We just turned on the TV to have a look at what’s going on in Milwaukee. In the foreground, Chris Hayes and Alex Wagner of MSNBC were engaged in a lengthy regurgitation of every single twist, turn, and corner in the ongoing drama about Joe Biden and what he means to the rest of the Democratic ticket.
No joke!! The only part of MSNBC I now listen to is Lawrence O’Donnell. Why? Because Trump can’t stand him. Because Lawrence calls Trump out all of the time saying he’s a liar, a rapist, a grifter, friends with Putin, and Xi. Nobody else does that. Then I turn the tv off and read everybody I follow on Substack where I get the real news. The Dems are really stupid though, the ones calling for Biden to step down. I just see them (Schiff, in particular) salivating to run for prez. Where is Kamala in all of this? Well, if Biden is tossed aside, she will be too. So see, this is their plan and it stinks to high heaven! Biden has been diagnosed with Covid now. Can the man get a fucking break?
Thank you, Lucien, for watching and listening to this unbearable convention. For calling it Nuremberg. I can imagine worse, and hope we don't go there. Friends on the frontline in Ukraine,unknown parents in Syria, Gaza, Israel, Darfur have. My dear friend who can't care for their partner anymore--at least they can choose that he go into 24 hour nursing care. Uff.
In total agreement with you re Lawrence. I love the first 10 minutes of his shows where he goes after those who deserve it, and somehow has things that no one else has revealed all day. He is the best.
Biden is likely to step down, in the next few days, and hand the reins to Kamala Harris. The majority of those in his party will be pleased and relieved at Biden's reasonable response to his own mental deterioration.
His “deterioration,” however, is not f-ing MENTAL! He has minor aphasic moments, and he rushes over words sometimes. Big frigging deal.
The aphasia is a symptom of stress, and age, but NOT necessarily decline in primary executive function. I don’t think his aphasia indicates defective thought or a breakdown in complex cognition. I watched him react to Lester Holt’s questions, and it was clear he understood the Content AND Context AND Consequences of the direction that the interview took. He answered quickly and with savvy to parry several questions that were skewed to highlight his shortcomings while sidelining the same or WORSE from Trump….He is still strategically strong and able to draw on his expertise and experience to govern. If he can’t make it four years, Harris is there. She can. But my observations are not going to carry the day. Talk of Biden’s staying in the race is not based on reality — it’s all optics and perception and some kind of massive political “screen test.”
I am not afraid to trust our country to Biden and Harris. Between them, they can do a great job.
Who else do Democrats think will do the kind of job Joe has done in the world for the past three-and-a-half years?
WHO?
Nobody.
Gad, Democrats piss me off. They lost the labor contingent when Clinton was in office, and his crew embraced the Chicago crowd and Wall Street, the Clintons mouthed that nasty stuff about the end of “Big Government,” and they endorsed putting more people [poor people who couldn’t afford lawyers].in jail for longer sentences … And here we are.
Biden is a great President, still. We are in a time when the conversation is a big part of the substance and weirdly, facts recede in importance or at least do not respond as they should.. we need to stand for fact.. Yet the conversation needs to be taken seriously in terms of its impact on our futures and for this reason, I believe he needs to consider stepping aside. The question of whether it's ability or electability is imponderable on both sides. Biden announced tonight that he has tested positive for COVID and I believe him, and that he deserves time to heal and respect. But boy the trolls are wriggling all over this.
No argument … they are. I don’t know if he needs to leave — I don’t have that crystal ball. I don’t know who could step in and win … I don’t know if he can pull it together and win, especially with so many people pulling the rug out from under him.
I just listened to Mr. Oh-so-Folksy-Butter-Wouldn’t-Melt-in-His-Mouth Vance at the R Convention. He’s scary — he sounds like everybody’s new best friend talking about his Mamaw , and he follows it up with a litany of misdirection and untruth about Democrats. {He didn’t lie about Biden supporting military actions I would like to strangle him for, but Biden wasn’t the president in those days, and Mr. Trump wasn’t even in politics …They were Republican’s wars.}. The whole time he talked about bringing manufacturing back to the US, there was no mention of Biden DOING it right now. There was no mention of Trump shipping HIS manufacturing jobs overseas … I could spend hours untangling the disinformation and twisted tales he told.
Mr. Folksy.
Don’t be fooled. But a lot of people will. They’ll buy the TV persona of an attack dog [not on display for MOST of his talk tonight] who pretends to be warm and cuddly, and who tell us Mr. Trump was one of the most successful businessmen in the world who gave it all up to sacrifice for our country.
What an imagination that man has …
The Left had better get its act together, and soon.
I would infinitely rather have Biden than Trump, and I am saddened by this whole thing—but perception is important, and right now, he does not appear to have the ability to appear a strong leader. I will be sorry to see him go, and will be eternally grateful to him for the last 4 years.
I love President Biden, but it looks like his health is ailing. I hope he recovers quickly from covid, but at his age, the lingering effects may take it's toll long run. It is a tragedy, because we have not had a person in the White House for so long who has done more for everyday folks of all ethnic backgrounds. And the results of his efforts have not really been felt yet.
Yes, Pat, optics for one thing. Movie presidents set a high bar for appearances.
Another thing is the fact too many Americans do not know what powers a president has or does not have, so the credit or blame the president for the state of the economy. “Groceries are still too high. Biden’s fault. We will teach him a lesson and elect his opponent. Who experts say will make inflation worse. But we will feel like we have “held Democrats accountable.”
So what if the “party of law and order” tears up the Constitutional requirement that a losing candidate does not take office by violence.
I've voted for Democrats all my life, worked for Democratic down-ballot candidates in 2016 (Clinton-Kaine was already a sure thing in my state of MA), but didn't register as a Democrat till after the 2016 election. Then I became an officer in the local Dem group. Six years was enough. The local Dems are fine, but what I saw of the state and national party? OMG. And now I'm seriously considering going back to "unenrolled" in any party.
Clintons were terrible. True. Stealth, corporation embracing Repuglicans.
I'm curious how you would define a great presidency though? All the younger (under 45 years old) American former democrats I know have never struggled harder economically and are disgusted by his foreign policy.
