NBC released a new way of polling public perspective. It’s called Election Confessions. It’s really just a carefully calculated feelings-meter, but the content is quite interesting.
In conclusion America is a land of contrasts pic.twitter.com/384jQepJHZ
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) June 25, 2019
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) June 25, 2019
Using the NBC platform, users can write what they think about the 2020 candidates in 130 characters or fewer. Some people took it seriously, asking legitimate questions and giving their honest opinions on the state of the Democratic Party.
Others, well, they had a little more fun with it. And by fun I mean they wrote comments with the same filter as a five-year-old. Here’s a round-up of the funniest — and rudest — election confessions for each of the 2020 Democratic candidates:
Michael Bennet
Joe Biden
Cory Booker
Steve Bullock
Pete Buttigieg
Julián Castro
Bill de Blasio
John Delaney
Tulsi Gabbard
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kamala Harris
John Hickenlooper
Jay Inslee
Amy Klobuchar
Seth Moulton
Beto O’Rourke
Tim Ryan
Bernie Sanders
Eric Swalwell: There were basically no stickies on him so I’ll leave you with this.
Elizabeth Warren
Marianne Wiliamson
Andrew Yang
Wayne Messam: He wasn’t even on there.
Although these comments were hilarious and occasionally rude, there were also plenty of thoughtful comments.
I’m weary of trusting this source as a general aggregate of the population, given that I’m not sure if NBC shows the entirety of “confession” stickies posted. But there were a few trends in the comment section that I think are worth noting.
First off, the poll respondents really don’t care for Joe Biden. They think he’s old and carries too much political baggage. But they view him as the Democrats’ best chance against Trump.
Second, Pete Buttigieg’s homosexuality means nothing to the larger electorate. People are apathetic towards him and think he needs to spend more time serving in public office before running for president. Voters are wary of how untested he is on a larger stage.
Third, do not sleep on Warren or Harris. Although Warren had more encouraging comments than Harris, the two had nearly all positive comments. It seems that Democrats are afraid of voting for either because they think 2016 was an indication of how the country feels about a woman becoming president. Based on these comments, they are worried about putting another woman out there because she will be Hillary 2.0. Fair analysis, but Hillary was also the world’s worst candidate and disliked by many in her own party.
Fourth, there is no in-between on Bernie Sanders. People either love him and are Bernie 2020 all the way, or they think he needs to go to an insane asylum.
Finally, it seems that voters who really care about the election don’t want such a crowded field. They want people like Swalwell, Ryan, Inslee, O’Rourke, Delaney, and Hickenlooper to run for Senate and take seats from vulnerable Republicans in their states. I can’t disagree with them on that point.
Tell us what your favorite confessions are. Here’s the site again. Better yet, write some confessions in the comments below.
