RockyRoadTravel
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Posts posted by RockyRoadTravel
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7 hours ago, Moses said:
6
Why not punish the parties that betrayed the interests of the country, putting party interests above national ones, and vote for one of the independents?
Why not punish the party that pushes through a disabled person, and punish the party that pushes through a neo-fascist?
Biden isn't disabled. He's old. He's clearly old. He's governed with complete competence over the last four years. While the concern about Biden's age is real, there's something else about Biden that's much more important.
Over the last four years Biden hasn't been able to articulate a clear defining narrative about the lying and incompetence of the defeated former President. In terms of landing political punches Trump should be the proverbial broad side of a barn.
The next four months aren't about governing with competence, it's about campaigning and defining your opponent. That's, sadly why Trump's numbers are as high as they are. Trump couldn't govern worth shit (based on the facts), but he can campaign and project all his own failings onto his opponent.
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1 hour ago, Moses said:
So many words... But Putin prefers Biden... surprise
So, remember: if you are voting for Biden - you are voting for Putin.
Putin wants Trump. There is no doubt about it. The war in Ukraine was raging all through the Trump presidency, with Russian interference in Eastern Ukraine. Trump actively got in the way of the USA assisting Ukraine in defending itself. Trump's active obstruction of assistance led to the eventual full scale invasion in February, 2022 during Biden's presidency. Biden's government has actively supported Ukrainian defense, over the obstruction of Republicans in Congress.
Putin can "say" he wants Biden, oh wait Putin lies as much as Trump does.
Putin wants his lap dog Trump in the White House.
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On 7/4/2024 at 6:07 AM, EmmetK said:
This will be Biden's legacy in a few months.... or his epitaph.
TRUMP 2024
MAGAЯ знаю, что это так, но кто я? (For everyone else that's, "I know you are, but what am I", in the original Russian.)
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3 hours ago, a-447 said:
So, porn would be outlawed but I guess Trump would allow sex with a porn star.
Bizarre.
Not if he got a freebie. Unlikely though. (I do apologize for inflicting the image on you all.)
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On 7/4/2024 at 8:13 AM, Bingo T Dog said:
For Reagan, the age issue faded in his first term as any health questions focused on his recovery from a nearly fatal assassination attempt in 1981. He seemed headed for an easy reelection. And debates seemed natural settings for the smooth-talking former Hollywood actor. But his performance in the first showdown with Mondale in the 1984 campaign brought the age issue roaring back.
The president, then 73, rambled and hesitated. He seemed to lose his train of thought at one point, and appeared tired at others. No one had seen him perform publicly in such a way, recalled Jaroslovsky, who co-authored a story headlined: “New Question in Race: Is Oldest U.S. President Now Showing His Age?”Biden made Reagan, the second oldest President. Trump made Reagan, the second worst President (although Andrew Johnson was terrible too). Okay, okay in terms of worst maybe it's Andrew Johnson, then Trump, then Reagan.
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2 hours ago, Moses said:
To me? Nothing. I am not American. My position has been clearly stated for a long time: the United States is a victim of political polarization and the interests of political clans.
Look at this subforum - none of the participants have any real arguments in favor of their candidate and everyone is simply posting propaganda against a candidate from the opposite “camp”. One candidate, being in Cambodia, believes that he is in Colombia, shakes hands with ghosts that no one but him can see, believes that his vice president's name is Donald Trump, and the president of Ukraine is Putin. The second is an unsympathetic clown with authoritarian habits from a human point of view, and Project 2025 is a document that exists despite almost all amendments to the American Constitution.
So, in my opinion, the situation is this: no matter who wins out of these two, America will lose either way, the clan gerontocrats will win. But when I voiced this for the first time 2 years ago, when I said that nation needed a plan B, otherwise everyone would end up quoting Shakespeare with his “a plague on both your houses,” both “camps” attacked me. Therefore, it gives me pleasure now to periodically “throw guano on the fan.”
That didn't answer the question of what do you want, and I'm happy to let that question drop.
I read this sub-forum and see there are people trying to work through various opinions and trying to figure out, in their own minds, how to move forward, as well as the odd Russian bot. It's a dangerous time, particularly for the queer community, with these right-wing Christians legislating from their Supreme Court bench. It's essential to have an alternate goal.
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1 hour ago, stevenkesslar said:
Not sure I know what that means. But it would be an awesome name for a Randy Rainbow song. 😉
A pathological paradoxical bind calls for a paradoxical intervention
To stop a narcissistic nattering nut named - you know, need I mention?
Because the baffled debate blowing Biden ceases not to embarrass
Ok, fuck it. Enough of this bullshit. Can't we just go with Harris?
