To the leaders in the Democratic Party who are speaking out for the sake of our country

[mia]

This discussion thread was locked by EarlG (a host of the General Discussion forum).

Thank you for your courage.

[Duncanives]

1. Can you clarify?

I'm new here. Which Democratic leaders are you referring to?

[mia]

2. An incomplete list

Last edited Sat Jul 20, 2024, 02:43 PM - Edit history (1)

• Sen. Sherrod Brown, Ohio
• Sen. Martin Heinrich, N.M.
• Sen. Jon Tester, Mont.
• Sen. Peter Welch, Vt.
• Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Ore.
• Rep. Ed Case, Hawaii
• Rep. Kathy Castor, Florida
• Rep. Sean Casten, Ill.
• Rep. Jim Costa, Calif.
• Rep. Angie Craig, Minn.
• Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Texas
• Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, Ill.
• Rep. Raul Grijalva, Ariz.
• Rep. Jim Himes, Conn.
• Rep. Jared Huffman, Calif.
• Rep. Greg Landsman, Ohio
• Rep. Mike Levin, Calif.
• Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Calif.
• Rep. Seth Moulton, Mass.
• Rep. Betty McCollum, Minn.
• Rep. Morgan McGarvey, Ky.
• Rep. Scott Peters, Calif.
• Rep. Brittany Pettersen, Colo.
• Rep. Mark Pocan, Wis.
• Rep. Mike Quigley, Ill.
• Rep. Pat Ryan, N.Y.
• Rep. Adam Schiff, Calif.
• Rep. Brad Schneider, Ill.
• Rep. Hillary Scholten, Mich.
• Rep. Mikie Sherrill, N.J.
• Rep. Adam Smith, Wash.
• Rep. Eric Sorensen, Ill.
• Rep. Greg Stanton, Ariz.
• Rep. Mark Takano, Calif.
• Rep. Gabe Vasquez, N.M.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/list-who-are-the-democratic-lawmakers-calling-for-joe-biden-to-leave-the-race/ar-BB1qksfL?ocid=BingNewsVerp

[Emile]

18. but aren't these the politicians who are ignoring our

votes in the primary?

[kerry-is-my-prez]

20. Yes - but Biden was the only name in the ballot.

Some primaries were cancelled like Florida so there were no votes cast in those.

[Emile]

22. Oh, so that makes it okay to ignore millions of

Democratic votes casted for Biden and Harris and this is good?

[paleotn]

29. You're not getting it. He was the only legit candidate on the ballot.

Getting pissed doesn't change that fact.

[Emile]

46. If someone else wanted to run against them, they

should have done that at the start of the primary, don't you agree?

Everyone who voted for Joe will be pissed off if this is successful. How is this any good for the party with only three and.half months to the election?

[iemanja]

81. I see two sides here

I respect the importance of your vote, but on the other hand, we had no choice, did we? It is, however, too late to be revisiting the primary. I just find the overriding our vote argument to be slightly problematic, though I do see where you're coming from.

[travelingthrulife]

92. You didn't put up a candidate

It is not the fault of millions of voters that you did not plan ahead.

Shame on every one of those Democrats you posted.

[lees1975]

50. That is a lie.

Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips were both on the ballot, as was the option for voters to cast an "uncommitted" ballot. Biden still got over 90% of the primary vote.

This is the process to which we have agreed and this list of Democrats, if it is accurate, is the list of people to blame when we do not win in November, not Joe Biden.

I pulled my donation to the Democratic national committee's Congressional re-election fund, to keep these members from getting any help from me. Let them get it from the big donors they're listening to. I encourage all Democrats who contribute to take this list in this post, and designate your contributions to other Democrats.

Thanks for the list. Makes it easier.

[iemanja]

82. They were not serous candidates

and you can't pretend they were. There was no open primary when Biden decided to run for reelection. The issue was decided at that time.

[Cha]

72. Dean was on the Ballot in NH.. Pres Biden was NOt.. Pres Biden Won in a Landslide!

Biden is My President.

[sheshe2]

102. ☝️☝️☝️THIS☝️☝️☝️

[Autumn]

91. Those are the politician who recognize if we lose the senate, house or the White House

we are completely and totally fucked. They see the big picture. Some people don't.

[LW1977]

28. More like:

No thank you for your backstabbing

[alarimer]

43. Cowards, all of them

More concerned with saving their own fucking skins.

