No problem with Joe – Biden will be loved, hero through the election cycle.
And now, we can enjoy having a great prosecutor – against a convicted felon, arrogant rapist, insurrectionist, stochastic terrorist, and again criminally convicted fraud.
He, the ”bing-bing-boing-bong” boss of the most criminal administration in U.S. history.
Navarro and Bannon imprisoned. Manafort and Flynn convicted. Giuliani disbarred, liable for many millions of dollars for harassing election workers. Jenna Elis, Sydney Powell, and Kenneth Chesebro pled guilty. Roger Stone would have been tried and convicted but for mob boss pardon.
Why do Republicans so succor lawlessness – why did corrupt Clarence court go so out of its way to rule monarchal criminality above the law?
Same bribe-taking, massively perjured Clarence court, whose earlier Citizens United opened sluice gates for corrupt money, has now, too, ruled for more corporate criminality in the recent Chevron precedent case – crippling federal agencies set up to protect our health, safety, finance, and environment.
Now we’ve a prosecutor for us, for we Americans, against billionaire criminality and all that nest of Republican lies, insurrection, violence.
Yeah LOL, wouldn't surprise me at all! He is acting right now like Biden hasn't dropped out at all (he hasn't even mentioned Harris in his tweets) and Speaker Mike Johnson has nonsensically suggested that he will sue to keep Biden on the ticket. Huh? Does he even understand American politics?
Yeah, that comment by the Squeaker of the House et al. really dizzied me! What if a candidate died after being nominated? Would it be "Election Day at Bernie's". 😉
No kidding! Trump doesn’t want to risk looking disastrous after a debate like Biden. He wants the debate to be on Fox? She should welcome it—a larger Republican audience will be watching….
Vice President Harris lived through harsh winter snow storms going to high school in Montreal Quebec. Her life story so far has been preparation for this pivitol moment in history. She is so perfect for the task at hand.
You are delusional. She is a intellectual lightweight. Listen to her speak,
its usually a trainwreck Her own party doesn't want her. Pelosi and Obama refused to endorse her? Why? Because she was a terrible candidate in 2016, and her favorability is awful.
Pelosi just endorsed Kamala......you swung and missed once again. The Diaper-Clad Rapist Convicted Felon is not going to debate her!!! The Vice President is a top notch prosecutor that will shred Putins Pee Pee Pal without losing one drop of sweat.
She is not a lightweight at all. None of her opponents, including Donald and his gang of thieves has accomplished as much she has. The country needs her much more than it needs a rapist, liar and thief. She has more intelligence and honesty than Donald and/or his stupid greedy followers.
Wow James and you know this how! I am guessing you are quoting someone who is not a fan of a smart Black/South Asian woman. Too bad because she is qualified, intelligent, capable. She didn't win the nomination in 2020 along with a whole range of really good people. Biden was the person people were looking to because they wanted a kind of normalcy that he represented: calm, thoughtful, interested, caring, someone who had lived through grief and pain (which many Americans were experiencing due to COVID), and experienced with how Congress works and what it takes to get things done. Harris has been working closely with Biden for the past 3-1/2 years and has learned a lot from him. She is talented and will do a great job. I hope your misgivings about her are not from race or that she's a woman.
She wasn't a candidate in 2016, sir. Get your facts straight. She is a brilliant attorney and has great credentials. She needs to be a little more patient when she speaks extemporaneously, but compared to Trump she is a Rhodes scholar.
Then obviously you haven't heard her speak. She started as a federal prosecutor addressing judges and juries for decades, then was ELECTED to the Attorney General (you've been told all that she accomplished there), then ELECTED to be a senator. Running for president, she was one of many candidates.
As for favorability, Professor Richardson has documented all of the endorsements and the donations that are coming in. Certainly not a sign of not being backed by the nation.
I dunno. I am not well informed about her. The main thing I think we need to do is to unify around a candidate and we are running out of time. I was backing Joe, but am glad that debate is over. For sure we need to think ahead and choose wisely, but we for sure need to focus.
I think that's what's behind the claim she's not the real or can't be the real nominee: They will now be able to say 45 won't debate her because she's not legitimate. He won't have to frame it as fear... but I hope she will.
Yehawes, isn't it interesting just how predictable Trump and Kump are. People here even have the grounds for Trump and Kump backing out of the debate. The reason is that it wouldn't be a debate at all, just one man lying and pumping out his usual talking points with a few "lock her up"s and how the border is open and millions of criminals are pouring in. Harris would handle that with statistics in a language ordinary viewers can understand, even talking about that part of the reason their food prices are higher is that the immigrants who pick the crops aren't as readily available to do the work due to, guess what, the crackdown. That might get some people thinking, but it won't happen. Trump and Kump can't chance it.
The states are getting votes from their delegates to change their vote from Biden to Harris. I know because I am a delegate in my state. The convention, where she will receive the nomination, will be over by the time of the debate.
I don't think she should have it, because he does not debate he spreads fascist propaganda. It is hard to debate when only one person is debating. It is not something I would watch.
The best reality show in real time that has me completely sucked in! Who would've thought that just a week ago, as I watched the RNC in shock where delirious republicans banded together and cheered on an unhinged Hulk Hogan and teared up at an ex-orange president with a bright white pillow on the side of his face, I lamented the deep fracture of our party. It is now with great glee that I rejoice at our new-found cohesiveness in honoring our current president and rallying around VP Harris to be our next one....
It's pretty bad when your POTUS nominee gets introduced by a professional wrestler...just think about. What's more fake and trumped up than WWE wrestling ??? I love the Hulkamaniacs character...but really...???
A very good friend of mine was on the road as a camera operator and then production manager for WWF in the days when the "Hulkster" was a VERY big deal. He tells great Hulk stories...so I've seen a side of him that many people don't. It's an act that made him a LOT of money. The good news is that a lot of these wrestlers are very benevolent people and give their time and money to good causes. Hulk just has bad taste in politicians....he's probably naturally drawn to the sideshow aspects of Trump.
NO! An open convention would be a horror! And greatly DEcrease our chances of winning. History shows that open conventions lose the election. Unite behind Kamala NOW!!
I agree with you. Though everyone thinks that the 68 convention was a landslide loss, Humphrey lost to Nixon by 1%. Had Humphrey split completely with Johnson and condemned that horrible war (which, unfortunately, I was then hip-deep in) Humphrey would have won.
Had Nixon and Kissinger not illegally and immorally heavily interfered with the Paris Peace Talks, Humphrey would have won. (People still tend to think the Logan Act violation of Nixon and Kissinger submarining the peace talks as a myth. It isn’t. It has been written about by historians since the nineties and is in several biographies of these two crooks.) By thus extending the war, these two criminals are responsible for an additional 25,000 American deaths, and maybe a half-million Vietnamese.
What is with the Republicans and their disregard for life? Viet Nam, Covid, total abortion ban which means death for women. This is the Goon Squad and they need to be defeated soundly.
Susan, there is nothing about "life" for Republicans, only power and money and taking revenge on anyone who gets in their way. It has been like that for so many Republicans since Nixon's day and has only gotten worse. I have put the word out asking for anything Republicans have initiated in Congress that was designed to help anyone not themselves and their rich friends in the past 45 years and I have been asking for more than a decade and have gotten no answer whatsoever, none! Republicans value only their own lives, and not even all of "them." That is true especially for anyone who does not agree with all their anti-life schemes. Evan Pence wasn't good enough despite his christian-nationalism and fascist tendencies. He chose to follow the law at the end, and just counted the electoral votes on January 6-7, 2021 as required by our Constitution. Because that was his intent, they called for him to be hanged. So no one is safe from their hatred, venom, and anti-life whining and lies. They have a whole team of "experts" in denying people their rights on board called "Project 2025" and they are looking to push it like a drug, and they have gotten really good at it. "Project 2025" has been out for around 2 years and the media completely ignored it until a few Democrats got hold of a copy and found it online. Fancy how that happened. Well, we know about it now and what Republicans and their surrogates are intending. We need Kamala Harris to lead us to a place where we can deal with the Republican hatred, anger, fearmongering, and resentment of everyone who has more than they do.
Tom, since LBJ had decided not to run, I do wish he had called out Nixon and his crooks on what they were doing to the peace talks. I know he wanted to somehow protect the nation, but sometimes it can be helpful to call people out on their lies, cheating, and fraud. That was one of those times I wish he had.
Thank you for your service, Tom. I hope others have said that over the years, even though I was one of those in opposition to the war, I still feel strongly for the men and women who served our country as best they could.
And I am thrilled about the decision to move forward with Harris. It is risky and no way to be sure how it will all turn out, but I think we have a fighting chance to win this election, where I was convinced we were doomed just two days ago.
If I am correct, the candidates who were leading in the primaries we anti-war, The DNC inserted Humphrey in order to continue the war. I don't think that self inflected wound has ever entirely healed. Our ability to unite is as important as the quality of the nominee.
I agree, but it was nowhere as clear a process as today. There were a few primaries, a few caucus states, and (most) states where candidates were decided in a smoke-filled room. RFK had real popular momentum, having won all but one primary (some in states where Humphrey was heavily favored). Had he lived, it would have been the weight of those primaries and the Kennedy name versus Humphrey’s few caucus wins plus the allegiance of the party leaders.
I think Kennedy would have won, but it’s all speculation. Until the assassination, Gene McCarthy was out of it as he had only won a single primary.
The Dems have had two major process reforms since then, and several minor ones, all tilting the process to greater democracy.
How Humphrey won the nomination then, was not seen in those times as an affront to democracy, as he won within the norms of his day. But he was a candidate flawed by his incumbency as VEEP. There was much to admire about Humphrey—he insisted on a Civil Rights plank in the party platform from the late 40s on, and stood up against Joe McCarthy several times. But he failed to split with LBJ over the war, and that doomed his chance.
J.L., I am not sure how much in love with the war Humphrey was. He had been a strong liberal throughout his political career and may have gotten caught up in the whole thing whether he wanted to or not. We'll never know, though but it is an interesting thing to contemplate that Humphrey may have ended the war quickly since he knew the North was ready to at least begin serious negotiations.
We are trying to prevent an authoritarian takeover of the United States. As it stands at the moment we are in the midst of a bloodless coup. Have you paged through Project 2025?
Barbara I'm not trying to imply that. It's VERY high drama with VERY high stakes. I'm actually tying to make fun of Trump and his love for ratings and HIS reality show. Maybe it's not a good joke...but it does match Macbeth for the level of drama.
to Barbara, "Something wicked this way comes....what is foul is fair and what is fair is foul"... is what I was referring too...guess you need to know the lines....that's what I was thinking...I didn't lay it out...
I've read parts of Project 2025 and it is terrifying!! And when I can't read anymore, I tune into "The Handmaid's Tale" for the rest. These are serious, diabolic calculated plans to kill this country. And their determination is what frightens me the most. These folks are serious.
Just MAYBE, with all of this good press and the changes, it will engage the younger generations to vote. They seem so jaded and disconnected at this point. Their votes could be pivotal.
Engaging young people is essential for the Democratic Party, and my impression is that the Party has floundered on that score since Johnson. I had no serious doubts about Biden's competence, but I have yearned (and I'm 77) for some younger candidates, and most certainly more proactive inclusion and outreach to the young. Of the younger people I know, they a keenly aware of the messes we are handing them, and I encounter a lot of cynicism. We can't afford it; any of us. https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2017/comm/voting-rates-age.html
But it won't be an open convention if Kamala continues to sweep delegates to her side. This will be settled by then, likely by Wednesday, when I've read a Zoom call will take place among the delegates.
I agree with this. Michigan Gov. Whitmer has already thrown her vote to VP Harris. She might have been a contender. Also VP Harris already had almost 600 delegate votes by 9pm on the day Pres. Biden said he was stepping down from running. So it might just be a formality. And an open convention would show the stand up for democracy rather than a changeing-of-the guard, which the trumpite party would surely make a lot of stupid noise about.
Biden having won the primaries, by reason of state law and party rules, the delegates are bound to vote for him in the first round, at least. By bowing out he releases his delegates. They become free agents. Some have pledged their support for Harris. Fine. But they still have to redeem that pledge. .And some change their minds. They are not bound to vote for anyone now. And she may not gain enough pledges to secure a first round win. In either case as I see it, it is an open convention. The delegates are free to vote for the candidate of their choice.
If the powers that be decide to convene a Zoom meeting in advance to vote, that obviously renders the point moot. But the conditions would apply to that meeting.
Tyler, it would be nonsensical for the delegates to support anyone but Harris. Biden already gave the ok to transfer nearly $100MM in campaign funds, and they raised another $50MM+ in small donations yesterday. That cash must be used by the campaign, or it gets split with the DNC. That's a lot of cheddar, as someone else wrote.
Your first sentence is incorrect. According to the rules, the Biden delegates are now released, and directed to vote their conscience. They can now pledge to her, though not bound by anything but the honor of their commitment.
The Zoom meeting takes on the aspect of a test vote, but I believe the Harris team will lock it up.
Yes, the delegates are free to vote as they choose. That's why we need to be LOUD & STRONG in support of Kamala NOW! A battle at the Convention works be disastrous.
I don't feel Zoom meetings render the vote moot because as you say delegates can change their mind, and corralling votes prior to public or formal vote is absolutely a standard procedure. Think of how many times you've heard that the House majority leader shouldn't let something come to vote before they know they have the votes. The public or formal vote is the official vote and that is still important.
And drama. We do need the drama but an exalting, winning band wagon (heaven knows we've seen the opposite work too well) kind of drama. I very much hope the DNC has a fine touch when they plan and line up speakers so it shows a strong contrast to the RNC without the weakness of being boring.
Yes, Hope! I saw that! I heard last night it was 17,000, and it was changed to 40,000. The CEO of Zoom has to get involved to allow that many multiples of the original 1000 zoomer max.
With reason. It's one of the favorite means to screw an election by the Retrumplicans. That's how he won in 2016. Hillary had the popular vote. However, if the 'spell' around Kamala keeps up its momentum, she might win by a landslide.
JL, This is great! Dems need exciting, unifying marketing. Imagine Kamala branding herself not as African American, Asian American, Indian American, Caribbean American, biracial, or mixed heritage but as "All-American." And we--in a diverse big tent with people of all hues, genders, situations, etc--proclaiming that "WE are the All-Americans!"
Yeah, me and my multi racial family love this stuff, but lets get real about this election and focus on her integrity, intelligence, experience and intellect. There are a bunch of swing voters on the fence who don’t give a shit about her DEI credentials. We already have the dei votes! We need those folks who want a competent leader, and can accept a black woman candidate despite their leanings.
We really need to focus on what really matters in this election. The opposition is openly proposing dictatorship. Those who can't always get what they want need to be reminded of what we all need.
Sean, I agree it's important to focus on Kamala's integrity, intelligence, experience and competence. That said, I'm talking about marketing and the need for a unifying slogan to excite and engage voters across various circumstances/viewpoints. Personally, I like the way the pun on the term "All-American" conveys three ideas: 1) being outstanding, remarkable, super-competent like an All-American athlete; 2) including everyone; as well as 3) including our diverse heritages and uniquenesses. A branding slogan is the way into informing and reminding voters of Kamala's competence as well as the Democratic party's vision that is founded on inclusiveness unlike Project 2025 and the maggots and white supremacists who depend on exclusion and hate. I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, just want to clarify why I think this can be an effective slogan, something the Dems sorely need. Does this make sense?
More perfect union wrapped around unalienable rights. Diversity of opinion, ethnic origin, talents, etc, is what an open society, and theoretically American society is all about. Creativity and resilience thrive on not putting too many eggs in any one basket. That said, we also need to protect as a species our in-common needs. To be wise and just we need to minimize unnecessary human suffering as a shared responsibility. We need to acknowledge that we further and protect our rights as a society by protecting all. So many of the "isms" are the tail trying to wag the dog. Liberty is in fact the right to be uniquely different, yet not unaccountable to others similar rights and the common good.
I suggest the American Flag BIDEN in relief lettering across it to demonstrate that he stands for the essence of what our country’s best idea is “Honorable Unity”. We can start calling it the “Biden Flag” and really, really drive all the flag wearing magas crazy.
I'd bet that tr won't debate her. He'll drop out because his party won't let him debate her. Having said that, his ego is so large that he might try to! What a comedy show that would be!
The Prosecutor vs. the Felon., the insurrectionist, the rapist, the cheat (Trump Univ. and the Trump Charitable Organization, the defamer, the failed businessman (4 bankruptcies,) and more. Have those Trump supporters at long last have no sense of decency?
I am thinking and betting that there are a couple of SCOTUS justices, maybe more than that, who are not going to be sleeping very well at night. In a Harris win and in the event that she has large coattails, as I am thinking she will have, they will be afraid that there will be a pack of democrats that will be coming to give them the boot off the court. As they so richly deserve!!
The Trump appointed chair of the FEC just strongly signaled (on NPR and X that he was going to 'Cannon-slow-walk' transferring Biden Harris funds to Harris.
"Since their campaign account was registered with the Federal Election Commission in the name of both candidates, Harris could use those funds for her own presidential effort if Biden were to drop out, according to Kenneth Gross, senior political law counsel at Akin Gump and former associate general counsel for the Federal Election Commission."
The process is much more complex than simple replacement. I've read (but cannot cite) that the way the panel is constructed, there must be equal Democratic and RepubliKan representation on that panel.
As soon as I heard the announcement, I donated to the campaign. My second act was to immediately send an email expressing gratitude. What a tremendous selfless act of Biden! He already will go down in history as one of the best, but I think this just sealed his history as one of the greatest.
The damage is done. They need to either be legislated out with term limits or with a super majority, three more nominees added. There is no reason not to have 3 more justices. The population has grown.
agreed on any and all of the above. Away with the filibuster, already infamously done away with by Mitch to get Federalist Society candidates in. I dont know why the Dems haven't done away with it already? Oh, a couple now gone Dems. Can we hope for some big surprises pro Dem come November?
They haven't done away with it because Senate "rules" are that rules need to be determined before a new Senate session starts. That Senate session started last Jan 2023 and doesn't end until next Jan 2025, which is nominally the next time the Senate can change its rules by a simple majority. To change them now would require 2/3 which obviously they don't have even close.
But it is critical to hold the Senate which is not at all for sure. Manchin may (or may not, not certain yet) be giving up his West Virginia Senate seat which makes the Senate 50-50, and Tester in Montana is vulnerable. Sherrod Brown in Ohio is doing better but with Ohioan Vance on the GOP ticket, his 5+ pt lead may whither. The Dems have 22 seats up for grabs (although most are in definite Dem states) while the GOP only has 11, so the odds favor more Dems losing than GOPs.
The best option is to expand the court to 15 justices, which ONLY requires a majority vote of the House and the Senate and the signature of the President. Then appoint 6 new justices, aiming at a Democratic majority. Not much the justices can do about it as that is the way it is structured in the Constitution, there are no restrictions on this and it is the Congress that passes that law, it doesn't take a Constitutional amendment.
That won't happen unfortunately. Like President, it takes 2/3 of the Senate to oust a Supreme Court justice and I doubt that would EVER happen in the next Senate which MIGHT be controlled by the GOP but even if the Dems hold it, it will still be like 51-49 or 52-48. The GOP senators will never vote to oust a GOP SCOTUS justice.
I mistakenly assumed it was 60% in the Senate, and not 2/3, but it doesn't really matter. What matters is the need to change the current 2/3 majority in POTUS with an elementary-school-level misunderstanding of the "justice" concept. How it changes is less important. The other thing that matters is that 100% of 2024 R candidates have an elementary-school-level misunderstanding of the "democracy" concept, and I have a (potentially erroneous) reason to be more optimistic than your prediction about how much that will cost them in November.
Bill, and have a lottery as to which nine justices hear any individual case, witnessed by the Senate, to prevent any particular president from simply further expanding the court with partisan judges.
You are correct. In the Judiciary Act of 1869 set the current number of justices among other things. That is how easy it is if we keep the Senate, regain the House, and elect Harris.
We should do that, make DC and Puerto Rico states, pass the two voting rights acts, turn Roe into law, and secure LGBTQ rights.
Bill, exactly. I’m just saying that, without a lottery to keep the number of judges ruling on a particular case to a given number, the tendency would be to infinitely expand the number to achieve a supermajority of those in the President’s party.
That is correct. It takes JUST a simple law passed by the House and Senate and signed by the president (unless a veto is overridden but that takes 2/3 of the House and Senate and that isn't going to happen at least not in 2025!)
See my above proposal which I think is better than 13 judges all hearing every case. It is already cumbersome with 9 judges hearing every case. Instead, have 15 justices, and hear cases in groups of 5 justices (just as the appeals courts hear cases in groups of 3 justices out of each circuit's panel). As at the appellate level, one or the other client can ask for a hearing "en banc" (before the entire Supreme Court, all 15 justices) but that would RARELY be granted (as it is rarely granted at the appellate level).
Bill, I think an argument can be made for 4: One for each circuit that hears most cases (the 13th is a Court of Appeals, which hears a different type of case) and have the Chief Justice rotate during a term; I would suggest odd year four year rotations. No one will ask me that, however.
Reflecting my conservative temperament, I would prefer two additional Justices appointed by a Democratic President to restore the one vote Republican majority had Judge Garland been confirmed.
I don't think "balance" is what is required. A new process is needed. Nine justices hearing each case is already too many. 11 would be worse. My proposal is 15 justices on the SCOTUS, and each case would be heard in panels of 5 randomly chosen from the court. This is EXACTLY how the Appellate courts work, they have a large pool of justices (it varies by district from 6 to 29) and each case is heard by THREE judges chosen randomly from the pool.
I agree. And I think it starts with a new AG, charges against the SCJ who have clearly taken bribes for results in court decisions, and failure to support the Constitution.
The AG also has frailties. He appointed a special prosecutor that found Biden to be elderly, etc. The special prosecutor in this case was an associated with Federalist Society. WAT? Why did he appoint the enemy?
Special prosecutors are SUPPOSED to be independent. There should NEVER be any "why did he appoint the enemy" issues because there aren't supposed to be enemies. I think Hur actually did a pretty good job being non-partisan. It is clear that the things he reported about Biden were in fact TRUE. Biden WAS having trouble speaking and answering questions (something we all saw during the debate). So why would we condemn him for his honest assessment? Just because he is a Republican? Mueller was a Republican who led the investigation of Trump and delivered an honest assessment too. We all hated when Trump attacked him. We should hate anyone attacking Hur also unless you have PROOF of him being biased (which I do NOT see in anything he delivered).
