So much to the apparent liking of some of DU's opinion leaders, Warren looks out

[BelgianMadCow]

yet nobody is pushing for an alternative to Hillary Clinton? Am I the only one who thinks that's weird?

If this post is inappropriate for the forum, please lock, I have no idea.

[JoePhilly]

1. No one is stopping anyone from ...

... Proposing alternatives to Hillary.

Who ya got??

[BelgianMadCow]

3. Nothing Much

given that I'm a foreigner, get physically ill of the US (and my own) M$M, and get most of my news on the US from DU, I don't have any names handy really. I could say Bernie Sanders of course, he'd get my vote in a heartbeat. On edit: disclaimer: I'm a leftie in Europe, and I consider social democrats over here traitors because they went along with the bank bailout + society-killing austerity for the South.

Laelth did a thread on "If not Warren, then who" which did not yield many names with support.

I guess it's a testimony to the capture of the democratic process by the media and their puppeteers and to the culture of celebrity that alternatives aren't known. Surely they exist.

[djean111]

2. I believe many of the threads about wishing Warren would run also express a wish for an actual

liberal or progressive Democrat (remember when it was not necessary to say liberal or progressive?) as an alternative to Hillary, if/since Warren is not running at this time. Many good names have been bandied about. I do not get the impression that Warren supporters are stuck in that "we must have a woman no matter what" thing, they really want a liber or progressive, no a corporate Third-Way candidate.

[BelgianMadCow]

4. anybody (D) that represents the majority of the country (on healthcare, social security & banks)

would be supremely electable in a normal environment. But if it's people without national name recognition, things should get moving pretty soon I'd guess, what with money in politics. Which good names are you thinking of?

DU looks rather solidly No to Third Way. So if not Warren, why the silence? I do get the 2014 2014 2014, any move in the right direction is good, and midterms matter.

On edit: so yes, I also read the threads for Warren as being about a broader desire. That + the celebrity culture thing is why I changed my sigline from Warren's banner to the one I have now.

[djean111]

9. Whenever someone mentions anyone who is Not Hillary, we get told patronizingly that

oh, it is too early - although we are also regaled with Emily's List and other endorsements. Not too early for Hillary, evidently.
Warren, although a couple of years younger than Hillary, is also deemed too old.
Concentrate on 2014 - but oh yeah, Hillary already has people and money in place. A primary challenger should start soon! By now! But don't think about it until after 2014.

It is disheartening - we are to vote for the jersey with a D, even if the D stands for DINO, in the increasingly ridiculous hope that we will stop greasily sliding to the right.

Yes, name recognition is there for Hillary - but that does not mean the recognition is admiration. The GOP hatesss her, although hard sometimes to see why. She is divisive at this point, I feel. And electing anyone based on private parts is just making a mockery of the process. IMO as a woman who worked during the uber-sexist 60's and 70's and 80's.

Also want to mention that I believe most endorsements of politicians by other politicians is meaningless, because likely they know damn right well who they had better endorse. I don't care if Warren endorses Hillary, that does not mean I would vote for Hillary in a primary.

[BelgianMadCow]

10. I don't follow the (D) jersey principle, though of course it's (D) over (R)

The shoutdowns of "not now, 2014" are what I find the weirdest as well. I just doesn't make sense. I agree that given the system in place at the moment, waiting past 2014 to even start the discussion is taking a very big gamble.

I guess it's safe to say I would not vote for Hillary in a primary. I'd be more than happy to vote for a woman - I'm gonna write a post on 'the revolution is feminine' soon - but any vote that enables the status quo in my view perpetuates an inverted totalitarian state with rather frightening power.

By the way, thanks for all your recs. OPs of mine always get more or less the same 20 recs, be they about the NSA or the TPP or "radical" alternatives. That's both encouraging and frightening.

[djean111]

11. You are quite welcome for the recs. Thank you for the OPs :-)

[Eleanors38]

5. Just a giant sucking sound.

[femmocrat]

6. Where is the "Opinion Leaders" forum?

Who knew!?

[BelgianMadCow]

7. It's called greatest threads

and the glee over Warren's more recent "not running" announcements was Up There. Which is OK, to each his own. I just think it's weird, and nowhere near the DU I joined way back when, that there's no active discussion about alternatives. Which makes DU much more partisan than I had expected. Which, again, is fine.

Myself, I don't put nearly as much trust in opinion leaders as I used to. It's essentially an argument from authority, and I'm more for socratic debate.

[pennylane100]

8. My number one choice has always been Howard Dean.

[2naSalit]

12. Maybe h'll give it another go...

I'd probably vote for him. Didn't get a chance to last time he ran because he never got to the primary in my state at the time. I think he was Koched and there was no reason to shove him out of the race just because he wasn't constrained at one moment...

I kind of hope he will, there don't seem to be many willing to even make noises like there's going to be an election in 2016. But I would like to see how it goes in 2014 first.

[KoKo]

13. I don't think she will run and want her voice in the Senate...but

I have her for "2016" now as my signature because she is speaking out on issues I care about. So...I finally broke down and said "Warren for 2016" because we need a counter to "Hillary/Bill" for "2016" and anyone who speaks out for Left Dem's Ideals is someone who deserves to get a big push. I also applaud Bernie Sanders and Alan Grayson for speaking out for the Left.

So...I figure it's good that our Dem Party understand that we on the Left have our own folks who speak for us. And whether they run for 2016 or not...their message deserves a PUSH right now before we get another Thirdway Candidate shoved at us without our having anything to say about the process.

We need NEW DEM VOICES...and the time is now for them to speak out to build a NEW LEFT to counter the entrenched Party Third Way Candidate who is now considered to be the FAVORITE when we are three years from the Pres. Election and much to go inbetween to get our Dems to the polls in 2014 when the Repugs have been so successful taking over many of our state and Gerrymandering Dems out of districts so that the Repugs can still hold a majority in the House.

[NYC_SKP]

14. Hi BelgianMadCow. I agree but am encouraged by the number of recs Warren posts get.

.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024322078

I think if we keep posting the good things about Warren and not give up, we can win over a few folks.

Fighting with Hillary fans won't help, better to let them be complacent.

And, while your OP isn't exactly fitting to the group SOP, I don't think any of the hosts have a problem with it.

Thanks for posting, post more if you can!