What’s The Matter With Joseph Biden?

[Maruzo]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

Seconded.



Amen...

My prediction for Nov, Republicans retake the Senate, and Democrats hold onto a slim majority in the House.

The economy/inflation was a ticking time bomb and the Dems got stuck holding the bag this time around. It will be the primary issue for voters and will swing voters to the Reps. Abortion rights are not important enough to female Republican voters to flip them and only a small bump from female non-voters will come out for the election. Dems are trying to swing votes with tuition forgiveness and legalization talk but I think their corporate overlords are going to shut down any attempt at passing legislation. They can't even agree on SAFE, which is a no-brainer.

As for POTUS in 2024. If the Republicans run Trump, the Dems have a shot. If they run anyone else... they will win. If the Dems run Biden, the election will be called by 8PM for any Republican candidate, including Trump.

A little reversal of your prediction. Democrats held Senate and Republicans inching toward a slim majority in the House.

Still, the promised red wave never materialized. "Mixed results" best describe the outcome of the 300 or so candidates Trump endorsed this midterm. The Biden administration has done much better compared to the historical stats for the incumbent.

The Donald is "livid" with anger and is blaming everyone, including his wife, for the GOP's lousy performance in this midterm.

I'm wondering if DeSantis coming to power in 2 years could steer the GOP back to its original ideals and make the radicals lose favor among the voting public.

[AVB-AMG]

Maruzo:

I was surprised as anyone about how the mid-term elections have turned out. Like many folks, I had prepared myself to hear that the Republicans would ride a “Red Wave” and make significant gains in the House and possibly even take control of the Senate, capitalizing on voters’ concerns over inflation and the economy and an unpopular president. The fact that it did not materialize is amazing and perplexing. Now, one week later, after reading and speaking to family, friends and co-workers and listening to various political talking heads, here are a number of key observations and speculations on my part:

1. There is no evidence of any significant examples of voter fraud
There are (currently, at least), no widespread allegations of fraud or illegitimacy, despite many close races. Interestingly, the candidates who made the 2020 election denial their platform lost decisively.

2. The abortion issue was a key motivating factor
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade they woke up a large segment of American society that had taken their bodily freedoms for granted. The US Supreme Court Dobbs ruling gave Democrats a tool to reach moderates and independents, particularly suburban women, who’d rejected the Republican Party in 2020 but were beginning to drift back toward the GOP because of concerns about inflation and crime.I believe that Republicans and especially conservative evangelical Christians, had no idea of the devastating unintended consequences of how that decision was going to motivate so many women, including many Republican women, (polling indicated around 25% of all women said it was their top priority in this election), and younger voters who usually have skipped midterm elections, to vote for Democrats and to save their right to choose for themselves and not leave it up to each state to set different laws. All five states that featured a ballot referendum on questions of abortion saw the pro-choice side win. It seems reasonable to assume that in those states alone, Democrats received a potentially race-deciding boost from the abortion referendum. Even in the 45 states where abortion was not on the ballot, it was clearly the issue that carried the day for many vulnerable Democrats. It was also the dominant motivator for moderates and independents to stick with an unpopular president. The story of this election was that millions of voters who registered dissatisfaction with Biden and his economic policies voted for his party anyway. Why? Because they were more concerned about Republicans’ approach to abortion than Democrats’ approach to inflation…

3. Really bad candidates turn off voters
Unqualified candidates and/or those with very extreme stated views do not attract enough voters to win. This year, the Republicans had an inordinate amount of really bad candidates, (Herschel Walker, Mehmet Oz, Doug Mastriano, Tudor Dixon, etc. Too many GOP nominees proved to be particularly unpalatable, especially if they hold fringe worldviews, were 2020 election legitimacy or were to strongly associated with Evangelical Christian nationalism. Aside from his critics, Biden’s speech on democracy last week was, in retrospect, correct in highlighting many voters’ priorities. Voters are worried about democracy’s survival and Biden’s distinction between MAGA Republicans and the rest of the GOP obviously worked with some, including Republicans. Voters who somewhat disapproved of Biden’s record nonetheless voted for the Democrats when the alternative was a bat-shit crazy MAGA candidate.

