Gathered at Camp David, Biden's family tells him to stay in the race and keep fighting
President Joe Biden’s family used a Sunday gathering at Camp David to urge him to stay in the race and keep fighting despite his dreadful debate performance, and some members criticized how his staff prepared him for the faceoff, according to four people familiar with the discussions.
Biden spent the day sequestered with first lady Jill Biden, his children and grandchildren. It was a previously scheduled trip to the presidential retreat in Maryland for a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz for the upcoming Democratic National Convention.
But the gathering was also an exercise in trying to figure out how to quell Democratic anxiety that has exploded following Thursday’s performance.
While his family was aware of how poorly he performed against Donald Trump, they also continue to think he’s the best person to beat the Republican presumptive nominee. They also believe he is capable of doing the job of president for another four years, according to the people who were not authorized to speak publicly about internal discussions and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
I'm just wondering why they left the fate of the entire free world to...this guy? Seriously? A turtle would have been better. Why run him again when it was this obvious of a bad idea even back in the primaries? Anyone but Hillary would have been a shoe in, now we have to worry.
Who did you canvas for as an alternative? Anyone?
That would be your answer.
Edit: Interesting thing to get downvoted for- asking who someone canvassed for. Do you downvoters not know how political campaigns are supposed to work?
Lol I didn't realize that I'm the entirety of the DNC, who knew?
You know registered Democratic voters pick the nominee, not the DNC, correct?
If you want someone like Bernie to win, you have to fight with the establishment over the Democratic voterbase, and the Bernie campaign never succeeded in winning over the majority of the Democratic voterbase. You can argue this is because the majority of the endorsements and media were on Hillary's side, but that was inevitable, you can't just expect your internal Party opponent to roll over, you have to build up an opposing powerbase within the party and media.
Seems like a lot of socialists and progressives got too disenchanted from Bernie losing to ever accept that, though.
I still think it's a ridiculous notion that I alone am responsible for the failures of the democrat party simply because I am unable to go door to door and say "Vote for Zippy," regardless of who puts forth the candidate. Short of being the sole arbiter of ballots of course.
That's the thing, though, no one "puts forth" a candidate except the candidate themselves, parties will sometimes reach out to activists or local party officials for local or state office nominations, but Federal office candidates are almost always decided by candidates themselves getting signatures and putting their name forward.
You're no more responsible for the failures of the party than party establishment officials at the DNC, and likely quite less responsible, but you are responsible for writing off the party as a whole, and thereby abandoning the about 50% of the party that wants to take it in a progressive/anti-capitalist direction.
You can blame me all you wish, if it makes you feel better to blame others who have absolutely no say in the matter instead of the party or their leaders for disenfranchising so many people.
Your continued support of the familiar means they'll never change. Of course since I'm sure you, like the party leadership, like it that way, it shouldn't be an issue for you.
You can keep shoving your head in the sand or research and confirm what I've been saying is the truth, that candidates are nominated by candidate choice, signatures, and then a primary vote. Up to you.
Lmfao, yeah? Can I ask how long you've been involved in politics? Or how much you know about American domestic political history?
The Democratic Party and Klu Klux Klan Venn Diagram a century ago would've been essentially a circle, with some weird progressives like Roosevelt on the sidelines. The past century of American political conflict has been one of the Democrats slowly solidifying around socially left issues and the Republicans doing the opposite, solidifying around the right. Both Parties found an economically left wing New Deal consensus after the squabbling of great depression recovery, which lasted basically until Reagan and the creation of a Neoliberal consensus.
That's all to say that the Parties have changed massively over the past 100 years, the Democrats completely switched their position on social and economic issues.
I have been pushing for my part of the Democratic party to be more economically and socially liberal for a decade now, and even in that short time I've noticed immense changes in what the party is willing to accept. A decade ago, rent control advocacy would've had city level Democratic officials criticizing me, and now Biden, a moderate, is advocating for it in debates and in speeches.
The Overton window of the Democratic Party has never been stagnant. It has trended solidly left on almost everything for a century, and you'd have to be ignorant or bad faith to not recognize that.
Keep your guilt complex to yourself, I don't need it. If you feel personally responsible for the abhorrent candidates the DNC runs more power to you. I however am but one man with one vote and I'm hardly responsible if the majority of or the leadership of The Party don't align with my views. It is they who have failed us, not the other way around.
Like I said, you're not responsible for their current policies, that would be the Democratic voter base of 30 years ago, but you're responsible for not trying to vote them out and writing off the entire fucking party as the same.
Have fun feeling politically nihilistic and irrelevant though, it sure worked for the CPUSA, the SPA, the SWP and every other third partyist of the past 100 years.
What do you think I've been doing for the last 30 years, sticking a finger in my ass and checking for smells? Again and again I've done "my part," and nothing has changed. Your anger is misplaced, misguided by the very people I speak out against into attempting to silence any dissent to The Party™. Fuck off lol.
You expect others to canvas on your behalf? Campaigns are made up of people willing to go out and do things on behalf of the candidate. You wanted to know why not someone other than Biden wasn't the nominee. The answer is because I didn't canvas for anyone else and neither did you and neither did almost anyone else.
Blaming everyone but yourself when you were just as complicit is just an excuse to get out of doing it the next time. If there's going to be a next time.
And before you point fingers at me, remember I'm not the one complaining about it.
Lmao you're a cartoon character.
Please do tell me how you expect another candidate to run against Biden if no one canvasses for them. Magic?
I canvassed for Bernie, that makes me exempt from your point then, yes?
Yes it absolutely does.
You are honestly the first person I have asked this to who has told me who they canvassed for. Everyone else just gets irate.
Well, if it's any consolation I'm irate over the whole thing.
Irate that America is in this position where we have to try and rally behind what I can only describe as elder abuse.
I'll likely hold my nose and vote Biden again but this is ridiculous.