Democrats need to gain control and hold these closeted fascists to account. Think if Nixon had been prosecuted, would we have had Reagan's shadow diplomacy with Iran and Iran-Contra? I think not.
I agree! On all accounts! Nixon should have had the opportunity to clear his name. At the same time he would have been made to abide by the laws of this country for what he did. Yes, there would have been much fewer monkeyshines going on later. I was so upset with the Reagan campaign with their October Surprise stuff. I read the book written by a woman his his campaign.
Reagan would have happened with or without Nixon. Carter was a brilliant man and a terrible President who got a raw deal, to be sure, but Reagan appealed to the masses and won. Not at all surprising (I lived through it!)
Hopefully we can win both houses so she will be able to expand the court. Senator Whitehouse and his committee can hold Justices Thomas and Alito accountable for their misconduct.
I am all in favor of enlarging the court and restructuring it (my argument is 15 justices, and each case is heard by 5 randomly chosen judges just like the chose 3 judge panels for appellate court hearings). I also would like to see mandatory terms (maybe 15-20 years), although it might require an amendment to the Constitution which will never happen unfortunately.
I think they are TERRIBLE justices, but so far, I don't see anything that I think would RIGHTFULLY justify impeaching them. And we need to start being a little more cautious about who we impeach or we will have an ongoing impeachment crisis in every administration.
We need to expand the Supreme Court by 4 seats NOW, because the existing Supreme Court will declare Trump the winner of a contested election, and we all know Trump will contest the election results when he loses. Even if Harris wins by the biggest landslide in history, even if there is zero evidence of cheating on our side and TONS of evidence of cheating on their side. The Supreme Court that just ruled it’s perfectly fine for Trump to commit murder will twist logic any which way they have to and make up any new legal “theories” they have to in order to declare Trump the winner. They are well compensated for doing his bidding and dead the moment they stop.
So far Harris does not have the majority of the delegates, so I am not sure whether she will get them or someone else will try to run. I hope not, but I cannot feel any investment now until I know who the delegates are pledged to and that SCOTUS will not give Mike Johnson what he wants.
See, Professor Joyce Vance's Civil Discourse Sunday "Week Ahead" post wherein Joyce bullet points the necessary DNC Convention delegate duties. Kamala is a former San Francisco, CA Prosecutor. Litigation will be vanquished. Recall the other side's batting average in election litigation is 0 for 63
I read Joyce Vance daily. She has been wrong about how the Supreme Court would vote on Trump's immunity. Since this will go to SCOTUS, I will wait and see. I have much less faith in them following the law than she does.
I have hopes for Kamala, that she will ‘lick the platter clean’ essence …Biden has done his very best 🫶👏. Kamala has surpassed if not surprised her constituents , I predicted a week back now she would wield her baton with pinpoint accuracy and ( permit me) far less apologetic (?) tone.
To stand slightly separated gives clarity unequalled perception. This lady -no doubt there- will take little time establishing the keen perception afforded her -advantage of exceptional insight.
Sisters, this is our time. There’s a huge change coming, a crest needing balanced precision, let’s ride this wave with new determination. As mothers, sisters, around the world pull together ..it is OUR. Time…better stated perhaps …ABOUT. TIME!
And how better could the lead-in be than to have been standing beside the best ever Presidency by Joe Biden.
It IS the best of both worlds ,classy.
Phil Balla , thanks for your summation (of the worst Presidency) lead by corruption and innate criminal characters , bravo👏). Special thanks go out to the beginning leading contributors to undo it (Republican Cheney and Kissinger) for also putting their careers on the line for above all ..your and my country!
I have great hopes for America leading , tying up the loose knit and better the bonds.
This lesson has been costly, I glimpse the no means light struggle to be close to fruition. We can stand by this new ERA , well aware the tasks ahead are no less important ..bring peace to our world through the nuture of women standing together. That standing beside us in the image of Biden, men from the core who set THE bar high as fathers, brothers, partners for the goals we want for our children. This village is needed.
Thank you all for your stands , suggestions, observations. Now let’s get this finished.
By the way, have you seen the Yachats news on a guy who wants to clear cut 20 acres of trees just on the south side of the river on te hillside above 15 homes?
I am not attacking her, just pointing out that she is not always right. That is human. I have no problem with it. Just saying that thinking changing candidate will fix the problem when I have been saying since spring that I see SCOTUS as handing the election to Trump when he does not win. I just think we gave them one more reason they could use, not that they have to. NO one is doing anything about them violating the constitution that I can see except for AOC.
With this court use cannot never use the law as a basis for thinking what they will do. These people are ideology aligned which is exactly what the Powell Memo prescribed.
Democrats need to get some spine like AOC has. Dems have always just moved on at the conservatives suggestion and allowed the plague to grow. Rachel Maddow gave us a good history lesson in PREQUEL. HCR has done so with he history documentation in How the South Won the Civil War. Time for Americans to not move on until we deal with this group.
I'm still thinking the same thing: doesn't matter if Biden or Harris runs or even wins the vote, the Extreme Court will simply decide 6:3 that the victory goes to Trump. I don't see anything or anyone that can stop them doing that.
What will go to the SCOTUS? The decision of Biden to back out? LOL he hasn't even been nominated yet! I really don't think that is a serious worry. Not to mention they can't hear it until virtually the month before the election.
I am talking about post election stuff. Probably a thousand lawsuits will be filed, or more to attack every aspect of the election if Trump does not win, and they just need to pick which one they choose to use to hand it to him. SCOTUS does not need to follow the law because other than AOC no one in the entire USA seems to be doing anything about it. Oh, Dick Durbin sent me a blah, blah, blah, letter today. He is not getting my money though. That is going to AOC who has made a bold move.
They don't have a leg to stand on, Joe Biden was the presumptive nominee but hadn't had the formal nomination yet. The DNC hasn't held the convention yet. It's all smoke and mirrors since they only knew how to run against Biden and they Biden's gaffe's were the gift that kept on giving.
Was there something there when they said Trump is immune? Sorry, I thought that we all understood that the Constitution is not their guide but some big donors.
It seems that his goal would be to throw a monkey wrench into the plan for Harris to be nominated...because that has been his pattern. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that he is backed by Republican interests.
If the opening chorus of Dem leadership, and the instant turning on of donor $ (a record i hear) are any indication, the Dems will follow Biden's recommendation. A number of major possible competitors have also endorsed her. Per Heather's letter
Linda, nearly $50MM was raised in mere hours after the announcement, including $100 from my wife and me, and we will give again. I think the money issue will disappear. (And what are they going to be messaging on, now that Joe is out? They'll be playing a lot of defense.)
And to be clear, the $180MM is total of 4 months of $45MM.)
Change the Supreme Court, and change Citizens United.
lol i was looking for that comment! If there is a driving perception in an electorate, eg reproductive rights, that alone, with a more modest advertising, campaign footer support, get votes to the ballot box.
I too fear that the forces that push Joe Biden out of the running, are not done. I do not trust the democratic party to listen to the people. I do not believe, for a minute it is a done deal. I will believe it after she wins the nomination.
I pray I am wrong....as a divisive convention will sink us.
Susan, I am so understanding of how you feel. Yesterday I was fuming mad at the way they forced Biden to concede the nomination. Yet, the choices remaining for me - even understanding the nefarious big-money-influence of donors - was to support Harris to win in November. I want to signal to the dem-powerful that sticking with Harris is a wise choice. So I donated yesterday through Act Blue to hopefully be a part of a donation-support-wave to signal to the delegates to get onboard with Harris and unite early and effectively.
Don’t you think it would be wise to wait and hear all the details that are bound to come out about what Kamala has done and who she is before you support her?I believe the elites in the DNC annointed President Biden in the primaries by denying any competition through unfair rules and maybe concealed his age issues. That impulsive support could backfire again, and I question how undemocratic it is too.
Susan, I know it's normal for us Dems to worry, and Will Rogers' quote about Dems comes to mind, but I think this is a done deal. When I awoke today I told myself "This feels like Morning in America".
My heart and mind tell me that Pres. Biden has most likely stepped aside due to declining mental and physical medical conditions that would severely interfere with his presidential duties for a full term. He is better off with resting and healing his body to ensure a longer and better life with his family.
Her nomination will bring all the misogonists out into the open, just like the Trump trials exposed corruption in the courts. I hope sassy women will unite and back her up.
It appears that the DNC is running the presidency. Although Biden made this huge decision on his own, it was not without tremendous push and pressure from the senior Democratic Party leaders. Sad in a way; understandable concerns in another way. A sad time. Bittersweet is the defining word for me. Good for the country — most likely; however, not without an UNIFIED party going forward. I too have a quiet, little voice inside whispering a little uncertainty and distrust in the democratic leadership.
I think the DNC wants a Democrat to beat Trump. I think Biden wants a Democrat to win the election. I think Harris wants a Democrat to beat Trump. I think Nancy Pelosi wants a Democrat to win the election. I think all those other “contenders” the media keep naming, who are throwing their support to Harris want a Democrat to win the election. I think the ones who haven’t committed yet still want a Democrat to beat Trump. Who do you trust more, the RNC or the DNC? What are you really worrying about here?
Your investment in Harris is the signal the delegates are waiting for. This is my take on the situation,a t least. So I donated yesterday through Act Blue to support Harris and hopefully be a part of a donation wave to “encourage” delegates to get on board.
Mike Johnson has no say in whom the Dens choose for their candidate. And we need to support Kamala now to help influence any wavering delegates to pledge their votes to her.
LOL, indeed! Hmmm, the GOP doesn't like that OUR candidate decided to NOT run and they don't like who might take his place so they want the COURTS to force Biden back into the race? SERIOUSLY? I mean I thought they 2020 election cases were nonsensical. This takes the cake!
Watch the week unfold Linda, it was moving at break neck speed yesterday, all of the pent up frustration and worry about another orange turd presidency began to evaporate like the sun drying spilled water in Death Valley this summer. It was amazing to watch in real time, MSNBC had Rachel and some of her fellow pundits on delivering the news while it continued to break all around them, they were constantly pausing to report something new. It was so heartening to watch the shattering of the threat we have all been living under, the repugnantkins are toast and they know it. Joe Biden orchestrated this like a world class conductor, by far the best president of my lifetime which started with Truman. The only way we can begin to repay our debt to our president is to elect his anointed successor, from the looks of the outpouring relief, we are on our way to doing that. Hang in there, there are way more of us than deluded maggots. Anything that gives putin nightmares is a source of joy. 🙏
I wish that Harris picks her VP running mate sooner than later. I hope that it's Josh Shapiro, our PA governor. What a ticket that would be--an African /East Indian-American Woman President and a Jewish VP!!!
I think many have heard of Josh Shapiro due to his amazing success in rebuilding and re-opening I-95 after the truck crash took a huge chunk down. Maybe not his name at this point in time but will make a good campaign reminder.
Speaker Johnson has no authority over the Democratic party. Their are provisions that must be followed that Dems are aware of. Johnson is complaining because he see's Harris as a threat to Trump.
Point well taken, Linda. I think that is part of the strategy with Mr Biden and Ms Harris who are taking advantage of the short time frame leading to the convention, dropping the balloons on a newsless Sunday after the usual Sunday political shows finished, and then held a hasty national call with ALL of the state chairs for democratic committes on and voicing their state support for Kamala immediately. Formalizing state support will differ by state, but both candidate were selected.
"Here is the story I believe history will tell of Joe Biden. With American democracy in an hour of maximum danger in Donald Trump’s presidency, Mr. Biden stepped in the breach. He staved off an authoritarian threat at home, rallied the world against autocrats abroad, laid the foundations for decades of prosperity, managed the end of a once-in-a-century pandemic, successfully legislated on vital issues of climate and infrastructure and has conducted a presidency worthy of the greatest of his predecessors. History and fate brought him to the pinnacle in a late season in his life, and in the end, he respected fate — and he respected the American people."
Why do Republicans succor lawlessness? Why is the Roberts court so corrupt? I'll call it the Roberts court because I don't think his willingness to say the quiet part out loud makes Clarence worse than the chief justice of the most powerful nation on Earth.
What is the quality possessed by Joe Biden that is so revered by Beau, Hunter, Kamila Harris, Heather, virtually every commenter on this newsletter, and everyone who understands that the word "freedom" implies responsibility to others. And why is that quality so lacking in MAGA supporters?
IMHO, it's simple. Joe Biden's North Star is treating others the way he would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot no matter the personal cost or how impossible it might appear to be initially. Meanwhile, MAGA is imagining they can build an empire by following the Death Star, aka doing unto others before they do unto you.
Translation: The way to defeat MAGA is simple. Follow Joe Biden's example, and never follow the MAGA example. Or to uses Jesus' words to real Christians, "I am sending you out as sheep among (Christian Nationalist) wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." —Matthew 10:16.
""Mr. Biden has spent a lifetime trying to do right by the nation, and he did so in the most epic of ways when he chose to end his campaign for re-election. His decision is one of the most remarkable acts of leadership in our history, an act of self-sacrifice that places him in the company of George Washington, who also stepped away from the presidency. To put something ahead of one’s immediate desires — to give, rather than to try to take — is perhaps the most difficult thing for any human being to do. And Mr. Biden has done just that."
Barack Obama hasn’t endorsed Kamala Harris. He’s in favor of an open primary. This is likely because he knows what she’s up against and the stakes are too high to let Republicans increase their chances.
Kamala Harris, unless she says otherwise, will continue with Biden’s agenda & policies because most voters want her to.
Unfortunately, billionaires and big corporations likely tossed enough money to feed the people of Denmark for years, just to get rid of Joe Biden. They will NOT want anyone who plans to pick up where he left off in his efforts to redistribute some of their excessive wealth and power to the regular people by breaking up monopolies, increasing competition, fighting corruption, supporting labor Unions, etc.
So I suspect we’ll either have an open primary to widen the choices for voters that the DNC can choose from, or they may just pick someone like Manchin they know will be acceptable to the billionaires & corporations and expect people to hold their noses and vote for that person, just keep Trump out of office.
I will be very surprised if the DNC just goes with Kamala Harris without challenging her in an open primary, because too many voters fear a female candidate who is also Black will not win enough votes against Trump to get an electoral win.
Lisa, my take is that Barack and Michele, who posted their appreciation for Joe Biden, are letting his decision stand out for what it is: historic loyalty to country, and gave him the day. I suspect they and some of the othees who haven't yet endorsed will do so in the next day or two.
Look, we twice elected a black man as president, and Hillary won the popular vote against CF45, with a lot more baggage than Kamala. I'm not fretting -- which side would you think has the better candidate now? My money is on Harris, and she'll add to the Senate and House D columns.
My hopes for a better America are with her and I will share that positivity with everyone around me.
However, I am not blind to the pro-billionaire/big corporation operation going on which helped push Biden out the door.
My fear is that we will have one or more pro-bill/corp candidates boldly put forth by all their money (plus Republican money) to make a contest between a different DNC pick and Harris who is the
best choice for regular Americans. That will be a disaster at this late stage. Americans will have to be organized into mass demonstrations for Kamala Harris as a ballot write-in which I don’t think will work without major money, herculean effort, and a miracle.
Lisa, who would they select? Most if not all the likely candidates have already endorsed her, and again, let's remember that the Biden/Harris campaign war chest goes with her. I'm taking this at face value: Harris WILL be the Dem nominee. She has too much wind at her back.
Wind can always be redirected. What if the DNC pulls a “bait and switch” type deal? The pick someone else out of the blue and the get all the funds and electors because what else can be done at that late stage????
Lisa, it wasn't just corporations/big donors who wanted Joe to step aside. Many many of us watched that debate in horror. Joe is a GREAT president and I am GLAD that he will be celebrated as the guy who took the Presidency from Trump who had scandalized the office and made it decent again. If he LOST to Trump in 2024, I fear that he would have been vilified as the man who refused to see the end of the line and refused to get off the train. No one would remember the great things he has done. He NEEDED to step aside, and I think you are giving the big donors too much credit here. They WANT to win, just like we do and they agreed that Joe needed to step aside. And he has. Please don't make that a BAD thing. If he had stayed in, he would have lost the presidency and possibly the whole country to Trump. That can still happen, but I think Harris is the best chance to keep it from happening.
I’m tired of hearing that she is also Black. She is also white. And green and blue. Cheeses man. If she can (and will) slam Trump in a debate (not sponsored by Fox Propaganda Network) she will gain the confidence of American majority.
Bill, Harris can’t slam Trump in a debate unless she gets very creative. Trump doesn’t play by debate rules. He cheats the rules and spouts a barrage of lies, made up stuff, non stop. He keeps talking and pestering when his mic is turned off and when the other candidate is trying to speak. He apparently pays off the network on which the debate airs. Bash and Tapper were nearly useless in that last crime scene.
Susan, we have to stop calling them “debates”. They are not debates. They’re “gotcha traps” designed by the bosses of the talking heads that cannot get Trump to even answer a question
Each Two minute segment is just a MAGA rally, to hell with any “debate rules”
Harris should refuse to debate him —unless he is fact checked after each utterance before Harris is permitted to respond. Harris should refuse to debate him unless he is given a soundproof room. They can each debate from soundproof rooms with several fact checkers on hand. Trump only knows one way to engage in a debate. We all saw what that is last time.
I don't see it as slamming Trump IF he follows through on having a debate. I see it as an important opportunity for Harris to show the American people who she is and what she stands for. I've no doubt she will effectively ignore or shut down the CFDT when he shouts over her. Again, IF he doesn't actually chicken out.
Susan, we have to stop calling them “debates”. They are not debates. They’re “gotcha traps” designed by the bosses of the talking heads that cannot get Trump to even answer a question
Each Two minute segment is just a MAGA rally, to hell with any “debate rules”
No value at al”
Judith,
This is Dave Dalton’s take earlier today that described my feelings on holding a debate. Trump has rendered debates irrelevant.
She will definitely pick up the black vote, and i think a majority of the female vote, thanks to the sweeping battle over reproductive rights. All the Democrats, let's see on the independents. Donors who otherwise seem to express a preference for someone else have in the course of several hours released record millions of pent up donations.
Lisa Winfeld, it concerns me too. Will the big donors steer her away from Biden's rebalancing agenda? But then, I think, we'll deal with that later, if it comes to be. So, I'm setting that concern aside and only focusing on saving democracy.
I wish I could cite where I saw this yesterday, but the gist was that the many prominent figures will begin to give endorsements, which will keep this in the news cycle. A way of getting media attention without paying for it, so to speak.
Phil, looking forward to the Tangerine Palpatine debating the prosecutor—who’s used to holding a liar’s feet to the fire—instead of a former stutterer who reacts badly to being interrupted.
Phil, Harris is a person of integrity, wasn't perfect, but as far as I can tell, has done her best to follow her principles while still paying attention to the needs of the people. There is no scenario in which either Trump or J.D. Vance has done anything like that. They are both situation exploiters, rich white men who have everything and get more, whatever they can while blaming those who are poor and struggling for being poor and struggling. So, we have 2 lying jerks (Trump and Vance) against a skilled prosecutor and person who cares about this nation. I would really like her to team up with Pete Buttigeig or Mark Kelly, but there are so many other options since the Democratic Party has an enormous number of people who are credible, caring, talented people despite what Trump and Kump and our many media platforms would indicate. Go Kamala! Make the world better with and for all of us!
Curious, Ruth, how she can choose from so many good choices.
I like Wes Moore, governor of Maryland, but he's black, and others tell me that would be a no-no.
Need to get a white guy? Beshear of Kentucky would do. Cooper of North Carolina, too. Mark Kelly fine. But for temperament, Pete Buttigieg has integrity, strong focus (like Kamala) and (also like her) very smooth, even demeanor.
So many great women -- but one at the head of the ticket may fill that need, exclude others.
So many riches. Maybe leave everything open till the convention, and let the delegates choose there?
I had decided long ago that I would trust President Biden and vote for him, since I would be quite comfortable with a President Harris. The G.O.P. must be freaking.
My decision too. Biden was willing to take the heat and mud slinging of the campaign. I never doubted that after defeating Old Orange, he would slide out leaving Harris at the helm.
Ned, I've never watched Faux News before, but switches it on last night for a few minutes to hear their reaction. Mark Levin was incensed, comparing Biden's withdrawal after winning Dem votes in the primaries to TRUMP'S ATTEMPTED COUP, saying that since trompy was charged with attempting to overturn the results of an election, so
should Biden, blah blah blah.
Poor fella. They got played by Joe and they're just realizing it.
I've always thought Joe is a team player. I imagine that Joe and the people around him strategized at length, and for some time ahead of the announcement. I'm sure they decided to wait until the RNC concluded in Milwaukee, so that the President and Vice President could garner total focus from the public on Sunday. I've even considered that Joe's apparent lapses during the so-called "debate" were part of a well-planned kayfabe.
That is disgusting. Well, President Biden has been wise and thoughtful in following the counsel of Mrs Obama: "when they go low, we go high."
Incidentally, I have read that certain G.O.P. (for Gawd-offal-poop) leaders are looking into law-suits when President Biden is not even nominated.
There are four Presidents in my living memory whom I really look up to; I was three when President Eisenhower left office. None served more than four years.
Well, given that our Congress is sitting on their hands about addressing SCOTUS' fascist rulings, that ignore our constitution, I would not be so sure about anything yet. I just read Strongmen by Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, you should read it. Trump is in it.
I'm most clear, Cindy, that she can be a vigorous, apt campaigner in the election cycle.
God, we need Dems to be strong, focused on the manifest criminality and corruption we face. She'll hold these criminals, these enablers of corruption to account.
Really, Cindy, you've heard nothing over recent months as many of our very best commentors have often, often expressed final hope in the American people to turn out and vote? Especially as efforts by the Justice Department have been perfidiously tardy, and then have most all been stymied by corrupt Clarence court, corrupt Eileen Cannon.
Until DNC officially nominates Harris, I plan on being positive and supportive of her to everyone around me. I want her to continue working for ordinary Americans like just like Joe Biden is. I don’t trust that anyone else who gets put in front of her will look after our interests, because they will have big money backing them in order to get our attention.
Admirable restraint, TC! Thank you for kindly omitting your usual expletives, as I'm sure many readers here were quite stunned and/or emotionally reeling from President Biden's withdrawal. I've heard it said that it's not worth engaging in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent. I hope your kitties are well.