4. Voters prefer “out of touch” to “out of their mind.”
For Republicans, a central charge against Democrats throughout 2022 has been that Biden and his party are out of touch with ordinary Americans. A distilled version of the argument went like this: Democrats, the party of social and cultural elites, cannot relate to the economic pain being felt by millions of working people. That message penetrated—to a point. The simplest explanation is that although many of these voters think Democrats are out of touch, they also think many of the Republican candidates are out of their minds. And it seems they prefer the former to the latter. I think that a lot of these people wanted to vote for a Republican, but that they just did not want to vote for the individual Republican who was running in their district and/or state. Plenty of voters are worried about unchecked progressivism on the left, but they’re even more worried about unchecked extremism on the right.

5. Trumpism is toxic to the middle of the electorate.
Here’s the scenario many of us were expecting on Election Day: The president, still the de facto head of his party, despite a growing chorus of questions about his age and competence, suffers a series of humiliating defeats that reflect the weakness of his personal brand and cast doubt on his ability to lead the party moving forward. And that’s precisely what happened—to the former president….
One exit poll was quite telling. In each of the three states that saw major Democratic victories: Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, 25-30% voters said they had cast their vote in opposition to Trump. These are voters in three of the nation’s most polarized battleground states, who acknowledged that they were motivated by the idea of defeating someone who was not even on the ballot and who currently holds no office. Maybe it should not come as real surprise since in these states, as well as nationally, the only thing worse than Biden’s approval rating was Trump’s.

So, where do we go from here…? I am ready to move on from both Trump and Biden and hope that both will ultimately decide not to run for president in 2024. Regardless of your political preferences, I believe that most of us feel that it is time to let some new, fresh faces step up and pursue the role of POTUS. Time will tell….

[Maruzo]

Originally Posted by AVB-AMG

Maruzo:

I was surprised as anyone about how the mid-term elections have turned out. Like many folks, I had prepared myself to hear that the Republicans would ride a “Red Wave” and make significant gains in the House and possibly even take control of the Senate, capitalizing on voters’ concerns over inflation and the economy and an unpopular president. The fact that it did not materialize is amazing and perplexing. Now, one week later, after reading and speaking to family, friends and co-workers and listening to various political talking heads, here are a number of key observations and speculations on my part:

1. There is no evidence of any significant examples of voter fraud
There are (currently, at least), no widespread allegations of fraud or illegitimacy, despite many close races. Interestingly, the candidates who made the 2020 election denial their platform lost decisively.

2. The abortion issue was a key motivating factor
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade they woke up a large segment of American society that had taken their bodily freedoms for granted. The US Supreme Court Dobbs ruling gave Democrats a tool to reach moderates and independents, particularly suburban women, who’d rejected the Republican Party in 2020 but were beginning to drift back toward the GOP because of concerns about inflation and crime.I believe that Republicans and especially conservative evangelical Christians, had no idea of the devastating unintended consequences of how that decision was going to motivate so many women, including many Republican women, (polling indicated around 25% of all women said it was their top priority in this election), and younger voters who usually have skipped midterm elections, to vote for Democrats and to save their right to choose for themselves and not leave it up to each state to set different laws. All five states that featured a ballot referendum on questions of abortion saw the pro-choice side win. It seems reasonable to assume that in those states alone, Democrats received a potentially race-deciding boost from the abortion referendum. Even in the 45 states where abortion was not on the ballot, it was clearly the issue that carried the day for many vulnerable Democrats. It was also the dominant motivator for moderates and independents to stick with an unpopular president. The story of this election was that millions of voters who registered dissatisfaction with Biden and his economic policies voted for his party anyway. Why? Because they were more concerned about Republicans’ approach to abortion than Democrats’ approach to inflation…

