I have never been so outraged and pissed at the Democratic Party than I am today.

[JohnSJ]

When a fair number of your own parties Congressional Democrats, some very prominent ones such as Schiff, Lofgren, and Brown, publicly coming out asking your nominee to step aside, because they are effectively saying they don't believe he can handle the job, with insinuations from some of these detractors pushing the republican and media talking points that your candidate has "cognitive issues", why would any independent vote for him?

Whether right or wrong, I blame a lot of this Carville, and his LOUD mouth rhetoric on MSM programs pushing that Biden can't win, and his connections with big money donors, persuading them not to donate until Biden steps aside.

So when we have the virtual convention on August 1, and Biden will be the likely winner because his pledged delegates are not likely going to change their votes, what will these clowns who have asked Biden to step aside then do?

They not only have weakened our nominee in the general election, but they have hurt their own reelection attempts.

We don't need republicans to hurt us, we are doing quite a good job of it ourselves.

[jimfields33]

1. The purple states democratic senators better

have an explanation for this. Right now the republicans are basically silent, in September when they do commercials saying these senators wanted president Biden out. What do they do then? Very messy.

[NotHardly]

41. The media fails us every time ... ratings over people and democracy

[Joinfortmill]

92. And I'm damn sick of it. Getting a lot of my info

From folks like Harry Litman niw.

[BonnieJW]

70. The next show that has carville on will get an email from me

stating I will no longer be watching their show since the have traitors among their guests.

[Tweedy]

130. It can be fixed

Really it can. Democrats have angst. Angst gets resolved nearly every cycle.

I also don’t want to lose any senators right now especially not Sherrod Brown who is assuredly on the people’s side almost all of the time. We need all of our senators and as many more as we can get!

[ChicagoRonin]

2. Let's avoid blaming the entire Democratic Party

Biden/Harris are still the Democratic ticket. Those who want them to win need to start separating and isolating those trying to derail or sabotage their candidacy.

And though I hate our modern political shorthand of labeling and name-calling, some sort of simple, striking tag or mark needs to be placed on these cold-footed interfering Senators, Congressmen, party consultants and celebrities. Something that splits them off from those of us regular citizens who know who they want at the top of the ticket.

[JohnSJ]

14. You are right, and I hope they can save us from those fool hardy elements who thought this "asking Biden to step aside"

was a good idea.

[CrispyQ]

24. I call them hand-wringers in my barely polite letters to my senator.

I told him to channel AOC & Newsom & that naysayers were making our GOTV efforts more difficult.

[ChicagoRonin]

66. The "Democan'ts"?

Just thought of this while reading replies.

Just an idea.

[BComplex]

124. Sounds good to me!

We need to make our voices heard, and let the "leadership" know that we don't need any more of the "big donors'" money from here on out. If they need to blackmail -- or extort -- our leaders, we will just rely on getting VOTES to win elections from here on out, not money trying to destroy the party.

We've always had the best platform, and we'll just have to use social media and direct contact across the country to change hearts and minds over to our way of thinking.

[dickthegrouch]

88. Silence is assent

As I wrote my senators:I demand full and vocal support for our Primary winner. The fools and idiots can get out of his way by resigning.

What I didn’t say, unlike the OP, was that anyone not on board with Joe, and Kamala, is putting their job at severe risk too. Since I’m not voting, or funding anyone who in my opinion is sabotaging the entire country. Money from oligarchs is still not worth the loss of democracy.

[PortTack]

91. That's right, the largest majority of Dems are still firmly ridin' with Biden

[BoRaGard]

3. #MeToo

[StarryNite]

6. That's how I feel!

[redstatebluegirl]

35. This is how I feel right now!

[BigmanPigman]

112. My avatar shows how pissed off I am.

[LonePirate]

4. Like it or not, many in Congress and in the public watched the debate and formed their own opinion.

No talking points were needed. Do you think so many people were lied to by their own eyes and ears?

[JohnSJ]

9. No, that could have be countered, with his travel schedule, he was under the weather etc. Instead some brilliant minds

thought it was a good idea to push him out, and now we have a very good chance to lose all three houses.

[LonePirate]

17. Travel schedule? He returned from Italy on June 15 for a debate on June 27 with a week of prep time at Camp David.

You are only proving the point of the detractors when you blame nonsensical things like that. Presidents are human and need rest like all of us; but there are massive expectations for the job. Having 10+ days off should have produced a powerful debate that left no doubts in people’s minds. That did not happen.

[JohnSJ]

26. I am not proving anything, what you are saying is let's go

along with the “cognitive “ talking point, and push the nominee out, which won’t happen

[LonePirate]

29. It is not a talking point for people on the left who watched the debate. They are not imagining this.

They may have a different opinion than yours but they are not living in an entirely different reality where they make things up which you implied with your quote marks.

[JohnSJ]

62. The "people on the left", the progressive caucus, are the ones supporting Biden, the

idiotic calls for him to step down are coming from some in the middle.

He isn’t going to step down, he will be the nominee, and the ones calling for him to step down have not only hurt Biden in the general, but have hurt their own reelection chances. Brilliant

[stopdiggin]

104. Biden had a really bad night

(as even he admits). The 'travel schedule' thing - as other poster points out - is weak as hell. Debate prep - might have been handled badly (and somewhat desperately?) in pushing through some illness and fatigue - but there too, that's largely on the man at point. Handlers and staff are 'handling' the POTUS - to the point of physical and mental collapse? That doesn't present a real favorable picture either. And the person responsible for saying "NO" - apparently didn't when he should have.

