I really don't want to hear about potential Presidential candidates right now ...

[Botany]

.... in the future yes but as of now I really need some campaign down time and
for Bob Mueller, the Southern District of NY, the State of NY's AG, and Adam Schiff
& company to drop the hammer on the mobbed up Russian agent in the White
House and the traitors to America who helped put him there.

[Squinch]

1. I'm with you. I'd love to shorten the season where we in-fight like dogs and fall for every planted

Russian bot story, too.

[Botany]

3. No debates and no campaign rallies before Dec. 2019

Now, I know any potential candidate will have to get their "stuff in order"
before then but for now I am hitting the mute button whenever I hear a
talking head blather about who is running in 2020.

[brooklynite]

65. Whatever makes you happy...

I'll likely be in Iowa this summer to check out the herd.

[saidsimplesimon]

77. You are well qualified.

Good fortune to you and those that help US to "cull the herd".

[northoftheborder]

72. I agree.

Campaign season is too long. Basically it does not stop, just pauses every two years for a couple of weeks.

[question everything]

80. Traditionally six months after mid term have been considered

Early enough for, especially not well known, to get their names in public, and not too early to become "stale."

I think that Bill Clinton waited to Sept 1991 but he certainly has been preparing the ground.

Dec 2019 is too late, since Iowa will have its caucus Feb. 2020, I think.

California in March 2020. Also in March is usually "super Tuesday."

[former9thward]

91. The DNC is scheduling their debates to begin in June, 2019.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/31/politics/2019-political-calendar-for-2020/index.html

[IronLionZion]

27. Every attack piece on any Democrat should be suspect

plus the DUer who posted it. We need to be careful not to repeat the mistakes of 2016. There were a lot of new DUers with low post counts during that time who haven't been heard from since.

[calimary]

55. Yep. And good riddance to 'em.

[empedocles]

48. Clear consensus in the replies

Unfortunately, as happened before the midterms even, when among the dozens of 'prez prospects', - it only takes one to start the campaigning crap, and competitions start, and many also start.

[Martin Eden]

57. Presidential campaigns are far too long, and ...

... far too obsessed with the horse race and whatever personal clash or "scandal" attracts the most viewers.

Our political electoral system is highly dysfunctional. We need rational fact based discussions on the most important issues facing our nation. From that debate, qualified leaders should emerge.

[manor321]

2. I know, but we aren't going to get that :)

Debates will start this summer and campaigns are starting now. No way to stop it.

[FreepFryer]

4. It takes a lot of courage to announce an intention to run for President...

...I, for one, am glad to see Senator Warren leading the pack.

[Botany]

5. Why you little

FreepFryer

BTW it will be Adam Schiff anyway.

[FreepFryer]

6. LOL!!! Cowabunga, Botany! Schiff would be ok but only if he leaves House Intel in good hands. Cheers

[babylonsister]

14. Has Schiff expressed any desire to run at all? nt

[grantcart]

19. Expressing a desire to run will not be helpful at this point

[mitch96]

44. Agree, like trying to predict a hurricane when

it's just a small low pressure system off the coast of Africa...... Too far out.
m

[mountain grammy]

58. Will she? Has she?

because I would be very glad about that too, even while I agree with the OP on many levels.

Edited to add.. hell yeah! Just saw that other post!

[FreepFryer]

61. RIIIGHT?! :) Cheers, Mountain Grammy! (n/t)

[dembotoz]

7. The problem is while we sleep momentum is lost

We need to keep folks involved. There are local election in the meantime...
We have a state supreme Court race in April...I already think we are behind

[3_Limes]

8. From your mouth to god's ear, as my mother used to say

I'm sick of it already. Who cares who's running in two years? The whole field will reshuffle a few dozen times between now and then, and we really do have much, much bigger questions to answer right effing now!!

The damn house is on fire!! Let's put it out and clean up the mess before we start talking about redecorating, FFS!

[erronis]

81. +1. Thanks for all the metaphors, too!

