The Notion That Joe Should Step Aside Is Russian Propaganda

[gab13by13]

That fact is #1 in my mind. Of course there are also domestic media outlets who have gone along with that propaganda, even Democrats who are going along with that notion, but just remember and think about posting threads about Joe being replaced, you are helping out a lot of computer operators in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Go to your computer home page and count the number of right wing rags that are posting that Joe should step down, are they writing these articles to help Democrats win in Novemeber?

[Irish_Dem]

1. We need to start refuting the propaganda in a calm, smart way.

We need to work on unifying, not dividing.

[gab13by13]

6. EarlG wrote a superb thread

and then the calls for Joe to step aside seem to me have only increased.

I only get my news from a handful of sources, I see the propaganda from the headlines on other sources.

My news sources told me before the debate happened that going to CNN was a bad choice. 2 pro-right wing people are now running operations at CNN. TSF spent his time lying without being fact checked. Joe spent a lot of time defending himself from the lies, when one is defending, one is losing.

Joe lost the performance part of the debate and I blame his campaign managers/preppers for that, but the format ended up favoring TSF.

Right wing rags get cited here all of the time and I call people out to no avail. I see the headlines from those rags but I never click on them.

EarlG posted a calm, smart thread, maybe he needs to post more because it appears I am losing my calm and smartness.

I criticize Merrick Garland more than anyone else but I understand that firing him or calling for his resignation would be political suicide. Joe Biden is no Merrick Garland, he has guts and has done a fantastic job as president, I cannot understand why any Democrat or Independent would want him to step down?

My calm response has been that no one in our nation's history has gotten more votes for president than Joe Biden, why change, we have a winner.

[Irish_Dem]

10. Yes it was a good EarlG OP.

Yes I am not sure what is going on right now.
With increased calls for Biden's stepping aside.

I thought Joe did a good job the next day after the debate in his presentation and content.
The Dem leadership came out strongly in his favor and are supporting him.
So it was looking good I thought.

Then things start falling apart again.

We know there are some legitimately worried/scared Dems.
But they are getting bashed which does not help matters at all.

And then of course we have the PutinGOP at work.
There is blood in the water and they are going to pounce.

Yes losing calm and smarts in a crisis is counterproductive and can make things worse.

The scared Dems are the ones who saw the election slipping away from them as they watched
the debate. They desperately want to defeat Trump and preserve our democracy.
Their loyalty is to the Dem party and to our country. Not one man.
Our democracy is at stake and so are the lives of many Americans.

It is much better to refute their concerns in a polite, calm way.
Give them facts and data.
Reassure them that Biden is the best shot we have right now.
Replacing him is not a viable option.

If the WH has some reasonable explanation for his debate night behavior
then they need to start putting that out for the public.

I made a few comments on some of your ideas to make it a stronger argument.

[DontBelieveEastisEas]

17. In a worse case scenario, and we had a different nominee, I believe we would still win.

[Irish_Dem]

19. We don't have data to support that at this point.

I have no agenda except for defeating Trump and preserving our democracy.

But all other contenders are said to poll 10 points behind Biden.

And there is not time to introduce and campaign for someone else.

The fall out would be huge.

[PeaceWave]

31. The problem is that folks are being asked to disregard what they heard and saw.

It's like the old line...Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes? It's only reasonable for people to take offense when they're faced with that choice. Personally, I think the campaign should have been 100% transparent and should have released the story about Biden having a cold PRIOR to the debate - in order to lower expectations. Releasing that story mid-debate came across as reactionary and panicked. Then, after the debate, the spin would have been so much easier...Something to the effect of "Even battling a cold, the truth prevailed tonight." Instead, we've seen various forms of "The experts agree it wasn't as bad as you think it was" - to which it's again reasonable to ask "Who is casting my vote? Me or "the experts?"

[Demsrule86]

38. I do not believe we would win...you NEVER replace and incumbent unless they are dead.

[Quakerfriend]

2. Exactly! We should all be talking about that Russian

plane parked next to Trumps. Why???

