For those who missed and, for what good reason are curious, Times editor Joe Kahn was blessed with a New Yorker love fest/interview. Not going to provide the link but Roy Edroso riffed on it on his Substack thisAM. Only made it through one quote before it got too stressful but suffice to say the quote was 100% Fox News level lie.
As I’ve no doubt made clear enough IIRC, I see the mainstream news media as being literally harmful and has been such since at least the 2020 election cycle. And the Times is in no way an exception to that rule.indeed, it’s hitting new lows under the nepo baby’s nepo baby and Kahn.
Then again, my latest old fart theory is that as a collective, our leadership caste, private sector and the public sector they finance, are some form of sociopathic so, sure, of course, likewise mainstream news.
Meanwhile, an ask: I follow polls sort of randomly. I see a story, I check to see if there are any details regarding the mechanics of the polls, and then I assess it for fact-based value. Can its findings be trusted? If so, can the reporting be trusted?
So. If anyone has seen a poll they find insightful, please forward a link. So far, I’m only seeing stuff that says, given the margins of error, no one does particularly better than Biden. May well be because the election’s pretty going to be Trump or Anyone But Trump.
And something of a correction to David’s inference: nothing but will is in anyway impeding blanket coverage of Project 2025 and what Trump 2.0 (possibly after J6 2.0) will bring.
Denise, here is my firm proposal: I am an advocate for 2 black attorneys with substantial DC executive experience in either order on the '24 Ticket:
Kamala Harris & Michelle LaVerne Robinson. Both are politically savy & super smart. Robinson cannot out debate her husband, Barack. A key procedural FACT is that Kamala is already on the DEM Ballot which is no small matter for states that have already completed their primaries before the DEM convention which is coming up shortly.
I see that Michigan Governor Whitmer is 'making the rounds'. My older sister, a retired History teacher in the LASD School System, told me Governor Whitmer was on the "View" earlier this week. Governor Whitmer runs a key electoral state that now has secure & safe voting for all voters.
I like the photo of Whitmer in her Michigan Football Jacket but, the number on the Jacket should have been "47" right? The 47th President who has already turned back armed seditionists. Guts & experience!
Are you just completely ignorant? With your comment, you express much ignorance. After 2016, do you not think that a woman, let alone a woman of color will win voters? What bubble are you living in?
Really, David Kurtz?? “ But the entire far-right apparatus is continuing to position itself for what looks like an increasingly likely win in the fall, and maybe a big one.”
It’s an extraordinary pronouncement so early in the General Election campaign.
I agree with you. I think it’s likely that Democrats lose, primarily because of NYT, WaPo and
well-known celebrities like George Clooney hitting out against a sitting president. Who the hell does George Clooney think he is? Is his political leanings influenced by his Packistani wife??
I would first acknowledge that you are not wrong. Democrats are on the verge of alienating many voters. Not just the Presidential question but, more likely, down ballot. It could be a landslide and not in favor of Democrats. Many forces including international. The Democrats need to be unified. George Clooney is not helping.
What is quite apparent, in July 2024, is that Democrats are being challenged at the donor level, $$=support, to replace both Biden and Harris on the ticket. MSM is leading this movement with the NYT with WaPo close behind.
I have had time now to consider Biden’s debate performance, unusually a primary topic in MSM. It’s not Biden, it is the prospect of Harris that is the elephant in the room, not for current Democratic politicians, but for donors.
Don’t kid yourself, this is primarily about donors.
Excellent link to Kevin Kruse on FDR's plan. The beauty of it was that it wasn't really "term limits" and avoided the problem of impeachment as the only way to force a judge off the court. The older judge could just keep on doing his thing until he CHOSE to retire. No silencing of his voice because of age, just making it part of a larger chorus. When he retired, the chorus went back to 9 until the next justice hit the stated age.
Biden's ordeal by fire continues, with seemingly daily a new "benchmark" is set for him by Dems and the media: the NC post-debate rally; Nato address; the Step interview; and now the post-Nato mtg. presser. But none of these has proved conclusive, and neither have public - or private - exhortations to drop out or stay the course.
But I will have to agree with an Ezra Klein podcast that really took issue with Biden's claim that "the elites" are trying to force him out while "rank-and-file" Democrats are urging him to carry on as the prospective nominee. Klein contends that it is quite the opposite, with Dem elites pushing hard against withdrawal pressure, but the large majority of Dem/Indie voters remain unmollified by assurances from Biden and his campaign that he's fit and able not only to beat tRump, but serve capably the next four years. These are the people who hold reservations and are open to a new ticket at the top.
"Will he go, or will he stay?"...only Joe Biden has the answer, and it surely must be "Adios, friends".
