BREAKING : Governor Deval Patrick is joining the democratic primary race for the president.

What does this mean? Who is this person?

More like bad news for Biden.

The big donors know he's not good enough.

r1 He was a popular ex-Governor of Massachussets, the home state of Warren.

Okay, but where does he fall on the political spectrum?

he is*

What a shit mess. Why Deval? I love Deval and he is a great speaker. But this is just awful. There's one more I'm waiting for. Mitch Landrieu of NOLA. Oops. Almost forgot Eric Holder.

R4 he’s a gay ally.

Deval is personal friends with a gay couple that I know.

How many are going to announce, every Democrat that has ever held office? Who's next? Jimmy Carter? He is still eligible since he didn't get elected to a second term, he is only 95.

Everyone underestimates Biden's candidacy, when his poll numbers have been incredibly resilient despite constant media cynicism of his campaign.

One more for the clown car!

R9 Bloomberg and company have entered this race for a reason. And it's because big donors are scared shitless that Warren or even Sanders could get the nomination. If Biden is that much of a sure thing, this wouldn't be happening. The field is crowded enough as it is.

Who??? Some loser from who knows where.

What we need is a marquee candidate like Joe Kennedy 3rd or Stacy Abrams.

If only Beto had waited a little longer....all the nonsense from earlier this year would have never happened.

Love him, but he’s another Massachusetts politician, so no bro!

Omg, I JUST realised that's the profile photo of the person who tweeted that out, not of Patrick! Bitch, I thought he was white!

Now I understand why people are saying he could spoil South Carolina. 😆

[quote]And it's because big donors are scared shitless that Warren or even Sanders could get the nomination. If Biden is that much of a sure thing, this wouldn't be happening.

All the more reason I’ll be supporting Warren. All the Powers That Be are scared because she’s about to shake shit up.

[quote]Now I understand why people are saying he could spoil South Carolina. 😆

Which is such a lazy take. How are Harris and Booker doing in SC? Not great.

Deval Patrick is delusional if he thinks he can shake up the race.

The powers know Warren can’t win

I'm going to play contrarian here... I think after what looks like pain this will be great for Biden.

The fact is, there is nobody out there in the wings who is the unicorn. It keeps coming back to Biden. He may not be perfect, but he's going to be the best most palatable imperfect.

If the donors are that scared of Warren or Sanders, why don't they coalesce behind Mayor Pete? I mean, I know they think he can't win because he is gay, but remember that before Obama won, most thought a black person couldn't win a general election either. But, then he became the not only the first black nominee of a major party but also the first black President.

R19 because he is a gay nobody.

Obama was a Senator from one of the largest states in the country when he ran.

Mayor Pete is the mayor on a shithole in Indiana. A mayor!

The equivalent would be if Obama had been the mayor of Urbana, Illinois when he ran for President.

I have a ton of regard for Mayor Pete and root for him as a gay man but I just feel in this election, which we should assume will be frighteningly close given that nothing seems to really dislodge Trump's grasp on the Republicans, can't sustain him as the nominee... the 'yeah, but' about his experience is terribly powerful. Do we want to gamble? I don't. I think he might be able to do it.

Seriously, if Pete was a senator from Indiana the DNC bigwigs would be taking his candidacy more seriously. But at the end of the day he wants to be taken seriously as a politician when he is a smalltown mayor.

R20 Obama was a one term Senator, who had a horrible attendance record, because he was running for President from the start of his term. Before that he was an unremarkable Illinois State Senator. He wasn't elected because of experience. If it was about experience he wouldn't have beat two term Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton for the nomination or four term Senator John McCain in the general election. I think a two term mayor of a city, no matter the size of the city, has much more executive level experience than a one-term US Senator, which is in the legislative branch. When it comes to experience, it doesn't matter how large Illinois is because all senators are equal. You, don't get more responsibility because your state is large.

[quote] . I think a two term mayor of a city, no matter the size of the city, has much more executive level experience than a one-term US Senator

Because you are an idiot.

OK, I [italic]feel[/italic] a two term mayor of a city, no matter the size of the city, has much more executive level experience than a one-term US Senator.

That's better, yeah?

Being the mayor of a smalltown is the little leagues. Oooh, it is executive experience.

Yes, executive experience with a government practically the size of a kickball team. Pete doesn't even have experience with working with a statewide size government.

Obama had spent years as part of the state government of Illinois, and then a few years as part of the federal government.

Obama and Pete aren't the same, Pete's level of experience in politics is significantly less.

Not saying experience in politics is everything, but on that metric they are different.

