Our political imaginative death
Immediately, I'm imagining a veto-proof Republican majority in the House:
But, generally, this Krystal and Saagar video seems to have lodged itself within my skull.
What I see in these two chunks of news, faithfully repeated by Krystal and Saagar, is the complete and total collective failure of imagination which currently afflicts American politics. The Democratic Party is of course the place where this collective failure of imagination is most obvious. If you are a Dem politician standing for election, pretty much anywhere in the US outside of California, or of a dozen American big cities (Seattle and Minneapolis come to mind), you run knowing that even if you win you are going to be a back-bencher in 2023. So your quest for public office is pointless.
Most of the problem. for you, consists in the fact that people are (in large numbers) going to stop voting for the Party of Joe Biden. And that's your party. But, if you still are unimaginative enough to remain a Democrat, you are probably also not imaginative enough to imagine someone running against Joe Biden as a Democrat. So you lose, because you've convinced yourself that your brain, that you think is your little brain, will not be able to think of a way out of your dilemma. (Hint: it involves not supporting Joe Biden.)
Meanwhile, the Republicans are involved in a good deal of cult belief. But actually coming to grips with reality is beyond the mental self-expectations of the Republican rank-and-file, so cult belief it is.
At a collective level, what appears is what Krystal and Saagar said was there -- the Democrats don't really want to be running Biden, and the Republicans don't really want to be running Trump. But what we're most likely to get in 2024 is another race between Biden and Trump. We'll get, once again, two senile, unhealthy men who will do nothing about America's most pressing problems. Once again, then, the problem is that nobody appears to have the imagination to try to make the situation otherwise.
I am reminded of a quote by the philosopher Cornelius Castoriadis, in the heyday of neoliberalism in the 1990s:
I think we are at a crossroads in history, in History with a capital H. One path is now clearly marked, at least as for its general direction. That path leads to the loss of meaning, the repetition of empty forms, conformism, apathy, irresponsibility, and cynicism, along with the growing takeover of the capitalist imaginary of unlimited explosion of rational mastery” – pseudo-rational pseudo-mastery – of the unlimited expansion of consumption for consumption’s sake, which is to say for nothing, and of technoscience racing ahead on its own, and obviously a party to domination by that capitalist imaginary.
The other path would have to be opened up: it has not been marked out at all. Only a social and political awakening, a renaissance, a fresh opening up of the project of individual and collective autonomy – that is, of the will to be free – can cut that path. This would require an awakening of imagination and of the creative imaginary.
And so we just keep choosing that clearly marked path. Social and political awakening? Nothing doing.
Comments
Whatever else you can say about Trump,
he does not at all appear to be senile - at this point, anyway.
Contrast that with the likes of Pelosi, Maxine Waters, Benny Thompson and the Big Guy...
You'd be hard pressed to find an R that would not have negatives or reservations to share regarding Trump. A big one for many is his failure (so far) to own up to the catastrophic failure of Covid/vax policies under his watch - many who have voted for/supported Trump would prefer Ron DeSantis, or Tulsi Gabbard for that matter.
Knowing that Trump would prevail over anyone the Dems put up - especially if they lose the House and Senate and *real* investigations into the 2020 election, Russiagate, J6 and such are conducted they are desperate to keep from having to go up against populist R's in anything like a fair election.
Or, preferably, to avoid having to compete with them at all.
Hence, their J6 media circus/show trial leading to their planned October Surprise - arresting Donald Trump prior to the November election... Yeah, that should do wonders for unifying the country.
Discussed from about 4:00 of the video:
Why Has a Federal Prosecutor Been Given Power of Life and Death Over Jan. 6 Defendants?
With regard to Trump’s COVID ‘failure’
I would like to point out that he did make one significant effort that might have save hundreds of thousands of American lives, and millions globally.
Early on in the pandemic, not long after Trump’s COVID infection and recovery, a NY doctor named Vladimir Zelenko sent a letter to Trump suggesting a protocol of repurposed drugs for early treatment of COVID infections.
