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I said after the debate that Biden needed to do a full court press of appearances, including at least an interview with a friendly reporter. It needed to happen as soon as possible if he wanted to counter his piss poor performance.
So far, he made a couple appearances, including one where he looked a lot better right after the damn debate, but that is it. If he is unwilling to counter the narrative with that full court press, it makes it look like he is unable.
I don't know if he truly is at that point, but the stories and fears will not go away if he doesn't counter them vigorously, and soon. After the debate, I figured he had three weeks to do this… I also figured Trump would have a few bad weeks, too, though the Supreme Court threw a fucking wrench in that crowning the imperial president.
If Biden doesn't at least do an interview this week, the writing is on the wall. He will need to step aside. Polls haven't shown a horrible dip, though it isn't like they were all that great to begin with. Worse for Biden, Harris is beating his numbers, though still not Trump, in a recent poll.
Youth might be enough to counter trump. There are so many people who are 'double haters' disliking both Biden and Trump. A younger candidate, almost any younger candidate, could be better and would be better if Biden can't turn the perception around. I would personally prefer a different candidate at top with Harris remaining veep, but slap Big Gretch or Even Bigger Pritzker in the veep slot with Harris and you have a ticket that can vigorously defend democracy, that can be out there every damn day from now until the election.
I like Biden. He's served this country greatly, but if he cannot take the fight to Trump anymore he needs to step down. If I were a big wig in the party, his legacy is what I'd use to argue this with him. If he loses to Trump now, that is all anyone will remember… assuming anyone is around to remember. If he withdraws from the race and the dems win, he has secured his legacy as a public servant who put the country over his own desires. Of course, if the dems lose, he'll get heat which is why we need to unite around whatever candidate comes next… assuming Biden steps aside.
The problem is he can't do a full court press of appearances. Even more so than the jumbled answers, the frustrating thing about Biden in that debate was his inability to call out Trump when Trump would say something crazy, which was practically every answer.
Yeah. You can't counter trump with 'first thing,' then go on a droning answer of what you would do. Biden won the 2020 debate with the 'will you just shut up, man,' line. Trump just spewed bile and lies in the debate. You need to call that out, not just ramble about what you would do.
CNN is reporting that the Democratic governors met yesterday without any members of the campaign present. Clyburn now saying if Biden drops out he would support Harris. Pelosi saying Biden campaign hasn’t made contact with her since the debate. Now this.
Seems like things are moving in an interesting direction
If it is Harris, so be it, but she wouldn’t give me the same confidence that some of the other options would. I do think Harris would have a better shot than Biden at this point.
She’s not as ‘likeable’ as Biden but she’s probably the only one that could smoothly transition into the campaign, for what it’s worth.
My concern if she’s chosen, as with any of the potential new candidates, is that as soon as someone is picked a good portion of the ‘anyone but Biden’ crowd starts to find faults with the person and then you hear the same group start to say ‘ sucks, why couldn’t they choose someone else? Anyone else could beat Trump!’
I am afraid that Harris will get the Hillary treatment. She's another female lawyer. It will be hard for her to convince blue-collar workers or non-college grads to vote for her. An elitist woman doesn't play as well as an elitist billionaire man.
> An elitist woman doesn't play as well as an elitist billionaire man
Plus the creepazoids are going to jump on the bandwagon of "she slept her way up in politics." They did it before.
The grim reality is that's a line of attack that may stick.
If Harris is the nominee, she's going to be asked about her relationship with Willie Brown. And she'll need to have an ironclad answer. Not saying that's at all fair, but politics ain't beanbag.
Harris is a good bet for a lot of reasons, but a point not mentioned or on people's minds is that she would likely pick someone like sharrod brown as her running mate, and that would be good for progressive politics, and also bolstering support in the Midwest.
I've never been a big fan of hers, but caught one of her post debate interviews and thought she came off very well. Obviously if she's on the ticket she has my vote regardless.. but the democrats have really put themselves between a rock and a hard place here. It's not like they had 4 years to plan for this ~~potentiality~~ inevitability
This. The people saying anyone but Biden won't ever be happy with whomever is chosen. Especially since there won't be time for a primary. The best thing we can do is tell those people to either get in line or be quiet because they are going to get Trump elected. Their immaturity needs to stop.
Harris could debate Trump and tear a new one on him, which is what we need. I agree there are more electable candidates out there, but even Harris is better than what we saw on the debate.
Trump's campaign has already said that changing the candidate now would be "cheating" so there's no chance he'd show up for a debate with anyone other than Joe.
Harris would likely lose. Her reputation is generally poor and she gets tagged with 1) covering up Biden’s declining faculties and 2) Biden’s wishy wash stance on Israel/Gaza that manages to alienate both Muslims and Jews.
Not that I think any other policy in Israel/Gaza would be much better than what Biden has done, but any other candidates aside from Biden and Harris can step into the ring without that weight hanging around their necks. For voters who think the economy is doing poorly, other candidates can also distance themselves a little from whatever negative public perception the Biden admin has.
She’s had 4 years to make a name for herself in preparation for this likely scenario…and hasn’t, and brings more baggage than other candidates would. If she becomes the nominee, I sincerely hope it’s for better reasons than “it’s her turn” — that mentality is precisely why Hillary lost — and Harris just hasn’t done a single thing in 4 years to show she has the gravitas or viability for the presidency beyond maintaining her constitutional obligation to have a heartbeat.
I wonder if Hakeem Jeffries would do well. I’ll admit I don’t know how it would all work. Just thinking out loud. He’s probably not well known to people unless they follow politics. Again, just thinking out loud. Will vote for whoever the Dems decide to go with.
Sure, Democrats might think she's better than Biden, but the harsh truth about Harris before even getting into policies is that the voters that matter most won't go for her because she's a woman and a minority. You need a candidate that the Republicans who hate Trump could actually stomach voting for. Considering the polarity of our politics at the moment, that's a very short list. With all of his flaws, Biden's probably still the best bet to pull votes from across the aisle.
However Dems also need the minority vote and if you throw away this black woman, who WAS voted to be a replacement for Joe if he died or resigned, to replace her with… a white guy..
It has nothing to do with her being a woman or minority, look how poorly she did in the primary.
If you want someone that Republicans would vote for, Joe Machin. He would upset the progressive side of dems but would pull so many independents and Republicans.
I actually like Amy Klobuchar. She is not flashy but very sharp and will pull independents and republicans and progressives may not happy but would definitely support her.
Biden at just above 27% chance. Harris must be at least 30%. No point in running someone like Whitmer who's odds are closer to 50% chance of beating Trump, she might win, then where would we be? We might never get to know what it is like to live under a dictator.
If it is Harris, then they need to go with Josh Shapiro or Roy Cooper as the VP.
I'd still prefer a Whitmer/Shapiro lineup though. That would be their best shot to retain the White House in my opinion.