Yes—Court of Public opinion and promotion of policy as a Candidate, and the sworn duty as POTUS to uphold the laws and the Constitution rather than dismantle them, as Trump and the Syndicate have attempted at every turn. It is not a violation to put forward 13 SCOTUS justices for 13 Circuits. (They arrived at 9 because that was the number of Circuits at the time—the number is not in the Constitution, but to amend that we will need to capture majorities in downballot races!)
Love this legend in the making. Love the instant narrative change for Biden and his presidency. Love Hunter’s love for his dad. Love the energy pouring in for Kamala, who will be the first female president of the United States.
Biden has the heart of a lion. He wove a Dark Brandon spiderman web, and the MAGA fools have fallen into it, and are flailing around with no moral compass to guide them out.
Moderates, we’ve got a big tent over here, and there’s still lots of love to go round.
Hopefully, the focus will remain on the election instead of the media trying to find the smallest crack in loyalty to Harris.
When was the last time anyone pointing out the disfunction of the House since the Party of Trump took over.
1) Least amount of legislation passed by any House in history
2) It took several continuing resolutions and 6 months to pass a budget
3) Speaker Johnson is a Trump puppet who won't lift a finger unless he flies to Mar-a-Lago or Bedminister to get Trump's blessing.
4) They allowed thousands of Ukranians, Israelis and Palestinians to die will they fucked around for 6 months before finally passing support for Ukraine and Israel.
5) They took dozens of ballots and did a trial run on several potential Speakers before CFDT gave Johnson his blessing
6) They fired Kevin McCarthy because he was dumb enough to agree that ONE member could call for a vote to remove him.
7) They refused to bring up the most consequential border protection bill for a vote because CFDT told them not to.
8) They refuse to reach across the aisle to do anything.
9) They had held ridiculous hearings trying to impeach Biden
10) They impeach Mayorkis because they haven't provided him with money or the tools to secure the Southern Border
11) They have some of the dumbest members in history including MTG, Boebert, Goetz, Comer, Jordan.
Every Republican in the House SHOULD be vulnerable but no one is saying anything.
Johnson has the nerve to say Biden should resign and is unfit for the 5 months left in his presidency!
Johnson is unfit! He is not working for the country. He is solely working for his party. He is not getting anything of value accomplished and has wasted taxpayers money. He should be impeached!
Trump and Johnson are angry that the only candidate he could beat dropped out of the race. Trump's platform was denigrating Biden. Now that he's out, Trump will have to create a new, substantive platform, which of course will be based on a slew of lies.
We can count on the media to seek out and magnify any cracks in loyalty to Harris. They have shown they are NOT unbiased, and clearly not interested in what's good for our country. The oligarchs ' oversized wallets are all they care to fill.
AND we can count on the typical MAGA mix of choice little truths and hoards of fanciful lies to sow confusion and doubt about her in efforts to gaslight the undecideds!! But at least she has had more ‘vetting’ to date than a candidate with a less familiar background.
James Buchanan wrote in his papers that compromise had to stop. It took several decades for the conservatives to finally adopt that, but here we are. Reagan got the ball rolling and when the libertarian platform was folded into the GOP, the dye was cast....
“Hopefully, the focus will remain on the election instead of the media trying to find the smallest crack in loyalty to Harris”. Gary Loft ME, NE, FL, MI, IL CA, from your lip to god’s ears. But the current media modus operandi doesn’t favor that hope.
Actually, I think it was with the Obama administration that it was openly stated by Republicans that obstructionism would would be their strongest tactic in 'leadership', to do everything in their power simply to block anything being done. There's been a lot of telling statements that would have never got far before, we demanded at least the appearance of fair play, some semblance of it being for our best common interest. It's really 'interesting' to see all the dishonesty & hypocrisy that was kept so much more on the 'down low' coming out now. Naming the shitting elephant in the room is the 1st step in getting it out. You make legit points.
Same here, Peg. I actually had to type it (as the surname for fpotus) last week....I'd like to say my laptop gave it the red underline for a misspelled word but it didn't.
Bravo Ryan McCormick, M.D. Great comment. Warm-hearted and powerful. You give my heart a needed lift today. And I too $donated$. I had to do something positive yesterday with all that turmoil in my heart.
When I heard the announcement, I immediately went online and donated.
I am impressed that some of the emails that I received asked for as little as $3. About the cost of soda at the nearby fast food restaurant. Most people can at least afford that, and I hope they will do so. That $3 donation is more than just funds to buy advertising or pay staff, it is a very real attention grabbing show of support for a candidate.
It’s been a very odd day, very emotional. I have sobbed and then wiped my tears only to find myself crying again. I feel very betrayed by our party and our people in Congress. What happened to Joe was elder abuse but unfortunately, we all were witnesses to his decline and that hurts. We all have so much respect for the many things he has accomplished as our leader. I wrote to him on the White House website and told him I knew this decision was so hard for him. I told him that I would always hold him in my heart. My eyes are welling up as I write this but nothing got to me more than what Hunter said. I had read his post before Heather posted it and I got the same reaction in reading it here again. But, I know that Biden always surrounded himself with good people and he wouldn’t have endorsed Kamala if she weren’t up to the job. he has been steadily training her for 3 1/2 years. She’s extremely bright and a tough litigator. Let me remind folks that her questioning of Kavanaugh during the justices hearings was both superb and relentless. She practically brought the guy to tears. The R’s now have the oldest person ever to run for president and guess what? He isn’t smart and his screws are real loose. He’s mean. He’s a rapist, a misogynist, a 34 count criminal, a grifter, a thief, and a pedophile. Boy, do they ever have a problem! As of right now, my time, being 11:38pm, her campaign has received money from small donors to the total of approximately $52.8 million. Let’s make Kamala our first woman president!
There has been much division among Democrats about all of this. Perhaps Biden wasn't pushed out so much, but rather listened to other Dems he respected: Pelosi, Obama, the House Minority Leader, the Senate Majority Leader. Biden could have pushed on but didn't. Stepping down is not weakness in my opinion but strength.
The DNC had a flood of money donated when Biden passed the baton to Kamala today. The social media gave Biden the respect he should of been getting all along. The Democrats were so much more civilized with the announcement, than the noisy victim approach than the Republicans littered on us last week. HCR sent us tonight the best tribute for Biden and described today with such grace, for the unselfish hard work Biden sacrificed for all Americans.
I agree with you. He would not have stepped down without his family’s backing and without his political friends’ support. He is definitely struggling with mental/physical health conditions that would prevent him from performing his duties another four years. Better for Biden to finish his term without the added burden of a reelection campaign on his shoulders.
Well, this is a complex issue. My wife was pretty pissed off about the whole thing (her primary vote not counting for Biden, for example). But with Dems rallying behind Harris she is coming around.
As you probably know, I was in favor of Biden dropping out, but if he hadn't done this voluntarily, we'd all be in big trouble. Analogous to not carrying bags in order to clean up poop when walking the dog! We'd all be fighting over other stuff and not being unified, being distracted by getting poop on your shoe, and having to scrub it off in the laundry tub.
Now that we are becoming more unified as Dems and Dem-leaning independents, we can focus more on things like making sure Trump isn't elected and Democracy is saved for another 4 or 8 years.
Well, this is a somewhat flippant comment, but is from the heart.
I don’t believe any of them listened to the voters. I think they got threatened by wealthy donors and the loud and biased polls & media funded by other billionaires’ money paid for to make them think we didn’t want another Biden-Harris administration.
My eyes also welled up when I absorbed the impact of the letter President Biden posted yesterday morning, and welled up again reading in HCR's letter the quote from Hunter. I agree with you 100%.
I didn’t witness any decline in Joe Biden. The press presented us with a picture of a weak, failing Joe surrounded by a heavy gilded frame that took reader’s attention away from the fact that there’s no possible coherent response to jibberish—lying jibberish that undermined debate protocol. Joe was armed with facts and coherent points.
That’s behind us now and today we have renewed optimism and vigor to lift Kamala Harris to the presidency. All for one.
Susan, the only thing that I have seen (and that has been since about June) is visually apparent ageing. Remember how different Barack Obama looked after his 8 years in office?
Yes, Ally, I remember Obama appearing a good deal older when he left office. I also age in a visually apparent way. But do my observations and decisions also age at that same rate?
I was also sad about the abuse heaped on Biden, a wonderful public servant, but extremely concerned about the ordeal of not only the rigors of the campaign, but what this job does to even a young person. Joe had earned a right to retire after a job well done and to continue to contribute his wisdom in a less demanding role. I am thrilled with the prospect of a Harris presidency!
I understand your feelings. To many this feels like a moment when dealing with an aging parent, grandparent, loved one, etc. You know that they are capable of doing great things but sometimes you have to have tough conversations; such as taking away their keys, moving them to assisted living, etc. to protect not only them but to protect their family, friends, and community as well. This is how I have looked at it since the debate and interviews that followed. President Biden can leave knowing he had an amazing presidency and he will be looked upon fondly. There is no question of his loyalty to and love for his country. That tough conversation, asking him to pass the baton, while difficult shows that his decision to suspend his reelection that he cares for and wants to protect his family, friends, community and country.
Marlene, thank you for expressing so openly exactly how I’ve been feeling the last weeks and hours. I will also take the time to write to Biden today with love and gratitude.
For once the Professor understates. This is about something more profound than simply "putting the country first." This is about realizing that one may be a fighter, but one cannot fight time. This is about knowing that you may do great work, but you cannot do all the great work. This is about having the paradoxical courage required to allow someone else to shoulder the burden, and trusting that they can.
I understand this is an emotional day for supporters of President Biden, a group of which I count myself among. He may well be the most (currently) underappreciated leader in our nation's history. Yet I cannot square reactions of despair or dread with my honest reaction today. Today I felt a window blown open and oxygen flow back into my sphere. I felt nothing but rejuvenation, excitement, and gratitude. Look, I admire the man and am grateful for his contributions, but that is a whole separate deal from being able to mount a winning campaign, which he just can't do anymore. That much had became clear. As a younger person expecting to volunteer in this election, do you know how impossible selling this now-obviously-infirm man as head of my party was going to be for me? Do you know how much easier my life just got? Do you know how much more positive electoral energy just got injected our way? Do you know how much closer to my hopes a progressive future just became?
Answer: A WHOLE FREAKING LOT.
The President is a good man and a patriotic leader. He knows we have a better chance without him now, he prioritized his generosity over his pride, and *that* is why he has bowed out. He wasn't forced out by his party or media elites or deep-pocketed donors, or any of that nonsense. He's the most powerful person on Earth. No one could make him do anything, for Lord's sakes. It was simply the right thing to do, and I am grateful the leaders of my party, unlike the cowardly sycophants in the other party, had the backbone to stand up in a respectful way to the President and remind him that our goals are bigger than any one person, no matter how admirable their achievements may be. I am grateful the President I voted for was a big enough person to agree. I am grateful I can now vote for someone else who can carry on the legacy into the future with the energy required. Specifically, a kick-ass woman of color from the county where I grew up.
Joe Biden confirmed my faith in him for all these years was always the right choice, for all the accolades you've acknowledged and much more that I could spill. I've watched him closely for decades, watched him grow, mistakes and all. Throughout, he's been genuine. We have witnessed greatness; I don't think that's any stretch to say that.
He is what Americans always SAY they want but rarely appreciate when they actually get: a real live authentic down-to-earth person. Not a smooth operator but instead someone with full humanity bared, flaws and all. History will likely be very kind to him for the decisions he made the last few years, both stepping up, stepping down, and doing the hard things in between.
True Will, about want and get. I think Joe has a strong aptitude for both being a clever and a smooth operator politically. He was a real, authentic down to earth person but not so good as to be naive.
Agree except that friendly fire, however well-intentioned, is never a noble act. That said, I am relieved that a decision has been made and the stalemate is over. Move on Dems, time is running out.
I disagree. Friends and family often have to make hard decisions and be very convincing to someone who is no longer capable of going forward in their current situation.
Correct. We just had the taking-the-car-keys-from-Grandpa-after-he-ran-over-three-squirrels-in-a-row conversation play out on a national scale. No one wants to have that conversation, you always put it off until it is absolutely necessary, Grandpa is never receptive at first, but it needs to be done. Sometimes the loving and respectful thing to do for someone is not to support them blindly but instead to be a trusted source of tough truths.
Well spoken! This election is about the future of the younger generation. It is you who has to move our country forward. With an old man ( as wonderful as he has been) at the top of the ticket, that was an impossible task. I feel the same relieve and renewed energy you do. There is hope again we can stop the authoritarian rise all over the world and show those who are so afraid to loose there position of dominance that there is an alternative to the same old, same old
Will-As someone who was riding’ with Biden all of the way I feel relief for him. He doesn’t have to worry about being blamed for a Dem loss. He can enjoy his later years without the pressures of the world’s problems. His legacy is now even greater than it was before because he showed himself to be someone with love of “we the people”. He also has the courage to support a woman for president. My admiration for him has only increased.
My hope for America has also soared. Now is the time we can show the world that democracy works and our nation can lead the way to a better future. Let freedom ring and justice flow!
The swift organization and enthusiasm by the party around the VP in just a matter of hours, along with a renewed focus on the message of the party as a team, has been wonderful and reassuring to see. It is amazing how the doubts about the unknown melt away when there is no longer the luxury to have room for them.
In stepping down, Joe showed us what real leadership is. Having the will, humility, and strength to put down such a tremendous thing as this speaks volumes about his character and the characters of those around him.
The opposition was blindsided by Biden stepping down of his own accord. They couldn’t project that a president would do such a thing. They have a limited ability to think clearly because nobility is not in the ideas available to them.
Well said Wil. Your post reflects what I feel. While I was fearing Ruth Bader Ginsberg along came George Washington and everything changed for the better. We were all "knocked down" and the President just helped us to "get up". I'm all in for Kamala Harris largely because Joe Biden is too.
Joe Biden was absolutely the President we needed to elect in 2020 and he’s accomplished way more than I thought would be possible. Kamala is the President we need next. May it be so!
Thanks. I like to think of myself as a clear-eyed thinking person (why I love this newsletter!), so the past few weeks were a journey for me as I allowed my thinking to evolve based on incoming information. When I shared on this forum what I thought was obvious a few weeks ago - that Biden was no longer viable and would need to step aside - I was called a hair-on-fire Kool-Aid-drinking Russian bot. I have a pretty damn thick skin, but it was a bit much to have that level of defensiveness directed at me at that intense moment, so I decided to step away until the inevitable occurred today and I could add my voice to be a unifying one.
Will, emotions are high right now. I saw a similar situation over on Joyce Vance's page where one person was calling another Reader a "troll" (a name that was familiar to me from other Substack pages) and so I gently said that just because someone disagrees with you, they are not a troll. I was met with a resounding "nu-uh", and went into more detail; the person was a name that was on many Substack pages, and often commented there.
Interestingly, one person with whom I have disagreed with on this page and indicated to them that I was going to cease to engage submitted a post that I did "like" recently commented on my post that they agreed with me. Even in the case of opposition to particular elements of conversation, we can be civil to one another.
I have 2 cousins who have never voted before who now say they are excited to vote for Kamala. Kamal will drive excitement instead of just voting against Trump. This is key for Dems and close races, especially in swing states. I'm hoping we can maintain this momentum!
Nice to see you weigh in, Will. I appreciate your perspective, and your articulation of the roller coaster my brain was going through yesterday. I was calmed substantially by Professor Richardson's unscheduled and EBS* 30 minute "Politics and History" chat last night, and that same oxygen flowing back into my sphere this morning.
*EBS Emergency Broadcast System "This is not a test: Stay tuned for important information to follow"
Well for what it's worth (cue Buffalo Springfield) my Dad is 75 and feels as I do, which I have been grateful for in recent days. We have been trading the minutia of current developments over the phone and in person and he has provided an invaluable sounding board for me.
Look, I don't blame the Biden campaign managers for playing the "donors want us out, but we work for YOU" card, but even they had to know it would ring hollow. I am with you when deploring the aftereffects of Citizens United, but let's be frank: donors usually triple down when their preferred candidate is in trouble. They only pull away when they truly see no point in throwing good money after bad. It is how the rich stay rich, after all. Ironically, the $60 million that poured in to ActBlue in just the last afternoon/evening puts the lie to that elites-vs-primary-voters narrative: that haul is from small donors like me ($50 as soon as I got the link!) expressing their utter relief and renewed vigor.
It is fair for people to have mixed emotions about how this all unfolded, but for once the money tap followed the polls rather than the other way around.
And the left-wing support better materialize very rapidly and solidify around VP Harris or whomever. Any fight will further the narrative that the Dems can't govern themselves so can't be trusted with the country. Next, realize the vast majority aren't reading these blogs, they are looking for a name on the ballot that they recognize and they recognize "Trump". Finally, if you remember how the right-wing hated Barack Obama, a Black man in their White House telling them what to do, try to realize how they will feel about a Black WOMAN doing that. The left better be ready to turn out 100,000,000 voters cause they will need every one.
It is the women and the men who will advocate for their mothers, wives, and daughters and granddaughters—all who are targeted, along with LGBTQ people, by project 2025–who will make the difference. I agree that as excellent a President as Obama was, it surfaced the seamy underbelly of racism ‘bigly.’ But it is getting to be time for a head-on, visible awareness campaign and confrontation at the polls to counter the bigotry and sexism. We have learned a lot and taken some lessons since Obama’s terms and Hilary’s electoral defeat. Let’s hope this move boosts our down-ballot races as well.
We don’t need more words to combat bigotry and sexism in defense of our chosen candidate. Let’s not talk this to death. We need and will have action.
Harris is going to be the next president because we democrats, women, men, LBGTQ, middle class, and the barely-making-it class, artists, educators, young voters, urban and suburban voters will make it so.
Pete Buttigieg for VP? Then we'd have a first and second husband thing going on :) Plus Sec. Buttigieg is the best debater and most able public servant in the Democratic party right now - and that's saying a lot!
With over 65,000 infrastructure projects behind him and the amazing clean-up jobs in the Baltimore Harbor and several train derailments he certainly has accomplished a lot in a short period of time. He must have an incredible team in place and unlike most Republicans he is very good at delegating.
And I have to credit Joe Biden for matching up cabinet members with their talents. Deb Haaland has done an excellent job as Secy of Interior.
But, the amazingly popular Gina Raimondo should be in the running. She has been traveling the world as Secretary of Commerce and has been garner support for the United States.
That's a tough choice and with so many incredibly talented Democrats that would be excellent Presidents, I would hate to be the one making that choice.
None of those picks are what the Dems need to win. They need to win the SWING states, and SWING/ INDEPENDENT voters, hard stop. The way to do that is to choose a VP (or have an open convention- which I’m for- I’m not thrilled with the anointing of Harris) who is a successful ELECTED politician from one of those states that will win those states and that independent and indifferent voters will come out and vote for. Pete B. and Gina R have been terrific cabinet members but they do not give the ticket what they MUST HAVE IN ORDER TO WIN. We need to WIN folks, not create a utopian ticket.
I'm thinking a male governor of a swing state like the NC governor, or someone like Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona. I am not sure which "job" is the precursor for presidential/vice presidential success (governor as the Executive Officer of a state, or a Senator, who knows how the federal government works); my initial thought was that governor was the better, but after looking at Kennedy, Johnson, Obama, and Biden, I think that federal knowledge is better.
Of course, that and $3.00 will get you a double espresso at Starbucks.
The NC governor or even the KY governor would bring in voters from the swing states.
I don't think the media will hammer home 1) how little Trump accomplished to "make America great.", 2) How little the House accomplished under McCarthy and Trump's little Johnson. 3) How far right Project 2025 is. 4) Any of Trump's lies that he repeats ad nauseam. 5) How badly Trump and his sycophants have screwed women, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of color including indigenous people.
I'm really curious how the billionaire-paid media will spin this. Biden was too old, what will they say about Kamala? Too young? Too black for their liking? Too female? Will Murdoch really dare to go with an all-out racist and misogynistic trope?
The Trump campaign certainly is in a quandary over this turn of events.
They are trying to distance themselves from Project 25 (as Trump mistakenly called it Saturday several times), but the Heritage Foundation has thousands of hours dedicated to this roadmap to the takeover of the Federal government and coronation of King Donald.
"Pfft, what could a woman know about running the country", right... I think they will attack her for being a woman, too. I hope the women of America take note!
America First, indeed. Well played, Dr. Richardson. I was strongly against Joe Biden dropping out. I grieved for the first hour or so, but the colossal wave of support for Kamala Harris has me reenergized and excited. I think we've had our "break glass" moment. Stations, everyone! It's up to us to cement Joe Biden's legacy and write our own future!
Me too, Linda. First hour I was very sad, discouraged, and then our postcard writing group got together and turned out few hundred postcards and processed the events of today. By the end, we were all re-energized and ready to keep fighting! This is going to be an epic battle, and I was so worried about what might happen to Joe, and now I have nothing but hope for what we can do to save democracy!
I was writing postcards for Jon Tester when the news came it hit me as a physical blow. Took a few deep breaths, knew what it meant, and went on writing postcards. If all of us do what we can, there will be a blue tsunami. Here’s hoping (and working).
Me too, Linda. But the time for sad is over. The time to circle the wagons is now. We have just over 100 days to educate voters about the hitler-esque project 2025, tfg's predilection for traveling with Epstein, and Vance's shortage of conviction of his beliefs. Perhaps orange Hitler will loan Vance some convictions, he seems to have 34. So far.
I know some people are disappointed in Barak Obama right now. However, here is his story when talking about his own candidacy in 2008...Fired up! Ready to Go!
"For now, Michelle and I just want to express our love and gratitude to Joe and Jill for leading us so ably and courageously during these perilous times — and for their commitment to the ideals of freedom and equality that this country was founded on."
The letter was not the place for endorsing anyone new, let alone Kamala Harris. His endorsement will come later, after a new nominee is selected.
Yes, I think he was opposed on the basis of optics over substance, and that is a serious and obviously ongoing problem for our society. That said, I hope we can now get completely serious about building solidarity to defeat demagoguery.
It is a sad situation that a humble man and public servant of advanced years who is fit and competent to run a first-rate administration is a liability because of ‘optics.’ Sadly, ageism and intolerance for speech imperfections are real is real; but on-screen adroitness is a MUST against the accomplished liar and media-raised-and-fed behemoth, charlatan Trump.
Agreed. He eventually (it took a while) listened to feedback from respected colleagues. Someone will write a very successful book regarding how this unity among Dem leadership coalesced.