It doesn't take a health professional (though I happen to be one) to see that Biden is suffering some sort of cognitive decline. Trump is coming from a weak position (liar, con man, felon, insurrectionist, zero empathy, hasn't done a thing for the average American), and a skilled politician should be able to rip him to shreds. Biden failed utterly. We need someone who can show American voters who Donald Trump really is. Quit crying for Biden. He was one of our greatest presidents, but he now needs to go.
President Biden got a clean bill of health in February, 2024, and the publicly-available report stated there was no evidence of any neurological disorder other than previously known peripheral neuropathy. Yet you, Glenn Rogers, having never met Biden, presume to diagnose cognitive decline? Based on what?
I'm stunned by what seems like a complete change in tone re Biden and this election, David. If there's a landslide RW victory coming, it's because the media, pols, and monied folks are delivering it to us wrapped in weeks of BS coverage and complaint. This feels like a coup against Democratic voters--the ones responsible for preserving democracy last time.
Did either of you watch the debate? If you did, did Biden strike you as a sharp politician? Many physicians going back to at least February believe Biden likely has some form of Parkinson's disease. Just Google "Biden Parkinson's." There is no test for Parkinson's disease; it's a clinical diagnosis, which gives physicians a great deal of leeway as to whether to make the diagnosis. And you can bet Biden's physicians feel a great deal of pressure not to call it. But any astute physician will notice the masked facies, the suppressed blink rate, the stiff gait, the confusion. Time will settle this controversy, but in the meantime, TCinLA, make an effort to be argue civilly instead of jumping to ad hominems.
Joe Biden often says, "Don't compare me with the Almighty, compare me with the alternative". There is a total lack of symmetry in our choice. For Biden to be as good as Trump is foul, his goodness would have to be Godlike. So, as much as I like and admire Joe Biden, My vote will be one tenth For Biden and nine tenths Against the criminal fascist Trump.
I was shaken yesterday to read about the trend lines in voter opinion since the debate. If Biden should step aside, the only rational replacement would be his Vice President, Kamala Harris. The primary voters who made Joe Biden their presidential candidate Also voted for Kamala Harris as their vice-presidential candidate; and the primary duty of a Vice President is the responsibility of stepping in to replace the President when that becomes necessary. To choose anyone else is to Disregard the millions of voters who chose This team. In addition, I believe that as part of that team Kamala would have access to all the donations that have been made to Biden-Harris. No one else would have access, so that hypothetical alternate candidate would have to start collecting from zero.
For them to make this decision, they will need an in-depth survey of voter attitude/support for Kamala Harris (compared, obviously, with attitude/support for Joe Biden). This would need to be kept tightly under wraps, since its exposure to the public would be detrimental to confidence in Biden if they decided to stay the course. It would also need to be done very expeditiously, because the time is late. (The late date is another reason, if it is determined that a change is called for, for it to be Kamala rather than some other Democrat. She Has been part of the campaign already, and a switch in the voters' focus could happen more quickly and more easily.) If the decision is for change, I think the best time to announce would be after the Republican Convention but before the Democratic Convention, so it could be a coronation, cementing the change in voters' minds. This is not about Joe's ambition! It is about determining, as objectively as they can, the better path for keeping America from falling to a fascist dictator. If they decided that the change was needed, this should figure prominently in his announcement to the public. The voters to focus on will be the independents in the swing states since the committed Democrats will vote for either Joe or Kamala. I wonder if the strong opposition to the Dobbs decision would be more effectively activated by one or the other of them? As a woman, perhaps Kamala would represent the anti-Dobbs opposition more effectively.
Democratic “leadership” and donors are currently making a calculation. With abortion on the ballot, they expect record turnout at the ballot box. With that in mind, they are making a calculus that those same voters will possibly vote for a replacement for Biden/Harris. Essentially, they seek to negate all the Primary votes.
For those who missed and, for what good reason are curious, Times editor Joe Kahn was blessed with a New Yorker love fest/interview. Not going to provide the link but Roy Edroso riffed on it on his Substack thisAM. Only made it through one quote before it got too stressful but suffice to say the quote was 100% Fox News level lie.
As I’ve no doubt made clear enough IIRC, I see the mainstream news media as being literally harmful and has been such since at least the 2020 election cycle. And the Times is in no way an exception to that rule.indeed, it’s hitting new lows under the nepo baby’s nepo baby and Kahn.
Then again, my latest old fart theory is that as a collective, our leadership caste, private sector and the public sector they finance, are some form of sociopathic so, sure, of course, likewise mainstream news.
Meanwhile, an ask: I follow polls sort of randomly. I see a story, I check to see if there are any details regarding the mechanics of the polls, and then I assess it for fact-based value. Can its findings be trusted? If so, can the reporting be trusted?
