Joe Biden 2: President Dark Brandon For The Win!

[47of74]

21 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I am in Illinois and it is kind of hard when those areas are waving trump and f--- Biden flags. When they didn't think Covid was real and ignored the mask mandate and the shelter in place. When they laughed when the number of deaths from Covid was printed in the newspapers. And every mile or two is yet another small church that tells them trump is anointed by God himself. 

NW Illinois always seemed to be more liberal when one factored in places like Galena or the like.  Might just be me but I never saw too many fuck head flags in the area. I would go to Grace Church in Galena occasionally and they never proclaimed fuck head as anointed by God. To their credit they stayed very neutral throughout. I remember telling the priest there my grandma died and how supportive the whole church was when I showed up the next day.  

[libgirl2]

6 minutes ago, 47of74 said:

NW Illinois always seemed to be more liberal when one factored in places like Galena or the like.  Might just be me but I never saw too many fuck head flags in the area. I would go to Grace Church in Galena occasionally and they never proclaimed fuck head as anointed by God. To their credit they stayed very neutral throughout. I remember telling the priest there my grandma died and how supportive the whole church was when I showed up the next day.  

I have been to Galena many times and I agree with what you said. However go to McHenry county, its rife up there. Or Marion Illinois near Giant City. We stopped going because it was getting way too red the further away from the college you got. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but when I see one of those flags, I am very uncomfortable. I think January 6th especially and what those traitors were willing to do for the orange turd. I never felt almost scared by one of those flags or signs until that day. 

Edited July 24 by libgirl2

[47of74]

1 minute ago, libgirl2 said:

I have been to Galena many times and I agree with what you said. However go to McHenry county, its rife up there. Or Marion Illinois near Giant City. We stopped going because it was getting way too red the further away from the college you got. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but when I see one of those flags, I am very uncomfortable. I think January 6th especially and what those traitors were willing to do for the orange turd. 

True. Very, very true.  Last time I visited there were very few fuck head flags. Main reason I’m even thinking of moving to Jo Davies County is how somewhat blue it is now and how overall the state is blue now.

Hell, it’s a problem even here in Minnesota. Outside the Twin Cities, Rochester, and Duluth it gets kind of red here.  I wish we could have more Democratic penetration into outstare Minnesota.

[LongTimeLurkerOG]

22 hours ago, SassyPants said:

Newsome is the Dem’s version of DeSantis. You either love him or are unimpressed. Newsome is my Gov and I don’t think I’ve ever voted for him. He doesn’t even submit a statement letter in the voter handbook when he runs for office. Nope, if you’re mailing in your candidacy, I will not vote for you, period. Obviously lots of voters in CA support him. 

Definitely can't stand Dementor... DeSantis 🤬

[Smee]

On 7/25/2024 at 9:15 AM, kpmom said:

I’m old.

Old enough to remember when a divorced man could never get elected President. Until Regan did. 
Old enough to remember when having a woman on the ticket was unthinkable. Until Walter Mondale put Geraldine Ferraro on the ticket. 
Old enough to remember when having an affair ( or many) would definitely make a candidate unelectable. Until Clinton came along. 
Old enough to remember when a POC becoming president was unthinkable. Then Obama came along. 
Old enough to remember when a woman on the top of the ticket was too crazy to contemplate. Then Hillary came along (and won the popular vote). 
Old enough to believe I’d never see a woman VP in my lifetime. Until Kamala came along. 
 

As somebody wrote above I’m somewhat optimistic, but also a skeptic. 
But, I saw all of the above ( and more) in my lifetime. Maybe, hopefully, America is finally ready for a President Harris. 

This is what I keep thinking too (although I am not as old). I know some people are just trying to temper their own expectations to avoid disappointment, but I hope any "a woman of colour can't win" or "there needs to be a straight white man somewhere on the ticket" comments don't become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I said in the Buttigieg thread a few weeks ago that I hope these fears of how far he can go won't prevent people from voting for him in the next primary if he is their favourite - the only way to KNOW if someone can win is to take the risk and give them the chance to. That said, this time around there are a lot of unprecedented risks already being taken, so I'm watching from afar and hoping cautiously.

[GreyhoundFan]

No wall required...

