I choose to remain optimistic that they will at some point have to change or they will die. Media is not doing well—which is what is driving the clickbait which is only making it worse. But I agree—I am very picky what I consume and no I do not only listen or read things I agree with. I also read a lot of books. I wish more people would …
I choose to remain optimistic that they will at some point have to change or they will die. Media is not doing well—which is what is driving the clickbait which is only making it worse. But I agree—I am very picky what I consume and no I do not only listen or read things I agree with. I also read a lot of books. I wish more people would educate themselves—about narrative, about media, journalists, pundits, and contributors. Unfortunately most Americans are not critical thinkers—which is part of my problem with the dump Biden movement. So if we do, then what happens? Who decides and how will it be decided who the nominee will be? How are they going to fundraise and barnstorm the country to gain name recognition? We now have an unknown vs a known, and not enough people understand the dangers of Trump 2.0 so it could make his victory that much more possible. We may all know these possible candidates but the average American does not. And if it is candidate A, who becomes the running mate? Is Biden old? Sure he is. Has he lost a step? Anyone under the age of forty has. Does he have dementia? Not from what I see and hear.
Four months seems like a long time, but it isn’t. And what happens when the media treats them like they do Biden? These are just a few of the questions to think about. But all I seem to see is wishful thinking—we dump Biden and everything will fall into place.
I'm in the so-called dump Biden movement. I read a lot of books and I'm a retired US History and Government teacher, so I bring a lot of background knowledge to my reading, something essential to thinking critically. And, I've been following this story since February when, seeing that Biden was losing, Ezra Klein first proposed an open convention.
Also, did you actually read all of today's Morning Shots? Bill said, "James Carville lays out in (yesterday's) New York Times a version of how an open competition for the Democratic nomination might work, along lines similar to helpful suggestions from Georgetown law professor Rosa Brooks and venture capitalist Ted Dintersmith, and commentator Ezra Klein.
Talk about hubris. Carville himself is old and maybe he needs to retire. Something absolutely none of you are thinking about is the actual nuts and bolts process of replacing Biden on the ballot in all 50 states. That Carville calls on Obama and Clinton to hand pick the nominees—maybe with governors’ help—is the height of arrogance. He calls for town hall meetings in the four geographic regions and a mini primary. But there is no general primary that can be held across the country on one day; each state has its own laws and regs when it comes to candidates and elections. Just how is that going to happen in red states controlled by the GOP who would be beyond happy to legally challenge any changes to the ballot? And even in blue states? Do you think elections happen overnight? Because Carville, who should know better, certainly doesn’t seem to. Did you know that today is the deadline for registering the presidential candidates for the ballot in Georgia? And Ohio tried some ratf*#kery (sorry JVL) to try to keep the Dem candidate off the ballot because he will not officially be the nominee until the DNC—which is after the deadline.
But let’s go back to the town halls and mini primary. States would have to set up new Dem elections, and in PA and other states, potential candidates need to circulate petitions and gather signatures to qualify. Then new ballots would have to be printed. And again you don’t think this will all be legally challenged by the GOP? We have how many weeks until the convention? Just how does this all miraculously happen in five or so weeks?
Oh yes I saw Ezra’s column and rolled my eyes. The truth is, so many of the people who were and are calling for Biden’s ouster are the same people who didn’t want him in 2020 but held their noses to vote for him. I actually had the honor of meeting the man and talking to him two months ago. He was funny, sharp, and stayed on his feet for more than two hours talking and interacting with people. So I will go by my own in the flesh in real time experience with Joe Biden.
Ok, some good points about Carville's proposal, but that he is old is not hubris. If there is no way to get another nominee who can beat Trump, then so be it. I'm not convinced of that yet, so I would like to see some more discussion.
Are you saying Klein didn't want Biden to run in the 2020 primary, or are you saying he perferred Pete B or Bernie once the primary races began, or are you saying he didn't want Biden to be the nominee once he won SC? I don't recall any of that. I'd need some evidence.
All I know on the "Joe is demented" issue is this:
1) I have a parent who has severe dementia, and while experiences can vary, I'm not seeing the key signs of it in Biden. But I am seeing them in DJT. Let's have that discussion too.
2) I have a job where I do a lot of talking, to an audience. I frequently trip over my own words, flub things in misspeaking, have awkward speech moments, lose my train of thought when trying to juggle and balance multiple approaches, and otherwise do not get a perfect score on my delivery. I wouldn't want to read a literal transcript of all my utterances. Yet no one is calling for me to step down from my job because of it. It is hard to speak spontaneously and get everything right. What is different with Joe is that now everyone is looking for every last mistaken utterance and waiting to pounce on it. Some things may be legitimate issues on his part, but others strike me as piling on because it is easy (for some) and convenient (for others). Some additional perspective is in order.
Rather than symptoms of dementia, I am seeing symptoms of Parkinson's in Joe: An abnormally weak voice due to lack of coordination of the speech muscles, forward flexed posture, a shuffling gait, his mouth agape, and irregular speech pattern (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/08/us/politics/parkinsons-expert-white-house.html). My 85-year-old brother has been showing these very symptoms for over a year. As far as I can tell, it hasn't affected his cognition, just his movement. It has slowed him down considerably.
These symptoms are what's contributing to the voters' perception that Biden is old.
Thank you for the detailed overview, Sandy. Beyond normal human sympathy if that is the case, it does give pause to wonder if the job responsibilities of such a strenuous position could contribute to a rapid decline or a substantial impairment while in office, if not now maybe in two or three years. The DNC needs to be fully transparent if there are legitimate health concerns. Anything short of that ventures dangerously close to political malpractice and scandal.