[JohnSJ]

45. They are not courageous, they are unwittingly helping trump, and possibility destroying the Democratic Party.

A bunch of mega rich donors are behind this bullshit.

This bullshit has a very good chance to lose us not only the WH, but both houses of Congress

[Doodley]

57. Two-thirds of Democrats polled think Biden should step down. To that majority, I imagine they think it is courageous.

[JohnSJ]

63. The majority elected him in the primaries. A push poll asking if Biden should step down is meaningless. About the

same number also think trump should step down according to the IPOS/Washington Post poll

What are they going to do if neither candidate drops out?

I will tell you what they will do, the Democrats will vote for Biden, and the republicans will vote for trump, and the independents will do what the independents do.

When the delegates vote, we will see if the over 3000 pledged delegates vote for Biden, or decide to vote for someone else, or abstain on the first vote. That will tell me how reliable that poll is.

Why not ask this question instead to those Democrats, will they vote for Biden, trump, or other?

[travelingthrulife]

94. poll driven drivel

n/t

[cilla4progress]

105. 1. Whose polls?

2. Does not comport with other stats. For example, according to Reuters , Joe outraised tsf in June.

Don't fall for it.

[Cha]

70. What "courage" ? "Cash rewards being paid to congress members who ask Biden to withdraw"

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219142525

They are on the Wrong side of History.

The Steve Schmidt I& Dean Phillips Pass the Torch Org are Losers.

Pres Joe Biden is Going To Run and WIN.

[Think. Again.]

85. Thank you, this list will be handy in the midterms.

[cilla4progress]

103. Bought and paid for

or running scared of

Ooga ooga

BIG DONORS!

Have you read EarlG's fabulous thread this weekend on the "enshittification" of our politics?

You might want to.

[BannonsLiver]

3. Careful. YoU'rE GoInG AgAinSt tHe GrAiN!11

[Peacetrain]

4. How do you know they are speaking out for the sake of the country..

and what is it they are worried about?

[kerry-is-my-prez]

21. That Trump is going to win! No joke!!!!!

[Cha]

73. They doing Moe Damage Than Anybody.. NO JOKE!!!!

[cilla4progress]

106. THIS!!

They appear to have their own motivations...

[lark]

93. They are for whatever reason killing our chances of winning. Period.the.end.

If they weren't they'd be calling for Biden to resign and make Kamala president so she could run as an incumbent. They (most of them) want a (rat fucking) open convention where the party will be torn to shreds.

[Eliot Rosewater]

27. I know you from this site, I know you are a true liberal and progressive and decent person. Arent you at least

curious why someone we all trusted 3 weeks ago, Nancy Pelosi, told the president and others from what she saw he would not win?

I am. When I first heard about that I did NOT believe it as in that she did that, and I am still looking for reporting that she did NOT say that. But I guess she did.

I just want to know why, in depth.

[spooky3]

56. We don't know what she said. The reports don't quote her

Or state that they interviewed her and she admitted saying this.

[Eliot Rosewater]

66. If the biggest and most influential newspaper in the world

is saying she said something and she’s not coming out to correct it knowing what a big deal it is that people are quoting it, that makes no sense to me at all.

[spooky3]

67. But she HAS said media reports have mischaracterized

Her conversations with Joe.

[Cha]

76. Oh Spooky...

Link to tweet

Aloha

[travelingthrulife]

97. Then why doesn't this courageous woman clarify exactly what she said

and why she said it.

[Tom Rinaldo]

104. Perhaps she is doing what posters here say that our leaders should be doing

She has shared with Biden in private what she really thinks. In public she holds a careful stance, that Biden is our nominee unless he himself decides that it is in the best interest of our country that he step aside at this point. She is not asking him not to run, in public at least. But if that is her true inclination, do you think our cause would be better served if she flat out cam out and said it? Yes she strategically says it is his decision to make, which is a highly respectful stance, even though Biden has said he has already decided. Sure people can read the tea leaves about Nancy's position, but were she to instead hold a press conference telling Biden to leave the race it would further heighten divisions inside the Democratic Party, and it would be extremely problematic were Biden then to refuse to step aside with Nancy Pelosi firmly on record opposing him running again. This way she can always say that consistently has held that it is his decision to make and that she respects his decision (either way)

We can't on one hand blast Democrats who sincerely feel that Biden needs to "pass the torch" for actually saying so, and then on the other hand blast those who might honestly feel that way themselves who instead have decided not to air our differences over the air waves.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

58. She has seen the battleground & internal polls and she knows he can't win.

I’ve been watching the polls very carefully and I’m very worried. Biden may be close in some battleground states that he HAS to win but he either remains slightly behind with no movement or keeps going down little by little. What MAJOR thing that Biden does is going to help him move up in the polls? Nothing has helped so far. I think the only way he could possibly do it is to totally kick Trumps ass in a debate. And needs to be soon to turn the bad narrative around ASAP. I don’t think he could do any worse than the last debate but if he does, then things pretty much stay the same.