They are itching to create a true popular Democratic Socialist evolution , out of the ashes of a party they see as corrupt as the Republicans. It's going to be difficult for them though. Most of them are working 2 jobs to put a roof over their heads or buy a junker they can sleep in, in Biden's economic miracle.
“Most” young people aren’t quite as bad off as you describe, but far too many ARE …I don’t think Biden handled the Bibi Netanyahu and the Gaza situation well at all, but that is a Gordian Knot of massive proportions., and Netanyahu holds the knot in his hands. And I would like Joe to have made a few different choices vis-a-vis Ukraine. He HAS reconstituted our international alliances, after Donald destroyed them. Joe has NOT been doing enough to curb the use of fossil fuels, but he HAS supported robust development of green energy, too. He is not responsible for the rise in housing prices, or inflation, for that matter, which are highly complex processes that can be inflluenced by national policy, but are sometimes very hard to curb when they arise from other quarters— and unlike what Vance said, it’s not immigrants who are driving up housing prices. Uber-wealthy speculators have been driving up prices AND absorbing housing stock by buying houses sight unseen to turn them into rentals. My own family had to cope with having houses bought right out from under them more than once by wealthy buyers paying cash, who didn’t even do inspections. That is not Biden, that is the financial sector doing it — the richest of the rich.
What I think Biden has done right is put our alliances back together and forge new ones with countries around the world. And he is on the right track bringing manufacturing back, and repairing and upgrading our national infrastructure, even though he’s had to struggle with obstructionist Republicans the whole way.
Biden is good at getting the government to function.
And if you've been following politics for a while, you know that this went out of control with the Reagan administration. Obama helped move us forward, but he came into office just as the Republican/financial sector crashed the economy. Then Biden-Harris came in to clean up the mess the Trump administration had made, and not just with COVID. Notice how Democrats are always having to clean up the messes that Republicans with their "free market" crap are always creating?
I understand, Pat. In Canada the federal government finally passed law that financially punishes speculative real estate purchases. As a result, we've curbed foreign millionaires, billionaires, hedge funds and locals from hoarding real estate.
I don't know if the president has the same authority in the U.S. It may be beyond his purview.
The Chinese are busy buying up all the farmland, globally now, with a preference for the US. It's awful.
Image is everything though, and Biden certainly could have curbed arm sales to Israel, while crowing about his success putting together a peace plan.
Another thing he could have done, at minimum, is offer words of encouragement to those who are suffering in an economy pulling out of covid (and all the inflation it engendered,) instead of telling everyone how great they are doing. Huge mistake.
As far as forging alliances, sanctioning countries that fall out of favor, will eventually weaken the dollar, and encourage the BRICS countries to rely on alternative currencies to settle international business transactions, including oil purchases.
I think Trump will be MUCH worse for US, economically, after an initial rush of investment, if they follow through with Republican plans.
Anyway, sorry to hear about your family trying to purchase real estate and failing in a world that is so biased in favor of the hyper wealthy. It's profoundly sad. I hope they eventually had some luck. Thanks for your response!
Sometimes Biden sounds like Fidel Castro used to when we could catch his broadcasts in S Florida. On and on with boring statistics about tractors. To his credit, Biden seems to be struggling to have facts believed instead of distortions weaponized.
I can't help mentioning the racial disparities in home-and business ownership. Percentage of businesses owned by black people is still in single digits!
Recent hard right defeats in Europe and India came from left and center coalitions voting together against the worst outcome. Bernie admits as much, no? And I hope we all see through RFK ... Sorry, I don't know you. The jobs market is not what it's cracked up to be for Gen Z. But does saving to own a home in your 40s or 50s not have dignity?
Well, the Bernie wing sure helped the turd win the first time around. Looking for an encore? Bernie talks the talk and has never, ever walked the walk.
Bernie should have been the nominee for president in 2016. He was the popular candidate. It's like they ran Clinton, hoping to lose. The DNC are profoundly out of touch with their constituency. It's come down to, "Change or Die." Happened to the dinosaurs. Can just as easily happen to the Demosaurs.
Joy Ann Reid said she would vote for Biden “ if his brains were in a jar”. Biden is competent ,has a terrific VP, has surrounded himself with an excellent Cabinet and staff.He has quietly been doing the heavy lifting for our democracy for years.I stand behind him and am trying to tune out the malcontents,Russian AI, trolls and bots who are trying to plant seeds of doubt to confuse and demoralize voters.Im not buying what they are selling.
Yes Dems need to unite with Biden especially at this late stage in the game.Going against the grain, the DNC is inadvertently helping to install Trump as dictator.Getting Biden out is making a Trump presidency more important to Russia and other authoritarians.Dems already appear discombobulated and uncertain which creates”fear”, a vastly usable tool to authoritarians.
Does anyone really believe that this vicious, racist, misogynistic country will vote for a Black woman for President? I hate saying this but we have to look reality in the face. The fascists will do their evil best to destroy her. Damn, I have no answers.
I don’t think so, Jess. I really don’t. The Dems who want him to step aside will not support Kamala and that’s the problem. If they did, then I would feel somewhat better about this situation we are in.
Please, just stop it! Whose mental deterioration? Who the hell are you talking about? You know this for a fact? Or are just one of the "concerned democrats" peddling lies and base rumors? Whose side are you on? Because you posting is MAGAlite so to speak. Try running the country and putting up with idiots stirring the pot. Why don't you put down your spoon and just stop.
Jess Hansen. Not you, Marlene. Suggesting "mental deterioration". Yeah, that's why he was able to do so well last week. Uh-huh. Have we all turned into idiots who can no longer discern gossip and slander from truth? My apologies, the string went to the wrong poster..
All of them. And it's not a secret agenda. It's in the open. For example, do you really think that Michael Bennet, or anyone else for that matter, really believes there is no path to victory? Against Trump? Anyone or anything is capable of defeating Trump and he knows it.
So as far as Harris is concerned, how do we know who will support her? One guy wants Biden to stay so he is going to lie about supporting Harris. Another one wants Shapiro so that one will lie too. And there are so many Democrats lying to the pollsters about voting for Trump to get Biden to drop out that those numbers are useless too.
