2020 Presidential Election

[homoe]

For more info on Warren's bill.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/elizabeth-warren-to-introduce-bill-cancelling-up-to-50000-in-student-debt-for-most-borrowers-2019-06-13

[homoe]

~~
Pete dropped out..:eatinghersheybar:

[BullDog]

Great speech by Mayor Pete. He did the right thing and Democrats will remember. He has a very bright future ahead of him - just please get some more political experience before your next run!

[BullDog]

Wow Amy Klobuchar is dropping out today and endorsing Joe Biden. I am surprised she didn't wait until after Tuesday since Minnesota is voting then.

[dark_crystal]

i think Pete and Amy were both leaned on by the DNC. Their supporters will all go to Biden, this is part of the Stop Bernie project

[BullDog]

i think Pete and Amy were both leaned on by the DNC. Their supporters will all go to Biden, this is part of the Stop Bernie project

Yes probably they were leaned on but I also think they are doing what they think is best for the country. Most Democrats think Sanders would lose to Trump in a landslide.

[Martina]

I think some will go to Bernie. Mayor Pete was on the progressive side of liberal and drew a lot of young folks, who seem to prefer Bernie. Now that Klobuchar is out, Bernie will take Minnesota, which will be helpful. There was a lot of early voting though.

[BullDog]

Reports that Buttigieg will be endorsing Biden today too. According to NYT President Obama called Buttigieg after he dropped out - didn't tell him to endorse Biden but said you have leverage now and should consider how to use it.

Sanders has a strong base but it is still a minority of the party and he has benefited from the moderate vote being split up. There is a lot of early voting for Super Tuesday so we shall see. And, of course, there is stupid Bloomberg.

[Martina]

I don't think most establishment liberals are worried about Bernie losing. They're worried about him winning. The rich really don't want to pay the taxes they would have paid under Nixon.

[BullDog]

I don't think most establishment liberals are worried about Bernie losing. They're worried about him winning. The rich really don't want to pay the taxes they would have paid under Nixon.

I disagree. Democrats are worried about Sanders losing to Trump and not taking the Senate back and potentially losing the House.

I also don't think painting all of the rest of us as establishment liberals worried about paying too much in taxes like Sanders and so many of his supporters do is not at all helpful to his cause. Shrug. Maybe you are just saying the rich Democrats, I don't know. I certainly don't think they control everything so I guess I don't exactly know what you mean.

I do agree that Klobuchar dropping out right before Minnesota votes could potentially help Sanders in Minnesota but maybe can help Biden in a lot of other places? Maybe. I'm really happy she is dropping out and endorsing Biden but I also do think it's a bit unfair to her home state voters.

[Kelt]

Another somewhat unrelated thought....at what point will campaign rallies stop being held? All the major presidential candidates are in their late 70s, this Covid-19 virus could inflict some damage on all of them at the same time. It would be utter chaos.

[homoe]

Wow Amy Klobuchar is dropping out today and endorsing Joe Biden. I am surprised she didn't wait until after Tuesday since Minnesota is voting then.

....Ditto...

[kittygrrl]

....Ditto...

thank the angels
...i'm soo relieved she is dropping out!

[homoe]

thank the angels
...i'm soo relieved she is dropping out!


Again, ditto...

[Martina]

Yeah I meant rich Dems like Silicon Valley CEOs. Seems like every day there's some rich liberal saying he'd rather have Trump than Sanders. And I meant the politicians who serve their interests. I disagree. Democrats are worried about Sanders losing to Trump and not taking the Senate back and potentially losing the House.

I also don't think painting all of the rest of us as establishment liberals worried about paying too much in taxes like Sanders and so many of his supporters do is not at all helpful to his cause. Shrug. Maybe you are just saying the rich Democrats, I don't know. I certainly don't think they control everything so I guess I don't exactly know what you mean.

I do agree that Klobuchar dropping out right before Minnesota votes could potentially help Sanders in Minnesota but maybe can help Biden in a lot of other places? Maybe. I'm really happy she is dropping out and endorsing Biden but I also do think it's a bit unfair to her home state voters.

[kittygrrl]

I'm fine with either Biden or Bloomberg..i don't hold Bloomberg billions against him..i could care less..i think Biden is a little weak and will need propping up..he will need a younger stronger vice..Klobucher would be a great choice since she is in tune with the Senate and is in the top percentage of effective legislators..she's savvy and smart and yes a little boring to listen to but it obviously does not effect her ability to pass legislation ...also would like to point out..
the Bernie people in this thread want to believe like Trump and his supporters and media that there are conspiracies and such trying to screw him..candidates want to win; can we just not use Trump propaganda play by fair rules and no matter who the winner is support him? Bernie helped to make new rules for brokered convention so no complaints. It's fair.

[A. Spectre]

Katzchen:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has proposed some of the most robust plans for tuition and student loan debt reform of any of the candidates so far. In April 2019, Warren and her team published a proposal on what she would do to solve these issues:

*Mass student loan forgiveness. Warren proposed forgiving up to $50,000 in federal student loans for all borrowers with a household income of $100,000 or less. Her plan would offer partial forgiveness to those who make between $100,000 and $250,000, and no forgiveness to those who make more than $250,000.

Warren’s campaign website now has an interactive tool that shows borrowers how much loan forgiveness they could receive under her student loan cancellation plan.


Joe Biden, former vice president and former U.S. senator

*Simplify income-driven repayment plans, and allow student loan borrowers who make less than $25,000 to reduce their payments to $0 without accruing interest on their debt. Borrowers who make more than $25,000 annually would pay just 5% of their discretionary income (the current plans cap payments at 10% or more) and be eligible for forgiveness after 20 years.

*Simplify the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and allow eligible borrowers to get $10,000 in forgiveness annually for up to five years


Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

*Cancel all outstanding U.S. student loans, totaling $1.56 trillion, regardless of borrowers’ income levels, a move which Sanders says would boost the economy by about $1 trillion over the next 10 years and create 1.6 million new jobs annually. He also says canceling student debt would give millions of Americans the resources they need to buy a home, purchase a car or start a small business.

*** Information above is NOT what these candidates will do for present and future school loan holders. Hope this helps you and the others vote for what is in your personal interest.

[dark_crystal]

Katzchen:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has proposed some of the most robust plans for tuition and student loan debt reform of any of the candidates so far. In April 2019, Warren and her team published a proposal on what she would do to solve these issues:

*Mass student loan forgiveness. Warren proposed forgiving up to $50,000 in federal student loans for all borrowers with a household income of $100,000 or less. Her plan would offer partial forgiveness to those who make between $100,000 and $250,000, and no forgiveness to those who make more than $250,000.

Warren’s campaign website now has an interactive tool that shows borrowers how much loan forgiveness they could receive under her student loan cancellation plan.


Joe Biden, former vice president and former U.S. senator

*Simplify income-driven repayment plans, and allow student loan borrowers who make less than $25,000 to reduce their payments to $0 without accruing interest on their debt. Borrowers who make more than $25,000 annually would pay just 5% of their discretionary income (the current plans cap payments at 10% or more) and be eligible for forgiveness after 20 years.

*Simplify the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and allow eligible borrowers to get $10,000 in forgiveness annually for up to five years


Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

*Cancel all outstanding U.S. student loans, totaling $1.56 trillion, regardless of borrowers’ income levels, a move which Sanders says would boost the economy by about $1 trillion over the next 10 years and create 1.6 million new jobs annually. He also says canceling student debt would give millions of Americans the resources they need to buy a home, purchase a car or start a small business.

*** Information above is NOT what these candidates will do for present and future school loan holders. Hope this helps you and the others vote for what is in your personal interest.

This is why i stayed with Sanders. I have more than 50k in loans and more than 100k in (household) income

[Martina]

The new polls show that Biden got a huge bump from Klobuchar and Buttigieg leaving. He might get Texas now. That's all fair. I'm not whining, but CNN and the Press this morning just can't contain their delight. And that pisses me off.

[dark_crystal]

The new polls show that Biden got a huge bump from Klobuchar and Buttigieg leaving. He might get Texas now. That's all fair. I'm not whining, but CNN and the Press this morning just can't contain their delight. And that pisses me off.

Biden will for sure get Texas. I'll be very interested to see who gets my county, though. We elected a socialist judge last time

[nhplowboi]

The way I see it is that Bernie will do to the Democratic Party what the Koch brothers (Tea Party) and Jim Jordan (Freedom Caucus) did to the Republican Party. Analogy: Do you remodel your house as the money comes in and you figure out the direction most want to go in or do you tear it down and start from scratch when you have no idea (ok vague and unrealistic) where the money will from and everyone wants their own room for free.

[Kätzchen]

Katzchen:


Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has proposed some of the most robust plans for tuition and student loan debt reform of any of the candidates so far. In April 2019, Warren and her team published a proposal on what she would do to solve these issues:

*Mass student loan forgiveness. Warren proposed forgiving up to $50,000 in federal student loans for all borrowers with a household income of $100,000 or less. Her plan would offer partial forgiveness to those who make between $100,000 and $250,000, and no forgiveness to those who make more than $250,000.

Warren’s campaign website now has an interactive tool that shows borrowers how much loan forgiveness they could receive under her student loan cancellation plan.


Joe Biden, former vice president and former U.S. senator

*Simplify income-driven repayment plans, and allow student loan borrowers who make less than $25,000 to reduce their payments to $0 without accruing interest on their debt. Borrowers who make more than $25,000 annually would pay just 5% of their discretionary income (the current plans cap payments at 10% or more) and be eligible for forgiveness after 20 years.

*Simplify the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and allow eligible borrowers to get $10,000 in forgiveness annually for up to five years


Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

*Cancel all outstanding U.S. student loans, totaling $1.56 trillion, regardless of borrowers’ income levels, a move which Sanders says would boost the economy by about $1 trillion over the next 10 years and create 1.6 million new jobs annually. He also says canceling student debt would give millions of Americans the resources they need to buy a home, purchase a car or start a small business.

*** Information above is NOT what these candidates will do for present and future school loan holders. Hope this helps you and the others vote for what is in your personal interest.

Thanks!

Here is the problem that is I see with all their so-called remedies: That Loan Forgiveness piece? There is no such thing as getting your loans forgiven under the long-held remedy of working for a company that offers to have your loans forgiven if you work X amount of years and make timely payments during those X amount of years. I've spoken with a number of call centers with loan servicers who service my 6-figure school loans and all of them confirm that there is no such remedy, which used to be a remedy offered to people who took jobs in the government sector (which paid low wages, yet offered health benefits you ordinarily can not get with the standard American employer).

Second problem: Every year I apply for an Income Driven Repayment plan, especially since that horrid person took office in the WH, loan servicers (FedLoan, Navient, US Dept of ED, etc) -- each agency used to have reliable inter-office communication practices whereby each agency used the same set of data stored on file, but now they don't. It's like none of them talk to each other like they used too all along. Now you have to print off three or more copies of the same document and ship them out to each loan servicer so they can all be on the same page, yet they are not on the same page.

It's like some mind boggling chess game they play with student loan borrowers, hoping to trip the levers that spell: Default, whereby then? They raid all of that person's earnings and leave no earnings for the loan borrower to survive on, even if they are lucky to have an extra job or several 'side hustles' to earn extra money to live on. It all spells serious trouble, if you ask me.

I have six figures in Student Loans. I earn less that the imaginary amount of $50K. None of the plans offered by *any* presidential contender stand out to me as a plan that will go into effect IF they are elected to be POTUS.

What is said, is not always what goes down. That's my experience.

I think the last lines of your post A. Spectre state it perfectly because it is exactly the experience I have been experiencing for the past several years (see quote below):

Information above is NOT what these candidates will do for present and future school loan holders.

This is why I am having trouble believing any of the 'promises' any contender uses as their party-line platform to attract voters.

None of their plans work. Not of those plans ever worked in the past.

It's maddening and terribly frustrating and I find it insulting that they think student loan borrowers (with all our yearly issues of hurdling paperwork by any loan servicer) cannot connect the proverbial dots as to whether their plan will work or not.


But thanks my friend, I appreciate you.

[BullDog]

Super Tuesday Is Here!

I'm so nervous and excited at the same time. I'm sure happy for the last few days. What I'm looking for:

Biden: There are strong indications that he is getting a huge bounce since South Carolina. I believe it will be evident in the results, despite all the early voting. As long as he is fairly close to Sanders in delegates after this I will be happy. I honestly don't know how close he needs to be but most of Sanders best states are today and more favorable states for Biden coming up.

We actually probably won't know for sure where things stand due to all of the mail-in votes in California, which can take days if not weeks to count. I think Sanders will win California but Biden will hold his own. There are plenty of moderates and more conservative voters in the state. Also, early voting is huge in California but looks to be down by quite a bit this year and a lot of it seems to be with people over 50.

Sanders: We keep hearing about massive turnout - especially the young and new voters. We haven't seen it yet - well we saw massive turnout in South Carolina but it wasn't those people. If it doesn't happen today then when will it? The theory from Sanders and his followers seems to be that he is the best to go up against Trump since he will have the biggest voter turn out in history based on the youth and new voters loving Sanders. I am HIGHLY skeptical of this. I'd rather take my chances with a fired-up base, and Obama campaigning hard for Biden than risk me and my country's fate on unreliable voters - especially when there is no evidence that Sanders is doing this.

He does have rabidly loyal followers, a strong ground game, and overall is running a good campaign. The bottom line is I do think Sanders does have a definite ceiling that isn't enough for him to legitimately win the nomination. Maybe 25-30% at most of the Democratic Party voters want him. The rest do not.

The best bet for any change at all is to keep or expand our majority in the House and win back the Senate. Without that, nothing passes.

Bloomberg - I hope he bombs bigly. He has donated a lot of money to help Democrats get elected, and on issues that I care about, but he is now running a vanity campaign that is just hurting Biden. Based on a recent interview he thinks he can "horse trade" at the convention even if he has significantly fewer delegates. No. I don't believe he has purchased any advertising beyond Super Tuesday, so maybe he will drop out after today. Or if he does stay in he has less than a week to advertise for the next states coming up and that seems unlikely to be effective.

I don't want the message to be that billionaires can buy elections. Not all will be as "benevolent" (not really sure how much he is at this point) as him. I want him to fail big time.

Warren - I don't know that she will do very well compared to Sanders and Biden but it will be interesting to find out.

p.s. I really would like a diverse ticket if Biden wins the nomination but I loved Klobuchar's endorsement speech - yes a lot was re-worked from her campaign speeches and debates - but I do think she would be a great Vice President and ready in case something happened to Biden. And her campaigning in the Midwest could really help against Trump. So I do agree with kittygrrl on Klobuchar.

Wow, so much rambling from me. I'm nervous, lol.

[dark_crystal]

Biden will for sure get Texas. I'll be very interested to see who gets my county, though. We elected a socialist judge last time

Biden won my county 121k to 92k Sanders
Bloomberg beat Warren 47k to 36k

341 for Marianne.

[charley]

Wel...cough...since Clyburn endorsed Biden, I think Biden will take South Carolina. (I saw Clyburn's endorsement.)

And, with Bernie's remarks re: Cuba/Castro, I doubt he will take Florida.

Btw, The Boston Globe editorial board has endorsed Warren [who I still like :) ], but I wish she would stop going after Bloomberg, and go after Bernie.
Bloomberg's presence is helping Bernie. So, the more she goes after Bloomberg, in a way, she is helping Bernie. I don't get her behaviour in the debates.

Even though I can relate to what Bernie says re: health care, I am concerned that if Bernie wins the nomination, Trump may get a 2nd term... just saying.

Well, Biden is sweeping delegates across the U.S. - Clyburn's endorsement had a huge effect on Biden's way to doing well throughout the southern states - as well, the effect of Buttigieg & Klobuchar dropping out and having endorsed Biden, and even Beto O'Rourke's endorsement of Biden.

In a funny way, Warren is sticking in and has said she will stay in right through to the convention. I have seen how many delegates she has taken (I think, 42 so far !), and it seems she is spoiling it against Bernie (at least in one state), although no way she can win the nomination. Considering how dismissive Bernie has been to Warren (even the time he accused her falsely of being a liar in one debate - and she confronted him about this, and he blew her off), I don't blame her for staying in and, whether deliberately or not, sticking it to Bernie. I will always like and respect her for speaking truth to power, to both Bloomberg and to Bernie. In real time, I have done the same, and yes, I have paid a price for that, but at least I sleep with a clear conscience.

And, breaking news - Bloomberg has dropped out of the presidential race - and has endorsed Biden!

[Orema]

I hope Trump doesn’t take on Nikki Haley as VP. I’m not sure Trump needs Pence for the Evangelical voters anymore. Trump will get those votes, I think, based on the judges he’s already put in place—they know they can count on Trump. But, Trump needs someone whispering in his ear and if it’s not Pence for the Evangelical voters, then I wonder who would/could fill those shoes.

I imagine Haley would be seen as a voice of reason appealing to Republican and Democratic women.

Whether it’s Haley or Pence, I think we’re gonna have four more years of this.

The more I think about Haley the more I can see it happening.

A Trump/Haley win in 2020 could set up Haley to run and win in 2024 as POTUS. I think Republicans would sacrifice Pence as VP in 2020 if they thought they could pull this off. Not only would they be the party to put forth the first woman of color as VP, but also as POTUS.

Haley could win in 2024 with Republican and Democratic women voters and without “the base.” Trump needs “the base” because there are Republican and Democratic voters who won’t vote for him. I think Haley would get those votes, plus more, and could ignore the demands of the base. Well, some demands.

I image resistance to this in and out of the the White House, but I think this is one way the Republicans can have control for 8 more years.

The Democrats? I’ll vote in the primary and the nominee will get my vote. That’s the best I can say about the Dems.

Earlier this week Paul Begala at CNN predicted Trump would select Nikki Haley as VP. I think this will happen now that Trump will probably go up against Biden.

I had been hoping the nominee (Biden or Sanders) would choose a woman as his running mate, but if the Democrats have to go up against Trump/Haley, then I think the only ticket that may work is a Biden/Sanders ticket with Sanders as the VP.

Still, I just don't see how we can win the 2020 election.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

The best bet for any change at all is to keep or expand our majority in the House and win back the Senate.

And that is the simple truth. Without a House and Senate to back them up, there is a limited amount that the President can do. The President can pass Executive Orders all he/she wants, but those can easily be overturned as soon as somebody new is in the President's seat.

[charley]

I have just checked Joe Biden's chart, and on the 3rd of November of this year, Biden has Jupiter (luck and prosperity), Pluto (power), and Saturn (responsibility) all trine (the best of good aspects that one can have) his MC (his place in this world), which augurs very well for him winning the presidency. There are other indications which I won't go into, which have much to do with his destiny - and encompass his sense of service, compassion and humanity, traits which mark him and his life. :)

[BullDog]

And that is the simple truth. Without a House and Senate to back them up, there is a limited amount that the President can do. The President can pass Executive Orders all he/she wants, but those can easily be overturned as soon as somebody new is in the President's seat.

Yes, definitely, and Biden definitely understands this and talks about how important the Senate and House are all the time, so I am confident his campaign in November will focus on this as well as the Presidency if he is the nominee. Maybe if Bloomberg's ego isn't too bruised he will help with that as well.

Well, I am pumped and ready for the Blue Wave! Biden did better than I expected - I never dreamed he would win Massachusetts and Minnesota. I guess Amy Klobuchar knew what she was doing, lol.

I am also ecstatic that Bloomberg did indeed fail bigly! Kudos to the American voters.

Sanders indeed does have a ceiling and still no signs of his huge turnout of youth and new voters. He should go all out to try to win Michigan next week. It was his most impressive win in 2016. I don't think he can overcome Biden overall at this point though.

With all that has happened, I think the bottom line is that most voters are voting strategically and think Biden is the best to beat Trump.

Warren should drop out but hopefully, she doesn't endorse Sanders. After the way he and his followers have treated her, he definitely doesn't deserve it.

[Martina]

Very disappointing day. I don't see a way to the nomination now. Sad day for the planet. I don't see Biden doing a lot about economic inequality. It will be more if the same.

[kittygrrl]

As much as i love that Biden won so many states..i really am worried he will not be strong enough to deal with Trump..he seems tired...I guess we shall see what he will do when he debates Sanders. If he can't defend his policies and deal with his past mistakes, Trump will crush him...and we have to win this time or this country is toast...I have never been a Sanders fan but if he is able to vanquish Biden then it is probably for the best...i hate to admit that..but this is no time to play favorites. I think Sanders will run the country like he has his Senate seat, lots of flailing arms with no good legislation..look at his record...but at least it won't be Trump..I could stand 4 years of normal for a change. So i will hold my nose and vote for Sanders, if it comes to that:praying:

[BullDog]

So Rachel Maddow interviewed Sanders tonight and she went over how there has been no significant increase in youth and new voter turn out in the primary so far, including all of the Super Tuesday states, and he just blew off the question and couldn't answer it. He still is claiming he would have record-breaking turnout in the general. Just unreal. His whole premise for being the best candidate to take on Trump is a huge fat lie. It's so irresponsible to make these claims with so much on the line.

[Martina]

I gather young voters did come out in California but not as expected elsewhere. Re Bernie, he did acknowledge that turnout was not what they had hoped though apparently not on Rachel Maddow. I might not admit weakness on her show either if I were Bernie. She would probably do a celebratory dance. She really hates him.

If the DNC and the liberal media help defeat Bernie again, they better follow through and elect their lame ass centrist candidate this time. Last time they couldn't and blamed it on us. Such complete bullshit. But maybe they learned their lesson. Surely no one could be as complacent, arrogant and incompetent as Clinton and her campaign.

[C0LLETTE]

I suppose, we will soon discover whether Warren is a less selfish, self-centred politician ( person ) than Sanders and quits the race. I suspect in all decency and selflessness, she will. Sanders supporters better pray she is, though there is no reason to think it will help them.

Sanders ( and all Americans ) just might reap what he sowed when his intransigence helped get Trump elected with the subsequent result of Gorsuch, Kavanaugh ( and who knows how many more will come ) sitting on the US Supreme Court long after Bernie has moved on to Valhalla.

[charley]

Apparently, Warren is ending her presidential campaign - it was a good & honest campaign; her plan was realistic, unlike Bernie's financial plan - which is still a big fat lie. He lies a lot, will say anything to win, to have power, and he doesn't apologize for his words; he also blows off women who confront him with his lies - like he blew off Maddow. I don't think Maddow hates Bernie, I think it was clear that she didn't trust him and was just being polite, you would have to be a fool to trust him. Another old white man who hungers for power, making promises that can't be realized.

All his financial plans, even that of wiping out student debt seems fabulous and over the moon. Here, in Canada, we pay for our education. [I paid off all my student debts, btw.] Loads of poc in the U.S. are poor, living simply, and just working check to check; they are poor and most of the things that Bernie is promising have little to do with their daily lives.

[~ocean]

As much as i love that Biden won so many states..i really am worried he will not be strong enough to deal with Trump..he seems tired...I guess we shall see what he will do when he debates Sanders. If he can't defend his policies and deal with his past mistakes, Trump will crush him...and we have to win this time or this country is toast...I have never been a Sanders fan but if he is able to vanquish Biden then it is probably for the best...i hate to admit that..but this is no time to play favorites. I think Sanders will run the country like he has his Senate seat, lots of flailing arms with no good legislation..look at his record...but at least it won't be Trump..I could stand 4 years of normal for a change. So i will hold my nose and vote for Sanders, if it comes to that:praying:

Biden is no one's fool ~ quiet thunder, he can take Trump on ~ w/ class :)

[C0LLETTE]

If I were an American and had an opportunity to vote for Warren, I'd risk "prison" and vote for her a hundred times over. What an amazing, graceful, decent, human being.

[BullDog]

I see no evidence that Rachel hates Sanders. She was polite and professional as she always is with all of her guests. At one point she talked about being a progressive herself and that a lot of what he said made sense to her - I can't remember exactly what she said but she was empathizing with him.

It's not the DNC and liberal media taking Sanders down - it's the voters. He is losing at the ballot box. Full stop.

Another thing that bugged me about Sanders - talking about Biden taking money from corporate donors blah blah blah. He won many states on Super Tuesday without spending a dime, having field offices, or even visiting the states! He was the one running on a shoestring budget. Yes, it's his name recognition and people knowing him - Sanders has been in politics as long as Joe has.

People aren't just lining up behind Biden because he is "establishment." Joe knows how to connect with people and build teams and build consensus and build up goodwill just from being who he is.