I agree. On the day I arrived in this world, Harry Truman was President. Of all the Presidents I have known, I like President Biden best. He has accomplished the kinds of things that I wish every President would have done. He has worked for the people. We all know that nobody is perfect. On balance, Joe Biden was great in Congress, and he was a fine Vice President for eight years, and he has been a great President.
Cindy, I think so many calls were made to urge him to leave the race. Of course, money talks very loudly and the down ballot races will likely get a boost in donations and support from Biden leaving the race.
What good what it be for the country to have Joe win and the Democrats lose the House and the Senate?
Let's all get behind EVERY Democrat and left-leaning Independents and make this election one to remember as the election where the Party of Trump and the Heritage Foundation died.
"Biden’s decision has left the Republicans in deep trouble, and they are illustrating their dilemma with high-pitched anger that the ticket of their opponents has changed and by insisting that if Biden is not fit for another four-year term he must resign the presidency immediately." Mike Johnson threatening to sue made me laugh out loud. First thing that came to mind: "I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll BLOW your house down!" LOL. How absolutely pathetic. And he's a 'constitutional lawyer.'
So, Sherman, am I stating the obvious that this suing nonsense is designed to divert our attention away from the aged Republican candidate?
Another question I have is how does it change the dynamic if Biden were to resign his presidency immediately, making Kamala Harris president and then a candidate as opposed to her just being the Democratic candidate?
Instant problem: She would no longer be able to vote in the Senate. One of the reasons the Rs are trying to insist that Biden must resign is that it would force this scenario. Maybe Joe could push the envelope on trying out the new Supremes' absolute Presidential immunity canard.
If Biden resigns, as the Rs want, Harris becomes President, and would cease to carry on the VP functions, and any replacement VP would have to be approved by this Congress.
Alan J. Lichtman suggested that this would be increase her chances of winning. But who would preside over the acceptance of the electoral college votes if there is not a VP? Would it be Mike Johnson? If so, this would be an invitation for him to throw the election into the House of Representatives which would then name Trump president.
Wouldn't the 25th Amendment section on selecting a vice president come into effect? Example: Ford selecting Nelson Rockefeller after Nixon's resignation.
Assuming yes, there are still reasons for Biden to complete his term. One, he is doing a great job; the country deserves it and so does he. Two, becoming president at this time would put a serious dent in time available for Harris to campaign.
I don't think she needs to become President. I was just commenting on the fact that there is a way to fill in the Vice-Presidential slot with a Democrat if, for some reason, she should.
Why do you think the MAGA Republicans want Biden to resign? Because a Vice President’s responsibilities are mostly whatever the president assigns. As VP, Kamala can continue criss crossing the country to build support, now for her own candidacy. Additionally, Biden has been doing a great job as president. He can serve the country best by continuing to do that work well for the remainder of his term. Meanwhile, KH campaigns until she takes office as our next duly elected President. Let’s make it happen!
Vance is mainly ambition. He does whatever will get him ahead, as he defines it.
Harris is now all but set as the Dem nominee. Rs see Trump will lose to her. They can't toss Trump without losing his base. So they have two paths. One is the one they are already working on, try to find a way to steal the election by involving the corrupt Supreme Court. The other is to borrow assasins from their overlord Putin, kill trump and claim Dems did it....
Actually, I think you’re right and I’m wrong. I looked up what happened with Ford and Rockefeller, and there was a whole process of Congressional approval that took about four months. No wonder the Rs are pushing for Biden to resign. How scary is that!
Thanks, everyone, for your replies. In light of my questions, I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anybody that my critical thinking skills are sorely lacking!
As usual, the "Republicans" are attempting to change the narrative. In this instance -- "...by insisting that if Biden is not fit for another four-year term he must resign the presidency immediately..." -- they are changing the narrative from President Biden deciding to retire at the end of his term, to some form of his being forced to quit due to infirmity or diminished capabilities. The Republicans have been living in La-la-land for so long that they have become incapable of making, and then supporting, a valid point. In this case, the President is showing signs of ageing -- but so are literally millions of us. I am two years younger than pmurt, and six years younger than Joe Biden. I ain't as young as I was, but I can still think straight. President Biden is still in very good shape, mentally and physically, and there is no reason sufficient to compel him to resign. As Joe says, he still has work to do.
Now that Trump is the oldest presidential candidate in history, it's quite clear that his gerontological markers--the "late great Hannibal Lecter," the electric boats and sharks, the inability to pronounce a raft of words, the infantile emotional quotient, the pathological lying, and his seditionist distortion of the Constitution--will make him stand in stark relief to the youthful, energetic, smart, and fierceness of Harris. She is no longer Kamala. She is Harris. And it is almost like a fairy tale [pinch self] that the Democratic political winds have gathered like a hurricane around her overnight.
I am sad that America's youth-worshipping, superficial, knee-jerk culture, led by the mooing herd that calls itself the media, brought this sad decision on one of the great statesmen of our nation. I will not forget the ugly side of the leaders of the Democratic Party that this fiasco has exposed. Their cowardice showed Joe's transparency: it's not about winning for him, it's about service. He knows policy, and he knows politics. It's not about him, it's about what we can do, must do, together.
The election has NOT changed. It is still a fight for the existence of democracy and equality under the law. It is still a fight not only for humans in America, but for our planet.
What HAS changed is this: It is more important than ever that people realize that electing a Democrat President and stopping autocracy is not enough. A Democratic President must have the tools to be effective: That means at a minimum Democrat control of the Congress in order to pass needed laws, appoint Court judges, and more. It means at a minimum that legislative races on the state level must be won by Democrats in order to stop gerrymandering, voter suppression, anti-abortion laws and the wasteful court challenges those attempts at power grabs entail.
If you are shy or cannot door knock, you can get a list from your state party office and write post cards. You can volunteer at a phone bank. You can volunteer for the League of Women Voters or the volunteer programs of your Secretary of State's office to encourage voter registration. You can volunteer to drive folks to the polls. And more ideas will be coming.
The buck stops here, with each of us. Let us know what you are doing to show your love!
Our small local group is called CU4BLUE. We are doing everything you wrote about and more. Vote BLUE up and down the ticket! Check out: turnoutpac.org/postcards;
Redwineandblue re: spreading the awareness about project 2025. There are thousands of motivated grassroots organizations!
Thank you for this thoughtful tribute. Your “Politics Chat” Sunday evening was heartening in its focus on the six months remaining in President Biden’s term. I was intrigued by your suggestion that he may be able to accomplish more without the distractions of a campaign — and, perhaps more significantly, concern for the political cost to him for some actions he may now take. You have bolstered my spirits, Professor. I am grateful to you.
Me too, Ally. I was in Kentucky at a horse show, had just finished my last ride of the weekend, and was flying high from the success of a great show when my husband texted the news to me from Germany, where he is on business. He very kindly waited until I was done riding for the day before texting me. Poof, just like that, my euphoria was gone. I listened to NPR for about half the ride home, couldn’t take any more, and put on my audiobook. Then after my shower, there was Heather, calming me down. Thank goodness for that.
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN is the most dangerous and disingenuous political slogan in American history. It was coined by The Apprentice con man. When he slithered into the White House, his presidency, as rated by a panel of distinguished historians/political scientists, was the worst in American history.
Now with Project 2025 he aims to make MAGA even worse for the great majority of Americans and for the US role internationally.
The ‘age factor’ has been used by him and the media as a dagger against President Biden. Now that President Biden has once again placed country above self [something that ME ME ME Trump would find incomprehensible], Trump, 78 and with public utterances that defy reality, is now naked to the same charges that compelled Biden to step aside for younger candidates.
I was born during FDR’s first year in the White House. I have witnessed and experienced a roller coaster of American history. As Jon Meacham, in his magisterial THE SOUL OF AMERICA, has stated, American history has had ups and downs, with more ups, especially during my lifetime.
MAGA during Trump’s presidency and even more today is a frightening American historical down.
American democracy is in danger. President Biden’s noble selflessness has triggered a clear cut fight between the accomplishments and core principles of the Biden administration and the Project 2025 authoritarianism of the Trump cult.
For the first time in days I smiled this afternoon. It feels good to be on the right side of American history.
Michael Thanks for this historical footnote. After experiencing the Rust Belt 1970s, stagflation, and our Iranian hostages, I didn’t feel that America was ‘great’ back then. It was a lot better under President Biden.
Heather… your historian skills are rubbing off on me. 80 years ago almost to today, a WW2 submarine commander gave up his command because he failed to attack enemy shipping despite what he believed was his best efforts. He felt his crew & the ship deserved a better Skipper. He put the lives & safety of his crew above his career. That was (at the time) LCDR Joseph (Joe) Enright.
As Heather says, history doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes. Two special Joes, demonstrating courage & selfless service. Knowing their actions are part of something bigger than themselves.
BTW… over a year later, now CDR Enright & the crew of USS ARCHERFISH (SS 314) tracked down & sank the Shinano, Japan’s super aircraft carrier on her maiden voyage.
I worked with Joe Enright's brother-in-law (a Navy crew member on a destroyer or destroyer escort), who led me to far more detailed stories about the incident and other circumstances that, if I recall correctly, involved his math and navigational skills enabling him to guess where the best intercept point would be from the Zig Zag course the Shinano had been taking enabling the Archerfish to speed ahead on the surface in the dark fast enough to to get to the point before the Zig Zag course brought the faster ship back in range.
The point I remember most was about how inadequate he said Joe Enright felt after his first patrol, and how he came through with exactly what was needed for the one chance at the Shinano to succeed.
Thanks for the reply. One of my Navy duty stations was up at the shipyard in Kittery. I met Joe Enright back in 1990 at the Navy Post Grad School. He wrote a book about the sinking. All the details in your note are in the book.
Thanks for the reference to the book, I lost all my notes on what I learned from Frank MacDonald (his brother-in-law) back in the late 80s, early 90s when I worked at DATATAPE in Pasadena with him (older computer that crashed).
Frank was assigned to one Destroyer or DDE that required going above decks to go aft which had Sailors lost overboard in one or more storms as waves washed over the decks. I remember him talking about Halsey's Typhoon/ Typhoon Cobra (a couple weeks later) and, if I recall correctly, how they had to ballast with sea water in the fuel tanks (which the 3 lost in the typhoon didn't) .
I did find a video animation on the sinking on 29 November at:
I hadn't seen it before but found that it seems to show the Shinano ended up sinking SE of Shionomisaki (southernmost tip of Honshu), about 80 to 120 miles from where my mentor, Joe Bak, was a POW (captured in May 1942 at Corregidor), in a work camp at Wakayama, SW of Osaka. They had just started the B-29 raids from the Marian Islands on 24 November of 1944 but took a break on the 28th letting the Archerfish go hunting instead of being positioned to rescue any bomber crews that might have to ditch or bailout near Japan.
I believe Joe mentioned the prisoners being heartened by seeing what they later found out were B-29s when they later raided or passed over that area (though it may have been later he was transferred to a Nagoya camp).
Joe told me he bore no ill will against the Japanese after the war, having had a much easier time than the soldiers captured on the Bataan Peninsula when there was still very strong active resistance from guerilla fighters, unlike the final capture of Corregidor in May. They were taken by bus, truck and rail after being paraded through Manila after the biggest decrease in fighting. In the work camp he was mostly unloading ships and guarded by old men, one of whom told him the Japanese thought they had defeated a major European power when they defeated an actually very weak, poorly supplied, Russian Asia fleet and other forces. They thought they had at least as much right to be a colonial power as the Western powers. The situation with the chance to talk to such elderly Japanese, one on one, helped them understand each other.
After some of the war criminals and chosen representative were tried and executed, we treated the Japanese so much better than they expected that we got a new and willing ally, like Germany also evolved into.
It seemed to me, Joe well understood the best way to turn such formidable former enemies into some of our best allies, live in peace, mutual respect, and cooperation.
(Did I mention that it also greatly decreases the numbers and determination of enemies?)
Another above average Joe, in good company of other good Joe's?
Great essay today. I was sad, but also elated and much more hopeful. So, we’ll see what develops. The best thing to happen would be if the media would cut down on the word “Trump”!
For the first time this year, I can finally exhale. It's 2:32am and I think I can finally sleep well tonight. Today was a good day. Let's take it one day at a time
No problem with Joe – Biden will be loved, hero through the election cycle.
And now, we can enjoy having a great prosecutor – against a convicted felon, arrogant rapist, insurrectionist, stochastic terrorist, and again criminally convicted fraud.
He, the ”bing-bing-boing-bong” boss of the most criminal administration in U.S. history.
Navarro and Bannon imprisoned. Manafort and Flynn convicted. Giuliani disbarred, liable for many millions of dollars for harassing election workers. Jenna Elis, Sydney Powell, and Kenneth Chesebro pled guilty. Roger Stone would have been tried and convicted but for mob boss pardon.
Why do Republicans so succor lawlessness – why did corrupt Clarence court go so out of its way to rule monarchal criminality above the law?
Same bribe-taking, massively perjured Clarence court, whose earlier Citizens United opened sluice gates for corrupt money, has now, too, ruled for more corporate criminality in the recent Chevron precedent case – crippling federal agencies set up to protect our health, safety, finance, and environment.
Now we’ve a prosecutor for us, for we Americans, against billionaire criminality and all that nest of Republican lies, insurrection, violence.
The Prosecutor VS the Crook.
I have nothing more to add. Heather has said it all and said it well. On to victory in the fall.
Can't wait for a Harris vs Trump debate! She will rock it!
I think he'll weasle out.
Yeah LOL, wouldn't surprise me at all! He is acting right now like Biden hasn't dropped out at all (he hasn't even mentioned Harris in his tweets) and Speaker Mike Johnson has nonsensically suggested that he will sue to keep Biden on the ticket. Huh? Does he even understand American politics?
Yeah, that comment by the Squeaker of the House et al. really dizzied me! What if a candidate died after being nominated? Would it be "Election Day at Bernie's". 😉
Jon, to your last question, that would be a 'no'. :)
Donald proposes debate, VP Harris says no donald, you don't debate you just spew lies. I can't wait for that!
I think TRUMP is the one who will back out.
No kidding! Trump doesn’t want to risk looking disastrous after a debate like Biden. He wants the debate to be on Fox? She should welcome it—a larger Republican audience will be watching….
Absolutely agreed. President Trump may deflect by saying something like, "I have had my debate. I want Senator Vance to show his stuff in a debate."
They have already signaled they will pass on debating her…quaking, quacking, in his boots!
She'll Shred Him!
Let the shredding begin.
Vice President Harris lived through harsh winter snow storms going to high school in Montreal Quebec. Her life story so far has been preparation for this pivitol moment in history. She is so perfect for the task at hand.
You are delusional. She is a intellectual lightweight. Listen to her speak,
its usually a trainwreck Her own party doesn't want her. Pelosi and Obama refused to endorse her? Why? Because she was a terrible candidate in 2016, and her favorability is awful.
Pelosi just endorsed Kamala......you swung and missed once again. The Diaper-Clad Rapist Convicted Felon is not going to debate her!!! The Vice President is a top notch prosecutor that will shred Putins Pee Pee Pal without losing one drop of sweat.
She is not a lightweight at all. None of her opponents, including Donald and his gang of thieves has accomplished as much she has. The country needs her much more than it needs a rapist, liar and thief. She has more intelligence and honesty than Donald and/or his stupid greedy followers.
Wow James and you know this how! I am guessing you are quoting someone who is not a fan of a smart Black/South Asian woman. Too bad because she is qualified, intelligent, capable. She didn't win the nomination in 2020 along with a whole range of really good people. Biden was the person people were looking to because they wanted a kind of normalcy that he represented: calm, thoughtful, interested, caring, someone who had lived through grief and pain (which many Americans were experiencing due to COVID), and experienced with how Congress works and what it takes to get things done. Harris has been working closely with Biden for the past 3-1/2 years and has learned a lot from him. She is talented and will do a great job. I hope your misgivings about her are not from race or that she's a woman.
She wasn't a candidate in 2016, sir. Get your facts straight. She is a brilliant attorney and has great credentials. She needs to be a little more patient when she speaks extemporaneously, but compared to Trump she is a Rhodes scholar.
Never trust anybody who calls themself an intellectual.
Do you remember how she questioned Kavanaugh when she was a senator on the Judiciary Committee and he was nominated for the SC?
She was smart, tough, persistent. I think she cares about fairness. That a great place for a political leader to be coming from.
Then obviously you haven't heard her speak. She started as a federal prosecutor addressing judges and juries for decades, then was ELECTED to the Attorney General (you've been told all that she accomplished there), then ELECTED to be a senator. Running for president, she was one of many candidates.
As for favorability, Professor Richardson has documented all of the endorsements and the donations that are coming in. Certainly not a sign of not being backed by the nation.
James A.....You can do better than that.
James….You don’t even have the year correct.
I dunno. I am not well informed about her. The main thing I think we need to do is to unify around a candidate and we are running out of time. I was backing Joe, but am glad that debate is over. For sure we need to think ahead and choose wisely, but we for sure need to focus.
I think that's what's behind the claim she's not the real or can't be the real nominee: They will now be able to say 45 won't debate her because she's not legitimate. He won't have to frame it as fear... but I hope she will.
Whenever things don't go their way they also claim it's not real or illegitimate.
It's to be expected.
Of four-year olds.
Not that I have completely outgrown it.
Yehawes, isn't it interesting just how predictable Trump and Kump are. People here even have the grounds for Trump and Kump backing out of the debate. The reason is that it wouldn't be a debate at all, just one man lying and pumping out his usual talking points with a few "lock her up"s and how the border is open and millions of criminals are pouring in. Harris would handle that with statistics in a language ordinary viewers can understand, even talking about that part of the reason their food prices are higher is that the immigrants who pick the crops aren't as readily available to do the work due to, guess what, the crackdown. That might get some people thinking, but it won't happen. Trump and Kump can't chance it.
Not legit? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
The states are getting votes from their delegates to change their vote from Biden to Harris. I know because I am a delegate in my state. The convention, where she will receive the nomination, will be over by the time of the debate.
I don't think she should have it, because he does not debate he spreads fascist propaganda. It is hard to debate when only one person is debating. It is not something I would watch.
Why should she waste her time and attention on that overgrown two year old ???
He'll be walkin off the debate stage in handcuffs!!!
Robert, I have heard Trump and Kump are already working to get out of a debate. I think they know what will happen and it isn't good for them.
My sentiments exactly! Thank you!
The 'Pussy Hats' need to hit the streets before the election, not afterwards like last time!
Meow 🐱🎓👠🧢🕶️
Thank you for writing what I thought!!!!
How about the Democrats' new theme song: Katy Perry's "Roar?"
I like it...this is high drama...it's Shakespearian in every aspect. The best "reality show" on TV. Tune in for more....and vote.
The best reality show in real time that has me completely sucked in! Who would've thought that just a week ago, as I watched the RNC in shock where delirious republicans banded together and cheered on an unhinged Hulk Hogan and teared up at an ex-orange president with a bright white pillow on the side of his face, I lamented the deep fracture of our party. It is now with great glee that I rejoice at our new-found cohesiveness in honoring our current president and rallying around VP Harris to be our next one....
This feels VERY good.
It's pretty bad when your POTUS nominee gets introduced by a professional wrestler...just think about. What's more fake and trumped up than WWE wrestling ??? I love the Hulkamaniacs character...but really...???
I don't love the Hulkamaniacs character...but I love your description of what happened at the RNC!!!
A very good friend of mine was on the road as a camera operator and then production manager for WWF in the days when the "Hulkster" was a VERY big deal. He tells great Hulk stories...so I've seen a side of him that many people don't. It's an act that made him a LOT of money. The good news is that a lot of these wrestlers are very benevolent people and give their time and money to good causes. Hulk just has bad taste in politicians....he's probably naturally drawn to the sideshow aspects of Trump.
You can't make this stuff up.
It’s better tv than House of Cards or Wet Wing… it’s just so sad because it’s not fictional
NO! An open convention would be a horror! And greatly DEcrease our chances of winning. History shows that open conventions lose the election. Unite behind Kamala NOW!!
I agree with you. Though everyone thinks that the 68 convention was a landslide loss, Humphrey lost to Nixon by 1%. Had Humphrey split completely with Johnson and condemned that horrible war (which, unfortunately, I was then hip-deep in) Humphrey would have won.
Had Nixon and Kissinger not illegally and immorally heavily interfered with the Paris Peace Talks, Humphrey would have won. (People still tend to think the Logan Act violation of Nixon and Kissinger submarining the peace talks as a myth. It isn’t. It has been written about by historians since the nineties and is in several biographies of these two crooks.) By thus extending the war, these two criminals are responsible for an additional 25,000 American deaths, and maybe a half-million Vietnamese.
What is with the Republicans and their disregard for life? Viet Nam, Covid, total abortion ban which means death for women. This is the Goon Squad and they need to be defeated soundly.
Wait wait! I thought the GOP was "pro-life"! Goon squad is an apt name for what they have "accomplished".
Susan, there is nothing about "life" for Republicans, only power and money and taking revenge on anyone who gets in their way. It has been like that for so many Republicans since Nixon's day and has only gotten worse. I have put the word out asking for anything Republicans have initiated in Congress that was designed to help anyone not themselves and their rich friends in the past 45 years and I have been asking for more than a decade and have gotten no answer whatsoever, none! Republicans value only their own lives, and not even all of "them." That is true especially for anyone who does not agree with all their anti-life schemes. Evan Pence wasn't good enough despite his christian-nationalism and fascist tendencies. He chose to follow the law at the end, and just counted the electoral votes on January 6-7, 2021 as required by our Constitution. Because that was his intent, they called for him to be hanged. So no one is safe from their hatred, venom, and anti-life whining and lies. They have a whole team of "experts" in denying people their rights on board called "Project 2025" and they are looking to push it like a drug, and they have gotten really good at it. "Project 2025" has been out for around 2 years and the media completely ignored it until a few Democrats got hold of a copy and found it online. Fancy how that happened. Well, we know about it now and what Republicans and their surrogates are intending. We need Kamala Harris to lead us to a place where we can deal with the Republican hatred, anger, fearmongering, and resentment of everyone who has more than they do.
Susan to fair and honest, JFK & LBJ got us deeper into Vietnam. The student protests blew up just before Nixon…but he didn’t help
Tom, since LBJ had decided not to run, I do wish he had called out Nixon and his crooks on what they were doing to the peace talks. I know he wanted to somehow protect the nation, but sometimes it can be helpful to call people out on their lies, cheating, and fraud. That was one of those times I wish he had.