But the fact that the president was in Europe a week to 10 days earlier ... ? Now that actually does hint at inability ...

[JohnSJ]

121. That's peachy. What do they expect to accomplish by this circus. Biden is not dropping out, and HE IS GOING TO BE THE

NOMINEE.

Now what?

They went out on a limb to publicly tarnish our nominee. Not a winning strategy.

If they wanted a different candidate they should have done it at the beginning of the primary.

The only thing they are accomplishing now is self-destruct

[stopdiggin]

143. no argument

my whole spiel was directed at the weak sauce 'presidential travel' excuse. Silly and demeaning on the face of it.

[JohnSJ]

144. I understand

[Blue Full Moon]

150. Well from a purely PR view

Biden is and has been in the headlines. In reality there is no bad PR. He remained in the headlines during the RNC and the attempted assassination. Name recognition doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad. Like using the opponents name in advertising usually just ends up being for them. Example Nobama ends up Obama.
In the end the Democratic base is fired up and committed. There is no way that energized base would vote for tRump. Even though some of the Democratic politicians stated they wanted him removed. There is no way that the base would ever vote for the republican.

[Tweedy]

37. Really?

I am greatly relieved America ignored your edict when President Obama lost his first debate against Senator Romney.

I wish we had listened to your edict when President Reagan bombed his first debate. It would be a different world. Fewer of us would be living inside of this crazy gop narrative where known and obvious lies can win any debate.

I remember when not knowing squat about NATO (or Taiwan or anything else besides revenge fantasies) would have disqualified the candidate with the press.

I remember when meet the press reporters dismantled liars weekly for Sunday brunch.

[JohnSJ]

126. +++

[MacKasey]

38. Yes he returned from Europe on June 15th and went directly to California

For George Clooney fund raiser

That's what did him in

[LonePirate]

43. How many days after that fundraiser was the debate? 10? 11?

Did the debate need to be 14 or 20 or 30 days after the fundraiser?

[edisdead]

53. You are skipping over the fact that it was one bad night

How many appearances after and before had he done.

[PortTack]

94. Exactly..I guess those that refuse to have our president's back over one bad debate would prefer to push

The RW talking points…sad.

I see my ignore list growing

[stopdiggin]

110. Nope. saying that the 'Presidential travel' thing

(particularly given the gap between that and the debate) - was some weak assed cover. It didn't make any sense to people then - and it isn't aging any better as we go. Maybe we should just drop it?

The President was feeling really under the weather - and had a bad night. Probably should have called it off - but you know how people are. "I can do this!" "Show must go on!"

[BumRushDaShow]

93. Do you remember this, where it was, and the date of it?

(hint, it WASN'T in Italy nor was it June 15)

[bluestarone]

136. You're aslo skipping the fact that his team were WRONG

At camp David! Answers were pried into his head. HOURS and HOURS of this bullshit. THAT'S where i put the blame.

[Bayard]

108. Especially now that Clooney has turned on him too

Makes no sense.

[Katcat]

44. No mention

There’s not mention of trumps disappearance for 2 weeks before he got “shot”.

[jimfields33]

51. Smartest thing he ever did.

Stay out of the media. It was nice not seeing him.

[kelly1mm]

139. When your opposition is tearing itself apart, don't interrupt ..... nt

[Tweedy]

48. Have you ever crossed 9 time zones in a few days?

Once, in my twenties!, I crossed only 6. I was exhausted and less coherent for one month. There was nothing physically wrong with me. I was a regular morning stationary bike rider back then too.

Jet lag is a real thing. It can and does linger. Even a younger George Clooney complained about suffering from jet lag once.

What makes you distrust President Biden? He is not the one lying to you. His medical records are public records anyone can review. He has never even purchased stock so as to not be corrupted. He has done nothing to earn anyone’s distrust. I was a Elizabeth Warren supporter in 2020 and even then I knew Joe Biden was an honest and decent man.

Conversely, Mr Trump has never made either his medical records or his taxes public.

[niyad]

61. There was an OP here yesterday about how long it can take to recover

from travel. .24 hours per time zone, and President Biden had crossed nine, several times.

[ProfessorGAC]

73. As A Routine International Traveler...

..for 25+ years, I push back strongly on 24 per time zone.
Of course, I wasn't in my 70s or 80s, but was in the 50s & 60s.
Is it easy to adjust? Not at all.
But, 24 hours per time zone seems ridiculous. If i spent 5 days in Atlanta, the recovery time was zero to get back to Chicago time.
I'd say it's more like a day if the time change I'd 6 hours, then another day for each 4 hours.
I have no doubt it fatigued Joe, but that 24 hours per time zone seems a ridiculous standard.

[niyad]

138. I merely pointed out the study that was quoted. And adding, as you

yourself pointed out, you were much younger. And, as a poster above me pointed out, he is the PRESIDENT, with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He is basically on that
duty 24/7/365, which the rest of us are NOT. So, anybody else's expected/projected time for ANYTHING is completely irrelevant.

When I travelled for a living, I could change time zones, go from sea level to 10, 000 ft and down again within a few days, without a problem. I never had a problem with altitude adjustment, which many do, nor with switching times. Did I expect everybody else to be able to do so? No, of course not. I know I happen to be a bit unusual.