So. If anyone has seen a poll they find insightful, please forward a link. So far, I’m only seeing stuff that says, given the margins of error, no one does particularly better than Biden. May well be because the election’s pretty going to be Trump or Anyone But Trump.
And something of a correction to David’s inference: nothing but will is in anyway impeding blanket coverage of Project 2025 and what Trump 2.0 (possibly after J6 2.0) will bring.
FYI, I think it was The New Yorker that published an interview with Kahn, an executive editor at the New York Times.
Kahn is an heir to the founder of Staples. Apparently, manages a multimillion trust for himself and other descendants.
It seems to me, that whining about Biden without giving a firm alternative, is advocating for Trump. Well?
WaMo writer and DNC member David Atkins lays out the case for a Biden withdrawal and make way for VP Harris:
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2024/07/11/im-a-dnc-member-and-a-public-opinion-professional-its-highly-unlikely-biden-can-win/
He's got my vote.
Denise, here is my firm proposal: I am an advocate for 2 black attorneys with substantial DC executive experience in either order on the '24 Ticket:
Kamala Harris & Michelle LaVerne Robinson. Both are politically savy & super smart. Robinson cannot out debate her husband, Barack. A key procedural FACT is that Kamala is already on the DEM Ballot which is no small matter for states that have already completed their primaries before the DEM convention which is coming up shortly.
I see that Michigan Governor Whitmer is 'making the rounds'. My older sister, a retired History teacher in the LASD School System, told me Governor Whitmer was on the "View" earlier this week. Governor Whitmer runs a key electoral state that now has secure & safe voting for all voters.
I like the photo of Whitmer in her Michigan Football Jacket but, the number on the Jacket should have been "47" right? The 47th President who has already turned back armed seditionists. Guts & experience!
Are you just completely ignorant? With your comment, you express much ignorance. After 2016, do you not think that a woman, let alone a woman of color will win voters? What bubble are you living in?
Really, David Kurtz?? “ But the entire far-right apparatus is continuing to position itself for what looks like an increasingly likely win in the fall, and maybe a big one.”
It’s an extraordinary pronouncement so early in the General Election campaign.
I've said this before, history is
always in our rear view mirror.
If dems don't have a trifecta
in Nov. and Trump is in the
White House, it will be a close
re-enactment of Hitler's take
over. Hitler was pretty crazy
and Trump is crazier. He also
has a crew of black shirts
who will push forward
whatever they want.
Maybe this is a lesson the
people of our country have
to learn. You don't realize
how much you really have
until you've lost it.
There's 100 million women primed to vote and they ain't voting gop.
The Democrats deserve to loose for this crap. We don't. Unfortunately that's a difficult needle to thread.
Perhaps America deserves trump if they can't tell the difference between an old guy and a con-man felon.
I agree with you. I think it’s likely that Democrats lose, primarily because of NYT, WaPo and
well-known celebrities like George Clooney hitting out against a sitting president. Who the hell does George Clooney think he is? Is his political leanings influenced by his Packistani wife??
I would first acknowledge that you are not wrong. Democrats are on the verge of alienating many voters. Not just the Presidential question but, more likely, down ballot. It could be a landslide and not in favor of Democrats. Many forces including international. The Democrats need to be unified. George Clooney is not helping.
What is quite apparent, in July 2024, is that Democrats are being challenged at the donor level, $$=support, to replace both Biden and Harris on the ticket. MSM is leading this movement with the NYT with WaPo close behind.
I have had time now to consider Biden’s debate performance, unusually a primary topic in MSM. It’s not Biden, it is the prospect of Harris that is the elephant in the room, not for current Democratic politicians, but for donors.
Don’t kid yourself, this is primarily about donors.
Excellent link to Kevin Kruse on FDR's plan. The beauty of it was that it wasn't really "term limits" and avoided the problem of impeachment as the only way to force a judge off the court. The older judge could just keep on doing his thing until he CHOSE to retire. No silencing of his voice because of age, just making it part of a larger chorus. When he retired, the chorus went back to 9 until the next justice hit the stated age.
Biden's ordeal by fire continues, with seemingly daily a new "benchmark" is set for him by Dems and the media: the NC post-debate rally; Nato address; the Step interview; and now the post-Nato mtg. presser. But none of these has proved conclusive, and neither have public - or private - exhortations to drop out or stay the course.
But I will have to agree with an Ezra Klein podcast that really took issue with Biden's claim that "the elites" are trying to force him out while "rank-and-file" Democrats are urging him to carry on as the prospective nominee. Klein contends that it is quite the opposite, with Dem elites pushing hard against withdrawal pressure, but the large majority of Dem/Indie voters remain unmollified by assurances from Biden and his campaign that he's fit and able not only to beat tRump, but serve capably the next four years. These are the people who hold reservations and are open to a new ticket at the top.
