I am still with Biden, and am not sure we can win with anyone else. Can a large % of people vote? Can the real message get out that America can make much more progress with any Democratic President and Government? I am not sure, because cynicism, pessimism, anger/fear is the societal backdrop in many States. Even here in California there is not the "can do" attitude that was strong in the past.
I see nobody stepping up to the plate with a great candidate or campaign solution, and I think this whole thing may be so overblown the Republicans might seize on the opportunity to sway the vulnerable, and win through their usual manipulative means. An attitude and energy shift needs to happen sooner than later.
I am preparing for the worst and hoping, working, towards the best.
I'm torn about commenting on this because I don't think Biden will withdraw, which means that all the talk about how he needs to withdraw, warranted though it may be, only makes it more likely that Trump will win. An elderly Biden is still worlds better than Trump, who is basically the same age as Biden and is a continuous source of verbal garbage, among all the reasons why he is a terrible choice for President. I'm worried about the situation, but the calls for Biden to withdraw feel to me like "But Hillary's emails" all over again. The thing I'm most worried about is Trump winning again. How do we prevent that?
I agree that if Biden stays in, of course we should vote for him. The proverbial ham sandwich is better than Trump.
But I disagree that this is a “but her emails” situation. Hillary’s emails were no big deal and in fact typical of what every political leader has done since email was invented. The press really did destroy her chances of winning over nothing.
Biden’s decline, by contrast, is a very serious problem. Maybe I am too influenced by what we went through with my dad, but I see the exact same rapid decline with Biden as my dad went through. And—as of course you know—these things only go in one direction when a person is that age. Besides, the most reliable polling gives Biden only about a one in three chance of beating Trump. I don’t like those odds.
If Biden winds up staying in the race, of course I will support him. But while there is any chance of persuading him to drop out, I think we have to try.
First opf all - I love the idea of the "angry cupboard!" We all need one from time to time...Re what to do now - focus on the Senate and House. We must have some way to have a check on Trump if Heaven forbid, he's elected. To do that I'm using 2 strategies. 1) Write and stockpile turn-out-the vote postcards in critical states. Five of the "swing states" have Pres, Senat, House and State seats up ( PA, MI, WS, NV,AZ) meaning every Dem convinced to vote has the possibility of supporting 4 candidates. That may be true in more, these 5 I am positive about. 2) Check out www.focyusfordemocracy.org. I think their reserach and guidance is very helpful and their strategies ipressive. Whatrever you do - don't spend too. much time at the "angry cupboard." We need action every day until the election!!!!
He definitely needs to go, and I think the party should trust its voters more than it seems to. People would be excited about new choices and would be eager to vote for them. They would move on quickly. But I don’t think he will go.
I am hoping for a groundswell of voices to call for him to withdraw. That’s one reason I am suggesting that we contact our elected representatives. At some point it has to become clear that staying the course will steer us straight into disaster.
At American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis there is currently an exhibition about Karin Larsson, the wife of Carl Larsson. Learning about Karin's art outside of Carl's gaze is inspiring, and I now carry with me her lesson about errors. A weaver in the Larsson's home made a mistake and was prepared to begin again. Karin urged the weaver, "Continue... let the hand be seen." That is how I am looking at our current situation. We acknowledge the mistakes and we must continue. Biden won't willingly go into the cupboard, but we can hang that imperfect woven tapestry on the wall to make room for something more appealing on the loom.
Another textile metaphor—I love it! Larsson’s attitude about mistakes makes me think of our handwoven Turkish rugs. They all have a conspicuous error in them, which the rug makers put in deliberately. They believe that only God can create something perfect; we humans will make our little errors, and that’s ok.
I am a life long democrat but now independent. The party leaders in my state cancelled the primary election to gift the electors to Biden. This is a lot more than sunk costs--it is avoiding the democratic process.
I would love for each state to hold a snap Democratic primary, and the candidate who earned the most votes would be named the nominee at the convention. It is the norm in Europe for the whole election process to last six weeks to at most a few months. We can do this! And who knows? We might discover that we as a nation prefer not to have conditions, nonstop election seasons.
Very well said in all ways.
I am still with Biden, and am not sure we can win with anyone else. Can a large % of people vote? Can the real message get out that America can make much more progress with any Democratic President and Government? I am not sure, because cynicism, pessimism, anger/fear is the societal backdrop in many States. Even here in California there is not the "can do" attitude that was strong in the past.
