 So there's this trend that I've been seeing on YouTube lately that I really like I find it entertaining where other youtubers will rank Things that you know are of interest to them characters in game of thrones fast food restaurants other Youtubers and I thought that since this is a political YouTube channel It would make sense for me to kind of do my own ranking of the 2020 Democratic Party Primary contenders and as you can see here. We have the different categories We have the s tier which is obviously the best its top tier and then we have the f tier which Obviously is the worst of the worst now. This is not me ranking them based on numbers I think that we all know that Bernie Sanders is my first choice But this isn't me saying this is my number one my number two so on and so forth This is essentially me just categorizing the candidates based on how good they are So let's go ahead and get started Okay, so the very first one we have here is Governor of Washington J. Inslee thus far. I'm not super impressed by him. He hasn't really laid out Anything other than saying that he wants to tackle climate change, which is phenomenal This is a really important issue But the problem is that why would we opt for him when there are other people who are better when it comes to this issue? I mean Bernie Sanders is championing the Green New Deal Tulsi Gabbard has introduced her own climate change Legislation the off act. So why would I choose him over them when there are better people on this issue? But nonetheless the fact that he wants to raise awareness about this issue is still important So he's certainly not asked here. He's not the worst of the worst, but I'm gonna put him in about mid-range I'm gonna put him it as C here because You know, I just I I'm not interested in what he has to say If you're only talking really about one issue and you don't have the credibility needed on that one issue Okay, so the next person here is Mike Gravel former Alaska senator meme god and I've said this before in the program. I actually agree with his platform more than pretty much anyone else Better it's better than Bernie's it's better than Tulsi. He's just objectively speaking So in my view this really is S tier because he has the gold standard He has the best platform in my view and he goes further than people like Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard Even when it comes to their strengths like he supports not using drones Which is something that is incredibly important to me. He explicitly is saying that Chelsea Manning Edward Snowden and Julian Assange should be pardoned now Tulsi Gabbard has also spoken out about this But just overall when you look broadly at his platform I think he has the best now I feel comfortable putting him in the S tier because he actually doesn't want to be president But just objectively speaking if I had to rank the candidates based on how good their platform is I mean, if I don't put him in S tier, I feel like this would be a crime next person Andrew Yang So I like Andrew Yang. I was part of the Yang gang from the beginning I have an Andrew Yang pin or actually two of them over here And I think that he is extremely honest. He's truthful. However, I just don't agree with The policy ideas that he's proposing. He doesn't support Medicare for all He's in favor of a public option instead and I'm worried about his version of universal basic income I think that if you're introducing universal basic income and it's supplementing existing Social safety net programs and you don't have to choose between UBI and social security I would support him a lot more. He'd be like Nearly top tier for me, but because he's not doing that yet until he proposes a plan to You know improve social security lift the tap the cap on taxable income Then you know, he's not he's not a first choice for me. We'll just say that So I'm gonna put him in B tier because he still has a lot of great ideas like ranked choice voting and whatnot But you know his main pitch of UBI I don't agree with the way he wants to implement that moving on. We have Mary Ann Williamson, so this is someone overall who I think she's a really nice person She doesn't support Medicare for all she made this clear in an interview on the Jimmy Dore show and If you don't support Medicare for all I just I'm sorry, I lose interest in you I lose interest in you, but with that being said she still has one strong policy that I really do support She believes in reparations for American descendants of slavery now I actually think her plan is fairly meager. She's pitching a hundred billion over 10 years so 10 billion per year and I think that they're owed more than that. I think we can do better and also I don't know that she's been Explicit about that being a check So I don't know for sure like I previously gave her credit for being the best on this issue But I'm not a hundred percent sure so I'm gonna put her in B Because this is the tier where you have one policy that I really like but overall I just can't get behind you because you don't Check the boxes that I need you to check namely Medicare for all and also I think she needs to lay off the platitudes because it is irritating to me She talks a lot about you know love and whatnot, but you've got to read the room This is not an election where running on love quote unquote love whatever you want to mean by that is gonna win Like we are in a burn shit down Era in politics. We don't feel love. We feel hatred and we want someone who's going to destroy the establishment And you know, I