As a rule human beings want to believe in what they hear. We don't allow for the lying factor often enough.
Dizzying, your Through the Looking Glass world where nothing is what it seems, nothing anyone says is true, what's real is what you declare to be real. It's too distant from the world i live in for me to untangle.
Do you really think that VP Harris, competent as she is, is a sure thing with an electorate where, to put it politely, sexism and racism are not unknown? The punditocracy remains obsessed with the June 27 debate, to the exclusion of anything that happened before or since, and too many people seem to have fallen for it.
I don't think that Biden will step down, but he might. I don't think his mental condition is deteriorating. This is the same Joe Biden I remember from 30 years ago. He just walks and talks more slowly.
And I believe Joe Biden will beat Donald Trump if he hangs in there, but I can't be sure.
Having said all that I hope you are right. A younger candidate will have an even better chance of winning. Trump is a terrible candidate. People are begging for an excuse to not vote for him.
For one thing, because of your own irrational swerves in this very comments thread! First it's "likely to step down" and then it's "only at the rumor stage," in fact, it's your own "mental deterioration that seems more pressing than Biden's occasionally halting speech and temporary misidentifications!
You're clearly basing this on fleeting impressions of your own , and some weird notions about what "someone else" would produce versus Trump.
LOL, your reading comprehension on that post was flawed, there's a shocker - clearly it was the 3rd Symphony by Brahms, which contains a musical tinge of the Sturm and Drang movement. You have real problems and this is approaching the kind of nonsense trolls post, just cease and desist.
I haven’t seen Joy Reid playing along with the dump Biden panic.
As I posted before I really think all these elites turning on the candidate voters chose in the primaries — with almost no mention of concern for that — is angering people. I just looked at the Daily Beast which has gone all dump Biden. There is an article about a top Democratic donor arrogantly writing an “I quit speech for Biden”.
Greg Sargent — a great columnist the WaPo dumped but who is now at the New Republic — recently wrote this article about the Morning Consult poll showing that voters are more turned off by Trump’s lying than by Biden’s age and poor debate. Our arrogant mainstream media is so invested in pushing Biden out that they ignored this poll
Why such a freak out about the possibility that Biden won’t be able to complete a second term when he has an extremely capable, well-qualified VP and staff that can carry on very smoothly? If we elect Biden Harris the country will be in excellent hands no matter what happens with Biden. If we elect Trump which also means electing his already selected team of extremist plutocrats and Christian nationalists, we are doomed.
She's ridiculous. She's playing Rosali nd Russell in 'His Girl Friday' . I've grown to really dislike her. Her takes on the Columbia University Gaza protests were unbelievably ignorant comparing them to anti war demonstrations of the late 60's and early 70's. It was once again Lawrence O'Donnell that bitch slapped her and the ever breathless Dasha Burns.
There is no climate change, unwanted babies are happy, experts are ignorant, lies are truth. I no longer puzzle about Americans taken in by online and phone scams - or about the people who perpetrate them. What I wonder about more than ever is how we humans ever made it out of the caves.
In spite of all that, we pro-democracy Americans still outnumber those who embrace authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption. So let's get back to work to volunteer, support, and donate to Democratic candidates. Venting on Substack is a tiny first step. We must get out the vote. We MUST persist, persevere, and prevail.
Amen and amen! Unless every last one of us does everything they can to turn out the vote, the mouth-breathers win.
One thing each of us can do is to help people we know understand how important it is to participate. I have a sister who told me she is too depressed by her choices to get involved. I gave her a rundown of what will likely happen if everyone like her doesn't, and a bunch of different ways she could help. She said "huh, I hadn't really thought of it like that", and has now emailed to say she's working with a get-out-the-vote group in her rather purple state. Proof that just listening and offering constructive advice can indeed make a difference!
Probably a Clarmont-inspired correction of situation where the pregnant female's life might take priority over discrimination-victim male's. He also defended opposing abortion permission for rape victims by saying Two wrongs don't make a right.
No shit, right!!? Nuremberg Amerikkka is on full display behind them, live & MSNBC just jabber on about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.....
This rally in Milwaukee is nauseating. Nominating a lying, raping grifter who does not know the Constitution or a glaring fact for that matter to be president? And they've added that darling of the right Vance who has done what in his ten minute political career? While I was never a Nixon fan, give the man credit for understanding international relations well. I cannot imagine that president looking at this appalling spectacle and not being ill. Can't you just hear him saying: "what do you mean you don't support Ukraine? You want those bastards in Moscow to win?" I will support anybody nominated by the Dems even if they add Liz Cheney to make it a national unity ticket. At least Liz is dead serious about following the Constitution. The GOP is nuts, certifiably nuts. Keep pounding them Lucian.
Letʼs try to name someone on the Supreme Court or in the Republican Party whoʼs not on Putinʼs payroll. I just wonder what all these people did to attract a) Putinʼs attention and b) get themselves filmed for blackmail.
You need to inform yourself of the proposals already presented. Nobody is pushing a candidate 1980-style, which I understand could frustrate your argument.
NO, the argument for him to step down has NOT coalesced around another candidate. There is no consensus. Your claim that no one is pushing a 1980-style candidate might have resonated a couple months ago, but by NOW, if there is a serious effort to ask him to leave, there should be serious support behind someone to step in. There isn’t.
Once the messenger has been killed, news from the world at large inevitably thins out. Anne Applebaum, James Carville, Ezra Klein and no doubt others have described plans to choose sn alternative candudate not shaped on the horserace model, an approach that doesn't engage my interest.
Well the candidate's name is Vice Presidemt Kamala Harris. She is the only one who can access the DNC money. And as we know money is the only thing that matters now.
No, actually, VOTES matter, which is why the Rpubllcan Party spens SO much time dissing voters and suppressing the vote. Money is politics is used to access communication with VOTERS, through direct approaches on the campaign trail and through advertising. VOTES are still the name of the game, though the Project 2025 may sideline votes in the future and replace them with the Unitary Executive able to make unilateral decisions with impunity.
I did not intend to watch that sham convention in Milwaukee. Given the various reports coming out of there, the whole thing is WAY worse than I thought. Abraham Lincoln would not recognize this cult. He would have thought they were southern planters.