Yes. I never understood why LBJ decided to let them off the hook. He certainly knew.
Thank you for your service, Tom. I hope others have said that over the years, even though I was one of those in opposition to the war, I still feel strongly for the men and women who served our country as best they could.
And I am thrilled about the decision to move forward with Harris. It is risky and no way to be sure how it will all turn out, but I think we have a fighting chance to win this election, where I was convinced we were doomed just two days ago.
Thanks. Frankly, I was for years so embarrassed to have been a part of the whole debacle I did not admit I was there.
I too am very happy with Harris. I think she will win.
If I am correct, the candidates who were leading in the primaries we anti-war, The DNC inserted Humphrey in order to continue the war. I don't think that self inflected wound has ever entirely healed. Our ability to unite is as important as the quality of the nominee.
I agree, but it was nowhere as clear a process as today. There were a few primaries, a few caucus states, and (most) states where candidates were decided in a smoke-filled room. RFK had real popular momentum, having won all but one primary (some in states where Humphrey was heavily favored). Had he lived, it would have been the weight of those primaries and the Kennedy name versus Humphrey’s few caucus wins plus the allegiance of the party leaders.
I think Kennedy would have won, but it’s all speculation. Until the assassination, Gene McCarthy was out of it as he had only won a single primary.
The Dems have had two major process reforms since then, and several minor ones, all tilting the process to greater democracy.
How Humphrey won the nomination then, was not seen in those times as an affront to democracy, as he won within the norms of his day. But he was a candidate flawed by his incumbency as VEEP. There was much to admire about Humphrey—he insisted on a Civil Rights plank in the party platform from the late 40s on, and stood up against Joe McCarthy several times. But he failed to split with LBJ over the war, and that doomed his chance.
J.L., I am not sure how much in love with the war Humphrey was. He had been a strong liberal throughout his political career and may have gotten caught up in the whole thing whether he wanted to or not. We'll never know, though but it is an interesting thing to contemplate that Humphrey may have ended the war quickly since he knew the North was ready to at least begin serious negotiations.
We are trying to prevent an authoritarian takeover of the United States. As it stands at the moment we are in the midst of a bloodless coup. Have you paged through Project 2025?
This is far from a pass the popcorn kinda moment.
Barbara I'm not trying to imply that. It's VERY high drama with VERY high stakes. I'm actually tying to make fun of Trump and his love for ratings and HIS reality show. Maybe it's not a good joke...but it does match Macbeth for the level of drama.
Out damned plot.
to Barbara, "Something wicked this way comes....what is foul is fair and what is fair is foul"... is what I was referring too...guess you need to know the lines....that's what I was thinking...I didn't lay it out...
I've read parts of Project 2025 and it is terrifying!! And when I can't read anymore, I tune into "The Handmaid's Tale" for the rest. These are serious, diabolic calculated plans to kill this country. And their determination is what frightens me the most. These folks are serious.
Follow the money.
Just MAYBE, with all of this good press and the changes, it will engage the younger generations to vote. They seem so jaded and disconnected at this point. Their votes could be pivotal.
Engaging young people is essential for the Democratic Party, and my impression is that the Party has floundered on that score since Johnson. I had no serious doubts about Biden's competence, but I have yearned (and I'm 77) for some younger candidates, and most certainly more proactive inclusion and outreach to the young. Of the younger people I know, they a keenly aware of the messes we are handing them, and I encounter a lot of cynicism. We can't afford it; any of us. https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2017/comm/voting-rates-age.html
Yes. An open convention. Should draw.
But it won't be an open convention if Kamala continues to sweep delegates to her side. This will be settled by then, likely by Wednesday, when I've read a Zoom call will take place among the delegates.
An open convention, but a formality, I trust.
I agree with this. Michigan Gov. Whitmer has already thrown her vote to VP Harris. She might have been a contender. Also VP Harris already had almost 600 delegate votes by 9pm on the day Pres. Biden said he was stepping down from running. So it might just be a formality. And an open convention would show the stand up for democracy rather than a changeing-of-the guard, which the trumpite party would surely make a lot of stupid noise about.
Biden having won the primaries, by reason of state law and party rules, the delegates are bound to vote for him in the first round, at least. By bowing out he releases his delegates. They become free agents. Some have pledged their support for Harris. Fine. But they still have to redeem that pledge. .And some change their minds. They are not bound to vote for anyone now. And she may not gain enough pledges to secure a first round win. In either case as I see it, it is an open convention. The delegates are free to vote for the candidate of their choice.
If the powers that be decide to convene a Zoom meeting in advance to vote, that obviously renders the point moot. But the conditions would apply to that meeting.
Tyler, it would be nonsensical for the delegates to support anyone but Harris. Biden already gave the ok to transfer nearly $100MM in campaign funds, and they raised another $50MM+ in small donations yesterday. That cash must be used by the campaign, or it gets split with the DNC. That's a lot of cheddar, as someone else wrote.
It'll be Harris and whomever she picks for veep.
Your first sentence is incorrect. According to the rules, the Biden delegates are now released, and directed to vote their conscience. They can now pledge to her, though not bound by anything but the honor of their commitment.
The Zoom meeting takes on the aspect of a test vote, but I believe the Harris team will lock it up.
Yes, the delegates are free to vote as they choose. That's why we need to be LOUD & STRONG in support of Kamala NOW! A battle at the Convention works be disastrous.
I don't feel Zoom meetings render the vote moot because as you say delegates can change their mind, and corralling votes prior to public or formal vote is absolutely a standard procedure. Think of how many times you've heard that the House majority leader shouldn't let something come to vote before they know they have the votes. The public or formal vote is the official vote and that is still important.
And drama. We do need the drama but an exalting, winning band wagon (heaven knows we've seen the opposite work too well) kind of drama. I very much hope the DNC has a fine touch when they plan and line up speakers so it shows a strong contrast to the RNC without the weakness of being boring.
The New York Times
BREAKING NEWS
Kamala Harris secured the backing of a majority of the delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.
Speaking of Zoom calls, I read that last night 40,000 Black women held a Zoom fest for 4 hours, pledging to support Kamala and surround her with love.
Yes, Hope! I saw that! I heard last night it was 17,000, and it was changed to 40,000. The CEO of Zoom has to get involved to allow that many multiples of the original 1000 zoomer max.
Hi Doug: This just in:
The New York Times
BREAKING NEWS
Kamala Harris secured the backing of a majority of the delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.
Yes Hope, I saw that as well! What a transformative 33 or so hours it has been!
I'm more worried about the electoral college.
With reason. It's one of the favorite means to screw an election by the Retrumplicans. That's how he won in 2016. Hillary had the popular vote. However, if the 'spell' around Kamala keeps up its momentum, she might win by a landslide.
To be or not to be. That is the question. And a likely response from the majority of the American people: let freedom ring 🔔
👏🇺🇸🗽🗳️🥁🕯️💙🌻
"Fair is foul and foul is fair"...gee who does that...??? Something wicked this way comes.....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM3hsVrBMA4
JL, This is great! Dems need exciting, unifying marketing. Imagine Kamala branding herself not as African American, Asian American, Indian American, Caribbean American, biracial, or mixed heritage but as "All-American." And we--in a diverse big tent with people of all hues, genders, situations, etc--proclaiming that "WE are the All-Americans!"
Yeah, me and my multi racial family love this stuff, but lets get real about this election and focus on her integrity, intelligence, experience and intellect. There are a bunch of swing voters on the fence who don’t give a shit about her DEI credentials. We already have the dei votes! We need those folks who want a competent leader, and can accept a black woman candidate despite their leanings.
We really need to focus on what really matters in this election. The opposition is openly proposing dictatorship. Those who can't always get what they want need to be reminded of what we all need.
Sean, I agree it's important to focus on Kamala's integrity, intelligence, experience and competence. That said, I'm talking about marketing and the need for a unifying slogan to excite and engage voters across various circumstances/viewpoints. Personally, I like the way the pun on the term "All-American" conveys three ideas: 1) being outstanding, remarkable, super-competent like an All-American athlete; 2) including everyone; as well as 3) including our diverse heritages and uniquenesses. A branding slogan is the way into informing and reminding voters of Kamala's competence as well as the Democratic party's vision that is founded on inclusiveness unlike Project 2025 and the maggots and white supremacists who depend on exclusion and hate. I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, just want to clarify why I think this can be an effective slogan, something the Dems sorely need. Does this make sense?
It's not only that , if she wins she would become the first woman president to lead this country.
More perfect union wrapped around unalienable rights. Diversity of opinion, ethnic origin, talents, etc, is what an open society, and theoretically American society is all about. Creativity and resilience thrive on not putting too many eggs in any one basket. That said, we also need to protect as a species our in-common needs. To be wise and just we need to minimize unnecessary human suffering as a shared responsibility. We need to acknowledge that we further and protect our rights as a society by protecting all. So many of the "isms" are the tail trying to wag the dog. Liberty is in fact the right to be uniquely different, yet not unaccountable to others similar rights and the common good.
Couldn't love this more.
The Nazi and the Prosecutor. If the stakes weren't so dire, I'd call it a 60s sit-com.
Harris’s Heroes!
The MAGA chant is "I see nothing"
They see their reflection in "snowed" covered fields. My hope is that a landslide brings it down.
A lot of energized snowflakes make an avalanche
Maybe it will be in retrospect.
If the stakes weren't so dire, the "GOP" could be pasted into satire.
What a disgusting post. Hitler murdered 6000000 news. How dare you invoke his name to make a stupid political point.
6,000,000, "news"? Besides learning something about politics, sir, you need to learn to type and fix your errors.
Reported as more violations of the 2024 Substack Inc contract terms with 'Readers' & 'Authors'.
DO you know HOW STUPID YOU LOOK. You are defending the murder of Jews? The owner of substack is a JEW. You are an antisemite.
Buzz off and knock off the censorship
And again.
This needs to be a t-shirt!
I suggest the American Flag BIDEN in relief lettering across it to demonstrate that he stands for the essence of what our country’s best idea is “Honorable Unity”. We can start calling it the “Biden Flag” and really, really drive all the flag wearing magas crazy.
In white!
I'd bet that tr won't debate her. He'll drop out because his party won't let him debate her. Having said that, his ego is so large that he might try to! What a comedy show that would be!
Why subject her to his rude, ignorant misogany? She has a serious job to do.
The Prosecutor vs. the Felon., the insurrectionist, the rapist, the cheat (Trump Univ. and the Trump Charitable Organization, the defamer, the failed businessman (4 bankruptcies,) and more. Have those Trump supporters at long last have no sense of decency?
No decency, no shame. Very sad, truly very sad.
Or the Road Runner vs Wile E Coyote
I am thinking and betting that there are a couple of SCOTUS justices, maybe more than that, who are not going to be sleeping very well at night. In a Harris win and in the event that she has large coattails, as I am thinking she will have, they will be afraid that there will be a pack of democrats that will be coming to give them the boot off the court. As they so richly deserve!!
From your pen to Gods ear!
From our pens to Biden's ear. Here is a link to the White House contact page.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/share/
Speaking of our pens.
The Trump appointed chair of the FEC just strongly signaled (on NPR and X that he was going to 'Cannon-slow-walk' transferring Biden Harris funds to Harris.
Sean J. Cooksey
Chairman
Republican
Email
CommissionerCooksey@fec.gov
Co-Chair
Ellen L. Weintraub
Democrat
Email
CommissionerWeintraub@fec.gov
Link to full FEC
https://www.fec.gov/about/leadership-and-structure/commissioners/
"Since their campaign account was registered with the Federal Election Commission in the name of both candidates, Harris could use those funds for her own presidential effort if Biden were to drop out, according to Kenneth Gross, senior political law counsel at Akin Gump and former associate general counsel for the Federal Election Commission."
https://apnews.com/article/kamala-harris-biden-fundraising-election-campaign-donations-5709f07420b4f138caa884361653368e
Times article includes Cooksey comments on X (same as on NPR.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/us/politics/harris-biden-campaign-money.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9E0.4oFB.vYMgexhczxA_&smid=url-share
Again, as with Dejoy, why wasn't this Trump pick replaced?
The process is much more complex than simple replacement. I've read (but cannot cite) that the way the panel is constructed, there must be equal Democratic and RepubliKan representation on that panel.
And can he be replaced now?
On the postal board, the party in power gets one more rep than the party that is not in power, so Dejoy should be gone.
I don't know how the FEC works or why it would have control over donations made to Biden.
Thank you lin* for these links 🗽
Wow! This is serious.
thanks lin.
As soon as I heard the announcement, I donated to the campaign. My second act was to immediately send an email expressing gratitude. What a tremendous selfless act of Biden! He already will go down in history as one of the best, but I think this just sealed his history as one of the greatest.
Thank you for sharing this. I was able to express gratitude to my president. Thank you for giving me the opportunity.
If the Dems get enough political capital, SCOTUS WILL change.
The damage is done. They need to either be legislated out with term limits or with a super majority, three more nominees added. There is no reason not to have 3 more justices. The population has grown.
Expand it to 13 to match the number of Federal Circuits as used to be the case (and it's an odd number.)
Yes. And all under 45 years old.
agreed on any and all of the above. Away with the filibuster, already infamously done away with by Mitch to get Federalist Society candidates in. I dont know why the Dems haven't done away with it already? Oh, a couple now gone Dems. Can we hope for some big surprises pro Dem come November?
They haven't done away with it because Senate "rules" are that rules need to be determined before a new Senate session starts. That Senate session started last Jan 2023 and doesn't end until next Jan 2025, which is nominally the next time the Senate can change its rules by a simple majority. To change them now would require 2/3 which obviously they don't have even close.
But it is critical to hold the Senate which is not at all for sure. Manchin may (or may not, not certain yet) be giving up his West Virginia Senate seat which makes the Senate 50-50, and Tester in Montana is vulnerable. Sherrod Brown in Ohio is doing better but with Ohioan Vance on the GOP ticket, his 5+ pt lead may whither. The Dems have 22 seats up for grabs (although most are in definite Dem states) while the GOP only has 11, so the odds favor more Dems losing than GOPs.
Or, gain a landslide victory, impeach, convict, and remove Clarence and Sam. 3 + 2 > 6 - 2.
The best option is to expand the court to 15 justices, which ONLY requires a majority vote of the House and the Senate and the signature of the President. Then appoint 6 new justices, aiming at a Democratic majority. Not much the justices can do about it as that is the way it is structured in the Constitution, there are no restrictions on this and it is the Congress that passes that law, it doesn't take a Constitutional amendment.
That won't happen unfortunately. Like President, it takes 2/3 of the Senate to oust a Supreme Court justice and I doubt that would EVER happen in the next Senate which MIGHT be controlled by the GOP but even if the Dems hold it, it will still be like 51-49 or 52-48. The GOP senators will never vote to oust a GOP SCOTUS justice.
I mistakenly assumed it was 60% in the Senate, and not 2/3, but it doesn't really matter. What matters is the need to change the current 2/3 majority in POTUS with an elementary-school-level misunderstanding of the "justice" concept. How it changes is less important. The other thing that matters is that 100% of 2024 R candidates have an elementary-school-level misunderstanding of the "democracy" concept, and I have a (potentially erroneous) reason to be more optimistic than your prediction about how much that will cost them in November.
Is there any other option?
Bill, and have a lottery as to which nine justices hear any individual case, witnessed by the Senate, to prevent any particular president from simply further expanding the court with partisan judges.
The Court has no voice if the House and Senate wish to expand. This is my understanding.
You are correct. In the Judiciary Act of 1869 set the current number of justices among other things. That is how easy it is if we keep the Senate, regain the House, and elect Harris.
We should do that, make DC and Puerto Rico states, pass the two voting rights acts, turn Roe into law, and secure LGBTQ rights.
Bill, exactly. I’m just saying that, without a lottery to keep the number of judges ruling on a particular case to a given number, the tendency would be to infinitely expand the number to achieve a supermajority of those in the President’s party.
That is correct. It takes JUST a simple law passed by the House and Senate and signed by the president (unless a veto is overridden but that takes 2/3 of the House and Senate and that isn't going to happen at least not in 2025!)
All 13 would hear all cases.
See my above proposal which I think is better than 13 judges all hearing every case. It is already cumbersome with 9 judges hearing every case. Instead, have 15 justices, and hear cases in groups of 5 justices (just as the appeals courts hear cases in groups of 3 justices out of each circuit's panel). As at the appellate level, one or the other client can ask for a hearing "en banc" (before the entire Supreme Court, all 15 justices) but that would RARELY be granted (as it is rarely granted at the appellate level).
Bill, I think an argument can be made for 4: One for each circuit that hears most cases (the 13th is a Court of Appeals, which hears a different type of case) and have the Chief Justice rotate during a term; I would suggest odd year four year rotations. No one will ask me that, however.
It also keeps an odd number of Justices.
Agreed. My god what’s going on. We are suddenly in agreements.
Did you read my comment on Joyce Vance’s post?
We can disagree without callings each other names. I did not mention you by name, but we were close on the thread line..
Reflecting my conservative temperament, I would prefer two additional Justices appointed by a Democratic President to restore the one vote Republican majority had Judge Garland been confirmed.
I don't think "balance" is what is required. A new process is needed. Nine justices hearing each case is already too many. 11 would be worse. My proposal is 15 justices on the SCOTUS, and each case would be heard in panels of 5 randomly chosen from the court. This is EXACTLY how the Appellate courts work, they have a large pool of justices (it varies by district from 6 to 29) and each case is heard by THREE judges chosen randomly from the pool.
To Bill….Or both!
I agree. And I think it starts with a new AG, charges against the SCJ who have clearly taken bribes for results in court decisions, and failure to support the Constitution.
The AG also has frailties. He appointed a special prosecutor that found Biden to be elderly, etc. The special prosecutor in this case was an associated with Federalist Society. WAT? Why did he appoint the enemy?
Special prosecutors are SUPPOSED to be independent. There should NEVER be any "why did he appoint the enemy" issues because there aren't supposed to be enemies. I think Hur actually did a pretty good job being non-partisan. It is clear that the things he reported about Biden were in fact TRUE. Biden WAS having trouble speaking and answering questions (something we all saw during the debate). So why would we condemn him for his honest assessment? Just because he is a Republican? Mueller was a Republican who led the investigation of Trump and delivered an honest assessment too. We all hated when Trump attacked him. We should hate anyone attacking Hur also unless you have PROOF of him being biased (which I do NOT see in anything he delivered).
In fact, the President IS elderly, something many of us (me included and I have been a Biden supporter for years!) realized was true.
Democrats need to gain control and hold these closeted fascists to account. Think if Nixon had been prosecuted, would we have had Reagan's shadow diplomacy with Iran and Iran-Contra? I think not.
I agree! On all accounts! Nixon should have had the opportunity to clear his name. At the same time he would have been made to abide by the laws of this country for what he did. Yes, there would have been much fewer monkeyshines going on later. I was so upset with the Reagan campaign with their October Surprise stuff. I read the book written by a woman his his campaign.
Reagan would have happened with or without Nixon. Carter was a brilliant man and a terrible President who got a raw deal, to be sure, but Reagan appealed to the masses and won. Not at all surprising (I lived through it!)
Hopefully we can win both houses so she will be able to expand the court. Senator Whitehouse and his committee can hold Justices Thomas and Alito accountable for their misconduct.
I am all in favor of enlarging the court and restructuring it (my argument is 15 justices, and each case is heard by 5 randomly chosen judges just like the chose 3 judge panels for appellate court hearings). I also would like to see mandatory terms (maybe 15-20 years), although it might require an amendment to the Constitution which will never happen unfortunately.
I think they are TERRIBLE justices, but so far, I don't see anything that I think would RIGHTFULLY justify impeaching them. And we need to start being a little more cautious about who we impeach or we will have an ongoing impeachment crisis in every administration.
From your lips to god’s ears, as they say….
We need to expand the Supreme Court by 4 seats NOW, because the existing Supreme Court will declare Trump the winner of a contested election, and we all know Trump will contest the election results when he loses. Even if Harris wins by the biggest landslide in history, even if there is zero evidence of cheating on our side and TONS of evidence of cheating on their side. The Supreme Court that just ruled it’s perfectly fine for Trump to commit murder will twist logic any which way they have to and make up any new legal “theories” they have to in order to declare Trump the winner. They are well compensated for doing his bidding and dead the moment they stop.
From your little post to God's notebook!
Oh, I do hope so
And Harris will support NATO and opposing Putin.
I am wondering what is Puttin thinking, now that Harris will be the presidential nominee.
So far Harris does not have the majority of the delegates, so I am not sure whether she will get them or someone else will try to run. I hope not, but I cannot feel any investment now until I know who the delegates are pledged to and that SCOTUS will not give Mike Johnson what he wants.
See, Professor Joyce Vance's Civil Discourse Sunday "Week Ahead" post wherein Joyce bullet points the necessary DNC Convention delegate duties. Kamala is a former San Francisco, CA Prosecutor. Litigation will be vanquished. Recall the other side's batting average in election litigation is 0 for 63
I read Joyce Vance daily. She has been wrong about how the Supreme Court would vote on Trump's immunity. Since this will go to SCOTUS, I will wait and see. I have much less faith in them following the law than she does.
I have hopes for Kamala, that she will ‘lick the platter clean’ essence …Biden has done his very best 🫶👏. Kamala has surpassed if not surprised her constituents , I predicted a week back now she would wield her baton with pinpoint accuracy and ( permit me) far less apologetic (?) tone.
To stand slightly separated gives clarity unequalled perception. This lady -no doubt there- will take little time establishing the keen perception afforded her -advantage of exceptional insight.
Sisters, this is our time. There’s a huge change coming, a crest needing balanced precision, let’s ride this wave with new determination. As mothers, sisters, around the world pull together ..it is OUR. Time…better stated perhaps …ABOUT. TIME!
And how better could the lead-in be than to have been standing beside the best ever Presidency by Joe Biden.
It IS the best of both worlds ,classy.
Phil Balla , thanks for your summation (of the worst Presidency) lead by corruption and innate criminal characters , bravo👏). Special thanks go out to the beginning leading contributors to undo it (Republican Cheney and Kissinger) for also putting their careers on the line for above all ..your and my country!
I have great hopes for America leading , tying up the loose knit and better the bonds.
This lesson has been costly, I glimpse the no means light struggle to be close to fruition. We can stand by this new ERA , well aware the tasks ahead are no less important ..bring peace to our world through the nuture of women standing together. That standing beside us in the image of Biden, men from the core who set THE bar high as fathers, brothers, partners for the goals we want for our children. This village is needed.
