US Politics Thread

[AliBobbyJ]

Took Two weeks for Trump who looked a certainty and was long odds on Favourite to now being deposed as the Favourite.

View attachment 127712

Two weeks?
Harold Wilson is remembered for three things: his Labrador dog Paddy, holidays in the Isles of Scilly, and saying "a week is a long time in politics."

 

[Vienna_70]

Agree her fast start might be a sign that she and Biden had cooked this up weeks ago during private chats in the W.H. But I don't really see Biden deliberately embarrassing himself with a pre-planned stumbling performance in the debate. Rather, I tend to believe that his many assertions that he would not quit were genuine and that he finally yielded to mounting pressure from senior figures in the Dem Party.

Then again I've been sold a couple of bridges over the years.

It didn’t necessarily have to be agreed weeks beforehand.

A few days would have given Harris time to prepare for the announcement and to write her initial speech.

I believe that Biden was determined to contest the election, but as the voices calling for him to step down grew louder, and the donors withdrew, he realised that he had no choice; staying in the race would hand the White House to the idiot.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

I’m not sure I follow the logic of what you are saying. Following Biden’s announcement, the momentum behind Harris was overwhelming and It was a fait accompli well before anyone got the chance to break cover.

It would have been daft for anyone to throw their hat into the ring at any point.

The point is that there were plenty of prominent dem politicians who could have seen what was happening as a good shot of being POTUS.

Kamala had zero momentum after the debate. her polling as VP is pretty poor. It would have been very easy for a challenger to step forward in the days after Bidens announcement.

She only gained momentum when it became clear that the whole party just fell in line behind her. That was not guaranteed.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

It didn’t necessarily have to be agreed weeks beforehand.

A few days would have given Harris time to prepare for the announcement and to write her initial speech.

I believe that Biden was determined to contest the election, but as the voices calling for him to step down grew louder, and the donors withdrew, he realised that he had no choice; staying in the race would hand the White House to the idiot.

Yep. And George Clooney broke the silence and said what everyone was thinking.

 

[MillionMilesAway]

It didn’t necessarily have to be agreed weeks beforehand.

A few days would have given Harris time to prepare for the announcement and to write her initial speech.

I believe that Biden was determined to contest the election, but as the voices calling for him to step down grew louder, and the donors withdrew, he realised that he had no choice; staying in the race would hand the White House to the idiot.

He went home with Covid - maybe the doctors advised him of something then.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

The point is that there were plenty of prominent dem politicians who could have seen what was happening as a good shot of being POTUS.

Kamala had zero momentum after the debate. her polling as VP is pretty poor. It would have been very easy for a challenger to step forward in the days after Bidens announcement.

She only gained momentum when it became clear that the whole party just fell in line behind her. That was not guaranteed.

I think you are underestimating the resolve among Democratic party leaders to keep Trump away from the White House. It isn't just political, or a power grab. They fear as many of the citizenry here do that he is a fundamental threat to democracy. Unification in the party seems at least in part based on that belief. It's as much a guarantee as there could have been that they'd fall lockstep behind her quickly.

In addition, though I am not familiar with the rules, I assume the Biden/Harris money is tappable by her and not others. Getting a campaign going from scratch would have been near impossible for challengers. In fact, I was loud in my insistence that it would be difficult even for Harris and she has proven me dead wrong so far.

As I noted before, if she was well-served by her staff and party leadership they would have been planning for this contingency anyhow given Biden's age, long before the debate. While the circumstances and rapidity of the decline in support for Biden may have taken everyone by surprise, she should have been ready to step in at any time regardless -- that's simply common sense and appropriate planning.

 

[Vienna_70]

He went home with Covid - maybe the doctors advised him of something then.

That’s quite possible.

 

[Vienna_70]

I think you are underestimating the resolve among Democratic party leaders to keep Trump away from the White House. It isn't just political, or a power grab. They fear as many of the citizenry here do that he is a fundamental threat to democracy. Unification in the party seems at least in part based on that fundamental tenet. It's as much a guarantee as there could have been that they'd fall lockstep behind her quickly.

In addition, though I am not familiar with the rules, I assume the Biden/Harris money is tappable by her and not others. Getting a campaign going from scratch would have been near impossible for challengers. In fact, I was loud in my insistence that it would be difficult even for Harris and she has proven me dead wrong so far.

As I noted before, if she was well-served by her staff and party leadership they would have been planning for this contingency anyhow given Biden's age, long before the debate. While the circumstances and rapidity of the decline in support for Biden may have taken everyone by surprise, she should have been ready to step in at any time regardless -- that's simply common sense and appropriate planning.

Yes, I heard that only Harris could use the campaign money raised by the Biden/Harris ticket.

 

[super_city_si]

It is interesting to see democrats mimicking Trump rallies. Will they all start wearing camo hats? Kamala seems uncomfortable with the chanting - but Tim is loving it. Trump must be hating it - it is a far cry from a Biden rally.

Huge turnouts too. Putting Trumps to shame, this will royally piss him off.

 

[domalino]

This is long, but so worth reading.

And while you read, remember JD Vance is best known for fucking a sofa.