I’ll send you a case of Lysol to disinfect your brain 🧠 after sitting through that slopfest Donald says inject 8ozs. Directly into your temple for greatest cleansing effect!😳
"We want women to have opportunities, we want women to have choices, but, above all, we want women and young boys in the womb to have a right to life.” This quote right here says it all: they don't give a s**t about women, it's all about BOYS.
JD Vance really surprised me. Watched Hillbilly Elegy and was moved by his story. I've followed up by reading a few articles about him, and interviews.
The one thing that came through, about his analysis about his family and fellow townsfolk in the sacrifice zone, is how he emphasized the good old "power of the individual over their environment" idea.
It reeks of a lack of understanding of what someone can realistically overcome, as much as his lack of understanding of the difference between a zygote and a full term newborn.
Plus, he desperately wants a war with Iran. He's kind of an opportunistic putz, if you ask me.
Thanks for covering this, Lucien, so we don't have to.
I worked for 2 1/2 years in tge 70's with wonderful certified genuine hillbillies, and so I hate the book. They were/are the most selfless, helpful, family and community oriented culture I worked in. My next stint was Tulsa, Oklahoma my big pink Cadilac is more expensive than yours country.
MaryPat, this is a substack you might enjoy https://thestoryisthething.substack.com/archive/ The author is Ohio-bred Douglas John Imbrogno, an adopted West Virginian who stayed after he retired as a daily newspaper editor; he appreciates the state more than some natives. Much of his photography is exquisite.
Thanks for remembering! My son, whose birthday is today, was named for one of the 8 counties I covered with The National Health Service Corps, Nicholas County.
We are watching the attempted total destruction of the USA by the Nazi party. Our once beloved free press is now a tool of the Nazis. It's mind boggling.
Yep they have really done it. And, we all paid for it to happen! This country will get the leadership we deserve. Then, a whole new gen will have to fight and die and learn about freedom
MSNBC, Kristin Welker, Chris Hayes engaging in what they do best—regurgitating and frothing. Same for the rest with exception of Lawrence. Have been cold turkey on them and CNN for six days now. Fine work Lucian. You and numerous Substacks and MeidasTouch network seem to be all that’s left of responsible reporting. Best to you, Traci and all critters.
Read this column by Rebecca Solnit on the dangers of abandoning the car that got you there”
“It’s the pundits who have turned on Biden, not the party……..
It is an editorial choice to speculate on what Biden’s health will be like in four years rather than what the health of the country will be if he and Harris do not win four months from now. To state the obvious, insisting over and over and over that a candidate is weak and cannot win weakens them and makes it less likely they will win”
It’s definitely an editorial choice. They could spend their time talking about the things the Biden - Harris adminstration has accomplished, especially when it comes to the economy which is the best in the world. They could tell people that the World Bank recently upgraded its prediction for global growth, saying it’s the US economy that is powering the rest of the world. I have seen almost no one reporting on that amazing fact.
What's up with Adam Schiff? What a fucking selfish move!! I've had it with Schmucky Chuckie! If Sherrod Brown gets reelected,(Which he will!) he should run for leader. Jeffries needs to stick his foot up some asses too! If he can't handle it, Kathrine Clark can.
I have never been happier that I discontinued all the news channels cable package a year ago. I would rather read what others watched than to see it myself.
Appalled at what MSNBC has devolved into. If the Democratic ticket doesn’t win, it will be because of shooting ourselves in our own feet in the presence of Republican chaos, lies and unlawfulness.
No joke!! The only part of MSNBC I now listen to is Lawrence O’Donnell. Why? Because Trump can’t stand him. Because Lawrence calls Trump out all of the time saying he’s a liar, a rapist, a grifter, friends with Putin, and Xi. Nobody else does that. Then I turn the tv off and read everybody I follow on Substack where I get the real news. The Dems are really stupid though, the ones calling for Biden to step down. I just see them (Schiff, in particular) salivating to run for prez. Where is Kamala in all of this? Well, if Biden is tossed aside, she will be too. So see, this is their plan and it stinks to high heaven! Biden has been diagnosed with Covid now. Can the man get a fucking break?
Can the US get a fucking break?
Thank you, Lucien, for watching and listening to this unbearable convention. For calling it Nuremberg. I can imagine worse, and hope we don't go there. Friends on the frontline in Ukraine,unknown parents in Syria, Gaza, Israel, Darfur have. My dear friend who can't care for their partner anymore--at least they can choose that he go into 24 hour nursing care. Uff.
No only breaks for the convicts felon, rapist, fascist liar.
In total agreement with you re Lawrence. I love the first 10 minutes of his shows where he goes after those who deserve it, and somehow has things that no one else has revealed all day. He is the best.
When Lawrence starts a sentence with, "Donald Trump is the most......," you always know it's going to be a good one!
He really is.
Is it possible to stay out of the mess by keeping a distance?
That’s my strategy at the moment.
Celebrated my 76th birthday in Toronto with grandchildren who have dual citizenship and will be visiting NYC next month!
Stay the course and keep above ground! Dead votes don’t count!
I keep comparing Biden’s performance to the current Pope! And if G-d Almighty is up to the task, we’ll be celebrating in November.
Happy Belated Birthday, Babette! May you enjoy many more wonderful moments. 💗
Lawrence is the best!
Agreed.
Biden is likely to step down, in the next few days, and hand the reins to Kamala Harris. The majority of those in his party will be pleased and relieved at Biden's reasonable response to his own mental deterioration.
His “deterioration,” however, is not f-ing MENTAL! He has minor aphasic moments, and he rushes over words sometimes. Big frigging deal.
The aphasia is a symptom of stress, and age, but NOT necessarily decline in primary executive function. I don’t think his aphasia indicates defective thought or a breakdown in complex cognition. I watched him react to Lester Holt’s questions, and it was clear he understood the Content AND Context AND Consequences of the direction that the interview took. He answered quickly and with savvy to parry several questions that were skewed to highlight his shortcomings while sidelining the same or WORSE from Trump….He is still strategically strong and able to draw on his expertise and experience to govern. If he can’t make it four years, Harris is there. She can. But my observations are not going to carry the day. Talk of Biden’s staying in the race is not based on reality — it’s all optics and perception and some kind of massive political “screen test.”