[Srkdqltr]

101. Those 10 days in Camp David... he was still President of the United States. And answerable for

everything that goes on in the world. Those 10 days he was still working at that.
This is the 21st century. They are not cut off from the world.

[Blue Full Moon]

149. You forgot the George Clooney fundraiser in LA

[TheKentuckian]

96. These excuses make the hole deeper rather than filling it in.

These rationalizations feed right into the narrative they are supposed to be defending from.

Viewing the situation through the lens of Biden cannot fail, he can only be failed means actual reason is not a consideration.

The responses to the debate and the just above disastrous interviews following up are problematic as is the overall intensity of the campaign.

Folks looking at this campaign and coming away with EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!, undermines the entire Ridin' argument because it is a near surefire admission that reasoning is out the window.
No facts will penetrate the bubble, it about all reflex and CT.

[CrispyQ]

30. IMO, Biden could use better advisors.

He over prepared & he prepared for a debate with real moderators & was bamboozled by his opponent's free-for-all lie fest. He could have used a few good one-liners. He should add a comedian to his team. But Biden was mostly solid on his facts & just think if the party stood behind him 100% like AOC & Newsom have done, what a different opinion a lot of people would have of Joe Biden today.

Shame on our congressional dems & especially the ones swayed by donors.

[jimfields33]

50. I didn't like him talking about the young woman

killed by an immigrant just coming into the country. That’s not a democratic platform. And of course, trump agreed with him and emphasized that. Hopefully the repugs don’t make a commercial out of that.

[Tweedy]

33. I watched the debate

Mr. Trump disqualified himself right away.
You cannot lie and win in a moot court contest, or a debate in high school or college. Lying is disqualifying. Lying is flunking. Lying is losing.

If you watched, no doubt you noticed all of Mr. Trump’s lies too.

I also watched President Reagan absolutely bomb his first debate against Walter Mondale. Following the debate, Senator Mondale was winning in the polls. You remember President Mondale right?

My eyes beheld President Obama lose his first debate to Senator (then former MA Governor) Romney too. He lost badly. Some democrats seemed to lose their minds. You remember President Romney? President Obama reminded you after this debate of that debate in 2012.

There are more. Presidents seem to struggle with their first debate even when they haven’t crossed nine time zones in a few days like President Biden had.

While I listened to that beauty contest debate, I did not freak out that Joe Biden’s voice was soft and he looked as pale as I do every single day. I could go for the orange clown look but I find it absurd. Being pale is neither illness nor a sign of mental decline. It just is a function of the cloudy likely northern place my ancestors once lived.

President Biden answered every question. Mr Trump answered none. It was obvious Mr Trump had no grasp of any of the issues raised; although he did have a clear grasp of his personal grievances. Mr Trump was still obsessed with his « numbers » during Covid which was, and still is, quite sick and twisted.

President Biden did not perform well at the debate. Nevertheless, he still managed to convey his comprehensive grasp of the issues facing the president and his basic decency.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump revealed yet again that he is unqualified to hold any elected office anywhere.

Watch it again to the end and see if you do not see my point.

During that debate, neither candidate covered themselves in glory. Only one man’s performance was disqualifying and his name is Trump.

[dchill]

64. "Lying is disqualifying." Tell it to the media...

They share that problem.

[Tweedy]

100. No doubt about it

Nonetheless, if you lie in a debate you will be disqualified
unless one lies in a presidential debate after which some in the media will laud you for it.

It is nuts

[Think. Again.]

55. Luckily, it is a very small minority, certainly NOT many, who are lying to themslves...

...if that's the only reason they decided to try to derail the election for us.

[EastBayGuy]

59. NO, STOP. IT'S NOT ABOUT THE DEBATE!

[Algernon Moncrieff]

99. Ok. What's it about then?

[PatrickforB]

77. I'm going to have to respectfully disagree - what you are saying about Biden's poor debate performance is true, but

you seem to be omitting his utter command of issues in the foreign policy presser when he stood for 90 minutes and answered detailed questions off the top of his head.

Also the interview where he absolutely owned Lester Holt.

And let us not forget his forceful presentation at a number of rallies, and his strong address to the NAACP.

The other thing not to forget here is the utter banality of what is happening. It is all based on fear.

The billionaire greed-lizard donors are scared of higher taxes, because hey, they just don't yet have enough! They need just a little more. So money has changed hands in a tacit quid pro quo - we'll not give Biden any donations, but we will donate to you if...

And have you considered possible motives based on gender and race, Harris being a black woman. Biden promised to put a black woman on his ticket and he did. African Americans overwhelmingly supported him in 2020. Problem is, most of the people calling for him to get out seem to be white males. After all, having a progressive woman of color is quite scary to those who make money off the status quo.

The downticket people like Brown are scared they will lose - Brown is especially vulnerable because JD Vance is also an Ohioan and he is afraid a groundswell of support for the Trump/Vance ticket will cost him Ohio votes.

And the media is all publicly traded, which means the fiduciary responsibility of their executive editors and producers has NOTHING to do with truth in news reporting, and EVERYTHING to do with generating shareholder profits by presenting this whole thing as a horserace.

This whole thing is generating that sick tension of things not going the way we wish they would. I even freaked out the other day about these ridiculous calls for Biden to step down, but we have to let this play out.