Trump’s response was to order that our National Stockpile of hydroxychloroquine be immediately released and distributed for COVID early intervention. However, the FDA/CDC/HHS sidetracked this Presidential Order by limiting the use of hydroxychloroquine to the hospital setting, where only patients already suffering from end stage disease would be found. Zelenko’s hydroxychloroquine based protocol was of little or no value in end stage disease, when the virus was no longer present but the secondary inflammatory response was literally drowning hospitalized patients.
Rick Bright was the clever bureaucrat that devised the subterfuge that negated Trump’s advocacy of the Zelenko protocol; declare an Emergency Use Authorization for hydroxychloroquine (already a widely used FDA drug available for off label uses) and then LIMIT its use for COVID to the hospital setting, where it was virtually useless.
Trump’s “Warp Speed” program has turned out to be a horrible idea, but his advocacy for early intervention with safe and effective generic early interventions stands alone in our institutional response to COVID. To this day, FDA/CDC cabal have yet to recommend anything but novel, patent protected, minimally tested and expensive EUA medications for prophylaxis or early treatment of COVID.
“ …and when we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine,and understand who God is, and what our own potential is and duties are as human beings.- RFK jr. 8/26/2024
Yes, DJT received
a good idea from an unknown, unidentified doctor, but he didn't sell it as he chose the least credible person to talk about it to the public, himself, probably bc, being the narcissist he is, he wanted to take full credit, just as he sought to do with the vaccines. Obviously, coming upon a promising treatment, he should have brought Zelenko in officially as a member of the covid response team, along with one or two other independent doctors, and made Dr Z the public face of HCQ.
Then, using his powers as president and giving stern marching orders to Drs Collins and Fauci, Mr Drain the Swamp would have made sure the health bureaucracy path was cleared to make HCQ readily available to doctors nationwide, and would have fired anyone hampering such efforts. But no, Trump caved easily to the health agency insiders and didn't fight for Dr Z's treatment, so the idea was quickly relegated to the sidelines as another crazy Trump idea.
Should have….would have ….is about speculation
and your imagining how things might have been different. We will never know if your suppositions would have led to a more helpful outcome.
I have not, and will not, vote for Biden or Trump. Of that I am certain. My faint praise of Trump’s EO should not be construed as an endorsement or ‘ranking’ of any kind. I was simply offering an example of the extreme dysfunction of those who have a hand on our ship of state, who all very much need to be replaced.
“ …and when we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine,and understand who God is, and what our own potential is and duties are as human beings.- RFK jr. 8/26/2024
Ha, yes just imagine
if we had a president in 2020 with basic self awareness, common sense and ability to manage the various exec bureaucracies. Not all that far-fetched given someone with someone a bit more experienced in govt and less focused on self-aggrandizement. Not too much to ask for, not imagination run wild. Just basic competence and less focus about self.
R.I.P Dr. Zelenko
Very good points - thanks for posting.
Dr. Zelenko and his protocol saved, at minimum, thousands of lives and likely many, many more. The world could use more Zelenkos and fewer Zelenskys...
Pretty much anyone who was willing to speak out for cheap, available treatment was attacked - Sen. Ron Johnson is being viciously attacked now, supposedly for complicity in Trump's imaginary 'coup'.
I suspect it has much more to do with him providing a forum for the brave professionals who were daring and conscientious enough to go off-narrative on Covid policy.
Here's a list of those who *declined* invitation to Johnson's Jan. 22 Second Opinion Forum:
Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dr. Janet Woodcock, MD, Acting Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, MD, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Chief Medical Advisor to the President
Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak, DDS, Ph.D., Acting Director of the National Institutes of Health
Jeffrey D. Zients, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator
Dr. Albert Bourla, DVM, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer
Dr. U?ur ?ahin, MD, Chief Executive Officer of BioNTech
Stéphane Bancel, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna Therapeutics
Dr. Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, Dean of Brown University School of Public Health
Dr. John R. Raymond Sr., MD, President and CEO of Medical College of Wisconsin
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of Cardiac Catheterization Labs
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, MD, Former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Dr. Francis S. Collins, MD, Ph.D., Former Director of the National Institutes of Health
Dr. Rick Bright, Ph.D., Former Director of Biomedical Advancement Research and Development Authority
Age
I don't believe that either Trump or Biden will be running in 2024. The news feed on my computer is filled with nothing but how Biden can't run again because nobody wants him, Biden's poll numbers are down, Biden is too old to be Presiden, blah, blah, blah. They are planning on replacing him. No one though talks about his senility which is what people should be screaming.