[WA-03 Democrat]

3. The guy that is a convicted felon should step aside

The guy that started an insurrection should step aside
The guy that stole and sold top secrets should step aside
The guy that is an adjudicated rapist should step aside
The guy that Who is Putin‘s puppy Should step aside

LETS GO JOE

[Goodheart]

4. Oh come on now.

As I watched the debate I thought he should step aside the moment he said he defeated Medicare. It was that bad. And I'm far from Russian. And as we talk among ourselves, there are several Democratic friends and acquaintances who state he should step down. They're not Russian, either.

[wnylib]

7. Well, they are not doing Dems a favor, even if they are Dems themselves.

They are not seeing the big picture, the platform that Biden represents, the reality of campaigning and what a switch in midstream would do to Dems in November.

Biden has done a good and capable job.

Besides not feeling well at the debate and facing a chronic liar, criminal, and experienced spin doctor, Biden had just been at conferences and negotiations abroad about some heavyweight international issues.

I'm with him 100%.

[gab13by13]

13. Just one quote from Russian state TV

“Biden expectedly misspoke multiple times and stammered, Democrats have already called his performance a failure,” state news agency RIA concluded, leaving Trump out of its crosshairs altogether.

Russian state TV quoting Democrats.

[H2O Man]

37. Interesting.

I had phone calls, e-mails, and discussions with relatives & friends the night of the debate and following day. Many of the either said they thought President Biden should step down, or asked if I thought he should? I think that to call those who expressed that in some way of being under Russian control is very weak indeed. Same with the knee-jerk calling them trolls. Almost without exception, they are life-long, dedicated members of the Democratic Party.

I told all of them that no major decision in life should be made due to emotions. In the days since, I have patiently explained whythat is not possible. Understanding the process provides unique advantages.

Let's not pretend that Joe did not have a bad night. He did, for a variety of reasons. Being old and a long-time supporter of the president, I can say that he has never been among the best speakers our party has produced. His greatest strength as a campaigner is his sincerity. That's how he wins elections. And his performance in office over the years, including as president, have shown him to be very capable in his job duties.

I still have some relatives and friends who think he should step down. They are all loyal Democrats, with as much right to their opinions as I have to mine. Every last one of them will campaign and vote for President Biden. They were just upset by the debate.

[Demsrule86]

39. Support Democrats. Biden won't step aside nor should he...did you even give a thought to Trump's lies?

[Goodheart]

40. That's an insulting question.

[Fiendish Thingy]

8. Then why did Nicolle and Joy say they were getting texts from Democratic operatives during the debate?

They both said they got texts bemoaning how bad Biden was and that he needed to step down.

Were their phones hacked by Russians?

[gab13by13]

11. So all of the dozens of headlines I see

on my home page from right wing rags that are calling for Joe to step aside are really trying to help Democrats win in November?

Give your positions;

1. Do you think Joe should step aside because he is too old?
2. Do you think debating if Joe should step aside will help us in November?
3. The Bernie Boys was started by a Russian and it spread to thousands of Democrats who were not Russian and it ended up dividing Democrats.

[Fiendish Thingy]

15. Your OP said the narrative re: Biden stepping down originated from Russia

I shared my observation that it did not.

Is Russia aiding the media feeding frenzy? Absolutely.

[gab13by13]

32. No answer to my questions?

As far as did Russia originate that Biden is too old? What came first the chicken or the egg? See my post #3. The Bernie boys started from a Russian and spread to American Democrats.

As someone else said, there is little difference between Russian and Magat propaganda. The notion that Joe is too old spreading to Democrats is upsetting. Propaganda works. When I see articles scroll across my home page the first thing I look at is the source.

I have no idea who started calling a fence a wall but I still know the difference. Once something gets repeated over and over again it is recognized as the truth, sometimes even by a majority of the people.

[Fiendish Thingy]

34. Your questions are irrelevant to the claim in your OP and my response. Nt

[Trueblue Texan]

22. We should all stand and fight with Biden.

Of course, it's the Putin propaganda machine that says otherwise. I increased my monthly donation by tenfold and would do more if I had more. I encourage everyone to do as much as they can at this critical moment. Let the numbers of supporters speak! And in the next debate, Biden should do as TSF did only while telling the truth: ignore the question presented and TSF's responses and tell the American people what they need to know. We'll see who wins that debate and who sounds like the lying liar they are.

