MoveOn's panicky message: Don't take Biden's poll lead for granted!
Here's what the panicky Petes at MoveOn said in their email to me, dated five hours ago: don't take the November election for granted, because Trump could still win. (I think I got on their list because I donated to Samelys Lopez' campaign.) Here are their supporting arguments:
As bad as Trump's numbers are now, his base still loves him, and he still has a massive advantage in the Electoral College.1 He has way more money than the Biden campaign.2 His campaign is light-years ahead of Democrats in harvesting voter data and targeting voters on social media—and Trump's campaign is tapping into the destructive expertise of disinformation tactics online.3,4 And as the primaries have unfolded during the pandemic, we've seen how far Republicans will go to suppress the vote—especially of voters of color—in key states like Wisconsin, Florida, and Georgia.5
So here are the bibliographic sources for this argument:
Sources:
1. "Why Biden Needs to Win Big," New York, June 12, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/140640?t=8&akid=266894%2E23708824%2ExXaI7r2. "Trump Resumes Fundraising to Build Cash Lead Against Biden," The New York Times, June 11, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/140641?t=10&akid=266894%2E23708824%2ExXaI7r3. "Biden's campaign rushes to blunt Trump's digital advantage," CNN, May 9, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/140643?t=12&akid=266894%2E23708824%2ExXaI7r4. "The Billion-Dollar Disinformation Campaign to Reelect the President," The Atlantic, February 10, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/116803?t=14&akid=266894%2E23708824%2ExXaI7r5. "Coronavirus chaos in Georgia, Wisconsin a 'warning sign' for Democrats," Politico, June 11, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/140642?t=16&akid=266894%2E23708824%2ExXaI7r
This, then, is their basis for hitting me up for money, so they can support the Biden campaign. Here are some hints that, really, the only thing left to know about all this is what these people are smoking.
1) Reference #1 is to a New York magazine article about how Joe Biden has to win big, because (as author Ed Kilgore put it) the swing states lead Republican, and because "The other reason Biden needs a big national popular vote win is that he really needs a Democratic Senate to accomplish anything legislatively as president". Admittedly it would be a good thing if some of the worst Republicans could be removed from the Senate. But that's a different argument, an argument for supporting a Senate campaign, and it's highly unlikely that Joe Biden wants to have any serious accomplishments as President. So we can make all the big plans we want, but it's up to Biden to win big, and it's up to Biden to "accomplish anything," but he's not really interested.
2) Joe Biden has billionaires, like Donald Trump has billionaires. He can get money from them; he doesn't need it from us. If Joe Biden does not have billionaires and is still planning to give the country away to them, well that's just kind of sad. So Joe Biden has billionaires.
3) Ermagerd data! Maybe Joe Biden will actually have to suggest that people will get something real and tangible if he's elected.
4) Ermagerd disinformation! Maybe if y'all hadn't decided to go along with the stupefaction of America over the past four decades (see e.g. No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and decades of education underfunding) that the voters would be able to distinguish truth from lies.
5) It's like Greg Palast said recently -- voter suppression can be beaten. (It's somewhere on his website.) But the Democrats have to want to do something about it. Do they?
In any case the panicky Petes at MoveOn.com have not persuaded me that Joe Biden's campaign is worth the time of day. Here's their conclusion:
We cannot take this election for granted. If we do, we will lose. MoveOn's got a great plan to beat Trump, but we need your help to fund it. Given the state of our economy, not everyone is in a position to contribute, but if you can, will you chip in $5 a month to help launch and sustain our data-driven, innovative Vote Tripling program from now through Election Day?
But taking the election for granted is in fact Joe Biden's primary path to victory. Why do the MoveOn staffers think he's hiding in a basement, anyway? And are there any "data" that show that introducing the public to Joe Biden is anything more than a waste of time? I doubt it. So don't bother. Let Donald Trump destroy himself. And keep your $5.
In fact, it's really staggering how obsolete the whole discussion of electoral politics has become. There's no discussion in MoveOn's pitch of how the political landscape has been transformed by COVID-19, by climate change, by record-setting protests, or by what appears to become the Second Great Depression. Choosing a political discussion, like choosing a politician, is now like choosing one of several cartons of milk, all of which have long since gone sour.
Comments
Do you want the knife in your back
to come from the Left hand or the Right hand?
