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Who Is Your Nightmare Opponent?
There has been a lot of speculation as to who Democrats are hoping to run against (and not run against) in the 2024 presidential election. Since this topic has been covered a bit already, I want to look at the 2024 race on the other side. Presumably nearly everyone reading this is a Republican, or at least an independent who doesn’t want another Democratic victory in 2024.
The majority expectation is that Joseph Robinette Biden will probably again be the Democratic nominee, providing he doesn’t have a fatal stroke or something. But that’s not locked in, so my question for you is: Who do you most fear as a Democratic nominee? Which Democrat do you think would have the best chance of winning, and who would make the worst president of any Democrat who could plausibly win?
My answer is Elizabeth Warren. Bernie Sanders is often regarded as the most left-wing Democrat who has run lately, but I think Warren is more threatening. For one thing, Bernie is and looks like an old man. A lot of people across the political spectrum are thinking maybe it’s time to elect someone at least a little bit younger than dirt. I speculate that quite a few people who didn’t even particularly like Hillary Clinton voted for her because they wanted to say they voted for the first female president, and Elizabeth Warren would likely benefit from some of that mentality. She has a burning, passionate hatred for capitalism, where Sanders has a little less charge in his battery and would not fight as hard to destroy the free enterprise system. Ten years ago, there would have been approximately zero support for Senator Warren from the right side of the aisle, but quite a few Republicans these days have grown hostile to capitalism and sneer at the very concept of free trade, so she might pick up more than a token smattering of votes from populist Republicans.
Gavin Newsom? Yeah, he’s a wacko, but a lot of people see that California is going downhill and don’t want to bring Newsom-style results to the whole nation. I think Warren is more electable than the other prominent Democrats and would likely be even worse at the job than the other prominent Democrats. Unless you do think that capitalism should be destroyed, then she’d be great.
But what do you all think? Which Democrat populates your nightmares?
Published in Elections
I think Amy Klobuchar would have a better shot at being elected. She’s younger than Warren and could fake moderate better.
Gavin Newsom is a rock star whom even otherwise sane independents would vigorously support because of his hair, strong chin, gracious smile and his lean athletic build.
Image is everything.
(That’s also why Ramaswamy doesn’t stand a chance.)
Can’t agree. If it was true, Rick Perry would have been president. If Rick Perry had Ted Cruz’s IQ, he would have been a good one.
The Dems don’t have great choices, and some are nonstarters. I agree with Randy that Warren is probably the most dangerous candidate with a real chance. At Bernie’s age, he doesn’t have a chance. (BTW, IMHO, neither does Trump this time around, and for much the same reason).
It’s possible Gretchen Whitmer could give it a go, but I doubt that anyone as unknown as she is nationally could win.
I’ll say this for her: Elizabeth Warren makes a mean Pow-Wow Chow.
I posit that any Democrat will win, because of the experience they’ve gained in “fortifying” elections the past few cycles. I suspect Biden will be the nominee since he’ll be easier to control from behind the scenes than anyone else.
I know this sounds cynical and depressing as hell. But look in your hearts; you know I’m right.
Rationally I kind of agree with you. And a few years ago I would have. But Biden!!! He looked great in tailored suits, but he never said anything of substance and his long confused history in politics didn’t matter. If Newsome can string 25 words together extemporaneously and smile, he’s unbeatable. What hair!!!
He’s 0bama but better.
(Seriously — unfortunately.)
Michele Obama would be almost invincible.
She ticks off all of the affirmative action boxes. She has a name. Those that revere Barack Obama as a Christ-like figure can get another Obama presidency.
If its not Joe or Kamala, then Kamala got thrown under the bus. That is not going to work for a key Dem constituency.
The scary thing for me is another Obama. No record, no reputation, no experience who can be whatever Dems and independents want him to be.
I’ve said it before but there’s no way Barack is going to take the chance that he’d be the second-best President Obama.
Yes, come to think of it, she has truly been my greatest fear. I just put it out of my mind because she said she won’t run. But she would be unstoppable. Image is now everything.
(Truly depressing thought.)
Also, some of this exercise is being realistic about who could win a general election. Michelle Obama might light up the skies for Dem activists, but not for the independents who decided the 2016 and 2020 elections.
