US Politics: Sitting in Judgement

[karaddin]

9 hours ago, TrackerNeil said:

Sure...and a continued Biden administration is how you get that.

My point was that Biden being the candidate isn't mutually exclusive with cultivating younger talent, and in fact it really needs to be happening during a 2nd Biden term if he wins. It should have been happening more over the last 4 years.

As for your question on why the concern about Biden's faculties but not Trump - it's quite simple. People who are voting for Trump don't care about his job competence, merely that he's an asshole to the people they don't like and that's within the wheelhouse of a senile asshole. Trump is absolutely in worse cognitive health than Biden and that should matter, but it doesn't so we just need to accept that.

As for the concern about Biden - the press conference with questions just being yelled at him is absolutely disorienting but it seemed to effect him more than it used to, but mental assessment aside just look at how he's walking now. He's gone from old to elderly. It's not a criticism of him as a person, it's just something that happens to everyone lucky enough to live that long... But once you've crossed that line you're more frail than you used to be. It's reasonable to have concerns about whether you should be putting someone in for another 4 years when they're already across that line. Especially for a job that seems to cause people to age 2x faster than they were otherwise if they care even a little about the job. That's true even of GW Bush. Trump has the dubious distinction of being the only one that clearly didn't age much from it because he didn't give a shit.

And just to repeat - concerns about Biden's health do not mean I'd ever consider not voting for him in the general if I was American. I'm criticizing the Democratic party's failure to have more fresh faces, not suggesting accelerationism.

[kissdbyfire]

 

 

[Martell Spy]

Senior Republicans fear Trump will tap the RNC to cover legal bills again
The president is going to put his people in place on the committee. Major changes are in store.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/14/trump-rnc-legal-bills-00141540

Quote

 

Several senior Republican officials are concerned that Donald Trump’s expected takeover of the RNC will ultimately pave the way for the committee to once again cover his legal bills.

Those fears come in the aftermath of Trump endorsing a trio of officials, including his daughter-in-law, to take on top roles at the RNC. While those endorsements have been well-received by many committee members — who note that it is customary for a presidential candidate to put his imprint on the party’s main campaign apparatus — others fear a potential misallocation of party resources.

Henry Barbour, a Mississippi committeeman, said he believed “most RNC members will go along” with Trump’s vision for the committee, “unless there is a play to use RNC funds for President Trump’s legal bills.”

 

 

[Zorral]

2 hours ago, Kalbear said:

One election where there was a snowstorm is your source that things will be generically better for dems?

 

 

Please read better than this, ok? 

Edited February 15 by Zorral

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

29 minutes ago, karaddin said:

My point was that Biden being the candidate isn't mutually exclusive with cultivating younger talent, and in fact it really needs to be happening during a 2nd Biden term if he wins. It should have been happening more over the last 4 years.

As for your question on why the concern about Biden's faculties but not Trump - it's quite simple. People who are voting for Trump don't care about his job competence, merely that he's an asshole to the people they don't like and that's within the wheelhouse of a senile asshole. Trump is absolutely in worse cognitive health than Biden and that should matter, but it doesn't so we just need to accept that.

As for the concern about Biden - the press conference with questions just being yelled at him is absolutely disorienting but it seemed to effect him more than it used to, but mental assessment aside just look at how he's walking now. He's gone from old to elderly. It's not a criticism of him as a person, it's just something that happens to everyone lucky enough to live that long... But once you've crossed that line you're more frail than you used to be. It's reasonable to have concerns about whether you should be putting someone in for another 4 years when they're already across that line. Especially for a job that seems to cause people to age 2x faster than they were otherwise if they care even a little about the job. That's true even of GW Bush. Trump has the dubious distinction of being the only one that clearly didn't age much from it because he didn't give a shit.

And just to repeat - concerns about Biden's health do not mean I'd ever consider not voting for him in the general if I was American. I'm criticizing the Democratic party's failure to have more fresh faces, not suggesting accelerationism.

There's also the game within the game Biden isn't playing. Trump and his team, even if they're all idiots, are controlling their media environment. His answers to basic questions are actually a lot worse than Biden's, but he does it in safe places and like you said, his supporters don't care, even if he vomits on himself on live TV. Meanwhile Biden is interacting with a hostile press, with both liberals and conservatives really pressing him on a range of issues. Liberals don't really like to play the game the same way.

This is basically watching Mortal Kombat where one person sucks at using the special moves and the other just refuses to do so. Biden's approach is simply wrong. 

And then there's the problem of Harris being a smart black woman in a time when dumb white men hate that. 