[smirkymonkey]

9. Hear, Hear!

[pintobean]

10. Oh, well.

[DinahMoeHum]

11. Let's not overlook 2019 elections either.

THREE governorships in the South (Lousiana, Mississippi and Kentucky) are up for grabs, not to mention state legislatures in Lousiana, Mississippi and Virginia. New Jersey's lower state reps (General Assembly) too.

In all other states, various smaller offices are up for grabs as well. Democrats must also consolidate and add to the gains made in 2017 and 2018.

Cold hard fact, folks: EVERY YEAR is an election year. Registered Democrats in the past got too lazy and ignored this at very great cost.

The brouhaha about 2020 is a big-ass distraction, as far as I'm concerned. It can wait.

[CTyankee]

66. That's why I think we should pull for a woman and be the party that elects a woman this time.

Warren I am sure has learned from HRC's campaign and is developing her strategy as we speak. AND we can work on getting rid of the Electoral College!

[DinahMoeHum]

86. Please, let the chips fall where they may on this.

There's still a lot of work that must be done in 2019.

I don't give a fuck who the eventual candidate is. The only thing I care about is: THAT CANDIDATE MUST WIN IN 2020. And ALL OF US have to work to see to that. No matter the gender, race, etc.

[CTyankee]

96. Sure. The chips will fall where they may, we can be assured.

But we can have our opinions on who we want to run, who would be best for the country and who could win. And we know we could lose if we don't make sure we have an electoral college strategy.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

110. thanks! KY has 7 executive offices to fill in 2019 election

We obviously need help to clean out the red here.

[volstork]

12. Agreed.

We need to concentrate on the job at hand, which is doing our best to save this Republic form the cabal that wants to destroy it.

[Joe941]

13. Right now we need to concentrate on impeachment and only impeachment.

[erronis]

82. No. That's a diversion from many other important tasks.

While impeachment (and eliminating world poverty) is an admirable goal, focusing on that one target means leaving too many other important issues not getting enough attention.

[lunatica]

15. When the investigations happen they

should diminish the next presidential race, if the media does its job. There should be plenty of action happening so they don’t have to scrap for ratings by making up unnecessary stories about horse races that don’t exist.

In past years I’ve had to take a break from DU because of the bitter infighting during Presidential races by Democrats. It can get too visceral. I may be too delusional but I’m hoping for some good discussions. If it’s a repeat of past races though, I won’t hang around much.

[grantcart]

22. There will be breakout performances and iconic questions

Howard Baker never intended his question " what did the president know and when did he know it", to have the impact it did.

[marble falls]

16. I'm with you: we need to concentrate on how me are going to lock down our House ...

and on whatever vulnerable Senate seats we have and the one we can peel away from the GOP.

[luvtheGWN]

17. Tell that to the media!

With all the really important stuff going on -- government shutdown, policy decisions to be made, what to do about the middle east, tariffs and trade -- who's running for President should be at the very bottom of the list of things to cover. But oh no, the media love to concentrate on CONTESTS -- who's winning, who's losing, who's ahead in the polls, who's lagging behind. You are not being well-served by the media.

[northoftheborder]

73. You are so right. It is the media who keeps it going nonstop.

[LuvNewcastle]

113. The media gave us Trump.

Donald loves to go after CNN, but he probably wouldn't be President right now if CNN hadn't covered everything he said and did. They never gave that much attention to any of the other candidates, including Hillary. Someone high on CNN's corporate ladder, maybe more than one, intentionally built Donald up for that race.

[erlewyne]

18. I am so anxious for Pelosi and Shumer to take over

I could care less for the 2020 candidates.

Pelosi is liable to change the whole scenario. She
will have Trump crying.

[watoos]

21. 2020 is a census year,

that means redistricting, that means we need to get control of states. To me that issue may be even more important, or as important as electing a president. I'm saying that because I don't believe Trump will be on the 2020 ballot. Even though 9 million more people voted Democratic in 2018 we could have done a lot better were it not for gerrymandering.

[yardwork]

25. Yes, we must retake the states.

[ZeroSomeBrains]

24. I'm right there with ya

Already we have people at each other's throats and mocking other people's favorite candidates. I liked how Howard Dean asked everyone to stop the sniping from all sides early in this fight because we all know that we need a Democratic President to get to work in 2021. Focus people focus.

