A new set of Times/Siena polls, including one with The Philadelphia Inquirer, reveal an erosion of support for the president among young and nonwhite voters upset about the economy and Gaza.
Counterpoint: If Biden can pass the biggest infrastructure bill since the New Deal, the biggest climate bill ever, erase tens of billions of dollars of student debt, pull us out of the pandemic economy without a major crash, put together a global coalition to help Ukraine fight against Russian imperialism, reschedule cannabis, etc., then I’m going to blame the stupid voters for not (a) recognizing his achievements and (b) not recognizing the threat that Trump and the Republicans pose to our democracy and the global climate.
Biden has a razor-thin majority in the Senate and has no control of the House. Trump has already personally appointed 33% of the SCOTUS, and has another 66% eating out of the palm of his hand. And people are going to hand our country to the Republicans again (even though they are openly speaking out against democracy every fucking day) because… why…? Because there isn’t peace in the middle east and somehow that’s Biden’s fault?
I’ll accept your premise at face value, let’s say he has accomplished a lot. Personally, I’d like to see him doing more, but let’s set that aside and say that his accomplishments would be enough to win the support of the progressive youths, and yet it hasn’t. The problem is still not with the “stupid” voters failing to recognize Biden’s achievements or the existential threat Trump represents. It’s still Biden’s job to sell it to the voters. It’s up to Biden and his campaign to put those issues front and center, to talk about what he’s trying to do and what his vision is for America. If he isn’t getting the message out, then he is failing at one of the critical aspects of his job.
But really, I don’t think the problem is messaging. I think the problem is that Biden isn’t the guy people want him to be. He’s a moderate neoliberal who backs progressive issues when he believes it will help him in the polls. I think he doesn’t put those issues front and center or push very hard or make persuasive arguments because he doesn’t want to piss off the center (or his donors).
Biden has a problem with the House. Why hasn’t he done more to push progressive candidates in downticket races? Biden has a problem with the court. Why isn’t he packing the court and working to eliminate corruption? We still have a massive infrastructure debt, catastrophic climate change, crippling economic inequality.
Yes, his half measures are better than the swift kick in the balls that comprises the Republican agenda. But he needs to recognize that he isn’t fighting hard enough to win the support of people who are looking down the barrel of extinction. That’s not hyperbole. My generation doesn’t expect to retire, and the next generation doesn’t expect humanity to survive. They’re not having kids because the future is that bleak.
Are they stupid? Sure, of course. Kids are often stupid. We were stupid. Our parents were stupid. If Biden is shocked that he has to convince stupid people to vote, then who’s really stupid? Sometimes you gotta make the airplane noise to get kids to eat their vegetables. Biden isn’t even trying, though. He’s blaming them, calling them anti-Semitic, and acting entitled to our votes.
He needs to win. You think it’s frustrating to see stupid people vote for a third party in protest? Imagine how frustrating it is to watch the Biden campaign drive young voters towards third parties.
If Biden is shocked that he has to convince stupid people to vote, then who’s really stupid? Sometimes you gotta make the airplane noise to get kids to eat their vegetables.
I like this bit in particular.
Biden isn’t even trying, though. He’s blaming them, calling them anti-Semitic, and acting entitled to our votes.
I don’t really blame Biden. He’s part of a giant political machine that has been shit at messaging since 1980. Democrats seem to be lead by the sort of try-hard, type-A, rule-follower nerds who were in Student Government in high school. They can’t relate to normal folks, and then resort to insults and guilt to get them to do something.
I believe, if I were an oligarch, I would want to craft an opposition party that looked and acted exactly the way Democrats have since Carter. I would push out progressives and independents, and I would back centrists and pragmatists who claim we can’t really have anything good unless we first settle for better.
The problem is that, for the first time possibly ever, that is precisely the situation we have. If Trump wins, we’re all of us fucked. Biden is the only man who ca possibly beat him.
And yes I can blame Biden for his failings. He’s been a politician for longer than I’ve been alive. He should be better at this.
I guess we can blame Biden. But it could be literally any Democrat in there doing the exact same thing because the political consultants they hire are so ridiculously out of touch.
Nope, but that was a nice try to trivialize the actual problems.
The problem is Biden sending American weapons, paid for with American tax money, to another country to use to indiscriminately kill civilians.
I’m not even going to claim that they want to kill all the gazans.