I choose to remain optimistic that they will at some point have to change or they will die. Media is not doing well—which is what is driving the clickbait which is only making it worse. But I agree—I am very picky what I consume and no I do not only listen or read things I agree with. I also read a lot of books. I wish more people would educate themselves—about narrative, about media, journalists, pundits, and contributors. Unfortunately most Americans are not critical thinkers—which is part of my problem with the dump Biden movement. So if we do, then what happens? Who decides and how will it be decided who the nominee will be? How are they going to fundraise and barnstorm the country to gain name recognition? We now have an unknown vs a known, and not enough people understand the dangers of Trump 2.0 so it could make his victory that much more possible. We may all know these possible candidates but the average American does not. And if it is candidate A, who becomes the running mate? Is Biden old? Sure he is. Has he lost a step? Anyone under the age of forty has. Does he have dementia? Not from what I see and hear.
Four months seems like a long time, but it isn’t. And what happens when the media treats them like they do Biden? These are just a few of the questions to think about. But all I seem to see is wishful thinking—we dump Biden and everything will fall into place.
I'm in the so-called dump Biden movement. I read a lot of books and I'm a retired US History and Government teacher, so I bring a lot of background knowledge to my reading, something essential to thinking critically. And, I've been following this story since February when, seeing that Biden was losing, Ezra Klein first proposed an open convention.
Have you not come across this in your extensive reading? See https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/16/opinion/ezra-klein-biden-audio-essay.html.
Also, did you actually read all of today's Morning Shots? Bill said, "James Carville lays out in (yesterday's) New York Times a version of how an open competition for the Democratic nomination might work, along lines similar to helpful suggestions from Georgetown law professor Rosa Brooks and venture capitalist Ted Dintersmith, and commentator Ezra Klein.
Talk about hubris. Carville himself is old and maybe he needs to retire. Something absolutely none of you are thinking about is the actual nuts and bolts process of replacing Biden on the ballot in all 50 states. That Carville calls on Obama and Clinton to hand pick the nominees—maybe with governors’ help—is the height of arrogance. He calls for town hall meetings in the four geographic regions and a mini primary. But there is no general primary that can be held across the country on one day; each state has its own laws and regs when it comes to candidates and elections. Just how is that going to happen in red states controlled by the GOP who would be beyond happy to legally challenge any changes to the ballot? And even in blue states? Do you think elections happen overnight? Because Carville, who should know better, certainly doesn’t seem to. Did you know that today is the deadline for registering the presidential candidates for the ballot in Georgia? And Ohio tried some ratf*#kery (sorry JVL) to try to keep the Dem candidate off the ballot because he will not officially be the nominee until the DNC—which is after the deadline.
But let’s go back to the town halls and mini primary. States would have to set up new Dem elections, and in PA and other states, potential candidates need to circulate petitions and gather signatures to qualify. Then new ballots would have to be printed. And again you don’t think this will all be legally challenged by the GOP? We have how many weeks until the convention? Just how does this all miraculously happen in five or so weeks?
Oh yes I saw Ezra’s column and rolled my eyes. The truth is, so many of the people who were and are calling for Biden’s ouster are the same people who didn’t want him in 2020 but held their noses to vote for him. I actually had the honor of meeting the man and talking to him two months ago. He was funny, sharp, and stayed on his feet for more than two hours talking and interacting with people. So I will go by my own in the flesh in real time experience with Joe Biden.
Ok, some good points about Carville's proposal, but that he is old is not hubris. If there is no way to get another nominee who can beat Trump, then so be it. I'm not convinced of that yet, so I would like to see some more discussion.
Are you saying Klein didn't want Biden to run in the 2020 primary, or are you saying he perferred Pete B or Bernie once the primary races began, or are you saying he didn't want Biden to be the nominee once he won SC? I don't recall any of that. I'd need some evidence.
All I know on the "Joe is demented" issue is this:
1) I have a parent who has severe dementia, and while experiences can vary, I'm not seeing the key signs of it in Biden. But I am seeing them in DJT. Let's have that discussion too.
2) I have a job where I do a lot of talking, to an audience. I frequently trip over my own words, flub things in misspeaking, have awkward speech moments, lose my train of thought when trying to juggle and balance multiple approaches, and otherwise do not get a perfect score on my delivery. I wouldn't want to read a literal transcript of all my utterances. Yet no one is calling for me to step down from my job because of it. It is hard to speak spontaneously and get everything right. What is different with Joe is that now everyone is looking for every last mistaken utterance and waiting to pounce on it. Some things may be legitimate issues on his part, but others strike me as piling on because it is easy (for some) and convenient (for others). Some additional perspective is in order.
Rather than symptoms of dementia, I am seeing symptoms of Parkinson's in Joe: An abnormally weak voice due to lack of coordination of the speech muscles, forward flexed posture, a shuffling gait, his mouth agape, and irregular speech pattern (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/08/us/politics/parkinsons-expert-white-house.html). My 85-year-old brother has been showing these very symptoms for over a year. As far as I can tell, it hasn't affected his cognition, just his movement. It has slowed him down considerably.
These symptoms are what's contributing to the voters' perception that Biden is old.
Thank you for the detailed overview, Sandy. Beyond normal human sympathy if that is the case, it does give pause to wonder if the job responsibilities of such a strenuous position could contribute to a rapid decline or a substantial impairment while in office, if not now maybe in two or three years. The DNC needs to be fully transparent if there are legitimate health concerns. Anything short of that ventures dangerously close to political malpractice and scandal.