3. Really bad candidates turn off voters
Unqualified candidates and/or those with very extreme stated views do not attract enough voters to win. This year, the Republicans had an inordinate amount of really bad candidates, (Herschel Walker, Mehmet Oz, Doug Mastriano, Tudor Dixon, etc. Too many GOP nominees proved to be particularly unpalatable, especially if they hold fringe worldviews, were 2020 election legitimacy or were to strongly associated with Evangelical Christian nationalism. Aside from his critics, Biden’s speech on democracy last week was, in retrospect, correct in highlighting many voters’ priorities. Voters are worried about democracy’s survival and Biden’s distinction between MAGA Republicans and the rest of the GOP obviously worked with some, including Republicans. Voters who somewhat disapproved of Biden’s record nonetheless voted for the Democrats when the alternative was a bat-shit crazy MAGA candidate.

4. Voters prefer “out of touch” to “out of their mind.”
For Republicans, a central charge against Democrats throughout 2022 has been that Biden and his party are out of touch with ordinary Americans. A distilled version of the argument went like this: Democrats, the party of social and cultural elites, cannot relate to the economic pain being felt by millions of working people. That message penetrated—to a point. The simplest explanation is that although many of these voters think Democrats are out of touch, they also think many of the Republican candidates are out of their minds. And it seems they prefer the former to the latter. I think that a lot of these people wanted to vote for a Republican, but that they just did not want to vote for the individual Republican who was running in their district and/or state. Plenty of voters are worried about unchecked progressivism on the left, but they’re even more worried about unchecked extremism on the right.

5. Trumpism is toxic to the middle of the electorate.
Here’s the scenario many of us were expecting on Election Day: The president, still the de facto head of his party, despite a growing chorus of questions about his age and competence, suffers a series of humiliating defeats that reflect the weakness of his personal brand and cast doubt on his ability to lead the party moving forward. And that’s precisely what happened—to the former president….
One exit poll was quite telling. In each of the three states that saw major Democratic victories: Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, 25-30% voters said they had cast their vote in opposition to Trump. These are voters in three of the nation’s most polarized battleground states, who acknowledged that they were motivated by the idea of defeating someone who was not even on the ballot and who currently holds no office. Maybe it should not come as real surprise since in these states, as well as nationally, the only thing worse than Biden’s approval rating was Trump’s.

So, where do we go from here…? I am ready to move on from both Trump and Biden and hope that both will ultimately decide not to run for president in 2024. Regardless of your political preferences, I believe that most of us feel that it is time to let some new, fresh faces step up and pursue the role of POTUS. Time will tell….

HI AVB,

Makes a lot of sense, what you have observed. I agree with your points on the abortion reversal timing which brought out the female voters to voice their dissatisfaction with the ruling. The bad candidates and many of the GOP candidates' insistence on promoting the 2020 election lies also did not help the republicans to hold their base.

Your "out of touch" vs "out of mind" take is an unique and interesting observation.

If the results of this midterm shows the start of Trumpism losing favor among the voting public, then I hope we can begin on the path to a more inclusive and bipartisan period in the near future.

I would also like to see another candidate in 2024 who is capable and not mired in controversy and political extreme view points.

I don't think the inflation is caused by the current administration, but they have certainly not done a better job of curtailing it. The other thing that they are falling short on is fighting crimes. I live in CA and I can truly say, democrats are really not big on fighting crime. I've witnessed countless numbers of campers put up on major business districts over the past 4~5 years. It got really bad during the covid period, the government passed an ordinance allowing the campers to park for over 3 months at a time without paying any fees.

The presence of these campers breed drug users, thefts, trash, graffiti, and general mayhem and chaos on a daily basis.

What was once a pristine and professional office and warehouse district slowly deteriorated into a warzone like state. Feces and flies lined the sidewalk, with occasional burn downs of the campers every other month, most of them due to unsafe and illegal meth cooking or whatnots.

The police were called so many times, but they couldn't do anything because any damage under 1,000 is not punishable in CA. Also the campers were considered private residences so they couldn't enter without probable cause.

It was not until a few month ago that the city finally took away the covid rent relief and began charging these campers fees for overnight staying on the street.

Effective enough, because the entire street was cleaned up in a little under a week.