Amy Klobuchar was asked by Lawrence O'Donnell last night whether she had talks with Biden about a position in his administration and she said no. Maybe she will end up there anyway. But she said she had known Biden for a long time. When he was in the Senate still (which would have been when she was a new Senator) she was giving a speech one day basically to an empty floor and felt no one was probably listening. Then she gets a call in her office. It was Joe Biden telling her he had listened to her speech and called to tell her it was good. He does stuff like that all the time and people remember - sometimes many years later.

Sanders is turning real negative on Biden now. His divisiveness and toxicity and negativity need to go. I hope Biden buries him at the ballot box very, very soon.

Elizabeth Warren is proof you can be a progressive without all of the divisiveness and ugliness. I wish her well and hope she doesn't endorse Sanders.

[Martina]

Rachel said a lot of rude things about Sanders in 2016. Even her own pundits called her on it. It was a thing. People noticed and talked about it. I am not going to argue that. Jeez.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Loads of poc in the U.S. are poor, living simply, and just working check to check; they are poor and most of the things that Bernie is promising have little to do with their daily lives.

Not just POC. There are many poor POC, but not all POC are poor, and not all poor people are POC.

[C0LLETTE]

If we keep sinking candidates like Elizabeth Warren, we’ll never get the leaders we need.
JOHANNA SCHNELLER
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL/PUBLISHED MARCH 5, 2020

I’m not going to feign impartiality here: I am heartbroken that Elizabeth Warren has dropped out of the U.S. Democratic primary race. Once again, a highly intelligent, qualified, organized, thoughtful, empathetic candidate couldn’t get traction with American voters – in large part because she is a woman. Let’s not pretend otherwise.

Democrats – I am one, a U.S. citizen who votes in Pennsylvania – insist they want the opposite of Donald Trump. No one is more opposite to an ill-informed, lazy, petulant, divisive, underqualified liar than Ms. Warren. So what stopped voters from embracing her? They call it caution: “Yes,” goes the conversation I’ve had dozens of times with dozens of people in the last dozen months, “it would be great to vote for my ideal candidate, but Trump is so dangerous, we must elect the practical candidate, the person who can beat him, and I just don’t think Warren can.”...

Meanwhile, the two males who defeated her are the embodiment of shouty, and of risky. To impersonate Joe Biden, Stephen Colbert puts on a pair of aviator sunglasses, tips his head back and YELLS. To do Bernie Sanders, Larry David hunches over, waves his arms, and YELLS. To do Ms. Warren, Kate McKinnon bounds around energetically and whispers. But somehow Ms. Warren is the one who’s too strident.

As for risky – the people I’ve been talking to admit their fears: that Biden is too bland, too middle-of-the-road to appeal to young voters; that Sanders is too divisive, too polarizing to attract the former Trumpers suffering from buyers’ remorse. But they consider those acceptable risks. We must be honest about why that is.

Full confession: I considered not voting for Ms. Warren, too.

Then in the most recent debate, Ms. Warren assailed Mr. Bloomberg, and shook me out of my fugue state. She called him out on his specific practices, his specific ethos. She critiqued things he had done, and explained clearly why they were not acceptable. I actually blushed with chagrin. The ways I’ve been conditioned to put men’s needs first! The things I am willing to forgive powerful men for! And if I’ve internalized the patriarchy to that degree, everyone has.

The spaces of power, the boardrooms and government offices, were not designed for women, or queer people, or people of colour. They’re not set up for our needs. Some of us get in there by accommodating, by contorting ourselves, by lying low or going high, by pretending we don’t notice that we’re being looked through or talked over.

Ms. Warren didn’t pretend to be less than she is. She is smart. She is organized. She does know what she’s talking about. She believes we should listen to her. She knows she’s right about a lot of things, and she doesn’t apologize for it. That threatens, consciously or unconsciously, the public’s comfort level. People love Mr. Sanders’ authenticity, and Mr. Biden’s. Ms. Warren’s authenticity, however – it’s just a bit too much./...

If we keep cutting and running from women candidates at the last minute, we’ll never get the leaders we want. We’ll just keep getting the ones we deserve.

[dark_crystal]

I think Sanders is still viable. There are more than enough states left, and his campaign got a good look at where their weaknesses are. The youth vote did not turn out as expected, for example. Maybe the youth are freaked out by that and will flood the polls in the next few states.

Also Latinx. Texas has a lot of effectively disenfranchised Latinx, but maybe those in the next few states will see this as a wake up call, as well.

I will support Biden, though. It's like eating a Little Debbie when you could have had a donut, but i like Little Debbies ok

[homoe]

If I were an American and had an opportunity to vote for Warren, I'd risk "prison" and vote for her a hundred times over. What an amazing, graceful, decent, human being.

......:goodpost:

[C0LLETTE]

Referring to the Coronavirus, President Trump announced there was nothing to worry about and the virus will be gone in days.

It was a bit difficult to make out what he was saying because he was wearing a gas mask and in a bunker 30 feet below the White House.

His only concern was that there may not be enough oxygen down there for all his family so Tiffany may have to take one for the family.

[C0LLETTE]

watching Trump touring the CDC facilities ...he looks terrified and never takes his hands out of his pockets.

[homoe]

watching Trump touring the CDC facilities ...he looks terrified and never takes his hands out of his pockets.




He's such a germaphobe. I'm shocked he even went there!

[C0LLETTE]

He's such a germaphobe. I'm shocked he even went there!

seems he was dragged by the hair...two minute delay while he go a combover.

[~ocean]

seems he was dragged by the hair...two minute delay while he go a combover.

I agree ! He doesn't have enough heart or the mind to have empathy for those who have been afflicted or what to do with a global crisis. Some leader he makes ~ he's deff. a bottom. lolololol bottom Donald. lol and I find your posts amusing as well ~ lol well put homeo !

[Martina]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/feb/27/free-solo-star-alex-honnold-falling-off-a-mountain-keith-ladzinski-best-photograph

[Kätzchen]

I actually took a look at headline news on several major networks and it's looking like even mid-America is surging in Blue with support for former Vice President, Joe Biden.

And, while that is a good sign, I saw another tiny little news story (otherwise known as a giant big Red Flag) on how that horrid person in the WH is distracting voters with his latest wrecking ball plan: No payroll taxes.

What a massive load of baloney (BS). You can't run government without the tax base paying taxes. Hundreds upon thousands of government employees, including executive branch members of Congress, The House and other important executive branches operate on tax money procured from American tax paying payers. WTF is that person thinking (rhetorical)?

When will the Republican party come to see how this person is wrecking the country, one wrecking ball slammed into every corner of society? And put a stop, put the kibosh, on this mad person's lunacy???

I also read, partially, the news report about Cliburn (D-SC, House Majority Whip) talked about how he thinks it is a good idea to appoint a African-American woman as Biden's vice presidential running mate. Could they be tendering the name of Georgia's voter advocate warrior, Stacy Abrams?

She would make a helluva Vice President, is what I think.


Like a good many people in America, I am sick of the upending of our democracy by a person who should have never been seated as POTUS.

But it was good to see the mid-section of America making their voices heard loud and clear. Out with you know who, and In with Joe Biden.

Here's to the ever growing Blue Wave of voters who are making their voices heard. I hope it keeps snowballing to the end, and we see the official ouster of that disturbed person who is wrecking ever corner of America.

[BullDog]

I totally agree with you on messing with the payroll taxes Katchen. They need money to go towards fighting the virus and provide people with paid leave and things that will actually help, not try to artificially prop up the economy (I'm not sure it would do that anyway).

The Blue Surge is out in force and they are constituencies that are voting for Biden.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/487106-turnout-surge-powers-biden-in-primaries

[Martina]

I think Biden will choose Amy Klobuchar as VP. What do you think?

[dark_crystal]

I think Biden will choose Amy Klobuchar as VP. What do you think?

i have no idea but i would be strangely happy with that

Not in a political way, though. Like in a kinky way.

[Martina]

i have no idea but i would be strangely happy with that

Not in a political way, though. Like in a kinky way.

Amy's kinda hot. Biden not so much. I hear she's bossy too. ;)

[BullDog]

I think it's going to be Kamala Harris or another woman of color. Both Jim Clyburn and Governor Gretchen Whitmer (who is one of the national co-chairs of his campaign) have said the VP should be a woman of color.

I think Amy Klobuchar would be good too - especially campaigning in the Midwest - but she's white. I did think it was strange that she wasn't on stage with Biden, Whitmer, Harris, and Booker at the Detroit rally after she had campaigned hard for him for several days in Michigan. Maybe just scheduling or they wanted to make as big a deal as possible out of the Harris and Booker endorsements.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

I saw in a couple of news outlets that it might be Stacey Abrams, and I could totally go for her. In addition to the fact that I think she would be a great VP, it would give me some really satisfying schadenfreude over our stupid f***ing Georgia governor, Brian Kemp.

I would also be really happy to see Bernie Sanders on the ticket as VP, but I doubt that will happen.

[Kätzchen]

I totally agree with you on messing with the payroll taxes Katchen. They need money to go towards fighting the virus and provide people with paid leave and things that will actually help, not try to artificially prop up the economy (I'm not sure it would do that anyway).

The Blue Surge is out in force and they are constituencies that are voting for Biden.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/487106-turnout-surge-powers-biden-in-primaries

Bulldog? I think you're right, and I agree that there needs to be prompt and concise action for the virus issue people face. Also, it makes me wonder if voting will be affected by the current serious co-vid 19 virus epidemic.

We do mail in ballots, as you might remember; but I think it's concerning for those who live in states where you have to go to a polling location to cast your vote.

Do you know if crisis teams are working on remedies so voting impacts are narrowed down to 'no crisis' status?

[dark_crystal]

i have no idea but i would be strangely happy with that

Not in a political way, though. Like in a kinky way.

I think it's going to be Kamala Harris or another woman of color. Both Jim Clyburn and Governor Gretchen Whitmer (who is one of the national co-chairs of his campaign) have said the VP should be a woman of color.

I think Amy Klobuchar would be good too - especially campaigning in the Midwest - but she's white. I did think it was strange that she wasn't on stage with Biden, Whitmer, Harris, and Booker at the Detroit rally after she had campaigned hard for him for several days in Michigan. Maybe just scheduling or they wanted to make as big a deal as possible out of the Harris and Booker endorsements.

Ditto for Harris

I can't go supporting vp candidates just based on whether i would want to have a scene with them* though :superfunny:

It's like the people who voted for W bc he'd be more fun to have a beer with.

* Stacy Abrams is not in this category bc i saw her speak at my conference and now i feel like we're BFFs

Therefore i'd be all set with any of them

[Martina]

I can't go supporting vp candidates just based on whether i would want to have a scene with them* though :superfunny:



As good a reason as any!

[Orema]

https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/how-groups-voted-2016

The Roper numbers were based on CNN's exit polls:
https://www.cnn.com/election/2016/results/exit-polls

Will be interested to see the exit polls for 2020.

[BullDog]

Bulldog? I think you're right, and I agree that there needs to be prompt and concise action for the virus issue people face. Also, it makes me wonder if voting will be affected by the current serious co-vid 19 virus epidemic.

We do mail in ballots, as you might remember; but I think it's concerning for those who live in states where you have to go to a polling location to cast your vote.

Do you know if crisis teams are working on remedies so voting impacts are narrowed down to 'no crisis' status?

Yes, I remember mailing in my ballot in Oregon. It is more fun to go to the polls but mail definitely seems a lot safer in these times.

I am concerned too. Of course, the most important thing is for voters to stay safe and to get to vote.

People are being encouraged to use early voting, mail, drop off, vote at off hours, etc. Of course, so many volunteers at polling places tend to be older so that's a concern for them too. I think each state and location is just having to cope on its own.

Louisiana was supposed to hold its primary on April 4 but has just postponed it to June 20. That's a blow out state for Biden so I'm bummed but at the same time the most important thing is people's safety.

[~ocean]

I wonder how many times Trump has heard "to little too late " lolol ~ on the national emergency ?

Does anyone think he may have had a vaccine to prevent him from catching the virus ?

[CherylNYC]

I think it's going to be Kamala Harris or another woman of color. Both Jim Clyburn and Governor Gretchen Whitmer (who is one of the national co-chairs of his campaign) have said the VP should be a woman of color.

I think Amy Klobuchar would be good too - especially campaigning in the Midwest - but she's white. I did think it was strange that she wasn't on stage with Biden, Whitmer, Harris, and Booker at the Detroit rally after she had campaigned hard for him for several days in Michigan. Maybe just scheduling or they wanted to make as big a deal as possible out of the Harris and Booker endorsements.

Think it will be Harris for VP, but he may surprise me with a geographic choice. Biden is from the North East. He and his team may feel like they need to choose someone from the Midwest or from one of the Southern states as a strategic move to capture the most electoral college votes.

I would LOVE to see Stacy Abrams on the ticket. She's just so cool. BUT... she's doing incredibly important work on voting rights now. I would hate to lose such a dynamic force in the place we need it most right now.

[C0LLETTE]

Anyone have any ideas abt why 90% of Republicans still support Trump ?

Response doesn't have to be long dense polemic...just a few ideas, perhaps about human nature, that we could discuss .

[Kätzchen]

Anyone have any ideas abt why 90% of Republicans still support Trump ?

Response doesn't have to be long dense polemic...just a few ideas, perhaps about human nature, that we could discuss .

I definitely do not have a decent answer, but what my mind tends to think, is this: It's like Cancer. Cancer is the root problem. And if Cancer and it's cells are not treated and/or eradicated, it metastasizes across the spectrum of connecting/connected tissue.


That's the only thing that comes to mind, C0llette.

[C0LLETTE]

Anyone have any ideas abt why 90% of Republicans still support Trump ?

Response doesn't have to be long dense polemic...just a few ideas, perhaps about human nature, that we could discuss .

One Idea:
I remember this from a marketing course I once took.

CHOICE-SUPPORTIVE BIAS

Choice-supportive bias or post-purchase rationalization is the tendency to retroactively ascribe positive attributes to an option one has selected and/or to demote the forgone options. It is part of cognitive science, and is a distinct cognitive bias that occurs once a decision is made.
‎

[Kätzchen]

One Idea:
I remember this from a marketing course I once took.

CHOICE-SUPPORTIVE BIAS

Choice-supportive bias or post-purchase rationalization is the tendency to retroactively ascribe positive attributes to an option one has selected and/or to demote the forgone options. It is part of cognitive science, and is a distinct cognitive bias that occurs once a decision is made.
‎

I think that is a worthy subject of discussion and consideration, C0LLETTE.

I majored in Sociology and Communication. Both fields of study have interesting takes on Bias Theory. I imagine Psychology and Business fields of study have a commingling of ideas which finds its roots in Bias Theory.

Sociology defines Bias (in general terms of) as: A tendency (either known or unknown) to prefer one thing over another that prevents objectivity, that influences understanding or outcome in some way.

Emile Durkheim, one of the early founders of Sociology, developed theories around the subject of Bias.

I forget who to credit for this strand of thought, but someone once said that a "...good Sociologist is aware of their own bias, and the bias of others, and takes precautions."

Bottom line (generally speaking):

Be aware of bias, in terms of biased behaviors and observations and how it informs one of subsequent actions associated (directly or indirectly) by any given or demonstrated particular bias.

[C0LLETTE]

My dear Katzchen,

Thank you for your response. So many of us can't understand why opinions stay fixed in the face of what "seems" to be the "obvious" but maybe things aren't so obvious to those who've become intransigent in the face of every rationalization that led them to make their first decision.

So what to do, what to do?
Surely people change their minds. So what is the mechanism that makes them do that? And I doubt it is a simple "Eureka " moment.

Any ideas?

[Kätzchen]

My dear Katzchen,

Thank you for your response. So many of us can't understand why opinions stay fixed in the face of what "seems" to be the "obvious" but maybe things aren't so obvious to those who've become intransigent in the face of every rationalization that led them to make their first decision.

So what to do, what to do?
Surely people change their minds. So what is the mechanism that makes them do that? And I doubt it is a simple "Eureka " moment.

Any ideas?

I view it as a massive struggle for remaining in Power.

The proverbial Power Struggle.

But it's not the have-not's who are winning. It's those who own and have everything, that keep winning.


You should make a separate thread for this subject, so we don't detract from the subject of discussion in d_c's politics thread, ok?

If you do that, I'll meet up with you, in your own thread, if you create it, C0LLETTE.

[Kätzchen]

Guess What?

I just saw this news story on the NBC website. Stacey Abrams is definitely the one, that a progressive think tank is highly recommending: A Biden-Abrams presidential Democratic ticket for 2020.

And I quote:

"A Biden–Abrams ticket would beat a Trump-Pence ticket and perform competitively with other hypothetical tickets, while also overperforming with key groups that constitute the Democratic Party's base," McElwee wrote.

LINK: Progressive group's analysis finds Stacey Abrams is Biden's best choice. Here's why (NBC) (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/study-finds-stacey-abrams-biden-s-best-choice-here-s-n1164361)

[Kätzchen]

From fast breaking news headlines, this Friday, over on the Politico website, they feature an inspiring article about Michigan's Democratic Governor, Gretchen Whitmer. It's a worthy read, if you are not familiar with her.

Governor Whitmer has been navigating not only the Covid-19 crisis in the state of Michigan, but she's got a full plate of other serious issues she is addressing for people who live in Michigan.

Here is but one excerpt from the article:

It’s one thing to be 15 months into your first term and suddenly blindsided by a rampaging disease the likes of which no living politician has encountered; to be thrust into worldwide renown by virtue of a beef with the president and a rising body count in your backyard; to know that your every flinch and syllable are being judged by citizens today and history tomorrow.

Bonus item of interest: Joe Biden has publicly stated that Governor Whitmer is on his "Short List" as a VP contender (See, link to article below).




POLITICO's Friday Cover: 'The Woman In Michigan' Goes National:
Governor Whitmer is dealing with a historic pandemic, a bullying President, and a big job tryout. (https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/04/09/gretchen-whitmer-governor-michigan-profile-2020-coronavirus-biden-vp-177791)

[dark_crystal]

Guess What?

I just saw this news story on the NBC website. Stacey Abrams is definitely the one, that a progressive think tank is highly recommending: A Biden-Abrams presidential Democratic ticket for 2020.

And I quote:



LINK: Progressive group's analysis finds Stacey Abrams is Biden's best choice. Here's why (NBC) (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/study-finds-stacey-abrams-biden-s-best-choice-here-s-n1164361)

If she is truly the pick I will be very relieved

[homoe]

Amy's kinda hot. Biden not so much. I hear she's bossy too. ;)



I heard Amy will tell ya where to go in a heartbeat, if you like BOSSY she's your gal.....:giggle:

[Martina]

This is encouraging.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/14/wisconsins-supreme-court-race-is-just-latest-win-democrats-this-presidential-swing-state/

[homoe]

rQF-ZjKu5Mo




The full video...

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Why aren't we hearing anything from Joe Biden? Isn't he supposed to be running for something?

Seems like he could at least come up with something to say about stuff that's already in the news, like coronavirus or the economy.

[Kätzchen]

Why aren't we hearing anything from Joe Biden? Isn't he supposed to be running for something?

Seems like he could at least come up with something to say about stuff that's already in the news, like coronavirus or the economy.

I saw a news video over on CNN (https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/04/24/jill-biden-michelle-obama-joe-biden-vice-president-2020-election-newday-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/this-week-in-politics/).... Apparently Joe Biden's wife, Jill, would like to see Michelle Obama as his running mate.

I'd like to see Joe Biden's administration be more representative of the current cultural diversity in America.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Right now, Andrew Cuomo is doing a better job of running for President than Joe Biden is.

[BullDog]

Joe Biden does interviews and has virtual events all the time but the media doesn't cover them usually - too busy airing the insane buffoon telling people to ingest disinfectants. Maybe there are other things he could do. I don't know. Allegedly Trump is giving up on his daily briefings, although I'm sure he won't be able to stay away for long.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are holding a virtual town hall on Monday, April 27 at 3:30 PM EDT.

Confronting Coronavirus: Addressing Impacts And Disparities In The Black Community

It can be viewed at:

joebiden.com/Live



Also on Monday April 27 at 6 pm EDT Dr. Jill Biden hosting an LGBTQ+ Social Hour

joebiden.com/Live

[A. Spectre]

In my opinion, Joe is playing it smart by keeping it down low.

Why murder when someone is committing suicide? After the convention he probably will kick it up a notch.His campaign needs to hire hundreds of people just to sift, gather all of the ammo MF45 is giving them. Joe's ads will be amazing, why? Because it will all be true, straight out of the anus' mouth.

[Apocalipstic]

If Bidien has committed crimes, I want to know the truth.
and if ideed he has committed crimes, the stakes were different in the 80s and 90s.....but if with no provocation he was fingering his emoployees, we need another plan.

I read 8 or 9 women. Did he do it, or is this Russing Troll info. I honesly dont know, or believe anything anyone says.

Would President Obama support him? Biden has run for President before...why now? No its not easy to accuse someone of sexual assault. To win a case.


Thats a sad place to be.

[charley]

If Bidien has committed crimes, I want to know the truth.
and if ideed he has committed crimes, the stakes were different in the 80s and 90s.....but if with no provocation he was fingering his emoployees, we need another plan.

I read 8 or 9 women. Did he do it, or is this Russing Troll info. I honesly dont know, or believe anything anyone says.

Would President Obama support him? Biden has run for President before...why now? No its not easy to accuse someone of sexual assault. To win a case.

Thats a sad place to be.

I heard yesterday that Biden would appear on "Morning Joe", so I watched this morning. Mika was the one who grilled (to put it mildly) Biden. He categorically denied the assault.

Apart from "he said, she said", my "takeaway" from listening attentively to the above was the hypocrisy of Biden who really pushed for a stance to "believe" a priori Christine Blasey Ford's testimony accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. I call it hypocrisy because he hedged Mika's grilling on his previous comments during Kavanaugh's nomination. It was, to my mind, an unsurprising double standard response on Biden's part. Biden is a politician, eh? (lol, smh)

part of transcript:

MB: ..."You said if someone like Dr. Ford were to come out, the essence of what she is saying has to be believed, has to be real. Why, why, why, why is it real for Dr. Ford but not for Tara Reade?"
....

JB: ..."And if there’s anything that makes it — that is consistent with what’s being said, and she makes the case or the case is made, then it should be believed"...

What I got from this is that he is saying that he is innocent until he is proven guilty; it's here that I make my little scoffing cough...

MB: "Well, I’m going to try and ask many different ways. Stacey Abrams said during the Kavanaugh hearings: “I believe women. I believe survivors of assault should be supported and their voices heard.” Kirsten Gillibrand tweeted: “Do we believe women? Do we give them the opportunity to tell their story? We must be a country that says yes every time... Are women to be believed — are women to believed unless it pertains to you?"

JB: "Look, women are to be believed, given the benefit of the doubt. If they come forward and say something that is, that they said happened to them, they should start off with the presumption they’re telling the truth. Then you have to look at the circumstances and the facts. And the facts in this case do not exist. They never happened, and there’s so many inconsistencies in what has been said in this case. So yes, look at the facts, and I assure you it did not happen. Period. Period."

Of course, this went on, but the interesting part was when Mika insisted that a search of the name "Tara Reade" in the University of Delaware records be done to find proof/mention of some accusation by her, etc. To which, again, Biden rationalized that such records contained only info that was political in nature and left it at that.

All I can say is that idk what happened, but I was not impressed by Biden's response.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/us/politics/joe-biden-tara-reade-msnbc.html

[BullDog]

There is plenty of evidence to show how unbelievable Reader's accusation is if you bother to look.

Believing women means taking what they seriously and investigating it - not believing every story someone comes up with.

First of all, Biden was thoroughly vetted to be President Obama's Vice President. I have no doubt they were thorough.

Reade's story has changed many, many times.

Time's Up Legal Defense Fund referred her to multiple attorneys at the National Women's Law Center and every single one of the attorneys declined to take her case. They said she was asking for PR help - not legal representation.

Ronan Farrow, Jodi Kantor, and Megan Twohey all did extensive interviews with her and decided not to report her story because of the unsubstantiated claims and inconsistencies. They all won Pulitzer Prizes for covering the Weinstein investigation.

In 2009 - after the alleged assault she praised Biden for sponsoring the Violence Against Women's Act

She has written multiple pieces praising Russia and Putin and claimed Putin was secretly in love with her.

