Biden is backed by former presidential rival Booker on eve of Michigan vote

[webfact]

Biden is backed by former presidential rival Booker on eve of Michigan vote

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Michael Martina

 

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks next to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer during a campaign stop at Cherry Health clinic in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S., March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

 

FLINT, Mich. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden, who is seeking to deliver a heavy blow to rival Bernie Sanders on Tuesday as six states vote, received another boost on Monday when former presidential hopeful Cory Booker endorsed his campaign.

 

Speaking at a campaign event with Biden in Flint, Michigan, Booker, who ended his own White House bid in January, said that "it should be obvious" why he is backing the former vice president, who, he said, could heal a "wounded nation."

 

Booker's endorsement - one day after another onetime candidate, Senator Kamala Harris of California, backed Biden - means he has picked up the backing of two black former presidential contenders as he seeks the party's nomination to take on Republican President Donald Trump in November.

 

Biden has powered over the past nine days to the head of the contest for the Democratic nomination. A wave of endorsements by his former rivals has made him the clear standard-bearer for the Democratic Party's moderate wing, while Sanders represents the party's more liberal elements.

 

Biden said in Flint the rush of endorsements had surprised him. "They've all come out and endorsed at one time - at one time - the candidate they think can win," he said.

 

Michigan, with 125 delegates to the party's nominating convention, is the biggest prize in Tuesday's voting. Sanders, a senator from Vermont, likely needs a victory in Michigan to recapture momentum after Biden showed surprising strength in last week's Super Tuesday contests.

 

An opinion poll from the Detroit Free Press published on Monday found Biden holding a 24-percentage-point lead over Sanders among Democratic voters in Michigan.

 

A new national poll released by Quinnipiac University showed Biden with an almost 20-point lead over Sanders following Super Tuesday, 54% to 35%.

 

While the survey has only limited relevance in the state-by-state nominating process, the poll suggested that Democratic voters increasingly view Biden as the most likely candidate to beat Trump in the Nov. 3 election.

 

Sanders held a rally on Monday in St. Louis. Missouri, Michigan, Mississippi, Washington state, Idaho and North Dakota, hold nominating contests on Tuesday.

 

CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS

Sanders returned later to Michigan, where he joined a roundtable in Detroit on the coronavirus. Michigan officials said on Friday they would take steps including having clerks repeatedly sanitize voting booths to alleviate the risks of infection spreading at polling places.

 

Sanders criticized Trump for suggesting people could still go to work if they contracted the virus, saying it “might be the stupidest advice ever made by a president of the United States."

 

Washington state, which has seen the largest U.S. cluster of the coronavirus, conducts its primary election by mail.

 

Booker and Harris were planning to appear with Biden at a rally in Detroit on Monday evening.

 

Before the event in Flint, Biden and Booker shared a car ride through the low-income, predominantly black city still scarred by a crisis involving its lead-contaminated water supply.

 

Afterward, Biden asserted that voters were more interested in governmental competence than Sanders' democratic socialist policy agenda.

"We’re not looking for a revolution,” Biden said. “What we want to be able to do is trust the water that comes out of the pipes and trust the words that comes out of the mouths.”

 

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden referenced his rival, Bernie Sanders, and told reporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan: "I was proud, very proud to work with President Obama to get Obamacare done in the first place... I'm going to stand firm against anyone who tries to tear down the progress and start all over again."

 

One of the most talked-about moments of Harris' campaign was her blistering June debate attack on Biden. She called his remarks about working with segregationist senators hurtful and questioned Biden's 1970s opposition to school busing.

 

Still, black voters have backed Biden overwhelmingly, and propelled him to big victories in South Carolina on Feb. 29 and on Super Tuesday last week. They will be crucial in Michigan, where they comprise almost 14% of the population.

 

Sanders, who drew huge crowds to weekend campaign events across Michigan, scored an upset win in the state four years ago in the Democratic primary against eventual nominee Hillary Clinton. Clinton would later lose the state by a narrow margin to Trump.

 

But Sanders still lags well behind Biden among black voters.

 

On Sunday, he sought to close that gap with an endorsement from civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, who said the senator's progressive agenda offered black Americans the best chance to catch up socially and economically.

 

He also picked up on Monday the endorsement of the liberal Working Families Party, which previously backed Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren, who dropped out last week, has not yet made an endorsement.

 

Justice Democrats, another liberal group that had remained neutral, endorsed Sanders on Sunday. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has supported Warren for years, has encouraged Michigan residents to vote for Sanders but has not formally endorsed him.

 

Biden collected the backing of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union, which represents nearly 600,000 active and retired members in North America.

 

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Flint, Mich., and Michael Martina in Detroit, Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by Joseph Ax and James Oliphant; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-10

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

 

[Cryingdick]

Another one that said Biden was a washed up, tone deaf, geriatric white guy who didn't even know what flavor of Kool Aid he was dipping into Congrats to Joe, Booker has delivered you another 5 votes in New Jersey.