Thank you all for your stands , suggestions, observations. Now let’s get this finished.
💙💙VOTE OUT ALL THE COMPLICIT💙💙
We need and all Women ticket; just my personal choice... Harris-Whitmer.
HEADS UP: Judge Merchan rules on tffg's Hail Mary Motion this WednesdayDAY, 7/24 ! The Judge still has his ten (10) Contempt findings on his Docket.
11 + 11 + 12 =34 felonies +10 Contempts = 44 potential sentences. The Defendant has been warned in person in Court.
Maybe trumpie boy can end his campaign in a prison cell. Fitting for an old crook like him!
Looking forward to it except that 7/24 is Wednesday, day after tomorrow.
Nicely said!
[ Ally, love Old town West Lynn; something like a movie set.]
Yes, a beautifully shaped essay giving me hope.
By the way, have you seen the Yachats news on a guy who wants to clear cut 20 acres of trees just on the south side of the river on te hillside above 15 homes?
It is about time!!!
SCOTUS will be on Biden’s agenda in these remaining months— IF the dangerous leaning of the corrupt few can be corrected.
However, if not, because off blocking in the House and perhaps Senate, can we say Joe Manchin. Otherwise we have this to contend with.
https://www.wlwt.com/article/biden-is-out-what-that-means-for-ohios-2024-ballot-saga/61657043
In her defense, she was making her comments on the basis of actual law and precedent as would any competent attorney not grounded in ideology.
I am not attacking her, just pointing out that she is not always right. That is human. I have no problem with it. Just saying that thinking changing candidate will fix the problem when I have been saying since spring that I see SCOTUS as handing the election to Trump when he does not win. I just think we gave them one more reason they could use, not that they have to. NO one is doing anything about them violating the constitution that I can see except for AOC.
With this court use cannot never use the law as a basis for thinking what they will do. These people are ideology aligned which is exactly what the Powell Memo prescribed.
Democrats need to get some spine like AOC has. Dems have always just moved on at the conservatives suggestion and allowed the plague to grow. Rachel Maddow gave us a good history lesson in PREQUEL. HCR has done so with he history documentation in How the South Won the Civil War. Time for Americans to not move on until we deal with this group.
I'm still thinking the same thing: doesn't matter if Biden or Harris runs or even wins the vote, the Extreme Court will simply decide 6:3 that the victory goes to Trump. I don't see anything or anyone that can stop them doing that.
What will go to the SCOTUS? The decision of Biden to back out? LOL he hasn't even been nominated yet! I really don't think that is a serious worry. Not to mention they can't hear it until virtually the month before the election.
I am talking about post election stuff. Probably a thousand lawsuits will be filed, or more to attack every aspect of the election if Trump does not win, and they just need to pick which one they choose to use to hand it to him. SCOTUS does not need to follow the law because other than AOC no one in the entire USA seems to be doing anything about it. Oh, Dick Durbin sent me a blah, blah, blah, letter today. He is not getting my money though. That is going to AOC who has made a bold move.
They don't have a leg to stand on, Joe Biden was the presumptive nominee but hadn't had the formal nomination yet. The DNC hasn't held the convention yet. It's all smoke and mirrors since they only knew how to run against Biden and they Biden's gaffe's were the gift that kept on giving.
SCOTUS does what it wants and is probably already drafting a win for Trump based on "irregularities with Democratic process."
Totally agree PhillyT. There is simply NOTHING THERE.
Was there something there when they said Trump is immune? Sorry, I thought that we all understood that the Constitution is not their guide but some big donors.
Within 3+ hours she has received 1/4th of the delegates, I think she will succeed.
Manchin should NOT be able to throw himself into the running as he declared himself an independent, he is no longer a democrat.
It seems that his goal would be to throw a monkey wrench into the plan for Harris to be nominated...because that has been his pattern. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that he is backed by Republican interests.
I live in WV…he wears sheep’s clothing…need I say more…?
Manchin is a skunk. (My deep apologies to all the skunks who take offense to this.)
I read that he did approach the DNC about the nominating process and was told that he would have no support from them.
Manchin was on Morning Joe this morning and he said he wouldn't run...
And where does Manchin believe his delegates would come from? He is not a Democrat and delegates have already committed.
If the opening chorus of Dem leadership, and the instant turning on of donor $ (a record i hear) are any indication, the Dems will follow Biden's recommendation. A number of major possible competitors have also endorsed her. Per Heather's letter
But does that money compare to Elon Musk giving Trump 45 mil a month and a pledge of 180 mil. Let's hope that is more talk than do.
Linda, nearly $50MM was raised in mere hours after the announcement, including $100 from my wife and me, and we will give again. I think the money issue will disappear. (And what are they going to be messaging on, now that Joe is out? They'll be playing a lot of defense.)
And to be clear, the $180MM is total of 4 months of $45MM.)
Change the Supreme Court, and change Citizens United.
Money has not always been the deciding factor in an election.
lol i was looking for that comment! If there is a driving perception in an electorate, eg reproductive rights, that alone, with a more modest advertising, campaign footer support, get votes to the ballot box.
This is wonderful news because it gives us hope that we can win this election.
I see Nancy Pelosi just came out in support Mon afternoon
I too fear that the forces that push Joe Biden out of the running, are not done. I do not trust the democratic party to listen to the people. I do not believe, for a minute it is a done deal. I will believe it after she wins the nomination.
I pray I am wrong....as a divisive convention will sink us.
Susan, I am so understanding of how you feel. Yesterday I was fuming mad at the way they forced Biden to concede the nomination. Yet, the choices remaining for me - even understanding the nefarious big-money-influence of donors - was to support Harris to win in November. I want to signal to the dem-powerful that sticking with Harris is a wise choice. So I donated yesterday through Act Blue to hopefully be a part of a donation-support-wave to signal to the delegates to get onboard with Harris and unite early and effectively.
Same here, almost verbatim (thoughtbatim? I was thinking and not talking).
Don’t you think it would be wise to wait and hear all the details that are bound to come out about what Kamala has done and who she is before you support her?I believe the elites in the DNC annointed President Biden in the primaries by denying any competition through unfair rules and maybe concealed his age issues. That impulsive support could backfire again, and I question how undemocratic it is too.
Susan, I know it's normal for us Dems to worry, and Will Rogers' quote about Dems comes to mind, but I think this is a done deal. When I awoke today I told myself "This feels like Morning in America".
My heart and mind tell me that Pres. Biden has most likely stepped aside due to declining mental and physical medical conditions that would severely interfere with his presidential duties for a full term. He is better off with resting and healing his body to ensure a longer and better life with his family.
Your fear is my fear
I’m with you on this.
Her nomination will bring all the misogonists out into the open, just like the Trump trials exposed corruption in the courts. I hope sassy women will unite and back her up.
It appears that the DNC is running the presidency. Although Biden made this huge decision on his own, it was not without tremendous push and pressure from the senior Democratic Party leaders. Sad in a way; understandable concerns in another way. A sad time. Bittersweet is the defining word for me. Good for the country — most likely; however, not without an UNIFIED party going forward. I too have a quiet, little voice inside whispering a little uncertainty and distrust in the democratic leadership.
I think the DNC wants a Democrat to beat Trump. I think Biden wants a Democrat to win the election. I think Harris wants a Democrat to beat Trump. I think Nancy Pelosi wants a Democrat to win the election. I think all those other “contenders” the media keep naming, who are throwing their support to Harris want a Democrat to win the election. I think the ones who haven’t committed yet still want a Democrat to beat Trump. Who do you trust more, the RNC or the DNC? What are you really worrying about here?
I have no idea what you just said.
Your investment in Harris is the signal the delegates are waiting for. This is my take on the situation,a t least. So I donated yesterday through Act Blue to support Harris and hopefully be a part of a donation wave to “encourage” delegates to get on board.
Mike Johnson has no say in whom the Dens choose for their candidate. And we need to support Kamala now to help influence any wavering delegates to pledge their votes to her.
Man, with Johnson coming up with nonsense like that, Kamala must have him scared shitless...
LOL, indeed! Hmmm, the GOP doesn't like that OUR candidate decided to NOT run and they don't like who might take his place so they want the COURTS to force Biden back into the race? SERIOUSLY? I mean I thought they 2020 election cases were nonsensical. This takes the cake!
Deep breaths, Linda -- she's got this. And as to SCOTUS, Biden wasn't the official nominee until the convention so Party rules apply.
Watch the week unfold Linda, it was moving at break neck speed yesterday, all of the pent up frustration and worry about another orange turd presidency began to evaporate like the sun drying spilled water in Death Valley this summer. It was amazing to watch in real time, MSNBC had Rachel and some of her fellow pundits on delivering the news while it continued to break all around them, they were constantly pausing to report something new. It was so heartening to watch the shattering of the threat we have all been living under, the repugnantkins are toast and they know it. Joe Biden orchestrated this like a world class conductor, by far the best president of my lifetime which started with Truman. The only way we can begin to repay our debt to our president is to elect his anointed successor, from the looks of the outpouring relief, we are on our way to doing that. Hang in there, there are way more of us than deluded maggots. Anything that gives putin nightmares is a source of joy. 🙏
I wish that Harris picks her VP running mate sooner than later. I hope that it's Josh Shapiro, our PA governor. What a ticket that would be--an African /East Indian-American Woman President and a Jewish VP!!!
And Harris' husband is Jewish.
Everyone is naming people that most people have never heard of. So, we shall see how that works to excite people.
I think many have heard of Josh Shapiro due to his amazing success in rebuilding and re-opening I-95 after the truck crash took a huge chunk down. Maybe not his name at this point in time but will make a good campaign reminder.
Speaker Johnson has no authority over the Democratic party. Their are provisions that must be followed that Dems are aware of. Johnson is complaining because he see's Harris as a threat to Trump.
Point well taken, Linda. I think that is part of the strategy with Mr Biden and Ms Harris who are taking advantage of the short time frame leading to the convention, dropping the balloons on a newsless Sunday after the usual Sunday political shows finished, and then held a hasty national call with ALL of the state chairs for democratic committes on and voicing their state support for Kamala immediately. Formalizing state support will differ by state, but both candidate were selected.
She has more than enough committed delegates now!
"Here is the story I believe history will tell of Joe Biden. With American democracy in an hour of maximum danger in Donald Trump’s presidency, Mr. Biden stepped in the breach. He staved off an authoritarian threat at home, rallied the world against autocrats abroad, laid the foundations for decades of prosperity, managed the end of a once-in-a-century pandemic, successfully legislated on vital issues of climate and infrastructure and has conducted a presidency worthy of the greatest of his predecessors. History and fate brought him to the pinnacle in a late season in his life, and in the end, he respected fate — and he respected the American people."
Meacham
Why do Republicans succor lawlessness? Why is the Roberts court so corrupt? I'll call it the Roberts court because I don't think his willingness to say the quiet part out loud makes Clarence worse than the chief justice of the most powerful nation on Earth.
What is the quality possessed by Joe Biden that is so revered by Beau, Hunter, Kamila Harris, Heather, virtually every commenter on this newsletter, and everyone who understands that the word "freedom" implies responsibility to others. And why is that quality so lacking in MAGA supporters?
IMHO, it's simple. Joe Biden's North Star is treating others the way he would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot no matter the personal cost or how impossible it might appear to be initially. Meanwhile, MAGA is imagining they can build an empire by following the Death Star, aka doing unto others before they do unto you.
Translation: The way to defeat MAGA is simple. Follow Joe Biden's example, and never follow the MAGA example. Or to uses Jesus' words to real Christians, "I am sending you out as sheep among (Christian Nationalist) wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." —Matthew 10:16.
Oh I think for more than an election cycle Phil.
""Mr. Biden has spent a lifetime trying to do right by the nation, and he did so in the most epic of ways when he chose to end his campaign for re-election. His decision is one of the most remarkable acts of leadership in our history, an act of self-sacrifice that places him in the company of George Washington, who also stepped away from the presidency. To put something ahead of one’s immediate desires — to give, rather than to try to take — is perhaps the most difficult thing for any human being to do. And Mr. Biden has done just that."
NYT today
Barack Obama hasn’t endorsed Kamala Harris. He’s in favor of an open primary. This is likely because he knows what she’s up against and the stakes are too high to let Republicans increase their chances.
Kamala Harris, unless she says otherwise, will continue with Biden’s agenda & policies because most voters want her to.
Unfortunately, billionaires and big corporations likely tossed enough money to feed the people of Denmark for years, just to get rid of Joe Biden. They will NOT want anyone who plans to pick up where he left off in his efforts to redistribute some of their excessive wealth and power to the regular people by breaking up monopolies, increasing competition, fighting corruption, supporting labor Unions, etc.
So I suspect we’ll either have an open primary to widen the choices for voters that the DNC can choose from, or they may just pick someone like Manchin they know will be acceptable to the billionaires & corporations and expect people to hold their noses and vote for that person, just keep Trump out of office.
I will be very surprised if the DNC just goes with Kamala Harris without challenging her in an open primary, because too many voters fear a female candidate who is also Black will not win enough votes against Trump to get an electoral win.
Lisa, my take is that Barack and Michele, who posted their appreciation for Joe Biden, are letting his decision stand out for what it is: historic loyalty to country, and gave him the day. I suspect they and some of the othees who haven't yet endorsed will do so in the next day or two.
Look, we twice elected a black man as president, and Hillary won the popular vote against CF45, with a lot more baggage than Kamala. I'm not fretting -- which side would you think has the better candidate now? My money is on Harris, and she'll add to the Senate and House D columns.
My hopes for a better America are with her and I will share that positivity with everyone around me.
However, I am not blind to the pro-billionaire/big corporation operation going on which helped push Biden out the door.
My fear is that we will have one or more pro-bill/corp candidates boldly put forth by all their money (plus Republican money) to make a contest between a different DNC pick and Harris who is the
best choice for regular Americans. That will be a disaster at this late stage. Americans will have to be organized into mass demonstrations for Kamala Harris as a ballot write-in which I don’t think will work without major money, herculean effort, and a miracle.
Lisa, who would they select? Most if not all the likely candidates have already endorsed her, and again, let's remember that the Biden/Harris campaign war chest goes with her. I'm taking this at face value: Harris WILL be the Dem nominee. She has too much wind at her back.
" She has too much wind at her back'" YES
Wind can always be redirected. What if the DNC pulls a “bait and switch” type deal? The pick someone else out of the blue and the get all the funds and electors because what else can be done at that late stage????
My anxiety has been in overdrive!
Lisa, it wasn't just corporations/big donors who wanted Joe to step aside. Many many of us watched that debate in horror. Joe is a GREAT president and I am GLAD that he will be celebrated as the guy who took the Presidency from Trump who had scandalized the office and made it decent again. If he LOST to Trump in 2024, I fear that he would have been vilified as the man who refused to see the end of the line and refused to get off the train. No one would remember the great things he has done. He NEEDED to step aside, and I think you are giving the big donors too much credit here. They WANT to win, just like we do and they agreed that Joe needed to step aside. And he has. Please don't make that a BAD thing. If he had stayed in, he would have lost the presidency and possibly the whole country to Trump. That can still happen, but I think Harris is the best chance to keep it from happening.
Lisa: why, oh why would they do that? Look what's happened in the last 24+ hours in terms of money, endorsements and energy.
Now, please take some cleansing breaths and then repeat after me:
Not.
Gonna.
Happen.
Now take some deep breaths again.
I’m tired of hearing that she is also Black. She is also white. And green and blue. Cheeses man. If she can (and will) slam Trump in a debate (not sponsored by Fox Propaganda Network) she will gain the confidence of American majority.
Bill, Harris can’t slam Trump in a debate unless she gets very creative. Trump doesn’t play by debate rules. He cheats the rules and spouts a barrage of lies, made up stuff, non stop. He keeps talking and pestering when his mic is turned off and when the other candidate is trying to speak. He apparently pays off the network on which the debate airs. Bash and Tapper were nearly useless in that last crime scene.
Susan, we have to stop calling them “debates”. They are not debates. They’re “gotcha traps” designed by the bosses of the talking heads that cannot get Trump to even answer a question
Each Two minute segment is just a MAGA rally, to hell with any “debate rules”
No value at all
Yes Dave. Exactly so.
Well then maybe she will need to talk over him. A slug fest something Trump is less accustomed with.
Harris should refuse to debate him —unless he is fact checked after each utterance before Harris is permitted to respond. Harris should refuse to debate him unless he is given a soundproof room. They can each debate from soundproof rooms with several fact checkers on hand. Trump only knows one way to engage in a debate. We all saw what that is last time.
Kinda like Hannibal lector but now in a sound proof room.
I don't see it as slamming Trump IF he follows through on having a debate. I see it as an important opportunity for Harris to show the American people who she is and what she stands for. I've no doubt she will effectively ignore or shut down the CFDT when he shouts over her. Again, IF he doesn't actually chicken out.
“Dave Dalton
Dave Fake News
5 hrs ago
Susan, we have to stop calling them “debates”. They are not debates. They’re “gotcha traps” designed by the bosses of the talking heads that cannot get Trump to even answer a question
Each Two minute segment is just a MAGA rally, to hell with any “debate rules”
No value at al”
Judith,
This is Dave Dalton’s take earlier today that described my feelings on holding a debate. Trump has rendered debates irrelevant.
I don't disagree re "debates". The question is whether the next "debate" will happen or CFDT will chicken out. It appears that he may do so.
I will add that she has far more experience on the rule of law and being near and in the White House for nearly 4 years than any other nominee.
Trump has somewhat already indicated that he will not debate her, which is fine with me Trump is a known quantity and we know his positions.
Demonstrating what a coward he is.
I loved what you said in your first 4 sentences.
I really appreciate your comment on color. She's American, she's an American personality, she's honorable, respectable, and she's a serious democrate.
She will definitely pick up the black vote, and i think a majority of the female vote, thanks to the sweeping battle over reproductive rights. All the Democrats, let's see on the independents. Donors who otherwise seem to express a preference for someone else have in the course of several hours released record millions of pent up donations.
Munchkin? He's a rethuglican!
Exactly. What a fraud now wants to rejoin the Democratic Party? Shit no.
Just an obvious opportunistic. We don’t want him and definitely don’t need him. Total betrayer.
A democratic version of RINO.
He needs a job, now that he's not running again for Senator. :-)
Lisa Winfeld, it concerns me too. Will the big donors steer her away from Biden's rebalancing agenda? But then, I think, we'll deal with that later, if it comes to be. So, I'm setting that concern aside and only focusing on saving democracy.
I wish I could cite where I saw this yesterday, but the gist was that the many prominent figures will begin to give endorsements, which will keep this in the news cycle. A way of getting media attention without paying for it, so to speak.
I dont think that is the reason Obama, Pelosi, etc, have not openly shown their support.
Kathy-Nancy HAS come out in support of Kamala. https://www.yahoo.com/news/nancy-pelosi-endorses-kamala-harris-175551515.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall
Phil, looking forward to the Tangerine Palpatine debating the prosecutor—who’s used to holding a liar’s feet to the fire—instead of a former stutterer who reacts badly to being interrupted.
And I can't wait for VP Harris to get to work as President Harris. Time to throw out the garbage.
Phil, Harris is a person of integrity, wasn't perfect, but as far as I can tell, has done her best to follow her principles while still paying attention to the needs of the people. There is no scenario in which either Trump or J.D. Vance has done anything like that. They are both situation exploiters, rich white men who have everything and get more, whatever they can while blaming those who are poor and struggling for being poor and struggling. So, we have 2 lying jerks (Trump and Vance) against a skilled prosecutor and person who cares about this nation. I would really like her to team up with Pete Buttigeig or Mark Kelly, but there are so many other options since the Democratic Party has an enormous number of people who are credible, caring, talented people despite what Trump and Kump and our many media platforms would indicate. Go Kamala! Make the world better with and for all of us!
Curious, Ruth, how she can choose from so many good choices.
I like Wes Moore, governor of Maryland, but he's black, and others tell me that would be a no-no.
Need to get a white guy? Beshear of Kentucky would do. Cooper of North Carolina, too. Mark Kelly fine. But for temperament, Pete Buttigieg has integrity, strong focus (like Kamala) and (also like her) very smooth, even demeanor.
So many great women -- but one at the head of the ticket may fill that need, exclude others.
So many riches. Maybe leave everything open till the convention, and let the delegates choose there?
Do you think she’s going to court?
Are you unclear on the Justice Department’s role?
I take it to mean that a President who is/was a bright and tough prosecutor (California AG) will take no shite from anybody.
[Adding:] Imagine a debate with VP Harris and the Old Orange Menace. I would pay to watch!
I had decided long ago that I would trust President Biden and vote for him, since I would be quite comfortable with a President Harris. The G.O.P. must be freaking.
My decision too. Biden was willing to take the heat and mud slinging of the campaign. I never doubted that after defeating Old Orange, he would slide out leaving Harris at the helm.
Ned, I've never watched Faux News before, but switches it on last night for a few minutes to hear their reaction. Mark Levin was incensed, comparing Biden's withdrawal after winning Dem votes in the primaries to TRUMP'S ATTEMPTED COUP, saying that since trompy was charged with attempting to overturn the results of an election, so
should Biden, blah blah blah.
Poor fella. They got played by Joe and they're just realizing it.
P.S., Doug,
My cousin made somewhat the same observation at dinner as, "They got played by Joe and they're just realizing it." Very astute by each of you.
My cuz believes that President Biden made the decision to retire as early as at the family summit the week-end following the debate.
He went on to say that the days or weeks following were spent on coordinating things with Vice President to get the proverbial ducks in a row.
I've always thought Joe is a team player. I imagine that Joe and the people around him strategized at length, and for some time ahead of the announcement. I'm sure they decided to wait until the RNC concluded in Milwaukee, so that the President and Vice President could garner total focus from the public on Sunday. I've even considered that Joe's apparent lapses during the so-called "debate" were part of a well-planned kayfabe.
Ned, I agree. If he had publicly said he wasn't running before the Klanvention, their agenda would have changed, and probably the veep nominee.
That is disgusting. Well, President Biden has been wise and thoughtful in following the counsel of Mrs Obama: "when they go low, we go high."
Incidentally, I have read that certain G.O.P. (for Gawd-offal-poop) leaders are looking into law-suits when President Biden is not even nominated.
There are four Presidents in my living memory whom I really look up to; I was three when President Eisenhower left office. None served more than four years.
