2024 Elections Thread

[ciao_yall]

Biden brings more than donors. He brought together the right combination of voters in 2020: Suburban women and union workers in blue wall states, independents in Arizona. It is unclear that Harris, or any other Democrat, can put together a coalition like that in time for the election. Biden may not be able to do it again either, but it is not a reach to say he has a better shot than anyone else at this point.

And Biden has a point about elites. It isn't just donors, but pundits, Democratic congresspeople, and others who are declaring that he can't win, even though the data does not really indicate that voters have turned on him since the debate.

I say all this as someone who wishes he would step aside.

What percentage of donors are...

1) Genuine believers in the D party who want to see it succeed, regardless of who is on the ticket;
2) Cynically investing in a "winner" to do their bidding after they take office?

[Sun_Worshiper]

Biden brings more than donors. He brought together the right combination of voters in 2020: Suburban women and union workers in blue wall states, independents in Arizona. It is unclear that Harris, or any other Democrat, can put together a coalition like that in time for the election. Biden may not be able to do it again either, but it is not a reach to say he has a better shot than anyone else at this point.

And Biden has a point about elites. It isn't just donors, but pundits, Democratic congresspeople, and others who are declaring that he can't win, even though the data does not really indicate that voters have turned on him since the debate.

I say all this as someone who wishes he would step aside.

What percentage of donors are...

1) Genuine believers in the D party who want to see it succeed, regardless of who is on the ticket;
2) Cynically investing in a "winner" to do their bidding after they take office?

I don't know. I'm also not sure those are mutually exclusive categories.

But whether it is Biden or Harris the policy is going to look essentially the same, so I think big donors that are withholding money from Biden are doing so because they are afraid he can't win and want to pressure him out of the race in favor of someone who can.

[Langue_doc]

Fear of Trump will make it a close race. Even if Biden is in a coma he'll get 45 percent of the vote or more.

Not necessarily. Biden won in 2020 because of a combination of factors--independents and several Republicans voting against the incumbent, Covid, and because he was seen as the stop-gap for a strong candidate in 2024. This time, however, the concern is that Biden has been sheltered from the voters and the news media, and that he is no longer a strong candidate because of the appearance that his family is actively involved in policy decisions.

Wisconsin Radio Show Says It Edited Biden Interview at Campaign's Request

The first few paragraphs:

A Wisconsin radio network said Thursday that it edited a recent interview with President Biden at the request of his campaign, a choice it said did not meet listeners' expectations for journalistic standards.

Civic Media said it became aware of the changes after the host of "The Earl Ingram Show" revealed that the campaign had given him a list of questions to ask the president during the interview, which was taped on July 3 and aired the following day.

In a statement, the company said that it learned on Monday that "immediately after the phone interview was recorded, the Biden campaign called and asked for two edits to the recording before it aired." The company, which operates 20 progressive radio stations throughout Wisconsin, said it immediately began investigating the matter "given the gravity of the current political movement."

Lauren Hitt, a Biden campaign spokeswoman, did not directly respond to questions about the edits or whether it had asked other programs to alter interviews with the president after the fact. In a statement, Ms. Hitt said that "hosts have always been free to ask the questions and air the segments they think will best inform their listeners."

In addition to Mr. Ingram, several other hosts and producers of radio programs told The New York Times that they had used prescreened questions or talking points from the campaign before their own interviews with Mr. Biden. Last week, Andrea Lawful-Sanders, a host at WURD in Philadelphia, resigned after acknowledging that she was given questions by the campaign before an interview.

In other news,

Bernie Sanders: Joe Biden for President

Disclaimer: Didn't read this or the articles on DJT.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Fear of Trump will make it a close race. Even if Biden is in a coma he'll get 45 percent of the vote or more.

Not necessarily. Biden won in 2020 because of a combination of factors--independents and several Republicans voting against the incumbent, Covid, and because he was seen as the stop-gap for a strong candidate in 2024. This time, however, the concern is that Biden has been sheltered from the voters and the news media, and that he is no longer a strong candidate because of the appearance that his family is actively involved in policy decisions.

I'm not saying Biden will win, or that he is a strong candidate. But Trump is hated enough by 45% of voters that they'll vote for the Democrat no matter who it is (within reason). Trump could still win in this scenario though - Clinton won 48% in 2016.

[spork]

And so it begins.

I noted Trump's Nazi salute as he was herded off the stage.

[dismalist]

And so it begins.

I noted Trump's Nazi salute as he was herded off the stage.

The raised, clenched fist is the commie salute.

[spork]

And so it begins.

I noted Trump's Nazi salute as he was herded off the stage.

The raised, clenched fist is the commie salute.

Watch closely and you'll see it.

[dismalist]

And so it begins.

I noted Trump's Nazi salute as he was herded off the stage.

The raised, clenched fist is the commie salute.

Watch closely and you'll see it.

Trump carried off stage

[Sun_Worshiper]

I'm glad he's ok. I'm sure he'll be issuing a statement shortly renouncing political violence of all sorts.

[Parasaurolophus]

Well. I suspect that drama cinches his win.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Well. I suspect that drama cinches his win.

We'll see. It could help him if there is a sort of rally around the flag effect, but it could also hurt him if he and his followers react with heated rhetoric (or worse). And of course we are still many news cycles away from the election.

[Sun_Worshiper]

I'm sure this won't happen, but it would be good if he and Biden did an event together to tone down the political tensions.

[Parasaurolophus]

I think what helps him is the drama, and the fact that he was able to play it up to the camera. If ever there was a contrast to Biden looking old and confused, that's it.

Doubtless they'll spin it as a Democratic assassination attempt regardless of the facts, too.

[Sun_Worshiper]

I think what helps him is the drama, and the fact that he was able to play it up to the camera. If ever there was a contrast to Biden looking old and confused, that's it.

Doubtless they'll spin it as a Democratic assassination attempt regardless of the facts, too.

Maybe. But drama is not necessarily Trump's friend. When he was president his poll numbers generally improve when he was out of the media spotlight. People wanted a change in 2016 so they took a chance, but all the chaos was exactly what turned them away from him in 2020.

And those right wing talking points might not hold up so well given what we are learning about the shooter.

[spork]

My wife called me early this morning my time, from several thousand miles away, to report that international coverage of the assassination attempt is reinforcing the image people have of 21st century Americans:

https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c51yly4085lo.

I told her that she joined the tribe about fifty years too late.