That is the choice. I thought we had a chance of getting a President who doesn't sound like he's taking drugs, but that chance is now shot.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
The Democrat in-crowd has chosen a candidate --
of singular incompetence, and regardless of how repeatedly the MoveOn staffers tell me that it's my responsibility to get him elected, it's not. Joe Biden is not poor. He can buy whatever team he thinks he needs to create some sort of low-key message that hides his numerous worst features while Donald Trump destroys himself.
In the end we need to be asking ourselves: do we have a Movement for a People's Party, or not?
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
What a choice!
Senile Bank stooge vs incompetent vicious idiot.
If Biden wins it's because Wall Street has decided that he is more controllable than Trump.
All they have to do is supply him with young interns.
EDIT:
It reminds of Chicon IV (V ?) where I heard author George Alec Effinger comment re David Duke vs Edwin Edwards. "What a choice! A crook or a Nazi! I think I'll move to Texas."
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
drugs
So let's vote for somebody we know is taking drugs!
Marin/Chong 2020!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
MoveOn and all these other
organizations can just kiss my ass. Biden has already said he's going to veto any #MedicareForAll bill that comes cross his desk as president.
Fuck them, just fuck them all.
I just posted in Gjohnsit's essay, I'm not sure we are even going to have election, we're on the path to a country wide implosion like the Soviet Union, where millions died.
Violent revolution is all we have left and that won't go well, obviously they have the monopoly on tanks and drones but most importantly, the "gun control" left, doesn't own any guns. It would be a slaughter. So that's out of the question.
If voting actually worked, it would be illegal!
C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote
They're right to be panicky...
The Goopers are unified this year. The Dems are anything but.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Trump "optimists" underestimate -
the extent to which Trump is capable of destroying his own chances for re-election. He just held one of his "rallies" in Tulsa. The tiny stadium they chose was maybe 40% full. His mishandling of the COVID-19 situation has been worse than in any other country outside of Brazil, whose pseudo-leader Bolsonaro really ought to be confined to Arkham Asylum.
My point in the diary is that the MoveOn staffers are completely deluded about Joe Biden's ability to help his own chances of re-election. Biden's best strategy is to sit back and watch Trump destroy his own career, and in that light the MoveOn staffers are best advised to focus upon downticket races or whatever better uses for their time they can conjure up. Petitioning me for five lousy bucks just looks stupid.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
I think Biden's going to get crushed.
All this unrest in the blue cities is scaring the bejeezus out of Republicans in swing states.
They will come out organized and in force this Fall.
Who's coming out for Biden?
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
The "unrest" will be over
And trump's incompetence and demeanor will continue on.
I can see the popular vote being a landslide for the letter D.
I can see that too, but at this point
nothing would surprise me, including not having an election at all.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I can see Biden winning
the PV by 5-8 million. Normally that would mean a solid EC majority too, but 2016 and all that.
He does have a few things in his favor: he's not as hated as Hillary, and Trump is now the hated incumbent. Biden just needs to stay out of trouble and have his team work on juicing the GOTV, starting with an energizing VP pick.
It looks like Klobbachair agrees with me that it should be a woman of color. I strongly suspect she has gotten this signal not just from the current situation in the streets but also from unmistakable signals from the Biden camp. This type of pick would likely help him overcome the lower AA turnout HRC had last cycle in WI, MI and PN -- if, that is, the local election officials allow them to vote.
lower AA turnout HRC had last cycle in WI, MI and PN
Detroit in particular has been losing population. I think Milwaukee too.
Don't know about PA, but if Martin Longman is typical then they are entranced with becoming suburban Republicans. bad for Trump but not necessarily good for Biden.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Only very slight
fraction of pct pop declines in both. Wasn't the major factor.
My view is the decline in AA votes for HRC was bc: 1)too many blacks saw little improvement in their lives during 8 yrs of Obama, so what diff would white woman Hillary make? 2) she's the rather disliked Hillary, 3) she's going to win anyway, so who cares whether I vote, and 4) too many voters took a casual attitude about the dangers of Trump becoming president.
I just can't see this.
Unless Biden stays in his basement until after the election.
He just might.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
The Tulsa rally was
a huge own-goal embarrassment for Trump. He seems to have some incompetents running his campaign, unfamiliar with the Politics 101 on playing the expectations game. Their excuses for the small turnout have been laughable.