[PatSeg]

31. Primary time is the time I like the least

It tends to bring out the worst in many people, not to mention the inevitable trolls. We have the best lineup of potential candidates that I've ever seen. I have no doubt we will end up with a winning ticket in the end. Right now, we are watching history unfold and I don't need the distraction of a much, much too early primary season.

[ZeroSomeBrains]

36. I usually enjoy falling in love with a candidate

Although it usually gets ugly pretty quickly. I don't doubt we will get a great candidate no matter what. Everyone who is considering a run would make a good President in my book. I only wish we would act with the golden rule in mind to everyone else and their candidate in this cycle.

[PatSeg]

40. Oh yes

I will make a very conscious effort not to fall in love with a candidate, as the letdown can be devastating and the infighting exhausting and unproductive. I will try to be more pragmatic and less emotional. I also will avoid any discussions that are just bait, meant to stoke discord. After the past two years, none of us need that emotional roller coaster ride.

Back in 2007-08, Barack Obama was not my first choice and I did not fall in love with him initially. I grew to love and respect him over time, and I can say he ended up being the best president of my lifetime. Looking back, now I cannot imagine a better choice. Knowing that, I will keep an open mind as we choose our next nominee and running mate. He or she made not be MY first choice, but in the end could be the best choice.

Whenever in doubt, all we have to do is look at what is in the White House right now. Any choices we make will be a 1000 times better than what we have now.

[ZeroSomeBrains]

46. I completely agree

Everyone is on edge in terms of the current state of affairs. I would love to have some no drama Obama or a gray suit contreversy or something. I've been recently trying to amp down the rhetoric or avoid discussions that are purely designed to rile up anger from people. My first true primary cycle was in 2016 but I'm hoping this cycle is less taxing than last. At least I will be making sure to treat each other with empathy and compassion.

One thing I loved from President Obama was the quote saying put yourself in their shoes. Look at the world through their eyes. I do that all the time now. I think we would all be better people if we do that regularly.

[PatSeg]

87. You know,

I look at democracies around the world and I don't see them electing super star candidates. They don't have to fall head-over-heels in love with their leaders. One of the strongest Western leaders in recent history has been Germany's Angela Merkel, considered by many to be the most powerful woman in the world. She does not have celebrity good looks and charisma, but she is a competent, intelligent leader.

Between now and the presidential election, I will keep reminding myself, that I don't need to fall in love and I can accept differences of opinion, if it means sane, principled leadership. I'll also try not to compare him or her to Obama. There is only one Obama and he will be a tough act to follow.

[whathehell]

26. I feel the same..

We need to clean up the present mess before getting into all that.

[2naSalit]

28. Hear, Hear!

Ther's much that needs to be done before we start concerning ourselves with that. The next six to twelve months will be critical in our path forward, we need to focus on that along with educating the uneducated about our rights and responsibilities. What takes place in this next year will help us decide which candidates are the ones we want.

[Botany]

32. We must make sure that we turn out the vote and that vote is counted too

We are a bigger than the right by many times over but rat fucking, playing up
to the racist & sexist base, gerrymandering, right wing pastors, hate talk & Fox
News, and election fraud and or voter purges has helped to keep the GOP in power
in many states.

South Carolina should almost be a blue state now .... 35% Black and 11% hispanic (and
growing)

[2naSalit]

37. That's what I consider

a good portion of what needs to be done. Education helps a lot, it helps people see how messed up it has become and how to remedy the problems. Once people get how they are being impacted, it usually goes a long way in recruiting their votes afterward.

We can walk and chew gum at the same time, we can get the regime change going on while also teaching our voters about their rights and responsibilities. We can do this, we have no other choice if we want to remain free of dictatorship.

[Ferrets are Cool]

29. Right with you.

[PatSeg]

30. Thank you

I'm not ready for the campaigning and inevitable in-fighting that will come with it. I would prefer to keep my focus on the many investigations that could alter history. There will plenty of time for campaigning down the road. I'm keeping my eye on the ball(s).

