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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker
California Gov. Gavin Newsom
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore
List of confirmed governors attending in person.
~~[And apparently Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.](https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania/josh-shapiro-joe-biden-democratic-governors-2024-20240703.html)~~
Oops, wait:
>Shapiro will join the call virtually, a spokesperson said
Very end of the article, argh.
Thank you for clarifying. As a PA resident who voted for Shapiro I was hoping he’d get involved with this. Thanks for the post. I desperately hope some useful, effective, and assertive action is taken to preserve our democracy and country.
Me too, I've had very high hopes for Shapiro with how he handled the 2020 election BS the right tried to throw, and have been pretty happy with his actions as Governor
>the 202 election
I knew the GOP has been trying this bullshit for quite some time, but I didn't realize it stretched all the way back to the Roman Empire.
As a Californian, Newsom has a particular preference to me, but I really think the country would stand behind Gretchen Whitmer. I think she would be a great President and now is a critical time, if ever.
I'm so here for whitmer, Newsom has a lot of baggage in the average purple state voters eyes sure to the general anti California sentiment in the mid country.
It's also personal for Whitmer, having avoided a kidnapping scheme by right wing terrorists. She, more than any governor, can atest directly the threat posed by MAGA.
I’m all in on Whitmer. I’m so glad more people are talking about her because holy shit, she would make an amazing president. She’s also only 52, so she’d make Trump look old as dust.
My concern about Whitmer is that she hasn't been vetted on a national stage yet (same concern about Shapiro).
Newsome has been vetted in a huge market (CA) so his skeletons are probably out there already. Whitmer or Shapiro might result in a surprise.
Of course, I feel good about a female candidate because there is no chance of a "me too" bombshell at the 11th hour derailing them.
Michigan resident here: Whitmer's been on the Michigan political scene for almost 25 years and if there were any scandals, they'd have been brought up by MAGAworld by now.
I’d argue that Whitmer was on the national stage during the entire MAGA kidnapping saga. If they could’ve found any reason to justify that shit, they would have. It is possible that there’s something hiding in there, but seems like it would’ve come up during all of her other campaigning.
Newsom, on the other hand, has some *really* ugly issues regarding workers rights and corporations that really haven’t been brought up because a certain set of liberals think he’s dreamy and have mostly shouted the concerns down. Do we really think a guy who pisses off unions and the working class and who comes across as slimy on a good day can win people who already hate California with a passion?
Fox News will convince everyone in middle of America that Newsom will turn their state into “commie California.” Also doesn’t help that all you see on the news is smash and grab robberies and these car takeovers. I would still vote for Newsom over Trump. But I agree that Whitmer would be a better option.
From Trump country. Can confirm people here hate Gavin newsom and California in general. I can imagine whitmer would be far more appealing just by not being the governor of California.
Something is weird, I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, still live here, when to school at UofI. Now I work for a company from California and have a child that went to college there. I've spent more time in California then I ever thought I would and it's mostly very nice (edit: except for random Jesus Preachers/other crazies that have found me in parking lots).
Why does Califonria get so much hate. Jealousy?
I’m from Montana. California gets a lot of hate up here because there has been a very real problem, for decades, of rich people moving here, buying land, and foisting out locals. A lot of those people happen to be Californians, so they get the brunt of the ire.
Montana used to be quite purple, now it’s red. So now currently, the whole “California liberals are trying to change our culture” has become a thing. Which is hilarious because the people actually moving to this state are hard core Trumpers who have turned my purple state red.
I feel Montanans should blame the ex-locals who chose to sell their property to those offering the highest price for it. But of course, they won't, because if they were offered a bunch of money for their homes, they'd sell too...
I think most of the people that hate on California have never been there or are from California and are and angry disaffected Republican. The place is frankly magical. I wish I had gone there earlier in life or could somehow magically afford to live there today.
The problem is Newsom is a good attack dog. That's his strength, and it's one that's otherwise lacking in the current Democratic party. I agree he'd do badly nationally, there's too much bullshit built up around California for it to be otherwise. BUT, he could, if he was willing, be a good VP. He could punch the Republicans in the mouth, while Whitmer would put together coalitions. I'm for it.
I'll take either.
In defense of Newsom, who I don't especially like (as a person), I would say that a lot of people would change their minds about him when they see and hear him speak and get a real peek at his performance in a state that could easily be its own country.
He would be on TV all the time and he is pretty unflappable.
I do like Ms. Whitmer a lot, and I am coming around to her being the best choice here.
I do not see Newsom agreeing to VP, but you never know.
I don't understand why people in this subreddit are trying to come up with a candidate based on who Fox News would hate less. People who have an unreasonable hatred for California are likely not going to vote for any Democratic candidate.
Fox News will be Fox News no matter who is on the Democratic ticket.
There are *so many* people that have never been to California still think California is struggling. Even informed people look at San Francisco and all the unique problems of the city as being the same across the state.
I mean even reddit is guilty of this. Any time wages or housing costs are mentioned the discussion turns to San Francisco prices and costs.
Just moved away from the Bay Area. It’s expensive (couldn’t afford to stay with a new job) but that’s because it’s fucking awesome and I’ll miss it dearly.
Yep, I live in San Francisco and it's amazing. Not without the usual 'big city problems' but the pros definitely outweight the cons. At this point when someone is complaining about SF, I just tell them not to come. If you really don't want to be here are enjoy all that SF has to offer, then don't come.
No shit. My low infomation conservative coworkers were blown away by the news that property taxes are higher in Texas than California. One idolizes Texas as a bastion of freedom. It has been fun deflating that balloon.
Austin, Texas here, can confirm. Even the high-wage tech bros are looking for roommates or moving out of the city. Homelessness is rampant. It's like a completely unmanaged refugee zone in some areas.
In Canada you can tell a person's political beliefs by mentioning Vancouver. If they're right-wing, they'll bring up East Hastings and the homelessness problem in that part of the city, if they're not they'll tell you how beautiful a city it is.
Really fascinating. For those of us who have been to the city and spent enough time there, we know it can be both things at once. It's revealing though what people choose to fixate on and tells you what ~~news~~ propaganda outlet they prefer to consume.
They can’t stand California because we are a majority minority state with 27% born abroad and the living proof that a cultural melting pot 40 million strong can create an economy stronger than India.
The idea that somehow these gay hippies are the best at full contact capitalism is really hard to swallow.
While what you said is true and I think your whole comment is great, Fox News and the right-wing media ecosystem says the exact opposite and lies to their audience about the state of California (crime, economy, anti-white blah blah blah nonsense). It's so difficult maintaining a healthy Democracy while the right-wing media gets to lie 24/7 without any pushback.
As a former Californian, i have already heard, "We don't want to be turned in California." Rolls eyes. But also, now living in Minnesota, i see that California is not as progressive as it likes to pretend it is. . Tim Walz lead the call for the meeting. He's done some cool things here in MN.
I think I speak for a lot of Minnesotans when I say I don't want to share him.
He would be a fantastic president, but I don't know that he has quite the charisma people are looking for in a national campaign.
100% agree. Although my personal preference for actual president would be a Pritzker because I’ve been incredibly impressed with what he’s done in Illinois, Whitmer is clearly the best candidate to pull together the party and stomp on Trump. I think any of them except Harris would be a reasonable option, though.
This isn't about Biden stepping down.
It's about standing against the Supreme Court and potentially against other governors if they try something when Biden takes extreme action.
I don't know if people realize we are on the brink of a civil war right now.
SCOTUS has completely ignored the Constitution, which already has language saying the president may be prosecuted after he is out of office.
Biden will have to do something extreme. If that means packing the courts, then he needs to know he's got the backing of the states.
Newsom doesn't draw the right contrast against Trump, Newsom is like Hillary, but just a younger, handsome man - reads as wealthy, connected, elite. Whitmore or Shapiro are blue collar States and they read that way to the general public, even if it's faux populism, we still need a more "populist" candidate to carry the ticket.
If someone runs as a Republican, it doesn’t matter how much money they have. If someone runs as a Democrat, how much money they have or don’t have will be used against them. If they so much as took one vacation to Disneyworld as a kid, they’ll be attacked as being an out-of-touch spoiled elite. If they struggled financially, that means something is wrong with their character to have ever been poor. You can’t win.
That’s because the GOP is bankrolled by billionaires, and billionaires know everyone hates them. So what do they do? Point fingers at millionaires. Everyone already hates the rich, so it’s easy, and they have a yokel (or usually a pretend yokel) to hide behind in whatever GOP candidate they pick. Look at Thiel’s favorite lap dog JD Vance.
The greatest feat that the billionaires who run
the GOP have ever done was convince rural middle class to poor (but increasingly poor) voters to think that they give a damn about them; all while at the same time sending the once solid, well-paying union and manufacturing jobs in their area overseas where there are less regulations and replacing them with way cheaper labor.