"Will he go, or will he stay?"...only Joe Biden has the answer, and it surely must be "Adios, friends".
First, fuck Ezra Klein. “ But I will have to agree with an Ezra Klein podcast”. A now has-been in journalism.”
Are you talking to actual voters? You should.
Also, “ But none of these has proved conclusive, and neither have public - or private - exhortations to drop out or stay the course.” Damn right.
Tonight's presser: "Let me introduce President Putin"...oh, wait, that's President Zelenskiy, Joe. Oy vey.
It doesn't take a health professional (though I happen to be one) to see that Biden is suffering some sort of cognitive decline. Trump is coming from a weak position (liar, con man, felon, insurrectionist, zero empathy, hasn't done a thing for the average American), and a skilled politician should be able to rip him to shreds. Biden failed utterly. We need someone who can show American voters who Donald Trump really is. Quit crying for Biden. He was one of our greatest presidents, but he now needs to go.
Remind me never to consult you or let you near anything vital of mine, Doctor Hoo-Ha.
President Biden got a clean bill of health in February, 2024, and the publicly-available report stated there was no evidence of any neurological disorder other than previously known peripheral neuropathy. Yet you, Glenn Rogers, having never met Biden, presume to diagnose cognitive decline? Based on what?
I'm stunned by what seems like a complete change in tone re Biden and this election, David. If there's a landslide RW victory coming, it's because the media, pols, and monied folks are delivering it to us wrapped in weeks of BS coverage and complaint. This feels like a coup against Democratic voters--the ones responsible for preserving democracy last time.
Did either of you watch the debate? If you did, did Biden strike you as a sharp politician? Many physicians going back to at least February believe Biden likely has some form of Parkinson's disease. Just Google "Biden Parkinson's." There is no test for Parkinson's disease; it's a clinical diagnosis, which gives physicians a great deal of leeway as to whether to make the diagnosis. And you can bet Biden's physicians feel a great deal of pressure not to call it. But any astute physician will notice the masked facies, the suppressed blink rate, the stiff gait, the confusion. Time will settle this controversy, but in the meantime, TCinLA, make an effort to be argue civilly instead of jumping to ad hominems.
Joe Biden often says, "Don't compare me with the Almighty, compare me with the alternative". There is a total lack of symmetry in our choice. For Biden to be as good as Trump is foul, his goodness would have to be Godlike. So, as much as I like and admire Joe Biden, My vote will be one tenth For Biden and nine tenths Against the criminal fascist Trump.
I was shaken yesterday to read about the trend lines in voter opinion since the debate. If Biden should step aside, the only rational replacement would be his Vice President, Kamala Harris. The primary voters who made Joe Biden their presidential candidate Also voted for Kamala Harris as their vice-presidential candidate; and the primary duty of a Vice President is the responsibility of stepping in to replace the President when that becomes necessary. To choose anyone else is to Disregard the millions of voters who chose This team. In addition, I believe that as part of that team Kamala would have access to all the donations that have been made to Biden-Harris. No one else would have access, so that hypothetical alternate candidate would have to start collecting from zero.
For them to make this decision, they will need an in-depth survey of voter attitude/support for Kamala Harris (compared, obviously, with attitude/support for Joe Biden). This would need to be kept tightly under wraps, since its exposure to the public would be detrimental to confidence in Biden if they decided to stay the course. It would also need to be done very expeditiously, because the time is late. (The late date is another reason, if it is determined that a change is called for, for it to be Kamala rather than some other Democrat. She Has been part of the campaign already, and a switch in the voters' focus could happen more quickly and more easily.) If the decision is for change, I think the best time to announce would be after the Republican Convention but before the Democratic Convention, so it could be a coronation, cementing the change in voters' minds. This is not about Joe's ambition! It is about determining, as objectively as they can, the better path for keeping America from falling to a fascist dictator. If they decided that the change was needed, this should figure prominently in his announcement to the public. The voters to focus on will be the independents in the swing states since the committed Democrats will vote for either Joe or Kamala. I wonder if the strong opposition to the Dobbs decision would be more effectively activated by one or the other of them? As a woman, perhaps Kamala would represent the anti-Dobbs opposition more effectively.
Democratic “leadership” and donors are currently making a calculation. With abortion on the ballot, they expect record turnout at the ballot box. With that in mind, they are making a calculus that those same voters will possibly vote for a replacement for Biden/Harris. Essentially, they seek to negate all the Primary votes.