said the same thing about better or work with his platitudes So the same is gonna be applicable to Marianne Williamson next person here Elizabeth Warren, so I Like Elizabeth Warren However with that being said the problem that I have with Elizabeth Warren is that she Won't unequivocally support Medicare for all. I mean she's Cosponsored Bernie's Medicare for all bill but anytime she's asked about it. She runs away from it She says well Yeah, I also co-sponsored you know a public option bill and lowering the age of Medicare down to 55 and I don't like that However, I still think she's a phenomenal candidate. She proposed Canceling some student loan debt She keeps coming out with these really innovative policy ideas that I hadn't previously thought about and I like her The one thing that scares me about Elizabeth Warren is I don't know that she'd have the political courage To fight for anything like we saw how she didn't have the courage to endorse Bernie Sanders She didn't have the courage to stand up for the Standing Rock activists back in 2016 when they were being brutalized by militarized police So I worry about her willingness to fight with that being said I still think that she is good enough To be an a tier because I genuinely believe that she's principled Fighting for what she wants to get implemented is a whole other story, but with that being said You know, I like Elizabeth Warren next person Eric Swalwell, so this Felicia is one of the 1000 centrists who is running and basically he's running on gun control Which is an issue I can get behind but every single candidate supports gun reform So this isn't really something that you're really setting yourself apart with like when it comes to someone like Tulsi Gabbard I think it's incredibly brilliant for her to run on Ending regime change wars because you have like one or two other candidates if we're being extra charitable Who believe that we should do this. So that's innovative. This isn't very innovative to me And also he's more of a centrist. He doesn't support Medicare for all He's just not great overall. I'm gonna put him in the E tier Because I don't think he is the worst of the worst. They're certainly worse out there, but he just you know We can do better than Eric Swalwell next person is Bernard I am a brother of the Bernard you all know it looks like you know behind me a Bernie Sanders fan club But Bernie Sanders is someone who I've supported since 2010 when I saw his epic filibuster on the house floor and I just I just knew that this guy was principled and the More you dig into his record the more you love him. He supports Medicare for all He's the strongest on Medicare for all which is my number one issue and for that you've got to give it up to him Now there are things that I Disagree with Bernie Sanders on he has got to improve when it comes to Israel Palestine But with that being said sadly, he's still one of the best He doesn't support BDS, but he still is more forceful and condemning Israel and what they do to Palestinians the way that they Killed them indiscriminately he called Netanyahu a racist and also he has previously stated he'd Kind of support drones now He did make it clear that he'd take precautions to minimize civilian casualties, but nonetheless just end the program It's illegal Congress has not declared these drone wars. So the executive should not be able to unilaterally wage war This is the whole point of Bernie Sanders, you know touting, you know his bill on Yemen, which was fantastic But with that being said these disagreements aside, they're not deal-breakers by no means and these are just a couple of disagreements I agree with Bernie Sanders on the overwhelming majority of Policies and I think that he's the one person who actually knows how to get his legislative agenda implemented in the event He becomes president. He's the only person who truly wants to get us to social democracy And even if his platform in and of itself is not as good as microbells just out of pure strategy out of consistency He's definitely S tier phenomenal candidate as you all know I mean, it's not like I have to convince you guys because you already know how I feel about Bernie, but he's great Next person another Felicia here. We have Tim Ryan now Tim Ryan If you'll recall he challenged Nancy Pelosi in I believe 2016 or maybe it wasn't 2016 basically he was running against Nancy Pelosi to be speaker But even if we don't like Nancy Pelosi as progressives because she's a conservative if you could believe it He was challenging her from the right. So he's a conservative. I see no reason why he wants to run I don't think there's really a place for him So I'm going to put him In the F tier he's basically the worst that we can possibly do I don't care and really he's not that much different from Eric Swalwell Swalwell here But I mean, what are you running on like at least with Eric Swalwell? He has something that he's running on like he says I want gun reform because that's the one thing that won't offend the plethora of Special interests that contribute to his campaign because he's not gonna be taking money from you know, GOA or NRA But I mean it's something what is Tim Ryan offering? What is he running on? I don't know I don't know what it is, you know incrementalism more neoliberalism No, thanks. So not not cool with him Beto. Oh Rorick. This is someone who He's bad He's just so bad He's pretty much an empty vessel. I feel like he doesn't have any ideas any platforms and if you put him in power What he's going to carry