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8 hours ago, Bingo T Dog said:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/when-a-debate-flop-raised-concerns-about-ronald-reagan-s-fitness-to-run-for-re-election/ar-BB1pP2Cd?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&cvid=ee375e5823ae47f8dcc36e6d5607cc24&ei=41 In his 2010 memoir, The Good Fight: A Life in Liberal Politics, Mondale recalled his opponent’s behavior, detailing how Reagan “mangled” his trusty anecdotes, gripped onto the podium and “even started forgetting some of his lines.”
I was thinking this was going to be about Reagan's attack on middle and working class Americans.
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7 hours ago, EmmetK said:
So you post a link from fake news, Trump-hating msn.com (your only source of news)which links to a headline from fake news, Trump-hating NY Times that Trump is unfit to lead?
What next? Dog bites man? lol.If you were trying to make a point with your ridiculous post, you failed miserably.
TRUMP 2024
MAGA
No, the article was in the New York Times. No one quoted One America News, Breitbart, FOX Opinion (the FOX News team doesn't make up stuff like the opinion side of the station), or the Call of the North. It was from a news source that prints a retraction when it's pointed out they go something wrong in a story. You know - a real news source.
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10 hours ago, EmmetK said:
Another embarrassing performance by Dementia Joe yesterday:
TRUMP 2024
MAGAYou really need to stop pointing out Trump referring to Nikki Haley as Nancy Pelosi. You go on and on about Trump's mental decline and constant word salads.
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7 hours ago, EmmetK said:
TRUMP 2024
MAGAWhy do you keep pointing out the economic collapse that Trump orchestrated? Yes, the economy collapsed under Trump with his incompetence and complete bungling the national response to the pandemic. Was gas cheap, yes, of course, the economy fell apart under Trump. The USA had amongst the worst death toll, and economic suffering under Trump during the pandemic when compared to our allies. Trump was a weak leader. We all know that, why do you keep reminding us?
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1 hour ago, Moses said:
Yes Yes. Everyone avoided him because they were afraid he would call someone else "President Putin" or "Vice President Donald Trump."
Biden's every public appearance now looks like a national shame.
What is it you are hoping for in November 2024? I haven't been on this board long enough to figure out whether you are a complainer in general, or if there is an objective you have for the USA government and who you want to win. Thanks,
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He is an on-going gaffe machine that's for sure.
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3 hours ago, stevenkesslar said:
Please! We've heard from George Clooney. We really don't need Meryl Streep to speak up, do we? 😉
A new poll from ABC says 56 % of Democrats think Biden should drop out. That contradicts a different recent poll saying 2 in 3 Democrats want Biden to stay as nominee. The same ABC poll says Blacks would overwhelming support Biden stepping aside for a ticket led by Harris. And the poll shows Biden and Trump tied. Harris is actually two points ahead of Trump in the ABC poll. Although in other polls she does a bit less well than Biden. So, as you said, it's a coin toss if polls are the deciding factor.
One thing that is clear is that if Biden is the nominee age will be the issue for the next four months. And it seems quite possible - if not likely - it can only get worse. Kamala Harris is a risk, but the issue won't be age. Other than Trump's age. 60 % of Americans say Trump is too old. A campaign in which Harris prosecutes Trump's age and asshole behavior - and talks about actual issues - would be a change of pace, for sure. It's hard not to believe Democrats would be more energized.
Almost every poll of every swing state or red state Democrat has showed them ahead of their opponent all year. As Brownstein argues above, that could change as the election gets closer, and the gravity of Biden weighs these incumbent Senators down. But what it mostly says is that there is no particular trend against Democrats, in general. It is against Biden, in particular. The generic Congressional ballot has been a toss up all year.
A Harris/Shapiro or Harris/Whitmer ticket would allow all these Democrats to focus on explaining what is wrong with and old and extremist Trump, and what Democrats would actually like to do if we had the votes in the Senate and House to do so. The fact that even in a moment of darkness and crisis there are polls showing Biden is tied with Trump and Harris could beat him suggests this should be possible, when the coin finally lands.
I'm only saying this to frighten you. Harris/Machin.
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2 hours ago, Suckrates said:
To STOP procrastinating and doing surveys and make a decision to either keep him and support him OR replace him with a competent replacement, whomever. Its not as if we have a year till election day, its around the corner. . The electorate would need time to get used to a new nominee if that be the case. I'm sick and tired of how these Dems operate....They cant seem to make quick decisions and rally for their team.... Biden is giving an unscripted Press conference tonight, now the Dems are waiting to see how that goes and how they can pick it apart. Not sure what they are expecting. Biden wont be any younger or less frail. I doubt the Incredible Hulk will be showing up ?