Biden must have had a good chuckle in his Delaware basement, and must be energized by the $$ rolling into his campaign to go with the across-the-board favorable polling numbers. It looks like he has Obama campaign people at the top of his campaign, so Biden appears not to have made the mistake of bringing in a bunch of loser Hillary campaign hacks.
Trump also has to answer for a recent spike in the virus, which he won't be able to entirely blame on governors. There is an abundance of damning evidence already available, including his latest gaffe about wanting to limit testing, to show voters he has been incompetent, ignorant and callous in responding to the crisis. And how it has badly affected the economy. Huge issues in Biden's favor, handed to him on a silver platter. The campaign attack ads write themselves.
I'm fairly sure the GOP PTB and the Trump camp are the ones beginning to panic, as they may be realizing Don the Con will probably not be able to win this straight up. They may be quietly about to go to Plan B, namely giving the green light to local officials to pull out all the stops re the systematic suppression of votes in states where Rs control the election machinery. Georgia and Kentucky will be previews of other state-run planned election fiascos to come.
Some have speculated that the designed chaos could be a means to create a situation where the state could announce it cannot under the circumstances certify its electors, and so possibly deny Biden an electoral majority, and so the election would be thrown into the House, where Trump would prevail under the rules of the Constitution. Of the nightmare scenarios, this I find more likely than Trump trying to cancel the election.
Have you noticed all the calls for small dollar donations?
"Petitioning me for five lousy bucks just looks stupid."
It kinda raised the elites eyebrows when Bernie was so successful raising millions per month, with just small dollar donations. And now even McTurtle is asking for "just 4 dollars" donations.
Well done is better than well said-Ben Franklin
Agreed with you here.
People can laugh all they want at Trump's rally belly flop, but could Biden fill a 6,000 person hall, even without a pandemic and all the other unrest going on?
The GOP are giving voters something to vote for. Yes, yes, we all know Trump is a scam, etc., etc., etc. But to his supporters, they don't and won't see it that way. Trump is an idea, even if it's as simple as pw0ning the libtards. It's something, period.
The Dems, on the other hand, are only offering a reactionary "vote for our guy because he isn't the other guy" candidate. Biden has either shot down popular ideas outright (m4a) or has solutions which are wildly off the mark (any of his comments about the police post George Floyd.) They can claim Biden will "restore dignity" blah blah blah, but does anyone outside the cocktail circuit tone police actually believe that, or even care about it?
This is to say nothing of the fact that the news cycle has completely erased the troubling questions of Tara Reade's allegations off the table. Add to this Hunter Biden's situation, Joe's own unapologetic stance on the '94 crime bill, and many more things that Biden has been able to sidestep. It seems to me a risky gamble to assume these won't come up between now and November. While they won't bring people to Trump's side, they're sure to depress Biden's numbers.
Let's also remember, the Dems tried this before in 2016. One can argue that was before a term of Trump. But I would counter that even though I don't see the appeal, Hillary had (and has) a fan base and there were many to whom making HER the first woman president was a goal. At a time when the Dems are doubling down on IdPol, an old, straight, white, male candidate with a history of racism and sexual harassment is who they nominate? It's like they want to lose, a theory I'm not ruling out.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
DP insiders/faithful always overestimate
the nationwide popularity and endorsement of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Hence, Hillary Clinton would win in a landslide and Joe Biden can sleep-walk to victory.
Republican presidents and elected officials may not give their party faithful what they really want (ban abortions, return to Jim Crow, an end to all social welfare programs except Social Security and Medicare, ....), but they don't take away their guns, military machine, and the illusion that capitalism will make them millionaires, one day.
I don't think either
of these was/is being asserted:
I don't know of anyone who thought HRC would win by historical landslide proportions. Maybe more than just a narrow win, yes. She did win the PV by 3m, which is not a trivial statistic. And very few anywhere predicted a Donald win, probably including here. I'd imagine most of the posts leaned toward a sizable PV and EC victory for her -- after all, she was running against the shady reality show host. But her camp, and apparently many political pundits, overestimated her AA support in some key states, and how her being presented and perceived as a near-certain victor might have held back many voters who decided not to vote/vote 3d party -- those, that is, who hadn't had their names wrongfully scrubbed from voting rolls in certain of these states.