[orangecrush]

28. "Democratic operatives"

Who would rather see their preferred candidate take Bidens place, even if it means we get a dictator

[Fiendish Thingy]

30. Certainly a possibility

See the classic film “All About Eve”.

[Prairie Gates]

9. Oh for God's sake

[republianmushroom]

12. Or some flat stupidity. IMO

[Hugin]

16. Absolutely.

Straight from the GRU’s family to yours.

[Initech]

20. I said it last year that there's going to be multiple attempts to gaslight this election.

And we're already seeing it now. Look, if Trump wins, Putin gets a blank check to finish the job in Ukraine and start heading for Eastern Europe. We cannot let that happen. We need to stay vigilant out there.

[DontBelieveEastisEas]

21. They do not think Joe will step down. That is not why they are writing these articles

They want to make a point that he is not capable to serve.
They believe that will make people less likely to vote for him.

They might be in a situation where they don't really want what they are saying.
They may be hoping that Joe stays.

[jmbar2]

23. K&R

[Ford_Prefect]

24. Russian mouthpieces have been pushing this hype since long before the "debate". It's part of the "Joe's too old to do

the job" mantra they've been pushing since 2020.

Repetition is the name of the game. The more often it is said the more true it seems to sound. It's the same process they used to front for Trump and the GOP with claims there was evidence that the 2020 vote wasn't correct in oh so many ways.

[MurrayDelph]

25. Remember four years ago,

when Republicans were trying to convince us that "Just Walk Away" was a Democrat (sic) movement?

I had one Facebook friend trying to convince me of this. This was the final straw in our Facebook friendship.

[suegeo]

26. So were the calls for Al Franken to give up his senate seat.

Roger Stone on social media said something about it's Al Franken's time in the barrel.

Getting the left to make mistakes is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.

Before any investigation into the false allegations against Al, let's dish out the most severe punishment for acts Al didn't even do.

The GOP and the Russians are coupled. What makes anybody calling for Joe to step aside--especially on team Democratic Party--think they aren't?

I wonder what the October surprise the traitors have planned? McGonigal from the FBI is gone. Comey is out. Robert Hansen's dead, I think. What other Russians are still embedded in our intell agencies? In the Secret Service?

On Edit: Where does a DUer go on this forum to post creative speculation? Did somebody slip something into Joe's food or drink before the debate? The secret service still has MAGAs on it. They could have... no? Putin poisoned his opposition by slipping stuff into their tea.

[Ocelot II]

27. Yes - who would want a weaker candidate to compete against Trump

besides the GOP and the Russians? If Biden steps down and the Democrats have to scramble to choose another candidate, Trump's chances of winning improve. They know that if Biden is still the candidate, Trump is more likely to lose. So of course the Russians and the GOP (there's hardly any distinction any more) want Biden to withdraw.

[dlk]

29. If they're not asking the rapist and convicted felon to step aside...

The might be a Russian troll (Iran, North Korea, and China, and others included, as well).

[Progressive dog]

33. it definitely is Trump propaganda

echoed by the GOP and the Russians. It doesn't take a genius to know that they all want to divide our party.
We have a much smaller chance of winning without Joe than with him. I don't expect reasonable Democrats to help Trump win. The party leaders sure aren't falling for this crap because they know Joe.

[Attilatheblond]

35. And A LOT of US corporations are working to mess up the economy to help defeat Joe.

Fie on the fucking lot of 'em. They are laying off workers in a stream just so they can tank the economy before November. All for their precious nation destroying tax breaks.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

36. Putin needs for TFG to win

Putin can not sustain these losses forever and needs TFG to win

Link to tweet

[shrike3]

41. There have been calls for Joe to step aside for well over a year.

That he was too old, etc., etc., same things being said now. For months now, articles on Joe have focused not on his accomplishments but his age. The debate just amplified what was already there. This is a dream come true for them.