The handwringing following Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance is deafening, and it has led to a pundit-led frenzy of media commentary that another Biden term would be a dangerous calamity.
You are absolutely right the plot has been lost. And the role of corporate media needs to be ruthlessly examined. Media like CNN were complicit in providing Trump with millions of dollars worth of free political advertising masquerading as "news" in the 2016 election as well as in this one.
Last I checked debating is premised on an honour system of defending a position using facts, not blatant lies. This was not a debate. It was a reality TV production. And Trump is a creation of "reality" TV. If however one still wants to cling to the idea this was a "debate" that anyone with a modicum of intelligence thinks Trump won is both sad and scary. As a "star" of reality TV of course Trump performed well. Biden did not perform well as a reality TV actor, but he does very well as the President of the US. If this had been a real debate and not a cash generator for CNN the moderators would have disqualified Trump as soon as the first lie was out of his mouth. Why isn't the media demanding that Trump step out of the race? His lying was outrageous. but he makes them money.
Canadians very much have to pay attention to what is happening in the US as over the last 20 years our conservative parties have abandoned Canadian conservatism and now embrace US MAGA ideology. Their policies and actions are clones of MAGA. Everything that Trump and his MAGA sycophants spit out, conservative parties in Canada repeat. Donors and political operatives are even the same. Alberta is the poster child for this. The question Canadians need to ask themselves is do they want Canada to be like UCP Alberta. A government run by a political party controlled by religious groups like Evangelicals (Take Back Alberta) and Mormon corporations (check out ownership of ranches in Southern Alberta) and corporate greed. A government who is busy selling out Albertans' healthcare and education to private investment funds,. As these businesses are grossly under-regulated and monitored they function like privateers, although some say more like pirates. The only people doing well in Alberta are the carpetbaggers and UCP cronies.
Well said, but I believe you are not understanding this correctly. Biden's fitness to be President is not the issue. His fitness to be ELECTED President is the issue. In the small number of swing states that will decide this election, about 45% of the voters would vote for a cryogenically frozen head over Trump. About 48% would vote for Trump over Jesus Christ. Like it or not, that is truth. That means Biden needs to woo about 80% of the small number remaining (i.e. about 6% of the 7%). That's the math. And these 7% are not terribly sophisticated and don't necessarily believe in a fascist threat. So when presented with with this capacity issue, maybe Biden only gets 4% of the 7%. And that leaves us with a dictator and the destruction of liberal democracy here and abroad. That is the position, not how fit the President is to administrate the next term of office.
In turn, I believe you are not understanding this correctly: by endlessly talking about Biden's fitness to be elected President, commentators are pushing a media landscape in which Trump's fitness to be President is not the focus of discussion, making it all that much harder to convince the supposed 80% of unconvinced voters.
Oh absolutely true. Except the commentators this sliver of the population might watch aren't on CNN or Fox. They are on TicToc and Discord and YouTube shorts. And MAGA has mastered these while the Democrats just learned to spell them. I don't know the answer is to stay the course or throw the Hail Mary, and taking the risks that even talking about it entails. Actually the sure winner would be if they nominated Taylor Swift, who will reach the age of qualificaton in December, thus making her eligible. That is the state of US affairs now. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, some governor---all crapshoots. Pop singer, sure thing.
What irritates me is that the people fantasizing about Biden resigning claim that they are the rational, dispassionate people merely following where the facts lead them; just about 180 from reality. They assume that there would then be a contested convention, at which Johnny Unbeatable would be nominated! That is absurd:
1) There ain't gonna be a contested convention; if Biden withdraws, the candidate will be Kamala Harris, says $212 million of campaign funds that can legally only deployed by Biden or Harris. And also basic democratic legitimacy.
2) We've actually run the experiment twice in the past (Truman & Johnson) and both times the party lost. You might whine that there are only two data points, but that is two more than the contrary argument has and that is what they say. 1968 was a disaster! And you want that again? Expecting this to turn out well is like betting on the losing team to win a game that was played last week.
3) Biden doesn't have the nomination because of a shadowy conspiracy of "the Democratic Party" but because he was the choice of millions of actually existing Democratic primary voters. Has it occurred to any of these pundits that, if given a second bite at the apple, the convention won't actually choose whomever they think would be the best candidate?