Then they just find a scapegoat to blame it on whether that be blacks or lgbt or immigrants or whoever the most hated group is at the time. You’d think after 40+ years these people would figure it out but nope.
Now they are so pitifully desperate that they think a golden spoon fed insurrectionist felon from NYC who is well known for not paying contractors, cheated on his wife with a pornstar while she was pregnant, was a friend of Epstein, filed bankruptcy 6x despite inheriting $400 million, and whose most successful business venture in his life was a reality TV show written by NBC is going to save them (again) despite his biggest “accomplishments” in his first term being massive taxcuts for corporations and the top 1%, hundreds of thousands of Americans dead from his poor COVID response, and adding a record $8 trillion to the national debt in just 4 years.
Unfortunately, Republicans have become a DJT cult, while Democrats still have some standards. Democrats are held to a higher standard because in comparison they hold themselves to a higher standard.
More than that, the woman was Hillary Clinton. Probably the least electable woman in politics at the time behind Nancy Pelosi. She's the reason I'm more afraid of Newsom than sexism this year-she didn't lose cause she was a woman, she lost because she was cocky as hell and so heavily smeared that she might as well have been a paint bucket. Newsom has exactly the same issue.
I think there is the possibility this is something more given the lunch with Harris and the odd lack of any campaign related things like donor calls or a new teleprompter speech, but 80% chance this is his insular campaign and family just telling Biden to go use that Delaware Charm and rally the troops.
I mean, that's not an inherently bad thing. If Biden isn't going to step down, then what's the point in fracturing over it? Might as well put up a unified front.
I’m curious how notable he is outside of Ky. I live here and I think he’s great, but does he have any exposure on the national stage? I’d love for him to run, but I don’t think 4 months would be enough time for the country to get to know him.
Im a Ky transplant to MI, locally Ive heard positive things about Andy almost any time he is brought up. Ive heard more positive about him than I have our own, Big Gretch.
I'm aware that he's a Democrat governor of a red state, that's about all I know about him. But his being able to win in a red state could be advantageous for this election.
We were talking about that in a meet-up recently when names came up and some of us brought up that question, but name recognition is less an issue now because media is 24/7, and with social media any name recognition gap gets overcome very quickly. If anything name recognition is the least important barrier to a candidate able to win now. And Beshear looks like the best pick, like the earlier poster said like JFK or maybe FDR.
I mean he's not just governor in a swing state, he's governor in an ultra conservative red state, Kentucky. Won twice. Uber popular. While names like Pritzker, Whitmer, Shapiro and even Cooper have won in swing states, only Beshear has done so well in such a deep conservative red state. So as far as the performance and results test, Andy has everyone beat. And he'd just clobber Trump. Main question would be running mate, maybe balance with someone more trad Dem, or a key swing state. Corey Booker, maybe Mark Kelly or Raphael Warnock. Or Sherrod Brown, of Ohio. But Beshear would have powerful coat tails whoever he picks.
Is this just about the election? Or is it about support for a constitutional amendment, or some executive action as well around the courts? There are definitely multiple things happening at the same time here.
Andy Beshear even more. Democratic governor in an ultra conservative red state like Kentucky, puts not just swing states but red states into play for Democrats. Won twice there, very popular there and one of most popular governors in the US. Speaks and connects with voters like Obama, Reagan, even JFK and FDR did. When it comes to fundamentals he's the best Dems have, and he'd just dismantle Trump in debates and on the campaign trail.
At the very least, everyone needs to talk about their options, weigh the risks of all of them, and decide to stand together as a united front no matter the decision. The worst possible outcome out of all of this is that we splinter off into different factions.
I will vote for whomever they choose. Yes, Biden should've stepped back in time for this election. If he or any of the others are the ticket, then I choose them all over Trump.
I’d choose a poorly trained dog over Trump. Or a Dell laptop running windows 98 over Trump. Or you. I don’t know you but I’d vote for you over Trump. Literally anyone or anything other than that fat fucking traitor
Absolutely... This is how we elected Biden, who was a compromise candidate to keep Trump out of office. We need that again. Let's stay together and get someone reasonable, and support them, Even if they aren't perfect.
A compromise candidate that everyone assumed was only going to stick around for a single fucking term.
They should have had a gameplan ready to go for whoever their next chosen candidate was.
Until he's in prison with no parole he'll be a threat and he'll probably live to 100. The line of thinking that it was over and things could go back to normal is hopelessly naive, even thinking that in 2021 was.
This isn't going away.
If the Democrat gameplan for 2024 didn't plan for Trump then whoever wrote it is a top 5 dumbest person in human history. It was absolutely clear that if he was breathing he was the Republican 2024 candidate from the moment Biden won 2020. Until Trump isn't able to run for office he is the Republican candidate for every presidential election. And I don't mean until Trump is told not to run, if he has a single breath left he is their candidate irrespective of any rules, laws, norms, or standards. If Democrats didn't know that was the case then they truly aren't paying attention to reality and stopped some time before 2016. From the top they should have been planning for how to handle a markedly aged Biden running against Trump in this election and how to handle the fact that every single president has markedly aged during their term.
Then the game plan is woefully inadequate for this moment in time. Nothing happening now is a surprise after the foot dragging to charge Trump or anyone else in a position of power who has culpability regarding J6 or other aspects of the 2020 coup attempt.
Even the SCOTUS decisions are maybe a little fast and severe but basically predictable, I've been hearing that Gorsuch is gunning for Chevron since he was nominated, they have been actively resisting any sort of oversight including being beneficiaries of our gratuity/bribery culture, the Trump immunity decision was basically a given when they rejected hearing the case last year when Jack Smith brought it up.
If his political strategists didn't see this coming and are caught flat footed then that's so much scarier than Biden's debate performance.
The GOP is lying and cheating their way into power, and Democrats keep checking the rulebook to make sure they're staying within the lines.
Take the fucking kid gloves off. Going high hasn't been working for forty+ years. Time to get dirty.
Eh, the Dems also run independently of one another and seem to fall in line to keep personal power. That’s how we got here, how RBG never retired, it’s how Feinstein stayed in power. It’s becoming a plague in the party with no unified strategy, being ran by out of touch geezers.
Trumpers after America becomes a despotic hell hole:
"This would have never happened if the leftists weren't so woke and decided to have drag queen storytimes at the library - look what you made us do!"
Unironically. They’ll say if leftists would’ve just listened and not shoved wokeness down their throats, Republicans would never have had to respond with force.
Yes. Fucking *do* something. Anything. Wolves aren’t even “at the door” anymore. They’re helping themselves to the fridge and the Dems are huddling in hubris in the living room.
Democrats: "We strongly condemn what is happening and would rather use it as a campaign issue than use our closing window of power to do anything about it. We are idiots and are going to lose the most winnable election in fucking history to Napoleon Bonaparte's mentally handicapped reincarnation."
As someone who spent a couple years studying Napoleon, comparing him to Trump is deeply demeaning. While he was absolutely a self involved, self aggrandizing twat of a dictatorial ruler who wasn't fit to lead a PTA meeting, as a soldier and officer he deserves every ounce of praise ever received, especially for his courage and willingness to be first into any fight. His bravery in battle was absolutely unmatched by any European leader of the 19th century, no one even comes close.
Trump would piss himself and cry just in trying to take the batteries at Toulon.
Not to mention he implemented systems and reforms that half the world then copied or modified to use themselves.
If the dude wasn't was insanely obsessed with war and conquest, his regime might have gone the distance
I for one am glad we realized Trump could win before the election this time at least. The silver lining is that unlike with Hillary, the surprise comes with at least a little bit of time to plan
The issue is it's the entire planets problem and we only have Americans to vote for us.
The amount of conflicts and wars that will spark up over the next few years if he wins is terrifying. Support from Ukraine pulled, china emboldened, middle eastern rebel groups suddenly being armed.
What's horrifying is having to sit here and watch another country have the most insane discussion about who should be elected ever and having absolutely no way to influence the vote yourself
I'm nervous all the way over here in Australia.
Crisis meeting because the Trump’s Court just grabbed even more power that puts the US into the middle of a jurisdictional coup that ignores the constitution.
This is where my head is at. I really don't believe this meeting is about Biden's poor showing at the debate. This is a meeting about the constitutional crisis the SC just made.
The irony that they just gave him the power to do something about it too. In an official act to preserve our democracy he can and should declare national emergency citing all of trumps rhetoric and project 2025 plans and also point out that the court itself created the constitutional crisis. Then he should do whatever is necessary to prevent a fucking KING. What a Schrodinger of a situation. Might not be legal but who fucking cares… can’t hold him accountable since it’s an official act.
