Post Al0A3rzZlTokPnhFuS by dalias@hachyderm.io
(DIR) More posts by dalias@hachyderm.io
(DIR) Post #Al00p5q965fJQsAHuS by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-15T18:20:39Z
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Suppose Biden had been running against a Republican less... alarming than Trump. Suppose he was running against a Mitt Romney or similar. Someone who didn't contest an election. And assume Biden was doing poorly as before in polls over "age" or whatever. Do *you* think Biden would have still stepped out of the race?
(DIR) Post #Al00uY3HdL0YNUuYJU by alter_kaker@hachyderm.io
2024-08-15T18:21:36Z
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@futurebird That's a really interesting question
(DIR) Post #Al00yqfQMfZNGonlh2 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-15T18:22:24Z
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Personally I think he might have stayed in. I think this was an extreme step that sends a message about what's at stake and kicks the whole race out of the logic of ordinary political contests. And I don't see why Democrats shouldn't use that to their advantage.
(DIR) Post #Al017oqeUqusEeKaO0 by energisch_@troet.cafe
2024-08-15T18:24:00Z
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@futurebird we should ask him ;-)
(DIR) Post #Al01C5w8u5laOPwDEe by pirategoddess@social.vivaldi.net
2024-08-15T18:23:58Z
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@futurebird I think part of the reason that Biden dropped out was that he realized the existential threat that the US faced if Trump one, and realized that he was more likely to lose than Harris. If the US didn't face the very real possibility of a dictator in the white house then he would have stayed in.
(DIR) Post #Al01NgGWAugiFWzcg4 by inquiline@union.place
2024-08-15T18:26:53Z
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@futurebird Am I alone in thinking that Covid made a really big difference here? It kicked him when he was down and made him look weak in a moment when he really needed to be projecting strength. In other words, Trump has been alarming all along and that didn't seem to affect Biden's calculus, but others were alarmed by Trump and took something of a run at him. ?*I don't think having Covid means one is weak, personally, ofc; this is abt media, etc.
(DIR) Post #Al027GucllvewHUYXQ by chris@abraham.su
2024-08-15T18:34:07Z
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@futurebirdRomney is more alarming
(DIR) Post #Al02Gv24yNDHyZZxBI by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-15T18:36:50Z
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@chris He's more alarming than most people think. But, I think there are things about Trump that are objectively worse.
(DIR) Post #Al02c60NN90q5VsdJg by chris@abraham.su
2024-08-15T18:39:55Z
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@futurebirdI mean, there was never Romney Derangement Syndrome
(DIR) Post #Al031I01ukqgWljPdY by EvilSandmich@poa.st
2024-08-15T18:45:22.495730Z
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@futurebird >a Republican less... alarming than TrumpI seriously doubt that you can name one thing alarming about Trump *that is actually true* (important caveat)
(DIR) Post #Al03LG7cbYWGUonxLc by alexisdyslexic@urbanists.social
2024-08-15T18:48:51Z
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@futurebird he may not have even run in 2020. He said in an interview he wanted to run because he felt like Trump was such a big threat.
(DIR) Post #Al03hMkedXlvQbbTOK by cshlan@dawdling.net
2024-08-15T18:52:47Z
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@futurebird I'm not sure the Democrats pushing him out would have pushed as hard if he'd been running against anyone else.
(DIR) Post #Al03jsYJNAaidV1ooK by CatDad@mas.to
2024-08-15T18:52:58Z
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@futurebird Politicians and political observers love to say that an election is the most important one of their lives. That wasn't hyperbole this time. I think the Dems would have just soldiered through with Biden against a "normal" Republican candidate.
(DIR) Post #Al0A3rzZlTokPnhFuS by dalias@hachyderm.io
2024-08-15T20:04:07Z
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@futurebird The whole thing (including poor polling) was very much manufactured by the NYT/WaPo/etc media class and their owners, so it's hard to say whether it even would have happened in a different scenario.
(DIR) Post #Al0zpZLZUBK89NUFxQ by Simplicator@federate.social
2024-08-16T05:44:15Z
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@futurebird Also can’t get out of my mind, knowing how thing a have changed now that Harris is in, the incredible arrogance of Biden trying to be the candidate. Another Feinstein in the making
(DIR) Post #Al11wz9w79Pq8oi132 by mansr@society.oftrolls.com
2024-08-16T06:07:59Z
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@futurebird I think he should never have run in the first place regardless of who he were up against.
(DIR) Post #Al1OeIpH4Fgia26YjY by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-16T10:22:19Z
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@mansr Like I agree with this but I'm also fine with being nice to him now that he's on the way out. I didn't expect him to be able to make that good of a choice and I'm impressed.
(DIR) Post #Al1T0SZTunc0zZXSbI by john@sauropods.win
2024-08-16T11:10:59Z
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@inquiline @futurebird I listened to a podcast yesterday where Symone Sanders-Townsend, who worked for Biden and Harris, said that Covid was important. It cut him off from the in-person events,where his biggest fans were begging him to stay in. So he was left with the data, and the media landscape, which were much more grim. Seems reasonable to me.https://www.theringer.com/2024/8/15/24220957/symone-sanders-townsend-on-the-mostly-peaceful-transfer-to-kamala-harris
(DIR) Post #Al2e7ndFIsiSzXxgqe by JasonAnthonyGuy@mastodon.social
2024-08-17T00:50:26Z
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@futurebird Very provocative….I think he would have stayed in because there wouldn’t be calls for him to drop out, because the existential nature of the election results wouldn’t exist. I had the same reaction in 2000 when Bush was given the election over Gore. I didn’t think Bush could do much damage over four years.I was wrong, but may have concluded the same with a “regular” republican today, depending on who.Trump and his allies are in a different league.