This is a billionaire-funded coup ruled by raw greed. No matter how ugly it gets for the rest of us, the 'little' people, they want their tax cuts! Wall Street wants its shareholder profits.

You know, every time you look under the rock at the stinking, squirming maggots underneath, their shape is that of old white male liver-spotted hands grasping after more profits. That is all this is.

Big money is doing everything it can to ensure Dems lose, but guess what? There are WAY more of us than there are of them, and they are scared of us. They are scared of black women. They are scared of unions. They are scared of tax increases (the 2025 project calls for a huge TAX INCREASE for the middle class, did you know? While people 'earning' millions will receive substantial TAX CUTS.

This is an election about taxes. Those poor little freakishly insecure billionaires are really scared of losing even a little of their money.

But what about us? What about healthcare? Childcare? Affordable college? Continued support for NATO? What about recent liberal victories in Great Britain and France? What about abortion access? Climate change? Gun control? These are all widely supported by the American public.

Hubris. And the media is playing that for all its worth, and we're just going to have to watch while it plays out. Most people are very ignorant, made so by decades of right wing propaganda. Many don't 'believe' in data provided by Census and BLS even though this country leaves EVERYONE else in the world in the dust with the scope and depth of our data reporting. The right wing noise machine has worked really hard to make it difficult to recognize truth over lies.

Greed, the distraction of sports - the natural ability of Americans to think critically has been carefully and with big money channeled into sports analysis, but any critical thought around politics, social and economic policy has been carefully and thoroughly discouraged.

Will the American people uphold our republic? Or will they allow us to take the rest of the world down with us into the abyss of an oligarchic theocracy (otherwise known as fascism)? Because if this happens like it always has done in the past, fascism will surely lead to a widespread war, possibly a world war. Following this logic, we have Trump's alarming question to his advisors, "If we have nuclear weapons, why not use them?"

And guess what? If this worst-case scenario unfolds those poor little billionaires will find that they have screwed themselves over, because they will lose everything too. As will the media, the Wall Street greed-lizards and all the rest. But earth will abide, won't it?

So, the idea of calling for Biden to step down three months out from an election where the very survival of the world's liberal democracies is at stake is pretty illogical. But then a publicly traded company will sell you the very rope you're going to use to hang them, will they not? Good for shareholder profits, don't you know!

[Erda]

148. Nicely written.

Thank you!

[JohnnyRingo]

83. Unfortunately, these are the images we will see in future GOP ads:

No photoshop or AI needed, and we can't demand they stop. Nor can we continue to claim he had a cold, or "just a bad day".

[img][/img]

[Algernon Moncrieff]

98. Thanks!

I'm glad someone said it. Or, in this case, wrote it.

Nobody (n-o-b-o-d-y) here wants President Trump in 2025. We want the best chance to win.

[Stuart G]

132. NOBODY ...wants Trump as President in 2025...........

NOBODY means .....NOBODY wants Trump as President in 2025.........

Wait till election day.....You will see Trump lose by 20 %.
60 % to 40 %.........................Just wait till you know........
......................................And just watch the show............

...............................................Stuart G...........................

[happy feet]

117. People get

Confused between cognition, age related slowing and stuttering. I don’t feel like explaining as most who believe the issue was his cognition (which it was not) have dug their heels in.

[Doodley]

142. You have 15 recommends for this post, including one from me.

[LisaL]

5. Yep, democrats should be campaigning against Trump.

Some of them decided to campaign against our own nominee. Which is not a good strategy to win elections, any way I look at it.
The stupid, it hurts.

[GreenWave]

7. Oligarchs are pressuring them. Time for immunity powers methinks.

[Deek1935]

8. Well, it's not "us". It is the ASSHOLES, especially BIG MONEY ASSHOLES, doing this. FOR SHAME!

[Emile]

10. It's sickening. My wife is probably sick of hearing

me shouting at the TV.

[texasfiddler]

11. I agree.

James Carville has been sending me pants on fire email rants on behalf of Sherrod Brown and Jon Tester for months now. I unsubscribed a few weeks back. Annoying as hell and not accomplishing one damn positive thing. Not surprised those two have been influenced so much by him. The one poll I know was real and accurate was the 2020 election. I'm pissed off too. I keep thinking about this quote from Will Rogers in the 1930s "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."

[Tweedy]

52. I keep thinking about that quote too!

[Ocelot II]

12. There had better be some heavy-duty backpedaling on the part of certain legislators

who ought to have fucking known better. Nice job, assholes, kneecapping your own candidate just before the convention. WTAF did they think they were going to accomplish? What did they think would happen? With Joe out of the way (he's being treated for multiple stab wounds in his back) some perfect magic unicorn of a candidate descends from the ceiling of the convention center like fucking Superman, maybe Gavin Newsom only handsomer and smarter and not from California, and the inconvenient Black lady graciously steps aside so a Big-Donor-Approved running mate can be added to the ticket - somebody comfortably liberal but not too mean to the rich people and not too DEI. Is that the fantasy? Or are we just saddled with a bunch of pearl-clutchers and ass-coverers who don't have the stones to do the heavy lifting involved in supporting a guy who's given his whole fucking life to the service of his country and who had a bad day?? Is that it??

Excuse my fucking French; maybe I should go wash my Macbook out with soap, but damn, this is a whole lot of bullshit.

