Cont: The Biden Presidency Part II

[Pixel42]

If Trump is re-elected it will be the fault of the people who vote for him, nobody else. "Look what you made me do" it as pathetic an excuse for voters as it is for wife beaters.

 

[Warp12]

If Trump is re-elected it will be the fault of the people who vote for him, nobody else. "Look what you made me do" it as pathetic an excuse for voters as it is for wife beaters.

Oh god, the "it wasn't our fault" excuse. Worked great for Dems in 2016, too.

Brilliant solution.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

If Trump is re-elected it will be the fault of the people who vote for him, nobody else. "Look what you made me do" it as pathetic an excuse for voters as it is for wife beaters.

Generally speaking, the long view of history looks pretty dimly on liberals who fail to offer any meaningful alternative to a fascist takeover.

As the only other meaningful axis of political power in this country, the Democratic party is uniquely positioned and has a duty to act. The failure to do so is very much condemnable.

ETA: The problem with Trumpism in this country is that while they have terrible ideas that will only lead to more misery and failure, the assertion that politics is dominated by wealthy, callous elites who don't care about the common people is 100% correct.

The population is faced with a terrible dichotomy, the fool's socialism of the far right or maintaining the status quo for a clique of elites that are utterly reprehensible. I don't know how anyone who isn't a MAGA freak could resist being totally demoralized at this point.

 

[Pixel42]

People need to take responsibility for their own actions. Anyone given a choice between voting for Trump and literally anyone else who votes for Trump is responsible for that choice. It's not like the man's nature isn't blindingly obvious. Yes, his opposition needs to get their act together and mount the best campaign they can, and there is certainly plenty of valid criticism to be made, but none of it absolves those who, of their own free will, did or will put a cross next to the name Trump.

 

[Warp12]

People need to take responsibility for their own actions.

Exactly. Listen up, Dems. Your votes are depending on it.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

People need to take responsibility for their own actions. Anyone given a choice between voting for Trump and literally anyone else who votes for Trump is responsible for that choice. It's not like the man's nature isn't blindingly obvious. Yes, his opposition needs to get their act together and mount the best campaign they can, and there is certainly plenty of valid criticism to be made, but none of it absolves those who, of their own free will, did or will put a cross next to the name Trump.

Seems far more likely a Trump win will be largely because of people not voting rather than crossing over to the right.

The problem with the dems is that they never really offer anything to vote for. They're best and only argument is that they aren't the other guy, which is true. It makes sense rationally, but that doesn't light a fire inside anyone's heart.

Demoralization and exhaustion are probably the biggest threats to Dem political viability, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Exactly. Listen up, Dems. Your votes are depending on it.

No they don't.
Democrats need to get their votes from the Left. The Middle will come along.
The Right is a hopeless cause.

 

[Warp12]

Exactly. Listen up, Dems. Your votes are depending on it.

No they don't.
Democrats need to get their votes from the Left. The Middle will come along.
The Right is a hopeless cause.

Hello, 2024.

 

[Beelzebuddy]

The Child Tax Credit is dead, student loans are going to be resuming payment schedules, and Pelosi is on TV defending openly corrupt stock trading by lawmakers.

It's like the Dems are trying to lose. Maybe they're just playing the Washington Generals to the Republican's Globetrotters.

To be fair to Pelosi, the House ain't the problem right now. The House is passing good legislation. The House is (finally!) holding conspirators in contempt.

But I've been assured on this very forum that to expect nothing and receive nothing is a far shrewder political tactic than striving in vain. There's nothing that motivates the voting public more than a realistic, grounded politician who does not even need to reach for the grapes before calling them sour.

Given that, the stellar complacency of our current crop of senators is almost guaranteed to result in a massive blue wave come the midterms. A Blue Tsunami, even, not just adding a seat or two and passing the Crown of No from Manchin to John Tester or Chris Coons or any of the other five or so blue dogs, but bringing in a full ten seats, giving the Democrats the filibuster-proof majority they have patently demonstrated being incapable of doing anything without, and finally ushering in the fabled age of When We Can Have Nice Things Again.

 

[thaiboxerken]

If Trump is re-elected it will be the fault of the people who vote for him, nobody else. "Look what you made me do" it as pathetic an excuse for voters as it is for wife beaters.

