If you're a Democrat, will you vote for the candidate whether he (I don't think Warren has a chance) is socialist or moderate? Why/why not?

I understand your reasons for your loyalty to your party.
Thank you for answering. :)

I thought that might be the case for loyal Dems.
Do you have any guess how many would abstain if they don't like their candidate?
I fear that if they do it would keep Trump in power.

I would have no way of knowing how many would abstain.  Hopefully, not many.

The analysis at the last election said that the Dems lost because so few turned out to vote - and that turned out to be mostly the young people.
This time, due to all the massacres in schools, I hope they will realise how crucial their contributions are.

I hope they realize how crucial voting is not only because of school massacres, but because democracy is at stake when only a few people show up.

And Sanders is playing that card. 

That's a strong card.
I would think it very sad and regretable if a president got in solely on the strength of a drug.
And yet with the proportion of physical pain across the nation and the difficulties of deaths from Fentonil and other pain-killer addictions, I would understand it.

If every Dem and every Conservative across the country turned out to vote, would Trump win?

easily

Can you give me a breakdown of what the polls predict?

And given that, internationally, many polls have proven disastrously wrong in the last five years,
what info can we access to get reliable data?

How did polls work out for Hillary?  

Interesting.
That makes you one of the people with the power to swing the results.
I hope one day you will share your choice and the reasons with all of us here. :)

My only allegiance is to my conscience. “Dutiful” partisanship is what created (and creates) the problems we have in our govt. I owe my vote to no one. 

The primary here in Florida is in about 2 weeks, and it seems more sane to evaluate whomever is “still standing” at that point, given how both the roster of candidates and their messages evolve. Then they have until Nov to impress me. 

I’m thoroughly UNimpressed by the current buffoon president, but given that the alternatives are just other rich, doddering, white men in their 70’s, who will be just as stymied by the feckless, failing Congress as the current Dementia patient-in-Chief, I doubt my conscience will be well served, no matter who is elected.
Best choice of the lot? We’ll see. 

This post was edited by Don Barzini at March 5, 2020 7:54 PM MST

I agree on the serious liabilities inherent in dutiful partisanship.
I'd go further and assert that loyalty nurtures corruption; it's not a virtue.

I don't think it would be hard for any candidate still standing to be better than Trump. The most powerful country in the world needs intelligence and integrity at its helm - for the world's sake.

I'm probably a lot further left than you - yet I agree that age could be a serious issue. Those old guys don't look healthy to me, irrespective of their boasts - and such a stressful job should require good health and moderate physical fitness.

And yes, the problem of a hung parliament and Congress could become a chronic issue.
It seems to cripple whoever's in power.
Maybe it prevents changes that could be hard to reverse.
Perhaps it keeps the country to the centre between its poles, favours the median voter.

In places (like Germany) which have had hung parliaments for decades, they evolve a strategy of negotiation. Thus they get legislation passed regardless of who's wearing the top title.

I believe Florida is one of the swinging states, isn't it? This post was edited by inky at March 5, 2020 8:26 PM MST

It is considered a “swing state” (depending on who is doing the polling) by virtue of its high count of delegates. No Republican has lost Fla and gained the WH since Cal Coolidge. 

But the primary is a closed election, meaning that only registered Democrats can vote in the primary. As an independent, I cannot vote in the primary. 

I think an argument might be made that negotiation within the confines of Capital Hill is more the exception than the rule. Less a strategy than a peculiar windfall of events. All under the auspices of partisan distrust and propaganda. 

The Founding Fathers would be relieved they didn’t live to see what dysfunction their current successors have wrought. 

That swinging status would be a good reason for living in Florida.

Very sad that negotiation is so little sought.

Australia is increasingly plagued by similar problems.

Plato argued that democracy could never ultimately work;
that it would always be prone to decay through popularism and corruption.

But I still see it as the best option for fair government -
except that perhaps we humans need to be more open to experimenting with ways to make democracy less prone to its dark sides.
I think we could do better by examining the records and experiences of other democracies to see what differences in constitutions create what effects.

I wonder, if the Founding Fathers were still alive, what changes might they propose?

Well, it's either Biden or Sanders, tough choice. :P

The very best people to be President already have better jobs. We are left with much lesser lights who actually want the position. Present occupant included. 

Yes, me too.
Though if Bernie didn't get the final candidacy, I still vote for the moderate Democrats.

Any Dem would surely be better than Trump for most Aussies (except the top plutocrats).
Australian-US trade and our international diplomatic relationships have been quite damaged by Trump's policies.
Our ANZAS treaty holds us in lock-step with any policy decisions the US makes - almost no wriggle room.