The first presidential debate is done and the aftermath has not been good for the incumbent, Joe Biden.

Some Democrat politicians and operatives reportedly texted CNN commentators with hopes that Mr Biden, 81, would step aside. Some floated the possibility of going to the White House and publicly stating concerns about him remaining as candidate.

But if Mr Biden were to drop out, it would be a free-for-all. There is no official mechanism for him or anyone else in the party to choose his successor, meaning Democrats would be left with an open (Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago from August 19-22.

  • notanaltaccount@lemmy.world
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    8 hours ago

    The conspiracy theorists all say Joe is supposed to step down and Gavin Newsom somehow is added to the ticket which then will win. These conspiracy theorists also say that candidates are selected in advance by the powers that be and it’s all pagentry to deceive the gullible masses. If this is true, then we need not worry for this is all fot dramatic effect and Gavin and Kamela are already selected.

  • NatakuNox@lemmy.world
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    9 hours ago

    Gavin Newsom or Jon Stewart would be the only people with name recognized and the politics to win. Knowing the DNC will get Hillary Clinton or Hakeem Jeffries

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      6 hours ago

      Jon Stewart

      Would be extremely funny if the Dem response to Trump was to seed the election with their own brand of C-List celebrity.

      But our country simply isn’t that cool.

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    You maybe should have tried this before 2024. This is gonna go on to November now. Just go vote for him. Old as he is.

    • Wes4Humanity@lemm.ee
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      9 hours ago

      Yeah… We’re all going to vote for him if he’s the nominee… But he’s still going to lose… That’s the point, the point progressives have been making all along. BIDEN. WILL. LOSE. Like the sun will rise in the east, it’s just a fact of nature. They need to nominate someone who will get Gen z excited to come out, so at least there’s a chance of stopping Trump.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        We’re all going to vote for him if he’s the nominee… But he’s still going to lose…

        The state of the election is such that turnout is going to tank. Libs and Cons are both very worried who the indie voter aligns with, but I’m betting a bunch of people simply don’t vote in November.

        • girlfreddy@lemmy.caOP
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          4 hours ago

          If the DNC would get their heads out of their asses (a longshot, ik) and voted in another viable, smart candidate they could turn voter apathy around in a heartbeat.

          Too bad they seem to be happy with the power status quo and fail to see the real danger they are in if/when Trump wins … cause he would not be adverse to using guillotines or nooses to fix that ‘problem’.

  • anon_8675309@lemmy.world
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    There’s no time. Democrats, I swear, just can’t see past one election at a time. They’re literally not prepping someone else. What they think will happen is KH will be the next person and they’re flat wrong. She can’t win. But they’ll dig their heads in the sand and put her up anyway.

    So, now, because they put an old guy up last time they’re stuck. They have zero choice but to run what the brung.

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      They do far too much of it’s their turn in the big chair and not enough who is the best candidate. They cannot see past Trump as an absolutely terrible choice and think anyone else would be the automatic winner like 2016 didn’t just happen because of that shit.

      Macron is going through the same bullshit, thinking that the electorate would rather support him than literal racists. Guess what fuck nuts, the electorate is about to call you on that, as dumb a decision as it is.

      • skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de
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        18 hours ago

        That’s an astute observation. The Democrats are like the perpetual optimist from 90s cartoons that think the story always ends happy, the good guys win, and all you need is honor and trust and a good soundbite to pull through, instead of actually playing chess, or checkers, or perhaps politics with enough forward thinking to actually plan a few moves ahead for once. Perhaps they should hire an evil person to teach them how the R’s think.

  • Paragone@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Because it is sooo late in the arbitrary-election-cycle, no matter what the Dems do, they’re fucked.

    Go with Biden?

    Then they’re fucked.

    Go with Kamala Harris, whom the white-supremacists have been working against for years?

    Then they’re fucked.

    Find somebody else?

    There isn’t time, so then they’re fucked.


    This highlights the category of political-lesson that you have to “fail early & fail often” ( to use a phrase from successful serial-startup founders ) in order to find the robust candidates whom you can currently win with.

    UNlike the way the Dems have played.

    The CNN+NYT “shutting down” of progressive-issues & progressive-voices, in the last election, burned too much potential out of existence, and that traction is gone: non-recoverable.

    The mega-entitlement of the Biden insitution is buckling & collapsing with increasing obviousity.

    I fucking told everyone so, again & again & again, but it was all my “delusion” & “incompetence” & “defectiveness” & “lies”, was it??