[LisaL]

13. And you know they would be fighting non stop if Biden were to actually step aside,

about who this magical unicorn should be. That sounds like a great strategy to win elections. Not.

[JohnSJ]

18. I only hope those who didn't fall into this trap can pull us out of it.

[Phoenix61]

46. Could you share a little about these old guys? nt

[emulatorloo]

75. You know, all those old guys w dementia who have a masterful grasp of global politics.

That was one of the most ridiculous posts I’ve read on DU. Was writing a long reply when it was deleted.

---------------
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says it's a "big mistake to underestimate" Biden.

"As someone that is speaking with Biden, he's very focused... doing what the president of the United States has to do…”

Post by @meidastouch

View on Threads

/

_----------

From lapucelle:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219136300

President Macron has something to say...

BREAKING: Macron Scolds Media for Questions About Biden

Press pool reporter asked French President Macron about his impression of Biden:

Macron: "I don’t understand your question about President Biden. He is my counterpart. He is the President of the United States & we are happy to have him as the President of the United States."

Link to tweet

_---------------

From bigtree:

Prime Minister Keir Starmer praises President Biden as being in "excellent shape" following their meeting at NATO summit


https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219135384

Chris D. Jackson @ChrisDJackson
🚨 BREAKING: Despite speculation about President Biden's health, Prime Minister Keir Starmer praises President Biden as being in "excellent shape" following their meeting at a NATO summit.

Starmer commended Biden's leadership and detailed understanding of issues, countering calls for the President to step down.

Sky News @SkyNews
Sir Keir Starmer says criticism of Joe Biden is 'misguided' after holding a meeting with the US president at the NATO summit.

'My own personal view is he was on good form, and we went through a lot,' Sir Keir told Sky's @BethRigby


more: https://news.sky.com/story/an-election-landslide-the-oval-office-and-what-his-parents-would-have-thought-an-insight-into-starmers-world-13176640

When I asked him about President Biden's cognitive ability in light of the storm around whether he should run for a second term, the prime minister was forthright.

"We worked at pace and he was on good form with me," said Sir Keir.

When I asked him, twice, whether the criticism of the president was misguided, he told me, simply, "yes", adding: "My own personal view is he was on good form and we went through a lot.

"I was very keen obviously to discuss Ukraine, but there were many other issues that we, we got through last night."

With a successful visit to the White House, hugs from President Macron, and meetings with Chancellor Schloz and President Zelenskyy to name a few of those Sir Keir has managed to greet in the past 48 hours, the trip will go down as a triumph in Number 10, with aides particularly pleased - as the prime minister noted in our interview - that the bilateral meeting with President Biden overran.

[Katcat]

47. Honestly

I was worried that the mealymouthed Manchin would be proposed as a middle of the road choice. I’d have puked on my ipad

[Tree Lady]

54. I'm beginning to wonder

If they want Trump to win to keep their tax breaks. After all they are all rich.

[Autumn]

15. Your anger will pass. I trust Democrats. If they want Joe to be replaced

it's not just because of their donors. I think it could have been handled better though.

[Walleye]

16. I am really ashamed of those so-called leaders coming out pestering Joe to drop out. However, I am proud

Of the rank and file, who say clearly “we’ve got his back“

[krawhitham]

19. They don't believe he can win, if they believed he coundn't handle the job they would demand he RESIGN

[beaglelover]

20. This has gone on long enough. Joe either needs to step aside or the entire party needs to get behind him....NOW!

[Baitball Blogger]

22. All he has to do is set the direction.

All he has to do is stay in the race and lead. We'll do the rest.

[LisaL]

23. Again, if Joe were to step aside, that would only result in more fighting.

About who the new candidate should be. Clearly none of them agree on that.
Some of them appear to be wanting for Joe to get out, so they can get in.
So it's not going to result in them uniting.
That is if they can even figure out what process to use to pick a new candidate.

[musicblind]

107. I don't think it will lead to as much infighting as you fear.

I may be polyannish, but if Biden decides to drop out, I think the Democratic Party will quickly rally around Kamala Harris. She is the obvious next choice and the one I see mentioned the most.

[PortTack]

102. We all wish we could put a stop to this nonsense. But...President Biden is doing what he should do

STAY THE COURSE!

It’s up to us to make calls to the dissenters, donate and GOTV

[FloridaBlues]

128. He already said he's in at least a dozen times. It's the elected dems and media not listening

I think we are all ready to move ahead as one party with our current ticket and soon.

[Baitball Blogger]

21. From what I hear, the Clintons haven't been silent.

They support Biden.

[Demsrule86]

25. It is about the money in my opinion...we have tape recorded evidence...and I believe Adam Schiff has doomed any

chances of winning a Democratic presidential primary in the future. He may face a primary for the Senate in six years. These sorts of things follow you. I called Sherrod Brown's office and said this was a mistake. Make it known that you support the ticket. I fear that Sherrod may have hurt himself. We need the seat. But Biden did a great idea; for Cuyahoga country which is where the Democratic votes are. I am now worried about the seat.

[mcar]

27. We were on our way to a landslide victory

Whatever happens in November is on their heads.

[TheKentuckian]

111. As indicated by what? People are now whole cloth spinning

a situation that didn't exist for the utterly non-productive but always high or even prime (misplaced and stupid) priority aka the blame game.

We are now entering the right wing response to Faux projecting President Biden's victory in 2020 territory with this nonsense.