I manage a Piggly Wiggly in Baton Rouge.

Good for senate, yeah?

The Biden crown has no money but we vote.

We need people out of the race, not in.

I like Deval Patrick. I'm glad he's running. Relieved, actually.

Maybe if you have a doctorate in Politics, you can go from Mayor to president. Clinton was kind of great but a good man like Carter, couldn't do it.

Where do you get "IS" when everything reported - including your link - says "CONSIDERING," "MULLS," or "IS REPORTEDLY CONSIDERING" getting into the race?

Because OP is desperate for people to come to his thread so has to make it more click baity r32.

Everyone on the internet does that shit, let me see how I can warp this to be as click baity as possible.

With a face like that it ain’t going to happen.

Deval is ONLY 63.

He might be great.

Then again, R36, he might be a black Mitt Romney with a D after his name.

He’s too short. He’ll look like a midget standing next to Trump.

I think we have our vital, experienced moderate to challenge Warren’s lead.

You may be right, R39. I'd bet money Obama played a big part in this.

It will be a long time before the country elects another black guy.

Deval Patrick is a liberal and good friend of President Obama. He's from Chicago originally and graduated from Harvard Law School. He was assistant Atty General for civil rights under President Clinton. I was hoping President Obama would have nominated him for the Supreme Court.

He's so short, he'll make Mayor Pete look tall.

Deval refused to attend the inauguration of his successor, Charlie Baker. Some believed it was because Baker is nearly 12" taller and it would create bad optics for Deval.

Deval Patrick was once a corporate attorney for Coca-Cola until they fired his ass.

538 podcast today. Nate Cohn. It’s much closer on the ground.

He just wants to make sure people don't forget him when the white nominee goes looking for a VP.

No, R43 it had nothing to do with optics and everything to do with tradition: the "Lone Walk" out of the front doors and down the steps of the State House at the end of a governor's term has been a tradition in Massachusetts for almost 150 years.

Patrick met with Baker before leaving the night before Baker's swearing in. The meeting included the exchange of four traditional symbols between outgoing and incoming chief executives: The original Pewter Key to the door of the governor's office; The Butler Bible, so named because it was first left by Gov. Benjamin Butler to his successor in 1884; The Governor's Gavel, dating to 1906 and made from the white oak frame of the original U.S.S. Constitution; and a two-volume copy of Massachusetts General Statutes, dating to 1860.

This says 5'9" (and Baker 6'6")

He’s 5’7 at best.

r23 Your post really ought to be nailed somewhere. It is so crazy to me that people still don't get this. Obama – the quintessential pencil pusher – was nowhere near qualified enough for that job, yet he did just fine. If you're familiar at all with how the government works, you'd know that mayorship and governorship most prepares you for the job of a president, because those are the most similar executive jobs.

People vote for the personality. The president then uses his cabinet, advisors, House and Senate majority/minority leaders, and the rest of his party to enact legislation. You don't need to have shuffled papers in the Congress and prostituted your soul to the various masters in D.C. for 10+ years to be able to do a president's job. That's such a weird misconception people have.

How many posts are we going to have on this? There’s already been like two others.

[QUOTE] If you're familiar at all with how the government works, you'd know that mayorship and governorship most prepares you for the job of a president, because those are the most similar executive jobs.

That explains why George W. Bush was such a great president. All that executive experience really helped guide him through those tumultuous years.

I don't see a problem with people jumping into the race. 1) the election is a year away; 2) nobody is excited by any of the candidates; 3) nobody watched the debates; and 4) if they did watch the debates, it was a noisy clown car where you couldn't even get a sense of anyone.

In this age of instant news, instant information- it would take no time for them to get up to speed.

How big is his cock?

It would actually take plenty of time to build the campaign apparatus necessary to compete with these behemoth, well funded operations. The candidates haven’t only been holding debates, they’ve been working their asses off, developing messages and platforms and getting the word out. It takes a LOT to build a campaign. No white knight is just going to swoop in and take the nomination from one of these candidates. I’d rather vote for that scoundrel Bernie Sanders than let the DNC hand this shit over to some asshole who comes waltzing in on Thanksgiving thinking he’ll skip the early states and clean house on Super Tuesday. Pricks. Fuck Bloomberg and Deval with the same dick. They are NOT winning this nomination.

Deval said he's considering it. He has not announced that he is in.

I Love Deval Patrick! Obama used to steal his speeches.

It's a trial balloon. He has all week to see who reacts and how - filing deadline for the NH primary is not until Friday.