I am not afraid to trust our country to Biden and Harris. Between them, they can do a great job.
Who else do Democrats think will do the kind of job Joe has done in the world for the past three-and-a-half years?
WHO?
Nobody.
Gad, Democrats piss me off. They lost the labor contingent when Clinton was in office, and his crew embraced the Chicago crowd and Wall Street, the Clintons mouthed that nasty stuff about the end of “Big Government,” and they endorsed putting more people [poor people who couldn’t afford lawyers].in jail for longer sentences … And here we are.
Dammit.
Biden is a great President, still. We are in a time when the conversation is a big part of the substance and weirdly, facts recede in importance or at least do not respond as they should.. we need to stand for fact.. Yet the conversation needs to be taken seriously in terms of its impact on our futures and for this reason, I believe he needs to consider stepping aside. The question of whether it's ability or electability is imponderable on both sides. Biden announced tonight that he has tested positive for COVID and I believe him, and that he deserves time to heal and respect. But boy the trolls are wriggling all over this.
No argument … they are. I don’t know if he needs to leave — I don’t have that crystal ball. I don’t know who could step in and win … I don’t know if he can pull it together and win, especially with so many people pulling the rug out from under him.
I just listened to Mr. Oh-so-Folksy-Butter-Wouldn’t-Melt-in-His-Mouth Vance at the R Convention. He’s scary — he sounds like everybody’s new best friend talking about his Mamaw , and he follows it up with a litany of misdirection and untruth about Democrats. {He didn’t lie about Biden supporting military actions I would like to strangle him for, but Biden wasn’t the president in those days, and Mr. Trump wasn’t even in politics …They were Republican’s wars.}. The whole time he talked about bringing manufacturing back to the US, there was no mention of Biden DOING it right now. There was no mention of Trump shipping HIS manufacturing jobs overseas … I could spend hours untangling the disinformation and twisted tales he told.
Mr. Folksy.
Don’t be fooled. But a lot of people will. They’ll buy the TV persona of an attack dog [not on display for MOST of his talk tonight] who pretends to be warm and cuddly, and who tell us Mr. Trump was one of the most successful businessmen in the world who gave it all up to sacrifice for our country.
What an imagination that man has …
The Left had better get its act together, and soon.
Those people already are fooled. And it's hurting the country.
It feels like living in a never-ending-twisting-turning-can't wake-up-nightmare.
It does. Hard to hold onto hope. But that is what will break us — losing hope.
Holding on…
Well said.
I would infinitely rather have Biden than Trump, and I am saddened by this whole thing—but perception is important, and right now, he does not appear to have the ability to appear a strong leader. I will be sorry to see him go, and will be eternally grateful to him for the last 4 years.
I love President Biden, but it looks like his health is ailing. I hope he recovers quickly from covid, but at his age, the lingering effects may take it's toll long run. It is a tragedy, because we have not had a person in the White House for so long who has done more for everyday folks of all ethnic backgrounds. And the results of his efforts have not really been felt yet.
Right and if the felon wins the election, they will take credit for it.
The other R's in red states have already been doing just that.
Yes, Pat, optics for one thing. Movie presidents set a high bar for appearances.
Another thing is the fact too many Americans do not know what powers a president has or does not have, so the credit or blame the president for the state of the economy. “Groceries are still too high. Biden’s fault. We will teach him a lesson and elect his opponent. Who experts say will make inflation worse. But we will feel like we have “held Democrats accountable.”
So what if the “party of law and order” tears up the Constitutional requirement that a losing candidate does not take office by violence.
I've voted for Democrats all my life, worked for Democratic down-ballot candidates in 2016 (Clinton-Kaine was already a sure thing in my state of MA), but didn't register as a Democrat till after the 2016 election. Then I became an officer in the local Dem group. Six years was enough. The local Dems are fine, but what I saw of the state and national party? OMG. And now I'm seriously considering going back to "unenrolled" in any party.
I love Jamie Raskin, Jared Moskowitz and Jasmine Crockett!
Clintons were terrible. True. Stealth, corporation embracing Repuglicans.
I'm curious how you would define a great presidency though? All the younger (under 45 years old) American former democrats I know have never struggled harder economically and are disgusted by his foreign policy.
They are itching to create a true popular Democratic Socialist evolution , out of the ashes of a party they see as corrupt as the Republicans. It's going to be difficult for them though. Most of them are working 2 jobs to put a roof over their heads or buy a junker they can sleep in, in Biden's economic miracle.
“Most” young people aren’t quite as bad off as you describe, but far too many ARE …I don’t think Biden handled the Bibi Netanyahu and the Gaza situation well at all, but that is a Gordian Knot of massive proportions., and Netanyahu holds the knot in his hands. And I would like Joe to have made a few different choices vis-a-vis Ukraine. He HAS reconstituted our international alliances, after Donald destroyed them. Joe has NOT been doing enough to curb the use of fossil fuels, but he HAS supported robust development of green energy, too. He is not responsible for the rise in housing prices, or inflation, for that matter, which are highly complex processes that can be inflluenced by national policy, but are sometimes very hard to curb when they arise from other quarters— and unlike what Vance said, it’s not immigrants who are driving up housing prices. Uber-wealthy speculators have been driving up prices AND absorbing housing stock by buying houses sight unseen to turn them into rentals. My own family had to cope with having houses bought right out from under them more than once by wealthy buyers paying cash, who didn’t even do inspections. That is not Biden, that is the financial sector doing it — the richest of the rich.
What I think Biden has done right is put our alliances back together and forge new ones with countries around the world. And he is on the right track bringing manufacturing back, and repairing and upgrading our national infrastructure, even though he’s had to struggle with obstructionist Republicans the whole way.
Biden is good at getting the government to function.
The richest of the rich are subsidized at a rate that could cover every social program.
And if you've been following politics for a while, you know that this went out of control with the Reagan administration. Obama helped move us forward, but he came into office just as the Republican/financial sector crashed the economy. Then Biden-Harris came in to clean up the mess the Trump administration had made, and not just with COVID. Notice how Democrats are always having to clean up the messes that Republicans with their "free market" crap are always creating?
