Should Democrats stay the course or replace Biden? | Robert Reich - eviltoast
  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    For one, Biden would have to willingly give up the nomination in order to release delegates already pledged to him.

    Factually not true…

    The DNC can rewrite the rules before the convention and nominate anyone they want.

    As their lawyers have told judges, they’re a private organization that can name anyone as the candidate. That was their defense for accusations that they already rig primaries.

    A second problem is the public doesn’t know any other Democrat nearly as well as they know Biden, and it would be difficult to introduce someone to the public at this late date without them being defined by Donald Trump, the Republicans and Fox News in the worst possible ways.

    Literally anyone that becomes the Dem nominee will have nationwide name recognition in 24 hours.

    The most common reason for voting Biden is “to stop trump” so any replacement shares the most important quality Dem voters want that Biden actually meets.

    Like, sure, this would have been so much easier if we had an actual primary and the people closest to Biden hadn’t spent four years hiding him and lying about his mental capabilities. But they didn’t. They kept repeating it was too late for anyone except Biden.

    They’re still saying it, but it’s still not true.

    • Poayjay@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Good points. However, I would argue that the DNC would absolutely fuck up picking a new nominee. They would pick some “centrist” unlikeable democrat that would try to appeal to a moderate middle that just doesn’t exist. They would run a flaccid campaign and manage to piss off everybody trying to appeal to everybody. Republicans would absolutely capitalize on the chaos.

      • orclev@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        In before they nominate fucking Hillary… again. It would be one thing to claim name recognition if people actually liked Biden, but nobody fucking likes Biden. People stomach Biden because the alternative is so much worse. This is why we so desperately need some kind of proportional voting system, literally any kind. The public needs a way of telling the parties “here’s how we feel about these issues” without it being a binary choice between bad and even worse.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Right

        Biden appointed Jamie Harrison, it’s very very unlikely that Jamie Harrison nominates anyone else. And if he does, it will be another moderate that names Jamie Harrison head of the DNC again.

        Because the people running the DNC care more about personal political power than stopping trump.

        Just like the problem with republicans isn’t just trump, it’s the people behind the scenes that also need addressed.

        The problem with the DNC isn’t just Biden, it’s the people Biden put in charge of the DNC.

        The party can’t survive without the voters, we’re the important part.

        If the DNC refuses to acknowledge that, it won’t be the first time voters left a party behind to die without them.

        At a certain point the corruption is bad enough we need to start over. It won’t be easy, but at a certain point it’s the only option.

      • OpenStars@discuss.online
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        4 months ago

        Okay but… worse than Biden is already doing?

        At this point is there anyone, anyone at all, who isn’t merely voting for “not Trump” on the “left”?

        Conversely, there are a few on the right who actively like Trump.

        And there may be a handful of people - in key spots though - who may vote for a younger candidate?

    • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      The DNC can rewrite the rules before the convention and nominate anyone they want.

      The DNC does not control the Biden/Harris 2024 campaign org, the Biden/Harris ground ops teams including 30 Biden/Harris campaign offices in Michigan alone, the Biden/Harris war chest containing over $100 million, or the Biden/Harris Super PACS.

      Biden/Harris can take their ball and go home. And that’s why the DNC won’t replace Biden unless he willingly steps down.

      any replacement shares the most important quality Dem voters want that Biden actually meets.

      Apart from money and a functioning campaign organization. But who needs that if you’re young, right?

    • Your post is not true dude. They cannot rewrite the rules like that. Any changes they make would not take effect until the next election.

      Listen. Biden is not going to step out. Anyone saying that this is a likely scenario is flat out delusional and has no idea what they are talking about, or they are a Trump supporter trying to sew chaos.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      The DNC can rewrite the rules before the convention and nominate anyone they want.

      The DNC is an organization stacked with Joe Biden loyalists. And that’s before discussing the fucked vibes of an 11th hour rules rewrite on the eve of what was supposed to be a lay-up nomination. Weeks of people arguing over who gets handed the Prez nod without a single primary vote cast in their name would be an absolute disaster.

    • dhork@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Yes, the DNC can change the rules whenever they want. But when your party is supposed to be putting a priority on Protecting Democracy, it’s a bad look to then say “Yeah, we held a bunch of uncontested elections which we are now ignoring the result of”.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        You’re missing the context…

        They’ve been saying they don’t need to abide by the will of the voters because they’re a private party.

        And they’re right

        So when they say they can’t use their power to give voters want they want because they’re impartial…

        It’s obviously bullshit.

        They’re going to do what they want