The first presidential debate is done and the aftermath has not been good for the incumbent, Joe Biden.
Some Democrat politicians and operatives reportedly texted CNN commentators with hopes that Mr Biden, 81, would step aside. Some floated the possibility of going to the White House and publicly stating concerns about him remaining as candidate.
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 (Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago from August 19-22.
Time to unleash Bernie, please
I voted for him last time. May be dumb, but I did believe in him more than Biden. I still don’t know if he could carry the party, but if love to watch him try.
If you don’t want someone who is too fucking old then don’t pick Bernie…
This guy
Is wondering how Trump is allowed to run for a third term.
Biden can only be removed by Biden, but frankly, his performance last night was so terrible, he not only needs to stop the campaign, he should consider stepping down from office.
If he can’t handle Trump in a debate, there’s no way he’s handling the duties of office.
As for who would replace him?
The DNC would push for Kamala Harris which would guarantee a Trump win.
The next two logical choices would be Gavin Newsom or Gretchen Whitmer.
But there are lots of good Democrats out there, Peter DeFazio, Jeff Merkley, Ron Wyden, Earl Blumenauer, all from Oregon.
If you’re dead set on “ancient white guy”, I hear Jerry Brown is still available. :)
I don’t think Harris guarantees a Trump win, even if she’s clearly a riskier pick than a more popular Democrat. And I don’t think she is a good pick. I feel like either party could win simply by putting up a younger and more competent candidate, but their internal politics prevented that. Harris, for all her focus-group flip-flops and questionable past, would be able to respond directly and forcefully to Trump while conveying a capability to do the job. For all the bad vibes Biden put off with his oldness and feebleness last night, in my opinion not effectively attacking Trump was the real loss.
And to be clear, I think she’s a terrible choice. She was a terrible choice when she was picked for VP and they’ve done nothing in four years to groom her as a successor, but I think the race is still tight and there’s so much potential for gain simply not being 80 that her risks don’t put us in a worse place. We’d be better with someone else, but I’m not sure the cost of passing over the black female VP when there’s no other clear leader to coronate would be worth what will already be a chaotic decision.
Black female doesn’t carry the weight when it turns out she was suppressing evidence in CA and blocking the release of innocent prisoners.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article233375207.html
She’s not good. She was rejected in the 2020 primary and I think she was a terrible choice for VP. Everyone in progressive circles is right to hold her time as AG against her. But Joe Biden literally wrote the crime bill, which is way worse, and that wasn’t a disqualifier. I wish that a terrible history of racial injustice was disqualifying for Democrats, but it’s just not.
You guys are getting Trump for a second term. Ouch.
ouch… for the entire planet
We seriously are. This is madness.
Okay, but if we do this, we’re gonna need the whole rest of the world to stand against the US and decide to fight against our corrupt government. It’ll suck for us, but let’s be honest, we’ve had it coming. Some of us are willing to sacrifice to make the world a better place. Probably a good idea to all stand against Russia and China too… Everyone just stand together against the 3 big bullies… Deal?
Let’s do it. Can you send me a gun in the mail?! ;)
Gavin Newsom or Jon Stewart would be the only people with name recognized and the politics to win. Knowing the DNC will get Hillary Clinton or Hakeem Jeffries
Jon Stewart
Would be extremely funny if the Dem response to Trump was to seed the election with their own brand of C-List celebrity.
But our country simply isn’t that cool.
If any democrats want my vote they have to replace biden.
So you’d rather have Trump as president?
No… That’s why I want biden to step down.
Don’t bother answering the people who ask that, it’s a gotcha question with an assumed premise. It’s not meant in good faith it’s just supposed to derail any criticism.
Not voting is a vote for the one you agree the least with, so saying that you won’t vote for Biden is analog to a vote for Trump.
I totally agree that Biden is not fit for the presidency, but if I were an American, I would still vote for Biden, just to limit the risk of ending up with Trump back in charge
No. It’s an abstention. We have a word for it and everything. Stop spreading this propaganda.
True, that’s it abstention, but It’s also logic
11 people have to decide if they want to eat pizza or pasta the next 4 years 5 vote pizza 4 vote pasta 2 definitely don’t want pizza, but are not that fond of pasta either, so they don’t vote
Hence those who didn’t vote end up with their least desirable outcome. Enjoy 4 years of pizza
Maybe the least desirable outcome is the Democrats continuing to be ineffectual in anything not hyper focused on corporate profits?
Maybe these elections are actually on the basis of millions of people and it’s the politician’s job to be electable. Otherwise we might as well start the monarchy with a census every two years that includes a pre checked box to support the king.
Unfortunately, while I normally would volunteer to canvass and get out the vote, I’m instead going to need that time for planning out how to flee the country
Bernie?
Finally getting the Bernie/Hilary ticket everyone has been asking for
If Bernie is in, I choose AOC as his running mate instead.
Fuck Hillary.
I’d go for Bernie myself.