Somehow the man has simultaneously become seen as irreplaceable but also unaccountable and that his actions or lack thereof other than existing are irrelevant which means we are arguing magic beans and doing so if not from less than good faith then from a place where reason is not a pertinent filter.

The first conceit that Joe Biden simply cannot perform poorly and any misimpression otherwise is on the observer cannot be overcome, it rendees corrective action impossible due to irrelevancy and you're straight up declaring to me that there is zero intent to do a damn thing differently or better so operating from such assumptions we almost certainly are in a trap here.

[mcar]

125. Oh, pardon me, I'm sure

I'm seeing elsewhere on this site those of us who support President Biden being chided for not allowing others to air opinions.

Apparently my opinion didn't meet with your strict standards.

[TheKentuckian]

134. In what way do you feel your opinion was not "allowed" or in any way repressed?

Chided?

No, your opinion got pushback not anything even resembling suppression.

Disagreement is not a form of oppression.
Perhaps instead of playing at gnashing teeth you could just explain the landslide we are supposed to be pretending was stolen away.

[The Bopper]

28. 30 years ago

A friend of mine said he quit voting for the Democrats because they lost their spine. Back then he just didn’t vote, now he votes republican because “at least they have balls”. With friends like these weak kneed Democrats who needs Republicans.

[Skittles]

141. what does *THE* most delicate body part have to do with anything?

and repukes support the biggest pathetic man-baby on the planet

[redwitch]

31. Impotent rage here.

I am angry and terrified and I am going to be a wreck until this election is over. Unless Trump wins because my own party threw away our best chance at defeating him. This is making me ill.

[mamacita75]

34. Agree

with your post.

Marin Heinrich has stepped in that direction, and I had written him to please support Pres. Biden.
He didn't.

Domenici (first name?) is running for a seat here in NM. Money and name recognition. It will be interesting what happens. I will vote for him anyway. It's like being pushed into a corner and I do not appreciate that feeling.

[onandup]

42. MAGAts will be rattling off the names of Dems who wanted him to drop

This won't just go "poof" after Joe is nominated.

[LisaL]

45. And Trump's VP choice was comparing Trump to Hitler.

So we can throw this right back in their faces.
Unless of course they think comparing Trump to Hitler is a complement.

[onandup]

49. Of course we can, and are

but no need to supply them with ammunition of their own.

[ramapo]

36. Me too

It is such a stupid shit show. And to what end? Not one of them have suggested an realistic and reliable alternative path.

So annoying

[LisaL]

39. And if Biden were to step down, they will be fighting non stop about who should be replacing him.

That is not a winning strategy.

[peggysue2]

40. Many of us--if not all--are frustrated, John

However, this entire campaign is designed to divide the Democratic Party and break the back of our coalition.

We all need to:

RESIST THE NOISE

Because the opposition needs our anger against our own to gain traction. It's a divide and conquer strategy bc they don't have anything else but the grotesque performances of Agent Orange and his Flying Monkey Brigade.

Heads down, hold the line, push forward.

[PortTack]

109. that's exactly what President Biden doing. He's a wise savvy politician

[Across-the-Desk]

56. Republicans are cowards.. But Democrats are like cats

Democrats have zero focus.. And even poorer strategy.. They are like cats to me.. As they seem to be whimsical in their planning and
willing to chase any shiny object (bait) that is thrown their way... When it comes to recognizing success, there is a great book called 'Think and Grow Rich' that sums it up perfectly.. "Successful people make plans, execute those plans, and change them, if at all, slowly."

Joe Biden, no matter what anyone thinks, it the duly elected nominee for president running on the (D) ticket.. For all intents and purposes, the political campaigning heats up fast in just about 2 weeks.. To jump mid-ship this close to campaign season and the election will end in failure for the Democrats and elect Don Trump to another 4 years as president.. There is no one who would be able to jump into a campaign, much less a presidential campaign, that would be able to build a platform, raise the money, and articulate that platform to the masses of voters in time to win an election against the Republican nominee..

[republianmushroom]

57. Agree

Then the DNC, every day is asking me for money to support these "TRAITORS", they can sit on that request
for a very long time.

[58Sunliner]

58. If they didn't believe Joe could win, they would not have bothered.

Specious internal polling, extortion from donors, endless media cycling and gaslighting, from Rob Reiner whose company Castle Rock is owned by Time/Warner, who owns CNN, owns HBO-who produced George Clooney's last movie Wolfs, and is producing his movie about Jim Jordan. Follow the money.

[cilla4progress]

60. Yep.

Agree.

I sent reply emails to my dem friends yesteday who want Joe to drop out reminding them that Bernie, AOC, Elizabeth Warren, Maxwell Frost and many people of color support him staying IN!

There is something to this.

Awaiting their replies.

[JohnSJ]

69. What will they do if he doesn't drop out? A question more for the politicians asking

him to drop out?

He will be the nominee, and are they now going to say I don’t support him, not likely, and they have now successfully made themselves look weak and indecisive.

[Baggies]

63. Thank You for your post

I read so many posts lately from so many that have been good to hear. I’m certain that it will continue in the following days and weeks.

[JohnSJ]

71. That isn't the point. What are they going to do when Biden is the nominee?

They have publicly gone out and said he shouldn’t be the nominee.

Now what?

[New Breed Leader]

67. Blame Steve Schmidt

he's behind this

[JohnSJ]

81. I suspect there are several people who have come up with this "brilliant"

strategy.