Abortions: they are working on it though, state by Red state. The next Scotus pick, replacing RBG, will tip the scales towards a full nationwide ban if Trump gets another term. Jim Crow: Rs and Trump are working on that too, esp in the voter suppression area, an important element in keeping minorities from having too much power. Ditto for social welfare programs -- such handouts to lazy people and POC add alarmingly to the deficit and take away needed funds for the military and for helping to fund local police departments to put more cops on the street to protect us all from those rioting, looting protesters.
SCOTUS, Biden supported Scalia & is responsible for Thomas
Well no, Poppy Bush
was "responsible" for Thomas. Biden did enable the nomination with his failure to adequately back Hill.
Also do you know who else confirmed Scaliwags? All the senate -- it was a 98-0 vote, presumably including a number of senate liberals. Per wiki, the senate Judiciary Committee had just been through a bruising and contentious round questioning Rehnquist's elevation to CJ, which they of course lost, and didn't want another battle so soon.
All that's 30-35 yrs ago -- few will care, and almost no one on Scalia, very few will still hold it against Biden for failing to assist Hill's testimony, esp when he nominates a woman-POC as his VP.
Anyway, the party is changing, including Biden, and in a good direction. Even Chuck Schumer withdrew his endorsement of Engel. Hopeful signs, much more to go, and Bernie and the progressives still have time to work on Biden on some issues like M4A.
Prediction: if Biden wins and gets a Scotus nom, he will select someone roughly in the Sotomayor ideological category. Pro-choice, strong on voting rights, not a confirmed corporatist.
I knew Joe Biden before he had hair,
(before the transplant) when he was in the New Castle county Council. He hasn't changed a damned bit.
He's already been
adjusting his views towards the progressive side. It won't happen overnight literally, but his positions are probably leftward of Hillary's, easily, right now, with more work still needed obviously.
Very easy just to make a snap, cynical judgment and throw in the towel. My view is that he knows times are changing, and that the old ways of safe centrism and soft corporatism no longer will be politically acceptable. And Bernie et al still have some leverage on Biden wrt bringing the progressive wing along for Nov. I suspect the Biden camp knows that shutting out the progressive wing is not a wise move either for his election prospects or for governing in the WH. The DP Overton window will have clearly shifted leftward by the time he takes office, and Biden will have no choice but to go along.
Note the above is wrt domestic issues. As there is little progressive pressure on the party in re foreign policy -- too many progs showing too little courage and leadership, Tulsi the lone exception -- Biden will likely remain somewhat neolibconish on most foreign issues. The unfortunate result there is partly his fault, partly the fault of the left in failing to stand strong against the neocon foreign policy establishment in recent times. As FDR supposedly once said, Now go out there and make me do it.
Of course not.
The point was that Donald Trump was stupid to try to fill a 19,000-person hall with a pandemic going on.
And if The Donald is that stupid, he will continue to be stupid later. Joe Biden, on the other hand, is running on Barack Obama's undeserved coat-tails, and he will continue to do so for as long as very few people get to see Joe Biden saying anything that would count as "impromptu" or "extemporaneous." Thus this idea of "gee, let's all give Joe Biden $5 so he can get in front of audiences and damage his own chances" is either the product of great hubris or excessive THC consumption among MoveOn staffers.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
If they want to "win" they probably will.
There are plenty of people on their side who have a great deal of experience with election fraud. The only reason they missed the mark last time is that they had never faced another cheater before. They were used to people like Gore, Kerry, and Sanders, who have plenty of faults but draw the line at rearranging election results to suit them, or coming up with ways to prevent people from voting. They thought Donald Trump was going to job, and then go off into the sunset with some extra book contracts, speech engagements, and higher ratings for his next three TV shows. They underestimated the Donald's ego.
Their shock at having to take some of their own medicine for once would have been pleasurable if Trump had not been so noxious. It *was* mildly pleasurable for me to see them have to deal with an unexpected election result, which I'm guessing none of them had experienced since 1976.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
It sure seems so.
I really think both sides are planning on depressed turnout plus election shenanigans equals win, assuming anyone really wants to win. Given how much mess there will be to clean up, and that the grift will continue regardless of who wins, I don't think there's much incentive for either house to win though.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
I love that last line
I used to get E-mails from MoveOn all the time...it seems like they never recovered from, of all things, their crowning achievement: Calling out "General Betray-Us".
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
Like I said in the diary --
I was probably put on the list for donating to Samelys' Lopez' campaign.