[thoughtful]

Biden's ideas for Supreme Court reform:

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/29/nx-s1-5055094/biden-supreme-court

Quote

Biden is expected to call for the changes to the court during remarks later in the day at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. He is expected to offer his support to a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service of the Supreme Court.

Additionally, he is expected to call on Congress to pass binding, enforceable conduct and ethics rules that require justices on the high court to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest.

Biden is also expected to call for a constitutional amendment that would limit the broad immunity presidents now enjoy following a recent Supreme Court decision.

 

 

[Ozlsn]

On 7/29/2024 at 11:20 PM, thoughtful said:

He is expected to offer his support to a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service of the Supreme Court.

If they made the 18 years thing retroactive that would take Rogers, Thomas and Alito out immediately. I'm in favour.

[AnywhereButHere]

https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/august-1-2024?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Quote

“This is a very good afternoon,” President Joe Biden said today. “[A] very good afternoon.”

“Today, we’re bringing home Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir—three American citizens and one American green-card holder. 

“All four have been imprisoned unjustly in Russia…. Russian authorities arrested them, convicted them in show trials, and sentenced them to long prison terms with absolutely no legitimate reason whatsoever. None.” 

In a complicated prisoner swap involving the U.S., Russia, and at least seven other countries, Americans Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva and British-Russian activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who openly opposed the invasion of Ukraine, came home from Russia. Four German citizens who had also been wrongfully detained—meaning they had not broken laws but were being held as political bargaining chips—were also part of the exchange, along with a fifth who was released from Belarus. 

Also in the swap were seven Russian citizens who had been detained as political prisoners, four of whom worked with Alexei Navalny, the political opposition leader who died in February in a Russian prison. They have left Russia and will make their way to other countries. It is extraordinary that the U.S. government managed to force Putin to release his own citizens, and Biden called it out. “It says a lot about the United States that we work relentlessly to free Americans who are unjustly held around the world,” he said. “It also says a lot about us that this deal includes the release of Russian political prisoners. They stood up for democracy and human rights. Their own leaders threw them in prison. The United States helped secure their release as well. That’s who we are in the United States.

“We stand for freedom, for liberty, for justice—not only for our own people but for others as well. And that’s why all Americans can take pride in what we’ve achieved today.” 

In exchange, Russian president Vladimir Putin got the prisoner he wanted most, hit man Vadim Krasikov, back from Germany. In addition, the U.S. released three Russians, Slovenia released two, and Norway and Poland each released one. All told, eight Russians went home. 

Foreign affairs journalist Anne Applebaum noted that “a group of brave journalists and democracy activists are being exchanged for a group of brutal spies.” The exchange included no money or sanctions relief. 

The U.S. had been calling for the freedom of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as part of the negotiations when he died abruptly in Russian custody in February 2024. His death briefly derailed the negotiations that had been going on since shortly after Biden took office. Even before he took office, he had asked his national security team to dig into all the cases of hostages being wrongfully detained, which they were inheriting from the previous administration. “I wanted to make sure we’d hit the ground running,” Biden said today, “and we did.” 

He noted that with today’s releases, his administration “has brought home over 70 Americans who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad, many since before I took office.” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan later noted that the administration has reclaimed U.S. citizens from “Afghanistan, Burma, Gaza, Haiti, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Rwanda, and elsewhere.”

Asking Germany to release Krasikov was a big ask, but the government was willing to exchange him for Navalny. After Navalny’s death, it seemed likely the deal could not be revived. But Sullivan believed he saw a way forward, and Biden called German chancellor Olaf Scholz and asked him to continue to move forward. “For you, I will do this,” Scholz said. The president told Sullivan to get it done. In April President Biden sent a formal request to Scholz asking him to make the complicated swap that transpired today. When a reporter today asked Biden what Scholz had demanded in return, Biden answered: “Nothing.”

In his remarks today, Biden emphasized that the deal was “a feat of diplomacy and friendship—friendship. Multiple countries helped get this done. They joined difficult, complex negotiations at my request. And I personally thank them all again.  And I’ve thanked them personally, and I’ll thank them again.”

“This deal would not have been made possible without our allies Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey. They all stepped up, and they stood with us. They stood with us, and they made bold and brave decisions, released prisoners being held in their countries who were justifiably being held, and provided logistical support to get the Americans home. So, for anyone who questions whether allies matter, they do. They matter. 

