Many voters believe, with good reason, that none of this would have happened without Bidenās assent. Biden has continued to speak of Israelās attack on Palestinian civilians using the absurd language of āself-defenseā. He has insulted Jewish Americans and the memory of the Holocaust by invoking them to justify the slaughter. And though his White House repeatedly leaks that he is āprivatelyā dismayed by Israelās conduct of the war, he has done little to stop the flow of US money and guns that support it.
Even after the US state department issued a vexed and mealy-mouthed report on Israelās conduct, which nevertheless concluded that it was reasonable to assess that Israel was in violation of international humanitarian law, the Biden administration has continued to fund these violations. That state department report was published on 10 May. The Biden administration told Congress that it intends to move forward with a $1bn arms sale to Israel. āOK, [Israel] likely broke the law, but not enough to change policy,ā is how one reporter summarized the administrationās judgment. āSo, what is the point of the report? I mean, in the simplest terms, whatās the point?ā
Meanwhile, Biden has expressed public disdain for the Americans ā many of whom he needs to vote for him ā who have taken to protest on behalf of Palestinian lives. Speaking with evident approval of the violent police crackdowns against anti-genocide student demonstrations, he said coolly: āDissent must never lead to disorder.ā
ā¦
The reason Republicans become president is low turnout
So Dems running a candidate that voters donāt want to vote for, is a bad thing.
What works better, is running a candidate like Bill Clinton or Obama. Someone who is
under 40in their 40s says progressive things, and is charismatic.Regardless of how they govern, thatās how you prevent Republican president.
With the current state of Dem primaries, itās hard to blame voters for who makes it to the general.
And if youāre looking for someone to blame when that unpopular Dem canāt even beat someone like trump, blame the people who get paid millions to decide how to spend billions to convince voters that the Republican is even worse than the Dem so we have to vote for someone not as bad, but still not what we want.
We could just run popular candidates and easily beat trump, but thatās just not an option apparently
Nitpick: Obama was 47 when he was elected. Clinton was 46. The youngest President ever was Theodore Roosevelt at 42 (when William McKinnley was assassinated), and the youngest president to ever be elected was JFK at 43. No person under the age of 40 has ever served as President.
āUnder 50ā would probably be more accurate for the point youāre trying to make. Weāve had several good Presidents in the 40-50 age group.
</nitpick>
No worries, I meant āin their 40sā but if you wouldnāt have said anything, I wouldnāt have known I fucked up.
Nitpicking is always valid, details are important
Butā¦who?
Iād like to see someone like Jasmine Crockett or Jamie Raskin make a run for it, but I donāt know if theyāve got the national popularity to be able to take down Trump. And with Crockett being black, Raskin being Jewish, and Trump running on a pro-racism platform and being backed by extremists like the Proud Boys, putting Trump up against a minority may end up riling up Trumpās base even more (Iām not saying this is right, but the reality is that a not-insignificant portion of Trumpās base is heavily racist and would turn out in droves just to make sure a black or Jewish person isnāt elected again, and Iām not sure that either Raskin or Crockett would be popular enough nationally to overcome it, especially in todayās political climate).
There are a bunch of people that I hope are eyeing a 2028 run, but thereās really nobody I could see on the Democrat side of the aisle whoās both ready and able to take down Trump this year. I understand peopleās dislike of Biden and all of that, but I still think heās the least shitty option available that has a realistic chance of winning.
I think itās probably too late to even bother speculating, but I think that there are a few who couldāve been better picks if Biden had chosen to not run for reelection and we got a full primary. Adam Schiff has proven to be organized and effective. Katie Porter might need more experience, but the way CA districts got adjusted it mightāve been a good time for her to shoot her shot. Hakeem Jeffries has proven his ability to unite the party. Gavin Newsom aināt perfect, but I wouldnāt be surprised by a Presidential run in 28 or 32; he couldāve been a solid pick for this year too. I know heās had an unsuccessful attempt already, but Pete Buttigieg is charismatic af, speaks laps around everybody, and now has more experience than in his run years ago; heās much more ready now.
Iām certainly missing other rising stars, and each of these people has their own baggage as everybody does, but Iām confident that these all wouldāve been good nominees right now. I didnāt bother renaming Raskin, but I think he wouldāve done fine this year too. Crockett is great, but I think she might need a little more time before she can realistically hope for a successful Presidential run. Iād love to see her do more in committees, go to the Senate, or even get a cabinet position before she tries for that level. I like her passion and no nonsense approach, but I want to see her capability for calm unity over clapback, and I think that will come from further experience.
Idk, Iām kinda excited for up and coming younger Democrats; Iām also terrified of the dogshit up and coming younger Republicans who are basically just professional twitter trolls.
Heās got a couple of problems. One is that Trump spent 4 years painting him as a lightning rod, and the other is that heās got all the charisma of a doorknob. I do not think he has what it takes to be able to take on the Trump Hate Machine when push comes to shove. Heās OK in short soundbytes, but I donāt see him having what it takes to take Trump on head-on.
At the very least, she needs more time. And I donāt know quite how to put this without coming off as discriminatory in some form, but she seems like the type that a lot of middle- and upper-middle class people wouldnāt take seriously because sheās too āworking classā.
Like Schiff, problem #1 is that heās got the charisma of a doorknob. Problem #2 is that heās black, which again will rile up the GOP base and drive turnout for the racists who may have otherwise stayed home but are now gonna go and make sure that another black person doesnāt get elected again. I wouldnāt consider this as an issue normally, but Trump is literally campaigning on racism.
My understanding is he didnāt want it. And my memory is fuzzy, but I remember there being somewhat of an uproar when rumors started circulating that he was going to run. Personally, I thought heād have been fine, but there were plenty of talking heads that I remember saying it wasnāt a good idea.
I think heād be an excellent choice in general, but I think he sometimes leads a little too hard into his homosexuality. While this normally shouldnāt be an issue, when your opponent is literally running on a platform of hate and has a base of racists that is much larger than most people thought pre-Trump, giving Trump a lightning rod like Buttigieg to be able to point to may not be the best strategy.
And again, it shouldnāt be this way. But when Trumpās base of racists is as large as it is and the margins in swing states are so small, putting a minority up there that doesnāt have the national popularity (or, quite frankly, the charisma and aggression) to overcome Trumpism in these swing states may end up doing more harm than good.
All fair points that I didnāt want to hear lol. At the same time, itās been proven that a man of color can win the presidency and that a woman of color can win the vice presidency in this country, so Iām hesitant to jump right into thinking that only a white, Christian, hetero, cis man can beat trump. It might even get more excitement out of people to come vote for something that isnāt yet another old white guy, which is the only real reason I was hesitant to mention Newsom.
Idk, itās all speculation on a hypothetical situation, so itās impossible to say how well anybody wouldāve done in this scenario. Just interesting to hear othersā thoughts and see a more thoughtful take than usual. Cheers :)
Cheers to you too. :)
I just want to reply to this by saying that in this political environment, the fact that theyāre minorities makes their job more difficult against this opponent. I could see someone like Hakeem Jeffries with a more aggressive attitude like AOC or Crockett being able to take on Trump and win. But the reality of the situation is that youāve got to bring a LOT of ammo and a LOT of chutzpah to the table if youāre going to take on Trump as a minority, and Iām not convinced that people like Jeffries have that on their own. At least not right now. In a more āregularā election, absolutely. But I just donāt see someone like Jeffries being able to withstand months of what would be an endless firehose of racism pointed right at his face while heās trying to mount a campaign actually based on the issues instead of just answering whatever Trump vomited up this morning.