#bc it’s everywhere around you… you see someone in the latest stages you see how bad it gets

[caernua]

don’t mind me i’m just frothing at the mouth thinking of rpg protagonists suffering from a form of corruption that eats away at them while they make it their sole purpose to save everyone else, and maybe themselves too. yes this is about the warden’s tainted blood yes this is about the watcher’s awakening yes this is about the inquisitor’s mark yes this is about tav’s tadpole no i am not feeling sane OR mentally stable

[thelongconversation]

Democratic Power Rankings - 9/3/18

Summer is coming to a close. The Midterms are on the horizon. The political landscape for 2020 is no more settled than before. Rightfully so. But that doesn’t mean I can’t speculate into the void. 

10. Michael Avenatti. Admittedly a little splashy and unlikely a pick, but I think this early you gotta give points to the people making moves. Even if it’s just to needle Trump. Though this platform leaves a bit to be desired and his attempts to insert himself into the family separation crisis have been at best unhelpful, the dude’s camera-ready and doing the kind of media legwork it takes to get yourself on a debate stage in a year. (Previous High: Unranked)

9. Beto O’Rourke. Gotta keep the bottom of the list flashy. He went viral talking about NFL protests. He ratio’d the hell out of the Texas GOP. And he has raced up to a 1 point deficit in the latest poll. Hopefully Beto is no peaking too early and we flip Texas Blue. And if he does, I’m very curious to see if he doesn’t try to go for broke. Even at the expense of a majority in the Senate. If you’ve got the ambition, there’s often not enough time to sit around and wait. I could definitely also see a scenario where he runs just to keep his profile high and sell a book and accidentally captures too much enthusiasm. He’s a great speaker. (Previous High: Unranked)

8. Mitch Landrieu. He met with Obama. With Silent Sam being torn down recently in Chapel Hill, his signature move as mayor might be super relevant in the near term. It’s not impossible to imagine that he could cobble together a coalition if some major players we expect to see in the race decide to sit it out. (Previous High: 9th)

7. Eric Holder. Michael Eric Dyson might know what’s up. And a lot of background players seem to be stressing that he’s “not thinking about running” when they’re not really being asked. I think if Holder is giving it thought, it’s bc he thinks Obama is in his corner. And I think a behind-the-scenes Obama nod clears out a lane of support for Holder. If he’s spotted anywhere near South Carolina in the coming months, I think the picture will be pretty clear on his plans. (Previous High: 8)

6. Kamala Harris. Speaking of South Carolina, Harris seems to still be in step with Booker and Gillibrand as part of this lower tier trio. Make the move early. Get your face everywhere, but she just hasn’t been as buzzy as the other two lately. Probably means she’s actually legislating to be fair, but that’s not how you move up on a meaningless power ranking list! (Previous High: 4)

5. Kirsten Gillibrand. She’s out here leading with policy and daring everyone to keep up. Bernie’s probably the only potential candidate that’s nearly as good at pivoting to policy and making it connect with people. She’s also pretty well positioned in a #MeToo Era to make a credible argument that she’s been consistently and pretty fearlessly on the right side of workplace sexual assault and harassment. (Previous High: 6)

4. Cory Booker. Maybe a little too eager to flex his leftist credentials, Booker is still generating hella enthusiasm. He’s saying the right things today (Labor Day). And he’s got charisma. This dude is going everywhere. If you’re the person everyone wants campaigning with them, polls be damned. That’s a pretty good indicator that you’ve got a shot. (Previous High: 5)

3. Joe Biden. Uncle Joe is slipping for two reasons. The first is that I just suspect Obama is going to throw in w Holder at the moment, and that was Biden’s ticket to a long run. And the second, The Atlantic seems to think only one of Warren or Bernie will run and that makes everyone else’s margin of error razor thin with a motivated more progressive base. (Previous High: 2)

2. Elizabeth Warren. To the extent there’s “recent” polling, Warren seems to be behind Bernie. Too early to make a call on which one is more likely to run definitively. I think Bernie is the more talented politician, but he’s also pretty toxic to a pretty sizable Hillary Twitter population. And I’m not gonna lie, I think her delivery is a little too teacherly for someone running against a Class Clown campaign like Trump’s. (Previous High: 3)

1. Bernie Sanders. I wish there were a deeper bench of real progressives. I’d take the field over Bernie in a heartbeat. I think some of his support came from how open the field was and how uniquely disliked HRC was, but I have yet to see anyone emerge as a clear front-runner ahead of him. Hopefully after a progressive wave in November we will see more options in the top tier.