The amount of people here calling themselves āfar-leftā and regurgitating republican talking points is insane.
Going from calling Biden too old (which isnāt wrong but heās still the best viable option) to defending Russiaās invasion of Ukraine seamlessly.
(which isnāt wrong but heās still the best viable option)
Whoa, hey now I very much object to the certainty of this claim.
Yeah, David Axelrod, senior Obama strategist credited with Obamaās successful elections, Obama speech-writers and communications director, and now numerous long-serving Congressional democrats disagree but, totally the best viable option despite poll after poll showing heās massively down and Bidenās own current campaign strategists reporting they see no viable path.
If your ship hit the iceberg and is taking on water, any other nearby vessel is a better alternative. At worst, itās in the same condition. At best, itās not fucking sinking. 75% of likely voters say Biden is too old to run and Democrats have a better chance with someone else at defeating Trump.
Disclaimer: we need to jump ship now but Iāll vote for a corpse over Donald Trump. I just think weāll lose if we stick with Biden and the data shows it.
Then the Democrats can pick someone else NOW and rally behind them. This constant undermining of Biden while not providing a good alternative and promoting them is just hurting Democrats chances to save democracy. This is irresponsible on such an obvious level I have to assume they are trying to lose the presidency.
Itās all about pressuring Biden in time before his nomination is locked in by the delegates. The moment that happens, this ends for better or worse.
Biden has to willingly step down, the Dem leadership made it clear they wonāt attempt to force him. Progressives canāt try to force it either or they will be excised from the party and simultaneously blamed for the inevitable loss.
Biden hasnāt held a full cabinet meeting since last year, so 25th amendment probably not happening either.
And so, ramping up the pressure on Biden to do the right thing by stepping down is the only viable option at this time. It sucks, but this is the bed Biden and the DNC made to lie in.
Iām not sure Iād put much stock in modern polling.
A study suggests the debate had very little impact, but even if it didnāt, historically, changing candidates this late hasnāt worked out.
https://boingboing.net/2024/07/10/impacts-of-the-presidential-debate-far-overestimated.html
Discussion aside, wtaf is boingboing.net? Iām even hesitant to click that link.
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Reliable pollsters are accurate albeit snapshots in time.
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Aggregate reliable polls even more so.
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Nate Silverās algorithm is over 90% accurate in its prediction model across thousands of races over the years.
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Cook Political Report is the gold standard.
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Even internal polls reported by democratic Congressional campaigns as well as the Presidentās team themselves admit theyāre behind.
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They were 10 points up at this time in 2020.
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If you arenāt going off this, what ARE you going off of, vibes? In one breath you say donāt put stock in polls, then point to an outlier? I mean, what!?
So you canāt comfort me saying that when Biden shouldāve come out 1 step ahead from that debate, he is not maybe only 1 step back as he has been for ages, but possibly 2 steps back.
Unfortunately, historically, a split like this is unprecedented. By coming out against Biden publicly, Democratic congressmembers have forced the issue, and itās not going to result in Biden remaining our best chance, even IF he would have remained our best chance had they remained publicly silent.
Why is Trump still attacking Biden so hard?
Because Trump is scared shitless of him.
Trump is scared shitless of everyone. Thatās what it is, being a paranoid thin-skinned narcissist with a brain rotted by stimulants and venereal disease. I wouldnāt trust Trumpās take on electoral calculus, for or against.
Trump has suddenly began attacking Kamala in speeches. Itās quite clear GOP agree Biden is their easiest opponent, too.
Trump just enjoys being mean and Biden is currently his opponent. When given the choice between shutting up and cruising to a victory and screaming nonsense(while cruising to a win because his supporters are objectively incredibly stupid people) heās gunna choose screaming nonsense every time.
Unfortunately, Biden may have lost too much support from his own party at this point. Itās probably necessary for him to step down, regardless. You donāt get Congresscritters of your own party calling for the presumptive nominee and incumbent to step down unless it looks godawful going into the election with the current ticket.
Itās probably going to be Harris if he is replaced, which Iāmā¦ not thrilled with. But Blue no matter who. Iāll vote for Biden if heās on the ticket in November - Iāll vote for a fucking potato if I have to in order to oppose fascism. But he very well may be an electoral liability at this point, not a boon.
