Jill Biden says consider elect-ability?

[saljr1]

I respect Mr Biden and his wife but i believe there at least 6 candidates in the primaries that can and will beat Trump. I did not see or read the quote but that sounds a little desperate to me as Bidens lead shrinks.I predicted that Warren would continue to rise in the polls from her hard work and clear policies reaching out to as many people as she can. Persistence, energy and she's running a great campaign.

[hlthe2b]

1. Why would you criticize a "quote" that you admittedly never saw or read?

Why would you not, instead, track down the actual quote before commenting?

[saljr1]

4. She just said it MSNBC

[elleng]

26. THanks

[Celerity]

43. Jill Biden emphasizes electability in 2020 race: 'You've got to look at who's going to win this

election'

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/19/politics/jill-biden-joe-biden-beat-donald-trump/index.html


Jill Biden: 'You may like another candidate better' but husband is most 'electable'
"I want you to think about your candidate, his or her electability, and who’s going to win this race," the former second lady said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/jill-biden-you-may-another-candidate-better-husband-most-electable-n1044151

[Gothmog]

50. "Your bottom line has to be that we have to beat Trump"

Link to tweet

[MontanaMama]

2. Just what does "electability" mean?

I'm genuinely asking this. It seems like a dog whistle and I don't like it.

[DURHAM D]

7. It is.

The question is only asked about women or minority candidates.

[sacto95834]

37. Interesting Point...

I never really thought about it, but you're right. "Elect-ability" is most discussed about women and minority candidates, including white guys who happened to be gay. Seems nobody talks about if Beto or Delaney are electable.

[Skittles]

20. people who don't research, vote on name recognition

being white and male HUGE bonus points

[loyalsister]

48. That seems to be a subtext

The part about how well he was able to work with the GOP during Obama's presidency sounds very much like a dog whistle to me. As in putting "Obama's policies in the hands of a white man" is going to make the GOP agreeable again. The really sad thing is that there may be some truth to it. As in - we have a better chance of winning if the bigots feel comfortable enough to allow a few advancements as long as they see a polite acceptance of a cultural norm which presumes that white males are the superior population and should be in charge.
The woman we nominated was clearly electable and didn't win because of the outdated electoral college. A black man was elected despite that systemic flaw.

Electability can only be measured after the votes have been counted. It's true that it is a measure which has favored white men. I don't think that necessarily makes it the strongest formula for success, though.

[CentralMass]

3. She seems like a nice woman and it is commendable that she is promoting her husband.

[stonecutter357]

5. lol fail , I did not see or read the quote !

[progressoid]

19. but I want you to think about your candidate, his or her electability...

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[WhiskeyGrinder]

6. Big oof.

Link to tweet

[True Dough]

8. Ouch! She acknowledges that Joe could be doing better on health care

Not exactly a minor issue. Maybe she should have picked immigration or gun control.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. Maybe she should have saved this argument for GOTV. It's a little early for this tactic.

[DownriverDem]

10. Well

We have a long way to go.

[demmiblue]

13. I'm not sure that that is the best tactic. n/t

[WhiskeyGrinder]

15. I am sure it is not.

[Autumn]

16. Well. That's a good twitter feed. Illuminating. .

[Demsrule86]

22. Basically she is saying you might think your candidate is better on (pick on issue) you favor

but you need to consider electability...and she is right.

[melman]

24. Wow!

No words.

[DemocracyMouse]

11. "I think I can, I think I can..."

What about Biden's electability? Seems to me he's a ticking gaff bomb. (That's not a smear, it's a common observation that he often speaks before considering the impact of his words...)

Elizabeth Warren, in contrast, seems to be an exceptionally well-spoken and passionate politician. It has lifted her up as she travels from a struggling family in Oklahoma, to a Harvard Professor, to designer of the Consumer Protection Bureau, to a major US Senator, to President. She has the aura of inevitability.

Warren is like the train pushing itself up the hill in the Children's story "The Little Engine that could."

[Demsrule86]

21. A well spoken candidate who will in all likelihood lose a general...Biden can win.

[DemocracyMouse]

39. You haven't seen the latest polls then.

[Demsrule86]

45. I have actually...Biden leading in state polls and national polls...in fact the only one showing

anyone else leading was a say anything you want poll for bucks...In fact this morning in a CNN poll, Biden is double digits ahead of the the closest candidate...

[Thekaspervote]

12. Petty.. a intelligent woman stumps for her husband...that's all ya got?

Why not just stick with the positives about your candidate of choice.

This kind of op doesn’t change the hearts and minds of voters

[left-of-center2012]

14. Joe Biden and 'electability' has been mentioned many times ...

Joe Biden and ‘electability’ has been mentioned many times,
by many people,
in print and in/on the news,
for months.

It did not originate today,
by Jill Biden.

[onetexan]

23. +1 K&R

i love Jill Biden, and i'm banking on her hubby's electability.