He won't be re-elected. The GOP may steal the election for him. They are actively setting up the system to do exactly that.

Sadly, Joe Manchin and others are preventing the Democrats from setting up a firewall against this future election fraud, though.

 

[Aridas]

He won't be re-elected. The GOP may steal the election for him. They are actively setting up the system to do exactly that.

Sadly, Joe Manchin and others are preventing the Democrats from setting up a firewall against this future election fraud, though.

On that note...

Recently, Reuters' James Oliphant and Nathan Layne took a detailed look at the effect all of this is having on local elections officials in a state we have covered in great detail on this program: Georgia, where longtime, local election board officials -- specifically, Democratic election officials ... specifically black Democratic election officials (and frequently black Democratic women) -- are now being purged from County election boards across the state at an alarming rate.

The purge is thanks to two different state laws. One is GA's terrible new anti-voting law, SB 202, passed earlier this year, which allows for -- among other anti-democratic things -- officials on the State Board of Elections, which is controlled by the GOP state legislature and Republican Sec. of State, to replace county election officials with partisan operatives (for virtually any reason) who can then overturn election results (also, for virtually any reason.) [FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a named plaintiff, representing media, challenging several provisions of SB 202 in a federal lawsuit filed by the Coalition for Good Governance.] The other law being used even more, referred to as "local legislation", has been in place for a while, but was rarely invoked until this year in the wake of Trump's "Big Lie" after Democrats won the Presidential election in the state for the first time in years, along with both of the Peach State's U.S. Senate seats. The state law allows County Commissions to restructure their County Boards of Elections pretty much anyway they like after receiving approval for the restructuring from the state legislature.

In at least half a dozen Georgia counties that have restructured their election boards so far this year, Oliphant and Layne report, "the legislature shifted the power to appoint some or all election board members to local county commissions, all of which are currently controlled by Republicans. Previously, the appointments had been split evenly between the local Democratic and Republican parties." They detail how black Democrats -- often long-serving champions of voting rights -- have been systematically purged from those county boards and replaced with White Republican majorities in advance of next year's critical mid-terms, where popular black Democratic voting rights advocates Stacey Abrams and Sen. Raphael Warnock will both be on the ballot, for Governor and U.S. Senator respectively.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

even if Trump wins in a landslide, he will claim that the election was rigged.
Elections have no legitimacy as far as Republicans are concerned.

 

[JoeMorgue]

even if Trump wins in a landslide, he will claim that the election was rigged.
Elections have no legitimacy as far as Republicans are concerned.

Remember when he won the election and then still wouldn't stop whining and lying about he also won the popular vote?

That's why I don't buy that Trump has gotten over losing the election. He didn't get over the election he won.

 

[Delvo]

Demoralization and exhaustion are probably the biggest threats to Dem political viability, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

But I've been assured on this very forum that to expect nothing and receive nothing is a far shrewder political tactic than striving in vain.

I've noticed that the capitulationist faction here has been much quieter lately, especially compared to how utterly foul their behavior toward lefties was during the primaries and Biden's first few months.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

@NYCMayor
announces New York City will distribute free at-home #COVID19 tests, KN95 masks and more.

https://twitter.com/nycgov/status/1471549677199843328

Recall that Psaki raised the idea of providing everyone at-home tests for free as an absurd joke.

Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but seems that encouraging everyone to get a test before the holidays, which we know leads to massive spikes as people travel and assemble indoors, is probably a good idea.

 

[TurkeysGhost]

I've noticed that the capitulationist faction here has been much quieter lately, especially compared to how utterly foul their behavior toward lefties was during the primaries and Biden's first few months.

Leadership is trying to sugar-coat it, but the BBB plan seems to be dead on arrival because they simply don't have the votes. Based on the unwavering stance that Manchin is taking, there doesn't seem to be much chance of it passing unless it is radically reduced.

Biden's signature agenda item is dead. Voting rights are destined for the same fate because Manchin/Sinema refuse to kill the 60 vote filibuster requirement. The centrists have neutered his presidency. What exactly is the party going to do about it? Surely there has to be some consequence for screwing over the entire party like this, right?