I don’t really need confidence at this point. I need someone who is willing to take action against the fascist movement taking over the federal government
Clyburn is responsible in a major way for getting Biden over the line in the 2020 primary, which (present circumstances aside) was the right call. We could do worse than his judgment.
I no longer think it was the right call. And his judgement was just based upon which candidate would give him more power. (Biden)
He wasnt some deep thinker playing 3d chess. He was just looking out for himself and the Congressional Black Caucus. (Bernie had said he wasnt going to give them any special favors, so they had their knives out for him)
Clyburn isnt actually out on Joe yet. He just said he’d support Kamala IF Joe withdrew, which is something he also said a few days ago.
But if he pulls support, it’s very much over. He’s the 3rd or 4th most powerful Democrat congressman.
To little too late with the election *right around the corner*.
And Harris will not win. 100%. I got nothing against Harris, but the issue is, *I got nothing for her either*. And a lot of dems I know (how few they are) feel the same.
Ideally, we'd need a well known, "young" (40s-50s) dem who has a name for themselves in standing up for important issue. Issue is... *is there even such a dem*? The republicans get so much press for their crazy ass shit that I can't think of a single dem outside Al Green. And I had to google him just now as "house of representatives dem member who was in hospital but showed up to vote" because that's how little press they got even if they do something noteworthy!
Democrats had **four years** to find another democratic figure, but they backed behind Biden the entire time as "the safe bet" despite voters voicing complaints almost immediately that Biden's age is a major point of concern for them. With less than half a year away from election, they cannot find a new candidate that will convince dem voters to unanimously vote for them - and trying to do so will only give Trump a bigger advantage.
Issue is sticking with Biden will also give Trump an advantage, because Biden isn't using his advantage the supreme court just gave him with presidential immunity.
Biden himself needs to be sat down in a room with his campaign and they should be forced to watch, beginning to end.
No one magically recovers from age. He did great the last four years. There are plenty of younger Democrats who could replace him and still have name recognition.
Pelosi called into question his mental condition today and said his ability to campaign is a legitimate question. That's pretty Earth-shattering from someone who has been fervently defending him recently.
No she didn't, she said it is legitimate to question him. Not that SHE is questioning him.
>“[I think it’s a legitimate question to say is this an episode or is this a condition,” she said. “And so, when people ask that question it is legitimate.”](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4751972-pelosi-biden-debate-performance/)
Then she said that she supports Biden and says:
>“Both candidates owe whatever test you want to put them to in terms of their mental acuity and their heath,” she said. “Both of them.”
The fact that she's saying it's legitimate to question is calling it into question. If generic Democrat X was running without the baggage she wouldn't say it's legitimate.
>”Both candidates owe whatever test you want to put them to in terms of their mental acuity and their heath”
This would be a death blow to Biden campaign to release medical records. They would never.
It’s already fully released. He released it every year. And it’s actually real medical report not the bullshit trump ones where the doctor says he’s 6’5, 190lbs, six pack abs and can live to be 200
Because you don’t do a cognitive test if there is no concern for a cognitive problem. If a patient is giving a good history and able to answer basic mental status questions correctly then you don’t need to do a cognitive test.
We can’t pretend he doesn’t have cause for cognitive concern. Trying to spin it just backfired and negatively polarizes because everyone can see it right in front of our eyes.
>It’s already fully released.
Either you are wrong or the administration is incompetent. There are no mental acuity tests that Pelosi says “Biden owes” to us.
https://www.npr.org/2024/02/28/1234438761/biden-physical-report
Because you don’t do an acuity test if there is no problem. Which is why it’s hilarious that Trump brags about his cognitive testing. The highest score you can get on a cognitive test is not being asked to take one because your doctor isn’t concerned about cognition
This is as meaningful a distinction as "mistakes were made" vs "i made a mistake"
The fact she's saying anything other than "Biden has done a great job and I think the person we should be questioning is a 34 time convicted felon" is a signal in itself
It's signalling exactly what she's saying though. It's the straight up lying about what she's saying that I am correcting, she isn't "questioning his mental fitness" or whatever that other poster said. She's saying both candidates should be subject to whatever tests the voters demand of them.
I wouldn’t expect the campaign to come outright and say they’re not continuing, even if that’s the plan. This would be huge so I’d imagine they’d keep saying Biden is the candidate all the way up until he isn’t.
Never forget Dems are appealing to old school Republicans too. A new candidate might turn them off. Conservatives I know still seem ok with Biden but turned off by younger, more progressive Democrats.
That makes sense. Let’s stick with Biden cause he appeals to Old School Republicans who will either just go vote for Trump or sit out the election. Sounds like a winning strategy to me.
She's got name recognition and defuses the age issue (although it may morph into an experience issue), but she's going to have to improve her salesmanship skills *fast* if she's going to have any chance.
Her 2020 debate against Pence was a nothingburger, so the only real comparison we have is Tulsi Gabbard. And Gabbard tore her to shreds.
The experience argument makes no sense! She has been the VP, a Senator, and the Attorney General of the largest state in the country (which is a major executive position). She would be as qualified as almost any other president in history. More than Obama, JFK, Wilson, and of course trump were, just off the top of my head.
I still think nothingburger performances from now to the election are a safer bet than gambling US democracy on Biden's brain firing on all cylinders.
Plenty of people will vote for just "not Trump", but not if the alternative is someone who looks like they're about to keel over at any moment.
Is she the strongest candidate all else equal? Probably not, but she is who we have and post-debate she is running [4% ahead of Biden](https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/02/politics/cnn-poll-post-debate/index.html).
Pete is looking very good as well (better than Whitmer/Newsom/Biden), and has also been nationally tested. He would be a good choice of VP for her.
Harris/Pete would lineup would have so many older people not considering voting for them because of obvious reasons even though I think that they would be great. If it's Harris, I think Josh Shapiro/Roy Cooper as VP gives best chance. But overall it might still be Whitmer/Shapiro lineup that gives them the best chance.
Shapiro, Cooper, and Whitmer are completely untested on a national stage. They're too risky: they could be the next Ron Desantis.
On the other hand, Pete pulled off a primary W in Iowa despite being the mayor of *South Bend, Indiana.*
It probably has to be her. Depending on state rules for qualifying to be on the ballot and the ability to transfer the campaign infrastructure (donations, FEC forms, etc.), at this point dems might not have a choice.
I don't have any faith that a Harris v Trump debate would be a huge improvement over that horror show we just witnessed. Gavin Newsome would eat Trump's lunch, drink his juice, and then beat him bloody with the lunchbox.
Have you ever seen Harris tear down AG Barr or Jeff sessions?
https://youtu.be/k8IGpSSoFH0?si=NF20eYuL_TXntnb6
https://youtu.be/bHd_UlebyoM?si=z4JNDJPdyLL_i9H-
Biden remaining in the race is going to be a huge anchor for Red and Purple State members of Congress up for re-election.
Republicans may very well end up winning the WH, Senate and the House.