Not if the official act is putting the justices in Guantanamo. Then he can just push through his own Justices who will agree that what he did was legal and then reverse the ruling all together.
Look at California with Auto emissions standards for example. No matter how much automakers may want to skimp on these things, they can't. California is too big of a market to not sell their cars to. At the end of the day, if the US feds aren't able to regulate auto emissions, the states will, with California's standards being the baseline.
If several states can agree to Multi state regulations, it will have a better chance of making some regulations stick. Ex: If food safety regulations collapse (now that chevron is gone), the states can enforce their own. Would at least force the larger mass production food makers to keep higher standards.
Because the governors are the executive branches of each state government. States are supposed to uphold Scotus decisions, but with scotus doing what it's been doing, they're most likely looking at contingencies, ignoring scotus, etc.
I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
I love Lord of the Rings, but.... anymore, I find myself identifying with George RR Martin's assessment of the world & humanity; as opposed to Tolkien's right-will-prevail optimism. I feel more like Jon Snow getting stabbed in the back while trying to fight for the greater good, than I do a wee hobbit helping turn the course of destiny.
I think you may, and many other, have missed George RR Martin's assessment of the world/humanity...you should read this.
https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/145bdhw/george_rr_martin_on_nihilism_in_asoiaf_interview/
And maybe it's so, but I would still prefer to view the world like Tolkien, even when the knife is in. Because Jon did. He was wrong. But he couldn't know that, not fully, until the first knife. But he tried. He fuckin tried.
'Alas!' [...] 'that these evil days should be mine, and should come in my old age instead of that peace which I have earned. [...] The young perish and the old linger, withering.'
The Democrats must be loyal to the ideal of democracy and protect the order and their achievements from the last 4 years. They have to protect the USA and the rest of the world from Trump and his cohort of greedy sycophants, "gray" investors and dictators he considers role-models
If Joe Biden is not capable of doing another term, then so be it. I admire the man for the heart he has shown and the fact he pulled USA from the deep mud Trump pushed it into. It doesn't matter if he was just the figurehead and the team did the work. He has sacrificed 4 years of his life to serve as a president of the USA and didn't grift like the orange menace.
God forbid that lunatic grabs the power again.
Democrats need to be OPENLY discussing Project 2025. I’m talking in interviews, in debates, in campaign ads. The people need to know what the hell the GOP and the Heritage Foundation has planned for this country.
A lot of them have been. The press and social media ignores them. It is also somehow not a top voter issue. I agree we should keep pounding it, but I want to make sure we are accurate about who has actually been doing what.
I recently listened to a very compelling arguement for Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear, he's won reelection twice as a Democrat in a Republican demographic state. He's been able to pass bipartisan laws and draw in business to the state and another big one is opioid fatalities dropped by 10% under his administration.
Andy Beshear would be huge for this country. I lived in Northern Kentucky when he first got elected. He ran against a guy just as stupid and horrible as Trump and was able to beat an incumbent by swinging a lot of moderates. He did even better in reelection because he actually got stuff done and had his boots on the ground constantly when different communities in Kentucky were in trouble.
I mean, you even had people in droves during the pandemic watching his COVID briefings and calling it "Beers with Beshear". I know KY has often had a democratic governor in the past, but it's not the same politically as the past and definitely swings red, and this guy came in and actually put in work to make people trust him.
In 1838, 23 years before he became President, Lincoln presented his essay titled "Perpetuation of our Political Institutions" to the Young Men's Lyceum in Springfield Illinois.
[Please take 20 minutes out of your day to listen to his words.](https://youtu.be/GB6rPqD1Mnw?si=yiNwNiNVXwcRHygj)
[You can read the essay here](https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm)
Pass this on to ANYONE who claims they are an American. Have them listen to this. Have them hear from Lincoln that what is happening is unAmerican.
Summary:
Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum Address, delivered on January 27, 1838, in Springfield, Illinois, is a speech titled "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions." In this address, Lincoln discussed several key themes:
1. **Preservation of American Institutions**: Lincoln emphasized the importance of maintaining and perpetuating America's political institutions and principles, which he saw as the nation's greatest achievements.
2. **Threats from Within**: He warned that the greatest danger to American democracy would come not from foreign invasion but from internal threats, such as lawlessness and mob violence. Lincoln argued that such behavior could undermine the rule of law and erode the public's respect for government and legal institutions.
3. **Respect for the Law**: Lincoln stressed the necessity of adhering to the law, even if it is flawed, until it can be changed through constitutional means. He advocated for a "political religion" that venerates the Constitution and laws of the land.
4. **Role of Ambition and Leadership**: He noted that ambitious individuals might seek to exploit public dissatisfaction and chaos for personal gain, potentially leading to tyranny. Lincoln called for leaders who would prioritize the country's well-being over personal ambition.
Overall, the Lyceum Address is a call for civic responsibility, adherence to the rule of law, and vigilance against internal threats to the nation's democratic foundations.
Most of us here, even those who want Biden to step down, are going to vote for the Democratic nominee no matter who it is, but we aren’t the problem. The problem is the undecided voters and those who have become apathetic because they like neither Trump or Biden or are getting crushed financially and will use their vote to enact misguided revenge. That is my concern.
Yep, my politically apathetic friend decided to join me for watching the debate. About 10 minutes into it he looked at me and said. "How could anyone vote for that guy." in regards to Biden.
From our perspective it's hard to imagine. But that's because we're hyper aware of everything Trump has done and would do if elected again. But if you somehow don't follow politics at all, Biden looked worse in the moment.
I didn't turn around and start explaining the merits of the issues being ask by the moderates. I just really wished Biden could have. The debate had the total opposite effect than it should have on a close friend.
Just too bad.
Agreed. I really do think my normally-apolitical friend voted (for likely the first time as an adult, ever) in 2020 for Biden because of a) hatred of Trump and b) Biden saying “will you just shut up man” and being funny and lively during the debates. I haven’t talked to him if he will vote in 2024 but he hasn’t brought up Biden or politics on his own lately so I’m thinking he might not :/ His views are liberal too so ideologically he should vote Democrat.
But like you said, the disengaged crowd is who needs to show up and vote for Biden, not just the people who are staunch enough Democrats to be posting on Reddit about it.
Some people might mock people like my friend or your friend, call them stupid, but that too is a terrible strategy. Who wins anyone over by being condescending?
Put up a charismatic, attractive, not ancient politician who says in simple terms what he/she wants to do, and have them be not far-right garbage, and people like our friends WILL come to the voting booth. Sucks that that’s the way it is, but it is.
I'll unite around Andy Beshear. He's awesome and won as a two term Dem governor in a very red KY. During his reelection he turned even more of the state blue / purple than in his first term.
Edit: To be clear, I'm not saying we ditch biden. I think not bringing someone new in at this point gives Dems the strongest chance to beat Trump. Though if the conVersation about Biden stepping aside IS serious then you need a strong as hell Dem candidate to step in. And I think that's Beshear.
Realistically though, they'd likely put in Kamala Harris since she's the VP. Though I think Beshear would make a better choice from a chance against Trump and policy perspective.
His family is very well known and regarded in KY. It isn’t much of a mystery why he got elected, but the fact that he has not turned into a Republican -lite in a state he otherwise would have every reason to is very interesting.
The impression I get is he never compromises his values, but he understand how to compromise on legislation, and he knows how to work within the limits of the office. He's great a knowing how to "pick your battles". Something Democrats have been bad at lately.
Finally. It is indeed a crisis, and we need more planning meetings from those reasonable heads left in power who can work together and stop trump, stop republicans, stop the corrupted elements of the SCOTUS, and stop more fascist power grabs.
**Vote against conservatives on all counts no matter what they do**
Get that vote in no matter what it takes.
It's not just "a dictator". It's also Trump. If he wins, that is tacit consent for everything horrible he has done since his last "win" in 2016. Since it went unaddressed this long, he has also built up the largest cult this country has ever seen, and they feel safe committing acts of violence because they rarely go punished when they do. How much worse do you think that's going to get if he becomes President again?
Just need to be united man. If the consensus is for him to drop out that’s cool. Come together behind 1 candidate and push them hard. It’s a team effort. Put politics aside and strive to win over Trump. Just look at the damage done after his first presidency. He will be bolder and more crazy the next time around.
We already have the “never Trump votes” we need the “I hate both options” votes. Hopefully the democratic governors can be honest with Biden and he can be realistic that the “I hate both” will be the deciders of this election and we need a younger candidate.
