Politico: Biden should run on a unity ticket

[BmorePat87]

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/11/biden-2020-running-mate-romney-222861?fbclid=IwAR0kKgt0zBzD8yuYowK2nUzT8qkB6TyR4DYIh-iIBUaJiFecYsyHDF9JLlc

I put a condensed version of the article below. Essentially it argues that the US needs an independent unity ticket to break up the issues with the 2 party system and that Biden with a Republican running mate (Sasse, Kasich, or Romney are suggested) would be a viable ticket with enough name recognition and the right composition to win.

Thoughts? Would you support a ticket like this? If yes, what would be your composition of the ticket?

Quote:The former vice president is clocking in well above the closest competition in the latest 2020 presidential polls. And, as he said last week, he is the “most qualified person in the country to be president.” Yet in a Democratic primary he could be cannibalized by his own kind. Other Democratic candidates with more ambition than ability to win a general election against Donald Trump will inexorably and gleefully erode his standing by rehashing the Anita Hill hearings, pushing him to the left on domestic policy and endlessly reminding voters of his support for the Gulf War.

The former vice president is clocking in well above the closest competition in the latest 2020 presidential polls. And, as he said last week, he is the “most qualified person in the country to be president.” Yet in a Democratic primary he could be cannibalized by his own kind. Other Democratic candidates with more ambition than ability to win a general election against Donald Trump will inexorably and gleefully erode his standing by rehashing the Anita Hill hearings, pushing him to the left on domestic policy and endlessly reminding voters of his support for the Gulf War. Biden is the clear front-runner now—with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders at 13 percent—but plenty of early favorites have ended up as also-rans (i.e. Jesse Jackson in 1988, Jerry Brown in 1992, Howard Dean in 2004 and Hillary Clinton in 2008). Running in a Democratic primary could deeply damage Biden’s legacy.

Biden knows all this, and it has got to give him pause. He is one of our most esteemed and admired leaders. His favorability ratings have touched the 60-percentile range. He appeals to the kind of working-class voters Democrats have been bleeding to Republicans over the years. Most important, he could make a good president, and not just because he has a deep mix of domestic and foreign policy experience; he also has the character for the job.

Now here’s what Biden should do next: Pick a Republican running mate in a “trans-party” third-party run for the White House.

Should Trump run again, this could be a “break-the-glass” moment for many Americans, creating an opening for a radical departure from our malfunctioning two-party political system. By injecting some ideological innovation into the process, we can break the hidebound precedents of two narrow parties running their ceremonious and illogical nominating process to select a candidate. (Why do Iowa and New Hampshire play such outsized roles? Why do independents, who outnumber both Democrats and Republicans, have only a binary political choice?) The system certainly suffered a critical failure in 2016, with both parties producing terribly flawed candidates in a race to the bottom.

The Democratic primary is shaping up to be cacophonous and chaotic. Biden should capitalize on his status as one of America’s most popular politicians, skip the risk and potential indignities of running and losing in what will be a vicious and mulish, leftward-lurching primary, and slingshot straight to the general election debate stage on a third-party ticket. Biden may not know it, but he is already well-positioned to win a three-way election outright. Here’s how:

Biden could run as the major third-party candidate with a principled conservative by his side (Lieberman, a one-time Democrat, technically categorized himself as an independent at the time McCain ran for president). A number of Republicans stand out: Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, outgoing Ohio Gov. John Kasich and newly minted Utah Sen. Mitt Romney. Many past third-party bids have failed because they came from the lunatic fringes—think Jill Stein and Ralph Nader of the Green Party or Ross Perot with his quirky North American Free Trade Agreement obsession. Biden, by picking someone from the principled wing of the GOP, would instantly signal that he intends to run from the center.

And Biden, as a two-term vice president, has another characteristic past third-party candidates have lacked: enough name identification to make him an instant contender.

The top of the ticket needs to come from the center-left, because he or she needs to get a plurality of the vote in the blue states Hillary Clinton won (227 electoral votes), yet be moderate enough to win a plurality in some combination of Trump states such as Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan (another 119 votes). A bipartisan ticket might even put purple states like North Carolina, Ohio and Indiana in play. A right-leaning candidate at the top of the ticket won’t work, though: He or she would meet the same fate as a primary challenger to Trump. Around 36 percent of voters won’t be cleaved from Trump under any circumstances, so the deep-red states would be off the table entirely.

A third-party presidency would be genuinely disruptive. Today’s ironclad party discipline could well break down, and moderates on both sides could form a powerful, decisive block willing to work with the new president. The policies passed into law may not be ideal for either Democrats or Republicans, but that’s precisely the point: The major agenda items that must be addressed for America’s long-term fiscal health require each party to make sacrifices.