[Wounded Bear]

33. Yeah, I'm kind of shuffling all this 'presidential' talk off to the side...

in my mind. We really need to focus on the issues at hand, meaning the issues that we flipped the House on.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

34. I agree.

I think all the candidate threads should be shut down as they pop up. Don't ban the originators, just keep the threads from going on and on. I am mightily sick of seeing cheerleading for particular pairings, as well as sick of all of the Bernie bashing threads. None of them add anything worthwhile to the discourse here.

[BannonsLiver]

78. So really

You’re fine with talking about 2020 as long as it’s pro Bernie? The criticism of Bernie is the real issue?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

98. No. I am not pro Bernie. Have no clue why you think that.

I was a Bernie supporter in 2016 and was very sorry he didn't get the nomination. I voted for Hillary.

Bernie's opportunity is over. I don't want to see threads pushing him or (as seems far more common) trashes him. I don't want threads touting Hillary, or Joe Biden or anyone at all.

I think people here are getting well ahead of themselves by swooning over possible nominees, most of whom they know little about.

In short, I wish a moratorium would be declared on all candidate threads and I said that above. Sorry you couldn't figure that out.

[LuvNewcastle]

114. I'll vote for the Democratic nominee,

but I'm not very enthusiastic about any candidate who's over 70. I think that it's time for the Baby Boomers to step aside and let the younger generations take the reins and learn how to govern. I was a Bernie supporter in 2016 too, and I agree that his time has passed. He shouldn't be bashed, but he's too old now. I have great respect for Bernie's organizing efforts and all the other things he's done for the Progressive cause, but his health (as well as Hillary's and Joe Biden's) could turn bad quickly at his age.

[Auggie]

35. K&R

[sinkingfeeling]

38. Me neither.

[Nitram]

39. I wholeheartedly agree, Botany!

We don't need the distraction as we prepare for a knockdown drag-out fight with the Beast in the White House. We need to focus all our energies on that for the time being.

[LakeArenal]

41. I can multi-task.

No election is in a vacuum.

It’s uncomfortable to debate formidable DUers you generally agree with and respect.

Someone greater probably than I said,
Democracy is messy. It would be nice if we had a designated season of campaigns,but we don’t.

As someone earlier here said, it takes guts to declare early and be a target of a right wing smear campaign.

It’s dificult to argue amongst ourselves. It doesn’t divide us. It makes us stronger.

Ones who get personal and insulting in their debate are divisive. Not the opinions.

[kentuck]

42. I'm waiting for the first 2 or 3 primaries...

...to see how the people are leaning?

[uponit7771]

43. Same here, seems like trial balloons and set ups for RussiaPublicans to feed off of

[Rory McRory Fitzrory]

45. Especially somebody who's not even a member of the Party

Not that I'm talking about anyone specific, of course!

[shanny]

52. oh FFS

[Squinch]

60. Your 8th post is a blatant attempt at division. The training is very slapdash these days.

[Rory McRory Fitzrory]

94. My 8th post was an expression of opinion

I believe that's permitted here.

[Squinch]

95. And a blatant attempt at sowing division.

[Rory McRory Fitzrory]

97. You're repeating yourself

Is it your habit to troll new members? You needn't bother answering, since you'll be on Ignore in 30 seconds. Bye!

[Squinch]

100. Bye Felicia.

[marble falls]

107. "trolling new members"? Been here before, have you???

[SunSeeker]

111. LOL

[cwydro]

102. Pretty obvious indeed.

The training is certainly lacking.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

47. I know we are tired, but after the midterm victories, we need to refocus on resistance

White nationalism, guns, and efforts to destabilize democracy are still at the top of their agenda.

Right now, the Trumpsters see keeping the government shut down as a win/win. His supporters despise the Federal government (outside of defense) so they are overjoyed to see Federal workers going broke and are hoping with glee that somehow we can stop SNAP payments. He'll keep it shut down over his wall. Meanwhile, numbers, unlike Trump, don't lie.





