One House Democrat said he spoke for others in the wake of the president’s stunningly feeble debate performance on Thursday: “The movement to convince Biden to not run is real.”
The House member, an outspoken defender of the president, said that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should consider “a combined effort” to nudge President Joe Biden out of the race.
Crestfallen by the president’s weak voice, pallid appearance and meandering answers, numerous Democratic officials said Biden’s bet on an early debate to rebut unceasing questions about his age had not only backfired but done damage that may prove irreversible. The president had, in the first 30 minutes of the debate, fully affirmed doubts about his fitness.
A second House Democrat said “reflection is needed” from Biden about the way ahead and indicated the private text threads among lawmakers were even more dire, with some saying outright that the president needed to drop out of the race.
We need ranked choice voting, and this 2 party system is complete bullshit and needs to go. Obviously, neither will happen, but it should.
Funny how people elected under the two party system aren’t super motivated to change it.
This is why it has to come from the bottom up. All of the people saying “im sitting out of this election” or “i’m voting third party” are just acting in vain. It’s all vanity as they want to pretend they are doing something while not actually doing anything. If you want this system to change, you have to go out in local elections and push for people who will change it to ranked/star voting, and then have that move up. Then you have people who have won under those conditions voting for it, which makes it a ton more likely.
Voting 3rd party in this election is a vote for Trump. If Trump wins, this will be the last real election the U.S. ever has. All future elections will be Russian style.
Okay. Go convince the Republicans who control over half the states to switched to rank choice voting.
Really cool feeling when your state has primaries long after super Tuesday and the candidates were already mathematically locked in before you get a say. I swear I only get a chance to influence presidential primaries half the time or so. It’s strange to watch a ‘democracy’ keep moving when sometimes your voice doesn’t count because of where you’re from.
We need the primaries to all be on the same day. This isn’t the early 1900’s anymore. States that are getting left behind need to organize to just join super tuesday. The party would not survive disallowing that many delegates.
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Democrats have nobody to blame but themselves. They stayed mum for three and half years and now they’re reaping the whirlwind.
☝️
He has never sounded like that before and he has the record to show that he can do the job. Republicans tried to say he was on drugs because they heard him actually speak at the State of the Union.
There was no reason to expect him to sound like he did. If they do the second debate, I hope he doesn’t try to recall every single statistic and just stick to the big points. But Trump might just not debate like he did in the primaries. In fact, it would be stupid to give Biden a chance to recoup.
Biden has been conspicuously avoiding speaking at unscripted public encounters for quite a while now, though, and reading from an autocue at SotU is a far cry from having to react on the fly and put together coherent arguments in response to moderator questions and Trump’s lies during a debate. I have the feeling Biden’s staff knew full well that the debate was going to be rough going into it.
I don’t think they were expecting this at all. Otherwise they wouldn’t have had him recite such specific information. You could tell he was flustered. If they knew it was going to be like this, I think they would have done a completely different strategy.
I think the cold threw him off and they couldn’t pivot strategy. It should have been a focus on his image from the start. A few times where he laughed at Trump he looked good. In the after party he even sounded completely fine. That should have been the goal of the debate instead of reading receipts.
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“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
I think the cold legitimately threw him off. Not that he was feeble from the cold. Just that it made him more easily flustered and he snowballed.
I’ve also had interviews that I was “prepared for.” But trying to remember all the information at the moment was difficult. Hell, I was told one of my interviews was the best they had ever seen, and the last question had me flustered until I finally came up with my talking points after a minute.
That’s what it felt like to me, a flustered man in a bad interview that snowballed.
“reflection is needed”
I hate being pessimistic, but they’re gonna drag out “reflecting” for so long that they will lose the election.
if our elected officials are actually serious, they better act quickly on this because yesterday was extremely embarrassing. time will tell.
Remember when a huge coalition of people wanted RBG to retire? And then she didn’t, and those people took it as courage or some such other virtue?
Fucking hate when you get “too old” out of people for one side but not the other.
All these fossils should have been sent to the farm years ago.
Max age for starting a term should be 70. In most places you can’t be in control of a car without regular tests when you reach that age, yet you can be in control of the largest nuclear arsenal on Earth if you can still tell the difference between a cow and a horse.
I only remember people being so pissed that she didn’t, they celebrated when she died. I don’t remember anyone who wanted her to step down calling it ‘courageous’ when she didn’t.
