From raising alarm to backing Biden, Democrats in Congress grapple with debate aftermath
From raising alarm to backing Biden, Democrats in Congress grapple with debate aftermath
President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate demeanor last week has reverberated across the Democratic Party.
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I think the most interesting thing about the debate fallout is that republicans, who usually will pile on and gaslight and push the Overton window to the right no matter what the reality is, are basically impossible to even hear over the distress and doomsaying on the left wing.
That's because we're doing their job better than even they could.
Look, it was a bad debate performance, but this is 2016 replaying all over again, and these repeated commentary cycles are overkill. We're focusing all our attention on a non-representative bad detail for a democratic nominee. Republicans love that for us, and it's fantastic for them. We are letting a less-than-two-hour block consume us, our momentum, and drain our morale. And every second we're not focusing on Trump and him being a (thanks to the Supreme Court) literal king, and what that could mean for us, is another shovelful of dirt out of democracy's growing grave.
I get it - everyone is screaming "Biden should drop out" with the best intentions (mostly). Trump is the anti-Democracy. He needs to be stopped. But I actually don't think the debate was bad enough to warrant all this desperate doomsaying. I know what Biden is. He's a well-meaning but old guy who probably needs time and the support of his staff to understand every issue. But - sorry if this pegs me as crazy - that doesn't really bother me.
And Republicans have been spending the last 8 years learning to distort Trump-related reality - not only ignoring inconvenient truths about Trump, but actively Orwellian double-speaking ahead of time. They are much much better at this, even without this unforced error. So unless we're ready to get out in the streets to demand Biden step down (which republicans certainly have wet dreams about), or can personally call up Biden to convince him to drop out, I'd suggest we stop feeding these self-destructive news cycles.
You say it's a non-representative performance for Biden but that's not really true. Biden has not been doing many interviews. He does prescripted events where he can use a teleprompter.
You have to go back to Regan to get fewer press conferences. He even skipped the traditional superbowl interview that is a notorious softball.
This all suggests that his team knows he can't handle an interview and are avoiding it. If they thought he could handle it with his polling they would have him doing them all the time.
After the debate performance he needs to do something to show he can string some thoughts together in a coherent way. I think this Fridays interview is a desperate last shot to do that.
People keep saying this election is 2016 all over again like that means anything anymore. Newsflash, every election from here on out will be 2016 all over again because it's to the current DNCs benefit. As long as the republicans keep pushing fascists like trump and like desantis after trump croaks, the the DNC can put forward whoever they want and just keep saying "Vote for our genocidal police state endorsing corporate ass kissing old man or else you're causing facism!"
Something needs to be done about it. I don't know what but this can't keep happening. And before anyone asks if I'm voting biden, my presidential vote literally doesn't matter in my state other than for maybe sending a message. The last time MN voted for a republican president was in 1972. Maybe a low amount of votes for biden in a democrat stronghold will send a message to the DNC because MN is going blue regardless.
I thought you were going to say California or New York. If you think Minnesota won't be in play in November, you haven't been paying attention to 2016 and 2020. Minnesota is not immune to rural grievance demographic shifts and it's been too close for comfort lately. Please vote like your vote will actually affect the election.
If MN goes red then you can sure as hell bet the swing states went red anyways. The only way MN goes red is if we were already fucked anyways which, to be fair, is looking increasingly likely.
Something will. The DNC may become illegal. Or something.
Remember, being a liberal, according to the plan, is un-American.
Look, it was a bad debate performance
But this isn't the only example...
And his age and the effects it's having on him isn't the only complaint.
He has a 37% approval rating.
That's bad, the closest Dem incumbent to that was Carter, who lost his re-election even tho he was a good president.
People just didn't like him.