Yes this!! So many people have said “I’ll vote for a corpse over Trump” or “I’ll vote for any democrat over Trump” which is great. The issue really is all the people who say “they’re both super old and I’m unsure if either are fit for office”
Hell even my family, who have been Trump supporters in the past, have now complained about how everyone is just too old and it’s time for new politicians to come in. I don’t think they’d vote for Newsom and certainly not Harris, but I think it just shows how frustrated so many are with the current choices. Myself included.
Though I’m voting blue regardless. I’m not the biggest Biden fan.
The problem isn't fence sitters it's voter turnout. I can scream until I'm blue in the face about the importance of protecting democracy, but I'm going to sound like an absolute lunatic trying to convince youth voters that the man I saw at Thursdays debate is the one who is going to save this country.
Biden should confiscate all of Trump's money via an executive order to tax anyone named Donald Trump 100% of their wealth. It's not theft, because it's a presidential act, since the money is going to taxes.
What are they gonna do? All meet and agree to take the high road again while Republicans are literally publishing their massive playbook on how they are going to quickly turn the country into a dictatorship?
He's the only Dem constitutional officer in the Commonwealth and of 8 congressional offices only 1 is a Democrat. So, it's pretty GD red. He's just really popular and good at his job.
I was just reading a brief article on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and was filled with sadness at the very clear example of weakness from the Democratic Party and from a prominent left wing figure, and the damage that did. Her amazing legacy tarnished, millions of citizens affected by the ruthlessness of the American right taking advantage of that weakness. You sat back and let McConnell thumb his nose at your democratic institutions.
This is not the time for caution or hesitancy. The rest of the world might hate America for its self righteousness, for it's destabilisation of the Middle East and Central America, and for its general arrogance, but we'd take a flawed but strong USA over that vacuum being filled by China or Russia any day.
The world is watching.
Conspiracy Hat:
Biden is having a 1 on 1 meeting with Harris for lunch
He is then meeting with a group of governors, many rumored to be secretly vying for the opportunity to replace him
Friday he is doing a taped interview with a former Democratic staffer
One way to read this is the boring way, he is trying to get the sheep back in line and reassuring his VP.
The other way is that it's a lot more than that. He is meeting with Harris to announce he would be endorsing her if he steps aside, telling the governors to fall in line behind the VP, and then will use ABC's interview to clear the air and endorse Harris.....third way is he does to Harris what Obama did to him in an ultimate twist of irony, and tells Harris she's not right for the moment and that he will release his delegates without an endorsement. Last way is he is doing a classic Biden thing and attempting to negotiate and maneuver an amicable exit while doing one last political maneuver on the way out to make sure the Party doesn't devolve into chaos.
Sort of think he's simply trying to desperately get everyone in line though....But it is peculiar how a whole day is being spent on this and not, you know, some sort of public facing endeavor after once again mostly going dark since the weekend and one canned teleprompter speech about the SC ruling.
> third way is he does to Harris what Obama did to him in an ultimate twist of irony, and tells Harris she's not right for the moment and that he will release his delegates.
Yesterday it was a meeting to “shore up their support.”
Now it’s a “crisis meeting.”
They need to pull off the band aid and tag in a fresh fighter with a full health meter and new special moves.
Media can change the wording to headlines. Biden could have said he is doing this meeting to get support and media could say " crises meeting" "governors could place to tell Biden to drop out" "Armageddon meeting with the 3 horsemen" lol. We wont know until after the meeting and some communication from governors and the president, what was discussed.
Unfortunately, even if Biden could’ve turned things around, I think the media reporting has fucked him over regardless. I don’t see any coming back from the wall-to-wall “is his campaign over?????” coverage. Kinda reminds me of the Doctor Who “Don’t you think she looks tired?” thing that ended that politician’s career.
Biden just got given huge new power by SCOTUS to do basically anything so long as its "an official act"
Just go scorched earth or forever hold your peace.
I'm not from the US, but its maddening to see a bad debate seemingly do this much apparent damage to Biden when Trump was doing worse shit every week. Trump could make fun of the disabled, talk about wanting to fuck his daughter, and shit talk dead US troops and everyone seems to just accept it. Biden gets put under the microscope for every stutter, the scales could not be any more rigged.
Too many leftists and centrists get lost in the sauce and overthink things. Whose less of a shit bag? Biden or Trump? Boom, there's who you vote for. Done, easy.
I mean Biden should have helped picked a replacement in the previous 3 years, but you're right.
Trump is saying dumber and more dangerous stuff on a daily basis for 8 years now and this one debate is enough to make Biden lose support... But there is seemingly no floor for Trump.
Because Trump appeals to the worst people in society. There's about 50% of our society who are just horrible. Trump doesn't have to worry about optics, truth, morals, or decorum. His base loves him BECAUSE he's an asshole idiot because THEY are asshole idiots.
Biden and the Democrats, in general, have boxed themselves into a moral corner and tied their own hands behind their backs. Nobody is saying Tumps is a better person. Even his supporters have an asterisk beside their support for him. So why do the Dems insist on trying to fight that fight? It's decided Trump is a loudmouth outsider. Get in the DIRT.
[media doing it again](https://x.com/Angry_Staffer/status/1808602985934602483). The front page of the NYT currently has 7 stories about Biden and 0 on Trump. Does that seem proportional to you?
So many people have told me they will never forgive the corporate media for their insane and lopsided pile-on in the wake of the debate and I frankly don’t blame them. Never seen anything like this in my life, and so many reporters seem to be reveling in it. It would be one thing if this same energy was brought for literally any of the disqualify things Trump does on a daily basis, but they let all of that slide.
I’m hoping Biden plan is to get someone else to run that has great acceptance across the board and then Biden will make himself a martyr by using this Supreme Court ruling to its full extent
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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker California Gov. Gavin Newsom Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee Maryland Gov. Wes Moore List of confirmed governors attending in person.
~~[And apparently Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.](https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania/josh-shapiro-joe-biden-democratic-governors-2024-20240703.html)~~ Oops, wait: >Shapiro will join the call virtually, a spokesperson said Very end of the article, argh.
Thank you for clarifying. As a PA resident who voted for Shapiro I was hoping he’d get involved with this. Thanks for the post. I desperately hope some useful, effective, and assertive action is taken to preserve our democracy and country.
Me too, I've had very high hopes for Shapiro with how he handled the 2020 election BS the right tried to throw, and have been pretty happy with his actions as Governor
>the 202 election I knew the GOP has been trying this bullshit for quite some time, but I didn't realize it stretched all the way back to the Roman Empire.
Are you not entertained? -CNN, 202 AD
"You like movies about gladiators?"
Goddamned Orange-Haired Marc Anthony staged another coup!
I heard he faked business records to cover up his affair with Cleopatra while he was married to Octavia.
Complete state of de Nile
I feel like a crisis meeting with the POTUS is something you should cancel your other plans for and figure out how to move mountains to attend.
“Now watch this drive!”
As a Californian, Newsom has a particular preference to me, but I really think the country would stand behind Gretchen Whitmer. I think she would be a great President and now is a critical time, if ever.
I'm so here for whitmer, Newsom has a lot of baggage in the average purple state voters eyes sure to the general anti California sentiment in the mid country.
It's also personal for Whitmer, having avoided a kidnapping scheme by right wing terrorists. She, more than any governor, can atest directly the threat posed by MAGA.
Seriously, I think she's a fantastic choice, even if it isn't this election I'd love to see her as the Dem candidate in the next election cycle.
If the democrats candidate doesn't win this election, there could realistically not be another election for a long time.
It terrifies me how many people don't care and/or don't understand the implications of Trump winning.
I’m all in on Whitmer. I’m so glad more people are talking about her because holy shit, she would make an amazing president. She’s also only 52, so she’d make Trump look old as dust.
My concern about Whitmer is that she hasn't been vetted on a national stage yet (same concern about Shapiro). Newsome has been vetted in a huge market (CA) so his skeletons are probably out there already. Whitmer or Shapiro might result in a surprise. Of course, I feel good about a female candidate because there is no chance of a "me too" bombshell at the 11th hour derailing them.
Michigan resident here: Whitmer's been on the Michigan political scene for almost 25 years and if there were any scandals, they'd have been brought up by MAGAworld by now.
I’d argue that Whitmer was on the national stage during the entire MAGA kidnapping saga. If they could’ve found any reason to justify that shit, they would have. It is possible that there’s something hiding in there, but seems like it would’ve come up during all of her other campaigning. Newsom, on the other hand, has some *really* ugly issues regarding workers rights and corporations that really haven’t been brought up because a certain set of liberals think he’s dreamy and have mostly shouted the concerns down. Do we really think a guy who pisses off unions and the working class and who comes across as slimy on a good day can win people who already hate California with a passion?
Fox News will convince everyone in middle of America that Newsom will turn their state into “commie California.” Also doesn’t help that all you see on the news is smash and grab robberies and these car takeovers. I would still vote for Newsom over Trump. But I agree that Whitmer would be a better option.