I mean just imagine that! In a year of some of the worst and craziest ‘first-time-evers’ Sanders could be the DNC’s candidate.
You’d go for someone older than Biden?
I like Bernie, but that’s a ridiculous replacement.
I think it’s Bernie’s competency that’s appealing. Sure he’s older, but he’s in touch with reality and has never stopped fighting tangible as well as progressive ideals.
Bernie is sharper on his worst day than Biden or Trump are on their best day.
Once again, we agree.
Why always with the old white men, when we have prominent politicians like Yang, Buttigieg, Klobuchar? And as for Bernie, if you want a firebrand who’s going to alienate moderates, why not AOC? Well, she’s too young to run, but she’s not the only truly liberal option. Warren is old enough, progressive enough, and a woman. But, no, Bernie Bros gotta Bro.
Yang’s a grifter.
Why?
I’m honestly trying to think of who they could run this late and I’m coming up short. Gavin Newsom is terrible idea in my opinion. Like you said, AOC is too young. Kamala Harris? People hate her.
Def not Kamala. A buddy and I were throwing around ideas earlier and he mentioned Michelle, which threw me off but I think she would have just as much of a chance as anyone.
Tim Walz. Minnesota has been kicking ass with progressive legislation these past few years, and here in Minnesota we’ve been wondering if he’s been quietly trying to get his name out there to run for President. (And the general consensus is that we don’t want to lose him as governor, but I guess we’ll give him up to save US democracy, lol.) On paper he’s fairly moderate too.
I’ve never even heard of him and I’m more politically in the know than a lot of people.
Is that really a bad thing, though? Generic Democrat polls really well against Trump. The people who know of Walz really like him, even the more reasonable rural Republicans here grudgingly admit that while they don’t agree with him politically he clearly cares about Minnesotans. Newsom doesn’t have that. The past couple of years have seen some semi-viral quotes from him poking at politicians in red states, mostly along the lines of “we fed children, what have you done?”, and I’ve seen them posted here. The people who know him like him. For the people who don’t, he’s Generic Democrat. He’s well spoken enough to handle the discussions around the George Floyd protests (which already came up in the first debate but Biden didn’t address directly). He’s well spoken, smart, kind, and down to earth - everything Trump isn’t.
Also, I hadn’t heard of Obama before he ran for president. For a sufficiently likable candidate, it’s not a deal breaker.
Then there’s this little time to campaign? I’d say yes. You had a lot more time to learn about who Obama was.
The age specifics might be important. AOC turns 35 in October, before she’d take office if elected. And therefore might actually be eligible.
That would be the sort of legal battle that I could see taking too long to resolve.
There’s no battle to be had. You can be elected at 34 and you have to be 35 to serve. As long as you are 35 before inauguration, you are good. There is nothing to challenge. It’s cut and dry.
None of it is cut and dry. It never is. You must realize that.
Agreed, and agreed.
Why not Klobuchar? She’s got some national recognition from the 2019/20 cycle, politics are acceptable to moderates, progressive (enough), and she’d eat Trump for lunch in debates and on social media. Plus, she’s from the Midwest, and might pick up some folks for regional loyalty, and could play against the “slick New Yorker” which might still work.
The bases are going to vote party lines. I think undecideds and wavering moderates are the pick-up points, and I think Klobuchar could do that.
I like Yang’s politics, but he’s got a popularity problem, and Buttigieg - Trump would just harp on his sexual orientation, and I’m not confident enough that America’s ready yet to vote for a gay president. Hell, we can’t even get a woman into office.
IMO Klobuchar’s the safest bet against Trump.
Klobuchar is definitely a good idea. Although I’m not convinced that replacing Biden this late in the game is going to save the presidency either. I don’t know what should be done.
🙁 🤝
Lemmy really, really needs emoji responses that don’t require and entirely new comment.
You could just upvote it.
The only reason to vote for Biden at this point is anti-Trump and Blue No Matter Who. Those still apply to anyone else that the DNC puts forward, as a base score, with any actual merits, charisma, or vigor adding to that. This should have been an easy decision six months ago and doing-nothing-and-hoping-for-the-best doesn’t seem to be making the prospects any better.
anti-Trump sounds like a pretty damn good reason for me. Unless you think there’s a good reason to let a dictator win.
Trump won’t agree to a debate with a new candidate. I doubt that there be another debate at all as is.
For sure. But there will be a lot of indirect debate on social media, because Trump can’t keep his burger-hole shut, and Klobuchar’s free to murder him (metaphorically) on public platforms. Even if he only posts to TruthSocial, everything he says gets parroted on X and Facebook, and that’s still where the most eyeballs are.
And old school public media picks this stuff up and repeats it - that’s mostly what they’ve been reduced to -but it still reaches a lot of eyes and ears.
And: Trump refusing another debate, she could just hammer on his cowardice, over and over. That’d be a win.