There’s a herd mentality that often overrides practical thinking, along with the desire not to offend.
I think for RBG she had worked so hard to get there as a woman, and she probably felt like men don’t retire from the role just to please political concerns so why should she? Could she see the mess the country is in, she would have retired.
Her lack of oversight is one of the only things many of us will ever remember her for. She set all women back 50 years by not stepping down. That’s part of her legacy now, and it always will be.
Her decision is a lesson for all those who will listen. We need to stop gambling with the future of our country. The best decision for everyone always needs to be put forward, and even the best people need to step down, if needed, to preserve and secure progress.
It’s true. Her stubbornness leading to a conservative supermajority is what her legacy is now, instead of her trailblazing. Maybe one day when trans people aren’t considered fourth class citizens and we live in a better world, people will go back to remembering her trailblazing. She made a terrible gamble due to a lack of fear, and it was selfish or naive.
Biden’s big problem in the debate was that, for a few moments, he mumbled a confused answer that sounded like Donald Trump.
It was a no-win situation. The DNC gave in - once again - to their republican-lite mindset of ‘capturing undecided voters’ and agreed to get socked in the face , twice, for absolutely no gain and everything to lose.
DNC consultants have always been morons, but now they’re morons-from-the-90s who still don’t understand what’s changed.
Having a presidential election without debates would have been a big step back and loss for American democracy.
We shouldn’t champion erosion of democratic institutions when it helps our side of the ticket.
And generally, if eroding democratic institutions helps your ticket, it’s a red flag about your ticket.
Having “debates” be this ridiculous mud-wrestling that only benefits trump or another conman is the big step back and the loss to democracy.
They are apparently unable to create a forum in which a position can be taken and defended with facts and reason. UNABLE. Because the republiQans are fielding a demented sociopath and a compulsive liar.
The format is beyond broken, and there isn’t a way to fix it when one party has no intention - never had any intention to follow the rules, or decorum, or common decent behavior.
We found that out eight years ago. I can’t believe they walked right into it again.
Literally any half competent debater could have torn Trump apart up there.
The failure wasn’t the moderators but the opposition candidate to Trump letting him run hog wild.
If Trump claims he’s going to end the war in Ukraine before even taking office, you point out how absurd that claim is and that Trump makes impossible claims without any substance or knowledge of diplomacy. That the images of him photoshopped as Rambo must have gone to his head if he thinks Putin will be so scared of him to give up.
If he says hostages will be released as soon as he’s nominated, you point out it sounds like maybe there’s been a backroom tit-for-tat deal for a hostage release with a hostile foreign nation, and ask if maybe the intelligence agencies should look into that and what he might have been willing to trade for it.
The moderators have to try to keep the appearance of neutrality, but the candidates do not. And the only reason Trump was so successful in spouting BS and getting away with it was because his opposition had the strength of a wet paper towel.
Literally any half competent debater could have torn Trump apart up there.
He’s “debated” a large number of half-competent people in primaries and post-convention. Which one tore him apart? Examples please.
The failure wasn’t the moderators but the opposition candidate to Trump letting him run hog wild.
While the visual of hog-tying trump by a cowboy-hatted Biden is fun, it’s simply not his job to chase the gish. That’s why trumps insane rambling works; it’s not possible to practically address each batshit claim or outright lie. It’s just not. Biden’s already got the job of presenting and defending his own platform.
It is absolutely the moderators’ job to check him and a failure to do so means not only that it’s wide open Crime Time for trump but that the proceedings themselves lend authority to his lies.
The moderators have to try to keep the appearance of neutrality, but the candidates do not.
The appearance of neutrality? As opposed to just neutrality? Okay, well either way, again - no. The moderators have to acknowlege reality and remind the shit-talkers that they can’t say what they just said because it’s bullshit. And once again, they can’t do that with trump because he’s a compulsive liar who is incapable of acknowledging anything but his own reality.
And the only reason Trump was so successful in spouting BS and getting away with it was because his opposition had the strength of a wet paper towel.
Spouting BS and getting away with it is the entirety of what trump does. He’s not an authority on anything, he can’t function as any sort of manager without a stadium’s worth of assistance, and - really, hear me now - he is utterly. incapable. of not lying.