Trump is going to pretend to run, mostly because he likes the money and the adulation. He's already said something about his health stopping him from running.
Regardless of who our next two preselected ones are,
I see little to suggest that either party will divert from a “more of the same” theme, regardless of the shade of the lipstick put on their pigs. There is just too much momentum (and inertia) in the system to support any reasonable expectation for an actual ‘about face’.
Our current two party system needs to be displaced or replaced by those who prioritize the needs of the general population ahead of the oligarch’s insatiable desires.
“ …and when we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine,and understand who God is, and what our own potential is and duties are as human beings.- RFK jr. 8/26/2024
Right now, with
another 2.5 yrs to go in his presidency, it doesn't make political sense for him to do other than say he plans to run again. That preserves his presidential power, not that he uses much of it, and avoids the irrelevant lame-duck status.
The only way he stays viable for 2024 is if Ds show strong in the midterms. With losses of the House and Senate, Ds won't be in the mood to back him again, a perceived loser or the party leader who would drag down D office seekers across the country. I don't think the DemParty is quite that stupid or incompetent, though there is some non-trivial chance they are.
Even with a good midterm showing, there is still the problem of age and senility, personal issues unaffected by politics. He won't be getting younger, and he is likely to continue to show signs of increasing senility as he approaches age 82 in 2024. Very difficult to imagine Ds putting up a guy already showing clear signs of being a good candidate for a senior care facility.
As for Trump, it also depends on near-term events, and it's difficult to imagine the GOP nominating someone who might be under criminal indictment by this time next year.
"They're going to replace Biden"
with whom?
Neither of the well-coddled heirs apparent, neither Kamala Harris nor Pete Buttigieg, is as popular as Joe Biden, and that's saying a lot, given that Joe Biden is incredibly unpopular.
Replacing Joe Biden, moreover, would be a tacit admission that nominating him in 2020 was in the first place a mistake. The Democrats dare not give up on the cognitive dissonance vote -- it's what they've got.
The Democrats have a bunch of hollow, empty shells because that's who they've been promoting for the past forty years. Meanwhile, the Republicans follow a cult playbook as the January 6th investigations rip new holes in their social architectures.
(Here's a telling comparison -- compare Pete Buttigieg with his husband Chasten. Chasten has a personality, because he's not trying to do what Pete is trying to do. You will notice.)
We will, once again, be offered a choice between these two parties -- and nearly all of America will tell itself that no other choice is possible.
“The loyal Left cannot act decisively. Their devotion to the system is a built-in kill switch limiting dissent.” - Richard Moser
Actually of all
the D incumbent presidents of modern times, Biden would be the easiest to ease out of the race. First, it would not be considered a mistake to have made him the 2020 nominee as he was put there to beat Trump, and for no other reason. That he did. The party was right on that one.
Second, one reason the uninspiring Biden got the fairly considerable D and indy backing he did, was that it was generally understood by insiders and the public that Biden would likely just be a one-termer because of age. Not always openly discussed by elected D officials, but always present in the subtext. So having him step aside would just be sticking to the original plan.
Re the DP fairly thin bench, that is a problem, and obviously it starts with the underwhelming Kamala Harris, who continues at every public appearance to underwhelm and even embarrass. So, if Joe steps aside, she will get challengers -- Gavin, Pete, Gov Pritzker, Sherrod Brown, Liz, Katie Porter -- and in debates she will likely fail organically, in ways similar to her failure in the 2020 primaries. Her lack of the requisite intellectual and political goods will be on full display. And thus the delicate problem of not nominating the first woman of color to be VP will be resolved the old fashioned way.
You'd think, right?
Time will tell, of course, but I doubt there is any Democrat with the courage to do this. The problem is not that it wouldn't be easy, but rather that the Democrats of today are such that they won't even do things that are easy. In the final analysis I expect them to pretend that Joe Biden is a sprightly young man, Kamala Harris is a JFK-level public speaker for our times, and Pete Buttigieg really cares about you. Oh, sure, they might actually question these things when they don't think it really matters -- but watch their behaviors in the election run-ups.