His wife doesn't want him to do it - she had, essentially, a nervous breakdown (presented as "depression") when he was governor.

He has no organization and the people who can run a successful one are already working for someone else.

[QUOTE] I Love Deval Patrick! Obama used to steal his speeches.

Obama delivered those speeches better than Deval ever could. There’s a reason why Obama is most famous for being President of the United States and Deval is most famous for his portrayal in a Mark Wahlberg movie.

R58 your last sentence sums it all up. Now maybe Deval can identify some people who were with him when he was governor to work for him, but IMO maybe Deval is ding this because he wants to be Vice PResident.

As Governor of Massachusetts, one of the first things he did was lavishly decorate his State House corner office, spending a fortune on drapes alone.

He also balked at traveling in the standard State Police vehicle and opted for a Cadillac SUV, earning him the nickname "Cadillac Deval".

R58, Just for the record, he has a lesbian daughter.

I am so sick of people demeanlng Joe, I will vote for him whether I like him or not. Actually I like Styer and Yang better than any of them but I guess I will vote Joe. Most people do not understand Andrew but I do and he is right. He knows the way to fix our economy, God knows, Corporations will never do the right thing and pay fair wages to the poorest workers.

Democrats who keep throwing Massachusetts candidates at Americans are stuck On stupid. Can’t they find some candidates from Iowa, Ohio, or North Carolina?

How are the Dems managing to fuck this up?! I can't think of anything EASIER than finding someone to beat that fat fucking piece of orange lard. It could literally be any fucking ONE of them! Too socialist, too gay, too female, too boring, too asian, too old, too young, blah blah blah blah blah... I will not even look at their name when I check the box!

Even prominent Democrats are publicly admitting that Trump could win a second term.

Mark Cuban.

TOO SHORT.

Also perhaps too liberal. We already have Sanders and (to a degree) Warren in the race, for northeastern technocratic left-leaners.

We finally start to narrow the field when Beto drops out, only for him to be replaced by TWO new candidates (Patrick and Bloomberg). Considering we still have Marianne, this is worse than the 2016 GOP clown car.

R68 = idiot who doesn’t know what technocratic or left-leaner means.

When he was Governor of Massachusetts, there were gay rumors.

There have been 3 losing candidates for POTUS from MA since 1988, Dukakis, Kerry and Romney.

R65, exactly. The media is hyping this race, and giving us false arguments. The whole "who can beat Trump" thing is bullshit. If the Democrats run a fucking Beagle for President he will beat Trump. Who will excite and motivate our base? Trump will. He can't rewrite history and pretend he suddenly cares about all the constituencies he's offended.

And his policies as President are killing us. For example, in today's news: according to The New York Times, the EPA plans to limit the scientific research that the government can use to form public health regulations. And there are a million little things going largely unnoticed in every single cabinet level department that are either being dismantled or limited and new "policies" established that are going to literally kill us.

We ignored or responsibilities in 2010. We gave the Republicans Congress because we didn't turn out and vote. We can no longer afford that luxury. We have to pay attention and be engaged, and we have to show up. Stop buying the hype and watching the media circus. They want ratings and revenue. Period. We have to be smarter.

We have to try to choose our leader from a pool of truly experienced people who have a true understanding of public policy and the process, because this is a fucking job interview. While there are candidates who we "like" we have to also look at candidates who know WTF they're talking about. I want a POTUS who can anticipate catastrophes and avoid them. Not a POTUS who IS a catastrophe.

You’re being a Pollyanna r73

[QUOTE] The whole "who can beat Trump" thing is bullshit. If the Democrats run a fucking Beagle for President he will beat Trump. Who will excite and motivate our base? Trump will. Hillary’s got this in the bag, baby! She needs to start thinking about what color drapes she’ll select for the Oval Office.

The only flaw in R73's reasoning, which I agree with in the main, is the heavy reliance on "we". To win anymore, it isn't just Democrats. There's a swathe of independents who are now necessary to reach the mass needed to win. So who "we" choose also needs to appeal to enough of "them." And that's partly where Democrats tend to get tangled up.

Also, independents tend to be vulnerable to GOP caricatures of Democrats as godless socialist boogeymen who will give away tax dollars to unworthy inner city people and immigrants.

The only thing Biden has going for him is he has incredible empathy. And we are attracted to that because Trump has zero.

But Biden is too old, it's showing, and he thinks he can go back and be another Obama. Things have changed. Does he have anything new or novel to say? Nope

He has good solid things to say. His specificity last night on CNN was impressive. Everything from a plan to improve the ACA to priority on better services for veterans to as micro as a plan to increase funding for charge points for electric vehicles. His command and instincts on foreign policy was that of someone who knows what he is talking about.