[Tug]

Oh I see joe gathering many many votes and trump supporters more rattled every day old Donalds in trouble 

[Silurian]

I still think that Biden will pick a relatively low key woman for VP. I doubt he will pick a high profile person like Kamala, Amy or Warren.

 

You can look at the photo above and see a potential running mate in Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. It would help give him that much needed mid-west vote.

 

Others include female Senators such as Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) or Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).

 

There are other female Governors and Representatives as well. I think the net will be cast wide for a female that is well liked and from a swing state. 

[Berkshire]

After Tuesday's primary, Bernie should seriously consider bowing out.  It will be pointless to stay on and may hurt the cause, which is all about November.  Bernie can then focus on trashing Trump from here on in. 

[JimmyTheMook]

Biden is a senile old goat, terrifying to see him propped up by handlers and the US President.

[Baerboxer]

 

I'd be seriously worried were I an American. 

 

Last time around the choice was Dubious Donald or "Honest" Hilary. Look what happened.

 

Now it's even more dubious Donald or (looking most likely) "Honest Joe Biden" - a man who can't even get his own name right!

 

Not exactly improved the choices have they?

 

[kamahele]

7 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

Another one that said Biden was a washed up, tone deaf, geriatric white guy who didn't even know what flavor of Kool Aid he was dipping into Congrats to Joe, Booker has delivered you another 5 votes in New Jersey.

I don't remember him saying any of those things. They disagreed and got into a tussle about something but he never said Biden was washed up or geriatric. Booker has delivered millions of votes in NJ perhaps and as a famous African American politician perhaps delivered more than five votes in Michigan. 

[Isaan sailor]

Love Biden’s gaffes...

[earlinclaifornia]

10 hours ago, Silurian said:

I still think that Biden will pick a relatively low key woman for VP. I doubt he will pick a high profile person like Kamala, Amy or Warren.

 

You can look at the photo above and see a potential running mate in Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. It would help give him that much needed mid-west vote.

 

Others include female Senators such as Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) or Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).

 

There are other female Governors and Representatives as well. I think the net will be cast wide for a female that is well liked and from a swing state. 

Val Demings delivering Florida is my latest idea.

[earlinclaifornia]

9 hours ago, JimmyTheMook said:

Biden is a senile old goat, terrifying to see him propped up by handlers and the US President.

It is that he represents decency. I am thinking is what is scaring trump. Why else did he try to have an investigation of him? He was so worried and at the time when Biden was on his way to becoming dead in the water. Was looking like Bush was back in 2016. 

[JimmyTheMook]

9 minutes ago, earlinclaifornia said:

It is that he represents decency. I am thinking is what is scaring trump. Why else did he try to have an investigation of him? He was so worried and at the time when Biden was on his way to becoming dead in the water. Was looking like Bush was back in 2016. 

Political decency isn't feeding your kid million dollar kickback jobs while claiming you're going to represent the working class.

[Sujo]

7 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

I'd be seriously worried were I an American. 

 

Last time around the choice was Dubious Donald or "Honest" Hilary. Look what happened.

 

Now it's even more dubious Donald or (looking most likely) "Honest Joe Biden" - a man who can't even get his own name right!

 

Not exactly improved the choices have they?

 

You could decide if the president lies so much. Just saying

[otherstuff1957]

The Democratic establishment is determined to keep Sanders out of the White House, even if it means giving Trump another 4 years! 

 

Biden would have been an OK president back in the 20th century, but this is the 21st century and a lot of people are fed-up with 'politics as usual'.  Despite 'conventional wisdom' I believe that Sanders has a better chance of actually beating Trump than an establishment hack like Biden.

 

Trump and Sanders are opposite sides of the same coin.  They are both addressing the issues that really matter today, but Trump is trying to roll back the clock 50 years, while Sanders is trying to plan for the future.  Both could be surprise winners over more conventional candidates.

[TheDark]

At this point Coronavirus is the only hope for US to get a decent president. 

 

Please, get these elderly men out of power already. Trump is a moron, whose actions we have all seen already. Biden is a confused old man. Sanders is a raving maniac, whose message is not bad, but let's face it, USA is not ready to take care of each other.

 

So, all we have is the Coronavirus, which might make the difference and allow forward thinking younger thoughts and minds to prevail.

 

 

[Jingthing]

10 minutes ago, TheDark said:

At this point Coronavirus is the only hope for US to get a decent president. 

 

Please, get these elderly men out of power already. Trump is a moron, whose actions we have all seen already. Biden is a confused old man. Sanders is a raving maniac, whose message is not bad, but let's face it, USA is not ready to take care of each other.

 

So, all we have is the Coronavirus, which might make the difference and allow forward thinking younger thoughts and minds to prevail.

 

 

Offensively ageist. Wishing the good older people Biden and Bernie dead. Tsk tsk. 

[TheDark]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

Offensively ageist. Wishing the good older people Biden and Bernie dead. Tsk tsk. 

I can be openly ageist. Elderly people are very much appreciated in a role of providing advices for younger generations for all the mistakes made in the past history. Their wisdom of life is welcome.