out his agenda will essentially be dictated by his advisors He'd be the left equivalent of Donald Trump. Now. He has some great ideas. He wants to legalize marijuana Awesome. Uh, he did support Medicare for all and then once he decided to run flipped on it He however is raising money based on bundlers, you know, he is teaming up with oligarchs who donate to Democrats He's just someone who is not consistent and overall has a very conservative record now in the race against Ted Cruz I was incredibly supportive of him because I would literally I would support a turd over Ted Cruz And I'm not being hyperbolic if you gave me the choice between Ted Cruz and a literal piece of shit I would vote for that piece of shit over Ted Cruz. So, I mean, I supported him back then but in 2020 I don't know why he's running and I don't think he knows why he's running and That is, you know It shows why he face planted because he is a vacuous. He has nothing So I'm gonna put him in the C tier Certainly not the worst of the worst certainly not the best of the best. I'm kind of I Kind of want to move him to D tier Because he's really bad. Yeah, I'm gonna move him. I'm gonna move him to D tier just because I Don't know what he's running on besides legalizing marijuana, which I support. I don't know what he's running on I don't know why better work feels like he's the person who you know Should win when he doesn't really have new ideas Okay, so let's go to Seth Moulton another one of the Felicia's I Considered the f category the Felicia category a bunch of white dudes with basically the same policy I mean, they should really I saw a tweet about this these guys should all be running as one person because They're the same fucking person, but Seth Moulton. He's someone who tried to challenge Nancy Pelosi From the right and that failed spectacularly. I believe he got booed by his own constituents at a town hall He recently came out against Medicare for all and said he supports a public option In addition to the ACA I just I don't I don't know why he's running There's no really one signature issue that sets him apart So he goes in the F tier the only reason why and to be clear the reason why I'm not putting swallow In the F tier is because I mean these guys don't have something that they're running on that is noticeable at least again Swallow says guns that's something that tells me that you have one reason why you're running Even if it's something that isn't that innovative, you know, or wouldn't be super transformative. It's something, you know So credit where it's due but yeah Moulton is one of the Felicia's the next person is Wayne Masam now. This is someone who I don't know too much about But I will say this he is basically an incrementalist. He doesn't support Medicare for all He you know, he wants to get dark money out of politics He he's more of an incrementalist with the exception of one policy that is Amazing he goes further than Elizabeth Warren when it comes to student loan debt cancellation He actually straight up is adopting Jill Stein's policy We take the 1.5 trillion that 45 million Americans or 44 million Americans hold cancel all of it full stop Now for that I'm gonna put him in the B category Because that is such a bold thing to run on that I've got to give you credit there because if you are running on something that bold that really does set you apart Like look at these people we have in the B category. We have Yang He's running on UBI which I support in theory just not necessarily his implementation. We have Williamson who supports reparations Um, I think it's not the best reparations proposal that we can come up with it's still something that I support And we have Masam with Student loan debt cancellation. So in the beat here what I kind of see here Based on my own trend of categorizing these people is they're by and large You know, they have one big policy that really sets them apart from the rest of the field And I think it's fair to put Masam in this category So we have Amy Klobuchar another Felicia candidate um, I Don't know why she's running. I don't know why she chose to eat salad with a comb and I will never get past that. I'm sorry never ever ever Going to get past that I Don't know where to put her. Let's see. She's certainly in the Felicia category I think she's part of the white men who should be running as one person But with that being said she actually is proposing some policy ideas She's like a boring version of Elizabeth Warren where she's talking about, you know, having these savings accounts for your tuition, it's incredibly bad just incrementalist neoliberal nonsense, but I mean, it's she's trying I guess so I'll put her in the E Category I guess I Don't know see She kind of it could go either way she could be in the f category She could be in the e-category, but I'll be extra kind and I'll put her in the e-category just because she has given me joy Because of this salad with a comb kerfuffle that I can't stop talking about and thinking about next person John Hickenlooper he watched porn with his mom f He also compared Bernie Sanders policies to Stalin's So I think that he's just not a bright guy former governor of Colorado. I think would know the difference between Stalin and Bernie, but nonetheless he is Fanning ignorance here and he watched porn with his mom nope Kamala Harris Oops, I just flipped her. Sorry. Hang on. Okay Kamala Harris She is someone who I consider her the best of the worst She's definitely a corporate Democrat, but she stands out among all of the other