“The loyal Left cannot act decisively. Their devotion to the system is a built-in kill switch limiting dissent.” - Richard Moser
Agree on Ds of
today -- individually they will only do the easy, and only when they are certain it won't cause undue controversy or upset an interest group. Still, they can get courage in numbers, as with a carefully selected group -- Chuck, Dick, Nancy, Steny, and particularly Jim Clyburn -- leading a small delegation from congress to pay a visit to the WH to call on Joe and thank him for his service and tell him the party has been concerned of late about the continued deteriorating political situation and has decided to move in another direction.
And for personal political survival reasons, staying in office and having power, it's more likely Ds will take such action, if an LBJ hasn't already occurred, if by early 2023 they have already seen a bad midterm outcome and continued poor polling for Biden with the prospect of another bad outcome in 2024 staring them in the face.
Bill Clinton’s smug boast of caging the Left
has blown back on the Dems with a vengeance. The party can do nothing more than to double down on failure again and again and again because “where else are they gonna go?” Anything else would be an admission of failure (if our media was anything more than the corporately-owned propaganda arm of the state then HRC would’ve been irredeemably characterized as the Neoliberal equivalent of McGovern) and a ceding of power to the unworthy masses.
"Where else are they going to go?"
Seems like a lot of them voted for Trump over HerHeinous because of how poor a job Obama did when he not only had a majority, but the will of the people behind him and instead of using both he let McConnell set his agenda. I read today that Biden isn’t appointing the 80 judgeships open and democrats went back to using blue slips that republicans chucked aside when they rammed through their judges. Plus Schumer let McConnell fast track up to 15 so that democrats could go home and fundraise. Democrats play by the rules that republicans ignore.
It looks like the media is telling democrats to chuck Biden for 24 because of his age and mental health issues. Democrats could get people to reward them by passing legislation that they ran on, but they would rather hide behind Manchin being against their agenda. And of course there’s the parliamentarian that republicans also ignore. Since at least Clinton democrats have always had a rotating villain to block their agenda and people keep falling for it instead of understanding that democrats have no intentions of fulfilling their campaign promises. But finally a few people are waking up to that. Sad that they didn’t notice that Pelosi gave Trump everything he asked for, but bitched about his asking in the first place.
Congress rarely writes the legislation that they vote on without reading what they are voting for. Lobbyists have been writing what they want congress to pass. Paul Ryan told us about that during the tax cuts debacle that democrats didn’t even try to block. Why? Because they wanted it to pass too just like Pelosi made sure that her friends could get higher returns on their mortgages. It’s a small club that we ain’t in.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
@Cassiodorus They are pushing Pete
They are pushing Pete to see if he's getting any traction, which I doubt that he will. I have seen several articles about him, after not hearing about him for months. The big push will come after the election in November.
Like others have said, won't vote for either Biden or Trump. Not even sure I will vote unless there is some amendments which either needs to be passed or defeated.
I can't imagine Biden running for anything
excepting a secret dementia care facility ..
Constitution Article II, Section 1, Clause 6:
In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
https://sonar21.com/getting-rid-of-joe-biden-possible-scenarios/
question everything
The destruction of the Democratic
facet of the uniparty will be complete, utter, and Biblical come the midterms.
The handful of people who left the party with me after the 2016 debacle here are uniformly planning to not vote at all in protest. I'm planning to not vote at all out of laziness. That won't matter at all to Herself, who will probably arrange for Brandon to slip on a banana peel and break something, so that She Can Have Her Turn By Gawd. The cheeto will be anointed by his faithful. And then it will be down to whose machine is the most efficient at manufacturing votes via buggering the machines to see who "wins".
I wouldn't be surprised to see the Owners get behind Herself, since she never met a war she didn't like. So she might somehow "win" despite not having any actual living person vote for her. I'll be sitting on the sidelines eating popcorn, and watching the quadrennial masturbationfest play out according to the only rule that matters: whoever has the cash "wins". It'll be another multibillion-dollar waste (actually, given inflation, it may be a multitrillion-dollar waste by then), and Nothing Will Fundamentally Change: we'll still be at war with Eastasia, and Westasia, and Northasia, Southasia, Middleasia, and WhoTheFuckAreThoseGuys...