Supposedly she has also stolen from a charity.

She is NOT credible.

Democrats do have a very formidable enemy - Trump and the Republicans. But who needs one when they constantly shoot themselves in the foot.

This is NOT a credible story and it's not going to bring St. Bernard's campaign back to life.

[Baby_Yoda]

I am going to say this one time... I am voting for whichever Democrat is on the ballot. Whatever stories and allegations that come up against that person can not be worse than those about Trump. Political standing aside, any of them that started campaigning, whether dropped out or still running, would make a way better president than Trump. Aside from that, voting for a third party or not voting at all might as well be counted as a vote for Trump at this point. Anyone that does not want Trump as president for another 4 years, should do the same.

[~ocean]

The baboon could be up for an IMPEACHMET ll << yes 2nd impeachment !! FBI from what I read has the goods on Dolly Hands ( ty Spectre )and Russia ~

[Baby_Yoda]

The baboon could be up for an IMPEACHMET ll << yes 2nd impeachment !! FBI from what I read has the goods on Dolly Hands ( ty Spectre )and Russia ~

An impeachment is not worth the cost or time for the proceedings. Senate will not convict no matter the proof provided for any charges brought nor will his base ever recognize the truth.

[~ocean]

your so right !! I'm not sure if any president has been impeached 2 x's or not ~ do you think somewhere out there , their is someone making YOUR FIRED T- shirts.

[Orema]

An impeachment is not worth the cost or time for the proceedings. Senate will not convict no matter the proof provided for any charges brought nor will his base ever recognize the truth.

I used to think so, too, but not anymore. Let’s pay the cost — political, economical, psychological — knowing the senate won’t convict and the Supreme Court would probably rule in Trump’s favor (if proceedings went that far on any related issues).

Let’s pay and put it on the record that Trump’s actions were challenged with impeachment.

I’m willing to pay and now feel obligated to do so.

That said, I don’t think it’s likely he’ll be impeached again, but I’d support it if he was.

[C0LLETTE]

Want to have a government free ( for the most part ) of accusations of sexual assault by leaders....elect women.

I never heard the faintest rumour of Indira Gandhi or Golda Meir sexually assaulting anyone.

[Baby_Yoda]

I used to think so, too, but not anymore. Let’s pay the cost — political, economical, psychological — knowing the senate won’t convict and the Supreme Court would probably rule in Trump’s favor (if proceedings went that far on any related issues).

Let’s pay and put it on the record that Trump’s actions were challenged with impeachment.

I’m willing to pay and now feel obligated to do so.

That said, I don’t think it’s likely he’ll be impeached again, but I’d support it if he was.

Think of the possible negative repercussions at the point though. A second attempt at impeachment could have serious fallout on Democrats from the middle. While most have already decided who they will vote for or at least not vote for there is still a healthy group of middle ground voters who have not. A second impeachment trial will look more like Dems are just out for blood. If I thought there was a chance of it succeeding I would be all for it myself. This close to an election then it should be held until after elections just in case the joker somehow pulls it off again.

[Baby_Yoda]

Aside from that a few key Senate seats are on the ballot this year that could change the majority increasing the odds of an impeachment being successful.

[C0LLETTE]

Sorry, I had to step away for a few minutes to try to put in a broker's order to beat out all those Trump cabinet members buying up all the shares of the Remdesivir maker (Gilead?)

[Kelt]

I am going to say this one time... I am voting for whichever Democrat is on the ballot. Whatever stories and allegations that come up against that person can not be worse than those about Trump. Political standing aside, any of them that started campaigning, whether dropped out or still running, would make a way better president than Trump. Aside from that, voting for a third party or not voting at all might as well be counted as a vote for Trump at this point. Anyone that does not want Trump as president for another 4 years, should do the same.

I reluctantly agree at this point I feel there is simply no option.

I am concerned by the fact that I believe we will end up with an appointed president. That is to say that whoever Biden chooses as his running mate will have a fair chance of ending up running this country and possibly before the end of his first term. In addition to a number of health challenges that can come his way at his age and in this time of medical uncertainty, he is showing very clear signs of cognitive decline. I can’t help but wonder if he is up to the challenge of steering this country through the next couple of bound to be bumpy years. If not, it will be his chosen and not elected running mate we will have to pick up the pieces. We are between a rock and a hard place.

[Baby_Yoda]

I reluctantly agree at this point I feel there is simply no option.

I am concerned by the fact that I believe we will end up with an appointed president. That is to say that whoever Biden chooses as his running mate will have a fair chance of ending up running this country and possibly before the end of his first term. In addition to a number of health challenges that can come his way at his age and in this time of medical uncertainty, he is showing very clear signs of cognitive decline. I can’t help but wonder if he is up to the challenge of steering this country through the next couple of bound to be bumpy years. If not, it will be his chosen and not elected running mate we will have to pick up the pieces. We are between a rock and a hard place.
There is talk of Harris being his running mate so even if something happens to Biden she was my first choice for president out if all the Dems. Of course nothing is solid in that yet anyone beats Trump either way. A 10 year old couldn't do any worse.

[BullDog]

Biden has no signs of cognitive decline. He stuttered as a child and still needs to compensate for it and sometimes stumbles over a few words here and there.

Of course, the Bros spread that far and wide before the phony rape charge. Now they all act like fake feminists.

BTW she accused her ex-husband of the same thing - same description of the alleged event, and it also appears in one of her late father's novels- both of them without the Senate hallway of course. But using the digits in both of them. Would someone actually do that in a hallway in the Senate. Really?

[Martina]

I see some evidence of cognitive decline. We've all watched him for years. There's a difference. Is it enough to affect his work? Who knows. It worries me a little. I hope he picks a good VP.

Re the most recent sexual assault allegation from Tara Reade, I don't believe it. But of course it has to be investigated.

[BullDog]

I strongly disagree that Biden shows signs of cognitive decline. People need to educate themselves on what people with stuttering challenges go through -especially when talking spur of the moment. Obviously he has accomplished a great deal in his life and overcome many challenges and adversity.

The Bros would cobble together video snippets as “proof.”. Really dudes you were supporting a guy a year older and who had a heart attack. Get real.

Does Biden seem a bit older than even when he was Vice President? Yes and he is by a few years. Quite frankly Trump, Sanders, and Biden are all on the old side to be president yet they were the final three left standing.

Unlike the current narcissist in the White House, Biden welcomes having strong and accomplished people around him. I have a strong hunch he is going to pick Kamala Harris for VP. We’ll see. He will have a strong team.

[charley]

I see some evidence of cognitive decline. We've all watched him for years. There's a difference. Is it enough to affect his work? Who knows. It worries me a little. I hope he picks a good VP.

Re the most recent sexual assault allegation from Tara Reade, I don't believe it. But of course it has to be investigated.

IDK about Biden's cognitive decline, but he is ageing, and some slowness in any cognitive response is normal. Unlike MF-45* (the narcissist in chief), Biden does not have an ongoing life history of being a sexual predator.

I don't believe that anything re: any allegations by Tara Reade will eventually have any significant impact on the upcoming American election.

re: Tara Reade, it doesn't seem that she is credible/believable... as per an article in:

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/04/29/joe-biden-sexual-assault-allegation-tara-reade-column/3046962001/

* (I must say I like A. Spectre's term - MF-45, so I am borrowing it.)

[BullDog]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/01/opinions/biden-tara-reade-allegations-2008-vetting-axelrod/index.html


When it became clear that Barack Obama would be the nominee of the Democratic Party in the spring of 2008, he commissioned a team of lawyers to begin an in-depth vetting process of potential candidates for vice president.

Dozens of women and men under consideration were reviewed. Those who rose on the list of contenders were subject to a deep-dive investigation of their strengths, vulnerabilities and, of course, any disqualifying defects.
At the top of the list of those contenders was Senator Joseph R. Biden of Delaware.

The comprehensive vet certainly would have turned up any formal complaints filed against Biden during his 36-year career in the Senate. It did not. The team would have investigated any salacious rumors of the sort that travel far and wide in Washington. There were none.

While I was not on the vetting team, as senior strategist to the campaign, I was briefed on their work and potential problems.

Through that entire process, the name Tara Reade never came up. No formal complaint. No informal chatter. Certainly, no intimation of sexual harassment or assault from her or anyone else. The team of investigators, expert in their work, would not have missed it.

Reade did not surface her allegations of a criminal sexual assault when Biden was a candidate for president in 2008, nor did she offer them confidentially to the Obama vetting team when Biden emerged as a principal contender for vice president later that year.

Had any credible issue been raised, you can be sure Biden would not have been the nominee. Obama would not have tolerated it, even if he and Biden were close then, which they were not. Their friendship grew only after Biden joined the ticket and through their eight-year partnership in the White House. At that time, they were distant Senate colleagues and most recently rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Our society is just now confronting a long, sordid history of disregarding accusations and silencing women who were sexually abused or assaulted. Women who come forward deserve to be taken seriously and treated with respect, and Tara Reade's story should be heard and thoroughly investigated.

But it is striking that when an experienced vetting team put Biden under a microscope before he was chosen to be second-in-line for the presidency, neither her allegations, nor anything resembling them in Biden's history, showed up.

[Cin]

The fact that Biden is an infinitely better choice for president than Trump does not change the fact that he, on more than one occasion, has been guilty of inappropriate conduct and remarks where women and young girls are concerned. A few of those occasions have taken place during events dealing with sexual assault.

" Caruso told The New York Times that after she shared her story of sexual assault at a University of Nevada event in 2016, Biden hugged her "just a little bit too long" and put his hand on her thigh."

To me, being borderline inappropriate to women right after they shared something like this is very dark indeed. I know Biden straddles the line and even parents and husbands defend him after he is inappropriate with their loved ones however, I feel it is especially damaging to invade an abuse victim's space and distress her with behavior that is confusing and intimate right after she has made herself vulnerable by sharing her story.

Nevertheless as creepy as Joe Biden is, he is the only acceptable choice for president. But that doesn't mean we have to close our eyes to his inappropriate behavior.

Still I find Tara Reade's story suspect because it is out of character for Biden. I mean if he made a habit of crossing that line he straddles so athletically and actually sexually assaulting women we would have heard about it by now. We wouldn't only have that one incident. That doesn't change the fact that he is inappropriate with women a lot. And in very dark ways like at events dealing with sexual assault. But he is a world class line straddler so not much to be done.

However he is not Donald Trump and that's the most important thing in this coming election. So he has my vote.

https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-allegations-women-2020-campaign-2019-6

[BullDog]

If Biden is so creepy how come nothing came up until now?

He is a hugger and hands-on. He does that with everyone- both men and women. If some people are uncomfortable with it they certainly have the right to speak up and he says he will change that.

He shows great empathy for people. The only ones who think he is creepy are those who are politically biased against him.

[Baby_Yoda]

The fact that Biden is an infinitely better choice for president than Trump does not change the fact that he, on more than one occasion, has been guilty of inappropriate conduct and remarks where women and young girls are concerned. A few of those occasions have taken place during events dealing with sexual assault.

" Caruso told The New York Times that after she shared her story of sexual assault at a University of Nevada event in 2016, Biden hugged her "just a little bit too long" and put his hand on her thigh."

To me, being borderline inappropriate to women right after they shared something like this is very dark indeed. I know Biden straddles the line and even parents and husbands defend him after he is inappropriate with their loved ones however, I feel it is especially damaging to invade an abuse victim's space and distress her with behavior that is confusing and intimate right after she has made herself vulnerable by sharing her story.

Nevertheless as creepy as Joe Biden is, he is the only acceptable choice for president. But that doesn't mean we have to close our eyes to his inappropriate behavior.

Still I find Tara Reade's story suspect because it is out of character for Biden. I mean if he made a habit of crossing that line he straddles so athletically and actually sexually assaulting women we would have heard about it by now. We wouldn't only have that one incident. That doesn't change the fact that he is inappropriate with women a lot. And in very dark ways like at events dealing with sexual assault. But he is a world class line straddler so not much to be done.

However he is not Donald Trump and that's the most important thing in this coming election. So he has my vote.

https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-allegations-women-2020-campaign-2019-6

It seems to me that the younger generations are getting less physically demonstrative and more ready to jump on the bandwagon of calling just about anything harassment or assault. I have been hugged by older relatives longer than was comfortable and have had friends male and female place a hand on my leg during conversation. Neither has been creepy to me nor have a I felt assaulted even when I found one or the other slightly uncomfortable. Both are normal everyday actions that some people take. If Biden were a woman the actions would probably have been viewed as emotionally supportive or seen as one of those every day actions. Now I am not in Bidens head nor have I ever met the man personally. I do not know the motivation behind his actions. They could have been truly innocent or they could have not been. I am simply pointing out the generational difference for one, and that some people are more inclined to physical contact than others. Women dont want men to be the only ones able to practice medicine or make more money than they do. They want equality across the board... So honestly, are women willing to give men equality across the board as well in being physically and emotionally demonstrative, and not look down on them if they choose a classically female career? I am kind of rambling with this I know... I just woke up. Anyhow, the point I am trying to get to I think is that Biden has no straight up allegations of sexual assault that I have heard of... No pussy grabbing or anything blatantly sexual in nature, just what some people viewed as creepy, or inappropriate, unless I missed something major. If I was charged with something every time someone saw my actions as creepy or inappropriate, I would have lost every job within possibly a day in a few cases. I watch people a lot until I get to know them and feel comfortable with them in my vicinity and the intense looks I know I am capable of coupled with frequent looks towards someone could certainly make them uncomfortable. Just saying. Ok Im gonna stop now. Morning all... The generational difference was pointed out to me by someone else... That one I probably would not have seen on my own so just to give credit or not claim it where it isnt mine... Bye

[CherylNYC]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/01/opinions/biden-tara-reade-allegations-2008-vetting-axelrod/index.html


When it became clear that Barack Obama would be the nominee of the Democratic Party in the spring of 2008, he commissioned a team of lawyers to begin an in-depth vetting process of potential candidates for vice president.

Dozens of women and men under consideration were reviewed. Those who rose on the list of contenders were subject to a deep-dive investigation of their strengths, vulnerabilities and, of course, any disqualifying defects.
At the top of the list of those contenders was Senator Joseph R. Biden of Delaware.

The comprehensive vet certainly would have turned up any formal complaints filed against Biden during his 36-year career in the Senate. It did not. The team would have investigated any salacious rumors of the sort that travel far and wide in Washington. There were none.

While I was not on the vetting team, as senior strategist to the campaign, I was briefed on their work and potential problems.

Through that entire process, the name Tara Reade never came up. No formal complaint. No informal chatter. Certainly, no intimation of sexual harassment or assault from her or anyone else. The team of investigators, expert in their work, would not have missed it.

Reade did not surface her allegations of a criminal sexual assault when Biden was a candidate for president in 2008, nor did she offer them confidentially to the Obama vetting team when Biden emerged as a principal contender for vice president later that year.

Had any credible issue been raised, you can be sure Biden would not have been the nominee. Obama would not have tolerated it, even if he and Biden were close then, which they were not. Their friendship grew only after Biden joined the ticket and through their eight-year partnership in the White House. At that time, they were distant Senate colleagues and most recently rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Our society is just now confronting a long, sordid history of disregarding accusations and silencing women who were sexually abused or assaulted. Women who come forward deserve to be taken seriously and treated with respect, and Tara Reade's story should be heard and thoroughly investigated.

But it is striking that when an experienced vetting team put Biden under a microscope before he was chosen to be second-in-line for the presidency, neither her allegations, nor anything resembling them in Biden's history, showed up.

I don't think this argument, 'It would have come up in our vetting process', holds water today. Until, oh... about five minutes ago when #Me Too swept our world, a subordinate woman's claims about a powerful man's caddish or criminal behavior towards her carried no weight at all. Zero. End of discussion. It was the woman who suffered the consequences if she dared to speak up. No, it wouldn't have come up in the vetting process. Had it come up, it would have been dismissed. I remember speaking to some straight men I worked with about Bill Clinton's behavior towards women. They were slightly amused. One co-worker told me that Clinton's clearly caddish behavior made him respect Clinton more as a man. Because that's the way a strong man behaves.

Did Biden commit sexual assault? I don't think the fact that Tara Reade claimed it happened in the Senate hallway seems ridiculous. I once came upon my boss sexually assaulting his cousin in the hallway of the movie studio where we were working. There were no repercussions to him, but I demonstrably lost plenty of work for talking about it. In my opinion, doing it in a public place was part of his power dynamic. "I can do whatever I want, wherever I want.' (Needless to say, the cousin continued on as if nothing ever happened, probably because it was long term behavior.)

I don't think there's any contradiction between Biden's championship and support of women and his choice to assault one. They're not mutually exclusive because people are complicated. Elliot Spitzer championed women professionally and abused them privately, too.

Reade told others about her experience, and they attest to it. That's an important fact, and it gives her allegations plenty of weight. Had this been an allegation against someone who isn't poised to evict that evil rust stain from the White House before he defecates in every corner, we would have no reason to doubt the allegation.

I'm voting for Biden, and I would still vote for him even if Reade produced a semen stained dress. Trump endangers us all every single day. The stakes are high and our choices are limited.

[BullDog]

Cheryl, yes women have been subjected to horrific treatment for far too long and more women are speaking up thanks to the Me Too Movement. They should be taken seriously and any allegations they have should be thoroughly investigated.

I totally disagree with you that the Obama vetting process would have dismissed it. I don't believe that for one second. I guess neither you or I have proof of that one way or the other but I do believe Axelrod and that Obama wouldn't have tolerated it.

There is tons of evidence that shows how unreliable Reade is. I already posted a bunch of it earlier.

[Kätzchen]

Just got my Oregon Primary Ballot in the mail, today.

I am registered as a Democrat, so I checked all boxes for those who are Democrats, including who we want for POTUS.

I am dropping it off at county headquarters, on Monday.

Keeping my fingers crossed, as well.

[Martina]

I strongly disagree that Biden shows signs of cognitive decline. People need to educate themselves on what people with stuttering challenges go through -especially when talking spur of the moment. Obviously he has accomplished a great deal in his life and overcome many challenges and adversity.

The Bros would cobble together video snippets as “proof.”. Really dudes you were supporting a guy a year older and who had a heart attack. Get real.

Does Biden seem a bit older than even when he was Vice President? Yes and he is by a few years. Quite frankly Trump, Sanders, and Biden are all on the old side to be president yet they were the final three left standing.

Unlike the current narcissist in the White House, Biden welcomes having strong and accomplished people around him. I have a strong hunch he is going to pick Kamala Harris for VP. We’ll see. He will have a strong team.

Bullshit. I've been watching him for years. There's a difference, and it has nothing to do with stuttering. Don't tell me to educate myself about speech pathology. I'm a special education teacher. I know a little about it. Why are you so rude, Bulldog?

I haven't even seen any videos on the subject put together by the Sanders camp. And I am sick as fuck of hearing us referred to as Bros. Want to influence people to vote third party? Keep calling them Bernie Bros.

Re Sanders and even Trump, they aren't showing their age the way Biden is. It varies.

My reason for not trusting Reade is that she reported it differently two times. But I think Congress and the FBI need to do a thorough investigation.

[BullDog]

Martina as far as I’m concerned you are the one being extremely rude to me. I never said every Sanders supporter was a Bro.

Biden aging worse than Sanders and Trump? Is that supposed to be a joke. Sanders had a bloody heart attack - physical - but certainly a big concern especially since there is nothing wrong with Biden’s mind. Trump has gone down from an already seriously demented state. Biden is older but his mind is fine. This crap is b.s.

There is so much bullshit from many Sanders supporters about his so-called mental decline and now running away with the fake rape charge. They are trying to get Sanders in the back door of the back door and get rid of Biden illegitimately and they don’t care what they do to Biden in the process. And I’m so done with the hostage taking threats. Vote third party if you want to. I could care less.

Sure investigate Biden from here to sundown. And now who is going to investigate the 24 plus allegations against Trump. Way to go to re-elect Trump and the charges against Biden are not even credible. Easy way to take someone out. Up the ante at just the right time.

Unrelated to my response to Martina I’m still completely agog that people are dismissing the very strong vetting - one of the strongest vetting processes anyone in the world could ever go through yet it’s dismissed as oh if there was anything they would just ignore it anyway. I have never heard anything more unreal in my life. Both Axelrod and one of the attorneys who directly worked on the vetting have been very clear they found nothing. And she claims to have complained to his staff and the three involved are very emphatic that she never came to them and if she had they certainly would have remembered it. So are all of them lying? Where’s the complaint she supposedly filed? It’s not going to be in Biden’s personal papers. I swear the reporting on this is so shoddy. There is so so so much more.

Carry on with your hatefest of Biden and Trump’s re-election campaign. I have better use of my time.

I look forward to voting for Biden twice - the primary and the general election. And I would never vote for a rapist.

[Martina]

Sure investigate Biden from here to sundown. And now who is going to investigate the 24 plus allegations against Trump. Way to go to re-elect Trump and the charges against Biden are not even credible. Easy way to take someone out. Up the ante at just the right time.


These are some specious arguments. Just because Trump got away with it doesn't mean anyone else should. It's like a kid saying he got away with it, so why can't I?

Also, whether it hurts the Biden candidacy can't be an argument for investigating or not investigating the allegations.

[Kelt]

Opinions
It’s fair to speculate whether Biden is mentally fit to be president (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/12/its-fair-speculate-whether-biden-is-mentally-fit-be-president/)

March 12, 2020 at 11:09 a.m. PDT

After a disastrous performance in his first debate with Walter Mondale, many in the media began to openly question the then-73-year-old Ronald Reagan’s mental fitness. Writing in the New York Times, James Reston pointed out that Reagan “got his figures mixed up, and didn’t seem to be mentally alert in dealing with Mr. Mondale’s arguments.” The Wall Street Journal noted that “the president’s rambling responses and occasional apparent confusion injected an unpredictable new element into the race” and pointed out that at age 75, "10 percent of people suffer from significant mental impairment — senile dementia, or senility.” The networks ran montages of Reagan stumbling over his words and brought on doctors to discuss the effects of aging on mental capacity.

When the second debate came around, Reagan put the aging question to rest with his now famous line: “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” A decade later, Reagan announced to the world that he had Alzheimer’s disease.
Joe Biden is 77, four years older than Reagan was during the 1984 campaign. If Biden is elected, he’ll be older on the day he takes office than Reagan was on the day he left office. So yes, his mental fitness is a legitimate issue.

There is plenty of cause for concern. Biden recently announced “I think we can win back the House” and promised to ban the “AR-14.” He mistook Super Tuesday for “Super Thursday,” and forgot the words of the Declaration of Independence, saying “We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women are created, by the, you know, you know the thing.” In South Carolina, he misstated what office he was running for, declaring “My name’s Joe Biden. I’m a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate.” On three occasions last month, Biden declared he was arrested in South Africa trying to visit Nelson Mandela in prison — an incident his campaign later admitted never happened. He earlier described meeting a Navy captain in Afghanistan, but The Post reported that “almost every detail in the story appears to be incorrect.” He claimed to have worked with Chinese leader “Deng Xiaoping” on the Paris Climate Accord (Deng died in 1997)/. He claimed during a debate that “150 million people have been killed [by guns] since 2007” (which would be nearly half the U.S. population). He said he met with Parkland victims while he was vice president even though the shooting took place after he left office. He has declared that Democrats should "choose truth over facts” and that “poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.” He pledged to use biofuels to power “steamships.” He repeatedly gets confused about what state he is in; called “Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace “Chuck”; said his late son Beau “was the attorney general of the United States”; and confused former British prime minister Theresa May with the late British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Any one of these gaffes in isolation would be nothing more than that. But taken together they form a pattern – and raise questions about whether Biden has experienced a cognitive decline. Biden’s defenders say this is unfair, and some have even suggested raising it is ageism. No, it’s not. His socialist rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is 78 — almost a year older than Biden — yet no one is questioning his mental fitness. On Monday night, Sanders spent an hour at a Fox News town hall where he was challenged to defend his policies and answered in great detail and without any gaffes or senior moments. Could Biden do the same?

Many of President Trump’s critics have suggested that he suffers from cognitive impairment. Well, in 2018, Trump took a test designed to screen for dementia — the Montreal Cognitive Assessment — and the White House physician reported he received a perfect score. Will Biden submit to the same test?

