonna backfire….

        This country and world economies are going south due too a virus…

        Stay tuned….

        • It’s only the fifth or sixth inning, James, and already you’re trying to invoke the Mercy Rule even before we know what’s happening tomorrow [for all we know now, Sanders could do better than expected in Michigan and/or worse than expected in Washington state].

          The Fat Lady ain’t even started to sing “God Bless America”.

          Ten days ago (before S. Carolina and before SuperTuesday), you were making the case that Biden still had a beggarman’s chance.

          I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. [Ecclesiastes 9:11]

  6. Dow Jones Industrial Average Index
    24,400.38
    ▼ 1,464.40 (5.66%)
    March 9, 10:08 AM EDT

    Year’s High
    29,551.42
    on Feb 12, 2020

    • POLITICO
      @politico
      The Working Families Party, a major left-wing group that supported Elizabeth Warren for president, is throwing its weight behind Bernie Sanders

  7. Joe Bidden not known for speaking, well said it best last Tuesday night, it might be over for the other guy…I broke down his win that night 10 states to 4 states, then when you include the previous four the wins go like this:
    11 for Biden
    6 for Bernie
    1 for Buttieg

    If Biden takes 4 of 7 tomorrow then your at
    15 for Biden
    9 for Bernie
    1 for Buttieg

    That is half the states…I know delegate count and everything is divided differently by every state, but truthfully winning states are symbolic and can ultimately break a candidate…If Bernie doesn’t win three tomorrow the race is a done deal (though I already think it is) that would just be the nail in the coffin…If he wins three, then he may fight on for the rest of the Month…But once Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio go down for Biden that’s a wrap.

    • I think they are setting this up as Michigan since he rabbit out of the hat there back i9n 2016….

      Polling has Biden WTF hard there…

      If it’s a blow out?

      Bernie is in for a BIG letdown and the drums will be beating for his supporters to jump ship….

      Sanders is stubborn and crazy….

      But in the end?

      He rolls with the Democrats in the Senate…

      And he WILL be under YUGE pressure to drop out and support Biden…

      Democrats ARE aiming at Trump….

      Sanders carrying on will get old REAL fast…

  8. Texas was the big loss, he spent so much time and organization and not to get a win is crushing…his soul must hurt…I kind of feel for the guy, he campaigned and organized so hard, for the last 6 years, but still can’t win…Rudy Sanders…but glad he probably won’t be the candidate because I don’t particularly love the guy and he is a little too out there….

    • Yes….

      But I wasn’t surprised…

      Away from the talking heads?

      There are MORE black voters and suburban white voters in Texas than Latino’s and young voters….

      It’s been breaking THAT way after the two amateur contests…

      • Polling Sidebar updated …

        Biden now leads Trump nationally by +6.5 to Sanders +4.9….

        Biden leads Sanders nationally by +16.0

  10. Dow Jones Industrial Average Index
    Index: DJI
    24,524.84
    ▲ 673.82 (2.83%)
    March 10, 2:55 PM EDT

    • Dow Jones Industrial Average Index
      Index: DJI
      25,018.16
      ▲ 1,167.14 (4.89%)
      March 10, 4:10 PM EDT

      • Dow down over 800 pts in less than 50 min.:

        Dow Jones Industrial Average Index
        Index: DJI
        24,203.70
        ▼ 814.46 (3.26%)
        March 11, 10:19 AM EDT

          • Dow now down nearly a thousand points (absent everything else, one would expect Joe Biden’s near-sweep yesterday to lift the market):

            Dow Jones Industrial Average Index
            Index: DJI
            24,037.23
            ▼ 980.93 (3.92%)
            March 11, 12:05 PM EDT

          • Dow now down 999 points:

            Dow Jones Industrial Average Index
            Index: DJI
            24,019.14
            ▼ 999.02 (3.99%)
            March 11, 12:07 PM EDT

  11. Politico

    BREAKING: Bernie Sanders has canceled his evening rally in Cleveland “out of concern for public health and safety,” his campaign said….

    (won’t need many more after tonight?)

  13. on MSNBC Clare McCaskill pegs Sanders 2016 Michigan and Missouri voting to Anti- Hillary Clinton feelings among voters…
    She predicts Biden double digit wins like the polling has….

      • Steve Kornacki MSNBC just punted our Miss has a higher percentage of black voters then SC….

        Hmmmmm?

          • Joe Biden is seen as the winner in Michigan, according to the Associated Press, which called the night’s most delegate-rich state for the former vice president.

            The victory gives Biden, who won Mississippi and Missouri earlier in the night, another key win in the Democratic nomination race.

            Read the full story on http://www.BostonGlobe.com.

          • THIS NOMINATION IS OVER….

            Bernie Sanders has to decide what to do…

            Next weeks states he WILL LOSE…

            He simply does NOT need to keep trying to throw down against Joe Biden…

            • See new Tweets
              Conversation

              Rachel “The Doc” Bitecofer
              @RachelBitecofer
              How am I feeling about the forecast I put out on July 1, 2019 based on my theory of giant turnout surges based on Trump fear?

              Pretty damn good.