[Skya Rhen]

17. She is correct - supporters of Warren and Sanders are convinced that their candidates have a better

healthcare plan than Biden. That's a fact. This is what they believe. If I am wrong, please let me know...

She is talking to them and saying that the one who can actually beat Trump, in her opinion, would be the best nominee.

[Thekaspervote]

29. No I think you are correct and that is what they believe! And the op is certainly entitled to their

Opinion. Saying that it seems desperate for a woman to stump for her husband...another story

[Joe941]

40. Oh please...

[Demsrule86]

18. I do not...in my opinion, it is Biden or Trump.

[FloridaBlues]

25. Dr Biden is supporting her husband, last I looked there's nothing wrong with that

I wouldn't make too much out of her comment.

[Control-Z]

27. Does hyphenating elect-ability have a special meaning?

I've never seen it spelled that way.

[RelativelyJones]

28. Me neither. Not once. Very strange.

[elocs]

30. Would Humphrey have done better than McGovern who got crushed in 1972?

Likely he would but many of us then were convinced that anybody we nominated could beat Nixon because, well, it was Nixon.
McGovern was my first presidential vote and I learned that no, you can't nominate just anyone and expect them to defeat a sitting president and in the case of Trump the risk is too great to allow him a shot at winning a second term.

[peggysue2]

31. Really?

Jill Biden mentions 'electability' and this is an issue?

We've mentioned the electability quotient about a gazillion times here on DU. Pundits don't like the word because media types are all about the horserace factor. Other candidates & their supporters don't like the word because they feel it's a dig against them. But here's the thing: electability is EVERYTHING in the 2020 race because otherwise we lose, something we cannot afford to do.

You don't like the world electability. How about likability? Voters want to 'like' a candidate, particularly after living with asshole Trump. How about affability? Voters want a pleasant human being they can connect to, particularly after dealing with asshole Trump.

I could go on but I won't. Electability is a perfectly reasonable quality to consider because all the policies in the world will not be enacted without a solid win in 2020.

[Skya Rhen]

33. Stop - you are making too much sense!

[LonePirate]

32. A less than stirring recommendation from his wife is not going to win voters over to his side.

[Andy823]

36. Exactly!

I have thought long and hard on the "electability" or our candidates. First off we have a great bunch of candidates, and many of them are "electable. I don't think anyone picks a candidate that thinks "won't" win.

In the end we will see who the country picks in the primaries, and that person will be "electable". Joe is NOT the only one that can win, not by a long shot!

The end game is simple, whoever is the nominee will get my vote, and we all need to get behind that person, because we can't let trump win another term.

[mcar]

34. Hillary Clinton kidnapped the Lindbergh baby?

I neither saw or heard this - and she wasn't born then. But that sounds a little terrible to me.

[Cha]

35. Electability is a Good Thing especially

in the Swing States!

[demmiblue]

38. Video:

Link to tweet

(They start looping it at the end)

[emmaverybo]

41. Joe is electable and so is his healthcare plan. You go Joe and Jill!

[highplainsdem]

42. OMG! Jill Biden says voters should consider electability! Oh, the horror!

Whether or not you want to believe several of our candidates can defeat Trump, there are plenty of polls showing only Biden, or only Biden and Sanders, beating Trump, while our other top candidates lose to him.

And when voters are polled on the electability of our candidates compared to one another, Joe ALWAYS wins.

I like Elizabeth Warren. I have serious doubts that she can run on Medicare For All and getting rid of private insurance and win the GE.

No matter how popular MFA is with liberal Democrats, it's less popular than the public option with all Democrats.

And it's much less popular with the independents and Republicans we're going to need to have an ELECTORAL COLLEGE victory this time, as opposed to another heartbreaking election where we beat the Republican nominee by millions of votes but lose the electoral college vote.

[Gothmog]

44. Jill Biden is amazing

Link to tweet

[Demsrule86]

46. I love Jill biden...thanks for posting this...she is his best secret weapon...I hope a bunch of

people saw this...put it on twitter!

[Autumn]

47. Of course she will say that, he's her husband.

Any of our leading candidates can beat Trump. And some that aren't in the top yet.

[Gothmog]

49. Trump campaign is clearly afraid of facing Joe Biden and the argument comparing Trump to Obama.

Link to tweet

[BeyondGeography]

51. This got picked up by The Onion

https://politics.theonion.com/jill-biden-urges-democratic-voters-to-ignore-which-cand-1837412595

[DarthDem]

52. Silly

The video makes it quite clear that she meant that a particular person in the audience might think that their candidate is better on health care, but that should not be the end of the inquiry. She's not admitting that Biden is wrong on healthcare compared to the other candidates for the nomination.

And incidentally, wow! She's superbly eloquent and relatable.

[Gothmog]

53. Joe Biden still bests fellow Democrats on electability, polls show

Link to tweet