Okay. Thanks
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38 minutes ago, Suckrates said:
And I repeat, the media is making this situation much worse for Biden in the publics eyes.... They are portraying Biden as a man without a home, the nominee that the party now doesnt want. Doesnt inspire alot of confidence in voters to want him if even his own party doesnt, DOES IT ? And I say, lets hear from Meryl, and Streisand and Taylor Swift..... All these elites support couldnt make the situation any worse, could it ?
What are you suggesting/thinking is the way forward?
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55 minutes ago, Bingo T Dog said:
Did they also declare that it's hot out? The sky is blue? Up is up and down is down?
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At the NATO Summit today, Biden didn't push anyone out of the way to get to the front row. The defeated former President was constantly embarrassing with his fragile ego.
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5 minutes ago, stevenkesslar said:
Yes, but so did LBJ, and Reagan, and W., and Obama. And I mean that in the sense that Lichtman does: they got big and consequential things done, whether everyone agrees with them or not. And, for the most part, they ran on that record and said they wanted to do more. The exception is W., because by 2004 the Iraq War was starting to turn bad. If the election had been a year later, he would have lost.
The fact that all four of those Presidents didn't meet the promise of their second terms is not auspicious for Biden. That article I posted about FDR argued this in his final year, and the few months of his final term, he made some big blunders due to his failing health. Biden's health is likely to keep failing. At least according to most voters, which is why he is having such problems.
I repeated myself just to make it clear that we agree. The first and most important question right now is NOT about whether Biden can govern effectively in a second term. You and I agree that the most important question right now is can he campaign in a way that wins him a second term?
That said, the whole point of winning is actually to govern. So what a second Biden term would look like, and what its limitations might be, is a great question that Biden and Democratic leaders should be asking.
Just to belabor this. If past is prologue, Biden not being able to nail Trump's Jello to any cohesive narrative tree over the last four years, he's unlikely to be able to do it in the next four months. I've seen Gavin Newsom be able to critique, and encapsulate in a couple of effective headlines, Trump's shit storm of lies in a single interview.
Joe the world ain't fair. You can govern. What's needed is a campaigner.
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47 minutes ago, stevenkesslar said:
The question on the table now is, "Can Joe Biden win?" And it seems to still be unsettled.
If he can't win, everything about what he could do in a second term is wishful thinking. My Lichtman-centric mind is settled on two options that make sense: One, Biden stays. Two, Biden resigns so Harris can run as the incumbent with a unified party behind her. Anything else, including Biden completing his term but stepping aside as nominee, just seems like too big a risk, based on Lichtman's Keys. And polls that show Biden and Harris as running about the same against Trump.
I hope Biden and leaders like Pelosi and Jeffries and Schumer are also looking at it from the perspective of, "Why should he stay, anyway?" In my mind, that would be the single best reason for Biden to resign, for the good of both his country and his party.
What if Joe Biden stays?
The US president’s team must face the reality of what a second term would look like nowThat is an almost impeccable argument. If we look at LBJ, Reagan, W., and Obama, their second terms ranged from disappointments to disasters.
Lichtman argues that Obama's inability to get anything big done in his second term (thanks to Mitch McConnell blocking him) was a decisive factor in Clinton's 2016 defeat as heir apparent. The same could happen to Kamala in 2028. Even if Biden scores a hat trick and keeps the Senate and retakes the House, the chances of getting a mandate to do what he couldn't do in his first term seems unlikely. He'll continue to decline. With the constantly lingering question being when, not if, Kamala will need to take over. To put it harshly, many people will hope he either dies, or has some kind of decisive health event, that finally forces a resolution. And that's based on the more optimistic scenario that he will win. Probably the best thing about Biden winning is that it simply keeps Trump from doing bad things. Including cutting taxes for his billionaire donors and packing the court even more with MAGA right wing extremists.
If Harris runs and wins, she will not be a lame duck. And she will likely bring new energy to an unmet agenda. If she could win the thinnest of Senate and House majorities, she would probably be able to win some incremental victories on Democratic priorities. Biden could of course do the same in 2025. But unlike with Harris the feeling would be stasis and decline, not building toward something bigger. Young people who feel disinterested and de-energized today won't somehow feel better about him when Biden is two years older.
The one issue I'd take issue with the author on is Bill Clinton. He's right that the second term brought Monicagate. But it also brought a booming economy and a lot of incremental bipartisan success. Including a budget surplus. My argument for a successful Biden second term would be that he essentially becomes an avatar for what Ruy Teixeira is calling "the new centrism." Teixeira and his lefty partner in crime John Judis got it surprisingly right two decades ago when they predicted an Obamaesque "Emerging Democratic Majority." He may be getting it right again.