[lees1975]

64. Polls do not vote.

And these do not reflect what will happen in November. I doubt that half of them are made up of real data. There are so many obvious flaws, it's hard to know where to start. How badly they missed the mid-terms, and every election since, including the primaries. Something is either flawed in their data analysis.

And aside from that, what "internal polls" are you talking about? We know which pollsters each party campaign uses to consider its strategy. Such as Biden opening campaign offices in Florida, where the "internal poll" shows him well within the margin of error, and gaining ground. And in Ohio, where, interestingly enough, Vance on the ticket doesn't seem to be helping.

There isn't even a hard core pollster who will tell you that the polls in July are representative of how the election will turn out. If that were the case, then Humphrey, Gore, Romney, and Hillary Clinton would all have been elected.

[Cha]

75. NO you're WRONG.

Link to tweet

[JohnSJ]

78. +++

[Cha]

74. Nancy Pelosi Supports Pres Joe Biden!!! "We're Not Done Yet"!!

Link to tweet

[paleotn]

30. Sherrod Brown and Pat Leahy aren't speaking out for the good of the country.

Riiiiiiight.

[travelingthrulife]

96. and why won't they give us their reasons?

n/t

[XanaDUer2]

5. Sarcasm? Nt

[bluestarone]

6. If this was 100% true i'd agree. ( i will not believe this UNTIL)

JOE BIDEN and Kamala Harris speaks the same words!!

[Sewa]

7. Thank you as well for your courage

💀🤙

[LiberaBlueDem]

8. not courage

Selfishness

They are only saying what their big donors are telling them to say

[W_HAMILTON]

11. Polls are meaningless, but if you put so much stock in them...

... those same polls also show Biden doing comparable or better against Trump than all other Democrats, aside from Michelle Obama (who is not an actual potential alternative).

[LiberaBlueDem]

12. Why are the big donors asking the pols to say what they say

Because they know Bden is way ahead and the only way to beat him is to get Dems to turn against him

[Sewa]

13. I see it's tin foil time

People need to stop making shit up to slime respected Democratic officials.

[Demsrule86]

16. Really? There are more...you want to borrow my tin foil hat? hehe.

&pp=ygUZRG9ub3JzIHRocmVhdGVuIERlbW9jcmF0cw%3D%3D

[LiberaBlueDem]

38. Well

Your assertion that it is the "leaders" of the party just makes your whole argument false

The few Dems telling Biden to drop out are not respected officials

[Demsrule86]

26. They want a tax cut thus they want Trump to win. Biden is the most progressive president since Roosevelt and they want

him out...not because they think he will but they think he will win.

[Doodley]

59. Two-thirds of Democrats polled think Joe should step down. Who do you think they feel is being selfish?

[JohnSJ]

79. Well if that is the case, which it isn't, then we should see two-thirds of the delegates on

the first round not vote for Biden.

Any bets?

[mcar]

9. How about the CBC and Hispanic Caucus

The Clintons and many others? Are they speaking out for the sake of our country - or only those you apparently agree with?

[Demsrule86]

15. I have heard the Clintons say nothing...also not everyone in groups you mention is on record...

We will win with Biden...or not at all. You can't tear the party apart this late.

[Cha]

83. Excellent question, mcar.. And My Gov Josh Green & Dave Letterman.. are

they going to Fundraise for Pres Biden For the Good of Our Country?

Gov Wes Moore, Gov Whitmer, and Gov Hochul .. All Real Leaders For Biden and the Good of Our Country.

Answer... YES!

[Demsrule86]

14. Who might that be...you know Biden is the presumptive nominee.

[Emile]

23. That's why it's time to unite behind President Biden!

[Melon]

19. Did you watch the recent interview by BET with Ed Gordon?

I have seen it posted here. I’ll vote democrat no matter, but It’s not a coup or a takeover.