In fact he has more to say than the media reports, given its interest only horse race polls and, for Biden, gaffe watch. There is a lot there. If it's him, the country will be well served.

Well, he just missed the Arkansas deadline, along with Messam. Bloomberg also filed. 🙄

R80, Mosie Boyd?

r81 Local aspirant. I had to look her up as well. 😁

^I' m with her.

R73 here.When I said "We" I mean everyone who wants to get rid of Trump, not just the Democrats. And when I said "We" didn't show up, I meant everyone who supported Obama for PResident in 2008...who didn't show up and vote in 2010. I'm no Pollyanna. All I'm saying is stop buying in to the media hype. The Biden we saw on CNN last night is the guy who can be President. My point is there is no perfect candidate who can beat Trump. The truth is only WE can beat Trump. He is evil.And we need to turn out in overwhelming numbers and kick that fucker'sass.Us. We...the people.

Maybe Jill Stein can jump in again too.

I'm so done with this whole process. I would gladly vote for anyone running on decreasing the entire Presidential campaign, primaries to finish, to around 3 months.

I'm ready to vote for whomever the Dem nominee is. Wish the election was tomorrow.

We're the only ones who can beat Trump. Us. We just have to show up.

Even showing up might not be enough to counter all the voter suppression and the voting machine shenanigans that'll be a hundred times worse than in 2016.

They way we decide who to vote for in this country is so fucked up, standing on a stage and nailing another person with nifty one liners does not make for a good President if it did a comedian would win every year.

We need a better way, to find someone with good judgement and intelligence, great thinking skills, problem solving skills and the ability win people over.

[quote]We need a better way, to find someone with good judgement and intelligence, great thinking skills, problem solving skills and the ability win people over.

But all of this can also be demonstrated at debates. Notice that those who went super nasty with their attacks were punished eventually by the voters. Where are those candidates in the polls these days?

Also, most pundits agree that debates don't really matter that much unless you really fuck it up several times. The ground game in those early states, plus the ability to raise funds is what wins elections.

The "show" part isn't all we should look at. We need to look at temperament, experience, track record, too. And yes, R88, we will have voter suppression, fake news, robot accounts mis information campaigns, etc. But the difference is that right now we are a lot more aware than we were last time. There's a tremendous amount of push back and a lot of shhit is being exposed and that was not the case in 2016. And statewide efforts against voter suppression, , lawsuits, and intense lobbying for ballot security funding are all going on right now. They need support, volunteers, and funding. Go online check out Indivisible, MoveOn, ACLU, state and local Democratic Party organizations, etc. Find out what you can do. I've said it a million times, but we can't afford to be passive any more. We have to get involved. Too many of us sat on our asses and allowed this to happen. Now we have to work like hell to undo it. When I say we have to "Show up" I mean overwhelming turnout. Our elected officials reflect us. If we want them to toughen up we have to toughen up.

It's official - the bastard is running. 😩

[quote]Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is telling friends and allies in phone calls on Wednesday that he has made a decision to run for president, two people familiar with the matter say

The fucking ego it takes to enter this late, having skipped almost half of the debates. Can you imagine?

Yup!

The point is whether you're Patrick or Bloomberg, you have to have damned good staff and you need to be able to raise money. Now money might be no problem for a billionaire, but everyone else has to face reality. Booker is on the ropes. Castro is a dead man walking. Bennet has no pulse. Gabbard Yang have absolutely no chance. Neither does BErnie. So is this some last dirch rescue of capitalism as we know it? I mean. WTF

Man this just tells me that the Democratic Party leaders, elected officials, high profile Dems, etc., etc. don't have a lot of respect or confidence in Biden. I find it baffling.

The DNC should disallow self-funding. That would immediately rid us of Steyers and Bloombergs and Delaneys.

Already missed the Alabama and Arkansas deadline, (probably) won't get into any debates, has no national profile, and currently works for Bain Capital.

The. Ego. It takes for someone to enter the race late under those circumstances. I hope he crashes and burns, and I hope the same for any fool giving him money.

Enten seems as perplexed as the rest of us.

[quote]When Wes Clark got into 04 race, 40% of Democrats were satisfied with the field. 50% wanted more choices.... Today with Deval Patrick apparently getting in, 70%-80% of Democrats are satisfied. Less than 30% want more choices. No one has any darn clue who Patrick is. He was polling below Cory Booker in NH in polling last year. He was at 2% nationally. This is a tremendously uphill climb.