As I would with any fallen officer, I mourn the loss of Ronil Singh. That said, Gustavo Perez Arriaga (who should absolutely answer for what he did) is about to become the next Willie Horton in an effort to paint the Dems as weak on security. We need to come back at them with facts, and we need to counter with stories - stories like this from the Houston Chronicle:

A 7-year-old girl was shot to death and her mother wounded early Sunday by a gunman who opened fire on the family as they drove out of a Walmart parking lot in eastern Harris County.

The unknown shooter fled and was still at large by early evening, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

LaPorsha Washington and her four children - ages 6 to 15 - were leaving the lot in the 15400 block of Wallisville when a man in a red pickup pulled up before 7 a.m. and opened fire into the family's car.

It's not clear why the shooter opened fire, and at first the only description investigators could offer was that he wore a red hoodie. Later, authorities fleshed out the description, adding that the shooter is believed to be a white, bearded man in his 40s.

Why aren't we spending $5B to root out violent racists and white nationalists? Why aren't we doing more to be protected from terrorists like Cesar Sayoc, Robert Bowers, or Dylan Roof? Why can't we spend $5B to keep automatic weapons out of the hands of people like Stephen Paddock? I, for one, would feel more secure if semi-automatic weapons were kept out of the hands of all but sworn law enforcement.



Anyway, sorry for the rant. We are all tired. But we have to keep fighting Trump, his controllers in Russian Organized Crime, and his enablers. Trash thread and ignore can be great tools at times like these on DU. Focus on the posters and issues you care about and ditch the rest.

[shanny]

49. amen

[GoCubsGo]

50. Same here.

I am automatically trashing any 2020 threads for the time being. Not even going to read them. I am already sick of hearing about it.

[Amimnoch]

51. I'm not as concerned about when it starts as I am about when it ends.

My one hope against all hopes is that the primaries end early with a clear front-runner, and everyone else has the decency to get the hell off the stage and let the real war start.

Don’t even give a flying fuck who it is at this point, just identify who the strongest to take out Adolf Orange early is, and get them going after him as early as possible.

IMO, only two things matter in 2020.. we reclaim the Senate majority, and Trump is removed. I don’t care how many of them are DINO’s. I don’t care who is/isn’t “actually a Democrat”, I don’t care if someone was responsible for removing Al Franken (although I still think that was atrocious and disgusting, but won’t affect my vote or support for this one).

Democratic Party POTUS. Democratic Party controlled Senate. Democratic Party controlled House.. and steamroll over those fuckers like they did with us.

[infullview]

53. I couldn't agree more with this.

Let's concentrate not only on getting rid of this orange cheese bag, but also on correcting a few things before the next election. How about a constitutional amendment that clarifies that corporations are not people for one? Let's put real effort into preventing bad actors from influencing our elections. etc. etc. What's even the point of an election if we're going to end up with another shill for either Russia or the Koch brothers - F that!

[summer_in_TX]

69. Nice idea, but not doable.

One has to have at a minimum both houses of Congress, and ideally the presidency to enact laws or constitutional amendments (which have to be passed in two-thirds of the state legislatures). We do not have the conditions to do that at this time.

Who says we will end up with another shill for Russia or the Koch brothers. We are not the Republican party. Let's focus on getting a strong Democratic candidate nominated and then beat the pants off the evil, corrupt GOP.

[panfluteman]

54. It's like trying to run a marathon when you're infected by a Russian virus!

Getting the bugs out of the system and especially beefing up election security should be a high priority right now. And the illegitimate president we have now will not lead, since he is the main beneficiary of Russian interference. The Russian infection would just aggravate and exacerbate all the usual infighting and mud slinging, anyway, and hopelessly skew the results. Of all the possible reforms we could make the single most important one, which alone, in and of itself, would make Russian interference well nigh impossible, would be getting rid of the electoral college. But Republicans would fight that tooth and nail, because it's the only way they can win elections anymore, even by domestic trickery and voter suppression.

By the way, guys - my sister, who introduced me to DU, has just introduced me to a very valuable website, which covers the whole Trump / Russia thing from the Russian angle, and from the perspective of the Russian media. Here's the link:

www.juliadavisnews.com

[samnsara]

56. i wont support any dem candidate who does dirt on another...

..we dont need that and we can win without it.