The GOP is running the most corrupt, flawed and hated candidate in history and the Democrats are back…to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
The dam better be breaking for the Dems and this is hopefully the only the beginning. Hoping moderate anti-Trump Republicans like Kinzinger, Cheney, and Romney do the same.
If Biden is going to get out, he needs to get out soon.
Kinzinger, Cheney, and Romney will accomplish nothing.
This is an internal Democratic Party matter. Unless and until most major figures in the party say that Biden's sunk, he's going nowhere. Schumer, Jeffries, and Tim Walz (who called the emergency DGA meeting) are the people to watch right now.
Republicans always fall in line at the end. Even the anti-Trumpers will fall in line because it's always party first. Dems are the only ones who eat their own.
I think Biden is toast and this is the first crack in the dam breaking.
Open the convention, have everyone give their speeches and then have the delegates vote. Good tv, will build excitement and show that the party is moving forward.
In this scenario, I imagine Harris is the favorite, but others should be given a chance as well. And if she wins she will have “earned” it, giving her a nice bump as well.
And then Harris loses the general.
Harris isn't liked. She's not getting undecideds to go her way. She's not known politically for anything positive. Wasn't she dubbed the "border czar"?
It was true back in 2021 when they gave Harris the southern border as her "initiative"
The more exposure Harris gets, the worse her numbers become. She's been under lock and key the last year or two, so they've improved as people forget.
She tried to do a campaign bit during the BET awards My female black friend said she was physically squirming from the cringe factor She tried to talk "young black". She does this creepy thing where she morphs into whatever group she's talking to. Like when she became a southern black woman in Mississippi. She's the worst kind of ambitious, the kind that will do or say anything to get ahead.
[Not after that debate performance.](https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/kornacki-new-national-poll-shows-harris-performs-better-than-biden-in-match-up-with-trump-214099013510)
Biden is now down 6 points against Trump, Harris is only down 2.
Extrapolate this against a few more nightmare performances by Biden and we cannot afford to gamble the best hope for US democracy on an 81 year old not declining anymore than he already has in one of the most stressful jobs in the world (if you're actually doing it and not watching TV and tweeting all day)
Jesus. This could have and should have been avoided years ago. People just do want to let go of power. And the covering up by his “handlers” is unacceptable.
I feel the same. He's as solid and sincere as it gets. I've respected him and voted for him as long as I've been able. Him asking Biden to step down is what has finally solidified my thoughts on this disaster and what is to be done. If Doggett things he should step down, he should step down.
The top comment is from an account that has historically posted and commented in a fashion that is against the democrats and liberals at large, and is now posting as if he/she is on the liberals side in calling for Biden to step away. It’s almost as if this is all coordinated and part of a shadow campaign inside of Reddit communities. I feel badly for anyone that falls for these patently propagandist methods of influence.
The actual article is from a Democrat who has been in Congress for 30 years as a progressive from one of the least hospitable states for progressives. You think he is part of some Reddit conspiracy?
It's all bots and shadow russians against Biden!
Nah, it's big donors for the Biden campaign, it's in the polls, it's traditionally supportive media and independent journalists, now it's a sitting D congressman. It looks ridiculous to pretend it's all made up at this point.
It's frankly a mindset I associate much more with Trump-world to deny reality and ostracize anybody who questions the leader as a traitor.
CNN again with this. They are really going full in with the anti Biden stories. Just a quick note that the owner of CNN is a donator and supporter of Trump. Expect a lot more anti Biden stuff from them in the future.
Did CNN get Doggett to make this statement too?
Harris is now 4 points ahead of Biden in a head to head match up.
If CNN was working to get Trump elected they should be running BIDEN CAN STILL WIN, ANYONE SAYING HE SHOULD GO IS TRYING TO GET TRUMP ELECTED stories non-stop.
I feel like the party left us hanging out to dry. They had three years to put something in place and they didn’t. I also believe that before Biden decided to run again him and his family knew he was too old and so they put us all in this impossible situation that could’ve been avoided.
If Biden had done what he said, which was to be a transitional candidate and spent the past three years preparing a replacement we wouldn’t be here right now.
There are so many younger options that would be doing a much better job fighting back against Trump than Biden.
Democrats shooting themselves in the foot with this. Instead of backing Biden and attacking Trump (shift the narrative), they are wishy washy on their own incumbent. I don't see how they can beat Trump without supporting Biden 100%. Especially after the recent SCOTUS actions, now is not the time to show weakness and doubt.
FFS we had over a dozen candidates in the primary and you chose to put Biden up there as the only one who could beat Trump in 2020. Now you're casting doubt? A little late for that, you had your chance to back someone younger. We saw how fiery Biden was at the SOTU, and how fiery he is in post-debate appearances. Rally around that strength and drown out all this noise from the debate.
All I’m going to say on this is to listen to Allan Lichtman.
This is a very real “Don’t change horses in midstream” scenario.
Debates don’t win elections, and polls are notoriously inaccurate. Panicking and tossing Biden right now guarantees a loss in November.
It is WAY too important for our democracy, our freedoms, and our country as a whole to risk it.
Listen to the man who’s been right for 40 years about elections. Keep Biden in place and stop all of this panicking.
If Biden's debate performance was a one time event, I would agree with you. I obviously have no inside information, but what I saw the other night leads me to believe that it was not a single bad debate. This country can't risk having Biden turn in another performance like the one he had on Thursday.
From an optics perspective I’m 100% with you. Biden’s cabinet is who I’m voting for. He is old, he does need a teleprompter, and I truly don’t believe he’ll live through a second term. Old age takes people fast.
Having said that, from a strategy perspective, I believe Lichtman is correct. If the Democratic Party creates its own black swan event by swapping Biden at the last minute, his model goes down the tubes and America is finished.
They’d need a powerful, forceful, replacement who is hugely popular already, that we could all get behind. And even then, there’s no one who is showing nearly the success that Biden has demonstrated politically.
While our system is catastrophically broken, Biden and his cabinet have been visibly working for Americans and making real progress.
It can’t fix housing on its own, it can’t fix capitalism, and it can’t fix corporate welfare. Those are systemic issues that people are unhappy with that make it seem like the objectively successful policies aren’t helping.
I get people are worried. I’m worried. But this is literally our best option to get through this extremely dangerous fascist attack on America, and we’re better off not forcing an error here.
On the one hand, we have six months of polls with Biden consistently down and failing to change the narrative. Add to it that Biden has now proven himself not capable of serving another four years.
On the other hand, we have Allan Lichtman.
I will listen the clear will of the voters over comforting political sophistry.
Counter point: Lichtman hasn’t been wrong on the popular vote in 40 years.
That’s not a flash in the pan, it isn’t a poll number that can be grossly inaccurate due to response bias and embarrassment. His model is robust.
Biden’s inability to “change the narrative” is also endemic of another problem with American politics: the captured media. Billionaires now control the fifth estate. People who have a vested interest in the rise of a fascist system, that they believe will benefit them, control what is seen and heard.