corporate Democrats because She I believe is more politically astute She's more savvy when it comes to strategy and she knows that she has to do two things One she knows she can't piss off her donors in the Democratic Party if she wants to win But she also knows that she can't piss off progressives like Hillary Clinton did if she wants to win So she's savvy She knows what she's doing and she's certainly more charismatic than the other corporate Democrats I'm gonna go ahead and put her in the seat here If there was any Democrat that stood out or really that Remained, you know, let's just picture this situation where it is March and there's two candidates left and Bernie was there obviously running against another corporate Democrat, which is what I think will probably happen That's how the race will be consolidated One progressive one corporatist. I would hope it's Kamala Harris because at least She is better than the rest of them Okay, next person Kirsten Gillibrand pretty much the same is true for Kirsten Gillibrand She comes out in favor of really bold policies like abolishing ice But at the same time even though she knows like Kamala that she can't piss off progressives and her donors Simultaneously and she's trying to walk this fine line. The problem is that She goes against her own better judgment like she just had a fundraiser with a big pharma executive That's completely unacceptable in 2020 in an anti-establishment election So for that she's not as good as Kamala Harris in my view She also doesn't want to get rid of the filibuster and I just don't think she's as malleable as someone like Kamala Harris like worst-case scenario Kamala Harris is elected. Well, that's actually not the worst-case scenario But in not the best case scenario where Bernie is elected I think that Kamala would be easier to persuade to do certain policies Then Kirsten Gillibrand because when she's elected I feel like she just pretty much told us to fuck off Whereas with Kamala Harris. I think she would be more Mindful of the fact that she needs to maintain the support of the progressive base if she wants to be, you know, effective as A leader because if you lose our support, we're not going to make phone calls for you We're not going to come out and canvas for you. So Harris knows this Harris is more aware. She's more in tune with the base. I think So for that reason, I think that Gillibrand she kind of is in this detail. We're just not great, but not the worst Next person Tulsi Gabbard now Tulsi Gabbard is someone who I really really admire She is just She carved out this lane for herself And you've got to give her credit. She's running on Ending the regime change wars now like Bernie Sanders. I don't think she's perfect I wish that she would include ending the drone war as part of her platform But with that being said, she's pretty much An amazing candidate. She's nearly perfect. Now. I do have other criticisms of Tulsi Gabbard But none of them like Bernie Sanders are deal breakers But with that being said Tulsi Gabbard for my number one issue. She doesn't speak to this enough She's one of two people that hasn't backed away from medicare for all But what I'm looking for is for her to explicitly say we need to do away with private health insurance companies Because that's really the way that you secure a very stable single payer system now She doesn't necessarily have to say let's make private insurance supplemental insurance illegal But I mean the goal is to craft a single payer system That is so good that they basically go out of business And when it comes to you know more elective procedures things that you might need to finance like braces or breast augmentation, for example things that aren't You know of concern for your health. I mean you finance that so you don't really need insurance for that either But with that being said, I'm not going to get too nitpicky because Tulsi is phenomenal She's an amazing candidate. I'm going to put her in the a tier now She's here with Warren for me and I kind of feel like she's a step above Warren in my view like I've been struggling genuinely about who's my number two if there was like a tier between s and a Um, I would probably put gabbard there and leave Warren in a and the main reason why I do this is because Gabbard doesn't run away from medicare for all like Warren And gabbard is also someone who is strong like I genuinely believe that If she says we're gonna end regime change wars if she gets elected She's ending the regime change wars and if the establishment and media want to fight her on that She's not going to back down from that fight because I believe that tosi gabbard She has political courage. She endorsed bernie. Warren did not she went to standing rock in 2016 Warren did not so gabbard really she sets herself apart by being bold by being strong by being courageous and by Really just having this amazing platform when it comes to ending regime change wars And if you watched an ad that she put out where Somebody went to one of her rallies and was crying Because of her stance on regime change wars and how much that meant to this person She really had this intimate moment where she hugged that person. It was phenomenal. Tulsi is really she's great So she's definitely a tier um With elizabeth warren Okay, john delaney One of the felicia's who should be running as one person F tier he really is not running on anything and there's No excitement for his campaign like if you look at some of the photos that he's posting On his twitter, there's like five