[Emile]

24. Time to support the nominee!

[flamingdem]

25. ALL you are saying is that Kamala should run

Do you realize that's the conclusion?

So how well will Kamala do in rustbelt states? Hmmm.

Just check out how MAGA is treating the Hindu wife of J.D. Vance.

(Hint: disgustingly racist)

[paleotn]

31. That cannot be found anywhere in the OP's post.

How you came to that conclusion is beyond me.

[flamingdem]

32. There's no time for anyone other than Kamala in the proposed scenario

So that's a given.

[paleotn]

36. Says you.

[sheshe2]

61. Do you think it would be a winning idea to jump or dump Kamala?

If we you all do that then ya'll just lost the black women's vote. 90% 0f black women voted for Biden Harris. No Democrat can win without them.

[OnDoutside]

33. Do you mean the coup plotters ?

[paleotn]

35. And you're much more up on things than Nancy Pelosi.

Good to know.

[OnDoutside]

37. Where did you get Pelosi from that post ?

[paleotn]

41. You didn't know Nancy Pelosi is one of your "coup plotters?"

Where ya been?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/18/biden-dnc-nomination

[SunsetDreams2]

69. No she isn't

A few days ago Nancy Pelosi spokesperson stated what was reported is being misrepresented,
Then there is this from her Twitter tonight
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219198400

[paleotn]

95. Watch and see.

[OnDoutside]

90. So....

[paleotn]

34. Because winning this election is the most important thing in our lifetimes.

I think many here are losing focus on the only goal that matters. Something more important than you, me, us, Biden or anyone else. We lose, our country is done. That's not hyperbole. Republicans will do everything they say they'll do and our democracy is finished. Certainly for our lifetimes. Possibly forever. Let that sink in.

That said, when people of the caliber of Obama, Sherrod Brown, Nancy Pelosi, Pat Leahy and others get uncomfortable AT THIS LATE DATE, so do I. They know the stakes. They know the how late it is. They know a hell of a lot more about this situation than we. When it was just some media types and a few Congress critters, I could ignore them. I can't ignore it now. We do so at our peril.

[flamingdem]

39. Nancy Pelosi did not say what you think

And you're not informed about how the process works.

[paleotn]

40. What did I think, oh mind reader?

I stated those people seem to be uncomfortable with the current situation. I trust their judgement. Maybe you should too.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pelosi-behind-schiff-call-biden-step-aside-doesnt-think-he-can-win-white-house-2024-07-18/

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/17/politics/nancy-pelosi-biden-conversation/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/18/biden-dnc-nomination

[Emile]

47. Did she unite the party behind our candidate?

[Aepps22]

42. Rare Situation When Both Sides are Right

We are in the rare situation where there is not anyone on our side that doesn't recognize how terrible Trump is and what he will do which provides me courage that once we unite we will win. The reality is that we don't know if Joe, Kamala or someone else is the strongest person to beat Trump but the goal of beating Trump is the only goal and the goal everyone is all in on. We have well meaning people that disagree on who is best situated to do it but the reality is that we need to vote, donate, phone bank and everything else in our power to win. If our side and "independents" were truly invested in beating Trump and his policies it wouldn't take this much work to excite people to vote. The need to excite our base is sad given the stakes.

[sir pball]

44. Then they need to start fucking talking. I want their internal polls and confidential information.

I'll be the first to admit I'm a rank pragmatist, I will back the best candidate like a goddamned robot – I do not care about nuance, give me evidence that your candidate is the best and I'm behind them 100%

I have seen zero evidence that Biden is not the best candidate. If all of these key players have a reason, I want to see it. Until then, even Obama is just making fart noises.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

60. Amen.

[Doodley]

62. Correct. Defeating Trump and fascism is more important than any one person. What are these leaders telling us?

What are three dozen representatives telling us? What are these major donors telling us? What are the opinion polls telling us?

[Deek1935]

89. Nancy says "Biden/Harris need to finish the job." Others are responding to rich donors and bullshit polls months out.

[paleotn]

98. Pat Leahy retired from the Senate and not worried about donors...

He is worried about the country though as am I. I may need to parse the Vermontese. He's telling Biden he might want to do what he did.

https://vtdigger.org/2024/07/19/patrick-leahy-urges-biden-to-consider-his-legacy-in-deciding-whether-to-stay-in-presidential-race/

[choie]

49. I got something to say to them too!

FUCK YOU.