 

Elderly people should not run the societies as they lack the future which younger generations have to look for.

 

 

[Jingthing]

6 minutes ago, TheDark said:

I can be openly ageist. Elderly people are very much appreciated in a role of providing advices for younger generations for all the mistakes made in the past history. Their wisdom of life is welcome.

 

Elderly people should not run the societies as they lack the future which younger generations have to look for.

 

 

It depends on the specific elder individuals. It is ageist to suggest elders shouldn't be in power just because of their age. But if you think that's OK well fine. I don't. 

[Crazy Alex]

Booker is a loser who barely registered a blip during the campaign. Thus, his endorsement means little to nothing.

[TheDark]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

It depends on the specific elder individuals. It is ageist to suggest elders shouldn't be in power just because of their age. But if you think that's OK well fine. I don't. 

I don't really care for the labels people tend to label themselves or others.

 

I also know math and therefore know that fear (of dying) increases quite a lot once age increases. Being old not a place to bring the nation aka the people forward. 

 

Ask wisdom from the elderly, live your own life. 

 

 

 

[metisdead]

A post with unattributed content and a reply has been removed.  Please include a valid link to the source of information when posting. 

[Cryingdick]

21 hours ago, Tug said:

Oh I see joe gathering many many votes and trump supporters more rattled every day old Donalds in trouble 

 

You are really insistent on the Trump supporters are afraid. If nothing else we are laughing. Biden is limiting his speeches to around 5 minutes to try duck the cameras and avoid well being himself for all to see. Joe tried hiding awhile back as well and now it is prime time.

 

The next debate with just him and Bernie should be good. 

[Cryingdick]

9 hours ago, TheDark said:

At this point Coronavirus is the only hope for US to get a decent president. 

 

Please, get these elderly men out of power already. Trump is a moron, whose actions we have all seen already. Biden is a confused old man. Sanders is a raving maniac, whose message is not bad, but let's face it, USA is not ready to take care of each other.

 

So, all we have is the Coronavirus, which might make the difference and allow forward thinking younger thoughts and minds to prevail.

 

 

 

Well if we are going to play this game I can add my fantasy scenario. The virus becomes a plague wiping out all the big cities on the east and west coast. It also wipes out the 73 million baby boomers that are left.

 

What is left is people that live in the countryside, can change the tires on their cars and don't whine about how life is unfair. With the over 60 crowd gone health care for everybody is feasible. Trump continues to be president until his death as nobody bothers to oppose him.

 

 

[Nyezhov]

9 hours ago, TheDark said:

At this point Coronavirus is the only hope for US to get a decent president. 

 

Another Trump hater doing the political dance on the still warm bodies of the dead.

 

[Cryingdick]

3 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Another Trump hater doing the political dance on the still warm bodies of the dead.

 

 

The funny thing is when they have such thoughts it is the dirty, feces coated, crowded petri dishes, of SF, NYC, Seattle etc, that are most likely to be devastated if this got out of hand. 

 

 

Edited March 11, 2020 by Cryingdick

[Kelsall]

Booker, like all the other ex candidates who are endorsing Biden, is gunning for a cabinet slot should Joe win.  Won't happen.

 

If Booker really wants a cabinet position, he should denounce the Democratic party and endorse Trump.

[Tug]

7 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Well if we are going to play this game I can add my fantasy scenario. The virus becomes a plague wiping out all the big cities on the east and west coast. It also wipes out the 73 million baby boomers that are left.

 

What is left is people that live in the countryside, can change the tires on their cars and don't whine about how life is unfair. With the over 60 crowd gone health care for everybody is feasible. Trump continues to be president until his death as nobody bothers to oppose him.

 

 

Ha ha you are funney you dream of that con man to be the dictator of America but hey at least you are out  in the sense of hating American democracy and what this country stands for presidents come and go some good some bad the reason this one gets people so angry is we all see him trying to do just what you dream about 

[Tug]

1 minute ago, Kelsall said:

Booker, like all the other ex candidates who are endorsing Biden, is gunning for a cabinet slot should Joe win.  Won't happen.

 

If Booker really wants a cabinet position, he should denounce the Democratic party and endorse Trump.

Hey trumps desperate no one wants to be his toady lol

[Cryingdick]

1 minute ago, Tug said:

Ha ha you are funney you dream of that con man to be the dictator of America but hey at least you are out  in the sense of hating American democracy and what this country stands for presidents come and go some good some bad the reason this one gets people so angry is we all see him trying to do just what you dream about 

 

I am none of what you say. Was just making a mostly humorous post of what may happen if you Trump haters, most of which are over 60 continue to cheer on a virus that kills people like yourselves.

 

Sometimes the dems may want to be careful what they wish for if the virus goes full blown it could get ugly. You don't get to pick the virus only is bad enough to destroy the economy. 

[Berkshire]

51 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

The next debate with just him and Bernie should be good. 

Hopefully there won't be a next debate.  Poor Bernie is getting slaughtered on Super Tuesday II.