[quote]Here are some more numbers... When Fred Thompson got in late in 07, a plurality of GOPers wanted more choices. When Perry got in somewhat late in 2011, 71%(!) wanted more choices. Go back to 91, a majority of Dems wanted more choices in Oct 91. Bottom line: Strange things happen. Run & who knows. I once ate KFC. But voters like their choices more so than usual. And yet you have two guys either getting or threatening to get in who either aren't liked or not known per polling... It really makes you scratch your head.

[quote]Already missed the Alabama and Arkansas deadline, (probably) won't get into any debates, has no national profile, and currently works for Bain Capital.

The other night on CNN I heard some talking head say: Oh, yes, Bain Capital... Democratic voters just love private equity....

NH deadline is this Friday. Conspiracy theories already floating around that he was conscripted to spoil someone's showing in NH, in exchange for a cabinet position.

His problem now is that voters in NH will mostly tune out the primary stuff between now and the New Year, and will make a final decision much closer to the voting day. How he intends to increase his profile in the meantime is anyone's guess.

Iowa isn't feeling it. 👀

[quote]Polls have shown that most caucus-goers could still change their minds, but that’s largely driven by having to choose between many candidates that they like, not because they’re unsatisfied with the field. Others would be wise to understand that.

The only question is who he hurts most in New Hampshire. He’s not winning the nomination.

R103, I would say Elizabeth Warren.

Who does he hurt?

R104 = idiot

R104 may be right. If Pete Buttigieg wins Iowa, then Liz Warren will desperately need to win New Hampshire. If Deval blocks her from doing so, then her goose is cooked.

But Joe Biden could wrap the nomination up with a surprise win in New Hampshire. Deval hurts him there.

Then there’s a question of what Deval does in South Carolina afterward if he wins New Hampshire. Would black folks suddenly abandon Joe for Deval? That must be what Deval is banking on. He wants NH and SC. That will be his pitch to donors.

Here’s hoping that he flames out early and has no effect on the race at all. Fuck that midget motherfucker.

What about Deval Patrick should make anybody care? Michelle Obama I could see (I don't pretend it's gonna happen, but that would be a game changer.) Don't see anybody else, including Deval Patrick, who can excite the race. And except for Tulsa Giblets, none of them deserve this slap in the face. They put themselves forward on time, within the rules... they deserve the process to show respect.

If some anointed candidate who didn't do the hard work emerges with the nomination, well I wouldn't stay home from voting over this because the next race is so important. But I'd sure want to.

[quote]not because they’re unsatisfied with the field

That's been consistent in polls, voters say they are happy with the field of candidates. The idea they are hungry for more people in the race is a fallacy.

Yes but two of those leading candidates are illegitimate in the eyes of DNC pawns like Deval. The only thing he sees is that Joe Biden hasn’t put Liz and Bernie away, and therefore it’s up to him to step in and get the job done. Biden is “weak” because he isn’t leading by huge margins in every state, even though there’s still 15 friggin candidates running.

Already unravelling. His campaign forgot to file to be on the Michigan ballot and now he's crying that he's being treated unfairly.

[quote]"Any candidate who wanted to be included on that list could have contacted the Party," the Michigan Democratic source said. "We were in contact with the candidates included on the list. The candidates have to request being on the list, and he (Patrick) did not."

R111, Yep, that's our former inept Governor.

Sit down, DP.

Another decrepit white hetero male destined to lose the primaries to Pete.

[QUOTE]Deval Patrick's campaign is expressing frustration that the former Massachusetts governor will not be listed on Michigan's Democratic primary ballot.

I haven’t seen a single interview or even major news show announcement that he’s running for President

His entrance into the race was ill-thought out, impulsive, and futile: he's raised no money to speak of, gotten no endorsements, issued no position papers, nor has he organized any staff or even gotten any press in the last two weeks except to express frustration that he won't be on the Democratic primary ballot in Michigan - because he neglected to ask to be included.

This is not someone who is serious about running for President. He's embarrassing himself.

"He's embarrassing himself."

He's very good at that.

R108 - Right from the start, my dream ticket has always been Michelle and Pete.

Who cares? Nobody's going to vote for anybody new, we have enough candidates as is. That's why Biden's winning, he's a name people already know. Americans are stupid, they won't vote for somebody they've never heard of before unless they've got a good enough cause.

[quote]He's embarrassing himself.

It’s working for Bernie.

If Deval is smart he will drop out, endorse Joe and campaign for VP. That's what he was really trying to do anyway.