I hope she wins. Election is Tuesday.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
@Cassiodorus I got put on Moveons
I got put on Moveons list after I donated to Bernie, a while back, before he became such a coward. Or maybe after I donated to Rachel Parson, who is not a coward! Got this same email from Moveon today. Made me laugh, and then click 'trash'. Heh. I love your take on it!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Terrible ad-speak
Now we can't tell you exactly how this miracle election cure works because that's a
felonytrade secret but if you think Xeroxing votes for a demented company man with banker jizz barely dried on his cheek* is all it does, just wait, there's more! Some of you have those irritating friends or family members who got conned by the Russkies into thinking they saw some primary election irregularities this season but as soon as you donate at the Blindeye level we'll also express ship an XL Swingline Stapler as our personal gift to you! You know what to do with it, wink wink._______
*h/t to Bill Burr for that chef's kiss perfect description of Biden
ROTFLMAO!
Thank you, Jane, it's been a long time since anything political has even made me grin.
The Blindeye Level. Good thing I hadn't taken my first sip of morning coffee.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Always happy to help
Dark comedy -- it's what's for breakfast.
Here's a nice palate cleanser. (For non-video watchers the link goes to a short clip, approx 2:20 minutes, of a BLM protest in San Diego where all the protestors are riding skateboards down the street, rounding the corner as the camera watches. My fave moment is at about 1:14 when a skater comes through holding up a sign that says simply ACCOUNTABILITY.)
Good analysis.
I particularly like this:
But taking the election for granted is in fact Joe Biden's primary path to victory.
Although you might be able to put it like this:
But taking the election for granted is in fact
Joe Biden's[the Democratic party's] primary path to victory [and has been since 1994]."More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
He has once again positioned himself as the underdog outsider
Amazing! Not only that but he gets 95% of all of the MSM coverage. His strategy against Hillarity R Clinton was to cast her as corrupt. It worked great. His strategy against Biden will be to cast him as ineffective, worn out, implying dementia, and a zombie from the failed past. Would Trump be wrong? Trump could only(?) get about 10,000 supporters to his rally, but that's against a background of a Pandemic. Would you go knowing that almost all the cheering (droplet excreting) fans would not be wearing face masks?
OK, How many enthusiastic fans could Biden get at his rally? Maybe 200 high school students if he paid them and bussed them in and equipped them with full headgear supplied-air respirators. I see a huge enthusiasm gap. Hatred for Trump among the True Blue will not generate any enthusiasm for brain-addled Dinosaur Joe. This is much worse than Her Heinousness since she really did have admirers and many folks really wanted the first American Woman president.
This situation is just beyond belief. Trump really is one of the worst Presidents ever, but the Democrat party alternative feels like national suicide. I'm hoping that the total apathy towards Biden teaches the Democrat party an important lesson, and that the party faithful realize that they have been screwed by their leaders. What was that saying- screw me once shame on me, screw me twice and you must be an important Democrat...oh please, screw me again.
Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.
You're missing the point
The enthusiasm among Ds and many/most Indies will largely be in casting a vote to rid themselves of Donald Trump. The rest depends on who Biden names as his VP.
No, first Biden is ahead of where HRC was in the polls, in the head-to-head vs Trump and in the key swing/close states. No doubt though, the polling will tighten as it gets closer to Nov.
And while Biden doesn't enjoy a cherished IdPol box to check, he will enjoy the box that says This Is the Guy to Rid Us of Trump.
Well, maybe if the dipshits who run the DNC
would stop positioning him as the underdog outsider, and if their friends who run media companies would stop helping them do that, he wouldn't be able to pull it off.
That's assuming that they even want him to lose, which is an open question as far as I'm concerned.
Will he lose? Looks like it, but when you have a "republic" that runs one person with a 60% unfavorability rating against another person with a 58% unfavorability rating for President, which is what happened last time, all poll-based bets are off. I mean by that that I'm not sure that polls, even assuming they, at this point, still measure what the public thinks rather than creating it, matter a damn. Is anybody under the impression that the people's wishes determine electoral outcomes?