Thanks for your response, Emmett! I think it is a fair point. The “least worst option” argument is one I’d agree with, considering Trump’s hawkish stance on the conflict. I still think however, especially given the uncommitted movement in various states, that the Gaza question is a significant red line, and the dissatisfaction with Biden may motivate key pockets in swings states to simply stay home. Furthermore, in my humble opinion, if one was to convince such voters, perhaps the angle ought to be the “trump is worse for Gaza” rather than “he is a threat to democracy”. It appears the latter, which appears to be not resonating super well with some key voters, has been emphasized rather than the former. Regards to the second point, I don’t think I was clear. I was commenting on the messaging from the Democratic Party which framed the Trump presidency as a threat to democracy. I think, given their (Democrats) various actions in the past and present, which seem to me to be manifestly undemocratic, I simply have a hard time avoiding the hypocrisy, regardless of how accurate the message is. Was simply commenting on the messenger rather than the message.
Thanks so much for your insights, and taking the time to engage with me. Appreciate it
Well said. I’d be really interested to hear your thoughts on the role of the war in Gaza, and its potential to impact this election. I think when you look at swing states like Michigan with a large Palestinian and Arab community, they are rightfully upset and angry at the Biden administration’s for its continuous support for Israel. Regardless of where one stands on the issue, there is serious reservations for many Arab Americans who view Biden as complacent in this war, and blame him for the many Palestinian lives lost. It would be difficult to muster motivation to vote for an administration overseeing and funding this war, because there is a “threat to democracy”.
Side note: this is also a party which refused to hold a primary even though their candidate is highly unpopular. This is a party that rigged the primary election against Sanders in 2016. Supports dictatorships and despot all over the world, topple democratically elected leaders routinely (the latter two are bipartisan practices). For these, and many reason, “threat to democracy” messages, for me personally, rings slightly hollow.
Even if the Palestinian/Arab community were to only vote based on the Gaza question, there are reasons to see Biden as better than Trump. What restraint would Trump ever try to get Israel to consider? In this context it probably is truly a "least-worst" option, but the option still exists, and hopefully they still care about the fate of human rights in the US, etc.
As for 'threat to democracy' ringing hollow, I don't know what else to say. It's never been so glaring and real.
My sentiments EXACTLY, so eloquently expressed by Emmett.
You are absolutely right the plot has been lost. And the role of corporate media needs to be ruthlessly examined. Media like CNN were complicit in providing Trump with millions of dollars worth of free political advertising masquerading as "news" in the 2016 election as well as in this one.
Last I checked debating is premised on an honour system of defending a position using facts, not blatant lies. This was not a debate. It was a reality TV production. And Trump is a creation of "reality" TV. If however one still wants to cling to the idea this was a "debate" that anyone with a modicum of intelligence thinks Trump won is both sad and scary. As a "star" of reality TV of course Trump performed well. Biden did not perform well as a reality TV actor, but he does very well as the President of the US. If this had been a real debate and not a cash generator for CNN the moderators would have disqualified Trump as soon as the first lie was out of his mouth. Why isn't the media demanding that Trump step out of the race? His lying was outrageous. but he makes them money.
Canadians very much have to pay attention to what is happening in the US as over the last 20 years our conservative parties have abandoned Canadian conservatism and now embrace US MAGA ideology. Their policies and actions are clones of MAGA. Everything that Trump and his MAGA sycophants spit out, conservative parties in Canada repeat. Donors and political operatives are even the same. Alberta is the poster child for this. The question Canadians need to ask themselves is do they want Canada to be like UCP Alberta. A government run by a political party controlled by religious groups like Evangelicals (Take Back Alberta) and Mormon corporations (check out ownership of ranches in Southern Alberta) and corporate greed. A government who is busy selling out Albertans' healthcare and education to private investment funds,. As these businesses are grossly under-regulated and monitored they function like privateers, although some say more like pirates. The only people doing well in Alberta are the carpetbaggers and UCP cronies.
Well said, but I believe you are not understanding this correctly. Biden's fitness to be President is not the issue. His fitness to be ELECTED President is the issue. In the small number of swing states that will decide this election, about 45% of the voters would vote for a cryogenically frozen head over Trump. About 48% would vote for Trump over Jesus Christ. Like it or not, that is truth. That means Biden needs to woo about 80% of the small number remaining (i.e. about 6% of the 7%). That's the math. And these 7% are not terribly sophisticated and don't necessarily believe in a fascist threat. So when presented with with this capacity issue, maybe Biden only gets 4% of the 7%. And that leaves us with a dictator and the destruction of liberal democracy here and abroad. That is the position, not how fit the President is to administrate the next term of office.
