Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland

Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by twblalock on Saturday January 13, 2018 @09:24PM (#16142486)

She's running in a primary challenge against an established Democrat who has been active in Maryland politics since the 1960s and has never lost an election.

On top of that, polling suggests that a majority of Americans, including just under 50% of Democrats, opposed clemency for Manning.

This is not going to end well. If she's serious about a career as an elected official, this is not the right way to go about it. I suspect she does not expect to win and this is really an attempt to gain national recognition as an activist.

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by zitterbewegung on Saturday January 13, 2018 @09:29PM (#16142505)

I think that she is running and knows that she will lose but use the opportunity to push ideas that her opponent will adopt. Sort of like a sacrifice fly but in politics. The Green party I think has done this in the past.

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by numbsafari on Saturday January 13, 2018 @10:27PM (#16142679)

For the duration of the campaign, maybe, and then only if Manning is an actual electoral threat and people agree with the positions she has on important issues.

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by mcknz on Saturday January 13, 2018 @09:31PM (#16142513)

Probably not, but one should never discount the power of name recognition, combined with symbolism, acting in lieu of traditional qualifications (see "Donald Trump").

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by ecspike on Saturday January 13, 2018 @09:42PM (#16142542)

Two of the largest counties in Maryland touch DC: Montgomery and PG (Prince George's) County with lots of people with 3-letter gov't agency ties.

The other major population area, Baltimore (City) and Baltimore County, are difficult to see going for her currently thin resume/positions on the issues affecting them.

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by jhbadger on Saturday January 13, 2018 @10:00PM (#16142604)

Most three letter agencies aren't spy agencies but science ones -- and those do tend to skew left.

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by Anon1096 on Sunday January 14, 2018 @01:34AM (#16143096)

She's not running against a republican in the primaries.

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by ExactoKnight on Sunday January 14, 2018 @01:52AM (#16143146)

Thin resume? She's literally got a Nelson Mandela-style resume for the position now...

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by awinder on Saturday January 13, 2018 @09:41PM (#16142541)

Cardin has name recognition in Maryland, people have seen his name on the ballot for decades

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by cornyNetHandle on Saturday January 13, 2018 @11:57PM (#16142867)

I dunno, it seems fairly sane to stand first in places you are guaranteed not to win, if you want to get started in politics. Lowest risk method of getting experience and people are impressed if you poll anything at all.

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by rayiner on Sunday January 14, 2018 @01:34AM (#16143095)

As a Marylander whose election district is gerrymandered to hell, a symbolic vote that doesn’t matter seems better than a “real” vote that doesn’t matter: https://anthonybrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MD-4-Dis....

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by DrScump on Sunday January 14, 2018 @03:29AM (#16143331)

What does gerrymandering have to do with a statewide, popular-vote race?

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by rayiner on Sunday January 14, 2018 @02:12PM (#16145707)

OP implied that voting for Chelsea Manning would be pointless since she has no chance of winning. My point is that my vote for Congressman doesn't matter anyway, so a purely symbolic vote for Chelsea Manning is at least as valuable.

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by pera on Saturday January 13, 2018 @09:52PM (#16142569)

> This is not going to end well.

What do you mean?

> If she's serious about a career as an elected official, this is not the right way to go about it.

Why not?

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by hux_ on Saturday January 13, 2018 @09:47PM (#16142557)

There is no right way to go about it unless your family is in politics. Every single character who has entered political life for the first time has to fight establised power centers.

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by twblalock on Saturday January 13, 2018 @10:05PM (#16142623)

That's not true for (in reverse order) Obama, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, LBJ, Eisenhower, Truman, Hoover, Harding, Wilson, etc. I could go on. That's most of the 21st- and 20th-century presidents. Their families were not part of the political establishment.

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by pmiller2 on Saturday January 13, 2018 @09:51PM (#16142565)

The right way is to aim lower initially.

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Re:Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland by itronitron on Saturday January 13, 2018 @11:41PM (#16142829)

She's off to a good start, and this is not going to end anytime soon. Contrast that with Arapaio who is running in Arizona and is very old.

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