DL Open Thread July 13 2022
I kinda wanted Biden as the nominee again, but I realize that was out of discomfort around the idea of replacing him as the nominee. Now I’m not sure we have a choice. Erik Loomis at LGM gets to the heart of it:
Biden is so massively out of touch with the nation. (See Biden Throws a picnic – NYT)Now, I do understand that this precise kind of posturing is why a certain sector of voters wanted him. But it doesn’t work, it won’t work, and at this point, it can’t work. That Biden thinks it can once again demonstrates him as a throwback to another era. He is just way past his prime.
(snip)
On the debate about whether to replace him as the Democratic nomination, I tend to agree we should replace him. I was actually pretty impressed by his first year. But two things have happened that have totally undermined him. One of them is not really his fault. He did the right thing by ending the war in Afghanistan and then was pilloried in the media for it. Well, sometimes that is going to happen when you do the right thing. What concerns me about this on his end is that he seemed genuinely surprised by this and hasn’t had a strong media strategy since.
More concerning to me is that one he realized that in fact he couldn’t get ol’Mitch on the phone and work out a deal and that Joe Manchin was going to veto anything he didn’t like as our personal lord and savior, he just had nothing. The energy disappeared. The agenda disappeared. And while I am by no means dismissing the challenges McConnell and Manchin provide, the fact that the administration was somehow caught so unbelievably flatflooted over the overturning of Roe is just a sign that this is a pretty lost bunch of people. This is always a problem when you actually believe your own rhetoric and Biden legit believes his. I have trouble seeing him getting his mojo back, especially when he thinks inviting Republicans over for a picnic is central to his strategy.
Lack of guile and fight in a time that calls for guile and fight.
Here’s an ho-hum, just another day at the office, barely commented upon artifact of the GOP’s level of guile and fight via Justin Baragona’s twitter:
@justinbaragona
Jake Tapper: “One doesn’t have to be brilliant to attempt a coup.” John Bolton: “I disagree with that. As somebody who has helped plan coup d’etat, not here, but other places, it takes a lot of work.”
THIS will end gridlock in Washington:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/us/politics/biden-congressional-picnic.html
“At a time of mounting political division, the president threw a picnic for members of Congress and their families, inviting every Republican and Democrat in the House and Senate. He used it to renew his plea for a more personalized, civilized political discourse, reviving a tradition interrupted in recent years and seeking to recapture some of what the first lady, Jill Biden, called the “magic” of the White House grounds to bring people together across the aisle.”
Until the ‘magic of the White House grounds’ becomes an Elephant burial ground, it’s a waste of time.
Utterly pathetic.
“They want to take away the rights of everyone who’s not a white man, but I think we can work with them.”
“that was out of discomfort around the idea of replacing him as the nominee. Now I’m not sure we have a choice. ”
Someone electable has to win the Democratic presidential primary.
By then, voters will have forgotten the J6 hearings and the media will be consumed with Biden impeachment hearings.
There are some wild cards:
– Biden could resign and allow Harris to run as the incumbent, which helps but does not guarantee a win. In that case though Harris would appoint a VP who would have to be confirmed by both houses, which may be in Republican hands, so probably a DINO. And there would still be a primary.
– A Trump trial could blunt the media/voter impact of the Biden impeachment hearings. As long as the verdict comes AFTER the election – you don’t want to chance an acquittal.
This kind of BS speculation makes my head ache. The only practical response is to hope for a Trump indictment, and work like hell on the midterms.
Total agreement, much like Coons Biden waxes poetic and dreams of the mythical “Bipartisanship” with a Republican party that declared war twenty years ago. We all knew this would happen and that Joe was , at best, a place holder. We need to find his replacement, a replacement that is relatively young and can win. I suggest Gavin Nusom, battle hardened as California’s governor he can take the heat. He also looks like a movie star, and that counts.
One difference between Biden and Coons–Biden is nostalgic for a time that he lived through, Coons is nostalgic for a time that hasn’t existed during his misbegotten years in Washington.
Yeah, but did it really exist other then on occasion? I remember endless strife, political and social, stretching back to the civil rights era. Sure, Reagan and Tip O’Neil could sit down at the end of the day and have a drink, and yes today it’s more likely to be a geriatric slap fight, but I suspect they were just more likely to keep the hatred at bay and play nice in public. Mom would have approved.
Jake Tapper: “One doesn’t have to be brilliant to attempt a coup.”
John Bolton: “I disagree with that. As somebody who has helped plan coup d’etat, not here, but other places, it takes a lot of work.”
See if you can spot the logical disconnect. Emphasis mine to help.