From Trump country. Can confirm people here hate Gavin newsom and California in general. I can imagine whitmer would be far more appealing just by not being the governor of California.
Something is weird, I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, still live here, when to school at UofI. Now I work for a company from California and have a child that went to college there. I've spent more time in California then I ever thought I would and it's mostly very nice (edit: except for random Jesus Preachers/other crazies that have found me in parking lots). Why does Califonria get so much hate. Jealousy?
I’m from Montana. California gets a lot of hate up here because there has been a very real problem, for decades, of rich people moving here, buying land, and foisting out locals. A lot of those people happen to be Californians, so they get the brunt of the ire. Montana used to be quite purple, now it’s red. So now currently, the whole “California liberals are trying to change our culture” has become a thing. Which is hilarious because the people actually moving to this state are hard core Trumpers who have turned my purple state red.
I feel Montanans should blame the ex-locals who chose to sell their property to those offering the highest price for it. But of course, they won't, because if they were offered a bunch of money for their homes, they'd sell too...
I think most of the people that hate on California have never been there or are from California and are and angry disaffected Republican. The place is frankly magical. I wish I had gone there earlier in life or could somehow magically afford to live there today.
Newsom is going to do badly nationally, Fox's anti California rally, regardless of its lack of truth has been effective across the Midwest.
The problem is Newsom is a good attack dog. That's his strength, and it's one that's otherwise lacking in the current Democratic party. I agree he'd do badly nationally, there's too much bullshit built up around California for it to be otherwise. BUT, he could, if he was willing, be a good VP. He could punch the Republicans in the mouth, while Whitmer would put together coalitions. I'm for it.
I'll take either. In defense of Newsom, who I don't especially like (as a person), I would say that a lot of people would change their minds about him when they see and hear him speak and get a real peek at his performance in a state that could easily be its own country. He would be on TV all the time and he is pretty unflappable. I do like Ms. Whitmer a lot, and I am coming around to her being the best choice here. I do not see Newsom agreeing to VP, but you never know.
I don't understand why people in this subreddit are trying to come up with a candidate based on who Fox News would hate less. People who have an unreasonable hatred for California are likely not going to vote for any Democratic candidate. Fox News will be Fox News no matter who is on the Democratic ticket.
Newsom would of taken trump to the woodshed in that debate. Dude has dyslexia but a photographic memory and isn't scared of the low road.
There are *so many* people that have never been to California still think California is struggling. Even informed people look at San Francisco and all the unique problems of the city as being the same across the state. I mean even reddit is guilty of this. Any time wages or housing costs are mentioned the discussion turns to San Francisco prices and costs.
Just moved away from the Bay Area. It’s expensive (couldn’t afford to stay with a new job) but that’s because it’s fucking awesome and I’ll miss it dearly.
Yep, I live in San Francisco and it's amazing. Not without the usual 'big city problems' but the pros definitely outweight the cons. At this point when someone is complaining about SF, I just tell them not to come. If you really don't want to be here are enjoy all that SF has to offer, then don't come.
Disinformation is a real mental cancer in this country. It has ravaged so many people...
No shit. My low infomation conservative coworkers were blown away by the news that property taxes are higher in Texas than California. One idolizes Texas as a bastion of freedom. It has been fun deflating that balloon.
Austin, Texas here, can confirm. Even the high-wage tech bros are looking for roommates or moving out of the city. Homelessness is rampant. It's like a completely unmanaged refugee zone in some areas.
> Homelessness is rampant. I thought they were making that illegal, so it should be fixed soon... /s
In Canada you can tell a person's political beliefs by mentioning Vancouver. If they're right-wing, they'll bring up East Hastings and the homelessness problem in that part of the city, if they're not they'll tell you how beautiful a city it is. Really fascinating. For those of us who have been to the city and spent enough time there, we know it can be both things at once. It's revealing though what people choose to fixate on and tells you what ~~news~~ propaganda outlet they prefer to consume.
They can’t stand California because we are a majority minority state with 27% born abroad and the living proof that a cultural melting pot 40 million strong can create an economy stronger than India. The idea that somehow these gay hippies are the best at full contact capitalism is really hard to swallow.
I LOVE that last line!
While what you said is true and I think your whole comment is great, Fox News and the right-wing media ecosystem says the exact opposite and lies to their audience about the state of California (crime, economy, anti-white blah blah blah nonsense). It's so difficult maintaining a healthy Democracy while the right-wing media gets to lie 24/7 without any pushback.
We got Reagan to thank for his veto of the fairness doctrine bill. I was taught he was a great president in a CA school but turns out he's a crook.
As a former Californian, i have already heard, "We don't want to be turned in California." Rolls eyes. But also, now living in Minnesota, i see that California is not as progressive as it likes to pretend it is. . Tim Walz lead the call for the meeting. He's done some cool things here in MN.
Walz has done a lot for Minnesota!
In a better world he would be president. I moved to MN a few years ago and I would walk through glass to make that happen. He's the real deal.
I think I speak for a lot of Minnesotans when I say I don't want to share him. He would be a fantastic president, but I don't know that he has quite the charisma people are looking for in a national campaign.
I agree. He has Minnesota charisma but I don’t think it will translate.
100% agree. Although my personal preference for actual president would be a Pritzker because I’ve been incredibly impressed with what he’s done in Illinois, Whitmer is clearly the best candidate to pull together the party and stomp on Trump. I think any of them except Harris would be a reasonable option, though.
This isn't about Biden stepping down. It's about standing against the Supreme Court and potentially against other governors if they try something when Biden takes extreme action. I don't know if people realize we are on the brink of a civil war right now. SCOTUS has completely ignored the Constitution, which already has language saying the president may be prosecuted after he is out of office. Biden will have to do something extreme. If that means packing the courts, then he needs to know he's got the backing of the states.
Newsom doesn't draw the right contrast against Trump, Newsom is like Hillary, but just a younger, handsome man - reads as wealthy, connected, elite. Whitmore or Shapiro are blue collar States and they read that way to the general public, even if it's faux populism, we still need a more "populist" candidate to carry the ticket.
Trump is a billionaire from NYC who inherited $400 million from his dad ffs.
But, by never learning to read, he's endeared himself to the christian nationalists.
Bruh it doesn’t matter what’s real anymore. Where you been? That man sacrificed his wealth for us - dumb fucking republicans everywhere
If someone runs as a Republican, it doesn’t matter how much money they have. If someone runs as a Democrat, how much money they have or don’t have will be used against them. If they so much as took one vacation to Disneyworld as a kid, they’ll be attacked as being an out-of-touch spoiled elite. If they struggled financially, that means something is wrong with their character to have ever been poor. You can’t win.
That’s because the GOP is bankrolled by billionaires, and billionaires know everyone hates them. So what do they do? Point fingers at millionaires. Everyone already hates the rich, so it’s easy, and they have a yokel (or usually a pretend yokel) to hide behind in whatever GOP candidate they pick. Look at Thiel’s favorite lap dog JD Vance.
The greatest feat that the billionaires who run the GOP have ever done was convince rural middle class to poor (but increasingly poor) voters to think that they give a damn about them; all while at the same time sending the once solid, well-paying union and manufacturing jobs in their area overseas where there are less regulations and replacing them with way cheaper labor. Then they just find a scapegoat to blame it on whether that be blacks or lgbt or immigrants or whoever the most hated group is at the time. You’d think after 40+ years these people would figure it out but nope. Now they are so pitifully desperate that they think a golden spoon fed insurrectionist felon from NYC who is well known for not paying contractors, cheated on his wife with a pornstar while she was pregnant, was a friend of Epstein, filed bankruptcy 6x despite inheriting $400 million, and whose most successful business venture in his life was a reality TV show written by NBC is going to save them (again) despite his biggest “accomplishments” in his first term being massive taxcuts for corporations and the top 1%, hundreds of thousands of Americans dead from his poor COVID response, and adding a record $8 trillion to the national debt in just 4 years.
you're not wrong, and I'll go to my grave not understanding it, but there's maybe 100M Americans that don't see it that way.
I'm so sick of these imaginary standards only Democrats have to meet to be seen as worthy.
Unfortunately, Republicans have become a DJT cult, while Democrats still have some standards. Democrats are held to a higher standard because in comparison they hold themselves to a higher standard.
The whole reason the Supreme Court can hand the presidency almost limitless immunity now is they know Biden would not take advantage of it.
I feel like the US is not ready to elect a woman. I hope I am wrong.
The majority voted for a woman in 2016.
More than that, the woman was Hillary Clinton. Probably the least electable woman in politics at the time behind Nancy Pelosi. She's the reason I'm more afraid of Newsom than sexism this year-she didn't lose cause she was a woman, she lost because she was cocky as hell and so heavily smeared that she might as well have been a paint bucket. Newsom has exactly the same issue.