The only thing that matters as far as the polls go--assuming they're accurate--is whether or not the American people have become convinced by the media blitzkrieg that Joe Biden is a good, anti-racist, anti-sexist guy who's going to defeat Donald Trump for them and, thereby, fix racism and sexism and everything else in the country that needs to be fixed. If that's the case, we're in for some putrid experiences, particularly the victory celebration, during which I'm sure that every authoritarian impulse the Democratic party and its adherents possess will be given full rein; it'll be particularly noxious because we all know that, six months to a year later, we'll be hearing the full range of excuses for why Joe Biden hasn't actually fixed anything. Although my best guess is that racism will not be among the matters discussed, but will return to the shadowy half-world to which the American media relegates occasionally useful topics. If it's discussed at all, it will be in the terms of a victory already achieved. The defeat of Donald Trump *is* the defeat of racism, we will be told (just like we were told of the electoral victory of Barack Obama). The direct relationship between who's in the Oval Office and who gets murdered with impunity by the state, so vivid and clear now to those who watch the corporate press, will dissolve like sugar cubes in the rain.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Joe doesn't need our $5.
He's got billionares like one time rival(?) Bloomberg lining up to blitz the airwaves on his behalf. He's got former Bernie staffers forming PACs. Hell, he's got current Republicans forming PACs. He's got the media on his side. What does he need us peons for?
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
He doesn't. But we have to *feel* needed.
We have to feel that giving our loyalty and dollars to him is imperative to the success of the cause. Not that being necessary means that we are valued, of course; we won't get anything in exchange for our loyalty and dollars, not even basic respect. What we'll get is Joe Biden running a campaign and becoming President, which, apparently, is a huge favor he's doing us, for which we should be eternally grateful.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
My cat needs me.
He’s laying on me and purring right now. And he didn’t ask for $5 either. I’d trust him better to run the country than Biden, though I disagree with his anti-bird and pro-pushing things off the table platforms.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
He's more intelligent than either! n/t
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Numbers move quickly these days
Polling is itself a problematical process in the digital age. And there is no guarantee that the votes will be counted accurately. That said, June leads mean nothing.
It was just six weeks ago, two months into the Pandemic, that Trump equaled his highest Gallup approval rating at 49% on May 13. Since then, his idiotic blathering and blustering about Black Lives Matter, the protests, the riots and the looting have turned lots of poll respondents against him and the most recent number from Gallup fell to 39% as of June 4. Gallup.
Polling zigs and zags are always a problem for political prognostication and there are more than a few Presidential losers who had sizable leads before the election:
Carter, Dukakis, Poppy Bush, Gore, Hillary.
Finally, if 2020 has taught anything, it is that events are more volatile than ever. This election is not over. It is not even a certainly that Joe Biden will be on the ballot.
I get requests for money due to pending crises from Move On Dot Org at least twice a week. The crisis this week is favorable polling. Blah blah blah.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
I keep harping on this Gallup thing
just about everybody but Gallup uses confirmed demographics, available from each state, that includes political registration. Thus their target is about 39% Democratic, 29% Republican to match the national numbers.
But Gallup does not do this until the very end of the cycle. It means there are wild swings as they sometimes have too many Republicans, sometimes have too many Democrats. They are, despite their reputation, unreliable. The 49% number was an outlier. Perhaps the 39% is too. The point is the "drop" in the Gallup polls could be explained by differences in the sample makeup.
@Shahryar Good point. On the
Good point. On the other hand, that particular Gallup approval poll has stayed within 35 and 45 for most of Trump's presidency, and this particular zag coincides with other polls that showed him up a bit in May and heading south now. But I suspect you are right about the ten point spread over three weeks being anomalous.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
I'm not sure
about this statement and most of the particulars:
Considering the numbers from June of election year, Carter in 1980 never had a consistently large lead, in part bc 3d party Anderson was polling decently, drawing much of his support from disgruntled liberal Ds. In 1992 Poppy didn't have consistent large leads over Clinton; BC probably had more time ahead in the polls. 2000 Gore and Bush had their leads then misreporting about the first debate caused a shift to Bush. 2016: Hillary never had a consistent sizable lead and never broke 46%.
As for Trump's current dismal numbers, both hosts on The Rising today noted in an interesting segment that new polling showing Biden with double-digit leads nationally is becoming more the norm, rather than suspected outliers, and both noted how Donald's support among seniors is eroding, including in FL. Of the half-dozen swing/battleground states showing recent polling, Biden leads in all but one, with DT holding on to a very narrow fraction of a pct lead in NC. Obviously it's early, but it is relevant to start watching trend lines, particularly in key states.
