Help! I need a candidate!

[KamaAina]

More and more, it seems like all the Dems have screwed up, big time, at least once.

* Clinton: Iran.

* Obama: McClurkin.

* Edwards: repukes in his Cabinet?!

* Kucinich: Ron Paul.

* Biden: called Obama "articulate"!

* Richardson: called for forced mental health treatment after Va. Tech.

That basically leaves only Dodd and, um, Gravel. What is a progressive Dem boy to do??

[redqueen]

1. Realize that no one is perfect, and go with whoever you think is best. (nt)

[Bicoastal]

2. Vote Pope Benedict XVI for President!

After all, he's infallible!

Well, except for all that Hitler stuff...

[1corona4u]

3. Well, I'd be the least upset by

being the recipient of an "articluate comment". But that's just me....

I mean, if those are your sticking points for the other candidates...then Biden seems to be the least "dangerous".

[youthere]

4. Check out this and reconsider Biden:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=385&topic_id=76395

[ozone_man]

5. Of the top three I think Edwards is the most progressive.

I'm a Gravel/Kucinich type myself, but life is a tradeoff. Edwards does best against Republicans too.

In 2004 I wouldn't have thought of Edwards, but he has shifted toward being a progressive populist.

[Cha]

12. Ozone_Man! I think

Edwards has evolved..something about life and death staring you in the face, again.. it makes you more alert to what is really important and what your priorities are, imo.

[ozone_man]

15. I hadn't thought of it that way.

I think you may be right. He seems to be able to talk from his gut like someone else we know. ;)

So nice to see you zidzi! :hug:

[Cha]

20. Yes..You, too, buddy!

:hug:

[truedelphi]

16. Hey there, ozone man... This might cheer you up -

Are you aware that in a recent Pew Research study, Americans consider themselves to be

39% Independent
28% Republican
33% Democratic

I think that Edwards appeals to Independents, and former Repugs, as well (of course!) to those of us who are Dems but do not want the corporations to continue to destroy life as we know it.

You'd never know this from watching the TV heads and their continual barrage of how it is between Clinton, Obama and whoever they favor as a Repug Candidate this week.

But the truth lies with WHO WE THE VOTERS want. If the voters remain firm in evaluating the situation according to their perceptions, we could have an awesome President in 2009 - rather than a Pro-corporate Dem Party Hack.

[ozone_man]

23. Let's hope those Independents vote in the Democratic primary.

I consider myself one of them, though I am a registered Democrat.

Yes, please no "Pro-corporate Dem Party Hack" this time.

[cali]

6. not be so nit-picky?

I'm untroubled by not having a candidate, but your reasons for not picking any of the candidates aren't particularly well fleshed out. And your reasons for not going for Biden or Edwards are particularly weak.

[KamaAina]

7. You're down with repukes in the Cabinet?

One hopes it'd only be a relatively minor post like Agriculture or Commerce... one hopes...

edit: OK, I was reaching a little bit on Biden. I just didn't want to make it look like I was favoring any one candidate by omission (if Dodd made a gaffe, would it even get reported?) He does however, tend to favor Delaware's largest "industry", credit card issuers, as with the bankruptcy bill.

[itsrobert]

8. Clinton the 1st had repukes in his cabinet

Why would Clinton the Second be any different?

[youthere]

9. Again..check this out

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/select.asp?Ind=F03 and reconsider Biden.

I can forgive Biden for his bankruptcy bill vote when you consider 1. his constituency and 2. that he was responsible for getting child support payments protected in that bill (a bill that was going to pass with or without his "yes" vote, I might add). Some other candidates cannot say the same and they voted for similar reform on earlier bills-more than once.

If Biden were beholden to the credit card or banking industries he would have a much larger warchest. If you check out the link it's very clear who is beholden to whom.

ON EDIT: I want to add, whichever Dem you settle on is a good choice (I just think Biden is the BEST choice ;) )One DU'er described it as "an abundance of riches"...ain't it the truth?

[Stop Cornyn]

21. I'm not sure there has ever been a Democratic cabinet where the President didn't reach out to

appoint at least one member who wasn't a Democrat. Hell, no one in the history of the US has been more partisan than B*sh, and even he included Democrats in his cabinet.

[1corona4u]

22. No he doesn't...read all, and watch the video

That's utter BS. His money, both long term, and his current campaign finances do not support that. See for yourself;

As I have posted many, many, times on this board, Joe voted for the BK bill, for women and children. Under the old BK laws, divorced women with children were the last ones to be paid, if the deadbeat dad filed a BK. Now, they are the first ones to be paid. If you ever question why Joe votes for anything, go look at the floor statements on his website. They will clearly give you an idea of where his interest were. Not in some bank, as has been previously speculated on. There's just no denying that Joe has stood up for women's rights, in a big way. As in the violence against women act, and now, the International violence against women act. But, no "bill" will ever work for all people. There are a lot of people who respect the revisions of the 2005 BK bill. I am one of them.