[kissdbyfire]

14 minutes ago, Martell Spy said:

Senior Republicans fear Trump will tap the RNC to cover legal bills again
The president is going to put his people in place on the committee. Major changes are in store.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/14/trump-rnc-legal-bills-00141540

 

They “fear”? They’re a tad slow on the uptake, aren’t they?

[Kalbear]

50 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Please read better than this, ok? 

That was what the article talked about. Did you read it? 

[Fragile Bird]

Update on the Super Bowl parade shooting: only 1 dead ( so far) thank goodness, at least 22 injured, including 8 children. Two people are in custody.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

9 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Update on the Super Bowl parade shooting: only 1 dead ( so far) thank goodness, at least 22 injured, including 8 children. Two people are in custody.

The initial reporting sounds like two drunk people got into something. So in other words, Kansas City. 

I was watching a sports show casting live from the parade and it abruptly went to commercials for what felt like 10 minutes. When it came back on it was a live feed of Fox. Clearly they got the fuck out of Dodge (I know, bad joke). 

Edited February 15 by Mr. Chatywin et al.

[TrackerNeil]

3 hours ago, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

Not really in the macro sense if I'm being honest. Incumbency certainly matters, but I think that pattern is more likely to hold for congressional and state races. The presidency may become more chaotic, especially as divisions intensify.  

So this is a non-falsifiable belief, really. And maybe you're right, but I'll need to see evidence.

[ThinkerX]

A Republican won the special election for a vacated House seat in Oklahoma. Nothing unusual for a deep red state. What is unusual, was that the democratic challenger came within 5 points (261 votes) of winning that seat. That might set off an alarm bell or two in the Republican ranks.

[Martell Spy]

Putin says a Biden presidency is better for Russia than a Trump one

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/14/europe/putin-biden-better-for-russia-than-trump-intl/index.html

Quote

 

The Russian leader also expressed disappointment around his recent interview with far-right media figure Tucker Carlson.

“I honestly thought he would be aggressive and ask tough questions. I wasn’t only ready for that, I wanted that, because it would give me the opportunity to give tough answers back,” Putin said.

“To be frank, I didn’t fully enjoy that interview,” he said.

 

 

[The Anti-Targ]

I would tend to think Putin might be trying the lamest attempt at reverse psychology.

[Makk]

4 hours ago, Martell Spy said:

Putin says a Biden presidency is better for Russia than a Trump one

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/14/europe/putin-biden-better-for-russia-than-trump-intl/index.html

 

Oddly enough it is one of the few times putin has told the truth, albeit inadvertently. The best thing for Russia in the long term is to lose and have a regime change as soon as possible. 

[Maltaran]

He’s saying Biden is more experienced and more predictable, I don’t think anyone can really disagree with that.

[DireWolfSpirit]

13 hours ago, Kalbear said:

(it does not validate how good those polls are, but it's a start)

Yes thats a movement in the right direction if he's improved his numbers in Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

The previous poll I viewed was a Politico swing state poll that had Biden behind in every swing state.

My spirits are staying dark till I see markedly more traction to the upside because these are still depressgly weak numbers, the man is in dire need of a tidal wave of good news before November imo.

[Phylum of Alexandria]

10 hours ago, Kalbear said:

That was what the article talked about. Did you read it? 

I didn't read the article Zorral linked to, but I did listen to Josh and Kate's recent TPM podcast. They did concede that one special election doesn't tell you much. But they made two related counterpoints: one, this is consistent with the larger pattern of election results since Trump took office, including other special elections. This is the stronger point. And two: if the Republican candidate had won, you better believe that journalists and pundits would be saying that it was a bell weather and that it means bad things for the Democrats in the general election. Now, just because one side gets special treatment, that doesn't mean the treatment is factually correct, but still, it's a fair point.

Edited February 15 by Phylum of Alexandria

[Phylum of Alexandria]

3 hours ago, Maltaran said:

He’s saying Biden is more experienced and more predictable, I don’t think anyone can really disagree with that.

Nothing to do with your comment or politics, but it's nice to see some Grey Alys love on the forum. 

[mormont]

5 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

I would tend to think Putin might be trying the lamest attempt at reverse psychology.

Whether that works on voters or not, Trump's ego surely won't allow him to let this pass?

[Phylum of Alexandria]

5 minutes ago, mormont said:

Whether that works on voters or not, Trump's ego surely won't allow him to let this pass?

He knows Trump's ego can be assuaged with promises of money. Yet it's in his interest to muddy the waters with respect to who would be Russia's best ally, as it makes Trump's anti-American sentiments one more point of disagreement in a larger cloud of debatable facts.