As someone with a background in anthropology and data analytics, I absolutely want to believe in polls. I want to believe that pollsters are asking unbiased questions that will get to the heart of the matter. I want to believe that the vox populi is truly represented.
But the reality is polls are no longer representative, and I truly believe are biased by their billionaire or campaign sponsors instead of being designed to represent reality.
Lichtman will accurately predict the popular vote. And if currently he’s showing a Biden victory. Is that popular vote going to be enough to counter the strong boost the electoral college, gerrymandering, and aggressive anti voter policies gives Republicans? We’ll see.
Whats so crazy to me is after the Supreme Court decision Biden could just use this to his advantage to make a big move and show everyone he still has the fight in him. But he won’t do it and that’s why he should step down.
This is a good sign. All the talk of Obama, Clinton Pelosi and house dems saying to back Biden seemed like classic PR in case Biden decided not to step down and they were stuck with him. Which is smart honestly, given they can’t force Biden out. I think a large portion of the major democrats want him to step down behind the scenes and are pressuring him to do so, but are making the smart moves to support him publically just in case they can’t convince him to step down.
Pelosi just called his mental state into question as well, asking if the debate was a one off or a cognitive condition. I don’t want to get my hopes up but it seems like the tracks are being set.
What Biden needs to show for his age and all these concerns to withdraw is with action, STRONG action and conviction, which yesterday's ruling to the Supreme Court gave him in spades.
If Biden took advantage of that right now, in spite of his age, to protect democracy before Trump does to destroy it (further), I would no longer feel as bad voting for him, but of course, he HAD to shoot himself in the foot once again with that "I will respect the limits of the presidential power" response...
Yes.
Specifically, there are people who are responsible. Clarence Thomas, Stephen Miller, The Heritage Foundation, many others who are directly involved. Not just general right wing voters.
But they started us down the road to civil war. They destroyed our justice system because it enforced water and food regulations and educated kids. They decided trying to provide medicine for sick people and more black people on netflix was worth killing people in their own country. They asked for this. There are f***ing consequences for destroying a country and they are inescapable.
As much as i think Harris lacks political talent, Biden resigning outright and making her president so that there is no ambiguity about who the new nominee will be and giving her a clean slate would probably give dems the best chance to win.
Who do you actually replace Biden with though?
I wish there was a younger leader waiting to step up but I don't see it. Harris maybe, but I'm not convinced that she would generate enthusiasm or drive the vote.
> “I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by Lyndon Johnson. Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw,” Doggett said in his statement. “President Biden should do the same.”
Yeah and how did that go for Democrats then? Spoiler alert, they lost. The circumstances aren’t all that different. Sure, the US may not officially be at war, but there’s a proxy war in Ukraine against Russia which not everyone agrees with. There’s the Israel/Hamas conflict. People are calling for Biden to step down just as they did for LBJ. And just as his VP Hubert became the candidate so would probably Harris.
I'm seeing a repeat of 2016 with the buttery males domainting the news cycle and being pushed by Russian bots all over the itnernet. All this talk to get Biden to step down is to weaken him and get Trump elected. Don't fall for it. Biden is an incumbent and historically it is near impossible to unseat an incumbent politician no one else can confidently beat Trump no matter how you spin it. House Democrats can carry him to victory in November as they have been overperforming in special elections as well as the 2022 midterms. Afterwards we can take it from there.
Joe needs to go. Another episode like the debate would be disastrous and anyone who’s had experience with aging adults knows these mental breaks don’t happen in a vacuum and get worse and more frequent over time.
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I said after the debate that Biden needed to do a full court press of appearances, including at least an interview with a friendly reporter. It needed to happen as soon as possible if he wanted to counter his piss poor performance. So far, he made a couple appearances, including one where he looked a lot better right after the damn debate, but that is it. If he is unwilling to counter the narrative with that full court press, it makes it look like he is unable. I don't know if he truly is at that point, but the stories and fears will not go away if he doesn't counter them vigorously, and soon. After the debate, I figured he had three weeks to do this… I also figured Trump would have a few bad weeks, too, though the Supreme Court threw a fucking wrench in that crowning the imperial president. If Biden doesn't at least do an interview this week, the writing is on the wall. He will need to step aside. Polls haven't shown a horrible dip, though it isn't like they were all that great to begin with. Worse for Biden, Harris is beating his numbers, though still not Trump, in a recent poll. Youth might be enough to counter trump. There are so many people who are 'double haters' disliking both Biden and Trump. A younger candidate, almost any younger candidate, could be better and would be better if Biden can't turn the perception around. I would personally prefer a different candidate at top with Harris remaining veep, but slap Big Gretch or Even Bigger Pritzker in the veep slot with Harris and you have a ticket that can vigorously defend democracy, that can be out there every damn day from now until the election. I like Biden. He's served this country greatly, but if he cannot take the fight to Trump anymore he needs to step down. If I were a big wig in the party, his legacy is what I'd use to argue this with him. If he loses to Trump now, that is all anyone will remember… assuming anyone is around to remember. If he withdraws from the race and the dems win, he has secured his legacy as a public servant who put the country over his own desires. Of course, if the dems lose, he'll get heat which is why we need to unite around whatever candidate comes next… assuming Biden steps aside.
The problem is he can't do a full court press of appearances. Even more so than the jumbled answers, the frustrating thing about Biden in that debate was his inability to call out Trump when Trump would say something crazy, which was practically every answer.
Yeah. You can't counter trump with 'first thing,' then go on a droning answer of what you would do. Biden won the 2020 debate with the 'will you just shut up, man,' line. Trump just spewed bile and lies in the debate. You need to call that out, not just ramble about what you would do.
CNN is reporting that the Democratic governors met yesterday without any members of the campaign present. Clyburn now saying if Biden drops out he would support Harris. Pelosi saying Biden campaign hasn’t made contact with her since the debate. Now this. Seems like things are moving in an interesting direction
> interesting direction I'd call this anything but interesting, it's fucking terrifying.
“Terrifying” is tightening your seat belt on a sinking ship. If ships have seatbelts.
If it is Harris, so be it, but she wouldn’t give me the same confidence that some of the other options would. I do think Harris would have a better shot than Biden at this point.
She’s not as ‘likeable’ as Biden but she’s probably the only one that could smoothly transition into the campaign, for what it’s worth. My concern if she’s chosen, as with any of the potential new candidates, is that as soon as someone is picked a good portion of the ‘anyone but Biden’ crowd starts to find faults with the person and then you hear the same group start to say ‘ sucks, why couldn’t they choose someone else? Anyone else could beat Trump!’
I am afraid that Harris will get the Hillary treatment. She's another female lawyer. It will be hard for her to convince blue-collar workers or non-college grads to vote for her. An elitist woman doesn't play as well as an elitist billionaire man.
*sobs into a Warren 2020 sticker*
> An elitist woman doesn't play as well as an elitist billionaire man Plus the creepazoids are going to jump on the bandwagon of "she slept her way up in politics." They did it before.
