Yeah but a lot of us are unhappy where our options are either a fascist party or a weak, passive centrist party. Its why the country keeps moving to the right, because there is no mainstream pushback to move the nation to the left. In 2028 we’re all going to look at the new GOP nominee and say ‘you know, Trump wasn’t that bad’ the same way a lot of people said that about Bush in 2016.
My fear with Biden is that he is a gullible old man who will be tricked and scammed by Mitch McConnell constantly, even if the democrats control the senate and house and McConnell is just minority leader. I hope the democrats in the house, senate and white house are able to keep Bidens gullibility on a short leash the same way the GOP in the whitehouse tried to keep Trump’s stupidity on a leash.
But I’m sure Mitch McConnell will talk to Biden and push for far right legislation and judges, Biden will say ‘lets be bipartisan and do something more center right instead’ and McConnell will say ‘you win Joe, lets do a biptartisan center right thing together’ and Biden will think he is some hero while McConnell and the other republicans laugh at him behind his back because he keeps pushing legislation and judges that are more conservative than they need to be.
Its going to be like if your grandpa is constantly telling you about this wonderful telemarketer he just met and how he needs to write them a $10,000 check. All that guys friends and family have to get together to tell him ‘no grandpa, don’t write that person a check. He isn’t your friend he is just scamming you’. Thats what its going to be like with Biden. He will constantly sell out his own voters in the pursuit of empty bipartisanship I fear. I just hope that the democratic party can stop him.
Also all that metoo stuff feels empty with Biden as our nominee.
I’m not sure what your questions are about. What worked? What didn’t?
To me, the big issue is that America isn’t progressive enough for someone like Sanders right now. The older generation fears anything that might be considered socialism, and minority voters are more conservative. Bernie got fewer voters. Even if 55% of the democratic party considers themselves liberal, but they aren’t voting like it.
But its more a question of time. People under 40 are much more Sanders supporters than older voters, just as older voters prefer Biden.
The goal of the Sanders movement in a lot of ways wasn’t even to get Sanders elected. Even if Sanders became president, he wouldn’t accomplish much of anything. The democratic congress isn’t going to vote for his agenda, they won’t even pass Sander’s agenda in blue states with 80% democratic legislatures.
The purpose of the Sanders movement is to build a grassroots progressive movement for the federal, state and local level. To get people involved in politics, get people to donate hundreds of millions of dollars to counteract corporate funds, and get people to organize both in civics and in their community and at work.
Its kind of like movement conservatism. Reagan didn’t appear out of nowhere, it took a lot of organizing to get there.
IMO, the US won’t get a true progressive movement until the 2030s or 2040s. By then demographics will have changed and the oldest millennials will be nearly 60. The older generation who are more conservative (either conservative democrats or far right republicans) will mostly be gone and replaced by newer generations who have never known job security, reliable health care, affordable college or a sustainable economic system.
I’m voting for Biden in the general (still voting for Bernie in the primary though). You don’t have to convert me. Looking at Bidens policy issues, he policies really aren’t bad.
[ul]
[li]Making the US 100% renewable by 2050[/li][li]Passing health reform that lowers costs and covers 97% of people[/li][li]$15 minimum wage[/li][li]A trillion in infrastructure investments[/li][/ul]
My fear is Biden will abandon his principles for a slap on the back from Mitch McConnell, who will laugh at him behind his back with the other republicans.
If Biden can get his agenda items passed, that would be great. But even if he has the ability to do so, who knows if he will.
Not saying all boomers are bad, just that they are from a different generation. A significant fraction don’t seem to understand or honestly even care what life is actually like for their kids and grandkids. So the solutions their kids and grandkids want to the real life problems they face are written off by older generations who don’t understand those problems. Young people are clamoring for an attempt at a middle class life and a sustainable economic system.
And if my generation does the same thing to our kids and grandkids (we don’t understand or care about their real world problems nearly as much as we care about ideology or identity politics), I will not resent them for feeling the same way about us.
WTF? If McConnell is in the minority he’ll be a bitter old man with no power. He may even resign. How often does Chuck Schumer trick or scam anybody? How could he?
My impression is one of Bidens weaknesses is he wants everyone to get along.
I’m guessing in this age of hyper partisanship, McConnell will give Biden the impression that he can have bipartisanship, just so long as he pushes for center-right if not outright right wing legislation and judicial nominees.
Maybe the democrats will recommend a centrist judge, but McConnell will tell him ‘appoint a center right judge and the republicans in the senate will vote for him’ and Biden is so desperate for ‘bipartisanship’ that he will sell out the people who voted for him to achieve it.
The republicans will laugh at him behind his back at how easily he sells out his own voters in exchange for approval from republicans.
Really? You couldn’t be more wrong. Biden blocked Robert Bork. Bernie Sanders can choose to vote on Biden’s judicial nominees should he choose to show up to the Senate and do so.
IMHO, everything now hinges on Biden’s VP pick. Chances are Trump or Biden won’t last a 4 year term. Trump’s got Pence (unless he replaces him with Don Jr. or Princess Ivanka) so Biden needs to come up with an inspiring VP pick. If I was him I’d promise to be a one term President.
I’m still catching up on this thread but my guess is it’s from his debate performances. With a large crowd, the guy sounded like a bumbling, stumbling idiot.
(ETA: and I’m merely guessing as to what those other people meant; but these are my impressions for this race’s debates, and I saw almost all of them - may have missed one, maybe two at most)
But the last debate, with just Bernie and no audience to interrupt, he was fantastic. What a huge difference. Poised, calm, professional, not at a loss for words, on point, succinct, and with well-composed answers.
His point is that Biden just has dementia, full stop, not “early onset” dementia. I don’t think he does, for the record, but he is shit at talking. I’ve been watching his public addresses throughout this quarantine, they are very hit and miss. Sometimes he makes good points but they’re perpetually sprinkled with his trademark Bidenisms.
John Bonham has been described as “playing like he never knew what was going to happen next, like he was teetering on the edge of a cliff.” I think it was Dave Grohl who said this. It certainly is an exciting style, when it comes to playing drums. It’s not so great for speaking. But that’s just how Biden rolls. :smack::smack:
You know, at first I thought there’s no way in hell that he would. But after a few seconds, you know, on some levels this choice would make a lot of sense and if managed appropriately by Joe ATPTB could form a formidable opponent. And if Biden wins, then Hillary is most likely the President in 2024 or 2028.
I think it makes a lot of sense.
Well, I’m relieved. With Biden at the helm I can now wholeheartedly wish for Democrat avalanche in November. I usually favor a balance but I want the Republicans to pay for letting an odious person like Trump to get their nomination. 50 years from now I want people to say “Remember what happened to the Republicans after Trump became president?”
Biden has a lot of experience with Moscow Mitch and knows all his tricks, They aren’t buddies. In fact, however, Biden has the best chance of getting stuff past Mitch, Biden knows where the bodies are buried.