[PortTack]

105. Actually Schmidt has shifted and is now pushing against JRB, and probably the Dems. He not the whole story

But he’s pushing!

[JohnSJ]

120. Why would we follow Schmidt is beyond me. Because he is anti-trump doesn't mean he is pro Democratic

[Roc2020]

68. na. They may have hurt their own re-election

not Biden's. Biden voters are going to stay Biden voters. No matter what.

[JohnSJ]

84. The problem isn't Biden voters, or even never trumpets, it is the independents that I think will win or lose the electio

If they are looking at the issues, such women's rights etc, then we should win, but the polling seems to represent a mixed bag.

[Dan]

72. The GOP is like herding sheep,

The Democrats like herding cats.

[Ocelot II]

79. You can herd cats by opening a can of tuna; they'll come running.

You can herd feckless, cowardly legislators by opening a sack of money. House cats can run 30 mph; betcha these guys can run a whole lot faster when they hear that sweet jingling of coins.

[bdamomma]

74. Putin's

plan is working, to divide our Democratic party and us. Too late I'm with Biden all the way.

I am not letting Putin win. Our friends in France and England voted smart let's do the same thing please.

Fuck the Convicted felon and the corporate media.

[PortTack]

103. Nailed it!

[totodeinhere]

114. So Putin got to Schiff and Brown?

Oh come on l thought it was the right wing that indulged in crazy conspiracy theories. Both Schiff and Brown have been vociferous opponents of Putin.

[soandso]

137. You really think Putin

is controlling Democrats who asked Biden to step down?

[DFW]

78. "We don't need republicans to hurt us, we are doing quite a good job of it ourselves."

And that sounds like the Republican plan all along.

[JohnSJ]

86. and that is why this situation is so frustrating and infuriating

[NBachers]

106. But why is, oh so predictively, "Democrats snatching defeat from the jaws of victory," even a thing?

[bullimiami]

80. I really wish I could know who to be mad at.

Who is driving this so incredibly hard.

It’s not organic. It’s orchestrated.

[roamer65]

82. We have no choice.

We must vote for democracy in November.

We must vote Democratic.

I will be voting for whomever the party nominates.

[musicblind]

85. The Democratic Party has the best interests of the American people at heart.

I understand your anger, and you are entitled to your emotions. We all are, and there is nothing invalid about feeling angry right now. However, please remember, no matter how misguided some of it's individual members maybe, the Democratic Party as a whole has had the best interests of the American people in their hearts for decades, and they still do.

IDK what is going to happen. None of us know for sure. Most of us are concerned about the future of our nation right now because you would have to be a borderline psychopath not to be concerned. Things might go horribly wrong, but they aren't guaranteed to. Hold onto hope. Do not give into despair or anger. Keep striving for a better tomorrow.

As grave as things seem right now, I promise you this: if you fight hard enough for the future, the future will fight for you.

[Joinfortmill]

87. Just remember who they are and never let them forget it.

Joe's gonna win!

[JohnSJ]

90. You are preaching to the choir here for sure on that.

[oldmanlynn]

95. Ya those senators and congressional members are mot as smart as us

They have no clue and dont know as much about politics as we do.

[GiqueCee]

97. Carville...

... needs to be muzzled. He doesn't get the FaceTime he once did, so he's desperate for relevance, and apparently has no compunction about kicking over the apple cart to get attention. Fuck him.

[Vinca]

113. I agree with you a million times over.

[Texin]

115. It genuinely appears as if they want a brokered convention. And it appears on the surface to be led by a contingent

of Dems from California, though are a few sprinklings of other pols from mid-west states. This leads to the conclusion they are planning on a movement to draft Gavin Newsome. Whether they want to jettison Harris or not is inconclusive IMO. She, after all, is from California too, so I don't know what to think about all this crap. I do know that the voters who have supported Biden-Harris from the beginning are deeply disgruntled about what they appear to be trying to set in movement. I'm thinking there a great number of Biden voters who will be furious about having Newsome shoved down our throats especially since he's maintained he fully supports Biden.

[BunnyMcGee]

116. We (on DU) can't get along anymore

So will an admin please delete my account, I can't locate any way out on the My DU pages

[rzemanfl]

147. Bookmarking.

[totodeinhere]

118. I understand your anger. But,

I don't think it is productive to be angry at the Democratic leaders. Regardless of who ends up being the nominee and I am pretty sure it will be Joe, to win this election we need to be united as a party. And trashing prominent party leaders at this time is not helpful.

[Dopers_Greed]

119. The establishment Dems are handing the election to Trump

This is ours to lose.

Biden is out best bet to take out Trump. Failing that, Kamala is the only other option.

At worst, he's only down a couple points in swing state polls. And the polls have been way off for the last few elections.

[JohnSJ]

122. Yes, but the longer they keep this garbage going, the only thing it will accomplish is make the poll numbers worse. It

sure won't make them better.

and in my view they have put at risk not just the WH but both Houses of Congress.

[alarimer]

123. This is the worst I've seen in a long time.

I have been pissed before, when the party apparatus put its thumb on the scale in favor of corporate Dems and against progressive ones (which in normal was nearly constant). But, yeah , this is the worst. An actual sitting President and who won the primaries with little opposition and they are stabbing him (and us) in the back.