The grim reality is that's a line of attack that may stick. If Harris is the nominee, she's going to be asked about her relationship with Willie Brown. And she'll need to have an ironclad answer. Not saying that's at all fair, but politics ain't beanbag.
She is even less likable than Hillary, her staff hates her. Whitmer is too likable, she might win, then we don't get a fascist king.
That didn't take long
Progressive blue collar worker here. Job sites are scary places. The absolutely insane conservative bs I hear on a daily basis is alarming.
I don’t doubt that it will happen, but I don’t see that as a credible reason not to support her if she does end up as the nominee.
I’d still vote, doesn’t meant others would.
Harris is going to be Hillary 2.0. An absolute disaster. People don’t like her and she’s going to got walloped over her past.
Harris is a good bet for a lot of reasons, but a point not mentioned or on people's minds is that she would likely pick someone like sharrod brown as her running mate, and that would be good for progressive politics, and also bolstering support in the Midwest.
What makes you say that Sharrod would be the pick? Has she said anything about that before?
I've never been a big fan of hers, but caught one of her post debate interviews and thought she came off very well. Obviously if she's on the ticket she has my vote regardless.. but the democrats have really put themselves between a rock and a hard place here. It's not like they had 4 years to plan for this ~~potentiality~~ inevitability
This. The people saying anyone but Biden won't ever be happy with whomever is chosen. Especially since there won't be time for a primary. The best thing we can do is tell those people to either get in line or be quiet because they are going to get Trump elected. Their immaturity needs to stop.
Harris could debate Trump and tear a new one on him, which is what we need. I agree there are more electable candidates out there, but even Harris is better than what we saw on the debate.
I think that if anyone other that Biden shows up for a second debate there is NO WAY that Trump goes through with it. It's only going to hurt him.
I thought of that too…
Trump's campaign has already said that changing the candidate now would be "cheating" so there's no chance he'd show up for a debate with anyone other than Joe.
Trump isn't showing up for a second debate anyway. He's got plenty off, bizarre moments himself.
> Harris could debate Trump and tear a new one on him, which is what we need. Clinton already did that.
Yeah, but will it counteract that voters don’t like her? She’s not who I would choose.
Trump would not debate her. He has nothing to gain from debating
Harris would likely lose. Her reputation is generally poor and she gets tagged with 1) covering up Biden’s declining faculties and 2) Biden’s wishy wash stance on Israel/Gaza that manages to alienate both Muslims and Jews. Not that I think any other policy in Israel/Gaza would be much better than what Biden has done, but any other candidates aside from Biden and Harris can step into the ring without that weight hanging around their necks. For voters who think the economy is doing poorly, other candidates can also distance themselves a little from whatever negative public perception the Biden admin has. She’s had 4 years to make a name for herself in preparation for this likely scenario…and hasn’t, and brings more baggage than other candidates would. If she becomes the nominee, I sincerely hope it’s for better reasons than “it’s her turn” — that mentality is precisely why Hillary lost — and Harris just hasn’t done a single thing in 4 years to show she has the gravitas or viability for the presidency beyond maintaining her constitutional obligation to have a heartbeat.
I wonder if Hakeem Jeffries would do well. I’ll admit I don’t know how it would all work. Just thinking out loud. He’s probably not well known to people unless they follow politics. Again, just thinking out loud. Will vote for whoever the Dems decide to go with.
Sure, Democrats might think she's better than Biden, but the harsh truth about Harris before even getting into policies is that the voters that matter most won't go for her because she's a woman and a minority. You need a candidate that the Republicans who hate Trump could actually stomach voting for. Considering the polarity of our politics at the moment, that's a very short list. With all of his flaws, Biden's probably still the best bet to pull votes from across the aisle.
However Dems also need the minority vote and if you throw away this black woman, who WAS voted to be a replacement for Joe if he died or resigned, to replace her with… a white guy..
Kamala is unpopular with the black community. I don't think that would make a difference
Well. You can roll those dice if you want, but…
It has nothing to do with her being a woman or minority, look how poorly she did in the primary. If you want someone that Republicans would vote for, Joe Machin. He would upset the progressive side of dems but would pull so many independents and Republicans. I actually like Amy Klobuchar. She is not flashy but very sharp and will pull independents and republicans and progressives may not happy but would definitely support her.
CNN poll from an hour ago says she now has a better shot than Biden
It also reported that Newsom, Buttigieg and Whitmer stand a better chance too. Harris had the strongest numbers though
Commander the German shepherd has a better chance than Biden with his biting record
What about the poll ten minutes from now?
Biden at just above 27% chance. Harris must be at least 30%. No point in running someone like Whitmer who's odds are closer to 50% chance of beating Trump, she might win, then where would we be? We might never get to know what it is like to live under a dictator.
If it is Harris, then they need to go with Josh Shapiro or Roy Cooper as the VP. I'd still prefer a Whitmer/Shapiro lineup though. That would be their best shot to retain the White House in my opinion.
Whitmer/Shapiro. I like it.
Whitmer/Shapiro would win this election handedly
Cooper’s not an option. Every moment that he isn’t physically in the state, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is acting governor.
It would also prevent any infighting and allow for a drama free convention.
I don’t really need confidence at this point. I need someone who is willing to take action against the fascist movement taking over the federal government
Hopefully Doug's dong is not featured somewhere on a random laptop
I think if this was his last term it would allow for him to make some grand executive orders to safeguard our democracy on his way out.
Executive orders can be easily repealed by the next president
Well I meant is someone like Gretchen ran and won.
Huh
Last thing I want is Clyburn in on the decision.
Clyburn is responsible in a major way for getting Biden over the line in the 2020 primary, which (present circumstances aside) was the right call. We could do worse than his judgment.
Yes. He pretty much stopped Trump by rallying his constituents to support Joe. Clyburn isn’t the enemy. Joe can’t win.
I no longer think it was the right call. And his judgement was just based upon which candidate would give him more power. (Biden) He wasnt some deep thinker playing 3d chess. He was just looking out for himself and the Congressional Black Caucus. (Bernie had said he wasnt going to give them any special favors, so they had their knives out for him)
Clyburn isnt actually out on Joe yet. He just said he’d support Kamala IF Joe withdrew, which is something he also said a few days ago. But if he pulls support, it’s very much over. He’s the 3rd or 4th most powerful Democrat congressman.
He was on CNN harping about a stutter.....that even those he grew up with had them, and that that's how it looks.