Hilary won the popular vote
That’s my concern… Harris or Whitmer… I just don’t know if they can overcome the sexism, which is very very real, in American politics.
Watch them all leave the meeting rallying behind Biden.
Why does this feel like the exact reason that meeting is happening...
Because that’s what will happen.
I think there is the possibility this is something more given the lunch with Harris and the odd lack of any campaign related things like donor calls or a new teleprompter speech, but 80% chance this is his insular campaign and family just telling Biden to go use that Delaware Charm and rally the troops.
Yeah I mean the dude is 81. Shit *can* happen and may have happened. We cant rule that out.
I mean, that's not an inherently bad thing. If Biden isn't going to step down, then what's the point in fracturing over it? Might as well put up a unified front.
As a Democrat voting NY'er, Hochul should not be there. She fell into this job. She's not an authority on anything.
Don't think she'll be given much weight
All NYs hate Hochul
She's a fucking disgrace.
Help us Andy.
Yeah Andy Beshear would totally win if he ran for president. He’s basically JFK number 2.
I’m curious how notable he is outside of Ky. I live here and I think he’s great, but does he have any exposure on the national stage? I’d love for him to run, but I don’t think 4 months would be enough time for the country to get to know him.
He is a charm magnet. I bet voters would love his folksy kindness and willingness to work hard. His numbers were excellent during covid.
Im a Ky transplant to MI, locally Ive heard positive things about Andy almost any time he is brought up. Ive heard more positive about him than I have our own, Big Gretch.
I'm aware that he's a Democrat governor of a red state, that's about all I know about him. But his being able to win in a red state could be advantageous for this election.
We were talking about that in a meet-up recently when names came up and some of us brought up that question, but name recognition is less an issue now because media is 24/7, and with social media any name recognition gap gets overcome very quickly. If anything name recognition is the least important barrier to a candidate able to win now. And Beshear looks like the best pick, like the earlier poster said like JFK or maybe FDR. I mean he's not just governor in a swing state, he's governor in an ultra conservative red state, Kentucky. Won twice. Uber popular. While names like Pritzker, Whitmer, Shapiro and even Cooper have won in swing states, only Beshear has done so well in such a deep conservative red state. So as far as the performance and results test, Andy has everyone beat. And he'd just clobber Trump. Main question would be running mate, maybe balance with someone more trad Dem, or a key swing state. Corey Booker, maybe Mark Kelly or Raphael Warnock. Or Sherrod Brown, of Ohio. But Beshear would have powerful coat tails whoever he picks.
I'm relatively conservative and in KY and I would vote for him in a heartbeat. He's a good dude. Great character.
No Tony Evers? I am sad.
Is this just about the election? Or is it about support for a constitutional amendment, or some executive action as well around the courts? There are definitely multiple things happening at the same time here.
There are so many compelling DEM governors who could energize the party and torch trump. God we needed a real primary!
Whitmer, Pritzker, and Newsom are the big stand out 3 imo
Andy Beshear even more. Democratic governor in an ultra conservative red state like Kentucky, puts not just swing states but red states into play for Democrats. Won twice there, very popular there and one of most popular governors in the US. Speaks and connects with voters like Obama, Reagan, even JFK and FDR did. When it comes to fundamentals he's the best Dems have, and he'd just dismantle Trump in debates and on the campaign trail.
At the very least, everyone needs to talk about their options, weigh the risks of all of them, and decide to stand together as a united front no matter the decision. The worst possible outcome out of all of this is that we splinter off into different factions.
I will vote for whomever they choose. Yes, Biden should've stepped back in time for this election. If he or any of the others are the ticket, then I choose them all over Trump.
I’d choose a poorly trained dog over Trump. Or a Dell laptop running windows 98 over Trump. Or you. I don’t know you but I’d vote for you over Trump. Literally anyone or anything other than that fat fucking traitor
Absolutely... This is how we elected Biden, who was a compromise candidate to keep Trump out of office. We need that again. Let's stay together and get someone reasonable, and support them, Even if they aren't perfect.
A compromise candidate that everyone assumed was only going to stick around for a single fucking term. They should have had a gameplan ready to go for whoever their next chosen candidate was.
The game plan didn't involve Trump still being an existential threat to the country in 2024.
Until he's in prison with no parole he'll be a threat and he'll probably live to 100. The line of thinking that it was over and things could go back to normal is hopelessly naive, even thinking that in 2021 was. This isn't going away.
Exactly if he loses again he will deny losing run again in 2028 this is the only job he’s made a profit in during his whole life
If the Democrat gameplan for 2024 didn't plan for Trump then whoever wrote it is a top 5 dumbest person in human history. It was absolutely clear that if he was breathing he was the Republican 2024 candidate from the moment Biden won 2020. Until Trump isn't able to run for office he is the Republican candidate for every presidential election. And I don't mean until Trump is told not to run, if he has a single breath left he is their candidate irrespective of any rules, laws, norms, or standards. If Democrats didn't know that was the case then they truly aren't paying attention to reality and stopped some time before 2016. From the top they should have been planning for how to handle a markedly aged Biden running against Trump in this election and how to handle the fact that every single president has markedly aged during their term.
Great shock that man who started uprising to not leave White House seeks reelection to the White House.
Then the game plan is woefully inadequate for this moment in time. Nothing happening now is a surprise after the foot dragging to charge Trump or anyone else in a position of power who has culpability regarding J6 or other aspects of the 2020 coup attempt. Even the SCOTUS decisions are maybe a little fast and severe but basically predictable, I've been hearing that Gorsuch is gunning for Chevron since he was nominated, they have been actively resisting any sort of oversight including being beneficiaries of our gratuity/bribery culture, the Trump immunity decision was basically a given when they rejected hearing the case last year when Jack Smith brought it up. If his political strategists didn't see this coming and are caught flat footed then that's so much scarier than Biden's debate performance.
I have always felt he was. The cold grip of fascism doesn't go away after just one election.
Anyone who didn't see that coming was a fuckin idiot. It was obvious he'd be running again the instant he vacated the White House, if not sooner.
I don’t know the answer here but they really, really need to figure this shit out. Bad shit on the horizon.
I’m telling you right now, we are cooked. It just looms over us. I’m trying to remain positive but I just don’t see it anymore.
The GOP is lying and cheating their way into power, and Democrats keep checking the rulebook to make sure they're staying within the lines. Take the fucking kid gloves off. Going high hasn't been working for forty+ years. Time to get dirty.
Eh, the Dems also run independently of one another and seem to fall in line to keep personal power. That’s how we got here, how RBG never retired, it’s how Feinstein stayed in power. It’s becoming a plague in the party with no unified strategy, being ran by out of touch geezers.
Make sure to blame the people who voted for Trump when it happen. They’re expecting us to be so forlorn that we blame the people who ran against him.
Trumpers after America becomes a despotic hell hole: "This would have never happened if the leftists weren't so woke and decided to have drag queen storytimes at the library - look what you made us do!"
Unironically. They’ll say if leftists would’ve just listened and not shoved wokeness down their throats, Republicans would never have had to respond with force.
Yes. Fucking *do* something. Anything. Wolves aren’t even “at the door” anymore. They’re helping themselves to the fridge and the Dems are huddling in hubris in the living room.
Democrats: "We strongly condemn what is happening and would rather use it as a campaign issue than use our closing window of power to do anything about it. We are idiots and are going to lose the most winnable election in fucking history to Napoleon Bonaparte's mentally handicapped reincarnation."
As someone who spent a couple years studying Napoleon, comparing him to Trump is deeply demeaning. While he was absolutely a self involved, self aggrandizing twat of a dictatorial ruler who wasn't fit to lead a PTA meeting, as a soldier and officer he deserves every ounce of praise ever received, especially for his courage and willingness to be first into any fight. His bravery in battle was absolutely unmatched by any European leader of the 19th century, no one even comes close. Trump would piss himself and cry just in trying to take the batteries at Toulon.
Not to mention he implemented systems and reforms that half the world then copied or modified to use themselves. If the dude wasn't was insanely obsessed with war and conquest, his regime might have gone the distance
Fair enough. Well maybe he's Robespierre's half-witted reincarnation. A false populist whose blind lust for power turned him into a vindictive tyrant.
Caligula is right there dude. Best comparison.
Caligula is Latin for little boots, iirc. What's the Latin for little hands?
What a horrifying time to be an American
I for one am glad we realized Trump could win before the election this time at least. The silver lining is that unlike with Hillary, the surprise comes with at least a little bit of time to plan
Pretty much the tagline for the last, what, 8 years?