My best friend is about to reap the rewards of this bill. Her X has just filed a BK, after leaving her without ANY child support, for 2 children, 8 & 6, for 4 years, and just on Thursday of last week, thought that he could get out of paying her by filing a BK. Well, it's people like him that will not be able to get away with it now. He claimed to have lost his 135K yr. job, and had protested ANY request for documentation for his current financial status. Her attorney called for deposition, forcing discovery. Then came back and filed a BK. I know for a fact that he hid money, and that he is also still working, under the table. Under the new law, he will be fully investigated by the courts.

A Senator sometimes has to vote for a bad bill, if there is something in it they truly want. I believe that was Joe's dilemma on the BK bill. But you can look for yourself, and see his financial contributions from banks from 1998, and it's not very impressive.


JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.: CAREER PROFILE (SINCE 1989)

Top Industries
The top industries supporting Joseph R. Biden Jr. are:
1 Lawyers/Law Firms $6,265,871
2 Real Estate $1,172,230
3 Retired $853,148
4 Securities & Investment $839,775
5 Misc Finance $499,470
6 Misc Business $462,641
7 Business Services $455,925
8 Health Professionals $382,275
9 TV/Movies/Music $364,666
10 Lobbyists $333,185
11 Finance/Credit Companies $294,650
12 Misc Manufacturing & Distributing $294,249
13 Pro-Israel $272,700
14 Commercial Banks $269,050
15 Education $249,725
16 Insurance $223,975
17 Retail Sales $186,400
18 General Contractors $175,550
19 Accountants $136,935
20 Democratic/Liberal $129,490

So, that's about a $563,000 bucks in 18 years. Or $31,000 a year in contributions. I doubt he did it for the banks, at all.



And, this campaign;

The top industries supporting Joseph R. Biden Jr. are:
1 Lawyers/Law Firms $4,606,554
2 Real Estate $815,434
3 Retired $645,861
4 Securities & Investment $617,475
5 Misc Business $353,716
6 Misc Finance $349,420
7 Business Services $312,475
8 Health Professionals $235,750
9 Misc Manufacturing & Distributing $196,499
10 Education $194,475
11 Commercial Banks $188,775
12 Lobbyists $183,110
13 TV/Movies/Music $162,008
14 Insurance $138,900
15 General Contractors $113,550
16 Finance/Credit Companies $100,850
17 Retail Sales $99,100
18 Civil Servants/Public Officials $84,100
19 Automotive $77,350
20 Computers/Internet $74,900


And this;

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x76642

[Happyhippychick]

10. You forgot one - Dodd had a hangnail

:) I'm just teasing. I wouldn't call any of those fatal flaws (except maybe the Iran thing but not even that one). It's a good field, you can't go wrong.

[youthere]

13. And Obama does that weird "Bob Dole" thing with his hand when he talks....

closed fist, thumb side up, bounces his hand on ever third word. LOL!

[KamaAina]

11. Hmmm... perhaps I could turn this around and list all their good points as well...

I do tend to be sort of a glass-half-empty kind of guy...

Clinton: Has been a much better Senator for NY state, especially upstate, than most people would have thought. You haven't heard the word "carpetbagger" in a while, have you?

Obama: Message of optimism and willingness to embrace faith appeals to independents and even the occasional moderate repuke.

Edwards: Strong message on domestic policy, and (a major plus) places the most emphasis on New Orleans and Gulf Coast recovery.

Kucinich: The only pure progressive in the race. For instance, only he backs single-payer healthcare.

Biden: Comes across as, well, statesmanlike.

Dodd: Ditto, plus MAJOR props for standing up to the repukes -- and Reid -- on telecom immunity.

Richardson: proven foreign policy experience (most recently in N. Korea), plus, watch some of the heavily Latino states in the Southwest flip from purple to Blue!

Gravel: well, he did help end the Vietnam-era draft :-)

edit: caps, plus, I now have the opposite dilemma...

[Cha]

14. hillary has sucked as

my senator since Oct 11, 2002..that's when she went for the safe IWR vote and is responsible for thousands and thousands of uncaring deaths on her hands.

[liberal hypnotist]

17. Wait till you get in the booth.

Then, wait for the power. god will let you know what to do.
If Huck-a-Buck is right, you will go into a trance-like state and cross out all the other names and write in The Huckster.

I,m imprisoned in Florida(economic prison). We don't have to worry who we vote for. The voting machines do all the work.

[TheWraith]

18. Please tell me you're being sarcastic.

The alternative is that you seriously consider one poor choice of words, one marginal performer, or a small sop to bipartisanship to be reasons not to vote for one of the many qualified candidates in the race.

[KamaAina]

19. No, just pessimistic

but see #11 above.