telling us what to say, what not to say, what to think, what not to think, who is going to win, who isn’t going to win, who can beat trump, who can’t beat trump!

Nobody here knows anymore than anyone else what is going to happen in the 2020 election.

Nobody here has a right to tell anyone else what they can or can’t say. (Of course I am excluding DU rules here)

It starts with “can we ....:...............”. All agree, stop saying, understand that. Polls show. Etc.

Everyone needs to think about this: has your candidate shown good judgment in personnel decisions in the past?

Is this person likely to choose a VP who will increase or decrease the ticket's chances in the general? What evidence do you have for that?

We don’t know the VP until after the nomination.

And some have already made poor hiring decisions in the past. That is something we should take into account.

...we could have a (vice) president for about 10 years.

Not even something to be concerned about now, lets get through the primary process first

we are choosing the person who -- all on his or her own -- will decide on the VP. So it's nuts to say let's just wait till the nominee is already picked. We won't have any choice on the VP who is selected post-primaries. Only on the Presidential nominee right now.

Do we trust that person to make that decision? Do they have a record of making good personnel choices?

Or have they hired, for example, lobbyists who worked closely with Paul Manafort?

That is something we can check.

That's just plain ridiculous

Unless u happen to be a mind reader too?

his or her ability to serve out a term.

And you don't have to be a mind reader to look at a person's RECORD in making personnel decisions, which shows you the kind of people they might take advice from or hire in the future.

...whoever they want as running mate

Its not a debate, it just is

Our VP choice will be critical.

And in the real world, WE choose the person who will be picking the VP candidate, and we better choose someone we can trust to do that job well.

We've never had two candidates running in their late 70's, one of whom has a history of a heart attack, and the other of a brain aneurysm.

How far do you want to take this little story

Tulsi Gabbard, to cite one example, would not. And she's a big supporter of Sanders who is going to be back on stage this month.

of congress and in state and local governments across the nation. Will my candidate win? Does my candidate have nice, long coattails that others can ride into office? How many others and WHERE?

about this when voting in the primary.

passed by the house stopped in the senate. If voters hadn't given us the house majority as of 10 months ago, there'd be none even sitting dormant, waiting.

We have to vote to get the power to lead.

Big power, big progress.

Without power, big losses.

and get votes the main candidate wouldn't get.

the possibility of the President dying before he finishes his term.

What if someone chose a candidate most of us don't trust, like Tulsi Gabbard, to balance the ticket? She's a big fan of Bernie's, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility.

you'll be sitting out the election then?

But if I thought a Presidential candidate had a good likelihood of picking a questionable VP, that would be an excellent reason to vote for someone else in the primary.

Did you think Tim Kaine would be the VP candidate in 2016 during the primaries?

So though her pick of him wasn't expected, it wasn't surprising.

I could trust her not to pick the equivalent of a Tulsi Gabbard.

...can’t/ don’t want to run for a second term.

The recent history of the Democratic Party suggests that the VP pick will not be more progressive than the nominee.

I don't see him choosing a running mate who is viewed as more conservative -- other than Gabbard, who has been linking herself with him for years.

Harris as VP.

about judgment in general and who the candidates hang out with. And who their supporters are.

Everything a leader of any sort does depends on his or her judgment.

or maybe even next to.

Liz, Booker, Mayor Pete... and a few others a little further back. Biden I honestly just don't know, but he's one of the good guys anyway.

(I've learned not to mention those who's judgment I absolutely do not trust.)