I understand, Pat. In Canada the federal government finally passed law that financially punishes speculative real estate purchases. As a result, we've curbed foreign millionaires, billionaires, hedge funds and locals from hoarding real estate.
I don't know if the president has the same authority in the U.S. It may be beyond his purview.
The Chinese are busy buying up all the farmland, globally now, with a preference for the US. It's awful.
Image is everything though, and Biden certainly could have curbed arm sales to Israel, while crowing about his success putting together a peace plan.
Another thing he could have done, at minimum, is offer words of encouragement to those who are suffering in an economy pulling out of covid (and all the inflation it engendered,) instead of telling everyone how great they are doing. Huge mistake.
As far as forging alliances, sanctioning countries that fall out of favor, will eventually weaken the dollar, and encourage the BRICS countries to rely on alternative currencies to settle international business transactions, including oil purchases.
I think Trump will be MUCH worse for US, economically, after an initial rush of investment, if they follow through with Republican plans.
Anyway, sorry to hear about your family trying to purchase real estate and failing in a world that is so biased in favor of the hyper wealthy. It's profoundly sad. I hope they eventually had some luck. Thanks for your response!
Sometimes Biden sounds like Fidel Castro used to when we could catch his broadcasts in S Florida. On and on with boring statistics about tractors. To his credit, Biden seems to be struggling to have facts believed instead of distortions weaponized.
I can't help mentioning the racial disparities in home-and business ownership. Percentage of businesses owned by black people is still in single digits!
Recent hard right defeats in Europe and India came from left and center coalitions voting together against the worst outcome. Bernie admits as much, no? And I hope we all see through RFK ... Sorry, I don't know you. The jobs market is not what it's cracked up to be for Gen Z. But does saving to own a home in your 40s or 50s not have dignity?
The Democrats have become a right wing party. They need to fold or evolve. You need another Kennedy.
Or Schlossberg! Trouble is, politics is not the higher calling it once was. I don't know of many young people who would want to be in politics.
Yes!
Bernie should have been the candidate!
Well, the Bernie wing sure helped the turd win the first time around. Looking for an encore? Bernie talks the talk and has never, ever walked the walk.
Sanders endorsed Biden this time, though. He's even older, 82.
Bernie should have been the nominee for president in 2016. He was the popular candidate. It's like they ran Clinton, hoping to lose. The DNC are profoundly out of touch with their constituency. It's come down to, "Change or Die." Happened to the dinosaurs. Can just as easily happen to the Demosaurs.
Joy Ann Reid said she would vote for Biden “ if his brains were in a jar”. Biden is competent ,has a terrific VP, has surrounded himself with an excellent Cabinet and staff.He has quietly been doing the heavy lifting for our democracy for years.I stand behind him and am trying to tune out the malcontents,Russian AI, trolls and bots who are trying to plant seeds of doubt to confuse and demoralize voters.Im not buying what they are selling.
Yes Dems need to unite with Biden especially at this late stage in the game.Going against the grain, the DNC is inadvertently helping to install Trump as dictator.Getting Biden out is making a Trump presidency more important to Russia and other authoritarians.Dems already appear discombobulated and uncertain which creates”fear”, a vastly usable tool to authoritarians.
Does anyone really believe that this vicious, racist, misogynistic country will vote for a Black woman for President? I hate saying this but we have to look reality in the face. The fascists will do their evil best to destroy her. Damn, I have no answers.
Mmmm, they’ll try to cast her in the role of Pelosi, Warren, Hillary — just vilify, vilify, vilify …
I don’t think so, Jess. I really don’t. The Dems who want him to step aside will not support Kamala and that’s the problem. If they did, then I would feel somewhat better about this situation we are in.
Please, just stop it! Whose mental deterioration? Who the hell are you talking about? You know this for a fact? Or are just one of the "concerned democrats" peddling lies and base rumors? Whose side are you on? Because you posting is MAGAlite so to speak. Try running the country and putting up with idiots stirring the pot. Why don't you put down your spoon and just stop.
Bloody barstool pundits.
I wouldn't go so far as to describe Joe and Jill Biden and family as "stirring the pot." They may be doing the best they can.
No, my dear, YOU are.
Who are you directing your disgust to, Carol-Ann?
Jess Hansen. Not you, Marlene. Suggesting "mental deterioration". Yeah, that's why he was able to do so well last week. Uh-huh. Have we all turned into idiots who can no longer discern gossip and slander from truth? My apologies, the string went to the wrong poster..
👍🏼
Let’s just not attack one another though. We need us to stay on a somewhat even keel. Thx
What in the world gives you that idea, Marlene? I read and listen to a lot on the debate, and that's a new one on me.
If Biden could get elected, and were to fail in office, I'd be confident in Harris. But could Biden get elected? Could she?
Will see what happens. His imminent stepping aside is still rumor stage anyway.
P.S. There is no mental deterioration. Well, yes there is - but that deterioration is on full display in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee.
Correction being made immediately.
There's no way of knowing if they will or not. Right now everybody is lying to force their particular agenda and nobody knows WTF us going on.
Well, don't say that, then hold out on us. Name names, Eric.Who is lying? What are these secret agendas?
All of them. And it's not a secret agenda. It's in the open. For example, do you really think that Michael Bennet, or anyone else for that matter, really believes there is no path to victory? Against Trump? Anyone or anything is capable of defeating Trump and he knows it.
So as far as Harris is concerned, how do we know who will support her? One guy wants Biden to stay so he is going to lie about supporting Harris. Another one wants Shapiro so that one will lie too. And there are so many Democrats lying to the pollsters about voting for Trump to get Biden to drop out that those numbers are useless too.
As a rule human beings want to believe in what they hear. We don't allow for the lying factor often enough.
Dizzying, your Through the Looking Glass world where nothing is what it seems, nothing anyone says is true, what's real is what you declare to be real. It's too distant from the world i live in for me to untangle.
Do you really think that VP Harris, competent as she is, is a sure thing with an electorate where, to put it politely, sexism and racism are not unknown? The punditocracy remains obsessed with the June 27 debate, to the exclusion of anything that happened before or since, and too many people seem to have fallen for it.