'Murica, Fuk Yeh. Or something.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
I doubt Biden will run again...
but that's just my humblest of opinions. His statement about running in 2024 is to prevent his presidency from becoming the lamest of lame ducks.
Although, again in my humblest of opinions, Biden as a lame duck may be in the best interest of everyone.
As if voting will get us out of this mess anyway.
Voting is merely a sop.
I’m not sure it was ever anything more than that in my lifetime.
“ …and when we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine,and understand who God is, and what our own potential is and duties are as human beings.- RFK jr. 8/26/2024
Kucinich wrote about
how the lobbying interests show up at the swearing in, and that remaining independent of them, and staying a true course while under pressure from your party colleagues, was virtually impossible.
Here is the extent of my imagination regarding politics: I imagine the politicians work for the people.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I dare to imagine
a Congress that passes the type of campaign finance law such as in 1974, with strict limits on contributions, with the additional clause that the bill shall not be subject to constitutional review by any federal court, such that we see far fewer bought and paid for politicians.
Seriously. I wish more people would think in such seemingly radical ways, because we're entering a period where very robust measures are the only way to pull us out of the current downward spiral towards juristocracy and one-party rule.
I think we are a nation
run by oligarchs. Part of that is bribery in the form of political campaign contributions. In that sense, we are under the rule of one group, regardless of the number of Ds,Rs, and indies.
Another aspect of ever present fraud is insider trading, and using your official elected position to protect your investments. Manchin's mines are a good example.
I expect the Rs to have a supermajority after mid-terms. I can't think of a viable D presidential candidate to beat Trump or Desantis. Who knows? Maybe Romney might finally fulfill his religious wet dreams by winning.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Romney took
himself out of consideration when he voted for impeaching the Don. And Don the Con is still running behind Biden in the polls. And might be facing criminal charges in a courtroom or two.
As for DeSantis, well many potentials have looked good, even unbeatable, in the very way-too-early polls -- and then when the campaign starts, they suddenly become mere mortals.
I hear that DeSantis is not all he's cracked up to be, that he has a "weird" unlikable personality in private. Coming from FL, that sounds about right. Of course, as we have seen, the GOP is capable of nominating any manner of creepy crawly dude or dudette and their voters don't seem to care so long as the creatures say the right things in public.
The GOP
learned those nominations tricks from Ds.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Remember?
Not only was Hillary running ahead in the polls against Donald -- but she won the popular vote! However, the President is chosen by the Electoral College.
“The loyal Left cannot act decisively. Their devotion to the system is a built-in kill switch limiting dissent.” - Richard Moser
Well yeah,
I was actually discussing overratedness in the primary campaigning context, but for sure she ran an uninspiring campaign in the general.
Even with that she did manage a 3m vote popular victory. Not something to dismiss lightly.
We have a screwy system of the EC that no other democracy follows, but there you are. If Ds had been talking about that, instead of Russiagate for 4 yrs, we might be further along to achieving a way around it. That Popular Vote State Compact idea seems the best. But Ds wanted to talk about the evil Putin instead.
(actually I have my own CT about how the Don managed to win those 3 key states, my speculation only, I don't assert it as fact, but suffice it to say I'm suspicious ...)
Messed up democracy in fact in many respects. I've been trying to talk up Court reform here, but with only tepid support. It's just insane we give up so much power to 5 unaccountable people with lifetime jobs. And passively accept this, helpless to do anything about it.
Bah, you are being too polite to the Democrats
Who will they run in 24? There is a serious probability - yes, probability - that the entire northern hemisphere will be a glass lined crater in 24, but that aside I like intellectual games, so...