A tiny bit of progress against oligarchs and, boom!, we have this.

If they succeed, I will change my affiliation to independent. I'm not an idiot, I will still vote (and most likely hold my nose even for corporate weasel Dems), but this is the final straw.

[raccoon]

127. You and me both.

[captain queeg]

129. I smell rethuglicans and thus Russian influence. Though we have plenty of oligarchs here and they are involved heavily

The old idea of another country attacking us has been somewhat supplanted by these rich fucks that don’t want to pay taxes and then tell us how to live. Thank you Citizens United. Money is destroying our democracy. Who could have possibly foreseen this?

[Xoan]

131. "Never attribute to malice that which

is adequately explained by stupidity."

[JohnSJ]

133. Whether stupidity or malice means very little if the outcome is the same

[Initech]

135. Do you want fascism? Because this is how you get fascism.

I am so pissed off. We got gaslit and the fuckheads are going to win again. Project 2025 will be enacted and the government will be completely destroyed and the Heritage Foundation will own the courts for the next 150 years.

Stopping Trump and Project 2025 should be our goal. At all costs. We cannot let them win.

[mzmolly]

140. Well said.

[Martin Eden]

145. "they don't believe he can handle the job"

I don't think that's accurate.

Democrats are calling for Joe Biden to end his candidacy because they don't believe he can win the election.

Unfortunately, in doing so they are reinforcing the narrative that he's too old for the job.

[FeelingBlue]

146. A Grateful Nation,

We are not. This late boneheaded move by Dems is unthinkable given the planet-size threats from Trump and his handlers. I’d love to believe that there is a brilliant mind behind this brokenness and self-abuse. But, it appears that the Dems are simply disorganized and short-sighted and dumb as Milk-Duds. They have pulled the rug out from under us all.

[Hotler]

151. I called Bennett, Hickenloper and Crow, told them

to put forth a candidate or shut up, and we're facing a fascist dictatorship and they're fucking around.

[mountain grammy]

152. I called Bennet and Hickenlooper too

actually got a real person in Sen Bennet's office. Expressed our views that we support Biden and want them to support him too.

I also called my rep, Joe Neguse and thanked him for staying out of it but if he speaks it should be for Joe Biden.

[wolfie001]

153. I would be mad at the New York Times

They started this shitstorm. They never call out the fat lunatic donald dump. Unless I hear from Joe Biden, I don't believe anything of these rumors. The Democrats suggesting he pull out are in highly competitive elections and they're just covering their asses. Sherrod, Tester and those Congresspeople. Machiavellian politics. Putting themselves into position for November. That's my take.

[TheDemsshouldhireme]

154. First I want to say I will vote for whoever is the democratic nominee

I have voted for every democrat since 1992. I am a union member and keep paying my dues while my republican co-workers opted out of dues and fair share since the Janus decision. I give extra to my union's PAC. I'm very secure in my democratic bona fides. A presidential election is really about 2 branches of government, the executive and judicial branches. No one will ever convince Nader didn't hurt Gore, if 600 or so Nader voters would of gone for Gore, then not only no Bush, but no Roberts and Alito. Same for 2016, not enough people came out for Hillary and that got us Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Coney-Barrett. It's something republicans keep their eye on better than democrats. Those 3 Trump appointees will probably be there 25-30 years, think about about it, it's like your career with an employer. My children are around 30, when they are planning their retirement, they will be watching hearings to replace those 3.

With that being said, I believe it is more than obvious Joe is not the man to make the case in this election. I was a political science major in college and how elections are decided has always fascinated me. In my humble opinion, it is not just about the bases, its about independents and undecided voters that will determine who will win this election. Joe's stumbles lately have given those voters real concerns about his ability going forward. I live in PA and Biden's incoherent I beat Medicare answer will be on a tv commercial loop. Same for the mix up of names. He pivoted on an abortion question to an immigrant murdering a young lady, not good, like really, really bad. I do agree with the poster above the jet lag with 11 days rest was some weak sauce excuse, same with over prepared. I don't want to watch the next debate with my fingers over my eyes. I want a candidate who can take it to Trump, and that is not present day Biden I find the attacks on the billionaire donors also weak, like what Harris or some other democratic nominee will now be a supply sider? Pleez. Concerns about Biden's age is a concern for an over-whelming majority of voters, you can dismiss it, but its real, very real. And it's not getting any better. In fact it is getting worse. A very sizable portion of democrats would like Joe to step aside before we Ginsburg the most important election, maybe ever. Attack us, call us trolls, report us, but were true blue democrats that want to win. There will be no guide rails on the next Trump term(he will be surrounded by sycophants in his cabinet) and if they control all 3 branches of government, well god, help us.

As Bill Maher said, i will vote for Joe's head in a jar over Trump. I also know not everyone thinks the way I do. I do believe Joe's inner circle has shielded him and his family is not doing him any favors. I have zero confidence in Jen O'malley. The 2020 election was during a covid lock down, this campaign wont be won by a few speeches at drive-in movie theaters and cars honking. He was supposed to be a bridge candidate and he did that. Enjoy the golden years and pass the torch. As Joe said, we have others that can beat Trump, but by staying in, it has an air of I alone can fix it, ala Trump. Bottom line, I just dont see an 81 year old Biden,will bring, the vigor, the confidence and enthusiasm you need to win a general election. Don't be RBG Joe, realize its time to step aside and pass the baton.