If Biden gets elected then we will just have a rerun of
Obama's presidency where nothing will be done to help the 99% who are in even more dire financial staights than they were after the 2007 global economic crisis. During Obama's administration the rich got their Bush tax cuts made permanent and the banks got trillions in bailouts while we didn't even get $300 like we did during Bush's tenure.
Raise your hand if you think Biden's presidency will be any different that Obama's. Or even Trump's. I seeing lots of information that there are loads of Obama insiders inside Biden's campaign and we know how much help they were for us during O's tenure don't we. If you need a refresher on that here is Jimmy from 3 years ago with some of Obama's greatest hits.
Many of the things that happened during both Bush and Obama's tenures listed here that people were outraged about are still happening under Trump. I thought people would have been outraged when Obama closed the book on torture and told us to just "LOOK FORWARD" when he had a duty under international law to not do that. Sadly no. Now no one even talks about the CIA black sites or what private security companies are doing. I am guilty of that, but then I can't do a damn thing about it.
Will Biden rescind the murderous sanctions on Iran that Trump keeps upping after he withdrew from the Iran deal. Nope. He recently said that he will not. Will he reverse the massive deregulations that Trump is doing? Who knows? No one is asking him what his policies are. His ads are feel good ones on identity politics and TRUMP IS BAD.
BINGO!!
Trump was raked over the coals for saying that he grabbed women by their *****. But people dismissed the accusation that Biden actually did grab a woman's *****.
I wonder if Michelle has anything to say about that? Now damn this is some effing election choice isn't it? I see lots of people saying that democrats didn't learn anything from Hillary's loss. I disagree. They know damn well that if they actually want to win control over government that they need to go back to being FDR democrats and that would mean that they got behind Bernie who was trying to steer them there. We know that they would rather let Trump win again and let the senate stay in republican hands because that way they don't have to do anything for us. To me it is that simple. Besides they are not 'resisting' Trump in any way. Except for yabbing their mouths about how bad he is.
yes, but...
do they want to win control? Do they want to be what we call "FDR Democrats"?
What we've seen with our own eyes is they're terrified to be in a commanding position. They would have to deliver and, since they're the "good cop" and have no intention of doing such a thing, deliberately gave up their huge majorities in Congress the last time they had them. They overshot the mark a little. They would have been happy with 55 Senators as long as they didn't have 60. In their panic they lost 12 seats. Nice going, jerks!
Caitlan on Biden "out-hawking Trump"
"Joe Biden keeps trying to out-warmonger Donald Trump, and by Joe Biden I of course mean the team of handlers who are animating the dementia-ravaged corpse of the Biden campaign like a ventriloquist operating a wooden dummy.
In response to Trump suggesting an openness to scaling back his administration’s murderous Venezuela policy and meeting with President Nicolás Maduro, whoever runs Biden’s Twitter account for him seized upon the moment to assert that the former vice president will be doing no such thing if elected commander-in-chief.
“Trump talks tough on Venezuela, but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas Maduro,” tweeted Biden Incorporated. “As President, I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy.”
“Translation: if Trump retreats from his current policy of trying to sanction and suffocate Venezuelan into submission, Biden will make sure to revive it,” journalist Aaron Maté said in response.
“To be clear, Joe Biden is now attacking Donald Trump from the right on Venezuela,” said journalist Walker Bragman....."
Further down in the article...
"Biden has attacked Trump’s partial troop withdrawal from Syria, using talking points from the so-called war on terror to absurdly claim during a primary debate that the president is putting America at risk of a terrorist strike from ISIS.
“We have ISIS that’s going to come here,” Biden said. “They are going to damage the United States of America. That’s why we got involved in the first place.” (bold is mine)
And of course Biden & Co have been attacking Trump for being too soft on Russia, despite this administration’s many, many dangerously hawkish new cold war escalations against Moscow.
“We need a President who will stand up to the Kremlin, push back against Putin, and take immediate steps to ensure the security of our elections,” Biden’s Twitter account said last year.
This line of attack is so ubiquitous in the Biden campaign that it sometimes just takes the form of a vague, general swipe at Trump’s unwillingness to be more warlike, with an April tweet reading simply “Donald Trump says he’s a wartime president — it’s time for him to act like one.”...
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2020/06/22/biden-and-his-ventriloquists-kee...