“And today is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world—friends you can trust, work with, and depend upon, especially on matters of great consequence and sensitivity like this. 

“Our alliances make our people safer.”  

Sullivan was clear about where specific praise was due. “Today’s exchange is a feat of diplomacy that honestly could only be achieved by a leader like Joe Biden,” he said at a press conference this afternoon.” He directed the team and was personally engaged in the diplomacy necessary. “There is no more singular or concrete demonstration that the alliances that the president has reinvigorated around the world matter to Americans—to the individual safety of Americans and to the collective security of Americans,” Sullivan said. “And honestly, guys, I can just say this was vintage Joe Biden, rallying…American allies to save American citizens and Russian freedom fighters and doing it with intricate statecraft, pulling his whole team together to drive this across the finish line.” 

Tearing up, Sullivan added, “Today…was a very good day.”

This deal was in the works during the weeks when the press was hounding the president and suggesting he was not fit to do the work of the office. In fact, a senior administration official briefing reporters this morning pointed out that on July 20, an hour before he announced to the nation that he would not accept the Democratic nomination for president, Biden “was on the phone with his Slovenian counterpart, urging them to make the final arrangements and to get this deal over the finish line.” 

This is the largest prisoner swap since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The administration warned journalists that no one should think that there has been a breakthrough in the relationship between the U.S. and Russia or that tensions have eased. Putin’s continuing attacks on Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and our European partners, as well as his growing defense relationship with China, North Korea, and Iran, all mean that “you will not see a policy change from President Biden or the administration when it comes to standing up to Putin’s aggression as a result of this,” an official said. 

But the deal does suggest that Putin might be finding it in his own interest to look like he might be willing to negotiate on different issues going forward, a reflection of the damage the Ukraine war has inflicted on his own society. Russia has recently pulled its ships from the Sea of Azov, Russian mercenaries just suffered big losses in Mali, and today, Russian media reported that the country’s largest oil refinery was on fire. Putin might also be seeing that Trump’s path to the White House has gotten dramatically steeper in the past couple of weeks. 

Indeed, Putin’s decision to go ahead with the swap was a blow to Trump. Gershkovich was a Wall Street Journal reporter when he was taken into custody in March 2023, and the Wall Street Journal covered the negotiations in quite some depth today. Reporters Joe Parkinson, Drew Hinshaw, Bojan Pancevski, and Aruna Viswanatha noted that Trump got wind that a deal was coming together and began to insist at his rallies and in interviews that Putin would free Gershkovich only for him.

Putin has proven Trump wrong. 

That did not, however, stop Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance from claiming that Trump deserved credit for the swap despite Trump’s insistence that Gershkovich would be released only after Trump was reelected. For his part, Trump didn’t express any joy at all in the deal, simply claiming that Biden got fleeced and saying “[o]ur ‘negotiators’ are always an embarrassment to us!”  

And from the Department of Poor Timing, MAGA representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina tweeted this morning: “Biden is MIA. Why is no one talking about it?”

At today’s White House announcement, a reporter noted that former president Trump “has said repeatedly that he could have gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange,” and asked President Biden: “What do you say to that?”

“Why didn’t he do it when he was president?” Biden answered.  

—

While he was preparing to step down from being the nominee (with masterful timing). While people were wondering if he was fit for the job. Biden was doing his job. 

[47of74]

On 7/29/2024 at 8:20 AM, thoughtful said:

Biden's ideas for Supreme Court reform:

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/29/nx-s1-5055094/biden-supreme-court

 

 

As part of the constitutional amendment I want to see something that would limit the ability the President to pardon anyone.  And when it comes to previous Presidents only allow them to consider pardon after the previous Presidents have served two thirds of their prison sentence and a super majority of Congress and the Supreme Court agrees with the pardon.  I know the founding fathers were trying to be merciful but the pardon power has been abused too many times - especially by fuck face.

[Ozlsn]

21 hours ago, AnywhereButHere said:

The U.S. had been calling for the freedom of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as part of the negotiations when he died abruptly in Russian custody in February 2024

Damn, that is the only part of that article that makes me sad.