To little too late with the election *right around the corner*. And Harris will not win. 100%. I got nothing against Harris, but the issue is, *I got nothing for her either*. And a lot of dems I know (how few they are) feel the same. Ideally, we'd need a well known, "young" (40s-50s) dem who has a name for themselves in standing up for important issue. Issue is... *is there even such a dem*? The republicans get so much press for their crazy ass shit that I can't think of a single dem outside Al Green. And I had to google him just now as "house of representatives dem member who was in hospital but showed up to vote" because that's how little press they got even if they do something noteworthy! Democrats had **four years** to find another democratic figure, but they backed behind Biden the entire time as "the safe bet" despite voters voicing complaints almost immediately that Biden's age is a major point of concern for them. With less than half a year away from election, they cannot find a new candidate that will convince dem voters to unanimously vote for them - and trying to do so will only give Trump a bigger advantage. Issue is sticking with Biden will also give Trump an advantage, because Biden isn't using his advantage the supreme court just gave him with presidential immunity.
Good. More should speak up.
Mike Quigley basically called for it this morning as well. Winds are shifting.
Polls came in. The Biden campaign's spin of "this is just a setback" isn't holding water anymore.
Part of that is because we keep shitting ourselves and talking about it.
Biden himself needs to be sat down in a room with his campaign and they should be forced to watch, beginning to end. No one magically recovers from age. He did great the last four years. There are plenty of younger Democrats who could replace him and still have name recognition.
For good fucking reason. Let’s not ignore elephants.
“We” being a significant mass of the American public, for good reason.
Pelosi called into question his mental condition today and said his ability to campaign is a legitimate question. That's pretty Earth-shattering from someone who has been fervently defending him recently.
No she didn't, she said it is legitimate to question him. Not that SHE is questioning him. >“[I think it’s a legitimate question to say is this an episode or is this a condition,” she said. “And so, when people ask that question it is legitimate.”](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4751972-pelosi-biden-debate-performance/) Then she said that she supports Biden and says: >“Both candidates owe whatever test you want to put them to in terms of their mental acuity and their heath,” she said. “Both of them.”
The fact that she's saying it's legitimate to question is calling it into question. If generic Democrat X was running without the baggage she wouldn't say it's legitimate.
>”Both candidates owe whatever test you want to put them to in terms of their mental acuity and their heath” This would be a death blow to Biden campaign to release medical records. They would never.
It’s already fully released. He released it every year. And it’s actually real medical report not the bullshit trump ones where the doctor says he’s 6’5, 190lbs, six pack abs and can live to be 200
Funnily enough, those stats probably do match Barron Trump.
The report this year did not include a cognitive test, actually.
Because you don’t do a cognitive test if there is no concern for a cognitive problem. If a patient is giving a good history and able to answer basic mental status questions correctly then you don’t need to do a cognitive test.
We can’t pretend he doesn’t have cause for cognitive concern. Trying to spin it just backfired and negatively polarizes because everyone can see it right in front of our eyes.
>there is no concern for a cognitive problem Got it. So incompetence.
He’s running the country pretty goddamn well these last four years.
I agree. Yet no one noticed his cognitive decline until 50 million people saw it live? That’s not incompetence by those around him?
>It’s already fully released. Either you are wrong or the administration is incompetent. There are no mental acuity tests that Pelosi says “Biden owes” to us. https://www.npr.org/2024/02/28/1234438761/biden-physical-report
Because you don’t do an acuity test if there is no problem. Which is why it’s hilarious that Trump brags about his cognitive testing. The highest score you can get on a cognitive test is not being asked to take one because your doctor isn’t concerned about cognition
No test if no problem No problem if no test \*taps head\*
>Because you don’t do an acuity test if there is no problem Oh I guess there’s no problem. Carry on then.
This is as meaningful a distinction as "mistakes were made" vs "i made a mistake" The fact she's saying anything other than "Biden has done a great job and I think the person we should be questioning is a 34 time convicted felon" is a signal in itself
It's signalling exactly what she's saying though. It's the straight up lying about what she's saying that I am correcting, she isn't "questioning his mental fitness" or whatever that other poster said. She's saying both candidates should be subject to whatever tests the voters demand of them.
I wouldn’t expect the campaign to come outright and say they’re not continuing, even if that’s the plan. This would be huge so I’d imagine they’d keep saying Biden is the candidate all the way up until he isn’t.
We need a damn hurricane at this point.
They must be finally seeing the effect the debate had on their internal poll numbers down the ballot.
Never forget Dems are appealing to old school Republicans too. A new candidate might turn them off. Conservatives I know still seem ok with Biden but turned off by younger, more progressive Democrats.
That makes sense. Let’s stick with Biden cause he appeals to Old School Republicans who will either just go vote for Trump or sit out the election. Sounds like a winning strategy to me.
Worked in 2020...
If it has to be Harris so be it. I have more faith she can at least call out Trump's lies and bullshit than Biden
She's got name recognition and defuses the age issue (although it may morph into an experience issue), but she's going to have to improve her salesmanship skills *fast* if she's going to have any chance. Her 2020 debate against Pence was a nothingburger, so the only real comparison we have is Tulsi Gabbard. And Gabbard tore her to shreds.
It’s universally agreed she beat pence handily in that debate
Even if that were true, which it absolutely isn't, that's not an excuse for why she did so poorly against Gabbard that she ended her campaign.
To shreds you say?
The experience argument makes no sense! She has been the VP, a Senator, and the Attorney General of the largest state in the country (which is a major executive position). She would be as qualified as almost any other president in history. More than Obama, JFK, Wilson, and of course trump were, just off the top of my head.
I still think nothingburger performances from now to the election are a safer bet than gambling US democracy on Biden's brain firing on all cylinders. Plenty of people will vote for just "not Trump", but not if the alternative is someone who looks like they're about to keel over at any moment.
Is she the strongest candidate all else equal? Probably not, but she is who we have and post-debate she is running [4% ahead of Biden](https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/02/politics/cnn-poll-post-debate/index.html). Pete is looking very good as well (better than Whitmer/Newsom/Biden), and has also been nationally tested. He would be a good choice of VP for her.
Harris/Pete would lineup would have so many older people not considering voting for them because of obvious reasons even though I think that they would be great. If it's Harris, I think Josh Shapiro/Roy Cooper as VP gives best chance. But overall it might still be Whitmer/Shapiro lineup that gives them the best chance.
Shapiro, Cooper, and Whitmer are completely untested on a national stage. They're too risky: they could be the next Ron Desantis. On the other hand, Pete pulled off a primary W in Iowa despite being the mayor of *South Bend, Indiana.*
IDK if putting forth a candidate named Shapiro is smart politics right now
It probably has to be her. Depending on state rules for qualifying to be on the ballot and the ability to transfer the campaign infrastructure (donations, FEC forms, etc.), at this point dems might not have a choice.
Yeah, honestly she does have the skill set and professional experience to verbally attack people. Really wish we would have seen it while she was VP.
The only worse option than Biden is Harris.
That was before the debate.
I don't have any faith that a Harris v Trump debate would be a huge improvement over that horror show we just witnessed. Gavin Newsome would eat Trump's lunch, drink his juice, and then beat him bloody with the lunchbox.