    Trump is going to become the US’s dictator,

    & is going to begin the 2nd half of the US’s Civil War ( the Confederates only pretended to surrender, & now are earning a “reverse takeover” ), & the butchery will probably reduce the US’s population by 2/3rds, within 12y, counting all the consequences both direct & indirect ( complete failure to manage a hurricane’s landfall costs much more life than does managing it competently: multiply that by a dozen per year, & you’ve got human-costs up the gills, without even considering atmospheric-rivers, megadroughts, quakes, wildfires, or any other kind of disaster to multiply costs on, right? ).

    it is infuriating to see people insist that “social pressure will make this work”, millions of times,

    while it measurably, proveably, isn’t working, but that is what Natural Selection at the species-level means, isn’t it?

    Terminal Species-ending Butchery.


    Sunak’s obliteration of his own party, Kim Campbell’s obliteration of her own party, what was that Liberal premier who wiped out her own party, in Ontario, can’t remember that one’s name…

    Social-pressure never acts when it is needed, it only acts when it gets around to feeling comfortable with acting, and that is consistently too-late.

    So, when will the Democratic Party admit they need to change gears??

    After they’ve fundamentally lost, is when.

    Imagine running a bunch of freight-trains that way: “oh, we’ll slow-down when we feel a collision beginning, but until then, we’re really fine, & there’s no indication of any real need to be doing anything different, is there?”

    Feelings are the wrong metric for preventing this kind of catastrophy.

    frustration-rage

    Authority needs to have hard walls, bright lines, & deadly-force biting its corruptions/entitlements/dishonesties/DarkHexad enactments, etc.

    Political-process won’t ever allow any such rule, in its dominion, of course…

    And that is why political-process cannot be permitted to own our world’s fate: its conflict-of-interest, & its inescapable-corruption disallow integrity from ruling, & without integrity, then only “Justice”, with falsifying-quotes, the phony version of Justice, remains…


    So, The Great Filter’s going to extinguish yet another world, from this Universe, is it?

    Political-machiavellianism/dishonesty’s going to snuff all LivingPotential, LivingWorth, LivingOpportunity of this whole world, while the “social consensus” indulges in orgiastic clusterfucking, until existential-viability itself is gone…??

    Ah, but at least everyone will be able to feel that they “weren’t responsible”, right?

    Social-feelings: that’s the real LORD, and so long as it’s happy, then existence, itself, isn’t actually necessary, right??


    bitterness

    • notanaltaccount@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      It’s hard being intelligent enough to see the problems but lack the political will power and opportunity to change them.

      I believe you. I think Trump has a very good chance of winning and the result could be conflict among different states or groups within them. Unless the conspiracy theorists are right and the Gavin/Kamala ticket is already selected for the ballot and the win. But it seems likely Trump will win. The upper classes have engaged in price gouging because a Democrat was in office, Biden never called them out on it in aggressive way because he lacked the aggressive nature and rage and gall to do it, and an incredible number of people are feeling stressed out by price changes. There are also many swing voters unhappy with immigration policies and think they are too mild. Between the two issues, Biden would lose even if he did seem energetic and lucid.

      Do you think it’s bad enough that it makes sense to flee the US? And to where would one even flee? There are wars in Eastern Europe, it’s not even clear Western Europe is safe. I have always though Trump was likely in the pocket of Russia or an actual Russian Spy, so when Trump wins he will unequivocally support Putin, which will be a disaster because Western Europe can’t stand up to the evil of Putin and Trump alone… especially not when there are Chinese and Saudi alliances that Putin has been working on.

      It’s terrible but the best option is probably for Biden to escalate the war now, which he is unlikely to do since he’s sort of become a bit of a hippy. Putin sees Biden’s hippy weakness as well. If Trump is a Russian spy, the US intel agencies likely know and have to decide whether to do something to protect the country, even something that some might seem nefarious.

      It’s a terrible situation and mostly a distraction from the environmental catastrophy on the horizon.

      Do you think it makes sense to leave the US now? I am not that attached to anything and could go anywhere. I am white but don’t like bigots, which may impact my options.

        • Shardikprime@lemmy.world
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          19 hours ago

          Nah he’s basically saying people mind more to stroke their egos and what others in their in-group think of them , so much in fact, they be willing to risk humanity itself just to not give their perceived enemies the satisfaction

  • Audacious@sh.itjust.works
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    2 days ago

    Too many articles focusing on replacing Biden when they should be focusing on Trump being a federal convict walking around free.