Heād be stepping down into the void. The primaries are mostly over. Itād just be the DNC deciding for themselves who the candidate would be. That would NOT please most voters. Itās typical for an incumbent to be the nominee for a second term. Itās not typical for a party to just decide who the candidate would be.
Itās probably going to be Harris if he is replaced, which Iāmā¦ not thrilled with.
If thatās who they choose they need to decide now and start talking her up, even if Biden doesnāt step down right away. We are past primary season. And honestly, sheās fine. Not good fine. But sheāll lose to Trump. Not for any part of her own merit or policies, but because America is a sexist, racist country and I do not have any confidence in them electing a black woman. Maybe is she was popular or charismatic like Obama was but we havenāt really seen her do much.
If thatās who they choose they need to decide now and start talking her up, even if Biden doesnāt step down right away. We are past primary season. And honestly, sheās fine. Not good fine. But sheāll lose to Trump.
Unfortunately, while I share some of your reservations, I think the ballās in motion. We can let it roll (pick a new candidate) or get crushed by it (stick with Biden and have the millstone of defections hanging around our necks the entire election season), but either way, itās going where itās going. We have to deal with it as best we can, not deal with it the way that we wouldāve, say, two months ago, before this went down.
Iāll vote for neoliberal dementia grandad to try to stop fascist dementia grandad, without hope, just to be able to say I did what I could to minimize harm.
That said, if you donāt see the writing on the wall that our constitution and government has run out of road, cannot be repaired, is too corrupted, is basically a puppet of the owners of our rigged economy that works against most of us and humanityās future for a quick buck, and we need a new constitution and nation based in punishing and limiting greed/sociopathy and rewarding cooperation, then I donāt know what planet youāre on.
Even IF we miraculously manage to keep squeaking in Neoliberals to stop the fascists, the Neoliberals agree with the fascists that massive economic disruption for the sake of OUR ONLY HABITAT isnāt acceptable, which means this new climate will continue to worsen at an accelerating rate.
Iād rather not scapegoat vulnerable groups as we fry, which is why Iāll keep showing up, but this is water pumps on the Titanic, the outcome of accepting this framework is still drowning, just at 2:48am instead of 2:42am.
That said, if you donāt see the writing on the wall that our constitution and government has run out of road, cannot be repaired, is too corrupted, is basically a puppet of the owners of our rigged economy that works against most of us, and we need a new constitution and nation based in punishing and limiting greed/sociopathy and rewarding cooperation, then I donāt know what planet youāre on.
You could have said that at any point in the last 200+ years, and it would have been just as true.
Itās a mixture of optimism and cynicism.
Things are bad, but also, theyāve always been bad. The fight is hard, but itās always been hard. Weāre a hairās breadth away from ruin, but weāve almost always been a hairās breadth away from ruin. People are suffering terribly because of stupid, poorly constructed bullshit and wonāt let it go, but theyāve also always been doing so.
And yet within all that, sometimes, through great effort and sacrifice against the status quo, good things happen. And sometimes, great things happen. We have to believe that they still can happen if we fight for it.
At the same time, we have to recognize that many before us have fought insufficiently hard, or fought their hardest but still got screwed by circumstance, and DID fall into ruin. We have to recognize that as a possibility as well.
That being said, I would fucking dread a constitutional convention held at this point in time, regardless of the rules by which the population apportioned representatives to draft it.
Itās unbelievable to me that someone outside of China would honestly defend Xi JinPingās policy. I mean, look for the first Chinese expat in your country. He/she probably has some dark story about illegal secret cops trying to bring him/her back home because of a Winnie the poo post on Twitter.
I had a Tankie yesterday tell me that earning capital is a feature of communism.
It honestly made my week.
Why wonāt liberals just let me eat my theater beans?!
I was referencing a fake quote that did the rounds awhile back:
āāI spilled baked beans all over myself watching Cars 2 in theaters & a black teenager shouted āthis n***a eating beansā & everyone laughed. Thatās when I decided to become a Republican.ā Donald Trump. People Magazine, 1998ā