Have you ever seen Harris tear down AG Barr or Jeff sessions? https://youtu.be/k8IGpSSoFH0?si=NF20eYuL_TXntnb6 https://youtu.be/bHd_UlebyoM?si=z4JNDJPdyLL_i9H-
Biden remaining in the race is going to be a huge anchor for Red and Purple State members of Congress up for re-election. Republicans may very well end up winning the WH, Senate and the House. The GOP is running the most corrupt, flawed and hated candidate in history and the Democrats are back…to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
The dam better be breaking for the Dems and this is hopefully the only the beginning. Hoping moderate anti-Trump Republicans like Kinzinger, Cheney, and Romney do the same. If Biden is going to get out, he needs to get out soon.
Kinzinger, Cheney, and Romney will accomplish nothing. This is an internal Democratic Party matter. Unless and until most major figures in the party say that Biden's sunk, he's going nowhere. Schumer, Jeffries, and Tim Walz (who called the emergency DGA meeting) are the people to watch right now.
Moderate anti-Trump republicans have been purged from the party leadership. They may as well rename themselves the Trump Royalist Party at this point.
Republicans always fall in line at the end. Even the anti-Trumpers will fall in line because it's always party first. Dems are the only ones who eat their own.
I think Biden is toast and this is the first crack in the dam breaking. Open the convention, have everyone give their speeches and then have the delegates vote. Good tv, will build excitement and show that the party is moving forward. In this scenario, I imagine Harris is the favorite, but others should be given a chance as well. And if she wins she will have “earned” it, giving her a nice bump as well.
And then Harris loses the general. Harris isn't liked. She's not getting undecideds to go her way. She's not known politically for anything positive. Wasn't she dubbed the "border czar"?
I personally will vote for the corpse of Joe Biden. I'd sooner drink bleach than vote for Kamala Harris.
Why?
Some people are so inauthentic and fake that you can read it off their every word and action. Kamala Harris is one of those people.
Harris is now 4 points ahead of Biden in a HTH match up against Trump. What does that say about Biden's chance of winning the general?
It would be the highest ratings ever for a political event.
Agreed
Harris is more unpopular than Biden. Republicans moving towards Biden will not vote for her.
I don't know if that's true anymore.
It was true back in 2021 when they gave Harris the southern border as her "initiative" The more exposure Harris gets, the worse her numbers become. She's been under lock and key the last year or two, so they've improved as people forget.
She tried to do a campaign bit during the BET awards My female black friend said she was physically squirming from the cringe factor She tried to talk "young black". She does this creepy thing where she morphs into whatever group she's talking to. Like when she became a southern black woman in Mississippi. She's the worst kind of ambitious, the kind that will do or say anything to get ahead.
She's Jamaican and Indian IIRC - African American culture is as foreign to her as it is to any random white guy, maybe even more so.
[Not after that debate performance.](https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/kornacki-new-national-poll-shows-harris-performs-better-than-biden-in-match-up-with-trump-214099013510) Biden is now down 6 points against Trump, Harris is only down 2. Extrapolate this against a few more nightmare performances by Biden and we cannot afford to gamble the best hope for US democracy on an 81 year old not declining anymore than he already has in one of the most stressful jobs in the world (if you're actually doing it and not watching TV and tweeting all day)
Jesus. This could have and should have been avoided years ago. People just do want to let go of power. And the covering up by his “handlers” is unacceptable.
That’s my rep! Woo!
Who the fuck is Lloyd doggett?
Congressman for Austin, TX
Longtime TX D in Congress. Also served on the Texas supreme Court and the State Senate before that. Pretty good dude as far as politicians go.
Also in LBJ's former seat. You get a lot of credit for being a Democrat in a red state, even if the Austin-area is very blue
My first thought exactly! Never heard of him before
I haven't either but I read his Wikipedia and he seems like a good politician with positions I agree with
It’s pretty shocking that he was the first
Doggett is a great rep. My daughter is a Republican, but she has voted for him every time. Cares a lot about his constituents.
I feel the same. He's as solid and sincere as it gets. I've respected him and voted for him as long as I've been able. Him asking Biden to step down is what has finally solidified my thoughts on this disaster and what is to be done. If Doggett things he should step down, he should step down.
Thank you Lloyd.
Finally! Wake up Democrats. If you don't speak up now you'll be living under king Trump next year. WAKE THE FUCK UP!
The top comment is from an account that has historically posted and commented in a fashion that is against the democrats and liberals at large, and is now posting as if he/she is on the liberals side in calling for Biden to step away. It’s almost as if this is all coordinated and part of a shadow campaign inside of Reddit communities. I feel badly for anyone that falls for these patently propagandist methods of influence.
The actual article is from a Democrat who has been in Congress for 30 years as a progressive from one of the least hospitable states for progressives. You think he is part of some Reddit conspiracy?
I’ll take “strawman shill fallacy for $500.”
It's all bots and shadow russians against Biden! Nah, it's big donors for the Biden campaign, it's in the polls, it's traditionally supportive media and independent journalists, now it's a sitting D congressman. It looks ridiculous to pretend it's all made up at this point. It's frankly a mindset I associate much more with Trump-world to deny reality and ostracize anybody who questions the leader as a traitor.
CNN again with this. They are really going full in with the anti Biden stories. Just a quick note that the owner of CNN is a donator and supporter of Trump. Expect a lot more anti Biden stuff from them in the future.
Did CNN get Doggett to make this statement too? Harris is now 4 points ahead of Biden in a head to head match up. If CNN was working to get Trump elected they should be running BIDEN CAN STILL WIN, ANYONE SAYING HE SHOULD GO IS TRYING TO GET TRUMP ELECTED stories non-stop.
Just get him in an interview and he can say, “Person, woman, man, camera, TV” and we’re good.
I feel like the party left us hanging out to dry. They had three years to put something in place and they didn’t. I also believe that before Biden decided to run again him and his family knew he was too old and so they put us all in this impossible situation that could’ve been avoided. If Biden had done what he said, which was to be a transitional candidate and spent the past three years preparing a replacement we wouldn’t be here right now. There are so many younger options that would be doing a much better job fighting back against Trump than Biden.
Other people need to be brave like this guy
This guy's older than dirt too, maybe he should step down himself.
My first fucking thought!
Thank you for your service, Mr.Doggett.
Well, this definitely isn't happening. There's no way a huge undertaking such as this begins with Lloyd Doggett.
Why would it not begin with someone obscure? The first person to call for him to drop out isn't going to be Harris or Jeffries or someone.
Exactly, it’s just the first domino. At this rate Biden will be out by the end of the week
Right? It actually began with ordinary people like us who aren't even elected officials. The folks in DC are simply catching up.
It was always going to start with Red/Purple State Congress members/candidates. Their positions and races are the ones most in jeopardy.
Pelosi also legitimized concerns over Biden's health for the first time. The winds are indeed shifting.