Really wish they could have started doing that 4 years ago.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by Maruzo

A little reversal of your prediction. Democrats held Senate and Republicans inching toward a slim majority in the House.

Right. Oh well. Was figuring on divided Congress at any rate. Salvage something from the prediction. The market loves gridlock, so if Powell would just ease up on the throttle to allow the data to catch up... maybe there is still a chance at a "softer" landing. I feel for all those carrying debt right now. So glad the wife and I spent the last 3 years paying off about $70k in debt. Well, paying off $45k and moving the rest in a refi from 2019.

Originally Posted by Maruzo

Still, the promised red wave never materialized. "Mixed results" best describe the outcome of the 300 or so candidates Trump endorsed this midterm. The Biden administration has done much better compared to the historical stats for the incumbent.

The Donald is "livid" with anger and is blaming everyone, including his wife, for the GOP's lousy performance in this midterm.

I'm wondering if DeSantis coming to power in 2 years could steer the GOP back to its original ideals and make the radicals lose favor among the voting public.

I never thought a red wave would happen, but they did underperform for sure. As mentioned above, I think the country might be getting tired of all the extremist talk.

DeSantis is going to have an interesting fight on his hands with The Donald. Guess we'll see just how much good will Trump has burned during his time in office, but more so with the failed smooth transition of power. One of the most important things for an outgoing POTUS to get right.

If Biden runs again, which I'm hearing mention of already... just give the office to whichever candidate the Republicans run. Including Trump. Hell, I'm an independent, and can not stand Trump... but I'd have to think long and hard about not voting for him if Biden is his opponent.

[bcredliner]

I kept thinking about how, historically, midterms always hurt the party of the current administration and hearing that there will be a red wave. And then there is inflation and gas prices as negatives so I felt a red wave was quite possible. However, I was hopeful the abortion issue and the Republican stance on Social Security alone would be enough to stop that from happening. I am disappointed that apparently those issues didn't help democrat candidates more.

Trump's way is never losing, only winning at all costs. Even having made an announcement he will be running I think that is just testing the waters. He will have an 'out' ready. Announce 'early' and see if the Republican party sticks with him and sell a bunch of merchandise and solicit funds between now and then. Stay in the tv limelight as long as he can. It's all about ego, self esteem and money.

Most of the people, whether Democrat or Republican, I know are sick of the Trump style of politics-- the chaos, the anger, frustration, lies, conspiracies, the downer doses we get daily. I am hoping that will continue to grow and by 2024 candidates that are Trump like will have a tough time at the polls. By then, perhaps Republicans that have felt they had to endorse Trump and his methods will see to get or stay in office it is not necessary, even a negative. I find it hard to believe Republicans will not be divided.

I don't think Biden will run in 2024 if there is a younger viable candidate. If he does, the country will have to be in great shape. Inflation, oil prices, cost of food etc all way down from current pricing, abortion a legal right etc. I would like to see Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Gretchen Whitmer or Gaven Newsom rise to the top. I think who Biden endorses will be a key factor especially if the country is in better shape. I suspect that would be Kamala. So much can happen in two years of politics, it's anybodies guess.

[StephenVA]

Is Joe still alive or is the White House giving the country a "Weekend At Bernie's" event?

[EODguy]

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[bcredliner]

Everyone is too busy laughing about Trump's $99 super hero trading cards.

[EODguy]

Why, because they cost less than half of a tank of fuel under Biden?

Say what you want about Trump because you hate him, but the United States was at least 60% better off then compared to now. The problem is you seem to think that it's better having someone you like making things worse than someone whom you hate making things better...


Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

[bcredliner]

93 octane here is $3.00 to $3.30 a gallon. That makes 24 gallons $79.20 on the high side.

I don't hate Trump. I think his actions and beliefs make him unfit to be President. I met him at a 'skins' golf tournament in the Bahamas many years ago. He was very gracious and personable. Like or dislike of Trump or Biden is based on their actions. Nothing personal.

Just wondering, where did you find that the country was 60% better than it is now?

Happy Holidays!