[kpmom]

As happy as I am for the prisoner exchange, I am wondering what’s in it for Putin?  I mean doing this 3 months before the election?  Considering Trump and JD are both for cutting support to Ukraine, what’s  up with Putin making the current administration look good, and Trump look even more foolish than he already does?

Is the bromance over?

 

[Ozlsn]

8 hours ago, kpmom said:

I am wondering what’s in it for Putin?

Got a hit man back, bolsters up his position at home and keeps people loyal. Also now has one more hitman available to assassinate rivals and political dissidents.

[noseybutt]

9 hours ago, kpmom said:

As happy as I am for the prisoner exchange, I am wondering what’s in it for Putin?  I mean doing this 3 months before the election?  Considering Trump and JD are both for cutting support to Ukraine, what’s  up with Putin making the current administration look good, and Trump look even more foolish than he already does?

Is the bromance over?

 

Most of the analysis I have read suggests Putin was needing a boost with his spies. Basically he was needing to shore up his support among his own security and intelligence people. Like @Ozlsn, I'm inclined to think that he shrugged at the lopsidedness of the deal because he will try to take out the freed people at some later date. But how does this play out for Trump? It's apparent that Putin has more important things to worry about than Trump's opinions, or maybe Putin doesn't think Trump will win so why try.

[47of74]

Biden has asked his people to work on his priorities over his remaining times in office

Quote

President Joe Biden has tasked his team with coming up with an agenda for his final six months in office, defining key priorities for the administration as he looks to secure a one-term legacy – including a robust schedule on the world stage.

On a call with political appointees across agencies Wednesday afternoon, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients laid out four main pillars for Biden’s team to execute in a lame duck period: the continued implementation of key legislation; lowering costs and growing the economy through additional moves on student debt relief and efforts to bring down prescription drug prices; defending personal freedoms and civil rights by calling out hate and extremism; and ensuring US strength, security and leadership in the world, according to audio of the call obtained by CNN.

On the fourth point, national security adviser Jake Sullivan suggested Biden would keep a busy schedule in international matters: “You can expect to see very busy months of activity, of summits and trips to ensure that we do everything we can to leave it on the field,” Sullivan said, adding that there would be “high-level summits both here and abroad.”

But before that, Sullivan said Biden’s most urgent priority “is to avoid escalation into a larger war in the Middle East and to deliver the ceasefire and hostage deal that he’s worked so hard to deliver.”

 

[kpmom]

On 8/8/2024 at 11:21 AM, 47of74 said:

Biden has asked his people to work on his priorities over his remaining times in office

 

Wait, you mean he’s *not* planning to storm the Democratic Convention, accuse Harris of a coup attempt, and declare  himself the party’s presidential candidate?

Seems like I heard somewhere that’s what he was going to do. 

[Jana814]

Met to write this in another thread 

Edited August 9 by Jana814

[GreyhoundFan]

Getting shit done!  I wish this applied to all insurance, not just Medicare.

[Audrey2]

54 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Getting shit done!  I wish this applied to all insurance, not just Medicare.

The worst thing is Trump supporters will not give Biden and Harris credit on this just like they didn't give him credit for reducing the cost of insulin and diabetes supplies. Trump has a lot of older supporters who need these medicines and in their own bizarro sick twisted World they seem to be okay with the high prices and won't give credit to the man who reduces them.

[LongTimeLurkerOG]

LOVE Joe! 💙 What he has done and does for us and the country.. he's the best. I believe he genuinely cares about us. Politicians, I know, but I think he's a good guy. 💙 

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

Youtube has been pushing lots of "Biden over the years" clips. It's sad to see the long slow decline. 20-30 years ago Biden was a different beast. 

If we get past Trump, I hope the democrats will take this seriously and get some new blood in. I know people love Biden but 50 years politician? We need term limits at all levels. People get in and stay in this long because of name recognition and it's easier to raise money when you're already in the system. Kennedy's campaign is trading very very heavily in name recognition as well, otherwise he wouldn't have a campaign.

[noseybutt]

6 minutes ago, WatchingTheTireFireBurn said:

Youtube has been pushing lots of "Biden over the years" clips. It's sad to see the long slow decline. 20-30 years ago Biden was a different beast. 