Sanders took a subtle dig at Biden during the town hall, pointing out that while he speaks for 45 minutes to an hour at his campaign events, Biden recently spoke for seven minutes. The two men will have their first mano-a-mano debate on Sunday. How will Biden perform over the course of a two-hour discussion? Perhaps he will put concerns about his mental fitness to rest. This much is certain: Democrats are about to pick a man they hope will be the first octogenarian president in American history. It is fair to ask whether voters are choosing a candidate who’s not up to the job.

[A. Spectre]

Starting out this post with my disappointment that once again we, the voting block have a choice of

A Old white man
B Old white man

With numerous choices of female candidates who were/are so capable and brilliant, only for it to come down to this, is a disappointment. THAT being said.......

"...During 2017 when Reade was praising Biden, she was condemning Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s efforts to hijack American democracy in the 2016 election. This changed in November 2018, when Reade trashed the United States as a country of “hypocrisy and imperialism” and “not a democracy at all but a corporate autocracy.”

Reade’s distaste for America closely tracked her new infatuation with Russia and Putin. She referred to Putin as a “genius” with an athletic prowess that “is intoxicating to American women.” Then there’s this gem: “President Putin has an alluring combination of strength with gentleness. His sensuous image projects his love for life, the embodiment of grace while facing adversity.”

In March 2019, Reade essentially dismissed the idea of Russian interference in the 2016 American presidential election as hype. She said she loved Russia and her Russian relatives — and "like most women across the world, I like President Putin … a lot, his shirt on or shirt off.” ...(more)

*barf

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/04/29/joe-biden-sexual-assault-allegation-tara-reade-column/3046962001/

________________________________________________

We need to support Joe, holding your nose or not at the ballot box. If MF45 steals the election again, I don't know if any of us, our planet will survive him.

[Cin]

I don't know whether Biden sexually assaulted Reade or not, I tend to believe the woman when accusations are made, but there has been some credible confusion regarding this incident. However, the more I read, the more I understand that whether or not Reade had the courage to call it sexual assault when she reported it, she told plenty of people what happened. And the only thing reticence on the part of abuse victims indicate is that they have a strong survival instinct.The person who will be most traumatized and vilified by this allegation is Reade. I can't imagine any woman wanting to go through something like this for fun.

No woman can believe, me too movement or not, that the cost of pointing out politically powerful men's sexual transgressions will be higher for the man than for the woman. The cost is always much more for the woman. And imagine what the cost will be in this political moment considering what is at stake for this presidential election.

Even if the process by which Biden was vetted for VP did not turn up Reade's allegation or any hint that she ever made one, I am certain Biden's penchant for groping disguised as making a connection certainly would have. That's what Biden calls it, making a connection. Why they couldn't see the writing on the wall is a testament to the widely held belief that men do not need a woman's consent before they touch her. But regardless of what most men and some women think, it is not a benign connection if there is no consent on the part of the woman. But then making a benign connection is so not the point of inappropriate touching.

I know it would be asking too much to expect a team of lawyers engaging in an in-depth vetting process of a potential candidate for vice president to understand that unwanted touching is an expression of power and the persistent habit of coming up behind women (in some cases complete strangers) and smelling their hair, massaging their faces, rubbing their shoulders, touching noses or foreheads or putting your hand on their thighs is deeply offensive, inappropriate and more than a little creepy. Too bad though. Perhaps if the vetting process had found Biden's behavior a credible issue there would have been another choice for vice president and we would be in a different situation right now. Maybe we would have a candidate who didn't propose that touching women without consent is an act of empathy and something they just cannot help but engage in.

But that is not the case and as a woman who has experienced many different types of sexual abuse, I prefer unwanted touching thinly veiled as an empathetic interaction over rape so Biden trumps Trump in my book. But that's not the only reason to vote for Biden over Trump. I think that is clear to everyone. And although I never imagined myself believing this but at this particular time there are more important issues at stake. However that doesn't mean this allegation should not be investigated. Besides, I believe at this point the outcome of any investigation concerning either candidate on the democratic or republican side will not change anyone's mind about which candidate they are going to vote for. The line is more clearly drawn between democrat and republican than I have ever seen in my lifetime.I don't think there is any issue that can change people's minds. I mean no matter what Trump does his supporters remain constant. The agenda is more important that the candidate in this political climate, which is why someone like Trump has the upper hand when it shouldn't even be a contest. The republicans are better at keeping their agenda in the forefront regardless of all the white noise. Nothing deters them. Trump could shoot Dr. Anthony Fauci on national television and it wouldn't even give them pause. If the only choice is Trump or Biden, it doesn't matter what he has done or how mentally fit he is, the only choice is Biden. I know there is something off about that, but there it is. I don't see a way around it at this point.

[Martina]

Biden isn't as wretched a candidate as Clinton was, and now we know how bad Trump is. Plus we are weathering a global crisis with poor leadership. So I think Biden will win -- IF he isn't in serious cognitive decline. If he can't keep it together through the campaign, the Dems could lose. Again. Once again, the Centrist Dems will have fielded a losing candidate. That's the point. Clinton lost. Clinton lost because she was a bad candidate who ran a bad campaign. That's who the Centrists backed, and we got Trump.

Again, Biden isn't Clinton. And it's been a hellish three years under Trump, so if Biden can keep his wits about him, all polls indicate Trump will be gone. But it's an open question. Just how much has Biden declined, and how evident will it be? I honestly think the sexual assault allegations will not be a huge factor although I think they should be investigated. The Centrist Dems are showing what hypocrites they are re this, but maybe the ends justify the means here.

I voted Clinton last time. It was hard to do. I truly despise her politics. It will be easier to vote Biden unless he demonstrates that he is mentally incapable of doing the job. If he does, we are so fucked. I do not think Bernie has any plans to step in. I think the election will proceed. Although it looks like a shoe in for Biden now, if he really looks like he's mentally in decline, we will have Trump again.

And it will be thanks to Centrist Dems again. They lost it before, and they may lose it again.

[C0LLETTE]

OK, so now what?
Figure that Biden is mentally "deficient"?
Believe that he committed sexual assault?
Figure you've got a great candidate just waiting in the wings?

My own view is that unless countries are willing to elect women, they will forever be plagued by these types of accusations.

So what to do?
I suggest you design an "It's Disgusting Behaviour Scale". Anything close to "Zero" and we'll cut your nuts off
Anything close to 10 and we'll crucify you, wait 3 days and give you another shot at getting it right.

Otherwise, elect who you will, try not to get duped by venal corrupt men with fat fingers and then stand on two sides vilifying each other and screaming at each other about how dumb the other is.

But maybe the truth is that there is nothing exceptional about any of us, we just want someone else to take charge; we like to think we're smart enough to choose; then we shit on our choices...and that's how we roll.

[C0LLETTE]

I do not address any of my posts to anyone in particular. That's a quite general "you" in there. A rhetorical "you" if you will and I'm going to practise writing without it.

[Martina]

It truly is sad that Warren didn't do better. She ran a good campaign. I think her natural constituency just was more energized by Bernie. Bernie beat all the near progressives, and Biden beat the Centrists. Then the machine and the liberal press came out and made it too difficult for Bernie to win. Perhaps they would not have done that if the last two Democrats were Biden and Warren.

I get why wealthier voters and the establishment fear Bernie. They have good reason to. He represents meaningful change. I don't get why more people didn't support Warren. I really think sexism played a role. Maybe some of it was that they fielded a woman candidate last time and lost. It's too bad. I think Warren would have kicked Trump's ass in the general election.

As an aside, I don't give a rat's ass about electing a woman president. Remember Margaret Thatcher? It doesn't mean a thing to me. I was excited when an African American won. And I would have been excited if Buttigieg had won although I didn't support him. But women have long been the backbone of the Republican Party. Most white women are conservative. It will not mean a thing to me when a woman is elected. The first Native American or lgbtq person, that will be a great day.

[Cin]

The DNC, like most systems of power is hard to change from within. And they have the power and the means to push their candidate to the forefront. Most people, at least before this pandemic, are just trying to go to work everyday, take care of their family, pay their bills, feed their kids etc. The stress of everyday life has most of their attention. And barring a compete collapse of society they won't do much in depth independent thinking about who is running the show. They will vote for mainstream candidates that don't stray far from the party line. It's safe. Stay in the middle of the road and there will be less accidents. However, this is pretty close to a societal collapse and we need a very strong person in the oval office but if people can't do anything but follow like sheep and accept whatever they are fed by the DNC and the corporate media what can you do? Ultimately despite the power of centrist dems and the corporate media, people still have to make the choice to follow them. And they are! We are living in urgent times and have a small window for change still open at this time. The window is closing and as the societal and economic results of this pandemic becomes apparent people will be at the mercy of the elite in power who have agendas and they will have the opportunity to push them forward. In times of stress and upheaval people are always willing to trade freedom for the illusion of safety. We badly need someone worthy of our trust to lead us through these times.

[C0LLETTE]

Further to my previous post and point about electing women ...like them or not and whatever you think of their politics, no one ever accused Golda Meir of sexual assault. Come to think of it, Indira Gandhi was probably on the safe side too.

[Kätzchen]

I don't know whether Biden sexually assaulted Reade or not, I tend to believe the woman when accusations are made, but there has been some credible confusion regarding this incident. However, the more I read, the more I understand that whether or not Reade had the courage to call it sexual assault when she reported it, she told plenty of people what happened. And the only thing reticence on the part of abuse victims indicate is that they have a strong survival instinct.The person who will be most traumatized and vilified by this allegation is Reade. I can't imagine any woman wanting to go through something like this for fun.

No woman can believe, me too movement or not, that the cost of pointing out politically powerful men's sexual transgressions will be higher for the man than for the woman. The cost is always much more for the woman. And imagine what the cost will be in this political moment considering what is at stake for this presidential election.

Even if the process by which Biden was vetted for VP did not turn up Reade's allegation or any hint that she ever made one, I am certain Biden's penchant for groping disguised as making a connection certainly would have. That's what Biden calls it, making a connection. Why they couldn't see the writing on the wall is a testament to the widely held belief that men do not need a woman's consent before they touch her. But regardless of what most men and some women think, it is not a benign connection if there is no consent on the part of the woman. But then making a benign connection is so not the point of inappropriate touching.

I know it would be asking too much to expect a team of lawyers engaging in an in-depth vetting process of a potential candidate for vice president to understand that unwanted touching is an expression of power and the persistent habit of coming up behind women (in some cases complete strangers) and smelling their hair, massaging their faces, rubbing their shoulders, touching noses or foreheads or putting your hand on their thighs is deeply offensive, inappropriate and more than a little creepy. Too bad though. Perhaps if the vetting process had found Biden's behavior a credible issue there would have been another choice for vice president and we would be in a different situation right now. Maybe we would have a candidate who didn't propose that touching women without consent is an act of empathy and something they just cannot help but engage in.

But that is not the case and as a woman who has experienced many different types of sexual abuse, I prefer unwanted touching thinly veiled as an empathetic interaction over rape so Biden trumps Trump in my book. But that's not the only reason to vote for Biden over Trump. I think that is clear to everyone. And although I never imagined myself believing this but at this particular time there are more important issues at stake. However that doesn't mean this allegation should not be investigated. Besides, I believe at this point the outcome of any investigation concerning either candidate on the democratic or republican side will not change anyone's mind about which candidate they are going to vote for. The line is more clearly drawn between democrat and republican than I have ever seen in my lifetime.I don't think there is any issue that can change people's minds. I mean no matter what Trump does his supporters remain constant. The agenda is more important that the candidate in this political climate, which is why someone like Trump has the upper hand when it shouldn't even be a contest. The republicans are better at keeping their agenda in the forefront regardless of all the white noise. Nothing deters them. Trump could shoot Dr. Anthony Fauci on national television and it wouldn't even give them pause. If the only choice is Trump or Biden, it doesn't matter what he has done or how mentally fit he is, the only choice is Biden. I know there is something off about that, but there it is. I don't see a way around it at this point.

Your post should have at least 5K likes (by now), because as a survivor of sexual assault, sexual abuse, and a survivor of domestic violence (by both male and female abusers), I understand your post and appreciate the time you took to articulate exactly the thoughts I have had on my mind for the past few years.


I have nothing more to add toward the post you've shared with us here, except to say that your air-tight argument is exactly what I wish other people could fathom. As a survivor of sexual assault, sexual harassment and a survivor of DV, I appreciate you greatly.

Thanks for your post, Cin.

[Baby_Yoda]

Biden isn't as wretched a candidate as Clinton was, and now we know how bad Trump is. Plus we are weathering a global crisis with poor leadership. So I think Biden will win -- IF he isn't in serious cognitive decline. If he can't keep it together through the campaign, the Dems could lose. Again. Once again, the Centrist Dems will have fielded a losing candidate. That's the point. Clinton lost. Clinton lost because she was a bad candidate who ran a bad campaign. That's who the Centrists backed, and we got Trump.

Again, Biden isn't Clinton. And it's been a hellish three years under Trump, so if Biden can keep his wits about him, all polls indicate Trump will be gone. But it's an open question. Just how much has Biden declined, and how evident will it be? I honestly think the sexual assault allegations will not be a huge factor although I think they should be investigated. The Centrist Dems are showing what hypocrites they are re this, but maybe the ends justify the means here.

I voted Clinton last time. It was hard to do. I truly despise her politics. It will be easier to vote Biden unless he demonstrates that he is mentally incapable of doing the job. If he does, we are so fucked. I do not think Bernie has any plans to step in. I think the election will proceed. Although it looks like a shoe in for Biden now, if he really looks like he's mentally in decline, we will have Trump again.

And it will be thanks to Centrist Dems again. They lost it before, and they may lose it again.

Short of going to a majority wins voting system and having multiple candidates on the ballot, at this juncture, centrists are the majority in most states. Therefore, those of us that consider ourselves anywhere on the left need to back whichever democrat is on the ballot. That is why Clinton lost. Too many centrists either voted for a third party or did not vote at all because they did not like either candidate. Clinton might not have been a great choice, but she was a far better choice than who is in there now. If the progressives choose to act like the centrists during the next election and stay home, then we will have another four years of Trump.

Bernie is a great politician and his ideas are innovative and I agree with most of them. He is a bit erratic to make a good president though. His ideas need someone behind them with the tenacity to see them through and I don't see that in Bernie. Maybe that is not quite accurate though. Its more that I see him pushing for too much at once and not being able to see anything through to completion in his first term, which would be an open invitation for the republicans to get someone else in office again.

Bernie would have made an excellent VP under Harris had she made it on to the ballot. They could have evened each other out I think. Harris being more methodical in her approach and Bernie always pushing for more. I can truly see a whole lot being accomplished under those two. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen so we must accept what is happening and ensure the most favorable outcome possible at this point in time occurs.

[Martina]

Hillary did not lose because of third party voters. Many more than predicted voted Democrat. The votes she counted on and didn't get were women in the Midwest who had voted Obama but voted Trump in 2016 and urban African Americans in Milwaukee and Detroit who didn't vote. She didn't even campaign in Wisconsin. People use that as shorthand for how she lost the race. She didn't fund the ground game when a lot of people, including her husband, told her there was trouble.

Third party voters were not a factor. You can look at the numbers and say oh if she had gotten those, she would have won. But you can say oh well if she had gotten Christians in Texas, she would have won. Those votes were never hers. The more mainstream progressive Democrats and Bernie supporters voted for Clinton. What's more, they came out in surprising numbers to do so.

[homoe]

mGORxuvdRSk





Ad from the Lincoln Project....

[dark_crystal]

I was terrified by 3rd party voters in 2016, to the point that i wrote about it when i started this thread

:superfunny:

But i am closer than i've been since 2000 (Nader) to doing it. I was on the fence about whether the dem establishment rigged the 2016 primary against Bernie but they sure as heck rigged THIS one

[BullDog]

Nothing has been rigged against Sanders. Millions and millions of more Americans voted for Biden than Sanders because they think Biden has a much better chance to beat Trump. You dismiss the will of millions of Democratic voters. Most do not agree with Sanders or think he can win. The same was true in 2016. Nothing was rigged against him.

Sanders supporters are not the majority of the Democratic party. That's it. Democratic Party voters get to decide who their nominee is. No one is rigging it.

Sanders has helped to fuel conspiracy theories which make people distrust the voting process when things don't go their way. Congrats Sanders. What an American hero.

All this nonsense about things being rigged is such b.s.

[dark_crystal]

Democrats are not the majority of democratic party voters, either, i don't think. The majority are "lesser of two evils"

[Martina]

Biden is slipping in the polls.

[BullDog]

Every recent poll I've seen has Biden leading - especially in the swing states.

Here's the latest one I saw today.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/496793-biden-opens-nine-point-lead-over-trump-in-senate-battlegrounds-poll

[Martina]

Slipping. Not behind.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN22I005

[BullDog]

Okay. I hadn't seen that one poll but it's just one poll and I'm not worried. I also cited a poll that looked good for the swing states - it also is just one poll at one point in time. I've seen other swing state polls that are similar and those are the polls I'm paying the most attention to. The bottom line is it comes down to the swing states.

Anyway, there's a long way to go. With the horrible way that Trump is handling the crisis and all the states that are opening up prematurely, I don't think Trump is going to be looking too good. But I definitely am not taking anything for granted.

[homoe]

I personally think polls are a lot of malarkey and I don't waste my time reading them!

[C0LLETTE]

How much can polls mean when the only people who respond to them are the people who like responding to polls.

[Kelt]

How much can polls mean when the only people who respond to them are the people who like responding to polls.

A couple of other things I always like to watch out for: When a certain publication says something like “135 of our readers responded”… Well, we know that those readers are probably already pre-biased by their selection of publication. Also, I always look for the margin of error which in politics is frequently +/-3%, If we use this poll as the example taking away 3% from the higher figure and adding 3% to the lower figure would completely reversed the outcome.

This poll did not specify any margin of error. The sample group was selected from “registered voters“. Obviously not all of them and no other selection criteria was listed. Leading me to the conclusion:

I personally think polls are a lot of malarkey and I don't waste my time reading them!

[BullDog]

A couple of other things I always like to watch out for: When a certain publication says something like “135 of our readers responded”… Well, we know that those readers are probably already pre-biased by their selection of publication. Also, I always look for the margin of error which in politics is frequently +/-3%, If we use this poll as the example taking away 3% from the higher figure and adding 3% to the lower figure would completely reversed the outcome.

This poll did not specify any margin of error. The sample group was selected from “registered voters“. Obviously not all of them and no other selection criteria was listed. Leading me to the conclusion:

Both the poll I linked to and the one Martina did both specified a margin of error, so I'm not sure what you are referring to.

One polls is simply that - one poll. It is the trend over time or what a group of respected polls are saying that is important - or you can just think of them as malarkey if you wish, lol. I also look at the 538 website to see which polls they rank as most reliable.

[Kelt]

Both the poll I linked to and the one Martina did both specified a margin of error, so I'm not sure what you are referring to.

One polls is simply that - one poll. It is the trend over time or what a group of respected polls are saying that is important - or you can just think of them as malarkey if you wish, lol. I also look at the 538 website to see which polls they rank as most reliable.

Missed the last paragraph on the Reuters poll. It states +/-3% which is what I said was typical for political polls.

[Kätzchen]

I have a moderate interest in polls, mostly because one gets some sort of 'report' (if you will) on voter sentiment or how voters might respond to incumbents or nominee's featured on the voting ballot. I find it interesting, but I don't give poll results too much weight because it's only a snapshot of a particular pool of responders and we don't always know who those people are or X, Y or Z reasons (et al).

But I am super curious how fast the Super Tuesday Primary votes will tell who the voting public in our home state has voted for. According to my ballot, the deadline for ballots to be received by voting headquarters is May 19th. Whether that is an actual deadline for ballots to actually count toward our state's Primary results, is given a wide berth because people might not mail their ballot until the actual day it is due, which is scary because not making sure your ballot is mailed and received *BEFORE* the due date can make a difference -- how wide of a difference, I don't know, but we have had mail-in balloting for years now and we are a swing state with vested interest in Democrats being elected and occupying seats not only in the House of Representatives but we'd like to see more Democrats in the Senate and I can't speak for others in my home state, but I sure as hell voted to make sure Joe Biden becomes the nominee and that the monster in the WH is ousted (promptly).

So, although the deadline for ballots is May 19th, I presume that it will take a week or two for all the ballots to be counted and know with some reasonable means that we have an accurate count on who people voted for and if our state will go down in history as saying ultimately that our swing state power tilts toward electing a Democrat for POTUS and not another 4 years of psycho-babbling GOP stranglehold that is killing our democracy and leaving our nation in serious trouble.


I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my home state lands in the ball park as a land slide of support for Joe Biden. Because our future as a country is on the line and it, in my estimation, will never recover from the past four years of murderous greed and political retaliation the current administration has subjected to US allies and to its own citizens, as a whole.

[Kätzchen]

And I quote from the NYT's article:

"You don't do these things for the title," ~ Stacey Abrams.


I agree with Ms. Abrams. She's hella smart. She's got a conscience. She's got her mind on an important mission, which I believe is both centered upon voting rights (in general, and in Georgia) and becoming Georgia's first Afro-American Governor. What ever she decides to do, I support her 100%.


Stacey Abrams Wants More Than The Vice-Presidency (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/elections-2020/stacey-abrams-wants-more-than-the-vice-presidency/ar-BB14am9W?ocid=msedgntp)(NYT, May 2020).

[Martina]

Trump will lose in a landslide because of the economy, new election model predicts

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/20/business/economy-election-trump-biden-jobs/index.html

[~ocean]

Biden nicknamed Trump ~ " President Tweety " << perfect !

[homoe]

pyavctH2LeA




Remember this when you head out to vote, if you're in South Carolina, come election day!

[Baby_Yoda]

[QUOTE=Martina;1268444]Trump will lose in a landslide because of the economy, new election model predicts

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/20/business/economy-election-trump-biden-jobs/index.html[/QUOTE?]

While this sounds like good news the fact remains that nearly every poll showed Clinton winning.. While she did in fact win the popular vote by a decent margin it wasn't enough. Trump can lose by a substantially larger percentage and still win the electoral.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Biden nicknamed Trump ~ " President Tweety " << perfect !

Got me thinking . . . President TWIT-ter

[A. Spectre]

It's official, FOX news followers are stupid.


The scientists worded it more politely...

Cognitive Ability and Vulnerability to Fake News
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/cognitive-ability-and-vulnerability-to-fake-news?utm_source=pocket-newtab

The subjects in the experimental condition initially rated Nathalie much more negatively than did the subjects in the control condition. This was not surprising, considering that they had just learned she was a thief and a drug dealer. The interesting question was whether cognitive ability would predict attitude adjustment—that is, the degree to which the subjects in the experimental condition would rate Nathalie more favorably after being told that this information was false. It did: subjects high in cognitive ability adjusted their ratings more than did those lower in cognitive ability. The subjects with lower cognitive ability had more trouble shaking their negative first impression of Nathalie. This was true even after the researchers statistically controlled for the subjects’ level of open-mindedness (their willingness to change their mind when wrong) and right-wing authoritarianism (their intolerance toward others), as assessed by the personality test. Thus, even if a person was open-minded and tolerant, a low level of cognitive ability put them at risk for being unjustifiably harsh in their second evaluation of Nathalie...

... Research on cognitive aging indicates that, in adulthood, this ability declines considerably with advancing age, suggesting that older adults may also be especially vulnerable to fake news.


*Quelle surprise. NOT

[Kätzchen]

Here is the report via Politico about 2020 Primary results (https://www.politico.com/2020-election/results/oregon/) (some of which are still not in).

It tells a very chilling political future, if you ask me.

Joe Biden came in very strong. (good news)

Earl Blumenauer came in VERY strong. (excellent news)

Peter DeFazio did not receive the support he needed to stay in his district. :(

Kurt Schrader, so far, has a VERY strong show of support (very good news).


Politico has included many charts and graphic results. It's not hard to understand, but it affirms what I have been saying for the past ten years or so. The GOP is creeping in slowly and in critical districts outside the PDX metro area, they are winning. Peter DeFazio's district is a critical area inside the metro area and I am ever so sorry he didn't get the support he needed to stay in office. It's just a matter of time before the GOP gains enough control of critical seats of legislative power in Oregon to ruin all the progress gained by Democratic governors and legislators we've had over the past 40 years in Oregon.

It makes my heart sad, to see the charted results by Politico, the coverage of our 2020 Primary.

We're only a swing state, so the 46 delegates (electoral votes?) garnered by Biden SEEMS like good news. It can be, but only for a brief stretch in time. I've seen electoral votes in our state not given the full weight they deserve, when it comes to electing a Democrat for POTUS.