Well, given that our Congress is sitting on their hands about addressing SCOTUS' fascist rulings, that ignore our constitution, I would not be so sure about anything yet. I just read Strongmen by Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, you should read it. Trump is in it.
And she gives many interviews as well as has a substack....Lucid.
I'm most clear, Cindy, that she can be a vigorous, apt campaigner in the election cycle.
God, we need Dems to be strong, focused on the manifest criminality and corruption we face. She'll hold these criminals, these enablers of corruption to account.
Really, Cindy, you've heard nothing over recent months as many of our very best commentors have often, often expressed final hope in the American people to turn out and vote? Especially as efforts by the Justice Department have been perfidiously tardy, and then have most all been stymied by corrupt Clarence court, corrupt Eileen Cannon.
Until DNC officially nominates Harris, I plan on being positive and supportive of her to everyone around me. I want her to continue working for ordinary Americans like just like Joe Biden is. I don’t trust that anyone else who gets put in front of her will look after our interests, because they will have big money backing them in order to get our attention.
Recheck your understanding of the word "metaphor."
Check your surroundings; context is important. If I need someone to mansplain something to me, I’ll be sure to call on you for help.
Meanwhile, if you’ll excuse me, I have a shrieking headache and am expected to be somewhere in the morning.
You have a shrieking headache yet you are here shitposting?
Misogyny rears it's ugly head...
Why do you call it “shitposting”?
It gives him much needed attention.
The word “metaphor” does not appear in the comment. The comment is a more verbose version of a FB meme from this afternoon.
Yoiu *really* don't know the meaning of the word. good-bye. I only have so much I can put up with.
Admirable restraint, TC! Thank you for kindly omitting your usual expletives, as I'm sure many readers here were quite stunned and/or emotionally reeling from President Biden's withdrawal. I've heard it said that it's not worth engaging in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent. I hope your kitties are well.
JustRaven, I like "...it's not worth engaging in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent..." I cannot recall hearing that witticism before.
Now children, come to your senses and behave your democratic selves. Or I will take out my metaphoric sledge hammer and start pounding.
And stop behaving like republicans. There, that autta bring you to your senses.
There is no reason to announce a metaphor. It speaks for itself. The hard part -- for some people -- is understanding metaphors.
Everyone wants to show their literary side.
Maybe Graham should have written, "the former prosecutor versus the current crook."
Yes—Court of Public opinion and promotion of policy as a Candidate, and the sworn duty as POTUS to uphold the laws and the Constitution rather than dismantle them, as Trump and the Syndicate have attempted at every turn. It is not a violation to put forward 13 SCOTUS justices for 13 Circuits. (They arrived at 9 because that was the number of Circuits at the time—the number is not in the Constitution, but to amend that we will need to capture majorities in downballot races!)
This is what AOL said about switching out candidates. https://youtu.be/hKOYyEjLCHI?si=GKtDwdChz7oAx1I9
Practically a stump speech there, Phil. kudos
Phil, that is one great comment. Thank you.
Ditto🙏
https://danielsolomon.substack.com/p/thanks-joe-now-lets-go?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=742145&post_id=146857019&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=zc69i&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Love this legend in the making. Love the instant narrative change for Biden and his presidency. Love Hunter’s love for his dad. Love the energy pouring in for Kamala, who will be the first female president of the United States.
Biden has the heart of a lion. He wove a Dark Brandon spiderman web, and the MAGA fools have fallen into it, and are flailing around with no moral compass to guide them out.
Moderates, we’ve got a big tent over here, and there’s still lots of love to go round.
Love trumps Hate.
Let’s trump this Loser once and for all.
$donated$
"He wove a Dark Brandon spiderman web, and the MAGA fools have fallen into it," Very nice, Doc...I'm in!
I like this one too! Good morning again!
Morning, Ally! Having a bit of a time keeping up with all of today's news, eh?
Hopefully, the focus will remain on the election instead of the media trying to find the smallest crack in loyalty to Harris.
When was the last time anyone pointing out the disfunction of the House since the Party of Trump took over.
1) Least amount of legislation passed by any House in history
2) It took several continuing resolutions and 6 months to pass a budget
3) Speaker Johnson is a Trump puppet who won't lift a finger unless he flies to Mar-a-Lago or Bedminister to get Trump's blessing.
4) They allowed thousands of Ukranians, Israelis and Palestinians to die will they fucked around for 6 months before finally passing support for Ukraine and Israel.
5) They took dozens of ballots and did a trial run on several potential Speakers before CFDT gave Johnson his blessing
6) They fired Kevin McCarthy because he was dumb enough to agree that ONE member could call for a vote to remove him.
7) They refused to bring up the most consequential border protection bill for a vote because CFDT told them not to.
8) They refuse to reach across the aisle to do anything.
9) They had held ridiculous hearings trying to impeach Biden
10) They impeach Mayorkis because they haven't provided him with money or the tools to secure the Southern Border
11) They have some of the dumbest members in history including MTG, Boebert, Goetz, Comer, Jordan.
Every Republican in the House SHOULD be vulnerable but no one is saying anything.
Johnson has the nerve to say Biden should resign and is unfit for the 5 months left in his presidency!
Johnson is unfit! He is not working for the country. He is solely working for his party. He is not getting anything of value accomplished and has wasted taxpayers money. He should be impeached!
Johnson, Jordan, Gaetz, & MTG need to go!
Let’s compare their accomplishments side by side. Johnson will be shown for the trump lapdog he is
Jordan is a crass creep. Johnson is a Christian in name only, and bobert and MTG are as dumb as a box of rocks .
Trump and Johnson are angry that the only candidate he could beat dropped out of the race. Trump's platform was denigrating Biden. Now that he's out, Trump will have to create a new, substantive platform, which of course will be based on a slew of lies.
We can count on the media to seek out and magnify any cracks in loyalty to Harris. They have shown they are NOT unbiased, and clearly not interested in what's good for our country. The oligarchs ' oversized wallets are all they care to fill.
AND we can count on the typical MAGA mix of choice little truths and hoards of fanciful lies to sow confusion and doubt about her in efforts to gaslight the undecideds!! But at least she has had more ‘vetting’ to date than a candidate with a less familiar background.
No, they just want stories, and controversy sells. Sigh.
James Buchanan wrote in his papers that compromise had to stop. It took several decades for the conservatives to finally adopt that, but here we are. Reagan got the ball rolling and when the libertarian platform was folded into the GOP, the dye was cast....
“Hopefully, the focus will remain on the election instead of the media trying to find the smallest crack in loyalty to Harris”. Gary Loft ME, NE, FL, MI, IL CA, from your lip to god’s ears. But the current media modus operandi doesn’t favor that hope.
OMG you have nailed with your list. That is content for your local Letter to the Editor. Go for
it!!!!!
I don't think it's quite "no one is saying"...
Actually, I think it was with the Obama administration that it was openly stated by Republicans that obstructionism would would be their strongest tactic in 'leadership', to do everything in their power simply to block anything being done. There's been a lot of telling statements that would have never got far before, we demanded at least the appearance of fair play, some semblance of it being for our best common interest. It's really 'interesting' to see all the dishonesty & hypocrisy that was kept so much more on the 'down low' coming out now. Naming the shitting elephant in the room is the 1st step in getting it out. You make legit points.
I'd say something in reply but cannot improve upon your words.
Love trumps Hate. There’s my t-shirt front & back.🫶🏼
Nope, I have taken the 'T' word out of my vocabulary!
Same here, Peg. I actually had to type it (as the surname for fpotus) last week....I'd like to say my laptop gave it the red underline for a misspelled word but it didn't.
Ryan, what a call to action you’ve penned! Thank you for joining HCR in this.
Bravo Ryan McCormick, M.D. Great comment. Warm-hearted and powerful. You give my heart a needed lift today. And I too $donated$. I had to do something positive yesterday with all that turmoil in my heart.
We love you, Ryan.
When I heard the announcement, I immediately went online and donated.
I am impressed that some of the emails that I received asked for as little as $3. About the cost of soda at the nearby fast food restaurant. Most people can at least afford that, and I hope they will do so. That $3 donation is more than just funds to buy advertising or pay staff, it is a very real attention grabbing show of support for a candidate.
Whoo-Hoo! Legend-in-the-making, Indeed! Could it BE any better?
Well said! I donated $ yesterday 🇺🇸💙
President Biden was able to ignite his Democratic party, enough to shake the hell out of Mega Republican party. This is the silver lining.
Based take! I dig it.
Ditto
It’s been a very odd day, very emotional. I have sobbed and then wiped my tears only to find myself crying again. I feel very betrayed by our party and our people in Congress. What happened to Joe was elder abuse but unfortunately, we all were witnesses to his decline and that hurts. We all have so much respect for the many things he has accomplished as our leader. I wrote to him on the White House website and told him I knew this decision was so hard for him. I told him that I would always hold him in my heart. My eyes are welling up as I write this but nothing got to me more than what Hunter said. I had read his post before Heather posted it and I got the same reaction in reading it here again. But, I know that Biden always surrounded himself with good people and he wouldn’t have endorsed Kamala if she weren’t up to the job. he has been steadily training her for 3 1/2 years. She’s extremely bright and a tough litigator. Let me remind folks that her questioning of Kavanaugh during the justices hearings was both superb and relentless. She practically brought the guy to tears. The R’s now have the oldest person ever to run for president and guess what? He isn’t smart and his screws are real loose. He’s mean. He’s a rapist, a misogynist, a 34 count criminal, a grifter, a thief, and a pedophile. Boy, do they ever have a problem! As of right now, my time, being 11:38pm, her campaign has received money from small donors to the total of approximately $52.8 million. Let’s make Kamala our first woman president!
Hear hear!
There has been much division among Democrats about all of this. Perhaps Biden wasn't pushed out so much, but rather listened to other Dems he respected: Pelosi, Obama, the House Minority Leader, the Senate Majority Leader. Biden could have pushed on but didn't. Stepping down is not weakness in my opinion but strength.
The DNC had a flood of money donated when Biden passed the baton to Kamala today. The social media gave Biden the respect he should of been getting all along. The Democrats were so much more civilized with the announcement, than the noisy victim approach than the Republicans littered on us last week. HCR sent us tonight the best tribute for Biden and described today with such grace, for the unselfish hard work Biden sacrificed for all Americans.
"the noisy victim appeoach"
every MAGA approach, ever, has been yet another turd in the punchbowl of discourse.
Bang on, Matt Fulkerson‼️ Agreed‼️ President Biden is the epitome of a Team Player—self-aware, Courageous, and humble in his lack of egoism.
Biden has been playing for the country all along unlike the orange turd who only cares about himself. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Exactly
I agree with you. He would not have stepped down without his family’s backing and without his political friends’ support. He is definitely struggling with mental/physical health conditions that would prevent him from performing his duties another four years. Better for Biden to finish his term without the added burden of a reelection campaign on his shoulders.
Thanks for that assessment, Matt. It is a great reframe of the garbage that had been in my head.
Well, this is a complex issue. My wife was pretty pissed off about the whole thing (her primary vote not counting for Biden, for example). But with Dems rallying behind Harris she is coming around.
As you probably know, I was in favor of Biden dropping out, but if he hadn't done this voluntarily, we'd all be in big trouble. Analogous to not carrying bags in order to clean up poop when walking the dog! We'd all be fighting over other stuff and not being unified, being distracted by getting poop on your shoe, and having to scrub it off in the laundry tub.
Now that we are becoming more unified as Dems and Dem-leaning independents, we can focus more on things like making sure Trump isn't elected and Democracy is saved for another 4 or 8 years.
Well, this is a somewhat flippant comment, but is from the heart.
Hear! Hear! I appreciate your perspective - much-needed!
I don’t believe any of them listened to the voters. I think they got threatened by wealthy donors and the loud and biased polls & media funded by other billionaires’ money paid for to make them think we didn’t want another Biden-Harris administration.
My eyes also welled up when I absorbed the impact of the letter President Biden posted yesterday morning, and welled up again reading in HCR's letter the quote from Hunter. I agree with you 100%.
I didn’t witness any decline in Joe Biden. The press presented us with a picture of a weak, failing Joe surrounded by a heavy gilded frame that took reader’s attention away from the fact that there’s no possible coherent response to jibberish—lying jibberish that undermined debate protocol. Joe was armed with facts and coherent points.
That’s behind us now and today we have renewed optimism and vigor to lift Kamala Harris to the presidency. All for one.
Susan, the only thing that I have seen (and that has been since about June) is visually apparent ageing. Remember how different Barack Obama looked after his 8 years in office?
Yes, Ally, I remember Obama appearing a good deal older when he left office. I also age in a visually apparent way. But do my observations and decisions also age at that same rate?
I was also sad about the abuse heaped on Biden, a wonderful public servant, but extremely concerned about the ordeal of not only the rigors of the campaign, but what this job does to even a young person. Joe had earned a right to retire after a job well done and to continue to contribute his wisdom in a less demanding role. I am thrilled with the prospect of a Harris presidency!
I think there's a lot we don't know yet Marlene. We do know we have to pummel the OiD, and the leadership of that party. Onward....
That’s for dang sure!
I understand your feelings. To many this feels like a moment when dealing with an aging parent, grandparent, loved one, etc. You know that they are capable of doing great things but sometimes you have to have tough conversations; such as taking away their keys, moving them to assisted living, etc. to protect not only them but to protect their family, friends, and community as well. This is how I have looked at it since the debate and interviews that followed. President Biden can leave knowing he had an amazing presidency and he will be looked upon fondly. There is no question of his loyalty to and love for his country. That tough conversation, asking him to pass the baton, while difficult shows that his decision to suspend his reelection that he cares for and wants to protect his family, friends, community and country.
Marlene, thank you for expressing so openly exactly how I’ve been feeling the last weeks and hours. I will also take the time to write to Biden today with love and gratitude.
Thank you Marlene. Your words are from my heart as well.
Affirmative Marlene!
For once the Professor understates. This is about something more profound than simply "putting the country first." This is about realizing that one may be a fighter, but one cannot fight time. This is about knowing that you may do great work, but you cannot do all the great work. This is about having the paradoxical courage required to allow someone else to shoulder the burden, and trusting that they can.
I understand this is an emotional day for supporters of President Biden, a group of which I count myself among. He may well be the most (currently) underappreciated leader in our nation's history. Yet I cannot square reactions of despair or dread with my honest reaction today. Today I felt a window blown open and oxygen flow back into my sphere. I felt nothing but rejuvenation, excitement, and gratitude. Look, I admire the man and am grateful for his contributions, but that is a whole separate deal from being able to mount a winning campaign, which he just can't do anymore. That much had became clear. As a younger person expecting to volunteer in this election, do you know how impossible selling this now-obviously-infirm man as head of my party was going to be for me? Do you know how much easier my life just got? Do you know how much more positive electoral energy just got injected our way? Do you know how much closer to my hopes a progressive future just became?
Answer: A WHOLE FREAKING LOT.
The President is a good man and a patriotic leader. He knows we have a better chance without him now, he prioritized his generosity over his pride, and *that* is why he has bowed out. He wasn't forced out by his party or media elites or deep-pocketed donors, or any of that nonsense. He's the most powerful person on Earth. No one could make him do anything, for Lord's sakes. It was simply the right thing to do, and I am grateful the leaders of my party, unlike the cowardly sycophants in the other party, had the backbone to stand up in a respectful way to the President and remind him that our goals are bigger than any one person, no matter how admirable their achievements may be. I am grateful the President I voted for was a big enough person to agree. I am grateful I can now vote for someone else who can carry on the legacy into the future with the energy required. Specifically, a kick-ass woman of color from the county where I grew up.
Let's go.
Joe Biden confirmed my faith in him for all these years was always the right choice, for all the accolades you've acknowledged and much more that I could spill. I've watched him closely for decades, watched him grow, mistakes and all. Throughout, he's been genuine. We have witnessed greatness; I don't think that's any stretch to say that.
He is what Americans always SAY they want but rarely appreciate when they actually get: a real live authentic down-to-earth person. Not a smooth operator but instead someone with full humanity bared, flaws and all. History will likely be very kind to him for the decisions he made the last few years, both stepping up, stepping down, and doing the hard things in between.
True Will, about want and get. I think Joe has a strong aptitude for both being a clever and a smooth operator politically. He was a real, authentic down to earth person but not so good as to be naive.
Thank you, Will. What an eloquent, respectful and inspiring statement!
The energy you and other "younger person(s)" will bring to this campaign is crucial to its success.
.
" . . . prioritized his generosity over his pride."
Well-put, Will.
Agree except that friendly fire, however well-intentioned, is never a noble act. That said, I am relieved that a decision has been made and the stalemate is over. Move on Dems, time is running out.
I disagree. Friends and family often have to make hard decisions and be very convincing to someone who is no longer capable of going forward in their current situation.
Correct. We just had the taking-the-car-keys-from-Grandpa-after-he-ran-over-three-squirrels-in-a-row conversation play out on a national scale. No one wants to have that conversation, you always put it off until it is absolutely necessary, Grandpa is never receptive at first, but it needs to be done. Sometimes the loving and respectful thing to do for someone is not to support them blindly but instead to be a trusted source of tough truths.
No Schitt. From one who was the only caregiver for a dear spouse with a 15-year battle with Alz. Thanks for the advice…
Well spoken! This election is about the future of the younger generation. It is you who has to move our country forward. With an old man ( as wonderful as he has been) at the top of the ticket, that was an impossible task. I feel the same relieve and renewed energy you do. There is hope again we can stop the authoritarian rise all over the world and show those who are so afraid to loose there position of dominance that there is an alternative to the same old, same old
Bravo, Will from Cal! Bravo!
Will-As someone who was riding’ with Biden all of the way I feel relief for him. He doesn’t have to worry about being blamed for a Dem loss. He can enjoy his later years without the pressures of the world’s problems. His legacy is now even greater than it was before because he showed himself to be someone with love of “we the people”. He also has the courage to support a woman for president. My admiration for him has only increased.
My hope for America has also soared. Now is the time we can show the world that democracy works and our nation can lead the way to a better future. Let freedom ring and justice flow!
The swift organization and enthusiasm by the party around the VP in just a matter of hours, along with a renewed focus on the message of the party as a team, has been wonderful and reassuring to see. It is amazing how the doubts about the unknown melt away when there is no longer the luxury to have room for them.
In stepping down, Joe showed us what real leadership is. Having the will, humility, and strength to put down such a tremendous thing as this speaks volumes about his character and the characters of those around him.
The opposition was blindsided by Biden stepping down of his own accord. They couldn’t project that a president would do such a thing. They have a limited ability to think clearly because nobility is not in the ideas available to them.
Well said Wil. Your post reflects what I feel. While I was fearing Ruth Bader Ginsberg along came George Washington and everything changed for the better. We were all "knocked down" and the President just helped us to "get up". I'm all in for Kamala Harris largely because Joe Biden is too.
Joe Biden was absolutely the President we needed to elect in 2020 and he’s accomplished way more than I thought would be possible. Kamala is the President we need next. May it be so!
Spot on, Beth. I was dismayed that he was nominated and thrilled at the job he has done (and will continue to do).
EXACTLY‼️ THANK YOU, WILL FROM CAL: «He wasn't forced out by his party or media elites or deep-pocketed donors, or any of that nonsense.»
So well-stated, Will.
We have missed your thoughts and writing.
Thanks. I like to think of myself as a clear-eyed thinking person (why I love this newsletter!), so the past few weeks were a journey for me as I allowed my thinking to evolve based on incoming information. When I shared on this forum what I thought was obvious a few weeks ago - that Biden was no longer viable and would need to step aside - I was called a hair-on-fire Kool-Aid-drinking Russian bot. I have a pretty damn thick skin, but it was a bit much to have that level of defensiveness directed at me at that intense moment, so I decided to step away until the inevitable occurred today and I could add my voice to be a unifying one.
Will, emotions are high right now. I saw a similar situation over on Joyce Vance's page where one person was calling another Reader a "troll" (a name that was familiar to me from other Substack pages) and so I gently said that just because someone disagrees with you, they are not a troll. I was met with a resounding "nu-uh", and went into more detail; the person was a name that was on many Substack pages, and often commented there.
Interestingly, one person with whom I have disagreed with on this page and indicated to them that I was going to cease to engage submitted a post that I did "like" recently commented on my post that they agreed with me. Even in the case of opposition to particular elements of conversation, we can be civil to one another.
I have 2 cousins who have never voted before who now say they are excited to vote for Kamala. Kamal will drive excitement instead of just voting against Trump. This is key for Dems and close races, especially in swing states. I'm hoping we can maintain this momentum!
Nice to see you weigh in, Will. I appreciate your perspective, and your articulation of the roller coaster my brain was going through yesterday. I was calmed substantially by Professor Richardson's unscheduled and EBS* 30 minute "Politics and History" chat last night, and that same oxygen flowing back into my sphere this morning.
*EBS Emergency Broadcast System "This is not a test: Stay tuned for important information to follow"
Well for what it's worth (cue Buffalo Springfield) my Dad is 75 and feels as I do, which I have been grateful for in recent days. We have been trading the minutia of current developments over the phone and in person and he has provided an invaluable sounding board for me.
Look, I don't blame the Biden campaign managers for playing the "donors want us out, but we work for YOU" card, but even they had to know it would ring hollow. I am with you when deploring the aftereffects of Citizens United, but let's be frank: donors usually triple down when their preferred candidate is in trouble. They only pull away when they truly see no point in throwing good money after bad. It is how the rich stay rich, after all. Ironically, the $60 million that poured in to ActBlue in just the last afternoon/evening puts the lie to that elites-vs-primary-voters narrative: that haul is from small donors like me ($50 as soon as I got the link!) expressing their utter relief and renewed vigor.
It is fair for people to have mixed emotions about how this all unfolded, but for once the money tap followed the polls rather than the other way around.
I’m behind Kamala all the way. She is my first choice for the position
I really hope the country is ready for its first woman President.
I will continue working to defeat Trump and Project 2025 at the ballot box.
Everything else is just background noise.
Not only a woman, but the also a non-white woman. This is going to piss off the right wing so much. Now for left wing support to materialize.
And the left-wing support better materialize very rapidly and solidify around VP Harris or whomever. Any fight will further the narrative that the Dems can't govern themselves so can't be trusted with the country. Next, realize the vast majority aren't reading these blogs, they are looking for a name on the ballot that they recognize and they recognize "Trump". Finally, if you remember how the right-wing hated Barack Obama, a Black man in their White House telling them what to do, try to realize how they will feel about a Black WOMAN doing that. The left better be ready to turn out 100,000,000 voters cause they will need every one.