[Heartstrings]

59. Can mull a few names around,

But not getting into any serious conversations yet...too much time for the GOP character assassinations.
We have resisting to do right now,.

[EricMaundry]

62. Thank you

My feelings exactly.

[mwb970]

63. I agree, but...

I find both Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren to be very appealing. Perhaps on the same ticket?

[saidsimplesimon]

64. Focus, I agree.

For every time there is a season.

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[barbtries]

67. thank you.

I cannot address 2020 until i know we'll still have a democracy by then. I wish so hard that we had 6 week only campaigns and when the governing is going on, that's what is happening. this endless campaign cycle is too fucking exhausting, and too much happens every day. who knows how 2020 shakes out? when it's closer to voting time, i will assess the candidates and decide.

[pdsimdars]

68. Show them we care so much that we think they need more than normal secutiry

We want to put them all under maximum security. We have many prisons with that ultimate protection. It's for their own good.

[karynnj]

70. I understand your feeling, but this is when people made these announcements that

Last edited Mon Dec 31, 2018, 01:33 PM - Edit history (1)

they are starting their exploration of running. She also needs to do this and to hire the staff needed to run a campaign. It seemed clear to me last November that she was seriously thinking of running last November when she gave a foreign policy speech. To my ears, it is more Obama/Kerry than Sanders - though still very progressive.

I think her work in creating the Consumer Protection Bureau is a huge asset. Its entire mission is protecting the little guys from big banks and big businesses - giving them a voice. That and her being completely invested in fostering "good government". She also is extremely articulate on income inequality - an issue she has fought against since she was in the Senate. SHE, certainly not Trump, really will work against the "swamp". I think her background, mostly out of government, but having been in government for the last 6 years (and having worked with government for at least 4 years before that) is an interesting, strong combination.

Trump has attacked her over the last two years - but mostly just calling her "Pocahatas". Rather weak tea! The MSM comment that her DNA test announcement was a mistake was pretty weird. This is, of course, the same media, that for over a decade has faulted Kerry for not speaking out against the SBVT enough -- after many (including Bill Clinton) faulted him in mid 2004 for "speaking about Vietnam". Warren has had people ask why she did not just do the DNA test for the last several years. She absolutely did NOT claim that the results proved she was a native American - it simply confirmed her family stories likely were correct.

I suspect that response was from people who want others or other factions of the party to get the nomination. The video that she put out with the announcement was excellent. It was exactly what people have said Democratic nominees need - things that define who they are before the Republicans do.

As to the things various people have called for here:
- She is a woman
- She has been a strong fighter for people not in the 1%
- She is brilliant and well spoken
- Her experience as a teacher (before she was a professor) shows in answers she has given to people's questions.

With her announcement, I suspect that she will gain support -- taking some of the Sanders people and probably the support given to various women candidates. I also think she will - as she gets more coverage get some of the Biden support as I think it might represent both his personal support and support for experience - which she has.

Having heard the foreign policy speech and having watched enough CSPAN Senate coverage, I think I now have someone I support for 2020, though I would want to hear more about the environment and climate change.

[Enoki33]

71. Many of us can multi task. Every Democrat that declares is reminding the

nation of the trash we now have. Not necessarily a question of momentum, but one of comparisons. Especially at a time when the investigations are being made public.

[Caliman73]

74. I agree. We have a problem with our elections.

As other posters have stated, the election season is too long and the focus in the media appears to be on personalities, conflict, and scandal rather than on policies and approach to the job. The reason for these problems is two fold in my opinion.

1. Elections appear to be a commodity now.
They are big business and a lot of people stand to get rich or at least get paid from elections. Consultants, media personalities, pundits, etc... all have a piece of the pie, not to mention the candidates themselves who raise money, get their name out there, and even if they don't win, can get lucrative gigs as a result. Candidates are packaged and sold to us, not based on their policies, but on their brand which has been manufactured by consultants and communications directors. Elections cost millions of dollar for Senate seats, hundreds of thousands for the House, and up to or over a billion dollars for the Presidency.