I see nobody stepping up to the plate with a great candidate or campaign solution, and I think this whole thing may be so overblown the Republicans might seize on the opportunity to sway the vulnerable, and win through their usual manipulative means. An attitude and energy shift needs to happen sooner than later.
I am preparing for the worst and hoping, working, towards the best.
I, like you, am fearful. All we can do is hope for the best—and put in the work to support our country!
I'm torn about commenting on this because I don't think Biden will withdraw, which means that all the talk about how he needs to withdraw, warranted though it may be, only makes it more likely that Trump will win. An elderly Biden is still worlds better than Trump, who is basically the same age as Biden and is a continuous source of verbal garbage, among all the reasons why he is a terrible choice for President. I'm worried about the situation, but the calls for Biden to withdraw feel to me like "But Hillary's emails" all over again. The thing I'm most worried about is Trump winning again. How do we prevent that?
I agree that if Biden stays in, of course we should vote for him. The proverbial ham sandwich is better than Trump.
But I disagree that this is a “but her emails” situation. Hillary’s emails were no big deal and in fact typical of what every political leader has done since email was invented. The press really did destroy her chances of winning over nothing.
Biden’s decline, by contrast, is a very serious problem. Maybe I am too influenced by what we went through with my dad, but I see the exact same rapid decline with Biden as my dad went through. And—as of course you know—these things only go in one direction when a person is that age. Besides, the most reliable polling gives Biden only about a one in three chance of beating Trump. I don’t like those odds.
If Biden winds up staying in the race, of course I will support him. But while there is any chance of persuading him to drop out, I think we have to try.
We will see how it plays out. I just don’t see him dropping out so that’s the reality we’re dealing with. I could be surprised, though.
The last comic of Calvin and Hobbes gets me verklempt.
Right? I really love that Watterson ended the strip in such a hopeful, open-ended way.
And maybe spell-check before you hit send...red-faced Louise
Ha! We have all been there!
First opf all - I love the idea of the "angry cupboard!" We all need one from time to time...Re what to do now - focus on the Senate and House. We must have some way to have a check on Trump if Heaven forbid, he's elected. To do that I'm using 2 strategies. 1) Write and stockpile turn-out-the vote postcards in critical states. Five of the "swing states" have Pres, Senat, House and State seats up ( PA, MI, WS, NV,AZ) meaning every Dem convinced to vote has the possibility of supporting 4 candidates. That may be true in more, these 5 I am positive about. 2) Check out www.focyusfordemocracy.org. I think their reserach and guidance is very helpful and their strategies ipressive. Whatrever you do - don't spend too. much time at the "angry cupboard." We need action every day until the election!!!!
I love that you are doing so much to help the candidates, Louise!
He definitely needs to go, and I think the party should trust its voters more than it seems to. People would be excited about new choices and would be eager to vote for them. They would move on quickly. But I don’t think he will go.
I am hoping for a groundswell of voices to call for him to withdraw. That’s one reason I am suggesting that we contact our elected representatives. At some point it has to become clear that staying the course will steer us straight into disaster.
At American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis there is currently an exhibition about Karin Larsson, the wife of Carl Larsson. Learning about Karin's art outside of Carl's gaze is inspiring, and I now carry with me her lesson about errors. A weaver in the Larsson's home made a mistake and was prepared to begin again. Karin urged the weaver, "Continue... let the hand be seen." That is how I am looking at our current situation. We acknowledge the mistakes and we must continue. Biden won't willingly go into the cupboard, but we can hang that imperfect woven tapestry on the wall to make room for something more appealing on the loom.
Another textile metaphor—I love it! Larsson’s attitude about mistakes makes me think of our handwoven Turkish rugs. They all have a conspicuous error in them, which the rug makers put in deliberately. They believe that only God can create something perfect; we humans will make our little errors, and that’s ok.
I am a life long democrat but now independent. The party leaders in my state cancelled the primary election to gift the electors to Biden. This is a lot more than sunk costs--it is avoiding the democratic process.
I would love for each state to hold a snap Democratic primary, and the candidate who earned the most votes would be named the nominee at the convention. It is the norm in Europe for the whole election process to last six weeks to at most a few months. We can do this! And who knows? We might discover that we as a nation prefer not to have conditions, nonstop election seasons.