2024 Presidential Election Thread

[USUC]

I too would like to see someone under 80 on the dem ticket. But who:

- newsome? Kind of slimy and COViD double talk will hurt.
- buttigieg? I like him, but is the country ready for a gay president?
- Kamala? I think this is a non-starter, but she's in line.
- Amy klobucher? Not enough name recognition
- chuck shume? GTFO
- manchin? Doubtful. Too West Virginia-y
- Hillary? I'd LOVE it; the Dems would finally win a troll battle. No way
- some other dem governor/senator? We're too close to the election to get name recognition

I believe the Dems could put up a no name and defeat Trump handily. Most the people you mention are known idiots. But i think Manchin, Klobucher and even Newsome would beat Trump. I really like Jared Polis.

[frank ryan]

The current predicament can't be laid at the feet in full by either party. I fully concede that point. The shenanigans by the Dems and GOP over the past 40 years had led to where we are. But here is the difference in this instance. The GOP base is all in on Trump. As a result, the moderates in the party are now independent and the GOP has shrunk. But that GOP is all in and believes Trump is their guy. The Dem base has concerns about Biden's cognitive fitness and polling suggests that they would prefer another candidate. Polling also shows that independents overhwelmingly think Biden isnt up for it and want someone else. So what do the DNC, Dem talking heads, etc do? They try to deny Biden's fitness and keep propping him up. The GOP base got to choose Trump and they are. The DNC isnt allowing the Dem base to choose theirs.

The GOP is the greater threat and it ain't close. I'm not saying Democratic Party politics and individuals have had no role in the political environment but they aren't the primary offenders.
Bothsidesism can sometimes be relevant but not when it comes to Trumpism. It's also foolhardy to count on incompetence to be barrier to Trump's destructiveness. If he wins he will have a greater percentage of awful trash individuals who will enact harmful policies. History is rife with authoritarians fucking up countries and cultures and societies. The US isn't magically immune from that and it's happening in real time and should be called out for what it is and not minimized.
I think focusing on democratic problems with more scrutiny and frequency (which my friend you do) is frustration and outrage misdirected. Any democratic candidate would seem awful and dissatisfactory. Newesome? He is well-spoken and aggressive but would be pigeon-holed as arrogant and nanny-stater. Bernie - that's a non-starter. I don't think a candidate could be selected that you find appealing. Hell, if Biden wasn't having frequent senior moments, I don't think he'd appeal to you. He'd definitely not appeal to progressives because he is moderate and always has been.
Trump is not a birth that came from the womb of collective democratic shenanigans. The GOP used to cosplay as the party of personal responsibility and small government and now it's the party of nothing is ever are fault and if you don't agree with us you are evil. Outside of Romney and maybe like 4 or 5 others no one has done anything meaningful to contain his madness and anyone who dares to try gets smashed down.
The GOP is far, far better at unified messaging. Despite all the mumbling about mainstream media bias, Newsmax, OAN, Ben Shapiro, Daily Wire etc have no interest in objectivity and pump out the same exact unified messages. You can see the lack of integrity by how the right, aside from Glenn Beck, has ignored the Tim Ballard scandal and amplified his voice. When people hear the same shit over and over again, it becomes true to them, regardless of whether it's rooted in reality or not.
Congress isn't passing funding for the border/Ukrainian aid because king Trump ordered them not to.
The Democratic Party isn't above scrutiny and definitely not above stupidly but it's clear this needs to be recognized as a failure of the conservative movement. Real or perceived, ineptitude by democrats really does nothing to explain, let alone justify the kakistocracy the Trump administration was and would be again.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I too would like to see someone under 80 on the dem ticket. But who:

- newsome? Kind of slimy and COViD double talk will hurt.
- buttigieg? I like him, but is the country ready for a gay president?
- Kamala? I think this is a non-starter, but she's in line.
- Amy klobucher? Not enough name recognition
- chuck shume? GTFO
- manchin? Doubtful. Too West Virginia-y
- Hillary? I'd LOVE it; the Dems would finally win a troll battle. No way
- some other dem governor/senator? We're too close to the election to get name recognition

If Biden would have had the foresight, humility, and integrity to step aside many months ago, we would have had a vigorous democratic primary and some leaders would have emerged. Voters have clearly said that they want more, younger choices. It is a copout to say there is nobody else. If that is truly the case, then we deserve Trump I guess.