people that show up to his events like literally I don't know why he's running. He uh He's just seemingly an anti trump person and wants to get elected to restore decorum Okay, but what does that do for us? You're gonna do the same Largely, you know, largely the same policies as trump but nicer Who cares? I want change and he doesn't want to change the system. So he's basically worst of the worst um next person Julian Castro, um I'm gonna put him in c I think that this guy is a weasel But he's not the worst of the corporate democrats He actually is paying lip service to the idea of medicare for all However, I don't believe he had actually implemented. I don't believe he would fight for that He's Talking a big game when it comes to reparations Don't believe he'd actually push for that. In fact, he criticized bernie for not going far enough on reparations when he basically Signaled support for the same thing that bernie sander supports. So this guy is a weasel But without being said, I think he like kamala knows he needs to at least At a minimum at a minimum pander to progressives and I don't like being pandered too But you've got to give him credit for the effort at least I guess um Actually, I'm kind of I'm kind of rethinking c Do I move him To d yeah, I'm gonna move him to d. This dude's a corporate democrat. He came from obama's administration He's a corporate democrat Okay, next person pete buddha judge um He is d actually, you know what? He may even be e Actually, no, no, I'll tell you why i'm gonna put him in d. So even though he's a centrist He does have some good ideas that I support First of all, he supports getting rid of the electoral college Don't need to support him for that though because elizabeth warn agrees. He also Has a really good court packing plan that would add six more justices to the supreme court But also move to depoliticize the supreme court. I really like that plan. However He's not going in this category in the b tier with masam Williamson and yang because the problem with buddha judge is even though he has this one policy that I really like He also has some ideas that I absolutely disagree with like first of all, he's not great on venezuela He basically is pro meddling. He floated the idea of compulsory national service Fuck out of here hate that idea hate that policy And he also said that candidates need to talk more about their values and put that front and center rather than talking about policies No, thank you Okay, kori Booker He's someone who I'd also put in the d tier he's basically indistinguishable From the rest of these people. In fact, you know what? You could make the case that he belongs in e tier basically because of that vote for um Or the vote against Amy klobuchar's bill and it's funny that she's lower than him To allow us to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, but the difference is that he cosponsored medicare for all Will he actually deliver medicare for all his president? No way because he's already moved away like kamala Harris from it But he's just a lot more corporatist than someone like kamala Harris. I think and they're both corporatist, but There's something unique about booker and that he's such A slime ball that I really don't believe anything that he has to say um So with kamala, I believe that she'd get in and she'd try to maintain At least some level of support from progressives like she'd offer us a few concessions whereas booker would just be Another democrat like bill clinton and obama where he's just going to work to appease his donors So we've got a couple left Joe biden. Joe biden is f tier He essentially is the worst of the worst. In fact, if I could put him in a lower tier than f I would do it because joe biden has basically been on the wrong side of every single issue While bernie sanders was protesting segregation He was making speeches in favor of segregation Functionally he was on the wrong side of history when it comes to doma. He voted To federally ban same-sex marriage Now he's come around and I welcome your evolution, but nonetheless At that time bernie sanders was on the right side of that issue He voted for nafta. He was in support of the tpp. He voted for permanent normal trade relations with china He's basically a hawk. He's a conservative corporate democrat And this guy is a paper tiger. He likes to talk tough He likes to make it seem as if he's the best bet to go against donald trump because he has a big mouth But that that doesn't mean anything you just have a big mouth and that's that So joe biden is the worst of the worst and I truly hope that democrats defeat him Because in the event he becomes the nominee. Well, we're replicating the same strategy that cost us 2016 Right and I say us Loosely because I don't necessarily associate myself with democrats. I'm more of an independent but I have to register as a democrat because I'm in a closed primary state So I'm not going to be able to vote for bernie if I don't register as a democrat So temporarily at least for all intents and purposes. I'm a democrat and if we don't beat him We replicate the same strategy in 2016 put up a corporatist who we know trump has the capacity to defeat Not a fan Last person here Bennett he's a senator and he's another felicia basically running On the same thing that the rest of the felicia's are running on I'm gonna put him in f tier and largely for the same reasons that you know, I I categorized Seth Moulton and tim ryan here as well um He just isn't really running on anything. It's more incrementalism It's