Your list of possible candidates is risible. Pete? If the Ds were competent as a (corrupt) party he would be president today. It was he, not Biden, who should have been given the nomination to keep Bernie from becoming president. A garden slug would have beaten Trump, especially with the pandemic making mail in ballots a thing; the only excuse for nominating Biden was to make Harris VP. To clear the way for Biden he was given his cabinet post, and he's used it to reveal himself as an incompetent. Sherrod Brown? If the Ds were still a legitimate party he would be a not bad choice, but they aren't, so he's off the list. Warren? She'll be lucky to still be in the senate; if the wipeout is as bad as it looks she'll be the first "surprise". Pritzker? Ask Michael Bloomberg. Katie Porter? Ask Bernie - please. That leaves Newsome. Again if the Ds were a real party he would make a reliable spear carrier, but he's a lightweight with delusions of becoming JFK. But enough mental masturbation; who cares who will lose if the Ds are allowed to exist to 24?
The Ds are expecting to lose 42 seats. (see the Krystal/Saagar clip) Not enough. Our only hope is that they lose so badly that they dissolve and are replaced by a legitimate party. But that dot on the horizon is that ship sailing away. I must admit that I hadn't thought of the Rs refuse to allow Kamalato appoint a VP scam, but I can believe that if they get a big enough wipeout in the senate they'll then impeach Harris (charges? who needs charges?) and get the presidency 2 years early without a messy "election".
On to Biden since 1973
Herself.
HRC. Yes, the single most hated politician from the single most hated D political family. The one with the ego that will not allow Her *not* to run, if she thinks that there is even an inkling of Her Getting Her Everloving Turn.
She won't win, but equally She won't care- She'll just have more people to blame after She loses. As I've said, I know conservatives who would happily crawl naked on hands and knees across hot flaming radioactive broken glass to vote against anything named Clinton. That wouldn't bother Her- She'd just see that as an inconsequential entertainment in the process. And She'd get to pocket yet another cut off the top of the infinite cash slop that fills the donation trough.
Nature abhors a vacuum, especially a power vacuum, and in a power vacuum of that nature her exoskeleton will protect her. Beside, Chelsea'd make a bang-up VP candidate in our new wannabe dynasty/monarchy. The campaign ads just write themselves. "YOU get a pink pussy hat, and YOU get a pink pussy hat, and YOU get a pink pussy hat..."
She's probably had a dose of whatever it is that keeps Cheney alive, anyway, so her age doesn't matter. The only good thing about Her running, as I see it, is it really would hasten the final demise of the Ds.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
I was tinking of that
Biden resigns, Harris appoints IT VP. then resigns. But the refuse to accept the nomination and impeach Harris counter is just too obvious.
On to Biden since 1973
This is all getting
quite a bit ahead of the game. Biden resigning is already a big hypothetical, though a desired one.
KH, although not blessed with deep political abilities, is not so dense that she would ever nominate someone as controversial as HRC. And coming into office via the aging issues of Biden and needing a smooth transition, she wouldn't then turn around and name yet another aging senior citizen who's also going to ignite a firestorm of opposition.
The fierce Hillary obsession here is wildly off the charts, but sorry, that dead horse has run her final race and will never make it to the winner's circle, and the world will be the better for it.
Much too cheerfully
optimistic...
On the names, consider they were tossed out merely for discussion purposes, not as endorsements. Way too early for that.
And yes, every one is flawed. As everyone of us is.
I also add Yang
but his print a ton of money and give it to the middle class so that they will give it all and more to the rich is just too deadly. The other part of his plan - a VAT tax - would hurt the middle class, the higher in the middle class the more and the worse. Tax to the bottom.
On to Biden since 1973
Dunno why you
would add Yang since he's never held office, was only a 1% vote getter the one time he ran for prez, and did poorly the more recent time he ran for NYC mayor going from front-runner to fourth.
He probably needs to step away from constant campaigning with work in related areas like political podcasting or on-air analysis where he can continue to promote some of his interesting ideas. And it may turn out that he was ahead of his time with the UBI proposal, which is something that probably needs fine tuning but which might be coming our way in the not too distant future.
I added Yang
not because I thought he had any future himself, but because a general deterioration will bring out an untold number of snake oil salesmen with "interesting ideas" (Trump, Biden - Obama - making big promises they have no intention to keep, things like forgiving college debt for the upper-but-not-upper-enough class but not free higher education for everyone) "Interesting ideas" will proliferate, as long as they are interesting sounding frauds.
On to Biden since 1973