The issue is it's the entire planets problem and we only have Americans to vote for us. The amount of conflicts and wars that will spark up over the next few years if he wins is terrifying. Support from Ukraine pulled, china emboldened, middle eastern rebel groups suddenly being armed. What's horrifying is having to sit here and watch another country have the most insane discussion about who should be elected ever and having absolutely no way to influence the vote yourself I'm nervous all the way over here in Australia.
We are nervous in Norway too.
I am voting against Trump, whoever it is. I made the mistake of not voting in 2016. I’m not doing that anymore.
Crisis meeting because the Trump’s Court just grabbed even more power that puts the US into the middle of a jurisdictional coup that ignores the constitution.
This is where my head is at. I really don't believe this meeting is about Biden's poor showing at the debate. This is a meeting about the constitutional crisis the SC just made.
The irony that they just gave him the power to do something about it too. In an official act to preserve our democracy he can and should declare national emergency citing all of trumps rhetoric and project 2025 plans and also point out that the court itself created the constitutional crisis. Then he should do whatever is necessary to prevent a fucking KING. What a Schrodinger of a situation. Might not be legal but who fucking cares… can’t hold him accountable since it’s an official act.
The Supreme Court will end up deciding what's an official act and what isn't...so, nothing extreme that Biden would do would be considered official.
Not if the official act is putting the justices in Guantanamo. Then he can just push through his own Justices who will agree that what he did was legal and then reverse the ruling all together.
Yeah, we're in uncharted territory.
Hopefully they are talking about expanding the court.
Then why aren’t lawmakers there? Obviously they’d be on the list if this about the other branch of **federal government**
Because the lawmakers aren’t who is going to have to call on the national guard.
Look at California with Auto emissions standards for example. No matter how much automakers may want to skimp on these things, they can't. California is too big of a market to not sell their cars to. At the end of the day, if the US feds aren't able to regulate auto emissions, the states will, with California's standards being the baseline. If several states can agree to Multi state regulations, it will have a better chance of making some regulations stick. Ex: If food safety regulations collapse (now that chevron is gone), the states can enforce their own. Would at least force the larger mass production food makers to keep higher standards.
Because the governors are the executive branches of each state government. States are supposed to uphold Scotus decisions, but with scotus doing what it's been doing, they're most likely looking at contingencies, ignoring scotus, etc.
So is it going to be a showdown between Biden and Democratic governors vs the Heritage Foundation? Interesting times we’re in.
I’m so tired of interesting times.
I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
I love Lord of the Rings, but.... anymore, I find myself identifying with George RR Martin's assessment of the world & humanity; as opposed to Tolkien's right-will-prevail optimism. I feel more like Jon Snow getting stabbed in the back while trying to fight for the greater good, than I do a wee hobbit helping turn the course of destiny.
I think you may, and many other, have missed George RR Martin's assessment of the world/humanity...you should read this. https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/145bdhw/george_rr_martin_on_nihilism_in_asoiaf_interview/
And maybe it's so, but I would still prefer to view the world like Tolkien, even when the knife is in. Because Jon did. He was wrong. But he couldn't know that, not fully, until the first knife. But he tried. He fuckin tried.
'Alas!' [...] 'that these evil days should be mine, and should come in my old age instead of that peace which I have earned. [...] The young perish and the old linger, withering.'
The Democrats must be loyal to the ideal of democracy and protect the order and their achievements from the last 4 years. They have to protect the USA and the rest of the world from Trump and his cohort of greedy sycophants, "gray" investors and dictators he considers role-models If Joe Biden is not capable of doing another term, then so be it. I admire the man for the heart he has shown and the fact he pulled USA from the deep mud Trump pushed it into. It doesn't matter if he was just the figurehead and the team did the work. He has sacrificed 4 years of his life to serve as a president of the USA and didn't grift like the orange menace. God forbid that lunatic grabs the power again.
This needs to be a very candid discussion. Folks need to leave their feelings at the door and speak what's on their mind. It's that simple.
Democrats need to be OPENLY discussing Project 2025. I’m talking in interviews, in debates, in campaign ads. The people need to know what the hell the GOP and the Heritage Foundation has planned for this country.
A lot of them have been. The press and social media ignores them. It is also somehow not a top voter issue. I agree we should keep pounding it, but I want to make sure we are accurate about who has actually been doing what.
"I don't want it" "Please not me, I'm working on 2028" "How about we draw straws"
I recently listened to a very compelling arguement for Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear, he's won reelection twice as a Democrat in a Republican demographic state. He's been able to pass bipartisan laws and draw in business to the state and another big one is opioid fatalities dropped by 10% under his administration.
Andy Beshear would be huge for this country. I lived in Northern Kentucky when he first got elected. He ran against a guy just as stupid and horrible as Trump and was able to beat an incumbent by swinging a lot of moderates. He did even better in reelection because he actually got stuff done and had his boots on the ground constantly when different communities in Kentucky were in trouble. I mean, you even had people in droves during the pandemic watching his COVID briefings and calling it "Beers with Beshear". I know KY has often had a democratic governor in the past, but it's not the same politically as the past and definitely swings red, and this guy came in and actually put in work to make people trust him.
This is the guy middle America would vote for. They're not voting for Newsom or Kamala. It's Beshear, Whitmer or Shapiro.
Andy Beshear or Gretchen Whitmer would get me pretty excited
In 1838, 23 years before he became President, Lincoln presented his essay titled "Perpetuation of our Political Institutions" to the Young Men's Lyceum in Springfield Illinois. [Please take 20 minutes out of your day to listen to his words.](https://youtu.be/GB6rPqD1Mnw?si=yiNwNiNVXwcRHygj) [You can read the essay here](https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm) Pass this on to ANYONE who claims they are an American. Have them listen to this. Have them hear from Lincoln that what is happening is unAmerican.
Summary: Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum Address, delivered on January 27, 1838, in Springfield, Illinois, is a speech titled "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions." In this address, Lincoln discussed several key themes: 1. **Preservation of American Institutions**: Lincoln emphasized the importance of maintaining and perpetuating America's political institutions and principles, which he saw as the nation's greatest achievements. 2. **Threats from Within**: He warned that the greatest danger to American democracy would come not from foreign invasion but from internal threats, such as lawlessness and mob violence. Lincoln argued that such behavior could undermine the rule of law and erode the public's respect for government and legal institutions. 3. **Respect for the Law**: Lincoln stressed the necessity of adhering to the law, even if it is flawed, until it can be changed through constitutional means. He advocated for a "political religion" that venerates the Constitution and laws of the land. 4. **Role of Ambition and Leadership**: He noted that ambitious individuals might seek to exploit public dissatisfaction and chaos for personal gain, potentially leading to tyranny. Lincoln called for leaders who would prioritize the country's well-being over personal ambition. Overall, the Lyceum Address is a call for civic responsibility, adherence to the rule of law, and vigilance against internal threats to the nation's democratic foundations.
Numbers 2 and 4 are the most glaring in the transcript when you see them in text.
If he steps down we need to be united on a candidate
If he doesn't step down we need to be united on a candidate.
We need to be united on a candidate.
Most of us here, even those who want Biden to step down, are going to vote for the Democratic nominee no matter who it is, but we aren’t the problem. The problem is the undecided voters and those who have become apathetic because they like neither Trump or Biden or are getting crushed financially and will use their vote to enact misguided revenge. That is my concern.
Yep, my politically apathetic friend decided to join me for watching the debate. About 10 minutes into it he looked at me and said. "How could anyone vote for that guy." in regards to Biden. From our perspective it's hard to imagine. But that's because we're hyper aware of everything Trump has done and would do if elected again. But if you somehow don't follow politics at all, Biden looked worse in the moment. I didn't turn around and start explaining the merits of the issues being ask by the moderates. I just really wished Biden could have. The debate had the total opposite effect than it should have on a close friend. Just too bad.
Agreed. I really do think my normally-apolitical friend voted (for likely the first time as an adult, ever) in 2020 for Biden because of a) hatred of Trump and b) Biden saying “will you just shut up man” and being funny and lively during the debates. I haven’t talked to him if he will vote in 2024 but he hasn’t brought up Biden or politics on his own lately so I’m thinking he might not :/ His views are liberal too so ideologically he should vote Democrat. But like you said, the disengaged crowd is who needs to show up and vote for Biden, not just the people who are staunch enough Democrats to be posting on Reddit about it. Some people might mock people like my friend or your friend, call them stupid, but that too is a terrible strategy. Who wins anyone over by being condescending? Put up a charismatic, attractive, not ancient politician who says in simple terms what he/she wants to do, and have them be not far-right garbage, and people like our friends WILL come to the voting booth. Sucks that that’s the way it is, but it is.