Super concerning news coverage about my home state.

[Orema]

Will Bill Barr Try to Help Trump Win the Election?

Two investigations appear to be potential fodder for pre-election political machinations.

By Ryan Goodman and Andrew Weissmann
Mr. Goodman, editor in chief of Just Security, and Mr. Weissmann, a senior prosecutor in the Mueller investigation, teach law at N.Y.U.

https://i.postimg.cc/wvT7G5yt/merlin-155263083-ac5e5639-c868-4378-9f81-8ea4fb0199cf-super-Jumbo.jpg
President Trump and Attorney General William Barr. Credit...Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Today, Wednesday, marks 90 days before the presidential election, a date in the calendar that is supposed to be of special note to the Justice Department. That’s because of two department guidelines, one a written policy that no action be influenced in any way by politics. Another, unwritten norm urges officials to defer publicly charging or taking any other overt investigative steps or disclosures that could affect a coming election.

Attorney General William Barr appears poised to trample on both. At least two developing investigations could be fodder for pre-election political machinations. The first is an apparently sprawling investigation by John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, that began as an examination of the origins of the F.B.I. investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. The other, led by John Bash, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, is about the so-called unmasking of Trump associates by Obama administration officials. Mr. Barr personally unleashed both investigations and handpicked the attorneys to run them.

But Justice Department employees, in meeting their ethical and legal obligations, should be well advised not to participate in any such effort.

The genesis of the department’s admirable practice of creating a protective shell surrounding an election recognizes that unelected officials at the Justice Department should not take action that could distort an election and influence the electorate. If someone is charged immediately before an election, for instance, that person has no time to offer a defense to counter the charges. The closer the election, the greater the risk that the department is impermissibly acting based on political considerations, which is always prohibited.

It is not mere conjecture that Mr. Barr could weaponize these investigations for political purposes. In both cases, he has already run roughshod over another related longstanding department practice. It holds that department officials should refrain from making public allegations of wrongdoing before prosecutors decide to bring charges, particularly since no charges may emanate from the investigation.

Mr. Barr and President Trump have shown no compunction in publicly discussing these investigations, suggesting wrongdoing by Democrats and deep staters. Mr. Barr promised on Fox News that “there will be public disclosure in some form” in the Durham probe. It should be no surprise that Mr. Barr has followed the lead of his boss; after all, Mr. Trump urged Ukraine to announce an investigation into Mr. Biden, an action that was at the center of his impeachment.

Not so long ago, Mr. Barr and Mr. Trump denounced Jim Comey’s negative public commentary in the 2016 election on Hillary Clinton. Indeed, the president claimed that Mr. Comey’s violation of these bedrock policies contributed to his being fired. During his nomination hearing, Mr. Barr told a Senate committee that he would adhere to these policies.

“If you are not going to indict someone, then you do not stand up there and unload negative information about the person,” he testified. “That is not the way the Department of Justice does business.” He also “completely” agreed with Rod Rosenstein when Mr. Rosenstein wrote in a memo that Mr. Comey’s transgressions during an election season were “a textbook example of what federal prosecutors and agents are taught not to do.”

Indeed, in his nomination testimony, Mr. Barr captured the risk of an attorney general acting for political purposes. Members of the incumbent party, he said, “have their hands on the levers of the law enforcement apparatus of the country, and you do not want it used against the opposing political party.”

He was correct then and is wrong now.

Nevertheless, Mr. Barr may claim that an extraordinary public justification exists for releasing a report, citing the Mueller report as precedent. But there is a very clear difference: The Mueller report was not issued in the run-up to any election.

Mr. Barr has another move to try to justify his actions. He recently told a conservative radio host that the policy on interference with an election applies only to indictments of “candidates or perhaps someone that’s sufficiently close to a candidate, that it’s essentially the same.”

That’s an invention. The policy itself refers to actions that give “an advantage or disadvantage to any candidate or political party.”

Mr. Barr himself recognizes the political effect of department actions beyond those against a candidate. In February, in response to the Justice Department inspector general’s recommendation for a clear policy to open or take actions in significant political investigations, Mr. Barr issued a directive that centralized his control over such investigations. The new Barr requirements covered investigations that “may have unintended effects on our elections” and notably included candidates, senior campaign staff members, advisers, members of official campaign advisory committees or groups, and foreign-national donors.

Take an example from the Mueller investigation. The special counsel’s office knew it could not indict Russian military intelligence officials for the 2016 hacking operation in the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections. That’s right: The office could not indict the Russians — not only political candidates or aides. Such matters were so politically fraught that such an action by the special counsel might affect the election.

A key consideration should not be lost: There’s no urgency for the department to take any overt investigative steps or make disclosures until after the election. Even if there has been criminal wrongdoing — which is by no means clear — charges can still be brought in November after the election.

What can be done if Mr. Barr seeks to take actions in service of the president’s political ambitions? There are a variety of ways for Justice Department employees in the Trump era to deal with improper requests. Employees who witness or are asked to participate in such political actions — who all swore an oath to the Constitution and must obey department policies — can refuse, report and, if necessary, resign. Other models include speaking with Congress under subpoena or resigning and then communicating directly to the public. Reputable organizations are at the ready to advise whistle-blowers about the risks and benefits of pursuing these paths.

Above all, with the election around the corner, it’s critical to ensure its integrity and that the Justice Department steer clear of political interference.

______________________
Ryan Goodman is the editor in chief of Just Security. Andrew Weissmann was a senior member of the Special Counsel’s Office and is the author of the forthcoming book “Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation.” They are professors at N.Y.U. School of Law.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/opinion/bill-barr-trump-biden-2020.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

[dark_crystal]

Got me thinking . . . President TWIT-ter

I saw George Takei call him Twitler

[homoe]

kwcploTZbKA



Yo, Semite': Trump Mispronounces Yosemite While Touting National Parks Legislation

[Cin]

Trump is going to steal the election and I don't think anyone is going to stop him. He's got lots of tricks up his sleeve. This one should take care of mail in ballots.

https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/friday-night-massacre-at-us-postal-service-as-postmaster-general-a-major-trump-donor-ousts-top-officials/

‘Friday Night Massacre’ at US Postal Service as Postmaster General—a major Trump donor—ousts top officials

Government watchdogs, Democratic lawmakers, and pro-democracy advocates declared it a “Friday Night Massacre” for the U.S. Postal Service after news broke in a classic end-of-the-week dump that Louis DeJoy—a major GOP donor to President Donald Trump and the recently appointed Postmaster General—had issued a sweeping overhaul of the agency, including the ouster of top executives from key posts and the reshuffling of more than two dozen other officials and operational managers.

According to the Washington Post:
"The shake-up came as congressional Democrats called for an investigation of DeJoy and the cost-cutting measures that have slowed mail delivery and ensnared ballots in recent primary elections.

Twenty-three postal executives were reassigned or displaced, the new organizational chart shows. Analysts say the structure centralizes power around DeJoy, a former logistics executive and major ally of President Trump, and de-emphasizes decades of institutional postal knowledge. All told, 33 staffers included in the old postal hierarchy either kept their jobs or were reassigned in the restructuring, with five more staffers joining the leadership from other roles."

Already under fire for recent policy changes at the USPS that mail carriers from within and outside critics have denounced as a sabotage effort to undermine the Postal Service broadly as well as disrupt efforts to carry out mail-in voting for November’s election amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the moves unveiled late Friday were viewed as an overt assault on democracy and a calculated opportunity to boost Republican’s long-held dream of undercutting or privatizing the government-run mail service while also boosting their election prospects in the process.

“Another Friday night massacre by this administration—and this time dealing another devastating blow to our postal service,” said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) “The American people deserve answers and we’re going to keep fighting for them.”

Scanlon was among more than 80 congressional lawmakers who sent a letter to DeJoy earlier in the day expressing “deep concerns” about operational changes he has made for mail carriers that have delayed deliveries and lowered standards.

“It is vital that the U.S. Postal Service not reduce mail delivery times, which could harm rural communities, seniors, small businesses, and millions of Americans who rely on the mail for critical letters and packages,” the letter stated. “Eliminating overtime and directing postal workers to leave mail on the floor of postal facilities will erode confidence in the Postal Service and drive customers away, resulting in even worse financial conditions in the future.”

As Common Dreams reported earlier Friday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren was among those who signed the letter and also called for DeJoy’s efforts to be investigated by the Inspector General of the USPS. Since 2016 alone, DeJoy has donated more than $2.5 million to the Republican Party and candidates. In 2020, prior to his appointment as Postmaster General by the GOP-controlled board of governors, DeJoy had already given approximately $360,000 to a Super PAC supporting Trump’s reelection.

As the Post notes in its reporting, the reshuffling of top managers and executives—as well as a hiring freeze and push for early retirements—”worried postal analysts, who say the tone of DeJoy’s first eight weeks and his restructuring have recast the nation’s mail service as a for-profit arm of the government, rather than an essential service.”

In a video posted to Twitter, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oreg.) characterized DeJoy as a “political crony” of the president’s and also denounced the brazen efforts now on display as a “Friday Night Massacre” scenario:
https://help.twitter.com/using-twitter/election-labels

Appearing Friday afternoon on Capitol Hill, DeJoy brushed off accusations that he is acting as a political bag man for Trump. “While I certainly have a good relationship with the president of the United States, the notion that I would ever make decisions concerning the Postal Service at the direction of the president or anyone else in the administration is wholly off-base,” DeJoy said.

But outside critics like Walter Shaub, former head of the Office of Government Ethics and a fierce critic of Trump’s behavior as president, said the latest move should be seen as nothing less than a direct effort by DeJoy to exploit his authority at the Postal Service to further the president’s political interests and reelection prospects.
"America is in a dead sprint to authoritarianism. The man is pulling out all the stops to prevent the citizens of this country from holding a legitimate election in which he might face removal from office."

According to Brian Tyler Cohen, a liberal commentator and podcast host, “Congressional Democrats need to do something about this” immediately.

“If we wait until October/November, it’ll be too late,” said Cohen. “Trump is actively sabotaging the election under our noses—this isn’t theoretical, it’s happening RIGHT NOW.” Cohen said this situation should be treated like a “fucking five-alarm fire” and said action must be taken by both lawmakers and the U.S. public without delay.

Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), chair of the House subcommittee which has oversight for the USPS, said what DeJoy is trying to pass off as simple organizational restructuring is actually “a Trojan Horse” designed to destroy one of the nation’s most trusted and valued institutions from within.

Connolly on Friday night called it, “Deliberate sabotage to disrupt mail service on the eve of the election—an election that hinges on mail-in ballots.”

[Kätzchen]

Trump is going to steal the election and I don't think anyone is going to stop him. He's got lots of tricks up his sleeve. This one should take care of mail in ballots.

https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/friday-night-massacre-at-us-postal-service-as-postmaster-general-a-major-trump-donor-ousts-top-officials/

‘Friday Night Massacre’ at US Postal Service as Postmaster General—a major Trump donor—ousts top officials

Government watchdogs, Democratic lawmakers, and pro-democracy advocates declared it a “Friday Night Massacre” for the U.S. Postal Service after news broke in a classic end-of-the-week dump that Louis DeJoy—a major GOP donor to President Donald Trump and the recently appointed Postmaster General—had issued a sweeping overhaul of the agency, including the ouster of top executives from key posts and the reshuffling of more than two dozen other officials and operational managers.

According to the Washington Post:
"The shake-up came as congressional Democrats called for an investigation of DeJoy and the cost-cutting measures that have slowed mail delivery and ensnared ballots in recent primary elections.

Twenty-three postal executives were reassigned or displaced, the new organizational chart shows. Analysts say the structure centralizes power around DeJoy, a former logistics executive and major ally of President Trump, and de-emphasizes decades of institutional postal knowledge. All told, 33 staffers included in the old postal hierarchy either kept their jobs or were reassigned in the restructuring, with five more staffers joining the leadership from other roles."

Already under fire for recent policy changes at the USPS that mail carriers from within and outside critics have denounced as a sabotage effort to undermine the Postal Service broadly as well as disrupt efforts to carry out mail-in voting for November’s election amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the moves unveiled late Friday were viewed as an overt assault on democracy and a calculated opportunity to boost Republican’s long-held dream of undercutting or privatizing the government-run mail service while also boosting their election prospects in the process.

“Another Friday night massacre by this administration—and this time dealing another devastating blow to our postal service,” said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) “The American people deserve answers and we’re going to keep fighting for them.”

Scanlon was among more than 80 congressional lawmakers who sent a letter to DeJoy earlier in the day expressing “deep concerns” about operational changes he has made for mail carriers that have delayed deliveries and lowered standards.

“It is vital that the U.S. Postal Service not reduce mail delivery times, which could harm rural communities, seniors, small businesses, and millions of Americans who rely on the mail for critical letters and packages,” the letter stated. “Eliminating overtime and directing postal workers to leave mail on the floor of postal facilities will erode confidence in the Postal Service and drive customers away, resulting in even worse financial conditions in the future.”

As Common Dreams reported earlier Friday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren was among those who signed the letter and also called for DeJoy’s efforts to be investigated by the Inspector General of the USPS. Since 2016 alone, DeJoy has donated more than $2.5 million to the Republican Party and candidates. In 2020, prior to his appointment as Postmaster General by the GOP-controlled board of governors, DeJoy had already given approximately $360,000 to a Super PAC supporting Trump’s reelection.

As the Post notes in its reporting, the reshuffling of top managers and executives—as well as a hiring freeze and push for early retirements—”worried postal analysts, who say the tone of DeJoy’s first eight weeks and his restructuring have recast the nation’s mail service as a for-profit arm of the government, rather than an essential service.”

In a video posted to Twitter, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oreg.) characterized DeJoy as a “political crony” of the president’s and also denounced the brazen efforts now on display as a “Friday Night Massacre” scenario:
https://help.twitter.com/using-twitter/election-labels

Appearing Friday afternoon on Capitol Hill, DeJoy brushed off accusations that he is acting as a political bag man for Trump. “While I certainly have a good relationship with the president of the United States, the notion that I would ever make decisions concerning the Postal Service at the direction of the president or anyone else in the administration is wholly off-base,” DeJoy said.

But outside critics like Walter Shaub, former head of the Office of Government Ethics and a fierce critic of Trump’s behavior as president, said the latest move should be seen as nothing less than a direct effort by DeJoy to exploit his authority at the Postal Service to further the president’s political interests and reelection prospects.
"America is in a dead sprint to authoritarianism. The man is pulling out all the stops to prevent the citizens of this country from holding a legitimate election in which he might face removal from office."

According to Brian Tyler Cohen, a liberal commentator and podcast host, “Congressional Democrats need to do something about this” immediately.

“If we wait until October/November, it’ll be too late,” said Cohen. “Trump is actively sabotaging the election under our noses—this isn’t theoretical, it’s happening RIGHT NOW.” Cohen said this situation should be treated like a “fucking five-alarm fire” and said action must be taken by both lawmakers and the U.S. public without delay.

Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), chair of the House subcommittee which has oversight for the USPS, said what DeJoy is trying to pass off as simple organizational restructuring is actually “a Trojan Horse” designed to destroy one of the nation’s most trusted and valued institutions from within.

Connolly on Friday night called it, “Deliberate sabotage to disrupt mail service on the eve of the election—an election that hinges on mail-in ballots.”

Peter DeFazio (D) lost his seat in a critical district in the inner metro area in my state (OR). I also follow postings on the State of Oregon's Democratic Campaign, which led me to look for other news on how the current DC Admin supporter was somehow placed in charge of USPS (reader comments in other news stories, people blowing the whistle on behind the scenre manipulation going on at USPS).

This is super scary, and why i won't mail my ballot in. I am taking it directly to voting headquarters, in person, the day i get my ballot.

My guess is that a majority of us will act like phone trees, by getting the word out to use other means to make sure our ballots actually end up at headquarters, rather than letting current admim steal the election process.

It will get so ugly, as each day goes by. So very, very ugly.

Thanks for posting the news article by Alter-Net, Cin.

ETA: Peter DeDazio has not been unseated yet, but GOP challenger has critically impacted his ability to maintain his seat. If DeFazio remains in the 4th district it will be a miracle. He has been in the 4th district since the late 1980s.

[cathexis]

Trump has something going on. He is too unconcerned for the position he is in causing his base and those who are apathetic to go on worrying only about themselves and their families.

He believes he is in firm control of the Presidency, that he is King. The economy and Covid-19 are enough to make the average unthinking man or womon will accept what he says at face value. People are worried about finances, food, and pushing out all these surplus products of unneeded and unplanned conception. Now is not the time for a population increase. If we get enough of those ignorant people as in 2016, I am truly worried for this country. I can see him along with other members of his family taking the country in an Authoritarian Fascist Nepotistic coup, refusing to give up the power that he rightfully lost. He will refuse to accept the Rule of Law as he has during his entire elected presidency. Now do the doubters that he will not rule according to the Constitution and accept the checks and balances therein believe now. He wants to own the US not merely be her leader.

[Cin]

This is an article written by a couple of psychiatrists and a dr of clinical psychology examining the reasons that some people, maybe even enough people to get him reelected, believe in Trump. I found the article interesting and while the reasoning is nothing most haven't already concluded, it does flesh it out a bit.

I'm not sure I agree that you can change the minds of Trump supporters but I guess it's worth a shot. But I seriously hope the election doesn't hinge on that possibility. I mean if enough people want this guy as their leader what chance does humanity have anyway.

Chaos, shared irrationality and fear: Experts explain why supporters are still clinging to Trump — despite his many failures

A looming question in today’s political climate is: Why do Donald Trump’s devotees continue to support him despite the carnage of his well-documented failures? Although we are in the middle of a deadly pandemic that is surging and not contained, Trump seems to maintain a base support of 35% to 40%. What are the psychological factors that influence or underpin his supporters’ attraction to him? And might this provide some perspective on how to change these supporters’ minds?

Multiple psychological factors seem to influence and explain his supporters. We have divided these factors into four major categories: Rebelliousness and Chaos; Shared Irrationality; Fear; and Safety and Order.

Rebelliousness and Chaos

Some Trump supporters have a strong desire for rebelliousness and chaos, and view Trump as the perfect vehicle for achieving their personal goals. These supporters tend to become “anti-establishment and anti-government,” even when it is against their best interest. Many are unhappy with their station in life and believe chaos in the political system will bring them important gains. They seek immediate and sweeping changes and believe a rebellious attitude and rebellious behavior are what is necessary. They would rather have chaos, even dangerously or regressively so, than the status quo.

These supporters believe in Trump’s professed anger and rebelliousness, while often ignoring the content of the issues at hand. Trump’s talk of “draining the swamp” and of eschewing “political correctness” is attractive to them. They react emotionally and irrationally in embracing Trump’s decisions to create chaos, such as by sending federal troops into American cities to provoke hostile conflict with protesters. They enjoy and thrive upon Trump disavowing norms, rules, and laws. Rebelliousness and chaos can be a major psychological influence, but it can have serious negative consequences such as undermining the chance for real change.

Shared Irrationality

The Dunning-Kruger effect. Some people are under-informed and misinformed and are completely unaware of their lack of information. They tend to overestimate their level of knowledge and hold onto that position. They develop “illusory superiority” from their inability to recognize their true lack of knowledge. In other words, some people think they know more than they do and hold firmly to their opinions. These people are resistant to change their political thinking because they believe they are the knowledgeable ones. Trump and some of his supporters have this psychological phenomenon in common; they are unable to remedy their own limitations of knowledge and their inaccurate thinking.

Magical thinking. This is the belief that one’s thoughts, feelings, ideas, or words can bring about effects in the world. Or, similarly, that one’s thoughts, feelings, ideas, or words can cause something to happen. Magical thinking presumes a causal link between one’s internal, personal experience and the external physical world. This often emerges from an inability to distinguish fully between emotions and logical thoughts. Relying totally on emotion or “gut reactions” results in magical thinking. Trump engages in magical thinking almost constantly. This is especially dangerous regarding the pandemic: “It will disappear very quickly,” “We have it under control,” “We may have some embers or some ashes…” Many supporters engage in magical thinking and are encouraged and validated by Trump, leading them to align strongly with him.

Obsession with celebrity. Some people are obsessed with celebrities and reality television. Trump entertains them and amuses them. Some supporters are always waiting to see what outrageous thing he says or does next. These supporters are happy as long as they are being entertained by him. They act as if life is a “game” or a “show” that is somehow disconnected from the difficult realities of everyday life, but it is not.

Fear

Brain reactivity to threats. Research shows that some people have an exaggerated fear response to threats. When presented with specific perceived threats–immigrants, democrats, protestors, socialism–conservatives’ brains light up in activity and experience a need to seek safety. Trump actively encourages his supporters to experience exaggerated fear responses, such that their brains remain energized.

Fear mongering. Terror management theory explains why fear mongering works. When people are reminded of their mortality, which happens with fear mongering, they reflexively defend those who share their world view and their natural and ethnic identity. Tribal identification is an outgrowth of fear mongering. Racism and bigotry are related to fear. Trump appeals to racist and bigoted supporters when he calls Muslims “dangerous” and Mexican immigrants “rapists and murderers.” This fear mongering by Trump is aimed at supporters who are vulnerable to racist and bigoted thinking because it fits with their world view. Another major fear among Trump supporters is falling behind financially and losing the economic capacity to control their lives and protect themselves. A third major fear among Trump supporters is of socialism and believing that capitalism is being threatened and even destroyed. Trump is very adept at focusing on these specific fears among his supporters, using key words and names to trigger and stoke their emotional concerns. Trump supporters believe that he is capable of protecting them from their fears. And when they feel protected, they overlook his offensive and outlandish behavior.

Conspiracy theories. Certain people are attracted to conspiracy theories because of their vulnerable personalities and even by mental illness. Life is complex and perplexing and at times dangerous. It is not simple or safe. Research shows that feelings of anxiety make people think more conspiratorially. A conspiracy theory can provide comfort by identifying a convenient scapegoat and thereby making the world seem much more straightforward and controllable. Fantasies that remove fear and doubt can be especially attractive, even if they are unrealistic and irrational. People who believe in conspiracy theories are more likely to overestimate the likelihood of co-occurring events, to attribute intentionality where it is unlikely to exist, and to have lower levels of critical thinking. Trump has voiced many conspiracy theories: Spygate, Obamagate, Deep state, Trump Tower wiretapping, and others.

Security and Order

Social dominance orientation. People who score high on social dominance orientation prefer an established societal hierarchy. They are attracted to Trump because he promotes and normalizes the belief that high-status people and groups should be dominant over low-status people and groups. Trump’s clear distinction between groups on top of society (Whites) and those “losers” on the bottom (immigrants, Blacks, and Latinos) is a classic social dominance view. Individuals who are high on social dominance orientation are typically domineering, tough-minded, disagreeable, and relatively uncaring seekers of power. As such, these individuals have an attraction to authoritarianism.

Authoritarianism. Several traits characterize authoritarianism: deference to authority, aggression toward outgroups, a hierarchical view of the world, and the belief that the world is dangerous and threatening. Some people believe in having an authoritarian leader because they feel protected and safe by a strong, powerful presence. Trump’s authoritarian leanings are highly attractive to these supporters. Interestingly, research studies have shown the joint power of authoritarianism and social dominance orientation to predict far-right-wing voting in the United States and Europe.

How To Change Supporters’ Minds

Based on our understanding of these psychological influences, each Trump supporter must be considered individually. Not all supporters are connected to Trump in the same way or for the same psychological reasons. For each Trump supporter, an individual assessment is required as to whether it might be best to address rebelliousness and chaos; shared irrationality; fear; and/or security and order. Rational arguments aimed at each of these categories, separately or in some combination, might be most effective.

Trump supporters are tied to him based on multiple and complex psychological principles and phenomena. To continue to respond to them as if they are psychotic or evil is a grave mistake and will not lead to change. Identifying the category or categories of psychological influence for each person can be a much more productive strategy.

There are three months to go before our presidential election. Let us use this time to focus our energies on changing minds based on an understanding of psychology. Name-calling and dismissive statements will not work. Lumping all supporters together will not work. Psychology holds the answer.

https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/chaos-shared-irrationality-and-fear-experts-explain-why-supporters-are-still-clinging-to-trump-despite-his-many-failures/

[Cin]

Interesting POV

Freedom Rider: How Trump Can Steal the 2020 Election
Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist 05 Aug 2020

The election was stolen from Clinton four years ago and the even weaker 2020 candidate can expect the same fate.