    • wheeldawg@sh.itjust.works
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      I voted for him last time. May be dumb, but I did believe in him more than Biden. I still don’t know if he could carry the party, but I’d love to watch him try.

      • errer@lemmy.world
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        21 hours ago

        If you don’t want someone who is too fucking old then don’t pick Bernie…

        • Wes4Humanity@lemm.ee
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          It’s not that Biden is old, it’s that he’s senile… Bernie is sound of mind, has the national name recognition, and is wildly popular

        • wheeldawg@sh.itjust.works
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          17 hours ago

          Old is one problem. Old and mentally disabled is a whole other problem. Plus who are you supposed to vote for here with that rule? We’ve got 2 realistic options.

          But in general you’d be correct.

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          I’ll vote for a senile old man who wants universal healthcare and won’t help do a genocide any day of the week.

          I’ll also vote for a senile old liberal who’s the opposite of both of those things when the alternative is a fuckin Nazi, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be quiet about my displeasure.

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      The guy is an effective cheerleader for any cause he really believes in. I mean he almost singlehandedly extended benefits to 9/11 first responders on the strength of his eloquence.

      Thing is he doesn’t want to do it. Which makes me want him to do it even more. Something about great leaders not seeking power but having it thrust upon them in times of need like a George Washington

      • VelvetStorm@lemmy.world
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        I know he doesn’t want to run which just like you only makes me want him to run even more. He’s smart enough to know that he doesn’t know everything and never will.So he will surround himself with people who know what they’re talking about and listen to their advice.

    • dragontamer@lemmy.world
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      Stewart (and Colbert) are literally a clown (TV Comedian) who is refusing to ever make a serious political moves. Neither of them have any legislative experience or executive experience either.

      The fact that modern people always choose TV Personalities (like Trump, Stewart and Colbert) is part of the same problem of ignorance of our Political system and what this job even freaken entails.

      • tal@lemmy.today
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        Stewart (and Colbert) are literally a clown

        what this job even freaken entails.

        You know Volodymyr Zelenskyy, current president of Ukraine?

        He’s a comedian who did a political satire TV series about being president of Ukraine.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy

        Born to a Ukrainian Jewish family, Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine. Before his acting career, he obtained a degree in law from the Kyiv National Economic University. He then pursued a comedy career and created the production company Kvartal 95, which produced films, cartoons, and TV shows including the TV series Servant of the People, in which Zelenskyy played a fictional Ukrainian president. The series aired from 2015 to 2019 and was immensely popular. A political party with the same name as the TV show was created in March 2018 by employees of Kvartal 95.

        EDIT: Darn, someone else apparently mentioned it as well, checking their link. I’m still gonna leave this text up, though.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Modern? where do you think Reagan came from? At least Stewart and Colbert are versed in the political and policy stuff from having been immersed in it for decades.

        • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social
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          Strange that an ailing old man has his administration behind him to do all the gruntwork but an actually popular candidate wouldn’t

          • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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            Why wouldn’t they have an administration? Any president will hire a cabinet and advisors.

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              23 hours ago

              Yes, indeed. So really what you need from a president is a trustworthy image and a baseline moral character, because all the actual governance minutiae is handled by the staff.

              So why is it that all these people come out of the woodwork to insist the president NEEDS to be mired in one of the most corrupt political systems in the developed world?

              • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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                22 hours ago

                Because a leader does need to be present. They aren’t just a face in front of their staff.

      • crusa187@lemmy.ml
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        Perhaps, but even with these alleged shortcomings, either would be so much better equipped for the job than the 2 senile geezers.

        • the_crotch@sh.itjust.works
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          Al Franken graduated cum laude with a poli sci degree from Harvard. I’ll let Jon Stewart himself tell you about his education.

          “My college career was waking up late, memorizing someone else’s notes, doing bong hits, and going to soccer practice”

          • tal@lemmy.today
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            George Washington wasn’t able to attend school after the age of 11, because his father died and he had to take over running the family farm.

            https://www.georgewashington.org/education.jsp

            Despite being the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, the President of the Constitutional Convention, and the first President of the United States, George Washington’s level of education was far lower than any of the other Founding Fathers of the United States. In fact, he was often scorned by some of the other Founding Fathers for this inadequacy. However, this lack of education was not George Washington’s fault. Upon the death of George Washington’s father in 1743, George’s formal schooling ended. He is thought to have attended the nearby grammar school run by Reverend James Marye, the rector of St. George’s Parish, up until this time. Therefore, the extent of young George’s formal educational training was in basic mathematics, reading, and writing.