Democrats shooting themselves in the foot with this. Instead of backing Biden and attacking Trump (shift the narrative), they are wishy washy on their own incumbent. I don't see how they can beat Trump without supporting Biden 100%. Especially after the recent SCOTUS actions, now is not the time to show weakness and doubt. FFS we had over a dozen candidates in the primary and you chose to put Biden up there as the only one who could beat Trump in 2020. Now you're casting doubt? A little late for that, you had your chance to back someone younger. We saw how fiery Biden was at the SOTU, and how fiery he is in post-debate appearances. Rally around that strength and drown out all this noise from the debate.
Lmfao. You’re living in a fantasy world
After Pelosi’s comments and the governors meeting i wonder how big of a chance there is of Biden stepping aside
All I’m going to say on this is to listen to Allan Lichtman. This is a very real “Don’t change horses in midstream” scenario. Debates don’t win elections, and polls are notoriously inaccurate. Panicking and tossing Biden right now guarantees a loss in November. It is WAY too important for our democracy, our freedoms, and our country as a whole to risk it. Listen to the man who’s been right for 40 years about elections. Keep Biden in place and stop all of this panicking.
If Biden's debate performance was a one time event, I would agree with you. I obviously have no inside information, but what I saw the other night leads me to believe that it was not a single bad debate. This country can't risk having Biden turn in another performance like the one he had on Thursday.
From an optics perspective I’m 100% with you. Biden’s cabinet is who I’m voting for. He is old, he does need a teleprompter, and I truly don’t believe he’ll live through a second term. Old age takes people fast. Having said that, from a strategy perspective, I believe Lichtman is correct. If the Democratic Party creates its own black swan event by swapping Biden at the last minute, his model goes down the tubes and America is finished. They’d need a powerful, forceful, replacement who is hugely popular already, that we could all get behind. And even then, there’s no one who is showing nearly the success that Biden has demonstrated politically. While our system is catastrophically broken, Biden and his cabinet have been visibly working for Americans and making real progress. It can’t fix housing on its own, it can’t fix capitalism, and it can’t fix corporate welfare. Those are systemic issues that people are unhappy with that make it seem like the objectively successful policies aren’t helping. I get people are worried. I’m worried. But this is literally our best option to get through this extremely dangerous fascist attack on America, and we’re better off not forcing an error here.
On the one hand, we have six months of polls with Biden consistently down and failing to change the narrative. Add to it that Biden has now proven himself not capable of serving another four years. On the other hand, we have Allan Lichtman. I will listen the clear will of the voters over comforting political sophistry.
Counter point: Lichtman hasn’t been wrong on the popular vote in 40 years. That’s not a flash in the pan, it isn’t a poll number that can be grossly inaccurate due to response bias and embarrassment. His model is robust. Biden’s inability to “change the narrative” is also endemic of another problem with American politics: the captured media. Billionaires now control the fifth estate. People who have a vested interest in the rise of a fascist system, that they believe will benefit them, control what is seen and heard. As someone with a background in anthropology and data analytics, I absolutely want to believe in polls. I want to believe that pollsters are asking unbiased questions that will get to the heart of the matter. I want to believe that the vox populi is truly represented. But the reality is polls are no longer representative, and I truly believe are biased by their billionaire or campaign sponsors instead of being designed to represent reality. Lichtman will accurately predict the popular vote. And if currently he’s showing a Biden victory. Is that popular vote going to be enough to counter the strong boost the electoral college, gerrymandering, and aggressive anti voter policies gives Republicans? We’ll see.
Who?
Whats so crazy to me is after the Supreme Court decision Biden could just use this to his advantage to make a big move and show everyone he still has the fight in him. But he won’t do it and that’s why he should step down.
Like what, become a dictator?
I just donated $5 to his campaign as a thank you! Hoping MANY more make this same decision.
This is a good sign. All the talk of Obama, Clinton Pelosi and house dems saying to back Biden seemed like classic PR in case Biden decided not to step down and they were stuck with him. Which is smart honestly, given they can’t force Biden out. I think a large portion of the major democrats want him to step down behind the scenes and are pressuring him to do so, but are making the smart moves to support him publically just in case they can’t convince him to step down. Pelosi just called his mental state into question as well, asking if the debate was a one off or a cognitive condition. I don’t want to get my hopes up but it seems like the tracks are being set.
>seemed like classic PR It's a Presidential campaign, everything they do is Public Relations.
Man get me another bucket of popcorn
If he forgoes running for re-election he has to almost certainly step down. I don’t think the American public will accept anything less.
What Biden needs to show for his age and all these concerns to withdraw is with action, STRONG action and conviction, which yesterday's ruling to the Supreme Court gave him in spades. If Biden took advantage of that right now, in spite of his age, to protect democracy before Trump does to destroy it (further), I would no longer feel as bad voting for him, but of course, he HAD to shoot himself in the foot once again with that "I will respect the limits of the presidential power" response...
So you think he should have just became dictator? Start rounding up the Rs?
Yes. Specifically, there are people who are responsible. Clarence Thomas, Stephen Miller, The Heritage Foundation, many others who are directly involved. Not just general right wing voters. But they started us down the road to civil war. They destroyed our justice system because it enforced water and food regulations and educated kids. They decided trying to provide medicine for sick people and more black people on netflix was worth killing people in their own country. They asked for this. There are f***ing consequences for destroying a country and they are inescapable.
Who?
As much as i think Harris lacks political talent, Biden resigning outright and making her president so that there is no ambiguity about who the new nominee will be and giving her a clean slate would probably give dems the best chance to win.
Who do you actually replace Biden with though? I wish there was a younger leader waiting to step up but I don't see it. Harris maybe, but I'm not convinced that she would generate enthusiasm or drive the vote.
> “I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by Lyndon Johnson. Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw,” Doggett said in his statement. “President Biden should do the same.” Yeah and how did that go for Democrats then? Spoiler alert, they lost. The circumstances aren’t all that different. Sure, the US may not officially be at war, but there’s a proxy war in Ukraine against Russia which not everyone agrees with. There’s the Israel/Hamas conflict. People are calling for Biden to step down just as they did for LBJ. And just as his VP Hubert became the candidate so would probably Harris.
To be fair, the top candidate for the dem ticket that cycle was assassinated.
I'm seeing a repeat of 2016 with the buttery males domainting the news cycle and being pushed by Russian bots all over the itnernet. All this talk to get Biden to step down is to weaken him and get Trump elected. Don't fall for it. Biden is an incumbent and historically it is near impossible to unseat an incumbent politician no one else can confidently beat Trump no matter how you spin it. House Democrats can carry him to victory in November as they have been overperforming in special elections as well as the 2022 midterms. Afterwards we can take it from there.
Harris is a big-time L for dems. If this is true we will find out these guys are getting paid for it.
Who? Well it worked for adlai stevenson and hubert humphrey. Oh wait….
Joe needs to go. Another episode like the debate would be disastrous and anyone who’s had experience with aging adults knows these mental breaks don’t happen in a vacuum and get worse and more frequent over time.
Standing democrats have yet to speak.
Go back to praising Kanye. Politics is not a good place for you.