  14. This endless cry of “it’s all over! Surrender Now [is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party]” is tiresome not only to me (who is frankly, and quite irrelevantly, still undecided between Sanders & Biden) but premature and self-defeating for Joe’s Crew.

    Sanders would not carry enough of his supporters if he just conceded now and asked them all to join the Biden campaign now — not obediently but earnestly, enthusiastically and persistently.

    It should take at the very least another week (after Sunday’s debate and Ariz., Ill., Ohio & Florida) for the picture to be so clear that a concession by Sanders would be useful and credible. I haven’t followed the delegate maths, but it seems possible to me that, should Biden sweep those very important, states (two of whom supported Obama in 2008 but Trump in 2016), he might have a forbidding, even decisive, lead over Sanders in delegate arithmetic.

    And it’s funny that both James and I thought it was useful in both 2008 and 2016 for the nomination fight to cover all or almost all of the 57 states and possessions, but now James now wants a quick euthanasia of one campaign before, for example, the April 28 primary that comprises RI, Conn, N.Y,, Pennsylvania, Md & Del., or the intervening ones that include Georgia, Louisiana and Wisconsin.

    • It IS of course HIS choice…

      I will refrain from it now…

      I only mention it because it IS VERY important for the Democratic Party to ‘UNITE’ in a upcoming rough campaign against Donald Trump…

      Joe Biden MUST NOT go forward without turning to listen and bring Sanders supporters INTO things…

      Do NOT forget?

      Bernie Sanders ran AGAINST the party in the begging and up to recently…

      • Biden is up 154 delegates up on Sanders right now…

        Biden ran a lousy campaign up to South Carolina ….

        But the others NEVER caught on with black voters….

        SC WAS the key…

        Not Iowa and NH….

        And Biden’s BEST thing’s?

        IS Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders….

        And HIS steady plainness…

        Most Democrats voting in the primaries want a return some sort of normality…And try get rid of Donald Trump…Mueller and Impeachment hasn’t done the job.

        • What you see as Admin is different than what we see. We can see you making comments in a thread in the “New Comment” section, but when you click on your comments, they do not come up.
          This happens when you start deleting and altering your own comments in a thread, The rest of yours do not appear.

          Just think of all the wit and wisdom we are missing out on.

            • Delegate count.…3/11/2020.  2:00 PM  DST NY

              Biden……858…..(+149)

              Sanders….709

  16. Senate Republicans back off going after Hunter Biden….

    Bloomberg person threatened to go after Trump kids if the GOPer’s went after Biden’s son…

    It is rumored the DOJ is looking at Biden’s brother also….

    • In other Hunter Biden news, he skipped out on his court appearance in Arkansas and child support payment, citing concern over the virus.

        • I’m proud of myself for getting that right. All the “judges” on the show and most of Twitter was going with other guesses.

          The Fox network showed two full minutes of the unmasked Sarah Palin rapping to “Baby Got Back” and then switched immediately to Trump speaking about a virus from the Oval Office . Peak 2020.

          I feel like End Times may be near.

            • The judges and many on Twitter were guessing Tina Fey. They recognized the voice somewhat but associated with Fey. Just like how Palin actually never said “I can see Russia from my house.”

          • She knew every word to Baby Got Back too (although she sanitized a few of them.)

            Could Biden even get through one Frank Sinatra chorus?

          • Biden needs 1991 delegates to get nominated.

            With her performance tonight, his ex opponent one upped him and brought it to 1992.

    • So by avoiding watching The Masked Singer I also got to avoid seeing the grifting moron that paved the way for Donald Trump to be President?

      Win win!

          • Pelosi and McConnell change their minds and will keep their houses in session to deal with the crisis since Trump isn’t much of anything ….

            Unlike Obama in 2009?

            Trump is standing on the sideline while the Fed takes the lead…

            • Sundays Democratic debate between Biden and Sanders will be moved to Wash DC and will have NO audience

              • Can they debate via video hook-up? Two guys their age, who have been around so many people this month, probably should not be in the same room together.

      • All the bull shit that the economy was Good WASS BULL SHIT…..

        This isn’t just about the virus…

        The virus just reality to the picture
        Trump floundering has spooked them
        The market lives on confidence
        That is NOT what is coming from Trump who is lost … The thing is?
        From day one he’s been out of his element…

        Quietly ?
        Republicans ARE ignoring Trump’s ineptness and working with Dem’s on selected things..
        Iran
        US/Canada /Mexico

        and the current virus bill

        Donald Trump is LOST right now…

        • My wife and i are back from the stores…
          local BJ’s wholesale store was Zoo City…

          U had to follow someone in the parking lot to get a cart…

          The place was mobbed.,.

          We gave up and went over to Target…

          Better…

          But no toilet paper….
          And some empty shelves…

          The hoarding HAS BEGUN…

          • Larry Sabato
            @LarrySabato
            Two very big words. Coronavirus. Recession.
            These two very big words may well determine the outcome of the 2020 election.

            • I will repeat, when it comes to the unknown in politics, be careful what you wish for,

              Always best to root for the health, safety, well-being, and prosperity of all decent people.

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