Whether you buy that or not, I think it is true that people are sick of the divisiveness that is a hallmark of Trump's non-governing pathology. One can always hope that if they lose in 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024, enough Republicans in the House and Senate will want to focus on the kinds of practical things that made Clinton's second term successful. Biden actually is temperamentally better than Harris at seeking the middle ground. Even if what that means in practice in a few years is his staff, and Kamala, do much of the work for him. That would be my blueprint for what could work about a second Biden term.
Steve. Biden can govern, he's done it more than competently for four years. Can he campaign? Can he create and deliver an effective narrative exposing the shit storm of lies of the defeated former President. So far, he has not been able to. Over four years he hasn't been able to deliver a critique of Trump's incompetence. Of course Merrick Garland hasn't helped, he so cautious (in normal times probably a good thing) and has so fastidiously kept to the rules and a very narrow interpretation of the law, which hasn't been effective against Trump as a street fighter con man.
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1 hour ago, stevenkesslar said:
One or the other, but not both.
I'd argue Scalia's seat was stolen thanks to McConnell.
RGB stole the seat from herself, I think. Granted, by the time Republicans took control of the Senate in 2014 it was too late. McConnell would have probably come up with some excuse for leaving the seat vacant for two years. But it's the same lesson we will all learn if Biden stays on the ticket and loses because of his age, as many fear he will. Shoulda retired when you could.
Had RGB retired in 2013 she would have served a deeply respected 20 years, and the SCOTUS right wing majority would be 5-4 today. It still probably would have meant the end of Roe v. Wade once Trump packed the court with his right wing MAGA extremists. But we don't know what Roberts might have done had he been the swing vote. Roberts seems to be the conservative who is most aware that when a felon and lying POTUS who is unpopular packs the court with MAGA radicals who made deeply unpopular decisions, it does not work well for them.
There's a brand new poll out by The Economist saying that SCOTUS's disapproval rating is now -16 points, 36/52. That is unprecedented. Wonder why?
Putin must be having a blast watching Trump systematically fuck up everything that worked pretty well about democracy before Trump.
Scalia died 265 days before the election - no Senate hearings for you President Obama. Ginsberg died 45 days before the election - and we get stuck with Amy Coney Barrett (the 2nd time she'd take a politically manipulated judgeship). The most blatantly hypocritical Mitch McConnell has ever been (I think, there's probably other awful examples).
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38 minutes ago, Suckrates said:
There is seriously something wrong with a country that Allows a man (corrupt, convicted and anti-American) to run for ANY office in government, especially President, AND a Supreme Court that supports and aides that individual..... Hopefully, IF Dems prevail, there will be MAJOR governmental reform ?
That would require Supreme Court reform first. It's ironic that two Supreme Court justices, who were personally friendly - to the extent of taking family holidays together - from far different legal orientations (Ginsberg and Scalia) both had their seats stolen by Mitch McConnell.
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3 minutes ago, Suckrates said:
YET, it seems to me that the more Americans learn about the objectives of Project 2025, the more the polls grow in Trumps favor... I believe the media is partly to blame here, elevating and pumping up Trump at every turn, while portraying Biden as a feeble, over-the-hill hasbeen, despite the fact that he is only a few years older than Trump. but I do agree that its optics, and Trump does appear more powerful and youthful, eventhough every word from his mouth is either Crazy or a Lie. People seem to be gravitating towards "bad boy" Trump. Hell, why not put Trump in a leather biker jacket and prop him up on a Harley ? The only thing that gives me any solace is the recent turn of events in France. The people of France fiercely rejecting extremist ring-wing agenda. Hopefully when American go into those voting booths they'll all have a "Hail Mary", and choose Democratic, whoever the nominee turns out to be. If Americans wants to preserve any rights they still have, there is only a binary choice for Democracy.
I think his poll numbers went up because he kind of shut his mouth for a while after the debate. Americans' like Trump more when he's got his mouth shut.
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It's good to see that there is some focus happening on Project 2025. Remember in 2020 Trump forced the GOP to have no election platform, Trump doesn't like things being written down (was it Don McGahn or Pat Cipollone who Trump chastised for TAKING NOTES in a legal meeting?). In Trump's mind written stuff equates to evidence.
As terrifying as Project 2025 is in it's attacks on the middle class and working class Americans, civil liberties, women and LGBTQ communities - Trump might be even more afraid of it. It's written down. He can be held responsible to one of his hateful positions. He'd be hampered in his constant mealy mouthed avoidance of taking responsibility about anything at anytime, any where.
Real believers of the Christian Right and/or Conservatives, who aren't suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome like his MAGA minions, won't like Trump's denials. Will they do anything about it, or kiss the ring/ass of the defeated former President? (Sorry, that's a very gross image, forgive me.)
Biden stumbles, Trump lies
in Politics
Posted
The New York Times reported that Putin said he wants Biden. Newsflash, Putin lies even better than the American liar-in-chief Trump.
Putin wants his lap dog Trump.