Many white people will flee from Kamala, because they'll see her as black--and how blackness appears in their minds.
I don't think that Biden will step down, but he might. I don't think his mental condition is deteriorating. This is the same Joe Biden I remember from 30 years ago. He just walks and talks more slowly.
And I believe Joe Biden will beat Donald Trump if he hangs in there, but I can't be sure.
Having said all that I hope you are right. A younger candidate will have an even better chance of winning. Trump is a terrible candidate. People are begging for an excuse to not vote for him.
Nope
Your diagnosis is based on impressionistic percepts, not relevant medical data points which you aren't trained to interpret in any case.
And you know this how, Richard?
For one thing, because of your own irrational swerves in this very comments thread! First it's "likely to step down" and then it's "only at the rumor stage," in fact, it's your own "mental deterioration that seems more pressing than Biden's occasionally halting speech and temporary misidentifications!
You're clearly basing this on fleeting impressions of your own , and some weird notions about what "someone else" would produce versus Trump.
Your post brings the composers, Sturm and Drang to mind.
LOL, your reading comprehension on that post was flawed, there's a shocker - clearly it was the 3rd Symphony by Brahms, which contains a musical tinge of the Sturm and Drang movement. You have real problems and this is approaching the kind of nonsense trolls post, just cease and desist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturm_und_Drang
I just saw this today (the18th). Because of COVID, Pelosi, the D. leadership in both houses, I believe you are right.
🤬🤬🤬
Wait a minute. If Biden resigns, does not VP Harris become Acting President or something like that
I haven’t seen Joy Reid playing along with the dump Biden panic.
As I posted before I really think all these elites turning on the candidate voters chose in the primaries — with almost no mention of concern for that — is angering people. I just looked at the Daily Beast which has gone all dump Biden. There is an article about a top Democratic donor arrogantly writing an “I quit speech for Biden”.
Greg Sargent — a great columnist the WaPo dumped but who is now at the New Republic — recently wrote this article about the Morning Consult poll showing that voters are more turned off by Trump’s lying than by Biden’s age and poor debate. Our arrogant mainstream media is so invested in pushing Biden out that they ignored this poll
https://newrepublic.com/article/183784/poll-trump-lying-huge-weakness
Why such a freak out about the possibility that Biden won’t be able to complete a second term when he has an extremely capable, well-qualified VP and staff that can carry on very smoothly? If we elect Biden Harris the country will be in excellent hands no matter what happens with Biden. If we elect Trump which also means electing his already selected team of extremist plutocrats and Christian nationalists, we are doomed.
Got the name of the MSNBC anchor with Chris Hayes wrong. It was Alex Wagner, not Kristen Welker.
She's ridiculous. She's playing Rosali nd Russell in 'His Girl Friday' . I've grown to really dislike her. Her takes on the Columbia University Gaza protests were unbelievably ignorant comparing them to anti war demonstrations of the late 60's and early 70's. It was once again Lawrence O'Donnell that bitch slapped her and the ever breathless Dasha Burns.
There is no climate change, unwanted babies are happy, experts are ignorant, lies are truth. I no longer puzzle about Americans taken in by online and phone scams - or about the people who perpetrate them. What I wonder about more than ever is how we humans ever made it out of the caves.
In spite of all that, we pro-democracy Americans still outnumber those who embrace authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption. So let's get back to work to volunteer, support, and donate to Democratic candidates. Venting on Substack is a tiny first step. We must get out the vote. We MUST persist, persevere, and prevail.
Amen and amen! Unless every last one of us does everything they can to turn out the vote, the mouth-breathers win.
One thing each of us can do is to help people we know understand how important it is to participate. I have a sister who told me she is too depressed by her choices to get involved. I gave her a rundown of what will likely happen if everyone like her doesn't, and a bunch of different ways she could help. She said "huh, I hadn't really thought of it like that", and has now emailed to say she's working with a get-out-the-vote group in her rather purple state. Proof that just listening and offering constructive advice can indeed make a difference!
“women and young boys in the womb”? Huh?
That one has me stumped too. One might possibly interpret it to mean that he's ok with abortion if the fetus is a young girl.
What if it’s too soon to know the sex? (When can doctors tell that?) What about hermaphrodites? Enquiring minds want to know.
Probably a Clarmont-inspired correction of situation where the pregnant female's life might take priority over discrimination-victim male's. He also defended opposing abortion permission for rape victims by saying Two wrongs don't make a right.
If Trump had known that Vance thought rape was wrong, he never would have chosen him.
I guess we're born woman! Making it ok to marry a 5 year old I suppose. He's an inbred.
Right?? Is that what he said actually?? Huh and Duh!
No shit, right!!? Nuremberg Amerikkka is on full display behind them, live & MSNBC just jabber on about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.....
Did I hear that Morning Joe and Mika are off the air??
No. I did not!
This rally in Milwaukee is nauseating. Nominating a lying, raping grifter who does not know the Constitution or a glaring fact for that matter to be president? And they've added that darling of the right Vance who has done what in his ten minute political career? While I was never a Nixon fan, give the man credit for understanding international relations well. I cannot imagine that president looking at this appalling spectacle and not being ill. Can't you just hear him saying: "what do you mean you don't support Ukraine? You want those bastards in Moscow to win?" I will support anybody nominated by the Dems even if they add Liz Cheney to make it a national unity ticket. At least Liz is dead serious about following the Constitution. The GOP is nuts, certifiably nuts. Keep pounding them Lucian.
Suspect Vance is on Putin's payroll now.
Letʼs try to name someone on the Supreme Court or in the Republican Party whoʼs not on Putinʼs payroll. I just wonder what all these people did to attract a) Putinʼs attention and b) get themselves filmed for blackmail.
All about the money? Sad.
Leaders bring solutions, not whine about problems.
Have you noticed those Democrats calling for Biden to withdraw have not presented an alternate candidate?
Wonder if they are aware they have revealed to us how unfit they are to lead?
You need to inform yourself of the proposals already presented. Nobody is pushing a candidate 1980-style, which I understand could frustrate your argument.