Nothing will stop him from trying to babble nonsense and if the moderators, effectively the referees, the arbitrators, refuse to hold him to any standard, there’s no other outcome than to watch helplessly at his idiot spewhole as it disgorges lie after lie after lie.
Biden blew it, yes, but if you think there was something to be gained by engaging with trump, i encourage you to consider the simple fact that trump is not able to acknowledge truth if it does not directly benefit him, and any attempt to do so will be met with more lies, more vitriol, and no one will succeed.
It’s unconscionable that anyone at this late date would even consider that even a remote possibility.
Seriously, they are so far behind their conservative counterparts is not even funny. They need to hire better PR specialists, and marketing teams.
The problem is that there was no live fact checking. Wtf can you do against a constant Gish Gallop of blatant lies? Even if they drugged him, I’m not sure what he could’ve done with that debate format.
He does this shit consistently and has been for a couple years. It wasn’t one fucking answer in the debate. Christ. We are so fucked.
Isn’t it too late to get a new democrat as candidate anyway, right? I mean you need to register in all states before a deadline no?
There, a candidate must win support from the majority of “delegates” - party officials who formally choose the nominee. Delegates are assigned to candidates proportionally based on the results of each state’s primary election. This year, Mr Biden won almost 99% of the nearly 4,000 delegates.
According to the DNC rules, those delegates are “pledged” to him, and are bound to support his nomination.
But if Mr Biden were to drop out, it would be a free-for-all. There is no official mechanism for him or anyone else in the party to choose his successor, meaning Democrats would be left with an open convention.
Presumably, Mr Biden would have some sway over his pledged delegates, but they would ultimately be free to do as they please.
That could lead to a frantic contest erupting among Democrats who want a shot at the nomination. Source
why wouldnt it go down the chain of succession? kamala harris
I’m pretty sure he could step down and hand it to Kamala. Maybe he could even run as VP. That might rock the boat the least, and while I don’t like Kamala, I have more faith in her to actually do the job.
I always figured the role of president was more of a figure head.
I get the buck stops with them, they can do their veto and special powers thing, and I’m sure there are other “ultimately this is your decision” type things.
But it’s the administration you are voting on.I’m sure it feels amazing to have “that one guy” steering your country. But, I’m sure they mostly do what their advisors tell them to
I want a president who has a vision and some form of understanding, but who knows what he doesn’t know and knows how to get that information. I want someone who I know has the best team guiding them and has sound judgment.
I can’t fucking believe this is an impossible ask. :(
Also being young enough that they’ll actually have to live with any fuckups they create would be a nice bonus. Our current options don’t have any skin in the game.
Did you open a case for that
I mean, that’s partly true. From my keeping up with politics, some of the candidates actions are their own but about 80% of the job is what you described. Your party recommends actions to you and congress sets you up for most of your actions. Vetoing things is only common when the opposition holds congress.
I’ll highlight though that lately the presidents have seized more and more power and continue to do so. It started with Bush basically declaring war without congress and lately it’s been Biden doing things like canceling student loans and blocking the border up. Which I get that’s all power they’ve always had, but they’ve been reluctant to use it improperly because it’s so abusable. Now those robes are off and so trump will come into office and immediately write laws by himself basically
The US has been on a governance crisis for some time now. It is slow and gradual, but they already had a coup attempt. It is the sort of things that is surreal and only possible to see when you look at it from a multi decades POV. Like Asimov’s foundation, it will take centuries and lots of things can happen in the mean time, but you can already see the empire imploding, rotting from within. Rome took almost 3 centuries to fall, and it was more like an erosion rather than crumble. I can see something similar.
My prediction is that one of them doesn’t make it to Inauguration Day and the country panics as a result. Is likely? No. But on this timeline it makes the most sense
It’s almost like it was a stupid fucking decision in the first place to make Biden, Obama’s embarrassing baggage, run for president.
So many of us fought this, and so many of us now hate the democratic party for this. They get zero sympathy from me at this stage.
I’m voting against Trump in this election just like I did in the last election, but after the conservatives retire the narcissistic criminal, all bets are off.
It’s far too late for that, jackasses.
It is, and it isn’t… People love drama, and nothing about Trump’s stance is based on tradition or stability.
The right replacement could theoretically sweep the election. I just don’t trust the DNC with this… So I guess I agree with you in the end.