[lees1975]

51. Yes, thank you, Hakeem Jeffries, for backing President Biden!

Thank you, Representative Shiela Jackson Lee, for backing President Biden.
Thank you, Jim Clyburn, for backing President Biden.

Thank you to the vast majority of Democrats who have decided to stand behind the President and back his nomination to a second term. You are true patriots and you see this election for what it is.

[DFab420]

52. I see the weekend warriors are out in force tonight pushing a singular narrative

Across many threads.

Not gonna work, Joe isn’t dropping out and we’re gonna get him re elected

[orangecrush]

53. Trashed and goodbye

[Cha]

71. Ikr.. CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS

** **** "courage"

[Skittles]

54. LOL

yeah OK

[JohnSJ]

55. It seems that there is a PAC up to their neck in this bullshit to oust Biden started by Dean Phillips and Steve Schmidt

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19198198

[travelingthrulife]

100. This Dean Philips guy is a real narcissistic mess

He will probably be mucking up elections for the next 30 years.

[GoreWon2000]

65. It's NOT ok to disenfranchise 14 million dem party primary voters!

I'm curious to understand why you think it's ok for a small group of mostly, privileged white anglo men to decide the dem party Presidential nominee instead of we the people? Your so called "leaders speaking out for our country" are really acting just like the 5 GOP SCOTUS judges who thought they knew better than we the people in 2000 so they took our votes away and installed their personally preferred Presidential candidate who was a disaster. Why are you not focused on the real threat which is Nazi dictator tRump whp doesn't know the difference between reality and fantasy, doesn't understand the difference between right and wrong and who isn't capable of telling the truth and who'll send women back to the back alleys to die from illegal abortions, send people of color back to the back of the bus, send the LGBTQ+ community back into the closet, destroy our planet, turn working people into slaves, and cut Social Security and Medicare to give big tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations? You worried about 1 bad debate when Joe had represented our country on the world stage, traveled through 15 time zones, caught a really bad cold, didn't get enough sleep, left the CA. fundraiser 3 hours after Clooney and still won the debate on substance?I doubt any of your "leaders speaking out for the sake of our country" could've done any better. I just don't understand your priorities or your willingness to disenfranchise 14 million dem party primary voters just like the GOP SCOTUS did in 2000 while you ignore the really serious cognitive decline of tRump and his Nazi dictatorship platform aka Project 2025.

[Duncan Grant]

68. A bandwagon fallacy.

I’m still waiting for Biden’s critics to produce verifiable evidence and analysis. It’s not coming, is it? No, instead the pundits have been beating this dead horse on behalf of the critics for 3 weeks. Some are fooled by the PR, but I don’t think I am. Time will tell.

[awesomerwb1]

77. Yes

$$$$$$$ Yes, thank you for $peaking out for the $ake of the billionaire donor$.

$crew them all. Every $ingle one of them.

[JohnSJ]

80. LOL, you don't even need a sarcasm tag on that comment

[eShirl]

84. You mean the ones stabbing our nominee in the back?

[Think. Again.]

86. Can we get back to the campaign against trump/vance now? Please?

(I'll leave it up to the "courageous leaders in the Democratic Party who are speaking out for the sake of our country" if they want to re-join us in that fight or not.)

[betsuni]

87. What leaders?

[Deek1935]

88. Hahaha....Courage??? They are "SPINELESS COWARDS" pants-shitting over useless polls and big donor threats. SICKENING!

Last edited Sun Jul 21, 2024, 08:13 AM - Edit history (1)

[travelingthrulife]

101. Biden IS saying these things over and over, you must not be hearing it

n/t

[EarlG]

107. To those who have not yet received the message

When Democratic Underground is in "Primary Season," which takes place during the run-up to the presidential election before we have a presumptive nominee, members are of course permitted to campaign for the Democratic candidate of their choice.

Democratic Underground is currently in General Election season. This means that members are not permitted to campaign against the current Democratic nominee. The current Democratic nominee is Joe Biden.

If Joe Biden chooses to drop out of the race, we will essentially be in Primary Season again. If that happens, I will make an announcement to let everyone know what is going on. Until that happens, we are operating under General Election season rules.

I'm well aware that there are some people on DU who disagree with this policy. If you are one of those people, you are of course free to push the boundaries of the policy until you are either stopped by Juries or you decide to stop of your own accord.

Locking.