2. The 24 hour media cycle.
This is part of the "big business" aspect but I think separate enough to be its own unique problem. There is always news, but there isn't really a need to cover news 24 hours a day. Cable news has proven this over and over, especially as they cover the same stories over and over again within that 24 hour framework. News is as much for entertainment as it is for information these days, with the focus being on opinions and conflicts about the news being reported rather than finding the facts and reporting the information. The line between journalist and editorialist is blurred and while there has always been bias in reporting, there is a whole segment of the media now dedicated to pushing a specific narrative.

Elections have never been pure in this country. There has always been mudslinging, dirty tactics, grandstanding, etc... I am not naively thinking that there was ever a "good ole days" where people just honestly discussed and debated policies and the electorate was informed and active. The problem with today is that elections are completely commercial. Trump has reduced elections to a reality show or WWE type process where the "heel v hero" dynamic is at play and the loudest voice in the crowd gets the most attention.

We certainly need a break. I for one do not want a perpetual election cycle.

[Enoki33]

75. I think we can all agree that the election cycle is way too long and expensive.

However, until we get campaign finance reform we have to deal with the reality that the trash in the Whitehouse has never stopped campaigning. It seems politically foolhardy to give him an undefended goal to shoot at when we need goalkeepers that individually resonate. That cannot be done by journalism or by committee.

[BannonsLiver]

76. Sorry but the cycle is beginning

You’ll just have to turn the channel or find something else to do, but the world is going to turn regardless.

[elmac]

79. yep, way too early nt

[LiberalFighter]

83. Same here!

[WyLoochka]

84. Wholeheartedly agree

I think it is a strategic mistake to start so early, particularly when we need to bring down a global criminal mob.

We succeed in bringing that mob, and it's US puppet, down - we will elect a Democrat. Any Democrat will be better. First things first will be a better strategic plan. We have our work cut out for us. Calling for all eyes, ears, and support to be given to the relentless investigative and prosecutorial work to be done.

We get tied up with inter-party competition, recriminations, and accusations we will lose focus and could well lose the race as el trumpo quickly coins names for all of our candidates. He largely won by calling people running against him derogatory, belittling names. It was extremely odious but effective. It did not take long for them to fall. It will work again and we have no plan at all to counter this tactic.

Splintering our team now with everyone getting out there for him/her self could take a huge toll on our collective resolve.

[Honeycombe8]

85. I know what yu mean. But the possible candidates have to proceed. It's a 2-yr process.

So we can ignore it or not, but it has to proceed, if we are going to have funded candidates.

[former9thward]

88. You better turn off your TV, internet and any other media device.

Candidates will be beginning to file paperwork from now through the next 90 days and (formally) starting their campaigns. You will not escape it on this site for sure.

[redstateblues]

103. I had the same thought-just as I was gonna post I saw yours!

[Mr. Quackers]

89. Then shut off your tv and throw it outside

lock the doors and windows.

2020 will be critical for many more reasons than people realize.

Presidential elections are a gravy train for the media and political vendors.

[klook]

90. But then what will we fight about?

JK, of course -- I'm with you.

[Grasswire2]

92. AGREE wholeheartedly

Just stop for now, Dems.

[Grasswire2]

93. This is why POTUS should be ONE SIX YEAR Term..

...instead of two four year, where years three and four are spent campaigning for the second term.

It is a ridiculous waste of the people's time.

[Bucky]

99. Discussing it as a horse race is stupid right now, bu-u-uuut...

it's better than being forced to think about the pee tape one more time.

[BlueMTexpat]

101. Amen!

I support these sentiments wholeheartedly!

Happy New Year to you and those you love!

[TSheehan]

104. Likewise.

[elias7]

105. Plus, odds are they won't be running vs Trump

[Greywing]

106. My sentiments exactly ... n/t

[SunSeeker]

108. Yup. Time for the Hammer to Fall!

[SunSeeker]

109. Happy New Year!

[aikoaiko]

115. I feel the opposite.

I think we’ve let a massive vacuum exist after the midterms and the media is filling it with polls. The media is defining who are “front runners” are even though no one is running yet.

I think we’re letting momentum slip away.

Waiting on Mueller or other judicial enties could be a disaster.