They were too loose with how they were using them. Too many civilians were being killed, 35,000 minus 15,000, using Israel’s terrorist death count, leaves 20,000 innocents killed in about 6-7 months
Counterpoint: If Biden can pass the biggest infrastructure bill since the New Deal, the biggest climate bill ever, erase tens of billions of dollars of student debt, pull us out of the pandemic economy without a major crash, put together a global coalition to help Ukraine fight against Russian imperialism, reschedule cannabis, etc., then I’m going to blame the stupid voters for not (a) recognizing his achievements and (b) not recognizing the threat that Trump and the Republicans pose to our democracy and the global climate.
Biden has a razor-thin majority in the Senate and has no control of the House. Trump has already personally appointed 33% of the SCOTUS, and has another 66% eating out of the palm of his hand. And people are going to hand our country to the Republicans again (even though they are openly speaking out against democracy every fucking day) because… why…? Because there isn’t peace in the middle east and somehow that’s Biden’s fault?
I’ll accept your premise at face value, let’s say he has accomplished a lot. Personally, I’d like to see him doing more, but let’s set that aside and say that his accomplishments would be enough to win the support of the progressive youths, and yet it hasn’t. The problem is still not with the “stupid” voters failing to recognize Biden’s achievements or the existential threat Trump represents. It’s still Biden’s job to sell it to the voters. It’s up to Biden and his campaign to put those issues front and center, to talk about what he’s trying to do and what his vision is for America. If he isn’t getting the message out, then he is failing at one of the critical aspects of his job.
But really, I don’t think the problem is messaging. I think the problem is that Biden isn’t the guy people want him to be. He’s a moderate neoliberal who backs progressive issues when he believes it will help him in the polls. I think he doesn’t put those issues front and center or push very hard or make persuasive arguments because he doesn’t want to piss off the center (or his donors).
Biden has a problem with the House. Why hasn’t he done more to push progressive candidates in downticket races? Biden has a problem with the court. Why isn’t he packing the court and working to eliminate corruption? We still have a massive infrastructure debt, catastrophic climate change, crippling economic inequality.
Yes, his half measures are better than the swift kick in the balls that comprises the Republican agenda. But he needs to recognize that he isn’t fighting hard enough to win the support of people who are looking down the barrel of extinction. That’s not hyperbole. My generation doesn’t expect to retire, and the next generation doesn’t expect humanity to survive. They’re not having kids because the future is that bleak.
Are they stupid? Sure, of course. Kids are often stupid. We were stupid. Our parents were stupid. If Biden is shocked that he has to convince stupid people to vote, then who’s really stupid? Sometimes you gotta make the airplane noise to get kids to eat their vegetables. Biden isn’t even trying, though. He’s blaming them, calling them anti-Semitic, and acting entitled to our votes.
He needs to win. You think it’s frustrating to see stupid people vote for a third party in protest? Imagine how frustrating it is to watch the Biden campaign drive young voters towards third parties.
I like this bit in particular.
I don’t really blame Biden. He’s part of a giant political machine that has been shit at messaging since 1980. Democrats seem to be lead by the sort of try-hard, type-A, rule-follower nerds who were in Student Government in high school. They can’t relate to normal folks, and then resort to insults and guilt to get them to do something.
I believe, if I were an oligarch, I would want to craft an opposition party that looked and acted exactly the way Democrats have since Carter. I would push out progressives and independents, and I would back centrists and pragmatists who claim we can’t really have anything good unless we first settle for better.
The problem is that, for the first time possibly ever, that is precisely the situation we have. If Trump wins, we’re all of us fucked. Biden is the only man who ca possibly beat him.
And yes I can blame Biden for his failings. He’s been a politician for longer than I’ve been alive. He should be better at this.
I guess we can blame Biden. But it could be literally any Democrat in there doing the exact same thing because the political consultants they hire are so ridiculously out of touch.
Nope, but that was a nice try to trivialize the actual problems.
The problem is Biden sending American weapons, paid for with American tax money, to another country to use to indiscriminately kill civilians.
I’m not even going to claim that they want to kill all the gazans.
They were too loose with how they were using them. Too many civilians were being killed, 35,000 minus 15,000, using Israel’s terrorist death count, leaves 20,000 innocents killed in about 6-7 months
It’s just a little genocide though! /s