In turn, I believe you are not understanding this correctly: by endlessly talking about Biden's fitness to be elected President, commentators are pushing a media landscape in which Trump's fitness to be President is not the focus of discussion, making it all that much harder to convince the supposed 80% of unconvinced voters.
Oh absolutely true. Except the commentators this sliver of the population might watch aren't on CNN or Fox. They are on TicToc and Discord and YouTube shorts. And MAGA has mastered these while the Democrats just learned to spell them. I don't know the answer is to stay the course or throw the Hail Mary, and taking the risks that even talking about it entails. Actually the sure winner would be if they nominated Taylor Swift, who will reach the age of qualificaton in December, thus making her eligible. That is the state of US affairs now. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, some governor---all crapshoots. Pop singer, sure thing.
David Frum argued, several weeks ago, that Biden should refuse to debate Trump, because doing so would normalize and legitimize Trump’s candidacy.
I wish they had listened to him.
What irritates me is that the people fantasizing about Biden resigning claim that they are the rational, dispassionate people merely following where the facts lead them; just about 180 from reality. They assume that there would then be a contested convention, at which Johnny Unbeatable would be nominated! That is absurd:
1) There ain't gonna be a contested convention; if Biden withdraws, the candidate will be Kamala Harris, says $212 million of campaign funds that can legally only deployed by Biden or Harris. And also basic democratic legitimacy.
2) We've actually run the experiment twice in the past (Truman & Johnson) and both times the party lost. You might whine that there are only two data points, but that is two more than the contrary argument has and that is what they say. 1968 was a disaster! And you want that again? Expecting this to turn out well is like betting on the losing team to win a game that was played last week.
3) Biden doesn't have the nomination because of a shadowy conspiracy of "the Democratic Party" but because he was the choice of millions of actually existing Democratic primary voters. Has it occurred to any of these pundits that, if given a second bite at the apple, the convention won't actually choose whomever they think would be the best candidate?
Thanks for your response, Emmett! I think it is a fair point. The “least worst option” argument is one I’d agree with, considering Trump’s hawkish stance on the conflict. I still think however, especially given the uncommitted movement in various states, that the Gaza question is a significant red line, and the dissatisfaction with Biden may motivate key pockets in swings states to simply stay home. Furthermore, in my humble opinion, if one was to convince such voters, perhaps the angle ought to be the “trump is worse for Gaza” rather than “he is a threat to democracy”. It appears the latter, which appears to be not resonating super well with some key voters, has been emphasized rather than the former. Regards to the second point, I don’t think I was clear. I was commenting on the messaging from the Democratic Party which framed the Trump presidency as a threat to democracy. I think, given their (Democrats) various actions in the past and present, which seem to me to be manifestly undemocratic, I simply have a hard time avoiding the hypocrisy, regardless of how accurate the message is. Was simply commenting on the messenger rather than the message.
Thanks so much for your insights, and taking the time to engage with me. Appreciate it
Well said. I’d be really interested to hear your thoughts on the role of the war in Gaza, and its potential to impact this election. I think when you look at swing states like Michigan with a large Palestinian and Arab community, they are rightfully upset and angry at the Biden administration’s for its continuous support for Israel. Regardless of where one stands on the issue, there is serious reservations for many Arab Americans who view Biden as complacent in this war, and blame him for the many Palestinian lives lost. It would be difficult to muster motivation to vote for an administration overseeing and funding this war, because there is a “threat to democracy”.
Side note: this is also a party which refused to hold a primary even though their candidate is highly unpopular. This is a party that rigged the primary election against Sanders in 2016. Supports dictatorships and despot all over the world, topple democratically elected leaders routinely (the latter two are bipartisan practices). For these, and many reason, “threat to democracy” messages, for me personally, rings slightly hollow.
Even if the Palestinian/Arab community were to only vote based on the Gaza question, there are reasons to see Biden as better than Trump. What restraint would Trump ever try to get Israel to consider? In this context it probably is truly a "least-worst" option, but the option still exists, and hopefully they still care about the fate of human rights in the US, etc.
As for 'threat to democracy' ringing hollow, I don't know what else to say. It's never been so glaring and real.