Klobuchar is tough. If nothing else, I’d love to see that fight. Only slightly less than I’d love to see an AOC v Trump fight; that’d be like watching a skinny junkie enter the MMA ring against Holly Holm. It’d be hilarious. But AOC is too young, and Trump will be either dead or in a home by the time she’s old enough to run. I just hope Bernie is still active enough by then to support her. I don’t know that she could get elected - she’s too polarizing - but it would be a marvelous spectacle.
Anyway, I prefer Yang’s politics, and I’d be thrilled to see Buttigieg in the White House, but I stand by Klobuchar as the best bet.
AOC turns 35 before the election, so she’s eligible. She might be “too young” to vote for but not too young to run.
I think at this point he has a lot going for him, ie: he’s recognizable, he’s popular with a large segment of Americans, he can play the game well (as seen when he graciously accept the DNC’s bs in 2015), he’s kind, he’s rarely (if ever) been known to publically lie, he’s smarter than at least half of Congress and the House of Reps, etc etc.
You can’t simultaneously argue that Biden is too old to be president and that we should have someone even older instead.
Biden isn’t too old, he’s too mentally incompetent and decrepit.
Good luck convincing all the people who have spent months saying that Biden is too old to be president to accept someone even older.
You do realize that age is not a perfect proxy for mental competence? A good number of people remain mentally sharp well into their 90s, while others experience rapid dementia as early as their 60s.
I’m not saying his age wouldn’t be a talking point, but I’m damn sure Bernie could express his platform with more clarity and vitality than Biden at this point. Unfortunately I dont think it’s a real possibility, but it’s stupid to act like the the actual birth date matters. It’s the signs of cognitive decline that are problematic.
When people are repeatedly arguing that Biden (and Trump as well) are too old to be president, I’m not sure why that wouldn’t matter.
I never argued Biden was too old.
But if I had I would have argued that of any candidate in that age group, Bernie could defy the odds as far as ageism goes.
I hear you buddy, but I think that chance was squashed by the DNC last time around. He was old when he ran, and he’s 8 years older than that now. Besides, “the South won’t vote socialist” is still just as true now as then.
I wish it weren’t so!
This is a fella with unquestionable principles. I love the guy.
But we really need someone like you know, younger or were gonna run into the same cryptkeeper problems very soon.
With the way the DNC is it would be Harris or, more likely, Hillary Clinton.
Pls no.
Your comment makes me feel unwell
We’re all feeling unwell I think.
And Hillary is the only candidate to ever lose against Trump lol
Pete Buttigieg
I was not crazy for him in 2016 but he has grown on me a lot. I think he is a great candidate! Biggest issue this election cycle is he is gay. Lot of bigots will not vote for him because of it and go for Trump.
I really hope he make a presidential run again!
Yes, but were any of those people not going to vote for Trump?
That answer would shock you. Lot of older people it’s still an issue especially in the Midwest and in the south. Your younger more progressive voters it will not change a thing. Hamas is probably the most polarizing issue for the younger voters right now
The interesting thing about Pete is I know life-long Republicans who said they would vote for him. Maybe it’s one of those, “he’s one of the good ones” situations.
He’s already accepted the nomination.
Me
Bernie.
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 someone is already selected.
But…isn’t this the point of having a VP?
It feels very reactionary, especially on something that doesn’t really affect voters by all that much. If Biden announced a popular VP candidate, they can lead with that person being ready to step up if required.
The VP is a solution if he dies, it’s not a solution for him being unable to fight his own battles on the campaign trail. If he gets elected, I’m not worried about his age. He can resign or be puppetted by his staff or VP and things will be fine. But there’s no such solution for the campaign itself.
His VP isn’t popular tho. Kamala would get absolutely crushed by Trump
Is Kamala still the VP pick?
She hasn’t done anything to lose her job as VP so probably, yeah
That’s the thing, Harris isn’t popular. Even her own staff hates her.
Biden would ideally have to replace her with a stronger candidate and step down as President. Neither is likely to happen.
The public dislikes Harris, for the same reasons I could see her becoming the de-facto president by remaining in her position. Big business interests and Donors would love to have an empty-suit like to push around.
He’s stuck there too, because he promised last election to have a woman of color. He would get attacked even more from his side if he dropped her, and if there was a better candidate that checked the diversity boxes they wouldn’t have picked Kamala
Fuck it, call up Stacy Abrams.
Lol wtf. The BBC implying that Biden did such a shit job he could stop running.
They asked the question because …
Some Democrat politicians and operatives reportedly texted CNN commentators with hopes that Mr Biden, 81, would step aside.
That’s from the summary and article, if you had bothered to read it.
Treating the opinions of any asshole with a cell phone as “news” is one of the leading causes of the downfall of civilization.
That’s from common fucking sense, if you bothered to have any.
Unfortunately news doesn’t cease to be if you dislike it.
A man 14 months older but mentally 10 times more mentally sound
I honestly think the job of being President of the USA is too taxing on the body. I don’t think Bernie is up to the task anymore.
Little do they know that taxing is Bernie’s kink.