you know, these half measures and if you're not running with these big ideas to fundamentally change the system Or if you come up short there if you're not running with one really strong policy proposal Then why are you even running? So in this category here? F and e these people these Eight people should all be running as one person because They're functionally the same thing and I'm fully aware of the fact that you could almost put Buddha judge and a work here But because they have a couple of good ideas like you know, we have abolishing the electoral college legalizing marijuana also legalizing marijuana That's why they're kind of in this category um And with the e category, you know, we have these neoliberals proposing incrementalist ideas But I mean it's something these guys aren't doing shit. They're basically just They're running because they're running There's no driving Core ideology behind them. They're vacuous. They're vapid. They're you know, They're not talking about policies. What are you running on? Why are you running? So overall, let's just kind of take a moment here because we have Everyone now And for the most part as you can see just overall I'm not too uh, big of a fan of most of the contenders Half of the field is in, you know, these lower tiers because They suck. They're not great. But in this higher tier, you know, it's You're never going to have a candidate who is perfect who agrees with you on everything. But with these four candidates We're pretty damn close. Like we're we're pretty fucking close. I mean you have bernie sanders Who is a revolutionary who actually wants social democracy, which in my view is important And just getting us on the trajectory of social democracy Even if he gets one one hundredth of his agenda implemented I think is better than what everyone else is proposing You have elizabeth warren and tulsi gabbard who I would love to vote for in the event they won I would enthusiastically support either one of them And then you have mike ravell who has a phenomenal platform But doesn't actually want to be you know president But if he's going to promote progressive policy ideas on that debate stage I'm behind it. And then you have people who I generally admire probably mesam less so than yang and williamson But you know, there one bold idea isn't enough to get my support And then you have these mid rage candidates who are just Yeah Don't like them. But um, they're certainly the best Of the worst here. So that is My thoughts on this. I'm curious to know how you guys rank the candidates and listen I'm fully aware of the fact that Many people will disagree with this and you can disagree Um, you could really make the case in some instances that the e people belong in the f tier You can make the case that warren and gabbard belong in the s tier You can make the case that sanders belongs in the a tier and mike ravella alone should be in the s tier There's a lot of ways that you can cut it. But this is just my personal view By and large these four candidates here They're my people. I like them and um I think they're great. So I know it's going to kind of be like a pain in the ass to type this out in the comments But I am curious to see how close we agree and I also want to know What other political commentators think so I hope to see kyle kalinsky rational national jimmy door niko house tim black kim iverson anna kasperian michael brooks I want to see everyone do the same thing. Um Just because i'm i'm curious because You know, this is it's tricky We have so many candidates running that I think that these types of exercises It is helpful because when you kind of can put them all out here like this and really visualize What tier they belong in and how good of a candidate they are I do believe it is helpful But with that being said people are probably going to disagree with this and that's perfectly fine. Um, but you know This is this is my categorization. This is how I rank the candidates Um, but I'm curious to know what you think and I'm sorry, you know I don't like name drop dropping other political commentators because You're almost always going to leave someone out which pisses people off So if I left you out, then um, I don't mean any harm by it. I I'm not doing that on purpose But um, you know, I I'm curious to see how other people would categorize the candidates my next thing I think is I'm thinking about ranking them just one through 21 or 22 however many people are running And seeing, you know, who's my number one and who is my number 22 um Because that's something that's also interesting, but I'm still genuinely struggling when it comes to who's my um Number two or number three if you include, you know Gravel But I don't really put him as my number one because he doesn't actually want to be president So I've ranked Bernie is number one and I'm still I go back and forth between Warren and Gabbard because on one hand I like Warren's student loan debt cancellation plan But I like that Gabbard talks more about regime change wars I trust that Gabbard will fight and has more courage than Warren. So it's a struggle for me. You know, um I've I've gone back and forth. So I don't know how I would rank them I'd probably still tie them overall because they're both excellent candidates and I like them both very much I bought t-shirts for them both. I bought buttons for them both and I love them. But, you know, Bernie is definitely my number one um and Yeah, after that it gets a little bit tricky But anyways, I'm gonna stop talking. This is my rankings