“No one in the media or the Democratic Party gives a basic civics lesson or talks about how elections are really stolen.”

Republicans win the presidency when they steal votes. Democrats need a huge turnout to undo the impact of so-called “spoiled ballots,” electronic vote machine theft and the removal of Democratic voters, i.e. Black people, from the rolls. These methods will of course be used in November and ought to be the basis for concerns regarding any electoral malfeasance.

It is important to remember the real electoral threats when Donald Trump decides to have fun with America’s collective reptile brain. When he tweeted that he might postpone the election, people who should have known better immediately began responding with anger and fear. The corporate media, who love the president because he is always good copy, failed to inform the public about American law and how presidential elections are regulated.

Simply put, election day can’t be changed absent congressional action. Nor can a president stay in office if he loses. If Trump loses he will no longer be president on January 20, 2021. While the Trumpian desire to mess with our heads continues, no one in the media or the Democratic Party gives a basic civics lesson or talks about how elections are really stolen. Once again Trump is used as the perfect foil, a poster child for vote blue no matter who. His every nonsensical remark is a substitute for policy change that would motivate the high voter turn-out that democrats need.

“Trump is used as the perfect foil, a poster child for vote blue no matter who.”

This year presents a new opportunity for wrong doing. Many states are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with increased availability of voting by mail instead of at polling places. That process solves one problem but creates many new ones. In New York City mailed ballots are still being counted six weeks after a primary. Not only was there a deluge of 400,000 ballots but rules about whether postmarks were or were not needed led to disqualified votes and court challenges. Voting by mail presents the prospect of a delayed count and a possibility that the outcome may not be known until long after Election Day.

Meanwhile Republicans in states like Wisconsin are still working to remove 120,000 people from the rolls. Wisconsin is among those states that were supposed to be safe for Hillary Clinton but voter identification laws and restrictions on college student voting took thousands of votes away from her. During primaries in 2000 long lines resulted when people who requested mail-in ballots didn’t receive them. They didn’t receive them because they had been purged from the rolls. They may have been given provisional ballots but those are nearly always thrown out and are worthless. But none of these tried and true methods are discussed by the corporate media which prefers to give credence to Trump’s rants.

They don’t give attention to the possibility of Trump doing something that would be extraordinary but quite legal. He can contest the election and the electoral college results and demand a vote in the House of Representatives as the 12th amendment to the Constitution allows. Despite a Democratic majority, more state delegations are under Republican control and would give Trump the victory.

“Provisional ballots but those are nearly always thrown out and are worthless.”

Polls showing a Biden win must be ignored. The same pollsters said Hillary Clinton would prevail in 2016 but she isn’t the one in the White House. The election was stolen from her and the even weaker 2020 candidate can expect the same fate.

But Republican treachery is not solely at fault. Despite having the 2000 and 2016 presidential elections stolen from them, the Democrats won’t point out the obvious. They cynically go along because their corruption steals votes from progressives. Bernie Sanders lost 500,000 votes in the 2020 California primary through a complicated system meant to keep challengers at bay. Election integrity would put the power of the Democratic Party establishment at risk. It would also force them to stand up as a real political party and not a happy member of the duopoly who masquerade as an opposition.

Trump can steal the election but not in the ways we have been told. Election theft is an American tradition. Denying that it exists is also a tradition and 2020 may look like 2016.

https://www.blackagendareport.com/freedom-rider-how-trump-can-steal-2020-election

[BullDog]

The idea that Biden is a weaker candidate than Clinton is absurd. A lot of that is thanks to good old sexism, but Biden is polling much better than Clinton ever did at her peak.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/biden-is-polling-better-than-clinton-at-her-peak/

Also, states like Texas and Georgia were never in play for Clinton.

Also, Biden is taking votes away white working class, suburban, and older voters from Trump - largely due to his horrible handling of COVID-19, but again what makes Biden a strong candidate is because he does appeal to voters who might peel away from Trump. The idea that Biden is a weak candidate is so completely absurd. It makes me laugh and very angry at the same time.

Trump will indeed try to cheat in every way possible and we do need to take it very, very seriously. But we need to back that up with action not just doom and gloom. It is up to us to fight against it in every way possible to take our country back.

Like Katchen, I play to vote early. In the past, I have voted in person on the day of the election or voted by mail when I lived in Oregon. When I mailed in my ballot I often did it at the last minute. There is no way I would do that this year, even though I live in a state where there won't be any hijinks. Our early voting starts on October 6 and I will be mailing in my ballot as soon as possible after that to make sure it is there well ahead of time. Or I might drop it off in town if we have somewhere to do it - I need to check on that.

Things you can do:

- Support Biden and all our Democrats on the ballot - now until election day. Bashing is NOT HELPFUL. We don't need a repeat of 2016.

- Check to make sure you are registered - even if you think you are. Encourage others to do the same.

- Vote as early as possible - by mail or in person. Encourage others to do the same. Help people understand the process, give rides to the polls, etc.

- If there is a way to check your ballot after you have voted - do so. A friend of mine had his rejected in Washington state in the primaries due to a signature issue. He was able to check the status of his ballot online and when he discovered there was an issue he was able to get it straightened out.

- There is a good chance we won't know the outcome on election night. Don't panic. A lot of Democrat votes will end up being counted later. That happened in the blue wave of 2018. People need to be educated on this.

We can overcome!

[Kätzchen]

Thanks for your post Bulldog, and Cin too!

It has been less than 4 weeks and already, T---P's puppet at USPS has ousted every person with tenure and seniority so that they can upend USPS as a vital way for American's to cast their vote.

It is definitely a serious situation. An " All Hands On Deck" rally cry.
:firetruck: <<<<<~~ x5 alarm fire call for help.

I also read today that Biden's VP pick will be between two candidares. Rice or Harris.

Harris for the win, Rice to serve in Biden's cabinet?

It is such a cliff-hanger.

Also, i wonder if Stacy Abrams will possibly use her voting organization to help provide safe ways for voter's votes to be delivered, if possible?

So little time, with big BIG problems brewing every second of the day that ticks by.

[Cin]

The idea that Biden is a weak candidate is so completely absurd. It makes me laugh and very angry at the same time.


That's just the person who wrote the article's opinion. Everybody has one. I would go with laughing if I were you. Very angry is just a waste of energy. Someone's opinion doesn't make it a reality. Nor will someone's opinion decide the election.

I did find some interesting thoughts in the article. The thing about Trump contesting the election and electoral college results and demanding a vote in the House as the 12th amendment allows is one. Supposedly more state delegations are under Republican control despite a democratic majority in the House.

This might be the most important election in my lifetime. As was stated in the article "Democrats need a huge turnout to undo the impact of so-called “spoiled ballots,” electronic vote machine theft and the removal of Democratic voters, i.e. Black people, from the rolls." It is imperative that people vote anyway they can.

[BullDog]

This might be the most important election in my lifetime.

Yes, exactly that's why I tried to compile a list of things people can do. And there are others.

I have plenty of energy and I am DONE with the bashing of our Democratic Presidential nominee. Done. Done. Done.

[dark_crystal]

Thanks for your post Bulldog, and Cin too!

It has been less than 4 weeks and already, T---P's puppet at USPS has ousted every person with tenure and seniority so that they can upend USPS as a vital way for American's to cast their vote.

It is definitely a serious situation. An " All Hands On Deck" rally cry.
:firetruck: <<<<<~~ x5 alarm fire call for help.

I also read today that Biden's VP pick will be between two candidares. Rice or Harris.

Harris for the win, Rice to serve in Biden's cabinet?

It is such a cliff-hanger.

Also, i wonder if Stacy Abrams will possibly use her voting organization to help provide safe ways for voter's votes to be delivered, if possible?

So little time, with big BIG problems brewing every second of the day that ticks by.

FOX News has already cranked the Benghazi siren back up, Rice is not a good choice. It needs to be Harris!

[Kätzchen]

I dont watch Fox news at all.

But as long as its a freaking GIANT BLUE WAVE that runs that horrible person and his cronies out of town, this is what matters most to me.

[BullDog]

Joe Biden has announced his VP choice. It is Kamala Harris.

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1293280411150217219

My two picks were Susan Rice and Kamala Harris. There is less controversy surrounding Harris (although the Benghazi crap is ridiculous it is there) and she is an excellent pick. I'm happy and excited for the virtual convention next week!

[dark_crystal]

i have no idea but i would be strangely happy with that

Not in a political way, though. Like in a kinky way.

Ditto for Harris

I can't go supporting vp candidates just based on whether i would want to have a scene with them* though :superfunny:

It's like the people who voted for W bc he'd be more fun to have a beer with.

* Stacy Abrams is not in this category bc i saw her speak at my conference and now i feel like we're BFFs

Therefore i'd be all set with any of them

HARRIS!!!!!!

I AM FINALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN

[~ocean]

HARRIS!!!!!!

I AM FINALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN

ME 22222222222 YEAH !!!! I wish I could do back flips i'm so excited for the Biden & Harris ticket !! Trump must be sooo angry ~ his nightmare is comming true ~

[Kätzchen]

Joe Biden has announced his VP choice. It is Kamala Harris.

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1293280411150217219

My two picks were Susan Rice and Kamala Harris. There is less controversy surrounding Harris (although the Benghazi crap is ridiculous it is there) and she is an excellent pick. I'm happy and excited for the virtual convention next week!

Hey, that is good news! Bulldog? I know you are busy these days, but if possible, would you post a few highlights from the virtual DNC Convention? For those of us like me whp might not get to hear it or see it? Please, and thank you.

I am excited too. Hoorah for team Biden & Harris. :)

[BullDog]

Hey, that is good news! Bulldog? I know you are busy these days, but if possible, would you post a few highlights from the virtual DNC Convention? For those of us like me whp might not get to hear it or see it? Please, and thank you.

I am excited too. Hoorah for team Biden & Harris. :)

Yes Katchen will do!

I just finished watching Rachel Maddow and learned a few interesting things about Kamala Harris that I didn't know.

First, in 2011, in her first year as AG in California, she was working with other states to try to get a settlement from the big banks for the foreclosure crisis for their states. The banks offered a settlement but she turned it down and withdrew California from the negotiations because she said it was too small. She took a lot of heat for it. But then her and Beau Biden (AG of Delaware and late son of Joe Biden) and other AGs worked out a settlement that was much better. Standing firm - reminds me of Nancy Pelosi!

Also, an interesting guest on Rachel's show was a long-time public defender named Niki Solis who faced off against Harris many times. She has written an op-ed and also talked on Rachel's show about how Harris' record as California DA has not been discussed accurately and that Harris is a progressive and she wants to set the record straight even though Harris was on the opposing side of her.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2020/08/10/kamala-harris-progressive-pioneer-san-francisco-da-column/3334668001/

[Kätzchen]

Yes Katchen will do!

I just finished watching Rachel Maddow and learned a few interesting things about Kamala Harris that I didn't know.

First, in 2011, in her first year as AG in California, she was working with other states to try to get a settlement from the big banks for the foreclosure crisis for their states. The banks offered a settlement but she turned it down and withdrew California from the negotiations because she said it was too small. She took a lot of heat for it. But then her and Beau Biden (AG of Delaware and late son of Joe Biden) and other AGs worked out a settlement that was much better. Standing firm - reminds me of Nancy Pelosi!

Also, an interesting guest on Rachel's show was a long-time public defender named Niki Solis who faced off against Harris many times. She has written an op-ed and also talked on Rachel's show about how Harris' record as California DA has not been discussed accurately and that Harris is a progressive and she wants to set the record straight even though Harris was on the opposing side of her.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2020/08/10/kamala-harris-progressive-pioneer-san-francisco-da-column/3334668001/

Oh, wow, I did not know that about Kamala Harris at all and thanks so much for sharing what you learned about her.

V e r y Interesting!

So, See? Harris has a good track record on things not readily remembered or were not covered much in the news, years ago. And I like that Niki Solis can attest to her character and how Harris' record as a DA in California has not been accurately portrayed. That's a big deal, not only for Harris, but for other public servants, elected - appointed - or otherwise, who have not been given credit where it is due, etc.

So that is positive news to learn about tonight.

I thank you, as others will most likely thank you too!

I suspect until November gets here, that the battle lines are drawn and that little to no missteps will take place and that nothing but a biggo giant GREEN LIGHT beams brightly for the Democratic Party and for new beginnings under highly qualified leadership of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Indeed, excitement abounds.

:hk28:

[Orema]

HARRIS!!!!!!

I AM FINALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN

I ain’t excited, but I’m happy with this choice. Yes, this is the way to the mountain top and am hoping this helps us get there.

[Kätzchen]

Wow!! I just listened to Joe Biden and Kamala (Momma-la) Harris in their 1st appearance, live streamed via ABC news.

I got shivers, felt relief that we have two outstanding people to lead our country out of the dark situation that the GOP/TP administration has done to us all and to global partnering countries (our allies).

What a great message of introduction to listener's everywhere.


Can't wait to hear more good news!

[Orema]

Kamala Harris’s Cultural Impact

Biden’s pick for vice president comes with important advantages, but also some complexities.

By Charles M. Blow, Opinion Columist, New York Times

https://i.postimg.cc/htDw2hdP/merlin-157865982-515fa7fc-fcfa-441e-a23b-032d5e0dfb86-super-Jumbo.jpg
Senator Kamala Harris spoke with reporters after the first Democratic presidential primary debate, in Miami in 2019. Damon Winter/The New York Times

Joe Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican father and a South Asian mother, both immigrants, is both historic and inspiring.

Biden had an embarrassment of riches among his options. Any of the women among the top contenders, including other Black and Asian women, could have been an impressive choice.

But, Harris comes with the benefit of being tough as nails, a true fighter, and one who has already been tested in this cycle on the trail.

But, it’s important to assess not only the impact of her policy positions and credentials, but also the cultural resonance of her selection. She is the first Black woman in such a position on a major party ticket, one who embraces her mixed race heritage. That comes with important advantages, but also some complexities.

First, let me condition all that follows by plainly asserting this: I wish that policy was the primary driver of all our electoral decisions, and that personality, personal story and passions were minimal considerations. But wishful thinking is precisely what that is. Unfortunately, sadly, the presentation of a candidate matters to an enormous degree in our elections.

That said, one thing Harris brings to the ticket is the enthusiasm she generates, and that is no small thing. One misstep Hillary Clinton made in 2016 was the selection of Tim Kaine as her running mate. No matter how nice a person he was or how strong his résumé or how great the chemistry was between the two, his selection as her vice president plopped down like a wet rag. There was no real enthusiasm around the pick.

Harris arrives with an abundance of enthusiasm, sorely needed by Biden, especially among those who relish inclusion. She is a smart, accomplished woman who will no doubt appeal to many other women, particularly when the inevitable sexist attacks begins.

But sexism is a stubborn and insidious thing in society, and the benefit the ticket gets from her being a woman may be counterbalanced by the shadowy gender bias that helped undermine Clinton.

Harris’s mixed-race, daughter-of-immigrants, interracial (her husband is white) marriage story also has appeal, particularly in America’s big liberal cities that attract many immigrants. She is also multiracial at a time when numbers of people identifying as such are on the ascent, especially in the West, where Harris is from.

In the South, her amazing, very American story, could find some resistance from those who look askance at it, even if they never verbalize it. The southern states, with the notable exceptions of Texas and Florida, have the fewest immigrants and their residents are the most opposed to interracial marriage.

Most southern states aren’t swing states, but it seems to me that while voting matters most within states, the amorphous “feelings” people get about a candidate, positive or negative, transcend states and wash over the whole country.

As with many mixed-race people in America, Harris has made identity choices that link her to particular parts of herself, finding a way to make a oneness of twoness.

Harris chose to attend a historically black university and enter a prominent and powerful Black sorority. This positioning should place her in good stead with many Black people, particularly women. But that must be weighed against the fact that some other Black people, particularly Black men, still have real reservations over her record as a prosecutor.

This is something to keep an eye on. Although Black people as a group consistently vote overwhelmingly for Democratic presidential candidates, a gap between Black men and Black women has been growing in recent elections. According to exit polls in 2008, that gap was just one percentage point. In 2012, it was nine percentage points. In 2016 it was 12 percentage points.

Over that period, Black women’s support of the Democratic candidate held relatively steady, from 96 to 94 percent. It was the support of Black men that fell appreciably.

Harris’s record in the Senate has been exemplary, including on the issue of social justice. If she were just being judged by this chapter of her life and not the previous, this would all be a nonissue. But, of course we know, that will not be the case.

Trump believes that it is among Black men that he can shift the math a few percentage points with his focus on the economy, his own steps on criminal justice reform and his demonizing Latin American immigrants as threats to Black prosperity. Even the odd foray by Kanye West plays into this.

Furthermore, it would be a mistake to overplay a connection between the recent racial justice and police reform protesters and Harris. They may not be on the same page as she is. In some cases, they are on opposite pages. They are protesting a system that Harris was part of. Biden, with his problematic record on criminal justice, is already an issue.

And while Harris’s sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, is indeed powerful within the Black community, the Black sorority and fraternity class is not always aligned with the Black activist class.

Many civil rights leaders of the 1960s were members of historically black fraternities and sororities — the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson, Thurgood Marshall. But for decades now, including when I was in college, there has been a real tension between young activists and these Greek-letter organizations. Spike Lee illustrated this tension beautifully in his movie “School Daze.”

The Greek-lettered groups are seen by many as elitist and out of touch, not at the vanguard of the fight. (I became a member of one of these groups in college.)

Months of campaigning are still ahead of us and only the election result will truly tell us about the impact of Harris’s being chosen by Biden, but it’s wise to avoid oversimplifying from the start. Harris, like any politician and any person, is complex and her addition to the ticket will come with pros and cons, even among Democrats, even among Black people.

__________________
Charles Blow joined The Times in 1994 and became an Opinion columnist in 2008. He is also a television commentator and writes often about politics, social justice and vulnerable communities.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/opinion/kamala-harris-vice-president.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

[Kätzchen]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/14/opinions/democratic-party-vision-future-roundup/index.html

The link above is to a very interesting and thought provoking article, ideas offered by certain Democratic Party members. Several were interviewed about what they feel should happen to help the Democratic Party develop and take a stronger stand, politically.

I agree, with many views expressed within today's Op-ed.

Democrats should go big. Go big in terms of addressing social grievances and stand up for policy changes in fundamental ways, rather than incremental change.

This is a big deal, I think, for American citizens, during this Presidential election, no matter where a voter sits on the voting spectrum.

Thought I would leave the link here today, in case others might like reading this article.

[BullDog]

The Democratic Convention runs from Monday, August 17 to Thursday, August 20 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern

ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News will carry the convention from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. each night.

C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC and PBS will cover the full two hours each night.

Livestream at the official website or the Youtube channel (I believe there are also other live streams).

https://www.demconvention.com/watch-the-convention/

https://www.youtube.com/demconvention (you should be able to watch the videos later if you can't catch them live).

Schedule

Monday: Speakers include Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders, James Clyburn, Andrew Cuomo, Gretchen Whitmer, Amy Klobuchar & more

I'm really looking forward to Michelle Obama's talk, so I'm glad she's on Monday!

Tuesday: Includes Jill Biden, Bill Clinton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sally Yates, Chuck Schumer, John Kerry

Wednesday - Kamala Harris accepts Nomination for Vice President

Speakers include Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Gabby Giffords, and of course Kamala Harris

Thursday - Joe Biden accepts Nomination for President

Speakers include: Joe Biden & family, Pete Buttigieg, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Cory Booker, Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth, Andrew Yang

This will definitely be different. They have a lot of speakers and musical entertainment crammed into these 2-hour segments so I guess everything will be pretty short. Better than nothing!

[Kätzchen]

The Democratic Convention runs from Monday, August 17 to Thursday, August 20 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern

ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News will carry the convention from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. each night.

C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC and PBS will cover the full two hours each night.

Livestream at the official website or the Youtube channel (I believe there are also other live streams).

https://www.demconvention.com/watch-the-convention/

https://www.youtube.com/demconvention (you should be able to watch the videos later if you can't catch them live).

Schedule

Monday: Speakers include Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders, James Clyburn, Andrew Cuomo, Gretchen Whitmer, Amy Klobuchar & more

I'm really looking forward to Michelle Obama's talk, so I'm glad she's on Monday!

Tuesday: Includes Jill Biden, Bill Clinton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sally Yates, Chuck Schumer, John Kerry

Wednesday - Kamala Harris accepts Nomination for Vice President

Speakers include Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Gabby Giffords, and of course Kamala Harris

Thursday - Joe Biden accepts Nomination for President

Speakers include: Joe Biden & family, Pete Buttigieg, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Cory Booker, Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth, Andrew Yang

This will definitely be different. They have a lot of speakers and musical entertainment crammed into these 2-hour segments so I guess everything will be pretty short. Better than nothing!

Thanks for leaving an update and links too. I will definitely be watching and listening.

I read another interesting Op-ed over on CNN. Apparently, T---P can be arraigned on criminal charges if he refuses to vacate the WH if American's kick him out of office. There is a clause in the US Constitution, amendment 22 or 28? If Capt Chaos and his minions wont leave, then Speaker of The House, Nancy Pelosi is installed as Interim President, and then T---P will be charged with treason (...).

CNN OP-Ed: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/17/opinions/if-trump-loses-and-refuses-to-leave-callan/index.html


I dont know if anybody else might think the same way I do, but I do not like it that once a person has served as POTUS, they they seem to still be on some type of payroll for compensation the rest of their lives. I am not down with that practice. Especially since T---P will be collecting money off the backs of tax payers for the rest of his life. (Gross Injustice no. 1, among many).

But thanks for the links Bulldog!!

[BullDog]

Well, I liked day 1. I liked how they wove different types of content togeher and showed a lot from ordinary people and not just politicians.

Michelle Obama's speech was outstanding. I'm just in awe.

My second favorite was the part they did on Joe riding Amtrack every day and the connections he made with the workers and people on the train. Quintessential Joe.

[Orema]

Watching the DNC and RNC? Here’s where to find coverage.

Each of the major networks has laid out convention coverage plans, yet they admit they're wading into uncharted waters with 2020's atypical convention.

https://i.postimg.cc/0ynQrL65/Chuck-Todd-Lester-Holt-Savannah-Guthrie-2-scaled-e1597197475263-2048x1536.jpg
Chuck Todd, Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie during NBC’s coverage of the 2016 Republican National Convention. (Courtesy: NBC News)

The 2020 political conventions will be unlike anything we’ve seen before. So, what actually will we see?

Each of the major networks has laid out convention coverage plans, and yet they admit they are wading into uncharted waters with conventions that won’t look like the typical convention because of the coronavirus.

The Republican convention — moved from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida, and then back to Charlotte — has been so scaled back that it has been relocated from an arena to a convention center. More notably, President Donald Trump announced on Aug. 10 that his acceptance speech will come from either the White House or Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

The Democratic convention, too, will look different. While anchored in Milwaukee, most of it will be held virtually.

That means we aren’t going to see the normal scenes of network anchors hunkered down inside arenas with reporters spread out all over the host city. We’re also not going to see wall-to-wall coverage on the main networks, although the networks’ streaming services will have complete convention coverage.

Here’s what the major network coverage will look like:

ABC
ABC will have programming each night of the conventions from 10 to 11 p.m. Eastern. George Stephanopoulos will lead the coverage and will be joined by “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir and “ABC News Live Prime” anchor Linsey Davis.

The coverage will be rounded out by “Nightline” anchor Byron Pitts, Martha Raddatz, correspondents Jonathan Karl, Pierre Thomas, Tom Llamas, Cecilia Vega, Terry Moran, as well as FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver and a host of correspondents.

Senior congressional correspondent Mary Bruce, White House correspondent Rachel Scott, and correspondent Alex Perez will report live from the actual conventions.

CBS
CBS News will air special convention coverage on the main network from 10 to 11 p.m. Eastern each night of the conventions. “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell will lead the coverage from the CBS studio in Washington, D.C. She will be joined there by John Dickerson, Maria Elena Salinas, Jamal Simmons and Leslie Sanchez.

Convention programming also will include “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan, political correspondent Ed O’Keefe and other correspondents Major Garrett, Weijia Jiang and Nikole Killion, as well as contributors: former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, former Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus, former Hillary Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook, Democratic strategist Joel Payne and former Marco Rubio campaign manager Terry Sullivan.