[Jeff Lebowski]

The GOP is the greater threat and it ain't close. I'm not saying Democratic Party politics and individuals have had no role in the political environment but they aren't the primary offenders.
Bothsidesism can sometimes be relevant but not when it comes to Trumpism. It's also foolhardy to count on incompetence to be barrier to Trump's destructiveness. If he wins he will have a greater percentage of awful trash individuals who will enact harmful policies. History is rife with authoritarians fucking up countries and cultures and societies. The US isn't magically immune from that and it's happening in real time and should be called out for what it is and not minimized.
I think focusing on democratic problems with more scrutiny and frequency (which my friend you do) is frustration and outrage misdirected. Any democratic candidate would seem awful and dissatisfactory. Newesome? He is well-spoken and aggressive but would be pigeon-holed as arrogant and nanny-stater. Bernie - that's a non-starter. I don't think a candidate could be selected that you find appealing. Hell, if Biden wasn't having frequent senior moments, I don't think he'd appeal to you. He'd definitely not appeal to progressives because he is moderate and always has been.
Trump is not a birth that came from the womb of collective democratic shenanigans. The GOP used to cosplay as the party of personal responsibility and small government and now it's the party of nothing is ever are fault and if you don't agree with us you are evil. Outside of Romney and maybe like 4 or 5 others no one has done anything meaningful to contain his madness and anyone who dares to try gets smashed down.
The GOP is far, far better at unified messaging. Despite all the mumbling about mainstream media bias, Newsmax, OAN, Ben Shapiro, Daily Wire etc have no interest in objectivity and pump out the same exact unified messages. You can see the lack of integrity by how the right, aside from Glenn Beck, has ignored the Tim Ballard scandal and amplified his voice. When people hear the same shit over and over again, it becomes true to them, regardless of whether it's rooted in reality or not.
Congress isn't passing funding for the border/Ukrainian aid because king Trump ordered them not to.
The Democratic Party isn't above scrutiny and definitely not above stupidly but it's clear this needs to be recognized as a failure of the conservative movement. Real or perceived, ineptitude by democrats really does nothing to explain, let alone justify the kakistocracy the Trump administration was and would be again.

Frank, I love how you work so hard to convince us all that trump and MAGA are bad. As if we need convincing. Lol.

[Applejack]

If Biden would have had the foresight, humility, and integrity to step aside many months ago, we would have had a vigorous democratic primary and some leaders would have emerged. Voters have clearly said that they want more, younger choices. It is a copout to say there is nobody else. If that is truly the case, then we deserve Trump I guess.

That's a fun hypothetical of what could have happened. But do you disagree that if Biden has a massive stroke tomorrow (odds aren't bad) that any of the candidates I mentioned would perform better than Biden?

[BlueK]

If Biden would have had the foresight, humility, and integrity to step aside many months ago, we would have had a vigorous democratic primary and some leaders would have emerged. Voters have clearly said that they want more, younger choices. It is a copout to say there is nobody else. If that is truly the case, then we deserve Trump I guess.

All true, but I still think Trump loses. The Republicans have been terrible in every election in swing districts and states since after the 2016 election because MAGA is a loser to anyone outside the cult.

[Jeff Lebowski]

That's a fun hypothetical of what could have happened. But do you disagree that if Biden has a massive stroke tomorrow (odds aren't bad) that any of the candidates I mentioned would perform better than Biden?

I think they would be hampered by not having much time to build momentum. Which is entirely Biden's fault.