If they’re Democrats they give m nightmares..lol. I’m with Flicker above. I think Gavin Newsome could win if he’s able to rally the left coalition and get 30% of independents. Hes got the image. He’s also repulsive but unfortunately I think he could win.
Not to mention that I’m pretty sure that she’s also got the curse of Hillary on her. In more ways than one.
The Dems, just like us, love to pick out nonentities and say, “But he fights!!” That’s Newsom’s appeal to them. In California, even Democrats don’t think of him as a leader, but as someone like a more left wing version of Mayor Quimby on The Simpsons.
Warren, Klobuchar and even Michelle – they’re angry, unlikable pills. Might as well run Kerry or Hillary again.
This is a seriously depressing conversation.
I think 99% of the democrats want identical policies. So I am most worried about who is most electable. I think Gavin, Gretchen, and Amy are the most electable, so they worry me most. I think fauxcahontas inspires mockery, fear, and hate, so I think she is Senator as long as she is alive or can simulate it.
Any Democrat capable of winning their party’s primary.
Gavin Newsom would be a nightmare for America and probably has the best chance to win of all Democrats.
Of course, any Democrat is going to win anyway, unless Republicans get serious about fortifying the elections.
Newsom isn’t even attempting to appear moderate. He was out last week calling red states “murder states.” A Democrat wouldn’t be that cocky if they didn’t know the system was rigged and whoever “wins” the primary will “win” in the general.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. could be the dark horse candidate that could cause the Republican Party to totally collapse in Goldwater-like defeat. He has some positions that come up crossways of the most-lefty Democrats, such as his stance on vaccines. The combination of the Kennedy name and a Tip O’Neil vibe could make RINO hearts go pit-a-pat as well as put the more traditional elements of the Democrats at ease. The looney lefties would get a wink and a nod. Once in office, he would probably go straight party all the way.
If that doesn’t work, he could change his name to Casey and run for office in Pennsylvania.
FIFY
Gavin reminds me of Castreau. Liz is unintelligent.
I don’t think it matters much. Democrats are a cabal, whomever “leads” them is irrelevant.
They installed Biden and have since proven that a feeble, incompetent man of below average intelligence and above average self-regard can be presented by their party apparatchiks in the MSM as perfectly acceptable.
In the space of 6 years we got to see how powerful they are. They were able to portray our 45th President as an unbelievably despicable human being, and the 46th as a lovable uncle.
There is a grinding bureaucracy maw that stays in force regardless of who is President.
We are now just being played with.
Unless and until the corporate media is burned to the ground and the propagandists are publicly tarred and feathered, we will continue to deteriorate rapidly as a country.
They are trying to destroy the middle class and start a civil war.
As bad as that sounds, it might be our only hope. An actual civil war. It seems we are already in one.
Michelle Obama is not going to run. Fear not. The Obama’s just want to enjoy their millions. Michelle hated public life.
If you don’t believe that, consider also that Mrs. Obama isn’t good at politics and isn’t especially capable of running a campaign. And she’s not ambitious like Hillary, who BTW, had to first become a U.S. Senator and also Secretary of State. Michelle isn’t going into a Dem primary and spar with other Democrats.
I can’t imagine Biden running, but stranger things have happened.
I fear what kind of Republicans will get elected in the House and Senate, we deserve better, but we won’t get many good ones.
This is the most important part of your post.
I am going to take a slightly different tack. On the Democratic side, there is an announced candidate for whom I would consider voting based upon his positions so far disclosed. I suspect that he also holds positions that would turn me off, but I am 100% on board with this currently announced positions. That candidate is Robert F Kennedy Junior is very much against the big government tyranny that resulted in lockdowns and forcing people to take vaccinations. He is also very skeptical of the efficacy of the RMna experimental drugs. He is highly critical of Anthony “criminal-against-humanity” Fauci.
A party that would vote for Biden would vote for anyone.
What worries me about so-called conservative Democrats is that when push comes to shove on the big issues, they vote with their party. That’s why I think he might be the nightmare candidate that sucks the air out of the Republican opposition.
One advantage that Kennedy might have is that he is an outsider. (At least I think so).