NBC and MSNBC
NBC News will air a special report each night of the conventions from 10 to 11 p.m. Eastern. Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie will anchor from the NBC News headquarters in New York, while Chuck Todd and Andrea Mitchell will be stationed at the network’s Washington bureau.

For more extensive coverage, MSNBC will be live each night from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Eastern. That includes special editions of Joy Reid’s 7 p.m. show and Chris Hayes’ 8 p.m. show. Then Reid will join Rachel Maddow and Nicolle Wallace at 9 p.m. from the New York studios. Brian Williams will take over at 11 p.m. and Ari Melber at 1 a.m. Reporters Hallie Jackson, Peter Alexander, Kristen Welker, Mike Memoli, Ali Vitali, Shaquille Brewster, Geoff Bennett, Vaughn Hillyard and Monica Alba will be stationed at various locations.

Fox News
Fox News will kick off its convention coverage on Sunday at 10 p.m. Eastern with a special “Democracy 2020: Convention Kickoff.” Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will host.

Baier and MacCallum also will co-anchor convention coverage, which, like the networks, will air nightly at 10 p.m. They will be joined by political analyst Brit Hume, “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace, “The Daily Briefing’s” Dana Perino, “The Five’s” Juan Williams and contributors Donna Brazile, Karl Rove and Katie Pavlich.

For the convention weeks, Laura Ingraham’s show will move to 11 p.m. and Shannon Bream’s show will air at midnight.

CNN
CNN will have special convention coverage from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. each day of both the DNC (Aug. 17-20) and RNC (Aug. 24-27). The special coverage will be hosted by Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper, Dana Bash, and John King, with Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon joining the conversation from midnight to 2 a.m. CNN will have reporters at both locations of the conventions.

Commentators for the DNC will include Van Jones, Jennifer Granholm, Andrew Yang, and Scott Jennings. Commentators for the RNC will include Granholm, Rick Santorum, David Urban and Amanda Carpenter.

In addition, Daniel Dale will contribute real-time fact-checking and Dr. Sanjay Gupta will provide any updates regarding the coronavirus.

PBS
Most PBS stations will have special coverage from 8 to 11 p.m. Eastern. “PBS NewsHour” anchor Judy Woodruff will anchor convention coverage from PBS’s studio in Arlington, Virginia. Coverage also will include reports and commentary from senior national correspondent Amna Nawaz, correspondent Lisa Desjardins and White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor.

Guests will include “Cook Political Report” national editor Amy Walter, syndicated columnist Mark Shields, New York Times columnist David Brooks, Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post national political reporter and moderator of PBS’s “Washington Week” Robert Costa, “American Greatness” editor Chris Buskirk, and former Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter.

https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2020/watching-the-dnc-and-rnc-heres-where-to-find-coverage/

[Kätzchen]

kGryCDZLvGg

Former First Lady Michelle Obama and her message to everyone, from last night's DNC (day 1).

Very powerful words of advice and a huge show of concern for all. So thankful for the Obamas.

[homoe]

Jill Biden, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter are among Tuesday’s Democratic National Convention headliners.

NEW YORK (AP) — A day after Michelle Obama’s passion wowed Democrats, Joe Biden is drawing on a collection of his party’s most experienced leaders at the Democratic National Convention to underscore what he calls a global
leadership deficit that threatens U.S. national security.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democratic-national-convention-2020-tuesday_n_5f3c45acc5b6d8a9173f3338hip deficit that threatens U.S. national security.

[homoe]

26XPaQ3YpK4





AMERICA: ENDGAME

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

[theoddz]

Ol' Randy Rainbow outshines himself again!! :thumbsup:

0RbKStEFNT8

Gotta smile. :formalbow::rose:

~Theo~ :bouquet:

[BullDog]

I loved the state roll call last night and seeing the diversity of people and geography of our country. Shout out to New Mexico for having one of the best backdrops!

Beautiful speech by Jill Biden last night. She will be an incredible first lady.

I can't wait for Kamala Harris tonight as she accepts the nomination for Vice President!

Chump better take a long nap because tonight he is going to be ripped to shreds by Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Elizabeth Warren.

And then when Kamala Harris is through there she is also on the Senate Homeland Security Committee questioning Postmaster General DeJoy on Friday.

[Kätzchen]

2xPKE0koJtc


For easy reference, here is tonight's live stream from the Democratic National Convention 2020 home page over at YouTube.

Obama is speaking, at the moment.

Not sure if Kamala Harris has taken the stage yet, but I think it won't be long before she does.

But, wow. Obama's message comes from a place of genuine concern and care and to help people truly understand what is at stake. Like many, I am so grateful for Obama's statesmanship, his keen sense of duty and his conscience. Long live the Obamas. Our country is so blessed by their continued presence and how they advocate for the very best for American's, near and far.

[~ocean]

2xPKE0koJtc


For easy reference, here is tonight's live stream from the Democratic National Convention 2020 home page over at YouTube.

Obama is speaking, at the moment.

Not sure if Kamala Harris has taken the stage yet, but I think it won't be long before she does.

But, wow. Obama's message comes from a place of genuine concern and care and to help people truly understand what is at stake. Like many, I am so grateful for Obama's statesmanship, his keen sense of duty and his conscience. Long live the Obamas. Our country is so blessed by their continued presence and how they advocate for the very best for American's, near and far.


I couldn't say it better than u did Katzchen good post !!

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Kamala Harris did a good job of introducing herself to the nation. I wanted to hear more about her and Joe's platform, but maybe that's something that's better left to Joe. She made several strong points, and I was glad I got to hear her.

But Wow! Barrack Obama's speech was wonderful. He didn't pull any punches when talking about Chump. I was reminded how smart and thoughtful Obama is. He made a heartfelt and strong appeal to people to vote. I miss him so much.

[Orema]

Harris' chief of staff Karine Jean-Pierre on how a Biden win could deliver LGBTQ gains

Jean-Pierre, the first Black person and first out lesbian to serve as a vice presidential chief of staff, says she’s “looking forward” to the Harris-Mike Pence debate in October.

https://i.postimg.cc/ydDSLx6v/200818-karine-jean-pierre-ew-107p-583a695e2ea2031c16074253df90f6cf-fit-2000w.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
Karine Jean-Pierre on Jan. 17, 2020, in New York.Gary Gershoff / Getty Images file

Aug. 19, 2020, 10:43 AM PDT
By Tim Fitzsimons
Karine Jean-Pierre, senior adviser to the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign, has a clear picture in her mind of the kind of impact the two could have on LGTBQ equality if they were to win the election.

“The sun was setting and the lights got much more prominent,” Jean-Pierre said, thinking back to late June 2015, when she watched the White House lit in rainbow colors to mark the historic Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. “People had signs and people were crying, and there was just so much joy.”

“I remember thinking how proud I was of this administration, that I had worked for that,” Jean-Pierre, an Obama campaign and former White House staffer, said. “It really brought together, in that one moment, how important LGBTQ rights were and how much that administration fought for our rights.”

Come November, she hopes a win for the Biden-Harris campaign will lay the groundwork for similar moments for LGBTQ people like herself.

Jean-Pierre joined the Biden campaign in May and began serving as Harris' chief of staff last week.

A seasoned political adviser who worked her way from campaign staffer to the White House, she is the first Black person and first out lesbian to serve in this role.

She said she “couldn’t be prouder” to be working for the Biden-Harris campaign.

An alumna of the campaigns of John Edwards, Martin O’Malley and Barack Obama, Jean-Pierre is also an author and a lecturer at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

She said that, if elected, Biden and Harris would “continue the work that Joe Biden and Obama did” by supporting LGBTQ rights and “continuing to put forth policy that protects the community.”

Jean-Pierre said the contrast between the Trump administration and the Biden-Harris campaign on LGBTQ issues will be on display during the Oct. 7 vice presidential debate. Harris, a former prosecutor, has made a name for herself as a talented cross-examiner since becoming a U.S. senator in 2017.

“She will be ready,” she said. “If I were Mike Pence, I’d be worried!”

Jean-Pierre said the excitement surrounding Harris joining the Biden campaign has been particularly meaningful for her as a mother.

"What's amazing about it, being a Black woman myself with a daughter, now she’s able to look at the TV and say, ‘Oh, wow, when we win in November, the vice president is someone who looks like me, is someone who I can aspire to be one day, to help run the country one day,’” she said.

“Now we have this ticket that’s diverse, that meets the moment, that’s a winning ticket, and that's also making history. You can feel the energy.”

___________________
It’s a fluff piece, but still worth posting.

[homoe]

~~

...:goodpost:....

[homoe]

Q221px7E65I



Whenever I see (Karine Jean-Pierre) her I remember her rushing to protect Harris...

[Orema]

Q221px7E65I



Whenever I see (Karine Jean-Pierre) her I remember her rushing to protect Harris...

A frightening and interesting moment. And her husband wasn't having it.

[BullDog]

I thought the whole night was outstanding, culminating in the big speeches by President Obama and Kamala Harris.

Obama definitely raised the alarm: if we don't act we could lose democracy itself. We all know he is not prone to over-exaggeration or hyperbole.

Harris was very warm and personal in addition to looking very capable and ready. She is outstanding.

My biggest wish for the convention was to stress the important of voting, and especially early voting. They have delivered, especially the Obamas. Now hopefully the word goes out to those not watching the convention - they are the ones who need it the most.

[~ocean]

(((((((((((( JOE BIDEN )))))))))))))) need I say more !

[Kätzchen]

I'm listening to Joe Biden (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j578HetKqtQ), right now, on the live feed over on the DNC page at YouTube.

Not sure if anybody would share the same sentiment as I, but as I listen to Joe Biden tonight, he's pretty centered, presents clear appeals to the listening audience, and he just mentioned my favorite: "Clear, unvarnished truth." Ha.

But I find myself nodding in agreement and feel confident that Biden's administration will be one of the most watched. Biden is more than competent and I hope the Biden/Harris ticket is what crosses the finish line, come November.

We have yet to get our usual mail-in ballots yet. I forget when these types of serious ballots show up in the mail, but if I don't see mine by the second week of September (right after Labor Day), I plan to go pick up a ballot at my county Democratic Office. Either way, the day I get it, is the day I will vote and make sure my ballot is error free, signed and enclosed in the secrecy envelope, and hand it right back to a county Democratic staffer, asap.

I'm gonna leave my post and continue listening to Joe Biden's acceptance speech, which is in progress.

[homoe]

A federal judge has dismissed President Trump's latest attempt to block a subpoena for his tax records from the district attorney of Manhattan.

Thursday's ruling by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero came in response to a filing by the president's personal attorneys that sought to prevent Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance from obtaining eight years of his tax records. The president's legal team has argued that the subpoena to Trump's accounting firm, Mazars USA, is "overbroad."

In his ruling, the judge said Trump's legal team failed to show the subpoena was issued in "bad faith." Marrero wrote, "Justice requires an end to this controversy."

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/20/904298421/judge-dismisses-latest-effort-to-keep-trumps-tax-records-from-manhattan-d-a

[BullDog]

Joe Biden's speech was outstanding. He was strong, passionate, and clear. It met the moment we are in and he rose to the occasion big time.

Overall, I think the Democratic Convention was great, especially since this was the first-ever virtual convention.

Now everyone needs to get out and vote!!!

[~ocean]

Joe Biden's speech was outstanding. He was strong, passionate, and clear. It met the moment we are in and he rose to the occasion big time.

Overall, I think the Democratic Convention was great, especially since this was the first-ever virtual convention.

Now everyone needs to get out and vote!!!

I completely agree with your post and yes the DNC did it with class. again this is the way Biden handles things ~ strong and quiet. next weeks RNC is going to be a shit show of anger and immature accusations. ** looks around for top HOLLYWOOD movie writers **lolol entitled "YOUR FIRED"

[homoe]

I completely agree with your post and yes the DNC did it with class. again this is the way Biden handles things ~ strong and quiet. next weeks RNC is going to be a shit show of anger and immature accusations. ** looks around for top HOLLYWOOD movie writers **lolol entitled "YOUR FIRED"

AND perhaps Clint Eastwood will make a return appearance and talk to a chair!

[~ocean]

AND perhaps Clint Eastwood will make a return appearance and talk to a chair!

lolololol homoe good one !!

[Orema]

All the Republicans Who Have Decided Not to Support Trump

Numerous top G.O.P. officials have said publicly or privately that they will not be backing the president’s re-election. Here’s a look at where they stand.

By Isabella Grullón Paz and Jonathan Martin

https://i.postimg.cc/5y6jXxxF/merlin-173349519-3474a08a-3944-4656-b4e0-4c7390d7c0d8-super-Jumbo.jpg
Senator Mitt Romney, who has long been critical of President Trump, will not vote for him, according to people familiar with his thinking. Credit...Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times

As November draws nearer, a few current and former Republican officials have begun to break ranks with the rest of their party, saying in public and private conversations that they will not support President Trump in his re-election. Some have even said that they will be voting for his Democratic opponent, Joseph R. Biden Jr.

As Mr. Trump’s political standing has slipped, fueled by his failures in handling the coronavirus pandemic and by the economic recession, some Republicans have found it easier to publicly renounce their backing.

Here is a running list of those who have said they will not support Mr. Trump in the fall, those who have gone a step further and said they’ll vote for Mr. Biden, and those who have hinted they may not back the president.

Will not support Trump’s re-election

Former President George W. Bush: Although he has not spoken about whom he will vote for in November, people familiar with Mr. Bush’s thinking have said it won’t be Mr. Trump. Mr. Bush did not endorse him in 2016.

Senator Mitt Romney of Utah: Mr. Romney has long been critical of Mr. Trump, and was the only Republican senator to vote to convict him during his impeachment trial. Mr. Romney is still mulling over whom he will vote for in November — he opted for his wife, Ann, four years ago — but he is said to be sure it won’t be the president.

John Bolton, the former national security adviser: As he rolled out his recently published book, “The Room Where It Happened,” Mr. Bolton said in multiple interviews that he would not vote for Mr. Trump in November. He added that he would write in the name of a conservative Republican, but that he was not sure which one.

Jeff Flake, the former senator from Arizona: Mr. Flake said in an interview with The Washington Post: “This won’t be the first time I’ve voted for a Democrat — though not for president.” He added: “Last time I voted for a third-party candidate. But I will not vote for Donald Trump.”

Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont: Mr. Scott has said multiple times this summer that he will not be voting for the president, a position that he also took in 2016. He says he has not yet decided whether or not he will vote for Mr. Biden.

William H. McRaven, a retired four-star Navy admiral: Several Republican admirals and generals have publicly announced they will not support the president. In an interview with The New York Times, Admiral McRaven, who directed the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, said, “This fall, it’s time for new leadership in this country — Republican, Democrat or independent.”

He added, “President Trump has shown he doesn’t have the qualities necessary to be a good commander in chief.”

Cindy McCain, the widow of Senator John McCain: During the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Ms. McCain appeared in a video and recounted her husband’s relationship with Mr. Biden. Although she did not endorse Mr. Biden in the video, Ms. McCain has expressed frustration with the direction of the Republican Party under Mr. Trump, whose attacks on Mr. McCain continued after the senator’s death.

Planning to vote for Biden, or say they are leaning that way

https://i.postimg.cc/bwsX4smn/17nottrump-repubs03-super-Jumbo.jpg
Former Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, a Republican, was given a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention to make the case for Joseph R. Biden Jr. Credit...Scott Olson/Getty Images

John Kasich, the former governor of Ohio: After competing against Mr. Trump in the 2016 Republican primary, Mr. Kasich has never really thrown his support behind the president. But this week, he will be speaking at the Democratic National Convention and making the case for Mr. Biden.

“I’ve known Joe,” Mr. Kasich said on CNN recently. “I’ve known him for 30 years. I know the kind of guy he is.”

Colin Powell, the former secretary of state: Mr. Powell announced in June that he would vote for Mr. Biden. He said that Mr. Trump “lies about things” and that Republicans in Congress would not hold him accountable. Mr. Powell added that he was close to Mr. Biden politically and socially and had worked with him for more than 35 years. On Tuesday night, he gave a message of support to Mr. Biden at the Democratic convention.

Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security: Mr. Taylor endorsed Mr. Biden, saying that the president was “actively doing damage to our security” and that what he had witnessed Mr. Trump do as chief executive “was terrifying.” Mr. Taylor is the most senior former member of the administration to openly endorse Mr. Biden.

Christine Whitman, a former governor of New Jersey: Ms. Whitman was one of the few Republicans speaking at the Democratic National Convention. In October, Ms. Whitman told the television host Larry King that she would vote for Mr. Biden if he were the nominee, calling him the Democrats’ “best chance at winning in 2020.”

Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Quibi: A former senior official for both of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns and a former Republican candidate for governor of California, Ms. Whitman (no relation to Christine Whitman) also spoke at the Democratic Convention. She supported Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Susan Molinari, a former congresswoman from New York: Ms. Molinari spoke at the convention, as well. A former lobbyist for Google, she was on the Trump administration’s transition contributor list, but now appears to be supporting Mr. Biden.

Carly Fiorina, a 2016 presidential candidate: Ms. Fiorina has said she will support Mr. Biden because he is “a person of humility and empathy and character.”

Representative Francis Rooney of Florida: Mr. Rooney has said he was considering supporting Mr. Biden partly because Mr. Trump was “driving us all crazy” and because the president’s handling of the coronavirus led to a death toll that “didn’t have to happen.” Mr. Rooney’s hesitation about Mr. Biden was his worry that left-wing Democrats might pull the former vice president away from the moderate political mainstream. But he does think Mr. Biden can win.

“A lot of people that voted for President Trump did so because they did not like Hillary Clinton,” Mr. Rooney said. “I don’t see that happening with Joe Biden — how can you not like Joe Biden?”

Charlie Dent, a former congressman from Pennsylvania: Mr. Dent endorsed Mr. Biden on CNN, saying “this isn’t about right or left — for me, it’s about right and wrong.”

More than 70 top Republican national security officials: Hours before Mr. Biden accepted the Democratic nomination, the officials released a letter stating that they would be voting for Mr. Biden in November and that Mr. Trump was “unfit to lead.” Among the signatories were former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel; Michael Hayden, the former C.I.A. and N.S.A. director; John Negroponte, the former director of national intelligence; and William Webster, the former director of the C.I.A. and the F.B.I.

Have expressed reluctance or misgivings, but haven’t openly dropped their backing

https://i.postimg.cc/m2P8sCGT/17nottrump-repubs-02-super-Jumbo.jpg
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has said that she’s grappling with whether to support Mr. Trump in November.Credit...Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times

Paul Ryan and John Boehner, the former speakers of the House: Both have expressed their dislike of the president, but have not said whom they will support in November.

John Kelly, a former chief of staff to the president: Mr. Kelly has not said whom he plans to vote for, but did say he wished “we had some additional choices.”

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska: She has said that she’s grappling with whether to support Mr. Trump in November. She told reporters on Capitol Hill in June: “I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time.”

She said: “I think right now, as we are all struggling to find ways to express the words that need to be expressed appropriately, questions about who I’m going to vote for or not going to vote for, I think, are distracting at the moment. I know people might think that’s a dodge, but I think there are important conversations that we need to have as an American people among ourselves about where we are right now.”

Mark Sanford, a former congressman and governor of South Carolina: Mr. Sanford briefly challenged the president in this cycle’s Republican primary, and said last year that he would support Mr. Trump if the president won the nomination (which was never in doubt).

That has since changed.

“He’s treading on very thin ice,” Mr. Sanford said in June, worrying that the president is threatening the stability of the country.

Dan Coats, a former senator from Indiana: Mr. Coats, who used to be Mr. Trump’s director of intelligence, is worried about the administration’s effects on the intelligence community. He hasn’t said whom he will support. Kevin Kellems, a longtime adviser to Mr. Coats, said that “ultimately he remains a loyal Republican, but he believes the American people will decide on Nov. 3.”

Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.

https://www.nytimes.com/article/republicans-voting-for-biden-not-trump.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

[homoe]

~~
..:goodpost:...

Thank you for posting that Orema. Somehow I'd missed that article.

I can't help but notice Susan Collins name doesn't appear in any of the categories which leads me to believe she has her nose shoved up Trump's behind as usual!

[homoe]

Maine Sen. Susan Collins (R) trails her Democratic challenger — state Rep. Sara Gideon — by 8 points in the latest poll from the Bangor Daily News.

Collins is one of a handful of GOP senators whose race has been labeled a "toss up" by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

In the poll, when asked who was their first choice in November's Senate election, 43 percent of respondents said Gideon, while 35 percent said Collins. Gideon's lead was greater among the registered voters surveyed.

Collins, who has served as one of Maine's senators since 1997, has seen her positivity ratings plummet, most notably among Democrats and independents.

Sixty percent of independents polled said their opinion of Collins had negatively shifted in the past four years, and 80 percent of Democrats said the same. She even struggled within her own party, as 34 percent of Republicans polled said they view Collins more negatively than they did four years ago; 31 percent said they view Collins more positively now than they did four years ago, the start of President Trump's presidency.

[Cin]

Jacob Blake, 29, unarmed, shot in the back 7 times by police while his 3 young sons were in the car. WTF!

ep21dQa1eSw

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-jacob-blake-kids-were-in-the-car-during-shooting-attorney-says-20200824-dhe2o5ocyfdfnplrjkmx5vuxsu-story.html

[Cin]

Jacob Blake, 29, unarmed, shot in the back 7 times by police while his 3 young sons were in the car. WTF!

ep21dQa1eSw

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-jacob-blake-kids-were-in-the-car-during-shooting-attorney-says-20200824-dhe2o5ocyfdfnplrjkmx5vuxsu-story.html

I apologize for this. I thought I was posting in the breaking news thread. Now it's too late to move it. It makes no sense here but I can't do anything about it. I am sorry.

[Kätzchen]

I apologize for this. I thought I was posting in the breaking news thread. Now it's too late to move it. It makes no sense here but I can't do anything about it. I am sorry.

Gun culture, and people of color being killed every day in America by gun toting haters is more than a worthy subject of discussion. I personally think Biden and Harris should actually cover this issue.

[Cin]

Gun culture, and people of color being killed every day in America by gun toting haters is more than a worthy subject of discussion. I personally think Biden and Harris should actually cover this issue.

Excellent point.

[~ocean]

on the front page on Yahoo there's a picture of Trump w/ his mouth open telling lies ~ well I wish I could just grab a water gun and "Shoot The Clown In The Mouth " lol ~ I would bust that orange balloon head ~

[homoe]

Jacob Blake, 29, unarmed, shot in the back 7 times by police while his 3 young sons were in the car. WTF!

ep21dQa1eSw

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-jacob-blake-kids-were-in-the-car-during-shooting-attorney-says-20200824-dhe2o5ocyfdfnplrjkmx5vuxsu-story.html

If I'm not mistaken this shooting took place in Kenosha Wisconsin. Jesus what are these cops thinking!

[BullDog]

Wow talk about a shit show lie fest. Yes, I watched the first night of the Republican convention - I don't blame anyone who didn't.

Years ago - I believe it was during George Bush Sr - I committed myself to watching at least one night of the Republican Convention and reading their platform each election and have done it since Bush Sr. I do this to remind myself just how horrible the Republican party is and what they stand for. Trump may have taken things to a whole new level, but as far as I am concerned it has been a truly horrible party since at least Nixon.

Well, I don't even have to bother to read the platform because the committee voted not to have a new platform and just pledge allegiance to Trump. Unbelievable.

I thought it was going to be amateur hour since they kept changing everything until the last minue and with Trump micromanaging everything, but on that front it was okay. However, it was mainly speeches from a podium (taped but made to look live) from a federal building - which they shouldn't be doing.

The lying was off the charts. You would think Trump was this very kind, caring man who has saved us all from COVID-19 and Biden and all Democrats are evil socialists who are destoying, rioting and looting - and wll make it even worse if Biden is elected.

You would also think the Republican party is quite diverse made up of lots of black people, latinos, asians, etc.

The whole thing was bizarre and from another planet. They lied about everythig - from small things to major things.

Just an utter shit show. I don't plan to watch anymore of it.

[Kätzchen]

*s n i p*

Well, I don't even have to bother to read the platform because the committee voted not to have a new platform and just pledge allegiance to Trump. Unbelievable.

This line of yours Bulldog? Isn't that the scariest of all? Hitler-esque, if you ask me.

I am sure the whole world is 'watching' and if American's let the toddler in the WH get away with this, then there will never be a way to recover (imo).

Thanks for keeping us posted. I appreciate it, a lot.