Biden will continue the sanctions on Venezuela
It was Obama who said that they were a national security risk for the country. Obama put regime change back on the table for them. And of course Putin will continue to be the bad guy because that was one reason for Russia Gate. Hillary’s no fly zone over Syria and restarting the Cold War with Russia. Except RT has an article on how our focus is turning towards China which could be very dangerous. China is the new rising power that threatens us don’t you know? "Can’t we all just get along?"
Someone should give Caitlin a position in government to set it right. She sees things so clearly.
Here is Biden’s statement on Venezuela
lol...sure Joe. I don’t believe you mean that.
ETA.
I read it wrong. To me standing with the people means that he will support the fact that they elected Maduro fairly. Joe disagrees with them even though their election was much fairer than ours are.
This guy says it better than I did
A few years ago that number was 40,000 Venezuelans had died because of sanctions. Who knows what that number is today? Our government knows that sanctions never lead to people rising up against their leaders and that they kill the citizens, but they keep doing it. Tell me we learned any lessons from the "never again" saga. Lives are expendable for this exceptional country.
Misquotation
Democrats say that. What I heard from quasi-neutral media was "when I see a good looking woman I want to grab them by the *****". i.e. he's not gay, although personally I want to use something other than my hands. I'll let you guess as to what.
However you point is very well taken.
Sidenote:
How the public has changed from being outraged that a President had consensual sex with a woman who admitted she set out to seduce him. Although I doubt she had to try very hard.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
FDR Democrats
You're not alone. It's "that simple" to me, too.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Lots of good election numbers in this clip
Most Biden voters are voting against Trump than voting for Biden. Most Trump voters are voting for him than voting against Biden. Which means what we already know. Biden is a weak candidate and in normal times he would lose big time to Trump. Trump could turn this around by offering us financial support so that the economy doesn't tank as badly. And he could pass universal health care for all diseases instead of just picking up the tab for COVID.
And why does Biden need the money if he is just going to sit in his basement and not get asked any questions on his policies? He hasn't held a news conference for 80 days. Why not? Well Symone has an answer for that. Lol. Biden is leading the polls so why would he screw up by talking to people and letting them see how he is not really well mentally. Even in the one ad by Biden that keeps playing before videos he slurs his words and stutters. If that was the best take then he does have some big trouble that they are hiding from us.
As for the number of people who did and did not go to his Tulsa rally. There were still a lot of people there in the middle of an epidemic and more than Biden could get in one or more rallies put together. Big Effing Deal about how the stadium wasn't full to the rafters. The lower seats were pretty jam packed weren't they? There is an epidemic going on. Why not cheer that so many people did not go instead of making fun of Trump for them staying home. This is what being a 3rd world country is showing the world. SMDH.
What I would like to know is
Who is actually writing whatever comments are supposedly from Biden. It looked to me as though his dementia is advanced enough that it is unlikely he is actually coming up with policy statements himself. I would also like to know who will be making decisions should he be the D on the ballot in November and win the election.
I also wonder who is making decisions now. I know Trump does his tweeting and mouths off about things. But I do not think he puts in the time and attention previous presidents have. I suspect much is delegated to cabinet heads and as long as they don't tick Trump off, get a fairly free hand merely getting an okay from him. But I wonder if there are others coming up with policies that are formally attributed to him. My impression of T is that as long as he has his name on things, he doesn't pay a lot of attention to all the details of what comes out of his office.
Opinions? Disagreement?
I think Symone is writing the tweets for Biden
and she is getting her talking points from his advisers on various issues. Of course Biden will tow the party line on ISIS because his supporters think Flynn who told us that they were supported by us and our Saudi allies is a traitor. They also think that Libya was just a routine civil war and not a regime change. This is the damage Obama did to the anti war movement. He put them to sleep and they haven’t woken up to protest against what Trump is doing.
As for who is making decisions for Trump I think you’re right. Adelson, the federalist society and Koch Insiders are telling him what to do and he says okay. Then he gets to go golfing.
In 2016 the thinking was “Trump’s so bad, Hill’s a shoo in.”
That didn’t work out at all.
Now, the Dems are looking for another way; “Biden is so clearly unfit to run or serve, everyone will be relieved and grateful when Hillary steps in to take his place, even those pesky Bernie Bro’s.”
Remember, she knows who the nominee will be and always has. Don’t forget, it’s still her turn!
I have $50 bucks that says it’s Her, not Biden. Winnings are pre-pledged to website upkeep. Any takers? Let’s have a little fun.
“ …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
Done!
I think the odds are with you, but I won't mind paying off.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.