Ranking candidates by how they say they will govern--most progressive to least

[VarryOn]

I'm intrigued by Buttigieg, but in my research, I cant get a good feel for where he stands on the political spectrum. With O'Rourke, another one I'm researching, his record seems to be more to the middle than how he's running for President. I'm interested in how some of you would rank the candidates by how they say they will govern on the spectrum of most progressive to least.

Right now, I'm a very soft Biden supporter but am likely about to change.

If any of you can take a stab at ranking the candidates, I would be grateful.

[Renew Deal]

1. How they govern is not just an ideological question

It's also a question of their skills and judgement. An example would be Cynthia Nixon in NY. She took every left wing position she could think of, but could you trust her in a crisis?

[VarryOn]

5. Good point....

Excuse the question. Although it was asked in good faith, I should have put more thought into it. I'm really wanting to have my "own" candidate to champion for. I'm not there yet and it's frustrating . Patience, I know!

[dalton99a]

2. In what areas?

[AlexSFCA]

3. I'm so tired of these freaking labels! Who cares?!

Pete is a self proclaimed democratic capitalist.

[SFnomad]

4. A simplistic label like this is meaningless ... except to maybe "real Progressives" with an

"us vs. them" mentality who want to knock anyone who is not pure enough.

A one size fits all label doesn't mean anything because most people are a combination of progressiveness over a variety of issues and don't fit into a nice, neat, single pigeonhole for everything. Some people are more or less progressive on social issues than they are on economic ones. How would you rank someone who is very progressive on social issue, but far less so on economic ones? Some people are very progressive, except for maybe a single issue (or two) where they are not ... how do you rank them?

But please, continue to separate Democrats into this "us vs. them" mentality. Continue fragmenting us. Continue keeping us arguing among ourselves. And continue looking down on people we need to be able to be beat the Republicans. The tRumpanzees and Putin will love you for making their job easier.

[LakeArenal]

6. You need to do your research.

My definition of most progressive not the same as others.

It’s not who’s most progressive. More so, who can accomplish the Party goals most effectively.

My goal is to beat trump. We have great candidates. Which one can beat trump.

[demosincebirth]

7. I agree 100%. Who gives a rats ass who is a pure progressive or not

Screw the labels and lets just get someone who can take on that pigheaded in the whitehouse and win.

[VarryOn]

8. No queation about it, I'll be supporting the Democratic nominee...

I'll have the bumpersticker, attend all the local rallies, and max out the legal giving limits. Still, I'll likely have a preference for the primary....and that was the subject of my original post. I'm trying to learn more about Buttigieg. Fortunately, we have some great candidates...the best ever!

I think 2020 will be a particularly good year to be a Democrat. 2018 was jusrt an appetizer!

[PDittie]

9. I'll give this a stab

left to center-left:

Bernie
Tulsi
Warren
Marianne Williamson
Jay Inslee
Andrew Yang
Mayor Pete
Kamala
Cory Booker
Beto

too difficult for me to distinguish between, in center to center-right:
Kristen Gillibrand
Amy Klobuchar
Julian Castro
Joe Biden
John Hickenlooper
John Delaney

YMMV.

[VarryOn]

10. Thanks, PD

I know this is a subjective exercise that some dont like. And I understand why, but dont necessarily agree. Based on my limited knowledge so far, I largely agree with your list. I would have guessed Sanders would be ranked where he did, but Gabbard surprised me. O'Rourke and Castro surprised me on your list, too

My pref falls more toward the center. However, it seems that's not where the more popular candidates camp out

[PDittie]

13. Being from Texas

and being left myself, I have a somewhat jaundiced view of Beto and Castro's progressivism.

I am also strongly anti-war and anti-interventionist, so perhaps that helps explain my bias in the scoring above. Reasonable can politely disagree, and I hope your post draws some more opinions as food for thought.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. Honestly, I really don't care.

The meanings of "progressive" and "centrist" are flexible and vague on a good day; what I'm interested in is which of these excellent candidates has the best chance of beating Trump. All of them support the basic Democratic Party goals of accessible health care, dealing with climate change, protecting the civil rights of all citizens, a humane immigration policy, fair taxation, livable wages, etc., etc., etc. There will always be disagreements among Democrats about exactly how to achieve those goals, but the important point is that they are goals that Trump and the GOP do not like and will not support. So my favored candidate will be the Democrat who can beat Trump, and I especially don't give a crap about ideological purity.

[VarryOn]

12. Velveteen, you and I are aligned on this...

Beating the President is THE number one goal. And to do so, there are no sacred cow issues, if that's what it takes.