[C0LLETTE]

The Republican Convention

Fear-mongering, demagoguery, nightmare scenarios, loathing...all that was missing was Jew-baiting and you'd have a Nuremberg Rally ... but that might come tonight.

How despicable!

[dark_crystal]

Maine Sen. Susan Collins (R) trails her Democratic challenger — state Rep. Sara Gideon — by 8 points in the latest poll from the Bangor Daily News.


ok THAT'S who Sara Gideon is. I keep seeing her name on one of my recurring donations and thinking "i am sure i set that up for a good reason, but"

:superfunny:

[dark_crystal]

Wow talk about a shit show lie fest. Yes, I watched the first night of the Republican convention - I don't blame anyone who didn't.

Mr. Jenny turned it off because i kept yelling at the screen.

The lying and gaslighting was bad enough, but what i could not stomach was the way in which SOMEHOW, every sentence uttered by every single speaker had a racist dog whistle in it!

Like they must have had a specialist working on it. Just stunning

[C0LLETTE]

Seems Melania has the toughest Convention job of all: trying to humanize Donald Trump.

BTW Trump has had one major success. He's managed to make the phrase "FDA Approved", suspect.

[BullDog]

Mr. Jenny turned it off because i kept yelling at the screen.

The lying and gaslighting was bad enough, but what i could not stomach was the way in which SOMEHOW, every sentence uttered by every single speaker had a racist dog whistle in it!

Like they must have had a specialist working on it. Just stunning

Yes, it was awful. What about the racist white trash McCloskeys? OMG. Unreal. "What happened to us could happen to any of you" - yeah if you brandish a gun at people you can be charged with a crime. According to Claire McCaskill they sue everyone and once destroyed bee hives that were near their property line that a Jewish synagogue had to grow honey for Rosh Hashanah. The children wept when they heard.

Don Jr. & his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle both were seriously deranged and looked drugged out. I hear cocaine was trending on Twitter.

The most mind-boggling of the lies to me was Trump's coronavirus. In their alternate universe Trump took decisive action and provided the much needed supplies. What???? Who can believe this gas lighting.

I don't think most people are worried about cities being overrun by mobs or that Joe Biden and the Democrats are going to demolish the suburbs. That seems to be the only argument they have against Biden so far at the convention.

I don't see how this could appeal to anyone other than those who were already planning to vote for Trump. I sure hope I'm right.

[Kätzchen]

Yes, it was awful. What about the racist white trash McCloskeys? OMG. Unreal. "What happened to us could happen to any of you" - yeah if you brandish a gun at people you can be charged with a crime. According to Claire McCaskill they sue everyone and once destroyed bee hives that were near their property line that a Jewish synagogue had to grow honey for Rosh Hashanah. The children wept when they heard.

Don Jr. & his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle both were seriously deranged and looked drugged out. I hear cocaine was trending on Twitter.

The most mind-boggling of the lies to me was Trump's coronavirus. In their alternate universe Trump took decisive action and provided the much needed supplies. What???? Who can believe this gas lighting.

I don't think most people are worried about cities being overrun by mobs or that Joe Biden and the Democrats are going to demolish the suburbs. That seems to be the only argument they have against Biden so far at the convention.

I don't see how this could appeal to anyone other than those who were already planning to vote for Trump. I sure hope I'm right.

Speaking of Gas Lighting, Iran's government issued an warrant for TP's arrest.

Iran is not fooled by what the GOP/TP admin have done to an Obama era treaty between the US & Iran.

Iran issued the warrant for TP's arrest is in conjunction with the help of Interpol agency.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iran-issues-arrest-warrant-trump-requests-interpol-s-help-n1232381

[dark_crystal]

I don't think most people are worried about cities being overrun by mobs or that Joe Biden and the Democrats are going to demolish the suburbs. That seems to be the only argument they have against Biden so far at the convention.

Did you catch Trymaine Lee on MSNBC last night? He explained that "suburbs" is a dogwhistle for white people. The "mobs" are the same people that sent them to the suburbs in their White Flight.

[C0LLETTE]

Strange thing, where I live the inner cities are where "white" people live. No one else can afford to live there. Everyone else lives in the "suburbs".

[BullDog]

Strange thing, where I live the inner cities are where "white" people live. No one else can afford to live there. Everyone else lives in the "suburbs".

Yeah there is a lot of gentrification that has happened in US cities too. Suburbs are definitely not all white. Some people of color live there by choice and others had to move when it got too expensive to live in the city - along with many white people.

When the McCloskeys talked about "if it can happen to us it can happen to anyone" I do believe they were talking about white neighborhoods being "invaded." Pure racism.

Trump is also trying to appeal to white suburban women since they are a significant voting block but I don't think his tactics are very effective.

Is "cancel culture" a widely-known phrase? Do they use it on FOX? Just wondering since I only vaguely know what it means and they used it over and over again last night.

[C0LLETTE]

You don't agree with me, you're gone... cancel culture

[dark_crystal]

Yeah there is a lot of gentrification that has happened in US cities too. Suburbs are definitely not all white. Some people of color live there by choice and others had to move when it got too expensive to live in the city - along with many white people.

When the McCloskeys talked about "if it can happen to us it can happen to anyone" I do believe they were talking about white neighborhoods being "invaded." Pure racism.

Trump is also trying to appeal to white suburban women since they are a significant voting block but I don't think his tactics are very effective.

Is "cancel culture" a widely-known phrase? Do they use it on FOX? Just wondering since I only vaguely know what it means and they used it over and over again last night.

Cancel culture means you might face consequences for using hate speech, being a perv, making racist jokes

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Is "cancel culture" a widely-known phrase? Do they use it on FOX? Just wondering since I only vaguely know what it means and they used it over and over again last night.

"Cancel culture", the act of publicly shaming someone and actively "outing" someone's activities/beliefs/etc. to their employer/families/friends in an attempt to get them fired/divorced/unfriended is widely-known among certain groups of people - mainly internet trolls, IMO. I think it's becoming more widely known, because I heard a short story about it on _Marketplace_ on NPR/APM. I don't know if they use it on FOX, because I don't watch that POS propaganda generator.

[BullDog]

Thanks everyone. Yes, I have heard it crop up more lately. I just wonder if the average Republican would be familar with it. Maybe they are.

I think it's a dumb term and they just want to be racist, homophobic, xenophobic, sexist, etc. without any consequences and they accuse us of the very things they do - trying to control people, our beliefs & thoughts, etc.

[C0LLETTE]

Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the families Mustelidae, and Mephitidae. Badgers are a polyphyletic grouping, and are not a natural taxonomic grouping: badgers are united by their squat bodies, adapted for fossorial activity. All belong to the caniform suborder of carnivoran mammals. Wikipedia

Huh? Good to know.

[~ocean]

Cissie Graham is trying to hang a HALO over Trumps head ~ not mentioning that Trump was such a good friend of Epstien's she's an idiot .

[Cin]

Justin Beach, a Toronto-based freelance writer and political activist on cancel culture:

"Cancel culture has been around forever and conservatives used to love it. How many people lost their jobs or were denied employment because they were gay? How many people were disowned by their parents because they were gay or trans or because they chose a partner who was a different race, ethnicity or religion? How many people saw their careers ruined because of some (according to puritanical religious groups) moral failing, or because Joseph McCarthy decided they were commies. Conservatives LOVE cancel culture, they’re just pissed because morality has shifted and they don’t get to decide who gets canceled anymore. If you need proof just look at all the individuals and groups they’ve tried and failed to cancel in recent years - from Dolly Parton, Collin Kaepernick and the Dixie Chicks to Nike, the NFL, Disney and Nascar."

[C0LLETTE]

Odd thing: Melania, in referring to her "truth-telling " husband, forgot to mention all those times he cheated on her and lied about it.

Or maybe, each time he cheated, he came home and said "Honey, I just cheated on you." and that made him a "truth-teller" and it was all ok.

Just goes to show you: If you lie and cheat often enough, it gets hard to keep track.

If I was Melania, I'd be cheating like crazy. I mean, why not.

[homoe]

August 26, 2020, 5:04 AM PDT....


While the president is trailing Biden in key swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, polling appears to be showing a tightening in those states also.


https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/trump-trailing-biden-in-key-swing-states-poll-90657349597

[C0LLETTE]

Is it any surprise that "folks" are being shit-scared if they are predisposed to being shit scared? To Trump this is 20 cans of Red Bull downed in 30 seconds.

Time for the Democratic party and local communities to step up forcefully, use their connections in the affected communities to marshal and organize the protests and use their own "vigilantes" to stop the vandalism. The grievances are very real but the response can be so very self defeating...time to harness response, not to deny grievance but to turn the anger into a productive force.

And Biden HAS to be up front on this...not just seen to be shaking his head in sad dismay.

Advice from a nice older white woman in Canada who thinks the police are there to help her cross the street.

[BullDog]

Justin Beach, a Toronto-based freelance writer and political activist on cancel culture:

"Cancel culture has been around forever and conservatives used to love it. How many people lost their jobs or were denied employment because they were gay? How many people were disowned by their parents because they were gay or trans or because they chose a partner who was a different race, ethnicity or religion? How many people saw their careers ruined because of some (according to puritanical religious groups) moral failing, or because Joseph McCarthy decided they were commies. Conservatives LOVE cancel culture, they’re just pissed because morality has shifted and they don’t get to decide who gets canceled anymore. If you need proof just look at all the individuals and groups they’ve tried and failed to cancel in recent years - from Dolly Parton, Collin Kaepernick and the Dixie Chicks to Nike, the NFL, Disney and Nascar."

Yes, exactly. As I said earlier, they accuse us of what they do and have done for a very long time. The Republican party is not the party of freedom. It is the party of intolerance.

[~ocean]

****** wait for the debate between Donny Dolly Hands and Biden *****
then you will see Biden's strength ~ it is NOT over by far. the fact that all trump has going for him is his ignorant children proves who he really is. There is no sense for Biden to turn the convention into a verbal bashing ~ that's Trump's style. Biden knows how to deal with this bully. Silence is GOLDEN. just my personal opinion. :)))

[BullDog]

****** wait for the debate between Donny Dolly Hands and Biden *****
then you will see Biden's strength ~ it is NOT over by far. the fact that all trump has going for him is his ignorant children proves who he really is. There is no sense for Biden to turn the convention into a verbal bashing ~ that's Trump's style. Biden knows how to deal with this bully. Silence is GOLDEN. just my personal opinion. :)))

i completely agree wih you! I can't wait to see them side by side so that people can see the stark difference between the two men and candidates. I think Biden will project strength and confidence and eat Trump for lunch. He will stay focused while Trump will be trying to play games and distract Biden but Joe won't fall for it.

Jill Biden was on MSNBC on the night befoe Biden gave his big speech. One thing she said that stood out to me is that he is feeling confident and will be a very confident president.

[CherylNYC]

i completely agree wih you! I can't wait to see them side by side so that people can see the stark difference between the two men and candidates. I think Biden will project strength and confidence and eat Trump for lunch. He will stay focused while Trump will be trying to play games and distract Biden but Joe won't fall for it.

Jill Biden was on MSNBC on the night befoe Biden gave his big speech. One thing she said that stood out to me is that he is feeling confident and will be a very confident president.

I hope you're right! I thought Hilary Clinton did an excellent job in her debates with that MF, and that the way he loomed and tried to physically intimidate her must have looked super creepy to all the women voters. Not to mention that he sounded exactly like the idiot that he is and was. I assumed she had it in the bag....

[homoe]

hsTxzn3SHQk




Thanks to Stephen Colbert Late Show....

[BullDog]

I hope you're right! I thought Hilary Clinton did an excellent job in her debates with that MF, and that the way he loomed and tried to physically intimidate her must have looked super creepy to all the women voters. Not to mention that he sounded exactly like the idiot that he is and was. I assumed she had it in the bag....

I completely understand. I felt the exact same way you did about Clinton and Trump.

There are several things this time that are different. Mainly, people now have seen Trump's job performance and Biden doesn't have to deal with the massive and disgusting sexism that Clinton did along with the 40-year hit job on her.

I am confident but not taking anything for granted. I will be voting as early as possible - the beginning of October.

[Kätzchen]

Hoorah, for Kamala Harris. She's got it right. Here is a link to the news report about the speech she will give tonight, ahead of the last day of the GOP Liars Convention.

And I quote Harris: "You see, at its most basic level, [TP] doesnt understand the Presidency. He thinks it's all about him. Well, it's not. It's about you," -- Kamala Harris.

Link to story below:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kamala-harris-wide-ranging-address-ahead-trumps-rnc/story?id=72653934&cid=clicksource_4380645_3_heads_hero_live_twopack_ hed

[homoe]

~~
Thank god it's just about over!

[~ocean]

~~
Thank god it's just about over!

^ 5 on that homoe ~ how dare he take up good TV time lol :hamactor::hamactor::hamactor:

[homoe]

~~~
Fox News’ Chris Wallace Trashes Trump’s ‘Surprisingly Flat’ RNC Speech Wallace and analyst Brit Hume said the president’s hour-plus speech went on far too long.

Wallace also called out the event’s failure to follow coronavirus safety guidelines. “The fact that there were 2,000 people in close quarters, on the South Lawn there with seemingly very few with masks, no social distancing, ignoring all of the public health recommendations,” he said.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/chris-wallace-fox-news-trump-rnc_n_5f486c2dc5b697186e338947

[nhplowboi]

Hoorah, for Kamala Harris. She's got it right. Here is a link to the news report about the speech she will give tonight, ahead of the last day of the GOP Liars Convention.

And I quote Harris: "You see, at its most basic level, [TP] doesnt understand the Presidency. He thinks it's all about him. Well, it's not. It's about you," -- Kamala Harris.

Link to story below:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kamala-harris-wide-ranging-address-ahead-trumps-rnc/story?id=72653934&cid=clicksource_4380645_3_heads_hero_live_twopack_ hed

I have to say Katzchen that your post gave me a good laugh when I realized [TP] is the perfect nickname for him as he IS such an asswipe!

[~ocean]

hsTxzn3SHQk




Thanks to Stephen Colbert Late Show....

lordy their an ugly bunch

[Cin]

Leonard Cohen's Estate refused to grant the RNC permission to use his song "Hallelujah" at their convention. Trump used it anyway. And in the most disgusting way. Cohen's estate is exploring legal action but said they would have considered allowing Trump to use another award winning song of Leonard's "You Want It Darker". Now that would have been the perfect song. Should be Trump's theme song.

https://www.advocate.com/politics/2020/8/28/leonard-cohens-estate-blasts-trumps-use-hallelujah

[A. Spectre]

No wonder that thing is going nuts today. 😂



Trump’s approval rating has dropped 5 points in two days according to the latest You Gov polls (RV).

August 26:
44% Approve
54% Disapprove

August 28:
39% Approve
60% Disapprove

OK. One more poll from today.
USC/Dornsife (LV)

Biden 54%
Trump 40%

---------------------------

It does not appear the mandarin menace got a post convention bounce. Who would have thought bloviating about death and destruction was not the best strategy?

6 out of 10 Americans are sick of this shit! and 4 love the taste of it.

[~ocean]

No wonder that thing is going nuts today. 😂



Trump’s approval rating has dropped 5 points in two days according to the latest You Gov polls (RV).

August 26:
44% Approve
54% Disapprove

August 28:
39% Approve
60% Disapprove

OK. One more poll from today.
USC/Dornsife (LV)

Biden 54%
Trump 40%

---------------------------

It does not appear the mandarin menace got a post convention bounce. Who would have thought bloviating about death and destruction was not the best strategy?

6 out of 10 Americans are sick of this shit! and 4 love the taste of it.

yahooooooo hooooooooooo lololol dance with me to a SOUL TRAIN THEME " DUMP THE TRUMP ohhhhh BABY DUMP THE TRUMP ~ ~ WAVE BYE BYE AH HUH WAVE BYE BYE "

[homoe]

August 26, 2020, 5:04 AM PDT....


While the president is trailing Biden in key swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, polling appears to be showing a tightening in those states also.


https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/trump-trailing-biden-in-key-swing-states-poll-90657349597

Granted this was from 4 days ago, but if anything can convince you to get out and vote and that EVERY vote counts this should be it....:hangloose:

[Cin]

6 out of 10 Americans are sick of this shit! and 4 love the taste of it.
Too many shit eaters for comfort.
Too close. We need a decisive victory or I am afraid Trump and his people (and I use the term loosely) will find a way to steal the election.

[~ocean]

Too many shit eaters for comfort.
Too close. We need a decisive victory or I am afraid Trump and his people (and I use the term loosely) will find a way to steal the election.

no no no no noooooooooo ** covers eyes ** NO ! :readfineprint: NO MORE TRUMP ~ this time they will catch him stealing the election ~ but he is trying so hard too ! << so sad thats what keeps him up at night ~ we all know it's not Melania ~ she gives him STANK FACE !!! lol

[BullDog]

Moderators for the Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates have been announced. I think it sounds pretty good. They each only have one moderator. I am not familiar with Steve Scully from C-SPAN but the others I am. Chris Wallace is from FOX but tends to ask tough questions. I can't wait!

Presidential Debates

September 29, Chris Wallace - Fox
October 15 (townhall-style) - Steve Scully - C-SPAN
October 22 - Kristen Welker - NBC

Vice Presidential Debate

October 7 - Susan Page - USA Today

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/514782-moderators-announced-for-presidential-debates

[C0LLETTE]

I'm a Canadian and I guess it doesn't matter...but SHIT, can't the Democrats even rouse anyone who's got nothing to fucking lose.. like me ?????

If you can't win this election, you don't deserve to govern.

Who the Hell is running your election campaign???? I'm a little old lesbo in Canada and I could do a a fucking better job.

Stop wth the gentle , kind, we are there for you bs and BE THERE. Stop with those "Yes, the Reps. are right but here are the details you should understand" bs . People don't read or listen to sentence #2... you're dead before the end of sentence 2.

[B]Someone needs to put Biden on ice until the election is over and then defrost him in time to take office .

Until then, let the Dem dogs loose so they can rip the throat out of that hateful demagogue. This is no time to be "nice"... You'll have another 20-30 years to be "nice"... by then, you'll have figured out that supporting Fascists sucked the life out of you and left nothing except benefit for those who never gave a moment of care for foolish, sucker, stupid, you.

[VintageFemme]

Our country's governing and elected officials have always been and most likely will continue to be, corrupt. This administration though, has turned our thinly veiled democracy into a mockery and circus. It's despicable at best. The only hope is that we can find some semblance of what was once known as normalcy and try to get back to the business of living the "American Dream". For giggles sake, has anyone here ever actually found that dream to be a reality? I'm just looking forward to the day when I don't have to see, hear or read a trump name anywhere in my world.

Postnote: The flipside of all this absurdity is the civil unrest and hopeful subsequent change that seems all to near, to clean up this country's shameful stain of hatred and racism. And much to trump's chagrin, that will ultimately be his legacy.

[BullDog]

I'm a Canadian and I guess it doesn't matter...but SHIT, can't the Democrats even rouse anyone who's got nothing to fucking lose.. like me ?????

If you can't win this election, you don't deserve to govern.

Who the Hell is running your election campaign???? I'm a little old lesbo in Canada and I could do a a fucking better job.

Stop wth the gentle , kind, we are there for you bs and BE THERE. Stop with those "Yes, the Reps. are right but here are the details you should understand" bs . People don't read or listen to sentence #2... you're dead before the end of sentence 2.

[B]Someone needs to put Biden on ice until the election is over and then defrost him in time to take office .

Until then, let the Dem dogs loose so they can rip the throat out of that hateful demagogue. This is no time to be "nice"... You'll have another 20-30 years to be "nice"... by then, you'll have figured out that supporting Fascists sucked the life out of you and left nothing except benefit for those who never gave a moment of care for foolish, sucker, stupid, you.

I guess you missed Biden's speech in Pittsburgh the other day where he completely shredded Trump. The campaign is doing just fine in my opinion.

[C0LLETTE]

I guess you missed Biden's speech in Pittsburgh the other day where he completely shredded Trump. The campaign is doing just fine in my opinion.

That being the case, why is it that thousands of people, like me, never heard it....and it's not like i'm not trying to hear him.

It's there, but he just can't seem to punch through the fog...so find him someone who can help him do that....That's the job at hand. Someone who can take off the quilted cotton housecoat.

[BullDog]

That being the case, why is it that thousands of people, like me, never heard it....and it's not like i'm not trying to hear him.

It's there, but he just can't seem to punch through the fog...so find him someone who can help him do that....That's the job at hand. Someone who can take off the quilted cotton housecoat.

Well, Trump does tend to gobble up much more of the airwaves but I don't see how it's helping him. Yesterday he denied having a series of mini-strokes when no one said that he did and that Biden is being controlled by people in the dark shadows. Um okay.

Today Biden gave a speech where he ripped Trump over his handling of the coronavirus and tomorrow he is visiting Kenosha, Wisconsin. After this Labor Day weekend, he will be traveling more.

The Biden-Harris campaign brought in a staggering $365 million in August. Trump's latest is $165 million in July. The previous one month record was $193 million in 2008 by Barack Obama. People have really been donating a lot ever since Kamala Harris joined the ticket.

HIs national lead is still about the same but some of the swing states appear to be tightening. I'm glad he will be visiting swing states after Labor Day. I also very much look forward to the debates.

[firegal]

Firefighters for Biden! .... and there is a reason!

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Well, Trump does tend to gobble up much more of the airwaves . . .

The Biden-Harris campaign brought in a staggering $365 million in August.


The Democrats need to take some of that money and get more air time and social media time for Biden and Harris. It doesn't feel like their message is getting out there.

[~ocean]

I think political donations should be illegal ~ TV debates should be free ty Neilson ratings ~ Trump doesn't say HOW he is going to do anything but promote hate, anger and division. Biden is going to win ~ like Biden's speech in Pittsburg, Penn. "silent storm " he is a man with class, not a street bully. be quiet and you will hear him.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Who the Hell is running your election campaign???? I'm a little old lesbo in Canada and I could do a a fucking better job.

Stop wth the gentle , kind, we are there for you bs and BE THERE. Stop with those "Yes, the Reps. are right but here are the details you should understand" bs . People don't read or listen to sentence #2... you're dead before the end of sentence 2.

Yes, this.

This tweet went out from Joe Biden five hours ago:
"Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos are the worst possible people to lead our nation's schools through this pandemic."

I'm no politician or political insider, but I could write more exciting tweets than this.
So can Donald Trump - and that's why he gets re-tweeted and reported on the news all the time.

For starters:

Our nation's SCHOOLS need Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to lead them through this pandemic

Donald Trump's pick Betsy DeVos has NO BACKGROUND in Education, but they think they can get our schools through this pandemic? No Way!

We need smart leaders like JOE BIDEN and KAMALA HARRIS who believe in SCIENCE to get us through this pandemic

Okay that last one is like preaching to the choir, but still.

And, no periods at the end of tweets! Keep up with the technology and the times!

[BullDog]

Yes, this.

This tweet went out from Joe Biden five hours ago:
"Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos are the worst possible people to lead our nation's schools through this pandemic."

I'm no politician or political insider, but I could write more exciting tweets than this.
So can Donald Trump - and that's why he gets re-tweeted and reported on the news all the time.

For starters:

Our nation's SCHOOLS need Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to lead them through this pandemic

Donald Trump's pick Betsy DeVos has NO BACKGROUND in Education, but they think they can get our schools through this pandemic? No Way!

We need smart leaders like JOE BIDEN and KAMALA HARRIS who believe in SCIENCE to get us through this pandemic

Okay that last one is like preaching to the choir, but still.

And, no periods at the end of tweets! Keep up with the technology and the times!

Biden gave an entire speech today on trump’s handling of the Coronavirus and the relationship to schools being able to open safely. He gave a very strong speech on Monday about trump being the one fueling violence. They were both great speeches. He has been very crisp and forceful.


No one is perfect and things can always be improved (although I never want Biden to start tweeting like trump).

I find all the negativity about Biden here to be not accurate or useful in getting people motivated to vote. Fortunately I do have other places that I discuss politics as well.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Trump Encourages Voters To Break The Law

The BBC Radio World Service News

Trump has encouraged voters in NC to attempt to cast their ballots twice - once by mail and once in person to "test" the electoral system. He does not like that so many people can vote by postal mail.

Voting twice in a U.S. election is illegal.

* * *
What about a candidate encouraging crowds of voters to vote twice - shouldn't that be illegal too???