126 Days: Until November 5th, 2024
Seven things I'm thinking about following Thursday's debate debacle
I’m not the only one still thinking about that debate on Thursday night, right?
Who could have expected the fireworks that came out of that debate, and who would have figured it would be Democrats and Joe Biden supporters, from Van Jones to Thomas Friedman, calling for the 46th president to refuse the party’s nomination at August’s convention in Chicago?
Biden’s performance threw a wrench into the Democrat’s campaign plans, and with it, there are more questions than answers at this point.
But first, I have to remind you about the question that was asked in regard to childcare, and the cost for American families, and what each candidate would do to help average families and future generations of Americans.
Instead, both candidates got into a pissing match about who ranks higher, greater, or as the worst president in some online polls.
Could you ever imagine candidate Bill Clinton being asked a question about childcare and completely avoiding the question? Or bragging about himself, or taking that time to put down his opponent?
But that’s exactly what Biden and Trump did on Thursday.
All of this leads me to share with you some of my own thoughts and reflections about what will happen between now and the first Tuesday in November.
How We Got Here
It is universally accepted that the American public does not like either of these candidates, and the polls back it up. There are lots of Republicans that don’t like Donald J. Trump, and Democrats who don’t like Joe Biden.
So why are these two the respective representatives for the two parties?
My feeling is that an overwhelming ambivalence about politics is the answer.
On Sunday, a friend of mine texted me the following:
I mentioned to my friend, I felt voter apathy was what led us to this current choice of candidates.
He replied, “Trust me, I hate politics, but as I get older things are too important to ignore.”
How many people do you know that refuse to vote? Their answers are always along the lines of, “What does it matter if I vote?” Or, “I can’t stand either candidate, so I’m not voting.”
As this sentiment has continued to grow in our country, the parties have seemingly pulled away from the people they supposedly represent, and we are faced with picking between two men who will both be octogenarians when the 2028 election comes around.
Moderation Wins
Which brings me to my next point. If either party had chosen a somewhat moderate or central candidate, they likely would have run away with the election.
If the Republicans had chosen anyone but Trump, do you think an overwhelming majority would have blinked about voting for (insert moderate candidate here) following Biden’s troubling performance on Thursday?
Likewise, if the Democrats had given voters anyone but Biden (or Kamala) as a candidate come November, there are many Republicans, or former Republicans, who would have welcomed that candidate with open arms.
Yet, both parties failed to do so.
However, the Democrats are now faced with the possibility of doing just that.
The Contested Convention
I’m not so much a political junkie as I am a fan of Presidential politics. I remember the Reagan v. Mondale blowout in ‘84. I was captivated by Bill Clinton’s run in ‘92. I watched MSNBC for weeks following the 2000 election.
However, like many of you, I’ve never seen, or thought I would ever see a contested convention. I’ve only read about those in history books.
But the Democrats, if Biden and his handlers/advisors or Dr. Jill acquiesce, stand on the brink of opening their convention in August.
Imagine the amount of excitement that would generate? Not only in the Democratic party, but among every voter in the country!
We could potentially see someone like the Pennsylvania Governor, Josh Shapiro, step-up to accept the nomination in August. According to Democratic operative and strategist James Carville, there are at least 10 Democratic governors and senators who would be far better candidates than Biden.1
The Establishment is Not Backing Down
If you’ve noticed, the Democratic party establishment, that being Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Hakeem Jefferies, minority leader of the House, have all rallied around Biden. Even former President Barack Obama took to X (formerly Twitter) to show his support for his former running mate.
To step out of line with the Biden Administration and the Democratic party leadership, doesn’t seem worth it for any publicly elected Democrat.
The left-leaning media, however, is another story.
MSNBC, CNN and editorial boards such as The New York Times, have all voiced the opinion that it would be in the best interest of the party and the country for Biden to step away following this, his first term.
We’ve yet to see the complete fallout of Biden’s debate performance. If the money dries up, or another gaff occurs on the campaign trail — he trips and falls, he freezes, another egregious “beat medicaid to death” moment — what will Democrats do then?
It Wasn’t ‘Just’ a Bad Night
If you’ve watched any of the political shows on Friday following the debate or this Sunday morning, many Biden supporters came to Biden’s defense saying that he just had a bad night.
Joe Biden is human. Everyone has a bad night. I understand that.
But what does a bad night on June 27th, 2024 tell us about an 81-year-old man?
What does a “bad night” in November of 2026, as Putin and Russia are on the verge of invading Poland, look like?
Joe Biden is not getting younger. And a cold or not, you can’t tell me with a straight face that Biden’s performance on Thursday was just a bad night. There’s some serious questions and concerns, as an American, about how well Joe Biden can function between now and January 20th, 2025, never mind a day after that.
They’re Both Liars
One of the responses democrats use when combating Biden’s poor performance is that Trump is a liar.
NEWSFLASH! Trump, Biden and any other national political figure are liars, or at least “misleading,” which is how CNN tagged many of Biden’s misstatements while fact-checking Thursday’s debate. “Misleading” is really just sugarcoating things, and strikes me as someone in CNN’s newsroom being not sure if Biden was being sincere and just suffering from verbal gaffs or if he was being malicious in lying about certain facts and figures.
Seems like the same issue Special Counsel Robert Hur faced when deciding to prosecute Joe Biden regarding the classified documents found in his Delaware garage.
This Election Is For The Future of Democracy
Please! Enough already. Just stop it.
We’ve already seen four years of a Trump presidency. And guess what? We survived! So did Democracy.
Kim Jung Un and North Korea behaved themselves. Russia and Vladimir Putin behaved themselves. And the bad actors in the Middle East stood down, or we took them out.
In less than four years of Biden’s presidency, Ukraine has been invaded, there was a debacle in Afghanistan. North Korea is back firing nuclear capable missiles. And China has stepped up pressure on Taiwan. Oh, and they floated a reconnaissance balloon over our nuclear missile bases.
In my opinion, the future of Democracy looks more compromised today than at any point of the Trump presidency.
Carville joined Sam Fragoso on Friday, the day following the debacle debate, to express his thoughts about the performance. To put it mildly, he’s not a fan of Biden, the candidate.