The Witness Chronicles, June 28, 2024
The debate, the pain, and the change
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The Democratic Party Has To Step Up, For Democracy
The Biden thing is not the issue, it’s the future of our country
For nearly everyone I know, the debate ended things as they are. I’m a believer in the accomplishments made under Joe Biden, but he is not the person we need right now defending the very existence of our democracy.
It’s an existential battle. We know that there is overwhelming evidence that any reasonable, younger, experienced Democratic candidate is what the Trump people fear the most. They may have won the night, but if the Democrats step up, they will have lost the war.
The contrast is stark. Trump represents everything humanity has evolved to combat as a civilized society: reason, honesty, civility, tolerance. Seriously basic values it has taken thousands of years to become standards for us to live together on this planet.
I’ve made my arguments over and over again for what is going on and how serious it is, but that story needs to be told on the largest stage by a solid, healthy leader that those on both sides can respect. Joe has been that man but his time has passed and he has to admit it. And his party, my party, has to change.
Trump’s performance was a cascade of shocking lies and fabrications, a picture of a nation torn by corruption and divided by hatred, so far from reality that it is obvious that their strategy is a calculation that we are idiots. And, apparently, we may be. At least a significant number of us.
That is the terrifying reality we witnessed last night, a reality entirely created to support a man who has never accomplished anything for anyone else. Not just that, a man who cannot even conceive the reason anyone would do anything for anyone other than themselves.
If we elect him, we tell the world that the cliche of American belief in our superiority is true and utterly corrupt. It says we are a nation of selfish petty people, making excuses, blaming others for everything, and greedily taking anything within reach.
That is not who we are, not who I am, and not who anyone I know is. And we need someone to stand up and tell the truth to Donald Trump. Unfortunately that person is not Joe Biden. His time has passed.
My normal reaction to crazy politics is to be concerned but also somewhat amused. But last night we veered into seriously dangerous territory. We saw a candidate willing to lie on the biggest stage, repeatedly and on a scale never before contemplated.
And this man has a real chance of being elected. There are many who want to believe the lies because they describe a fantasy world that explains that their own problems are entirely created by others who are out to get them.
This, in the real world, is called paranoia. And it is being created in real time by an entire political party in the most powerful country on the planet. Why?
For two pitiful reasons. Greed and power. We need to end this insanity.
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My thoughts EXACTLY. We need someone else NOW. Biden didn't just lose the debate. He failed. Completely and Irrevocably. He dove into the Trump cesspool, actually arguing about his fucking golf “handicap”. What ?!! He now has to step aside. Get out of the way. If he cares at all about this country. He must release us from this burden he has now become. His effort to stay on the ballot is now as much of a threat to our democracy as is Trump’s vile treachery. Biden, if he stays, will kill us, and our blood will be on his hands.
And I am someone who thinks Biden has been a fantastically effective president.
But after last night, if he tries to hang onto the presidency, Biden will demolish all that he has achieved. His effort to remain in office will be essentially indistinguishable from Donald Trump’s conduct on January 6.
Joe must Go. Away. Now!
I think when Biden said he'd run for 1 term only, he thought that after defeat in 2020, the Orange PoS would go away forever and American politics would get "back to normal" (normal = what it was before Orange PoS). We all know now that neither of those things is going to happen.
I've commented here and other places: the only one who has the power of the incumbency is the incumbent. I believe that is the reason Biden decided to run for re-election.
I have also agreed with pundits I've read who have said (I'm paraphrasing): Biden still has what it takes to be president (that is I trust his intellect, reasoning, etc. are still intact). HOWEVER, he does NOT have what it takes to be a winning candidate? To project power, confidence, vitality, etc. Being president and being a great candidate are 2 very different jobs.
Joe showed last night that he doesn't have what it takes to be a great candidate. It's my opinion that he was worn out after all the prep.
But the big question is: Now what? Or more precisely, who?
They have not prepared Harris to take over.
After last night, I agree: We Dems need someone young (but not too young) strong, inspiring, etc. But who?
I've heard in the recent past someone float Gavin Newsom Gov of CA. My husband's reaction to that: Absolutely NOT. The Repubs will say: CA is overtaxed and over-regulated: Do you want the country to be like CA?
I trust my husband's reaction to be more of the "average American" (the people my political junky friends and I call "normies", because they aren't as caught up in politics as us--in a better perspective way).
So the big question is who? I'd love to hear any ideas anyone may have.
We've got to decide right quick!