Honestly, it might be worth primarying Manchin even if it guarantees that his seat is occupied by a Republican. It's quite clear there's really nothing the party can do to get Manchin to play ball, so sending a warning shot to all the other squishy D's by spiting Manchin out of office might be a good option. Manchin gets to have his cake and eat it too so long as he knows that D's won't retaliate.

It's pretty stunning when you compare how scorched-earth the party has gone to punish progressives for much, much less inconsequential bucking of the party-line.

This paralysis is going to cost a lot of D's their seats come midterms, and will not bode well for 2024. If there was ever a time to extract a blood price from these conservative Democrats, it would be now.

ETA: Biden better start getting more comfortable wielding executive orders, otherwise it may as well be a lame duck presidency.

 

[Aridas]

I thought that this might be worthy some note.

Surprise! Press stopped caring about Critical Race Theory exact time GOP did

Using the Nexis database, I searched for articles, columns, or transcripts that mentioned “critical race theory” two or more times and were published or aired this year, and looked at how many of those were produced in December, after the GOP had successfully used its education scare campaign in the Virginia race. The matches confirm there was a massive media drop-off among national outlets. (Local coverage of CRT has remained more consistent.)

For instance, ABC News aired 31 reports on CRT between January and November, then 0 reports in December, according to Nexis. CNN produced 183 segments that mentioned the topic two times or more during the first eleven months of the year, but just one in December. At Politico, the before and after ratio was 48: 1. Dallas Morning News, 69: 2. The Los Angeles Times, 38:0. CNN’s newswire, 88:2.

It’s telling that the trend of turning away from CRT after the votes were counted in Virginia, and all that election punditry quieted down, has been even more pronounced among right-wing media outlets. Fox News aired a staggering 430 CRT segments the first eleven months of the year (or nearly 40 per-month), but just 7 in December.

The Daily Caller churned out 215 items between January and November, and 7 this month. The Washington Examiner has produced 280 CRT updates this year; none in December. The Washington Times: 130, compared to just three in December. And Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post published 60 CRT dispatches, then 0 since November.

Uh huh.

To poke at something else there -

For the record, conservatives still care about critical race theory, in the sense that they’re trying to bully educators into not teaching students uncomfortable truths about American history and the role racism has played in it. Republicans across the country are busy today trying to ban books from public schools and outlaw topics teachers can teach.

It’s just that GOP politicians are not making lots of noise about the topic because there are no campaigns to slot the message into to generate phony outrage, like there was in Virginia this fall. That means the media aren’t interested either.

 

[Delvo]

Biden better start getting more comfortable wielding executive orders, otherwise it may as well be a lame duck presidency.

He doesn't mind that outcome at all. doing nothing at all is actually exactly what he wanted. It's what he kept telling us he wanted all along.

 

[mgidm86]

https://twitter.com/nycgov/status/1471549677199843328

Recall that Psaki raised the idea of providing everyone at-home tests for free as an absurd joke.

Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but seems that encouraging everyone to get a test before the holidays, which we know leads to massive spikes as people travel and assemble indoors, is probably a good idea.

I'd rather they were vaccinated if I had to choose one or the other.

This just gives the morons another reason (in their own minds) not to get the shot at all. I already see this happening.

"Oh I get tested once a week please let me rent a room from you!" Get lost.

The "Hey just test yourself" idea is great until one finds out that they have Covid. How many did they infect in the meantime?

 

[TurkeysGhost]

Biden's approval rate for under 40 and especially under 30 voters is plummeting.

I guess the message of "shut up and take it" is not a political winner

According to YouGov/The Economist polling, support for President Biden among Americans under 30 has taken quite the beating this year — an average of just 29 percent of these young voters now approve of the job Biden's doing as president, compared with an average of 50 percent who disapprove. That net rating of -21 points "is the worst for any age group," writes The Economist.

It's quite the reversal from the start of 2021, "when young voters gave [Biden] a net approval rating 32 points higher than older people did."

https://theweek.com/joe-biden/1008156/support-for-biden-among-americans-under-30-is-slipping

So what's to blame? Some respondents told YouGov the president hadn't yet done enough to combat issues of climate change and health care; others cited Biden's unfulfilled student debt promises as reasons for disapproval.

Doing nothing is not cost-free.