NO, the argument for him to step down has NOT coalesced around another candidate. There is no consensus. Your claim that no one is pushing a 1980-style candidate might have resonated a couple months ago, but by NOW, if there is a serious effort to ask him to leave, there should be serious support behind someone to step in. There isn’t.
Pat Goudey OBrien—That is intentional. Dissidents are not trying to bring Joe down. We simply want a Dem candidate who can defeat the big liar.
“SIMPLY WANT” who? That is the question…
Once the messenger has been killed, news from the world at large inevitably thins out. Anne Applebaum, James Carville, Ezra Klein and no doubt others have described plans to choose sn alternative candudate not shaped on the horserace model, an approach that doesn't engage my interest.
Well the candidate's name is Vice Presidemt Kamala Harris. She is the only one who can access the DNC money. And as we know money is the only thing that matters now.
No, actually, VOTES matter, which is why the Rpubllcan Party spens SO much time dissing voters and suppressing the vote. Money is politics is used to access communication with VOTERS, through direct approaches on the campaign trail and through advertising. VOTES are still the name of the game, though the Project 2025 may sideline votes in the future and replace them with the Unitary Executive able to make unilateral decisions with impunity.
That’s what we’re up against.
Voting would soon become a quaint nostalgic notion under the GQP.
Lucian, you're our hero!
You're brave to cover this
unmitigated fascist
nationalist gig for us so we
we don't have to.
Thank you. 👍
I did not intend to watch that sham convention in Milwaukee. Given the various reports coming out of there, the whole thing is WAY worse than I thought. Abraham Lincoln would not recognize this cult. He would have thought they were southern planters.
I’ll send you a case of Lysol to disinfect your brain 🧠 after sitting through that slopfest Donald says inject 8ozs. Directly into your temple for greatest cleansing effect!😳
"We want women to have opportunities, we want women to have choices, but, above all, we want women and young boys in the womb to have a right to life.” This quote right here says it all: they don't give a s**t about women, it's all about BOYS.
"Young boys." That was weird.
Right?! It's creepy, contemptuous, and a whole host of other things.
Usually for the GQP closeted type the priority is pool boys.
The Chinese spent a lot of time selecting for boy babies. It turns out it's better to leave that to Mother Nature.
Oh. well said.
JD Vance really surprised me. Watched Hillbilly Elegy and was moved by his story. I've followed up by reading a few articles about him, and interviews.
The one thing that came through, about his analysis about his family and fellow townsfolk in the sacrifice zone, is how he emphasized the good old "power of the individual over their environment" idea.
It reeks of a lack of understanding of what someone can realistically overcome, as much as his lack of understanding of the difference between a zygote and a full term newborn.
Plus, he desperately wants a war with Iran. He's kind of an opportunistic putz, if you ask me.
Thanks for covering this, Lucien, so we don't have to.
I.know some certified genuine hillbillies. They hate the book.
I worked for 2 1/2 years in tge 70's with wonderful certified genuine hillbillies, and so I hate the book. They were/are the most selfless, helpful, family and community oriented culture I worked in. My next stint was Tulsa, Oklahoma my big pink Cadilac is more expensive than yours country.
MaryPat, this is a substack you might enjoy https://thestoryisthething.substack.com/archive/ The author is Ohio-bred Douglas John Imbrogno, an adopted West Virginian who stayed after he retired as a daily newspaper editor; he appreciates the state more than some natives. Much of his photography is exquisite.
Thanks for the source. That's where I worked - West Virginia. Beautiful state!
Beautiful people.
Right—i posted the suggestion because I remembered you mentioned your WV years before.
Thanks for remembering! My son, whose birthday is today, was named for one of the 8 counties I covered with The National Health Service Corps, Nicholas County.
I'm not surprised!
We are watching the attempted total destruction of the USA by the Nazi party. Our once beloved free press is now a tool of the Nazis. It's mind boggling.
Yep they have really done it. And, we all paid for it to happen! This country will get the leadership we deserve. Then, a whole new gen will have to fight and die and learn about freedom
Except they won't.
Schiff et al can choke on their own unfounded opinions and unrealized ambitions
MSNBC, Kristin Welker, Chris Hayes engaging in what they do best—regurgitating and frothing. Same for the rest with exception of Lawrence. Have been cold turkey on them and CNN for six days now. Fine work Lucian. You and numerous Substacks and MeidasTouch network seem to be all that’s left of responsible reporting. Best to you, Traci and all critters.
MSNBC and CNN have made business calculations showing that more people will watch their dreadful shows if Trump is elected.
Read this column by Rebecca Solnit on the dangers of abandoning the car that got you there”
“It’s the pundits who have turned on Biden, not the party……..
It is an editorial choice to speculate on what Biden’s health will be like in four years rather than what the health of the country will be if he and Harris do not win four months from now. To state the obvious, insisting over and over and over that a candidate is weak and cannot win weakens them and makes it less likely they will win”
https://lithub.com/rebecca-solnit-its-the-pundits-who-have-turned-on-biden-not-the-party/
It’s definitely an editorial choice. They could spend their time talking about the things the Biden - Harris adminstration has accomplished, especially when it comes to the economy which is the best in the world. They could tell people that the World Bank recently upgraded its prediction for global growth, saying it’s the US economy that is powering the rest of the world. I have seen almost no one reporting on that amazing fact.
What's up with Adam Schiff? What a fucking selfish move!! I've had it with Schmucky Chuckie! If Sherrod Brown gets reelected,(Which he will!) he should run for leader. Jeffries needs to stick his foot up some asses too! If he can't handle it, Kathrine Clark can.
Brown is one of the most intelligent people in congress he’s an absolutely incredible human being!
I am so pissed at Schiff..what a twerp. It's his reelection bullshit I guess. Either that or someone handed him a sack of dark rubles.
Schiff is a loathsome piece of garbage. I have been saying so since his lies about the DOJ during the J6 hearings.
I have never been happier that I discontinued all the news channels cable package a year ago. I would rather read what others watched than to see it myself.
Same.
Appalled at what MSNBC has devolved into. If the Democratic ticket doesn’t win, it will be because of shooting ourselves in our own feet in the presence of Republican chaos, lies and unlawfulness.
Once it is 100% clear who the nominee is you will see a very different Democratic party and very different polls.
Only if it's not Biden.