If we get past Trump, I hope the democrats will take this seriously and get some new blood in. I know people love Biden but 50 years politician? We need term limits at all levels. People get in and stay in this long because of name recognition and it's easier to raise money when you're already in the system. Kennedy's campaign is trading very very heavily in name recognition as well, otherwise he wouldn't have a campaign.

I agree.

Biden almost certainly has a neurodegenerative condition, meaning his decline is not just age related. But, no one seemed to know how to get him to quit and IMO it is by the grace of God that he still had enough insight to pull back. Individuals with Parkinsonian type disorders often lose that insight and become increasingly rigid.

Age limits or term limits would not have helped in this situation, except maybe if he was forced to retire from his 36 years as a senator.

Even more than age or term limits, the Democratic Party needs some sort of system to force new blood into the pipeline on a consistent basis, no matter how shiny and popular the old guard may be. The people in control are all too human and want to hang on to power as long as possible. 

[LongTimeLurkerOG]

Why the fuck isn't anyone focusing on Trump's cognitive decline? Seriously, not just the joking.

Some people I know are sharper at or near Biden's age than much younger people. The ageism is getting pretty disgusting. Except for effectively shutting down herr orange. 

[AnywhereButHere]

Age is a funny thing. When choosing a president, I want someone smarter than me, and in my early days of voting, that defaulted to older. As an 18-30 year old  - not a problem. Most people running for higher office were definitely both. The problem is - I have trouble seeing myself as a grown up, so as I’ve aged, so has my criteria. Obama was the first president around my age, and he was the start of me reordering my thinking. Not everyone my age is, well, me - and these younger politicians coming up are the ages of people I would’ve considered perfectly “older and wiser” when I was younger. Not to mention, a lot of people older than me have outed themselves as stupid as shit… Harris is even closer to my age, and as years go by - presidents will most definitely be younger. This line from one of my favorite movies has been hitting home a lot lately, “We have gotten bigger. Everything else has stayed the same size. You have grown. Deal with it.” 

I loved Biden’s speech last night. It was as much of a retirement speech, I think, as it was an endorsement of Harris. I think there was, not bitterness necessarily, but definitely pointed reminders of all of his administration’s accomplishments. This is what we’ve done. This is what Harris will continue to do and improve on. And hey - I’ve given my heart and soul to this country, so maybe you didn’t need to shit on me so hard these past few months? Yeah? Maybe? 
 

Anyway - my not well ordered thoughts on display! And more proof of why I will never be running for office. 😂 

[Alisamer]

Honestly my dad, who is creeping toward 80 himself and voted for Trump (because he liked Pence) in the last election, told me unprompted the other day that "all those damn old people in Washington need to get out and let some younger people get in there."

I agree with him. I'm for term limits - 16-20 years, maybe - for congress and the Supreme Court. 

I think that will naturally help shift government into being more representative of the adult population, rather than having so many people staying in office forever and ever long past when they should have moved on. It would help government representation actually represent people, and reduce the lag time inherent in government now. Things change generationally, as a population we learn and grow and progress. But congress lags behind, with so many staying there long past the age when most of their peers have long since retired. I think term limits would aid the progression and turnover. At some point you are no longer representing the people you are supposed to represent. Whether that's due to age, demographic changes in the area, or just the fact you've spent so much time in Washington you've lost touch with the locality you are representing.

Some people continue to learn and grow and change as they age. But some don't. And that's where part of the problem lies. All age groups should be represented - I'd even suggest a teen committee be formed and encouraged to present a platform of their concerns and preferences once or twice a year to congress and even be consulted on issues that effect them directly. Older adults would still be represented within congress no doubt, and I'm sure former members of congress who had reached their term limits would probably form a PAC or something and present their opinions as well.

I'm not intending to be ageist but the simple fact is there's a reason we don't allow children to run for office. Their brains aren't fully developed yet. There needs to be some similar way to ensure that people whose brain function is declining (due to age, injury, disease, brain eating worms, whatever) aren't still in office past their ability to do the job. Term limits would reduce the need to manage that, but some sort of regular testing would be good as well. Just basic healthcare, really, and not unlike how it's necessary for pilots and some in other professions maintain licensure to ensure they are still able to safely and competently perform their job duties. Congress already has good healthcare, so an annual checkup wouldn't be onerous, and a constitutional review test/class prior to each campaign would be good IMO.