Eff the DNC

[Manetho]

The Democratic Party does a fine job of shooting itself in the foot. I don’t know who, looking like maybe Obama, thinks that you can substitute a new nominee this late in the game and win. I think this person, whoever it is, is arrogant in the extreme. Just as, frankly, Hillary Clinton was. As I have said before, I will vote for whichever person has the best shot of beating Trump, but I will NEVER join the Democratic Party.

We seem to be reading the situation rather differently.

I see the "Biden-must-drop-out" message originating with political commentators in the news media, not within the party. The commentators generally don't want to admit this, but they are not merely observers but major players on the political scene, because, collectively, they shape the narrative that sways low-information swing voters.

Democrats are reacting to that message with panic. They all know Trump must be stopped, they all know the defective Electoral College means Biden has to win the popular vote by a large margin in order to win re-election, and Biden being trashed by the media reduces the chances of low-information swing voters turning out for him. But would replacing Biden, especially when the only viable alternative is a black woman, lose more votes for the Democratic ticket than sticking with the incumbent president and trying to weather the media barrage? I don't know. Nobody knows.

So I don't see this particular problem as a problem with the Democratic Party as an organization. It's self-important media people creating a problem and leaving a panic-stricken political coalition bickering about how to manage the fallout.

[Binger]

Yes, Carlin. He's the only one with intelligence, insight and wisdom in this whole mess. And he's dead.

How did he get away with never being called a conspiracy theorist?

He died. That’s how.

[canpakes]

How did he get away with never being called a conspiracy theorist?

He died. That’s how.

Ha. That’s just what they want you to think.

[Kishkumen]

I see the "Biden-must-drop-out" message originating with political commentators in the news media, not within the party. The commentators generally don't want to admit this, but they are not merely observers but major players on the political scene, because, collectively, they shape the narrative that sways low-information swing voters.

OK. Well, I don’t know for certain, but I doubt this is the case. I don’t think pundits spontaneously had this idea. I would bet that they were prompted by their corporate overlords. And, I increasingly think this is Obama’s doing. I heard David Axelrod piling on pretty heavily. I came to understand that Axelrod dislikes Biden, has for a long time, and did not want him to run for president.

The more I think about this, the more this seems like a combination of ideological and personal factors. I believe Obama and his people want Biden out, and I think it partly has to do with their larger, long term goal of increasing representation, partly because younger voters are increasingly turned off and tired of waiting for change.

So I don't see this particular problem as a problem with the Democratic Party as an organization. It's self-important media people creating a problem and leaving a panic-stricken political coalition bickering about how to manage the fallout.

Obama and Pelosi are leaning on Biden to leave. I don’t think that happens just because Rachel Maddow and crew are upset. In any case, eff’em all. They suck. I am done believing that they are anything other than elitists who think they know best and are willing to trample all over democratic principles to get their way.

Disgusting.

[Morley]

So, if we agree that the D and R parties are the problem, what’s the solution?

In my lowly opinion, the first step would be near impossible in America as it would require dismantling the first-past-the-post (FPP, hereafter) voting model that the US utilizes for the vast majority of representative elections. I don't know if ranked choice would be the best answer, or something like Germany's mixed-member proportional representation, but FPP will always result in a duopoly. Even if D and R were completely dismantled, or splintered into smaller contingents, we'd still end up eventually right back with 2 parties to pick from.

I'm going to posit that some of it has to do with the Constitution and that the executive and legislative branches in the US being separate entities. It seems that to get elected, the President needs a strong party behind him, not a parliamentary coalition, like is the case for selecting prime ministers in many modern democracies. I wonder if that's the reason that most emerging democracies don't adopt the US system.

Steuss, I'd really like to read your ideas on this. I like to read your theory on how we get out of this.

[Binger]

I see the "Biden-must-drop-out" message originating with political commentators in the news media, not within the party. The commentators generally don't want to admit this, but they are not merely observers but major players on the political scene, because, collectively, they shape the narrative that sways low-information swing voters.

OK. Well, I don’t know for certain, but I doubt this is the case. I don’t think pundits spontaneously had this idea. I would bet that they were prompted by their corporate overlords. And, I increasingly think this is Obama’s doing. I heard David Axelrod piling on pretty heavily. I came to understand that Axelrod dislikes Biden, has for a long time, and did not want him to run for president.

The more I think about this, the more this seems like a combination of ideological and personal factors. I believe Obama and his people want Biden out, and I think it partly has to do with their larger, long term goal of increasing representation, partly because younger voters are increasingly turned off and tired of waiting for change.

So I don't see this particular problem as a problem with the Democratic Party as an organization. It's self-important media people creating a problem and leaving a panic-stricken political coalition bickering about how to manage the fallout.

Obama and Pelosi are leaning on Biden to leave. I don’t think that happens just because Rachel Maddow and crew are upset. In any case, eff’em all. They suck. I am done believing that they are anything other than elitists who think they know best and are willing to trample all over democratic principles to get their way.

Disgusting.

Wow.

You won't uncross this line. Be well. I can feel this message in my guts and bones. Thanks for writing this.

[Morley]

So I don't see this particular problem as a problem with the Democratic Party as an organization. It's self-important media people creating a problem and leaving a panic-stricken political coalition bickering about how to manage the fallout.

I think many in the so-called intellectual elite section of the media (like NYTimes, WaPost, WSJ) recognize that their bias may have caused them to ignore the signs of (what they see now as) Biden's weakness. Maybe they're over-correcting.

Both parties are, in reality, pretty weak sisters, and are easily led around by the nose by their respective media camps.

[ceeboo]

In any case, eff’em all. They suck. I am done believing that they are anything other than elitists who think they know best and are willing to trample all over democratic principles to get their way.

Yep.

Disgusting.

Yep.

[Dr. Shades]

Obama and Pelosi are leaning on Biden to leave. I don’t think that happens just because Rachel Maddow and crew are upset. In any case, eff’em all. They suck. I am done believing that they are anything other than elitists who think they know best and are willing to trample all over democratic principles to get their way.

But you're still going to enthusiastically vote for them. With all due respect, you remind me of the Jack Mormon who takes a long drag from his cigarette before lecturing everyone around him how important it is to obey the Word of Wisdom.

[Some Schmo]

If you were taking a group photo of your daughter (assuming you have one) and others, and some guy you didn't know from Adam came up behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, and sniffed her hair, then later secured the presidential nomination of your favorite political party, would you vote for that guy? I'm serious. . . would you vote for him?

When the other guy is a rapist, I'm thinking the hair sniffing is pretty tame.