It is the women and the men who will advocate for their mothers, wives, and daughters and granddaughters—all who are targeted, along with LGBTQ people, by project 2025–who will make the difference. I agree that as excellent a President as Obama was, it surfaced the seamy underbelly of racism ‘bigly.’ But it is getting to be time for a head-on, visible awareness campaign and confrontation at the polls to counter the bigotry and sexism. We have learned a lot and taken some lessons since Obama’s terms and Hilary’s electoral defeat. Let’s hope this move boosts our down-ballot races as well.
We don’t need more words to combat bigotry and sexism in defense of our chosen candidate. Let’s not talk this to death. We need and will have action.
Harris is going to be the next president because we democrats, women, men, LBGTQ, middle class, and the barely-making-it class, artists, educators, young voters, urban and suburban voters will make it so.
So in that case go with Harris-Biden.
Amen, any word from bernie yet?
The money’s pouring in to Dem’s/Harris for Pres 🫶🏼
About time real life politics have caught up with the movie thrillers of the past 30 odd years. Of course, it could ONLY be the Dems....
Hang their perfidy around their necks.
Pete Buttigieg for VP? Then we'd have a first and second husband thing going on :) Plus Sec. Buttigieg is the best debater and most able public servant in the Democratic party right now - and that's saying a lot!
I certainly wouldn't be opposed to that.
With over 65,000 infrastructure projects behind him and the amazing clean-up jobs in the Baltimore Harbor and several train derailments he certainly has accomplished a lot in a short period of time. He must have an incredible team in place and unlike most Republicans he is very good at delegating.
And I have to credit Joe Biden for matching up cabinet members with their talents. Deb Haaland has done an excellent job as Secy of Interior.
But, the amazingly popular Gina Raimondo should be in the running. She has been traveling the world as Secretary of Commerce and has been garner support for the United States.
That's a tough choice and with so many incredibly talented Democrats that would be excellent Presidents, I would hate to be the one making that choice.
None of those picks are what the Dems need to win. They need to win the SWING states, and SWING/ INDEPENDENT voters, hard stop. The way to do that is to choose a VP (or have an open convention- which I’m for- I’m not thrilled with the anointing of Harris) who is a successful ELECTED politician from one of those states that will win those states and that independent and indifferent voters will come out and vote for. Pete B. and Gina R have been terrific cabinet members but they do not give the ticket what they MUST HAVE IN ORDER TO WIN. We need to WIN folks, not create a utopian ticket.
I'm thinking a male governor of a swing state like the NC governor, or someone like Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona. I am not sure which "job" is the precursor for presidential/vice presidential success (governor as the Executive Officer of a state, or a Senator, who knows how the federal government works); my initial thought was that governor was the better, but after looking at Kennedy, Johnson, Obama, and Biden, I think that federal knowledge is better.
Of course, that and $3.00 will get you a double espresso at Starbucks.
BTW: https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-starbucks-republican-national-convention-sponsor-416611357117
Only if the espresso is on sale. 😎
The NC governor or even the KY governor would bring in voters from the swing states.
I don't think the media will hammer home 1) how little Trump accomplished to "make America great.", 2) How little the House accomplished under McCarthy and Trump's little Johnson. 3) How far right Project 2025 is. 4) Any of Trump's lies that he repeats ad nauseam. 5) How badly Trump and his sycophants have screwed women, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of color including indigenous people.
I’ve been thinking the same. Also Cory Booker, with whom I believe Kamala has a great working relationship from the senate.
No one from the senate or house. We need the majority numbers.
Good point.
The Democratic bench is deep.
I'm really curious how the billionaire-paid media will spin this. Biden was too old, what will they say about Kamala? Too young? Too black for their liking? Too female? Will Murdoch really dare to go with an all-out racist and misogynistic trope?
The Trump campaign certainly is in a quandary over this turn of events.
They are trying to distance themselves from Project 25 (as Trump mistakenly called it Saturday several times), but the Heritage Foundation has thousands of hours dedicated to this roadmap to the takeover of the Federal government and coronation of King Donald.
More like "God-Emperor Trump", but yes. My prediction: the media won't mention Rump's age. Not even once. Wanna bet?
Nope
To female. They will attack her as a woman.
"Pfft, what could a woman know about running the country", right... I think they will attack her for being a woman, too. I hope the women of America take note!
The country was already ready, so was she. It was the beginning of the nightmare. She's backing Harris.
America First, indeed. Well played, Dr. Richardson. I was strongly against Joe Biden dropping out. I grieved for the first hour or so, but the colossal wave of support for Kamala Harris has me reenergized and excited. I think we've had our "break glass" moment. Stations, everyone! It's up to us to cement Joe Biden's legacy and write our own future!
Me too, Linda. First hour I was very sad, discouraged, and then our postcard writing group got together and turned out few hundred postcards and processed the events of today. By the end, we were all re-energized and ready to keep fighting! This is going to be an epic battle, and I was so worried about what might happen to Joe, and now I have nothing but hope for what we can do to save democracy!
I was writing postcards for Jon Tester when the news came it hit me as a physical blow. Took a few deep breaths, knew what it meant, and went on writing postcards. If all of us do what we can, there will be a blue tsunami. Here’s hoping (and working).
ThankYou VW.
I was elated and after writing to the White House. Went to work on my postcards to Georgia voters.
Here is the White House link.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/share/
Working on my Letters to Voters to AZ, GA and NC. Once done, on to WI and others. The Letters are to be mailed Oct. 1-29. https://www.votefwd.org
Me too, Linda. But the time for sad is over. The time to circle the wagons is now. We have just over 100 days to educate voters about the hitler-esque project 2025, tfg's predilection for traveling with Epstein, and Vance's shortage of conviction of his beliefs. Perhaps orange Hitler will loan Vance some convictions, he seems to have 34. So far.
I know some people are disappointed in Barak Obama right now. However, here is his story when talking about his own candidacy in 2008...Fired up! Ready to Go!
https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/513629/fired-up-ready-to-go/
Here is Obama's letter regarding Biden not seeking a 2nd term — https://barackobama.medium.com/my-statement-on-president-bidens-announcement-1eb78b3ba3fc . From the end of the letter:
"For now, Michelle and I just want to express our love and gratitude to Joe and Jill for leading us so ably and courageously during these perilous times — and for their commitment to the ideals of freedom and equality that this country was founded on."
The letter was not the place for endorsing anyone new, let alone Kamala Harris. His endorsement will come later, after a new nominee is selected.
So why isn’t he fired up and ready to go and endorse Kamala Harris?
Lisa-perhaps they’re are those Dems (Obama, Schumer, Pelosi) will wait for her to be officially nominated.
Someone linked a statement Obama made yesterday. Here it is:
https://barackobama.medium.com/my-statement-on-president-bidens-announcement-1eb78b3ba3fc
Shoot! Can’t get it, Lynell.
Sorry to be late replying, Marlene. Dang. But here's the thing. When I went looking for another link, I found a better take on it. Hope you like it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhWDFgRfi1Q
Morning, Lynell! Good to see this link, thank you!
“Write our own future “ excellent thought
Thank you. I found this moving and encouraging. Thank you Joe Biden for taking the higher ground. let's hope our country does the same.
As leading by example, this is very fine. And it must have hurt.
It’s our job to get on with the work now, get Kamala elected and support her administration.
"He demonstrated what it means to put the country first."
The foremost foundational virtue required to be considered genuinely "presidential".
He was publicly humiliated out of the race.
Such a man, a fine human being, is never humiliated. He has endured everything with grace and appropriate humility.
Well said!
Yes, I think he was opposed on the basis of optics over substance, and that is a serious and obviously ongoing problem for our society. That said, I hope we can now get completely serious about building solidarity to defeat demagoguery.
It is a sad situation that a humble man and public servant of advanced years who is fit and competent to run a first-rate administration is a liability because of ‘optics.’ Sadly, ageism and intolerance for speech imperfections are real is real; but on-screen adroitness is a MUST against the accomplished liar and media-raised-and-fed behemoth, charlatan Trump.
He was not humiliated. He was confronted by people who cared. It was a family dynamic writ large.
Agreed. He eventually (it took a while) listened to feedback from respected colleagues. Someone will write a very successful book regarding how this unity among Dem leadership coalesced.
What we need now is unity among the rank and file Dems. Unity and Victory!
Why are you here, except to troll?
This is my one and only response to you.
No Cindy. He displayed qualities rare in a politician. Integrity, selflessness, sacrifice.
Put his country's needs b4 his own
I agree. On the day I arrived in this world, Harry Truman was President. Of all the Presidents I have known, I like President Biden best. He has accomplished the kinds of things that I wish every President would have done. He has worked for the people. We all know that nobody is perfect. On balance, Joe Biden was great in Congress, and he was a fine Vice President for eight years, and he has been a great President.
Cindy, I think so many calls were made to urge him to leave the race. Of course, money talks very loudly and the down ballot races will likely get a boost in donations and support from Biden leaving the race.
What good what it be for the country to have Joe win and the Democrats lose the House and the Senate?
Let's all get behind EVERY Democrat and left-leaning Independents and make this election one to remember as the election where the Party of Trump and the Heritage Foundation died.
Exactly
"Biden’s decision has left the Republicans in deep trouble, and they are illustrating their dilemma with high-pitched anger that the ticket of their opponents has changed and by insisting that if Biden is not fit for another four-year term he must resign the presidency immediately." Mike Johnson threatening to sue made me laugh out loud. First thing that came to mind: "I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll BLOW your house down!" LOL. How absolutely pathetic. And he's a 'constitutional lawyer.'
Sherman Doesn’t Jackal Johnson have a more pressing challenge—to present Netanyahu to Congress this week? What a f++king travesty.
So, Sherman, am I stating the obvious that this suing nonsense is designed to divert our attention away from the aged Republican candidate?
Another question I have is how does it change the dynamic if Biden were to resign his presidency immediately, making Kamala Harris president and then a candidate as opposed to her just being the Democratic candidate?
Instant problem: She would no longer be able to vote in the Senate. One of the reasons the Rs are trying to insist that Biden must resign is that it would force this scenario. Maybe Joe could push the envelope on trying out the new Supremes' absolute Presidential immunity canard.
lol
Agreed on the "immunity card".
Why? Just because she’s campaigning doesn’t mean she isn’t still VP.
If Biden resigns, as the Rs want, Harris becomes President, and would cease to carry on the VP functions, and any replacement VP would have to be approved by this Congress.
Sorry, I didn’t understand what you were responding to. You’re right,of course.
Alan J. Lichtman suggested that this would be increase her chances of winning. But who would preside over the acceptance of the electoral college votes if there is not a VP? Would it be Mike Johnson? If so, this would be an invitation for him to throw the election into the House of Representatives which would then name Trump president.
She would still be VP until her inauguration on January 20, 2025, so would preside over the counting of the Electoral votes.
Perish the thought! Hadn’t thought that one through till I read your comment Michael… which I ‘like’
Wouldn't the 25th Amendment section on selecting a vice president come into effect? Example: Ford selecting Nelson Rockefeller after Nixon's resignation.
Assuming yes, there are still reasons for Biden to complete his term. One, he is doing a great job; the country deserves it and so does he. Two, becoming president at this time would put a serious dent in time available for Harris to campaign.
I don't think she needs to become President. I was just commenting on the fact that there is a way to fill in the Vice-Presidential slot with a Democrat if, for some reason, she should.
Why do you think the MAGA Republicans want Biden to resign? Because a Vice President’s responsibilities are mostly whatever the president assigns. As VP, Kamala can continue criss crossing the country to build support, now for her own candidacy. Additionally, Biden has been doing a great job as president. He can serve the country best by continuing to do that work well for the remainder of his term. Meanwhile, KH campaigns until she takes office as our next duly elected President. Let’s make it happen!
I wonder how long JD Vance will last as VP candidate? Since his ego is on the same mountain top as Trump’s.
Vance is mainly ambition. He does whatever will get him ahead, as he defines it.
Harris is now all but set as the Dem nominee. Rs see Trump will lose to her. They can't toss Trump without losing his base. So they have two paths. One is the one they are already working on, try to find a way to steal the election by involving the corrupt Supreme Court. The other is to borrow assasins from their overlord Putin, kill trump and claim Dems did it....
See my comment above regarding the 25th Amendment.
Reply above
In that scenario, the next in line for the Presidency, should something happen to her, would be the Speaker of the House.
But she would immediately name a new VP. That scenario wouldn’t be in effect for more than five minutes. Nothing to fret over.
You know more about the process than I do. Can you explain how it would happen?
Actually, I think you’re right and I’m wrong. I looked up what happened with Ford and Rockefeller, and there was a whole process of Congressional approval that took about four months. No wonder the Rs are pushing for Biden to resign. How scary is that!
Thank you for looking it up. While we want to be enthusiastic, we also need to be very careful about how we proceed.
Thanks, everyone, for your replies. In light of my questions, I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anybody that my critical thinking skills are sorely lacking!
Oh stop it. They are not!😀💕
Thank you for the image from the tale of my childhood. It’s perfect and lends a touch of humor that we all need.
As usual, the "Republicans" are attempting to change the narrative. In this instance -- "...by insisting that if Biden is not fit for another four-year term he must resign the presidency immediately..." -- they are changing the narrative from President Biden deciding to retire at the end of his term, to some form of his being forced to quit due to infirmity or diminished capabilities. The Republicans have been living in La-la-land for so long that they have become incapable of making, and then supporting, a valid point. In this case, the President is showing signs of ageing -- but so are literally millions of us. I am two years younger than pmurt, and six years younger than Joe Biden. I ain't as young as I was, but I can still think straight. President Biden is still in very good shape, mentally and physically, and there is no reason sufficient to compel him to resign. As Joe says, he still has work to do.
Now that Trump is the oldest presidential candidate in history, it's quite clear that his gerontological markers--the "late great Hannibal Lecter," the electric boats and sharks, the inability to pronounce a raft of words, the infantile emotional quotient, the pathological lying, and his seditionist distortion of the Constitution--will make him stand in stark relief to the youthful, energetic, smart, and fierceness of Harris. She is no longer Kamala. She is Harris. And it is almost like a fairy tale [pinch self] that the Democratic political winds have gathered like a hurricane around her overnight.
Lovely nursey rhyme😉💕
I am sad that America's youth-worshipping, superficial, knee-jerk culture, led by the mooing herd that calls itself the media, brought this sad decision on one of the great statesmen of our nation. I will not forget the ugly side of the leaders of the Democratic Party that this fiasco has exposed. Their cowardice showed Joe's transparency: it's not about winning for him, it's about service. He knows policy, and he knows politics. It's not about him, it's about what we can do, must do, together.
The election has NOT changed. It is still a fight for the existence of democracy and equality under the law. It is still a fight not only for humans in America, but for our planet.
What HAS changed is this: It is more important than ever that people realize that electing a Democrat President and stopping autocracy is not enough. A Democratic President must have the tools to be effective: That means at a minimum Democrat control of the Congress in order to pass needed laws, appoint Court judges, and more. It means at a minimum that legislative races on the state level must be won by Democrats in order to stop gerrymandering, voter suppression, anti-abortion laws and the wasteful court challenges those attempts at power grabs entail.
If you are shy or cannot door knock, you can get a list from your state party office and write post cards. You can volunteer at a phone bank. You can volunteer for the League of Women Voters or the volunteer programs of your Secretary of State's office to encourage voter registration. You can volunteer to drive folks to the polls. And more ideas will be coming.
The buck stops here, with each of us. Let us know what you are doing to show your love!
Our small local group is called CU4BLUE. We are doing everything you wrote about and more. Vote BLUE up and down the ticket! Check out: turnoutpac.org/postcards;
Redwineandblue re: spreading the awareness about project 2025. There are thousands of motivated grassroots organizations!
Well said KEM. I won't soon forget either. However... all that said and marked down - forward.
Thank you for this thoughtful tribute. Your “Politics Chat” Sunday evening was heartening in its focus on the six months remaining in President Biden’s term. I was intrigued by your suggestion that he may be able to accomplish more without the distractions of a campaign — and, perhaps more significantly, concern for the political cost to him for some actions he may now take. You have bolstered my spirits, Professor. I am grateful to you.
I agree! I felt so much better after listening to that chat.
That "chat" was JUST the tonic I needed last night.
Me too, Ally. I was in Kentucky at a horse show, had just finished my last ride of the weekend, and was flying high from the success of a great show when my husband texted the news to me from Germany, where he is on business. He very kindly waited until I was done riding for the day before texting me. Poof, just like that, my euphoria was gone. I listened to NPR for about half the ride home, couldn’t take any more, and put on my audiobook. Then after my shower, there was Heather, calming me down. Thank goodness for that.
I said it earlier this month, and I'll say it again. It may seem old fashioned and quaint, a holdover from our forefathers, but character matters.
https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/character-matters
“History has shown us that character counts. Character above all.” ― David McCullough, 2008
yes, Biden is a statesman - courage, passion, empathy and relationship builder!
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN is the most dangerous and disingenuous political slogan in American history. It was coined by The Apprentice con man. When he slithered into the White House, his presidency, as rated by a panel of distinguished historians/political scientists, was the worst in American history.
Now with Project 2025 he aims to make MAGA even worse for the great majority of Americans and for the US role internationally.
The ‘age factor’ has been used by him and the media as a dagger against President Biden. Now that President Biden has once again placed country above self [something that ME ME ME Trump would find incomprehensible], Trump, 78 and with public utterances that defy reality, is now naked to the same charges that compelled Biden to step aside for younger candidates.
I was born during FDR’s first year in the White House. I have witnessed and experienced a roller coaster of American history. As Jon Meacham, in his magisterial THE SOUL OF AMERICA, has stated, American history has had ups and downs, with more ups, especially during my lifetime.
MAGA during Trump’s presidency and even more today is a frightening American historical down.
American democracy is in danger. President Biden’s noble selflessness has triggered a clear cut fight between the accomplishments and core principles of the Biden administration and the Project 2025 authoritarianism of the Trump cult.
For the first time in days I smiled this afternoon. It feels good to be on the right side of American history.
Trump did not coin, "Make America Great Again". He claims it as his own, but it was used by Reagan in 1980.
Michael Thanks for this historical footnote. After experiencing the Rust Belt 1970s, stagflation, and our Iranian hostages, I didn’t feel that America was ‘great’ back then. It was a lot better under President Biden.
Yes, it certainly does feel good!
MAKE AMERICA GRATE AGAINST......
Heather… your historian skills are rubbing off on me. 80 years ago almost to today, a WW2 submarine commander gave up his command because he failed to attack enemy shipping despite what he believed was his best efforts. He felt his crew & the ship deserved a better Skipper. He put the lives & safety of his crew above his career. That was (at the time) LCDR Joseph (Joe) Enright.
As Heather says, history doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes. Two special Joes, demonstrating courage & selfless service. Knowing their actions are part of something bigger than themselves.
BTW… over a year later, now CDR Enright & the crew of USS ARCHERFISH (SS 314) tracked down & sank the Shinano, Japan’s super aircraft carrier on her maiden voyage.
I worked with Joe Enright's brother-in-law (a Navy crew member on a destroyer or destroyer escort), who led me to far more detailed stories about the incident and other circumstances that, if I recall correctly, involved his math and navigational skills enabling him to guess where the best intercept point would be from the Zig Zag course the Shinano had been taking enabling the Archerfish to speed ahead on the surface in the dark fast enough to to get to the point before the Zig Zag course brought the faster ship back in range.
The point I remember most was about how inadequate he said Joe Enright felt after his first patrol, and how he came through with exactly what was needed for the one chance at the Shinano to succeed.
Thanks for the reply. One of my Navy duty stations was up at the shipyard in Kittery. I met Joe Enright back in 1990 at the Navy Post Grad School. He wrote a book about the sinking. All the details in your note are in the book.
Thanks for the reference to the book, I lost all my notes on what I learned from Frank MacDonald (his brother-in-law) back in the late 80s, early 90s when I worked at DATATAPE in Pasadena with him (older computer that crashed).
Frank was assigned to one Destroyer or DDE that required going above decks to go aft which had Sailors lost overboard in one or more storms as waves washed over the decks. I remember him talking about Halsey's Typhoon/ Typhoon Cobra (a couple weeks later) and, if I recall correctly, how they had to ballast with sea water in the fuel tanks (which the 3 lost in the typhoon didn't) .
I did find a video animation on the sinking on 29 November at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdViIPbdbDs
I hadn't seen it before but found that it seems to show the Shinano ended up sinking SE of Shionomisaki (southernmost tip of Honshu), about 80 to 120 miles from where my mentor, Joe Bak, was a POW (captured in May 1942 at Corregidor), in a work camp at Wakayama, SW of Osaka. They had just started the B-29 raids from the Marian Islands on 24 November of 1944 but took a break on the 28th letting the Archerfish go hunting instead of being positioned to rescue any bomber crews that might have to ditch or bailout near Japan.
I believe Joe mentioned the prisoners being heartened by seeing what they later found out were B-29s when they later raided or passed over that area (though it may have been later he was transferred to a Nagoya camp).
Joe told me he bore no ill will against the Japanese after the war, having had a much easier time than the soldiers captured on the Bataan Peninsula when there was still very strong active resistance from guerilla fighters, unlike the final capture of Corregidor in May. They were taken by bus, truck and rail after being paraded through Manila after the biggest decrease in fighting. In the work camp he was mostly unloading ships and guarded by old men, one of whom told him the Japanese thought they had defeated a major European power when they defeated an actually very weak, poorly supplied, Russian Asia fleet and other forces. They thought they had at least as much right to be a colonial power as the Western powers. The situation with the chance to talk to such elderly Japanese, one on one, helped them understand each other.
After some of the war criminals and chosen representative were tried and executed, we treated the Japanese so much better than they expected that we got a new and willing ally, like Germany also evolved into.
It seemed to me, Joe well understood the best way to turn such formidable former enemies into some of our best allies, live in peace, mutual respect, and cooperation.
(Did I mention that it also greatly decreases the numbers and determination of enemies?)
Another above average Joe, in good company of other good Joe's?
Great essay today. I was sad, but also elated and much more hopeful. So, we’ll see what develops. The best thing to happen would be if the media would cut down on the word “Trump”!
For the first time this year, I can finally exhale. It's 2:32am and I think I can finally sleep well tonight. Today was a good day. Let's take it one day at a time