I am right now drafting a message to send to the White House contact form advocating for just this. Will do nothing most likely, but it’s my drop in the ocean.
Maybe one of these people? Not that I like them, but they are not trump, have a chance, and are not on their deathbed.
- Gretchen Whitmer
- Pete buttigieg
- Jamaal Bowman
I’d take a Whitmer-Buttigieg ticket in a millisecond.
Maybe we should’ve had a real primary with debates and interviews and stuff =(
We need an America 2 where we can apply all the lessons we’ve learned, like primary every election and judges that can be recalled easier for corruption.
I’m convinced Whitmer refused the first time because she didn’t want to suck the DNC’s requirements so that they’d choose her as the preferred candidate in their sham primary.
Isn’t it legally too late regardless? Don’t they have to have their application and fee in by a certain date?
Nope, he’s not the official nominee until after the convention. Still not gonna happen, but technically could.
Legally the party can do whatever they want: https://observer.com/2017/08/court-admits-dnc-and-debbie-wasserman-schulz-rigged-primaries-against-sanders/
The court affirmed that the DNC and Debbie Wasserman Schultz held a palpable bias in favor Hillary Clinton.
Wow, what a garbage site that grossly misrepresents what the judge said (and then went on to contradict this in the article). The judge didn’t ‘affirm’ their claims of bias, but just assumed they were true because whether or not they are true makes no difference to the ruling, as they basically claimed it was the wrong place for the suit. They even explain later on that assuming the plaintiffs claims are true is a common practice when dismissing a case.
Not gonna happen. Also, the debate won’t make any difference. People made up their minds a long time ago on Biden vs Trump they are clearly not budging no matter what happens with the candidates. Only if they fall over dead will they be replaced.
The election will come down to like 2000 voters in some swing states. Even if 1% of people in those states changed their minds it could swing the election.
Don’t expect retards to accept this. They’ll just huff their fucking copium as if Thursday didn’t happen.
Independents and moderates are moving between the two equally for different reasons. Plenty of reasons why moderates despise Trump at the moment.
That’s true but it’s also true that Biden being old and passed it would’ve been made clear to those voters through targeting advertising anyway.
The same targeted advertising should be weaponed to communicate how dangerous trump is for the economy (tarrifs make cash machine stop burr), democracy (obviously), healthcare, middle income taxes and the broader high quality of life Americans enjoy.
Clearly the blue team fans will simply abandon their team going into the superbowl.
I mean, most of us will vote for ANYTHING over Biden. I said thing, not person. I’ll vote for a cantaloupe over Trump.
So this idea does, in fact, have merit.
The conspiracy theorists all say Joe is supposed to step down and Gavin Newsom somehow is added to the ticket which then will win. These conspiracy theorists also say that candidates are selected in advance by the powers that be and it’s all pagentry to deceive the gullible masses. If this is true, then Joe needs no convincing and this is already decided.
I’d like to know what you’re taking so I never take it.
I just had a soda and a vegan burger. So… I guess eat meat and avoid high fructose corn syrup? 🫤
Phew, I ate a beyond burger earlier and I’m still cogent and coherent. Guess it’s the corn syrup, just like my dad warned me.
I don’t believe this conspiracy theory (or not believe it), I am just saying it exists. But yes, without the corn syrup, I would probably be a better and sexier person.
Then why parrot chafe into the conversation at all?
I am adding it for posterity in case it does happen. I don’t believe or disbelieve this, but I have seem “conspiracy theories” proven true later and sometimes it’s like people forget the “crazy” people mentioned the truth months or years prior. I want this here so that if proven true, the word “misinformation” will start to be viewed skeptically as the Ministry of Truth word that it is, divorced from science and discourse.
Adding distracting points into the public discourse when people are seeking clarity doesn’t seem like a noble goal.
What do you get out of it at the end, the ability to say “told you so”?
What if Kamala does step in due to the very real odds of a medical issue happening, then shall we start believing conspiracy theorists on other points?
My point remains the same, you’re occluding understanding of the situation, both currently and in the future, and I don’t like that.
The conspiracy theorists all say
He pretty clearly stated that it was the conspiracy nuts in his first comment.
Poor fella. Read my question again, but this time try to think about it.
Oh God, Gavin Newsom ruined SF, which gave him the credentials to ruin California. Now it gives him the credentials to ruin the country?
I’d be cool with that