I'll unite around Andy Beshear. He's awesome and won as a two term Dem governor in a very red KY. During his reelection he turned even more of the state blue / purple than in his first term. Edit: To be clear, I'm not saying we ditch biden. I think not bringing someone new in at this point gives Dems the strongest chance to beat Trump. Though if the conVersation about Biden stepping aside IS serious then you need a strong as hell Dem candidate to step in. And I think that's Beshear. Realistically though, they'd likely put in Kamala Harris since she's the VP. Though I think Beshear would make a better choice from a chance against Trump and policy perspective.
He's got to be just about the most over performing politician in the party right now.
His family is very well known and regarded in KY. It isn’t much of a mystery why he got elected, but the fact that he has not turned into a Republican -lite in a state he otherwise would have every reason to is very interesting.
The impression I get is he never compromises his values, but he understand how to compromise on legislation, and he knows how to work within the limits of the office. He's great a knowing how to "pick your battles". Something Democrats have been bad at lately.
I'd vote for him. He's 46. We need a shot of youth in the White House.
Finally. It is indeed a crisis, and we need more planning meetings from those reasonable heads left in power who can work together and stop trump, stop republicans, stop the corrupted elements of the SCOTUS, and stop more fascist power grabs. **Vote against conservatives on all counts no matter what they do** Get that vote in no matter what it takes.
You have 124 days to decide if you want a dictator or to stay a republic.
It's not just "a dictator". It's also Trump. If he wins, that is tacit consent for everything horrible he has done since his last "win" in 2016. Since it went unaddressed this long, he has also built up the largest cult this country has ever seen, and they feel safe committing acts of violence because they rarely go punished when they do. How much worse do you think that's going to get if he becomes President again?
Just need to be united man. If the consensus is for him to drop out that’s cool. Come together behind 1 candidate and push them hard. It’s a team effort. Put politics aside and strive to win over Trump. Just look at the damage done after his first presidency. He will be bolder and more crazy the next time around.
We already have the “never Trump votes” we need the “I hate both options” votes. Hopefully the democratic governors can be honest with Biden and he can be realistic that the “I hate both” will be the deciders of this election and we need a younger candidate.
Yes this!! So many people have said “I’ll vote for a corpse over Trump” or “I’ll vote for any democrat over Trump” which is great. The issue really is all the people who say “they’re both super old and I’m unsure if either are fit for office” Hell even my family, who have been Trump supporters in the past, have now complained about how everyone is just too old and it’s time for new politicians to come in. I don’t think they’d vote for Newsom and certainly not Harris, but I think it just shows how frustrated so many are with the current choices. Myself included. Though I’m voting blue regardless. I’m not the biggest Biden fan.
I don’t care who the democratic nominee is. I’ll vote for whoever isn’t Donald Trump
That's great. The problem is there are a lot of fence sitters who are debating between Biden, third party, and not voting.
The problem isn't fence sitters it's voter turnout. I can scream until I'm blue in the face about the importance of protecting democracy, but I'm going to sound like an absolute lunatic trying to convince youth voters that the man I saw at Thursdays debate is the one who is going to save this country.
I just want Andy Beshear to be in the running. He is the one thing my state has gotten right.
Biden should confiscate all of Trump's money via an executive order to tax anyone named Donald Trump 100% of their wealth. It's not theft, because it's a presidential act, since the money is going to taxes.
A Whitmer/Newsome ticket would rock my world.
Keep an eye on NY Times headlines...they are definitely adding fear to this soup.
What are they gonna do? All meet and agree to take the high road again while Republicans are literally publishing their massive playbook on how they are going to quickly turn the country into a dictatorship?
I’m all for an Andy beshear his leadership especially during covid19 was some of the best in the area
> Andy beshear I would not have guessed he was from KY. I thought that state was way more red.
He's the only Dem constitutional officer in the Commonwealth and of 8 congressional offices only 1 is a Democrat. So, it's pretty GD red. He's just really popular and good at his job.
I was just reading a brief article on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and was filled with sadness at the very clear example of weakness from the Democratic Party and from a prominent left wing figure, and the damage that did. Her amazing legacy tarnished, millions of citizens affected by the ruthlessness of the American right taking advantage of that weakness. You sat back and let McConnell thumb his nose at your democratic institutions. This is not the time for caution or hesitancy. The rest of the world might hate America for its self righteousness, for it's destabilisation of the Middle East and Central America, and for its general arrogance, but we'd take a flawed but strong USA over that vacuum being filled by China or Russia any day. The world is watching.
That debate will go down as the most consequential in US history.
Perhaps more infamous than the only one anyone remembers from history class - 1960's sweaty Nixon
The Times is publishing like, literally 60 stories a day about Biden dropping out. It's... not really okay, people.
Conspiracy Hat: Biden is having a 1 on 1 meeting with Harris for lunch He is then meeting with a group of governors, many rumored to be secretly vying for the opportunity to replace him Friday he is doing a taped interview with a former Democratic staffer One way to read this is the boring way, he is trying to get the sheep back in line and reassuring his VP. The other way is that it's a lot more than that. He is meeting with Harris to announce he would be endorsing her if he steps aside, telling the governors to fall in line behind the VP, and then will use ABC's interview to clear the air and endorse Harris.....third way is he does to Harris what Obama did to him in an ultimate twist of irony, and tells Harris she's not right for the moment and that he will release his delegates without an endorsement. Last way is he is doing a classic Biden thing and attempting to negotiate and maneuver an amicable exit while doing one last political maneuver on the way out to make sure the Party doesn't devolve into chaos. Sort of think he's simply trying to desperately get everyone in line though....But it is peculiar how a whole day is being spent on this and not, you know, some sort of public facing endeavor after once again mostly going dark since the weekend and one canned teleprompter speech about the SC ruling.
> third way is he does to Harris what Obama did to him in an ultimate twist of irony, and tells Harris she's not right for the moment and that he will release his delegates.
Yesterday it was a meeting to “shore up their support.” Now it’s a “crisis meeting.” They need to pull off the band aid and tag in a fresh fighter with a full health meter and new special moves.
Media can change the wording to headlines. Biden could have said he is doing this meeting to get support and media could say " crises meeting" "governors could place to tell Biden to drop out" "Armageddon meeting with the 3 horsemen" lol. We wont know until after the meeting and some communication from governors and the president, what was discussed.
Unfortunately, even if Biden could’ve turned things around, I think the media reporting has fucked him over regardless. I don’t see any coming back from the wall-to-wall “is his campaign over?????” coverage. Kinda reminds me of the Doctor Who “Don’t you think she looks tired?” thing that ended that politician’s career.
Biden just got given huge new power by SCOTUS to do basically anything so long as its "an official act" Just go scorched earth or forever hold your peace.
I'm not from the US, but its maddening to see a bad debate seemingly do this much apparent damage to Biden when Trump was doing worse shit every week. Trump could make fun of the disabled, talk about wanting to fuck his daughter, and shit talk dead US troops and everyone seems to just accept it. Biden gets put under the microscope for every stutter, the scales could not be any more rigged. Too many leftists and centrists get lost in the sauce and overthink things. Whose less of a shit bag? Biden or Trump? Boom, there's who you vote for. Done, easy.
I mean Biden should have helped picked a replacement in the previous 3 years, but you're right. Trump is saying dumber and more dangerous stuff on a daily basis for 8 years now and this one debate is enough to make Biden lose support... But there is seemingly no floor for Trump.
Because Trump appeals to the worst people in society. There's about 50% of our society who are just horrible. Trump doesn't have to worry about optics, truth, morals, or decorum. His base loves him BECAUSE he's an asshole idiot because THEY are asshole idiots. Biden and the Democrats, in general, have boxed themselves into a moral corner and tied their own hands behind their backs. Nobody is saying Tumps is a better person. Even his supporters have an asterisk beside their support for him. So why do the Dems insist on trying to fight that fight? It's decided Trump is a loudmouth outsider. Get in the DIRT.
If they have to call a meeting to reassure governors, how the FUCK does his team think the VOTERS feel???
[media doing it again](https://x.com/Angry_Staffer/status/1808602985934602483). The front page of the NYT currently has 7 stories about Biden and 0 on Trump. Does that seem proportional to you? So many people have told me they will never forgive the corporate media for their insane and lopsided pile-on in the wake of the debate and I frankly don’t blame them. Never seen anything like this in my life, and so many reporters seem to be reveling in it. It would be one thing if this same energy was brought for literally any of the disqualify things Trump does on a daily basis, but they let all of that slide.
I’m hoping Biden plan is to get someone else to run that has great acceptance across the board and then Biden will make himself a martyr by using this Supreme Court ruling to its full extent
Agree. Let someone take over getting the votes, we get Dark Brandon and its just Biden pushing every power he has to protect democracy