[BigPiney]

I think they would be hampered by not having much time to build momentum. Which is entirely Biden's fault.

He is like RBG all over again.

[Jeff Lebowski]

He is like RBG all over again.

Ha. Yes. That is a great analogy.

[USUC]

The GOP is the greater threat and it ain't close. I'm not saying Democratic Party politics and individuals have had no role in the political environment but they aren't the primary offenders.
Bothsidesism can sometimes be relevant but not when it comes to Trumpism. It's also foolhardy to count on incompetence to be barrier to Trump's destructiveness. If he wins he will have a greater percentage of awful trash individuals who will enact harmful policies. History is rife with authoritarians fucking up countries and cultures and societies. The US isn't magically immune from that and it's happening in real time and should be called out for what it is and not minimized.
I think focusing on democratic problems with more scrutiny and frequency (which my friend you do) is frustration and outrage misdirected. Any democratic candidate would seem awful and dissatisfactory. Newesome? He is well-spoken and aggressive but would be pigeon-holed as arrogant and nanny-stater. Bernie - that's a non-starter. I don't think a candidate could be selected that you find appealing. Hell, if Biden wasn't having frequent senior moments, I don't think he'd appeal to you. He'd definitely not appeal to progressives because he is moderate and always has been.
Trump is not a birth that came from the womb of collective democratic shenanigans. The GOP used to cosplay as the party of personal responsibility and small government and now it's the party of nothing is ever are fault and if you don't agree with us you are evil. Outside of Romney and maybe like 4 or 5 others no one has done anything meaningful to contain his madness and anyone who dares to try gets smashed down.
The GOP is far, far better at unified messaging. Despite all the mumbling about mainstream media bias, Newsmax, OAN, Ben Shapiro, Daily Wire etc have no interest in objectivity and pump out the same exact unified messages. You can see the lack of integrity by how the right, aside from Glenn Beck, has ignored the Tim Ballard scandal and amplified his voice. When people hear the same shit over and over again, it becomes true to them, regardless of whether it's rooted in reality or not.
Congress isn't passing funding for the border/Ukrainian aid because king Trump ordered them not to.
The Democratic Party isn't above scrutiny and definitely not above stupidly but it's clear this needs to be recognized as a failure of the conservative movement. Real or perceived, ineptitude by democrats really does nothing to explain, let alone justify the kakistocracy the Trump administration was and would be again.

I think our preexisting philosphical underpinnings will likely ensure our viewpoints on this will most likely always differ. The DNC and GOP are avatars for the greater cultual battle. The DNC has this far been able to avoid a figurehead like Trump. Good on them. But the broader cultural battle includes batshit people representing both sides. The GOP was the first (and hopefully only) major party where the cultural warriors took over. The populist right sucks and the progressive educated white sucks. They are both at fault over our current situation.

I don't think i take it any easier on the GOP than i do on Dems. But a content analysis of my posts may prove otherwise. Im certainly no fan of most democratic policies.

[YOhio]

I believe the Dems could put up a no name and defeat Trump handily. Most the people you mention are known idiots. But i think Manchin, Klobucher and even Newsome would beat Trump. I really like Jared Polis.

Completely agree. Polis would be perfect. A libertarianish Dem with great private sector accomplishments. He’s a bit boring in the best, most needed way possible.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Completely agree. Polis would be perfect. A libertarianish Dem with great private sector accomplishments. He’s a bit boring in the best, most needed way possible.

Please let this happen.

[RC Vikings]

Completely agree. Polis would be perfect. A libertarianish Dem with great private sector accomplishments. He’s a bit boring in the best, most needed way possible.

The only Democrat I've ever voted for was Larry Echohawk, I'm ready to switch over on a national level and even the state level. Any party that would follow Trump and let him control the party has lost their way.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Not dementia!

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[PaloAltoCougar]

Not dementia!

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I was going to post my usual (and pendantic) senility vs. dementia observation, but the capital letters convinced me I was wrong.