            Although his older half-brothers had the opportunity to gain a formal education over in England at the Appleby School, George was required to take on the responsibility of running the family farm after his father’s death.

            On this list, every ranking places him as the highest-ranked President to ever serve other than one that places him at #2 and one that places him at #3:

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_presidents_of_the_United_States

            • the_crotch@sh.itjust.works
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              21 hours ago

              That was 200 years ago. I’m comparing Jon Stewart to one of his contemporaries, in the modern era.

              This wasn’t about Stewart anyway. My point was that Al Franken is a bad example of an entertainer breaking I to politics, because with his background it was entertainment that was the abberation.

        • dragontamer@lemmy.world
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          Didn’t stop Donald Trump or Ronald Regan.

          My point is that there’s more bad examples of Hollywood Actors or Reality TV stars becoming President for the worse of America, than the reverse.

          • Zaktor@sopuli.xyz
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            You have two counter examples, and one of them was incredibly successful, just for the side where success is bad for the country. Reagan wasn’t ineffective, he was effective for evil purposes.

      • SailorMoss@sh.itjust.works
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        If wielding power in our “democracy” is so complicated that we must exclude non-experts isn’t that an indictment of our democracy? What is it about the legislative and executive process that people are ignorant of?

        While I am skeptical of the celebrity as politician trend which has been prominent over the last few decades; especially on the right. I don’t think lack of experience is the problem with the trend.

        Put aside what you think about Trump’s political project for a moment. He was effective at giving conservatives what they wanted. Tax cuts and Supreme Court seats. Despite having zero legislative and executive experience. You could say the same thing about Reagan and perhaps Schwarzenegger.

        I agree, expecting a strongman to come in and save us from all our political issues is problematic. We shouldn’t recreate feudalism. We need to learn to organize ourselves into a base of democratic power that we can wield towards our broad economic interests.

        But at the same time our media apparatus runs on spectacle, it takes someone with the charisma of John Stewart to be taken seriously by mainstream power brokers. Perhaps he could breakthrough the spectacle and kickstart a new progressive era that could enable those democratic ends.

        Because the alternative to charisma for gaining political legitimacy is going through the political system. And the longer you’re in that system the more time that system has to influence you towards ends that want to stop progress. Just look at Jamal Bowman and John Fetterman.

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        I know he doesn’t want too which is another reason why I want him. He could announce himself right now and still pull tons of votes to be a threat to both parties.

    • Zaktor@sopuli.xyz
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      If the Democrats could ever get to that choice it would be an autowin and an instant rejuvenation for the party.

    • Xanis@lemmy.world
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      I’m tempted to really believe in Biden taking the loss and just going absolutely balls to the walls with harsh ads aimed at the GOP and Trump, hitting dozens of speaker events at high levels of energy, and becoming what we wish the Democratic party would become to win this thing.

      Realistically though, I’d prefer a sound, harder left leaning, less bipartisan nominee. It’s a safer and surer bet, unfortunately.

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    A BOX OF HAIR WITH A STICKER OF A CARTOON BLUE DONKEY ON IT COULD EFFECTIVELY REPLACE HIMlook… We’re really not asking for much. The bar is subterranean. It’s clear that the Democrat party is dead set on playing limbo in hell. But I admit… It’s nice to dream. I hated buttigieg in 2020. In fact I couldn’t fucking stand any of the vaguely beige cardboard standees that made up the lion share of all democrat candidates that year, but the truth is that just about any of them would be acceptable now just to ensure that we’re one step closer to extinguishing the GOP because frankly THE ONLY WAY WE’LL GET A GOOD PARTY IS IF THE MOST EVIL ONE DIES AND THE REMAINING ONE SPLITS. Like when our forefathers curb stomped the federalists into oblivion - whom were ALSO nationalistic conservatives and absolutely deserved their resting place in history’s rubbish bin. For fucks sake, the Democrats desperately don’t WANT the Republican party to die and that’s all the more reason to KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT. So just vote for literally anyone other than the GOP to make the Democrats suffer and then their party will disintegrate into two subfactions and we can focus on purging the tradcon SCUM from them, too.

    • Wes4Humanity@lemm.ee
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      Okay, but if we do this, we’re gonna need the whole rest of the world to stand against the US and decide to fight against our corrupt government. It’ll suck for us, but let’s be honest, we’ve had it coming. Some of us are willing to sacrifice to make the world a better place. Probably a good idea to all stand against Russia and China too… Everyone just stand together against the 3 big bullies… Deal?