Biden said recently that he is willing to “break his neck” to make sure Trump doesn’t serve a second term. That maybe a bit of a malapropism (Biden’s characteristic gaffes are part of his charm), but it’s accurate to say that something may have to be broken to ensure Trump isn’t re-elected—it’s the two-party system.

[*bfine32*]

I think Bidden may not be the best choice, but I'd love to see a unified ticket. Perhaps Paul/Moulton

[Dill]

(12-12-2018, 12:05 AM)BmorePat87 Wrote: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/11/biden-2020-running-mate-romney-222861?fbclid=IwAR0kKgt0zBzD8yuYowK2nUzT8qkB6TyR4DYIh-iIBUaJiFecYsyHDF9JLlc

I put a condensed version of the article below. Essentially it argues that the US needs an independent unity ticket to break up the issues with the 2 party system and that Biden with a Republican running mate (Sasse, Kasich, or Romney are suggested) would be a viable ticket with enough name recognition and the right composition to win.

Thoughts? Would you support a ticket like this? If yes, what would be your composition of the ticket?

I think Biden is too old, and would not survive the primary vetting process.  It's not just the plagiarism baggage. He is not especially good in debate and offers great sound bites for the opposition. He won't really pull in the Reagan Democrats except in a few northeast locations.

[Belsnickel]

I support having such a ticket, but I wouldn't vote for it. I'm just for more viable options on the ballot. I agree with the assessments in this thread on Biden; that is a hard no from me. I think if it were to work you would need a moderate from either side, not a moderate and a near-libertarian like the Paul/Moulton ticket.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

Prior to his fall from grace I liked the idea of a presidential ticket with Al Franken as VP. I always appreciated his intelligence and willingness to thoroughly educate himself on issues instead of spewing talking points. C'est.

[*bfine32*]

(12-12-2018, 08:49 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: I support having such a ticket, but I wouldn't vote for it. I'm just for more viable options on the ballot. I agree with the assessments in this thread on Biden; that is a hard no from me. I think if it were to work you would need a moderate from either side, not a moderate and a near-libertarian like the Paul/Moulton ticket.

Cool let's go Moulton/Sasse. They both dislike their party's leadership.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

I feel like any ticket with Biden on it is only going to help Trump get reelected. So pass. Put him in the same category as Sanders and Warren. It's really only going to help Trump.

Please find someone good (yet moderate-ish) so I (and presumably others who aren't far left, but also not voting Trump) can actually feel good voting for them.

[Benton]

I think Biden would do ok. People say he's too old, or too goofy or too whatever, but that's generally what people vote for. In those regards, he's not that different from Trump (but only in that regard).

But as far as the unity ticket, I think it's a good idea. Ultimately it would mostly be symbolic. The respective party members would most likely fall back in line with their respective party. But it would also hopefully cut down on the fighting between the two parties. They could both do that anyway if they wanted.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

A ticket with a Democrat for President and Republican for Vice President will only gaurentee Donald Trumps re-election and if it's the other way around, it will gaurentee whoever the Democrats nominate.

This is a bad idea.

The parties just need to nominate good candidates and allow third and fourth party candidates into debates.

What needs to happen is for a network to set up a series of debates, tell the candidates that every party will be represented and if you don't show up, they will talk about you.

[NATI BENGALS]

Very narrow choices. It would have to be a Republican who has not kissed trumps ass. And they are few.

[jj22]

I'd be for a unified ticket, but our politics are so bad now, it'll never work. People are too far right/left. The middle is a dying breed.

As for Biden, I think he' s a great guy, and would have feared he was too gaffe prone and that will/would have hurt him (even tho Trump gets away with it, things will change back once he's gone and the Presidency will be held at a high standard once again).

Dems need new blood tho. So I hope he doesn't run.

[fredtoast]

Gary Locke is a Democrat, but he was so fiscally conservative as Governor of Washington that many liberals criticized him.

He has a real populist appeal. He was raised by immigrants (Taiwanese) in government housing projects.

Many former governors make good candidates for President because they are both executive positions, but many governors lack experience on the national issues involving foreign policy and trade. After being Governor for 8 years Locke served as Secretary of Commerce under Obama and later Ambassador to China.

I think Locke could draw a lot of votes from the middle, but I don't see the "Unity Ticket" being viable at all. All the money comes from the parties and no party is going to promote a ticket with a member of the other party on it. If they did try a "Unity Ticket" I guess I would suggest Locke/Kasich.

[Dill]

(12-13-2018, 07:36 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Gary Locke is a Democrat, but he was so fiscally conservative as Governor of Washington that many liberals criticized him.

He has a real populist appeal.  He was raised by immigrants (Taiwanese) in government housing projects.

Many former governors make good candidates for President because they are both executive positions, but many governors lack experience on the national issues involving foreign policy and trade. 

What is "Aleppo"?